A New Year for a Better Me

Ahh, the new year. A time for resolutions to be made (and very soon thereafter, broken - at least for most people). Always the optimist, right? Well, I suppose it's more the statistics than being a pessimist. I, myself, tend not to make resolutions as I know that they are more than likely things that shall be broken, so instead, I'm going to just do my best to follow some things that I think will improve my daily life.

1. Since 2009 seemed to have been the year of the bicycle, I am going to do my best to ride each bicycle in my possession, and not favor one over the other (even though I know very well that they each have their purpose, I want to try to use them all). I'm sure Sam would like to see that I won't buy anymore bicycles, but let's face reality, I just can't make that sort of promise.

2. I am going to do my best to have a better attitude about classes. After all, I asked for this, we're paying for it, and I want to get better at my artwork, so I'm going to have a change in my outlook toward the whole situation. If I have an instructor who isn't working for me, I'll do my best to figure out a way to work around/through the situation without letting it affect me and my being.

3. I will do my best to complete reading at least three books this year. I feel as though since returning to school, my personal "hobbies" or likes have diminished severely, along with my vocabulary. Is it possible to get more stupid the older we get? If so, I think this is happening to me, so whatever they may be, no matter the subject matter, I want to complete at least three books (starting with the awesome book I got for Christmas, Bicycle Diaries, by David Byrne).

4. I would like to know what I am going to do for my final BFA thesis, even though it won't actually be for another year at the end of the final semester this year. I think it's important for me to have plenty of time to process my thoughts in order to produce something of any sort of worthiness, so this is definitely an important one.

5. While I would love to say that I will lose weight this year, I am a realist, and also not a person who does well with that sort of pressure, so instead, I will say that I am going to try to just eat the best that I can and continue with the vegetarian way of eating. I know I feel better not eating meat, so I'm going to continue to roll with this and hope for the best. I will also try to be better about going to the gym, as my five day a week normalcy has faded to far less than that over the last couple of months (though I have enjoyed the bicycle rides very much).

I could go on with a list of a hundred things that I should be doing and working on, but I think this is a sufficient list to get me started. I suppose, the fewer things there are to focus on, the more likely I will be to actually complete them. Time will certainly tell though.

As for New Year's eve, I had a great time with our friends. It was nice to meet Nathan's girlfriend, Cara, who seems to be a lot of fun. Unfortunately, I didn't really take any pictures, but there is a nice one of our lovely dogs annoying our company.

I'm sure Tim was glad to leave, if for no other reason to escape the hoard of dogs that seemed to surround him all evening. Levi even went in for a hug from dad, which mom, of course, felt the need to capture on the camera.

We lost a few guests before the party started, but ultimately, I think we all enjoyed ourselves, even though we all seemed to be quite tired early in the evening.

Here's to hoping that 2010 is a great year, full of life, love and the pursuit of bicycles and fun rides!