It’s February and I still haven’t shared my 2013 Resolutions – lucky for me “being punctual” isn’t one of them!
1. Run 500 Miles
I squeaked this one out last year, running a total of 519 miles, so I figured I might as well try it again this year! I’m off to a very poor start considering I’ve only ran a whole 3 miles so far this year, but I’ve got a lot of months ahead of me to make up for lost miles.
2. Give Yoga a Try
I’m carrying this one over from last year, and this year I will do it!
3. Take Kate to a parade.
I realized at the end of 2012 (after parade season was over) that Kate has never seen a parade! I’m making it one of my goals this year to get her to one. It’s something I think she’s going to love.
4. Complete the 2013 Whole Living Challenge
Currently in progress, and hoping to complete at the end of the this month. So far so good!
5. Re-learn to sleep on my back
Ugh! This is one that’s been frustrating me for years. I’m typically a stomach or side-sleeper, but after months of trying I finally got used to sleeping on my back.
And then I got pregnant.
(You’re not supposed to sleep on your back when you’re pregnant – it’s bad for the baby.)
I had the hardest time at the beginning of my pregnancy with Kate to go back to being a side-sleeper, but eventually managed to do it. And now – three years after her birth – I’m still sleeping on my side and wrinkling up half of my face to the point where I’m going to look like two different people depending which side you see me from in about 5 years.
Yes this resolution is steeped 100% in my vanity.
I’m sure there are other health benefits to being a back-sleeper, but I’m just trying to keep my left eye from looking like an 80-year-old’s while my right eye still looks like it’s in its 30s.
6. Can peaches.
This is another carry-over from last year, and I totally blamed it on KPR for not being able to accomplish it because she threw me a curve ball by deciding she no longer likes peaches. Well, guess what. She decided – pretty much on THE LAST peach day of the year – that she liked peaches again. On that day, after much prodding from her, I bought the last 2 peaches at Whole Foods and she gobbled them up with glee. We returned to Whole Foods the following week with plans to stock up and can them while I still could, but they were gone. (Insert Kate Sad Face Here) So now I’ve decided that dammit, I will can peaches this year!
7. Start a gratitude journal.
I bought this beautiful gratitude journal while visiting my friend Allison in Minneapolis last fall and had the best of intentions to actually use it.
Except I haven’t.
But I should. (At least that’s what my dear personal friend, Oprah, has told me.)
8. Make puff pastry from scratch at least once.
I used to make the best little ham and cheese pinwheels for party appetizers and Kate’s lunches – ooh, they were so good! And then I read the ingredients label of the puff pastry container and nearly gagged. I couldn’t, in good conscious, continue feeding that to my child, so the fun little ham and cheese pinwheels were retired. Actually, first I googled how to make my own puff pastry from scratch and noticed it looked crazy time consuming! And kind of hard. I was too intimidated to do it – and that’s when I retired the ham and cheese pinwheels.
Now, a couple of years later, I think I’m up for the culinary challenge. After all, that’s what New Year’s Resolutions are all about – challenging one’s self, am I right?
9. Make black beans the “real way” instead of buying them from a can.
Speaking of culinary challenges, I’m going to start by learning how to make black beans from scratch. You know – buying them as dried beans in the bulk section, and doing whatever it is you need to do to them to get them looking and tasting like they do when they come out of a can.
(Only there’s no can in my equation.)
( At least I don’t think there is.)
(I still need to do my research on this.)
That’s my goal list for 2013! The OCD in me really wants to think of one more resolution to add to make this a list of 10 instead of 9 (kind of like how I need the TV volume to be on a number that’s an increment of 5 – it can be on 20 or 25, but HOLYHELLNOT22!) but I think I’ll have my hands full with these 9 so I’m going to take a deep breath and leave it at that.
How many resolutions did you make this year? Zero? Five? Ten? Fifteen? (DON’TYOUDARESAY6!)
Just wanted to let you know that for some reason your posts weren’t coming through on my RSS feed – so I had to remove the subscription and then re-subscribe. Not sure if you changed anything recently but I wanted to tell you in case other readers have been missing out too!
Good luck on the 2013 resolutions! I would love to run 500 miles this year but considering I can’t get over the 3-mile hump on my runs, I’m not sure that’s gonna happen!
Thanks for the heads-up, Katy! I recently switched from Blogger to WordPress and it appears this is one of the many kinks that still needs ironed out. I’m so sorry for the inconvenience! I hope re-adding my blog did the trick, but hopefully that isn’t something everyone will need to do. I’m waiting to hear back from the woman who did my changeover to see what the fix is. ::fingerscrossed::
these are great! it’s a good variety of things for yourself and kate and your family. i only made 1 resolution this year: to actually make goals. i’m a terrible goal setter…really just bad at writing it down or consciously deciding it’s something i want to do…and then do it! i’ve already set a few, and completed one! =)
I, too, need to relearn sleeping on my back. I do the skydiver… on my stomach, arms up, face planted in pillow, husband wondering if I’m dead…
Good luck w/your resolutions!
At least both sides of your face age equally with that approach, Roo! I’ll consider it my back-up if I can’t get back on my back.
Cooking dry beans in the crockpot is super easy! Soak them overnight and then cook them all day in the crockpot either on low or high depending on how firm you like your beans. Once they are done then season them
Thanks for the tip, Brittany! I will definitely give this a try!
I started making beans last year using this tutorial! http://www.annies-eats.com/2012/05/01/making-the-basics-cooking-with-dried-beans/
Another great tip, thanks Amy!
I, too, had a goal of running 500 miles last year. I got to mile 500 on Dec. 28th and stopped dead in my tracks – didn’t run another step – now THAT is squeaking it out at the last second. I am doing it again this year but hope to get a little more of a cushion.
Also, you can do black beans in the crockpot! They turn out great, you can even do them overnight so that if you want to do something with them the next day, they are ready in the AM.
Good luck on your 500 mile goal this year, Paula! I’m laughing at you stopping at exactly 500 miles – don’t think I didn’t consider that myself, lol! Thanks for the tip re: the crockpot – I’ll definitely be giving that method a try!
Hi D!
Just wanted to let you know since you moved to wordpress none of your posts show up in Google reader. I unsubscribed and resubscribed with no luck… Your blog is one of my favorites so I don’t want to miss your posts. The only reason I knew you posted something new was facebook.
Erin
Thanks for the heads-up, Erin! I recently switched from Blogger to WordPress and it appears this is one of the many kinks that still needs ironed out. I’m so sorry for the inconvenience! And I’m bummed to hear that re-adding my blog didn’t do the trick. I’m waiting to hear back from the woman who did my changeover to see what the fix is – hopefully it’s nothing my readers will need to do! ::fingerscrossed::
for what it’s worth, you really only need to think of ONE more resolution to get to 10. you have two number 2’s listed. 😉 the OCD in me just had to tell you.
LOL! Great catch, Carrie! Thanks!
Fixed!
i too was going to recommend the beans in the crockpot. then you can make an entire crock full and portion them out and throw them in the freezer when you need them. super easy and so much better (and cheaper!).
give dragonfly down the hill a go for yoga – i think they do a $20/2 weeks trial. loved it.
and the parade you should hit is the memorial day parade in monona – largest in the state – and it’s awesome.
Great tips, thanks Melanie!
Hi! I’ve just known your blog and I’m here reading it for hours!! I’m Brazilian, and here eating rice and beans is habit. We eat them every single day. And as cans are not an option here, everybody cooks beans. And I should tell you, there is no comparison (I tried the canned version while traveling). I’m sure you’ll love it!!