One month down

Happy February!

We have officially made it through the first month of 2010. Overall, I think I did well with my resolutions. But now that a month has passed, I want to reevaluate them to see if any adjustments need to be made. (Original resolution in black, comments in red.)

1. Go to church on a regular basis. I've done well with this. I've only missed one week so far, but I didn't let that discourage me from my goal.

2. Money management (set up automatic bill payment, put some money into separate savings account, put money into 401K). I need to get moving on this. I did put some of my money into my ING savings account (set up to deposit automatically twice a month), but I need to do more.

3. Get back to writing, in any form (blogs, poetry, journal). I've been writing in a journal every night, even if it's only a little bit. I haven't blogged as much as I wanted to, but at least I'm still writing.

4. Make effort to improve and maintain social life (including keeping in touch with friends who are NOT on Facebook). This one is hard. I have attempted to make plans with people, but my friends aren't as social as they used to be. Many of them are married and have small children, so their free time is usually family time. I have to find a way to branch out and meet new people, I guess. That will really take me out of my comfort zone, but in the long run, I think it will be worth it. I've been good with sending cards... not so much with emails or phone calls. I'm not a phone person, but I have friends who aren't on Facebook, so I REALLY have to make an effort with them. Damnit.

5. Make better food choices. Surprisingly, this has been pretty easy for me. I love to cook, and I spent a lot of weekends in January making homemade meals with fresh ingredients. I've been careful not to keep junk food in the apartment, which means I don't buy ice cream, cookies or chips (with the exception of my beloved tortilla chips and salsa). No soda, no white bread (I've even replaced my flour tortillas with whole wheat!), and no fast food.

6. Simplify and declutter. This has been another area of success for me. I really rose to the challenge and began to pare down my possessions. It felt really good to see the piles diminish and to see organization happening in my former "hot spots." But one downside is that when I take things out of one area, they wind up in another. I'm working hard to get rid of what I don't need and find a home for what I want to keep, but I feel like I'm slowing down a little. I need to get back on track with this one.

7. Read books I already have before buying new ones. Haven't bought any new books. Haven't really read much, either. I feel very lazy, book-wise. Sadly, the internet is part of the reason for that. I feel like I waste a lot of time on Facebook and blogs when I could be reading or writing. I'll try to cut out some of my online time each night so that I can read a few chapters of a book instead.

8. Walk more. Baby, it's cold outside. This ain't happening until spring. However, I borrowed a yoga DVD from Erin, and I've been looking into dropping in on a Zumba class or a country line dance class. Even if I have to go by myself (something else that takes me out of my comfort zone). Oh, and I really, really wanna buy a wii. Less sitting, more activity.

So that's where I stand after one month. Not too bad. There's still room for improvement. That's what February is for :)