I’m Trying To Evolve

I never used to make New Years Resolutions because the new year never really meant much to me. In the past, I’ve felt like the coming of a new year has meant nothing more than a change of calendar date, like any other day.

However, the older I get, the more intentionally I’m trying to live. I’m trying to be aware of myself, the progession of my life, and the passage of time.

(It might seem like I talk a lot about my dad’s passing. I´m aware.) In February it’ll be 10 years since he passed away. My mom is turning 65 this year. I don’t have children yet. My friend’s dad is dying quickly of cancer. My niece and nephews are growing with lightning speed. I’m thinking about time a lot, these days.  These realizations have led me to wanting to be aware of the passage of time, is all.

And to be present.

I´d like to share with you my goals for 2015:

• Portuguese – I started the Portuguese Rosetta Stone a few months back, and had a hard time getting into a routine of doing it. I will do the Rosetta Stone for at least 30 minutes every day.

• Baking blog – I started a food and crafts blog with a friend a few months back called SmashTable. I post on it from time to time but want to commit to writing there more. This will be my reason to try cooking and crafting new things. I will publish at least 50 posts on SmashTable in the coming year.

• Increase savings – I currently channel 10% of my pay into my 401k and 5% into my emergency savings. I will increase these.

• Charity – I feel strongly about giving money to those I know in need, rather than big organizations, typically.  I want to make donating a regular part of my montly finances.  I´ll start small and increase if I can.  I will donate 1% of my income to charity on a regular basis.

• Car – I don’t know anything about cars. My husband doesn’t know much either. We’ve been lucky to have reliable cars, and haven’t needed much maintenance other than oil changes and new tires. But I’m going to be driving a lot more now with the new job and I’ll probably hit 100,000 miles very soon. I want to have this car for at least 5 years once it’s paid off (so 7 more years total… Might be a stretch goal?) and want to keep it nice. I will learn about what routine maintenance I should be doing to keep my car running smoothly and save monthly for these expenses.

• Free concerts – Since I’ll be in a new place and won’t really know many people, I want to get back to going to free concerts. At UAlabama I used to go all the time, and here in NOLA, life has gotten in the way. In Houston I want get back to this. I will attend two free concerts per month.

• Tracking net worth – I´m aware of how much debt I have, but I´m far less aware of my assets.  Starting in January, I will track my net worth monthly, and make note of it here.

• Improve credit score – Before I got married, my credit score was 780.  Then I took on a lot of debt due to lots of life circumstances, and now my score (since I started checking it monthly in June 2014) has been a steady 678.  Gross.  I will improve my credit score in 2015.

• Good routine – Natalie recently reminded me of the importance of a good routine.  Michael and I are very much creatures of habit, and so routine comes natural to us.  However, with this move and the new job, my routine is going to be a blank slate and I´m committed to making it a good one.  I will establish and maintain a routine that includes mental and physical exercise and health daily.

And so, I wish you all the good the world has to offer, and the happiest of new years.

I´ll leave you with this quote from my dear Ani DiFranco:

I walk in stride with people

Much taller than me–

And partly it´s the boots but

Mostly it´s my chi.

And I´m becoming transfixed

With nature and my part in it,

Which I believe just signifies

I´m finally waking up.

I´m trying to evolve.