Eat clean and work hard. Cliche resolution, but an important one. I discovered with some of my 2012 resolutions that making them too specific made it harder to follow. So in terms of my diet and exercise I’d like to keep my resolution vague, over the next year I will learn and discover things that my body loves so I’m open to modifying my month-to-month goals knowing that. :)

Let go. I need to dematerialize. Physical clutter effects my mood quite negatively, I function best in a neat, spacious environment. I’ve realized that I get attached to objects; those movie tickets from our first date, that old cat toy from my first ever pet (yet I don’t have any cats), that pack of rolling papers from my first boyfriend (I don’t even smoke anymore)…they have sentimental value to me but looking at them objectively…they are useless in contributing to my growth. I can have memories without a physical object to attach them to. I need to let go.

Let my body breathe. Through my teen years I had terrible acne, used more chemical creams, treatments, and peels than I probably should have but I can’t change the past. I’ve weened my skin off of the chemicals and have begun using more natural products on my face. I’d like to expand this to more aspects of my life and cut down on how much I put my skin/hair through. 

Run 5k. Last year my goal was to run in a 5k, which I did, but due to inconsistent endurance training I am still not quite able to run it without a few short walking intervals. I’d like to jump that hurdle this year.

Participate in 2013 warrior dash. I really wanted to participate last year but I was nervous, didn’t have anyone willing to go with me and the date came and went. I’ve bought my ticket already and it’s booked off work!

Finish my year on honour roll. I was able to do this last year for my art program, now that I’m in a bridging program (from fitness into kinesiology) it’s important for me to keep my average up so I can get into University.

Open my heart. By this I mean continuing on my yoga journey. I’ve found great refuge in my practice as far as re-establishing a positive mind & body connection after being sexually assaulted. I plan to continue this therapeutic practice as well as challenging my body with more advanced poses, the drive of having goals in mind is fantastic for me, keeps me consistent, and the rush of achieving something after hours upon hours of practice is the kind of positivity I need in my life.

Be happy, humble, and wholesome. Continuing on my spiritual path towards living lightly and freely. Involves lots of reading, studying, and yoga. I’d like to include positive and love-driven actions towards the beans that I encounter daily, as well as letting go of negative, self-involved emotions and judgements.

Create constantly. I’m an artist. I may have changed my area of study but will forever consider myself to be an artist. Although there may be times where it is hard to see past the painful, dry reality of things, I must remind myself where my passions lie, and where I’m comfortable setting myself free.

Be Grateful. Too often to I simply enjoy an experience or opportunity and allow it to pass by, to eventually be forgotten. If only to take a moment and write those memories down, photograph them, write a poem…reminiscing on the positives of my daily life would be a simple task.

I participated in my first 5k run today, it was fantastic.

Our team consisted of a few girls from our Fitness and Health program, most of which had not done a 5k either, so it was great sharing the moment. I can’t describe how amazing I felt crossing the finish line and hearing everyone cheering for us.

Time to cross this one off new years resolutions :)

I’ve crossed another one of my 2012 resolutions off my list:
#24 Graduate my program with a 3.0 or higher

1st semester: 3.57
2nd semester: 4.46

I’m positive I could have gotten higher for first semester but being my first year in college I struggled to get my feet firm in place. I’ve gotten the hang of it and I’m doing pretty well for myself. I was accepted to all 3 Art programs that I applied for, but in the end I decided to make the switch into Fitness and Health so I can work towards a Bachelor of Health Science specialized in Kinesiology. :)

Now that we’re nearly a quarter way through the year !

1. Don’t cut my hair, let it grow long

• I got my hair cut for the first time in over 8 months, just a trim though and my hair is just about at my shoulders. Longest it’s been in my entire life.

2. Get my first dog

• Check and check !! I have a lovely Yorkshire terrier, her name is Pepper :)
  

  

3. Teach my dog all the basic commands (and possibly some tricks)

• Pepper has officially learned how to sit on command…although she hasn’t entirely grasped the concept of peeing outside.

4. Go to the beach this summer
          - Not summer yet ! it’s on it’s way though :)

5. Breed our first ball python clutch
          - Haven’t had the chance to put any of our balls together this year but it looks like one of them is showing signs from late last year !

6. Finish Christmas shopping before December 1st
          - Got quite a while for this one

7. Eat vegetarian at least one meal per day

• I’ve been doing pretty good with this, I’d say about 5-6 days a week I’m able to follow through.

8. If I resort to fast food, order it right; order small and say no to “do you want fries with that?”

• I’ve only had fast food twice this year, once mcdonalds and once KFC…ordered smalls both times and only drank diet soda (not that it’s much better but it has no sugar)

9. Cut down soda to only once a week

• I’ve been having a lot of trouble with this one…I switched to diet to cut down the sugar intake but I’m still drinking one a day

10. Drink at least 1 litre of water per day

• Never knew how hard it was to drink so much, seems like I’ve got an abnormally small bladder, I’ve had to pee so often lol

11. Do yoga at least 3 times per week

• Have not been doing so well on this !

12. Kick box at least once per week

• Same with this one :c

13. Hula hoop at least once per week

• I’ve found the time between school, work and my new puppy to get my hoop out every other week or so

14. Earn the body I’d be proud of for summer 2012

• Working on it, I go to the school gym all the time and I’ve seen great improvements in my weight training, but not so much in cardio, I need to get into a steady routine and not the stop and go.

15. Be able to run 5k

• Working on keeping up a consistent running schedule apart from the gym. 

16.Organize as much of my life as I can

• My room is getting a lot more organized, slowly but surely :)

17. Finish redecorating my place

• I’ve done a little bit of decorating as far as wall-art goes, and have some DIY projects planned/partially finished that will add to this as well as my organizing.

18. Sell a piece of my artwork

• Done ! My dad commissioned this painting so he could give it as a birthday present (his friend really likes bears).
  
  

19. Bake something at least once a month
          - Have only baked once so far this year

20. Cook a new meal at least once a month

• I’ve been pretty good with this, most haven’t been full dinner meals, mostly lunch and breakfast stuff.

21. Create something new once a month

• So far so good :)

22. Create my own recipe scrap book
          - Haven’t started this one yet, but I’m still hoarding recipes

23. Get accepted into the program I want for fall 2012

• I’ve been accepted to 2 of the 3 programs I’ve applied for. On the 31st I’ve got to go for an interview to find out if I get into the last one, which is also my top choice.

24. Graduate my Art & Design program with a 3.0 or higher

• I’m doing great so far, last semester I finished with a 2.8, this semester I’m rocking a 4.0

25. Pay off at least 75% of my school debt from my first year of college
          - Since I’m still in school for the next 4 weeks and not working full-time hours again, I haven’t had the chance to pay off any big chunks of my debt.

Personal

1. Don’t cut my hair, let it grow long

2. Get my first dog

3. Teach my dog all the basic commands (and possibly some tricks)

4. Go to the beach this summer

5. Breed our first ball python clutch

6. Finish Christmas shopping before December 1st

Health

7. Eat vegetarian at least one meal per day

8. If I resort to fast food, order it right; order small and say no to “do you want fries with that?”

9. Cut down soda to only once a week

10. Drink at least 1 litre of water per day

11. Do yoga at least 3 times per week

12. Kick box at least once per week

13. Hula hoop at least once per week

14. Earn the body I’d be proud of for summer 2012

15. Be able to run 5k

Hobbies

16.Organize as much of my life as I can

17. Finish redecorating my place

18. Sell a piece of my artwork

19. Bake something at least once a month

20. Cook a new meal at least once a month

21. Create something new once a month

22. Create my own recipe scrap book

Education/Finance

23. Get accepted into the program I wast for fall 2012

24. Graduate my Art & Design program with a 3.0 or higher

25. Pay off at least 75% of my school debt from my first year of college

I’m paying for 100% of my program costs this year on my own without any assistance. I’m a few grand in debt but I have no doubt in my mind that I am capable of paying most it off by the end of the year.

I receive a 2.98 for my first semester…with one failed class and two very poor marks, this leads me to believe that achieving over a 3.0 will not be that difficult if I can keep my marks up for every class this semester.

Fingers crossed that I get into the program I want to get into for the fall

I’ve always wanting to build a scrapbook of all the recipes I’ve tried out…but I need to try out new recipes before I can, so this resolution is dependent on my cooking and baking resolutions ;)

Be it art, crafts, DIY projects, sewing, anything. As long as I’m being creative.