balancing the new year.

Is it still appropriate to say Happy New Year on January 10th?  Well, I don't care, I'm saying it anyway.  Happy Freaking New Year!

I'm sure you can gather by my silence here that my resolutions for 2014 aren't exactly off to a great start.  Per usual, I laid out some pretty lofty goals - to workout everyday, get more sleep, write meaningful, life changing blogs that would go viral and change people's lives . . . and . . .

Then, I had to go to work.  And then it got cold.  And then I had to finish season 3 of Homeland marathon style and other super important things like Bravo and naps and, well, here we are.

January 10th.  

I'm disappointed in how little I have accomplished in the first ten days of this year, but refuse to get discouraged.  I still have 355 days to get it together and get back on track to make 2014 a happy and productive year.

On a positive note - I finished 2013 succeeding in one of my goals to get out of debt by paying off my credit cards AND my car.  I'm now the title holder of a 2007 Toyota Highlander.  She's far from a luxury car, but if you don't know already, allow me to tell you - a joy ride in car that is paid for is extra joyful.

Proving I still have some work to do in the realm of financial responsibility, I promptly celebrated my accomplishment by buying myself a pair of leather pants and booking a New Year's trip to New York to see Phish play their 30th anniversary at Madison Square Garden.

New York for was a whirlwind of music and food, two of my most favorite things.  I spent quality time boogieing with old friends and even met some new friends while ringing in the new year.  Phish does it right.  

 

Yes, that's me (and my new friend) and yes, I'm wearing a fur coat.  I also wore my new leather pants and sequins, because it's Phish and I do what I want.

After four days of overdoing it, I returned home to Atlanta to (literally) hibernate for three straight days, watching enough TLC and HGTV to convince myself I do deserve a $20,000 wedding gown and this is the year when I'm finally going to buckle down, buy a house and act like an adult.

Stay tuned for that.

Based on how I ended 2013, I'd say I still have a lot of work to do on last year's resolution to find balance.  I still live like I'm on a roller coaster, usually operating on the extreme sides of my personality, rarely some calm place in the middle. Months of financial responsibility blown in two weeks.  Four days of go, go, go, followed by three of stop. stop. stop. 

It's not the way I want to live.  So, once again, I aim to find balance in 2013.  For real this time.

As in, instead of just aiming for balance - a high-minded and overwhelmingly vague resolution - I want to identify what feeling balanced means for me and then execute specific actions that will make it a reality - and not just a nice mantra.   

Other than trying to pick up after myself a little each day so as not to require a 9-hour house cleaning once a month, I have absolutely no idea what such actions might be, so for all of you people out there who feel like they've figured it out, I welcome your suggestions.

On the writing front, I'm dedicating 30 minutes a day to uninterrupted writing sessions.  I hope that this small time commitment will lead to more, but committing to a half hour is extremely doable and a vast improvement over the writing binges and hiatuses I've taken in the past.

Baby steps.

Alright, now my new year has official started.  Break out your party pants (leather, optional).  Let's do this, 2014!