My 20 '13 Resolutions

Will my resolutions stick?

Maybe you already caught some of my resolutions on Liberating Working Moms.  If you didn't, you should!  The other moms' resolutions are very interesting.  I made a longer list and thought I'd share.  Maybe by sharing I'll actually do some.  I realize not all are in 'resolution' type style.  Some are just things I want to do that will add little to no value to my life.  That's ok.

1. Share more music with the kids.  Music I like and have liked.  I've lost touch with my music.  Let's start digging out my old CDs and playing them in the car.  Mr. Jones and me...
2. Exercise 30 minutes 3 times per week.  This sounds do-able, except when I actually try to do it.  Yawn... boring!
3. Love people more.  Purposefully and intentionally, try to actively love.  Actively empathize.  Treat them how they want to be treated.  Love them even if they won't love me back.  Love people without wanting or expecting anything in return.  Ruminate about what it really means to love people.
4. Add new main-dish veggie dishes to my cooking repertoire.  A real challenge!  Also, stay vegetarian.
5. Pursue more paid writing outlets.  Take at least 1 step towards branching into print material?  That may be a stretch.  But I do have the neverending book brewing in the back of my mind.... it changes purpose and title and theme and plot... but it's brewing I think.
6. Limit social media.  Try to check Facebook only once per day.  It has added value to my life....  in ways that deserve another blog post unto themselves.... but it sucks time and more often than not makes me feel worse rather than better.
7. Refresh my journaling for the kids.  I've kept a hand-written journal for them since they were born.  I need to routinely write to them, even if it's 1 page once a week.  It's a gift to us all.
8. Bring lunch to work at least 4 out of 5 days.  Forgive myself if I slip up some times.  The salad bar at the cafeteria next door is really good.
9. Call my parents more than once a week.  I love them and miss them very much.  They rock.
10. Revisit date night.  Be ok with planning the whole thing myself.  Forgive my husband if he doesn't even think of doing that.  Enjoy the night regardless of who planned it or if anybody has a bad attitude.  Don't go to a movie.  It just pisses us off.... all the cell phones.
11. Do something bold with my blog.  I'm thinking....  a daily tribute to a Facebook friend chosen at random.  It'd be like hosting my own social media funeral in reverse....  violating #6 but living #3.  A contradiction in resolutions!  I love it.  Another bold idea:  some kind of project to help others tell a story.  I love story telling, especially as it relates to challenging life issues.  [I'm open to ideas!]
12. Find a church I actually like and want to go to regularly, or come up with a plan to 'home school' our kids on religious issues.  Seek guidance on this from smarter people than I on this subject.
13. Let my hair grow.  Don't cut it.  Dye it.  Resist the urge to cut it.  Repeat to myself:  I want long hair again.  I never should have cut it.  Don't tame the mane.  Go wild, my inner free spirit child, go wild.  
14. Don't garden.  Maybe a little, but don't spend more than like $25 on gardening crap.  I'm bad at gardening.  Other people are good at it.  Go buy food from them and hope the grocery-market apocalypse doesn't come so I am not forced to garden for survival.
15. Don't stop trying to be bold and brave in the blogosphere just because I'm a government employee now.  Free speech and all.
16. Cuss more.  It feels good.  Not in front of the kids.
17. Be kind randomly more often, to more people.  I know this is kind of a fad right now.... but I don't care.  I want to do this.  It feels good and makes me happy and the other person happy.
18. Don't allow people's comments to get to me. Believe the best about people.  Perhaps they did not mean it that way.  That said, I still need to defend myself, my kids and my family when appropriate.
19. Knock a big hole in the wall between our kitchen and living room.  [May have to save 'repair the wall' for my 2014 resolutions.]
20. Embrace that I am in the "over 35" category now.  Don't be sad.  Be glad.  I'm happier now than I've probably ever been.  98% of days.