{Resolution Time: April}

I've been an absentee blogger lately, I know. But I'm still here
and doing great. Life has been busy -- primarily with school.
I have photos and ideas for several posts. I just need to take a
few minutes to sit down and get them blog-ready. Thanks to
those of you who noticed I was away. :)

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Sticking to my '09 resolution to make three new resolutions for
every month. The new month means it's time to:
~ review how I did with March goals
~ make three new goals for April



March Resolution Review:
1) Do a semi-cleanse -- Two weeks w/ no alcohol or sugary treats.
Lotsa veggies, whole foods, fiber, water, tea. (Must lose 10 asap.)

I did okay with this one. Not 100% perfect, but I'll take it. I did
one solid week early in the month. Super easy, felt great. I've also
had very little coffee this month -- a huge deal for me. I've been
back on it for the last three days and am interested to see if there
is a real difference in food cravings and energy with it in my
system. Anyway -- then, I got sick for a total of about two weeks
and just ate whatever I felt like eating which was mostly Dole juice
popsicles, rice and Diet Vernors. I did single days of semi-cleanse
through the month, but I didn't do them consecutively, which is
what I wanted and needed to do. So, I will do a solid week of it in
April -- early in the month! I ate out more than I probably
should have, but I still lost five pounds this month. So, I feel like
I'm on the right track. (Mind you, I've lost this same five pounds
a few times over the last year. Now, I need to keep it off.) This
is a lifestyle issue, not a one month goal. So, while I will do the
semi-cleanse for a week in April to round out my goal, I want to
work towards living this way consistently. I have a long way to
go. Baby steps.

2) Reduce impulse & little junk purchases. Keep a spending
journal.

Keeping a spending journal was really interesting. David always
tells me how all my little purchases add up -- ten dollars here,
ten dollars there. I know they do, but this month I actually saw
and believed it. I was surprised to see how much I was spending.
And it's not even that it was big amounts -- $2 on an iced tea,
$10 on printed photos. Writing it down every day was much
easier then I expected. It really happened quite naturally. So,
I'm going to continue that, at least for another month and maybe
long term. Now, this was a two part goal. My plan was also to
reduce impulse and little junk purchases. I did *okay* in that
department. I really didn't try to restrict myself this month.
I wanted to see what my normal spending habits were like so
I could make adjustments going forward. Still, the number of
impulse purchases definitely was reduced, just by being aware
of my intentions. I didn't buy much on a whim except for a $21
trip to Scrapbooks, Etc. - $12 on a sale poster and frames at
IKEA - and $28 at a garage sale. Plus, a few trips to the post
office. And the stuff I bought from Barb for gifts. (But see, even
just that is over 100 bucks.) And I guess what I bought at the
Tempe Art Fair was all impulse too -- but I planned to spend
some cash there since it's a once a year shopping opportunity,
and I didn't spend more than what I allotted. So, I think that's
a success. :) But I cleary have room for improvement in
this area. Aside from that, my biggest unnecessary expenditure
was drinks and food when out. Bringing my lunch to school and
planning ahead with snacks is all it takes to widdle that spending
down. It's a matter of organization and discipline. I'm going to
work on that this month. I'm also going to tally up my March
spending by categories and hopefully reduce the amount for
each of those categories in April.

3) Have fun! Schedule thing(s) to look forward to each week that
I feel good doing and that will help me reach my intentioned way
of living.

I really need to learn how to play. How to have fun. I'm not very
good at it -- which I know sounds totally strange, but it's true. So,
this was a really good resolution for me, and it's something I will
keep working on. In fact, I talked to Chelsie (my fab therapist)
about this. She asked me to make a list of things that sound like
fun so when I think there's nothing to do, I can consult it and
realise there are a lot of things I want to and can do. She also
suggested I include things I could do on my own for when I
don't have anyone else to hang out with. I thought that was a
really good idea. I did make several plans throughout the month
that I enjoyed looking forward to and doing. Like I had a small
group of friends over on the 7th for a craft day. I took myself
to the Olive Mill. David and I bought tickets to go see Chihuly
at the Desert Botanical Gardens on the 22nd. I have a standing
"stitch and bitch" date every other Thursday afternoon with
Lindsay and Carlene. We embroider and chat. So fun. I went
with Alejandra and some of her friends to the Tempe Art Fair
on the 29th. I also volunteered to work the PCI (company D
works for) golf tournament on the 27th, which was a really good
time. In the next week, I have several other things planned --
a phone date with my bestie Jennifer Jones tonight,
a class at Scrapology tomorrow, morning walk with Barb on
Saturday, a hike with David on Sunday, and dinner dates
Tuesday and Wednesday of next week with lady friends. I
feel like David and I need to work on this as a couple a bit
more. It's been tough to do with his schedule. He's training
for a marathon in June, which takes time. He's been in
Albuquerque each week, too. But we're working on that,
and it feels nice when we actually set aside time to do fun
things together. Tennis has been on our list for a long time,
and I'm hoping to do that a few times with him this coming
month.

Updates from January & February:
** I wrote that statement for intentioned living, and I have
stuck to reading it everyday. It's really helpful. I love it, and I'm
so glad I've done that for myself. The way it's written gives it a
kind of meditative rhythm that's just good for my brain. When I
feel like I'm in a certain place, I can refer to it and remind myself
of how I want to handle that situation. I haven't yet felt compelled
to change it. I'm sure I will at some point, but I think right now,
it's the daily message I need to hear.

**I am still walking a fair amount. I think April is a good month
to kick that up a notch though. That needs to be a priority. It'll
be good for me and the dogs, and I need to get ready for the
3-day in November!!

**My Gorgeously Green product work is still on my list of
things to do. I've actually looked at almost all the products I
currently have, but I need to work on replacing some of them
with more natural ones.

April Resolutions:
1. Composting
Read up on exactly what I need to know to do this. Get a
composting bin, (which I just learned I can get for free from
the City of Chandler). Get the bin set up in the back yard,
and start composting.

2. Spend some quality time with my camera.
Get it cleaned at Tempe Camera Repair. Then, participate in
photo scavenger hunt (hosted by Kristi -- learn more here).
Also, spend some time with camera manual and online learning.
Practice with new subjects.

3. Do some reading. I've been neglecting my books for months
now, only reading magazines, online and for school. I have two
fictional books that I've started and need to get back into. Also
on my shelf, needing attention -- The Five Love Languages
(Gary Chapman) and The Seven Principles for Making Marriage
Work (John Gottman) which was recommended by Chelsie.

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I'm ready to go attack this month now!
What are you working on?