New Year's ReVolutions

So, you know those commercials with the man who sits and talks to the little kids? I think it's a series for a cellular company? Anyways, I love them. A recent one has a little boy who says you need to keep your New Year's revolutions (instead of resolutions). While the man makes fun of him for misspeaking, I think the boy has a point. 

The decisions we make for the new year should be lifestyle changes. Turning some aspect of our lives around. Isn't that exactly what a revolution is? A change? 

So here's my list Revolutions. I'm not usually the resolution kind of girl, particularly since I don't follow through well, but I'm going to try. And I'm recording it here to hopefully hold myself more accountable. I've also added the "biggest hurtle" I see that I need to overcome. 

1. Stay on top of the household chores. I've mentally made a schedule that includes Mop Monday, Tubs & Toilets Tuesday, and Wipe down Wednesday. Stay tuned for a more detailed list. Biggest hurtle: I'm the laziest housekeeper, and I hate it. 

2. Lose weight. Or more specifically, drop 15 pounds before the end of the semester (5/31). I've added 20 pounds since I graduated college in 2007. I would say I've gained 15 of those since January 2012. It's terrible. To combat this:

2a.  Drink more water. Not the ridiculously high recommended 64 oz a day, but at least half of that. (And as of 8:30 tonight, I'm at all of 16. Great start, huh?) Biggest hurtles: I hate water; I have a profession which does not allow me to pee when I want; I live 45 minutes from work. 

2b. Make the gym a priority. Prior to today, I hadn't run since the first week of August. Shameful, and I was feeling pretty crummy. Today I restarted my 5K running plan, and added in some weight work. I'm not saying I'll go to the gym every day, I'm setting an early goal of 2 days a week, and hoping to find time for a third day. Hurtle: I've had the same gym membership all fall, and I drove right by the gym every single day without stopping in the fall. 

2c. Take a multivitamin. If you are asking why, then you should probably be taking one also. We eat terribly (example: tonight's stuffed green peppers via Pinterest were delicious, but we both, separately, at Mexican out for lunch. I got a cheese quesadilla and a cheese Enchilada. And cheese dip). My mom & every doctor I've ever had tells me I should supplement my terrible diet with a multivitamin. And probably make changes to my terrible diet. One year at a time folks. Biggest hurtles: I am the world's worst at remembering to take medicine if I feel fine (like, I never finish a bottle of antibiotics on time). Also, most people take vitamins in the morning. When I take medicine in the morning, vitamins included, I vomit. Every time. I will have to try and remember to take them with supper. Today, day one of vitamin taking, I remembered as I typed this. 

3. Spend less. We just bought a truck, and we've got to be better at budgeting now. Item #1 to go: my Starbucks visits, which were getting all too frequent. I'm officially limiting myself to 1 visit per week, even on weeks like next week when I'll have a free drink! Hopefully, this will serve 2 purposes: limit our spending, and limit my caloric intake thus applying to revolution 2. Biggest hurtles:  spending less means cooking more, which is not my forte. Also, I convieniently pass 2 Starbucks' on my drive into work, and can make a 3rd "on the way" in a pinch. 

4. Read the Bible. Which is probably shocking to many who know me well. I'm not an atheist or anything, but I'm not exactly spiritual. I can't tell you the last time I went to church, but I feel like I haven't been since I have known D, and I met him in 2008. Reading the Bible is something I've always had interest in. I have a Bible App, which has a plethora of daily reading plans. I was fairly diligent in reading an advent devotional throughout December, so yesterday, I started one that tackles the Entire Bible in one year, with a chronological viewpoint. (Honestly, I kinda thought that the Bible was chronological for the most part, so I don't really know how that will work out.) Biggest hurtle: making this a habit. 

So that's it. Just 4. Well, 4+.  And that's 3 more than I've ever had before. 

What have you decided to do for 2014?