I know, SO LATE for New Years resolutions, but I went to the effort to write these down in January and like to keep a record of such things on the blog as my journal of evolving goals and priorities, a log of my successes and shortcomings (admittedly, I’ve been trying to make more art with Juliette for four years running…). My 2021 hopeful look-ahead:
Finish our kitchen remodel. The squeaky drawers and the incessant thaw/freeze cycle of our freezer and the funky smell under the sink are driving me new levels of crazy. It’s reno time. I’ve nailed down the floor plan and have picked the cabinets and the countertops and have narrowed down the tile selections and now we just need to bite the bullet, sign up a contractor, and pay the price (in literal dollars, but also in immense mess and inconvenience). Let’s get ‘er done.
Read 24 books, mostly by authors of color. I fall short of my reading goal every year, but this is the year! The year of more books and less Instagram! I’m doing a pretty good job at diversifying my reading genres, with a mix of fiction and non-fiction and memoirs and poetry, but I recently realized how predominantly white the authors I choose are. This year I’m making an effort to diversify the voices behind the genres.
Develop an intentional, balanced way to consume news. I fell into a habit last year of scrolling through a very un-curated news feed on my phone, randomly clicking between political headlines and InStyle’s tips on how to pull off the chunky boots that Katie Holmes has been sporting. I didn’t put forth the effort to whittle down my feed and was falling down all sorts of pointless rabbit holes. I’m looking for a way to keep a pulse on local, national, and global events while not leaning too heavily on one particular source (ahem, NY Times).
Learn a new skill with Juliette. Ok, so this is really just a re-phrasing of my perpetual effort to do more art projects with Juliette, but I’m opening it up here. Maybe we’ll get into sewing. Or hip-hop dancing. Or ice cream-making. The possibilities are endless – really, I just want maximum QT with my girl.
And because I feel a little beholden to round out my home/mind/heart goals with something for my body, I’m aiming to close my Apple watch fitness rings five times/week by hitting my daily goals for standing/exercising/moving. This one has already spurred on a noticeable change in habits – I’m getting up from my desk every hour and often rounding out the day with 10-15 minutes of yoga to burn those last few calories.
Finally, I have to share Juliette’s resolutions, because she wrote them herself this year and they’re just so simple and sweet:
Learn how to do a cartwheel.
Eat more cucumbers (you know this one was for my benefit).
Play more board games.
Spend more time with friends (2020 was a serious struggle for our extrovert).
Be loving.Â
Cheers to aspirations, to dreaming big and small (photo below from March 2020, when just making it through the week felt like all we could aspire to!).
