Resolutions Update

As February rushes by, I am proud to say that I've done a fairly decent job of sticking to my little resolutions so far. Here's a little list reminder of the minor promises I made myself this year:

1. Read one book per month
2. Bring my breakfast AND lunch to work at least three times a week
3. Take a class
4. Volunteer more / do more good deeds.
5. Run a 5K
6. De-clutter

Resolution #1 was pretty easy for January, since Erin received a book for Christmas that I wanted to borrow when she finished. I breezed through her copy of A Journal For Jordan, and for the most part, really enjoyed it. I'm a little late for February but am confident if I get out this weekend to grab a new read I'll still have plenty of commutes to polish another book off before month's end!

As far as bringing food to work, I have to give myself an A+ for breakfasts and maybe a B for lunches. I don't think I've actually slipped up at all on the 3-days a week rule, but I have gotten off easy with lots of in-house work presentations and vendor lunches that have broken up the days of sandwiches quite nicely. Obviously, the true test of this resolution will be when it gets warmer and all I want to do is go outside at lunch time.

Thanks to one of my favorite little deal sites - We Give To Get - resolution #3 (Take a class) is on it's way to being completed! Today's deal was screaming my name and Dan immediately thought of me when he saw it this morning. For $30, I signed myself up for a PERSONAL self defense training session! Chicago In-Home Self Defense provides one on one (or technically, two on one, as there are two instructors) self defense training in your home (or other location of your choice if preferred), giving participants a specialized and personal experience that you wouldn't otherwise get in a typical class setting. Seeing as I have a pretty tough time feeling safe while walking home from the train in the dark and deal with some major anxiety from it, I'm thrilled to have two martial arts experts (who quite honestly look like they could kill someone with their bare hands - check out the photos on their website) teach me self defense techniques that I can use in an unfortunate situation. And, I'm sure I will learn a TON more from them in a one-on-one situation than I would in a class where I'm busy being paranoid that I look awkward or weak in front of strangers. Usually $100, this was a major steal, and I am SO excited for some decent weather so I can schedule my training out in the backyard.

Resolution #4 is beginning slowly but surely. I signed up for "Volunteer Club" at work but so far the only opportunities they've sent out to the group are during work hours and on March 6, which just happens to be Forest Park St. Patrick's Day... and I don't miss that for anything.

I'm not going to lie and say I've done ANYTHING about my resolution to run a 5K, but I wasn't really expecting myself to bother with that in the sub-zero temps anyways... so I'll work on progressing with that one in the spring :).

Last up on the list was my late addition promise to myself to declutter my house, and in turn, my life. I've sort of made progress - Playing my "Do I use it? Do I love it? Is it useful?" game actually proved to work quite well when I sat down in the office last week for a few hours, and I managed to clear out lots of old papers and notebooks, along with 3 stacks of magazines that Dan can use for work next month. There's still a ways to go, but I'm getting excited about a clean and clutter-free office in my not-too-distant future!

In other news, we had plans to head down to Florida to visit Kevin and Erica for the long weekend, but are ending up staying home instead. While I was excited to see them, I have to admit I'm also kind of excited to reschedule our trip as it was barely going to be 50 degrees this weekend... and when I go to Florida I want sun and heat! Dan has informed me that he's planning surprises for our now wide open weekend, so I'm looking forward to Valentine's Day with him. First up is dinner at Gibson's Steak House (YUM!) tonight thanks to a gift card from my parents, along with a horse-drawn carriage ride through the city thanks to a Groupon we jumped on back in September!