I Resolve To...

After a month long(+) holiday hiatus, I'm back and better than ever!

Welcome to 2011 folks! It sounds crazy just to say that. Of course with the arrival of December 31st, came the outpouring of resolutions and vows we have promised to keep over the course of the year. So many of us make these outlandish resolutions that we know we probably have no plans to keep.

Let's be serious, we are probably making the same promise, just in different verbage, that we made to ourselves and failed to uphold last year. "I'm going to lose 15 lbs." "I'm going to stop smoking/drinking so much." "I'm going to be a nicer person." (-_-) That was the "side-eye" face just incase you aren't in the know.

I've decided that instead of making a resolution that I know I have no intentions of keeping just because it sounds good to say, I would make one that really means something. Here it goes:
I resolve to be the best me for not just myself, but also my family & friends. Honestly, I love this resolution and I love it because it truly is so general that you can't help but accomplish it. I've even further broken it down into several sub-goals that would help me satisfy this year's goal. Truth is, I may not fulfill all of these and sometimes I may be lead astray but if I can just keep these in my head I know I'll at least be on my way.

1. Volunteer
On Christmas morning just past, I spent 3 hours volunteering in the DC Central Kitchen. I had never heard of this organization until I went in search of a good deed to perform for the holidays. DC Central Kitchen prepares hundreds of meals each day for the city's homeless and needy; however, it's not your average soup kitchen. Volunteering at this org. didn't mean ladeling soup and passing out turkey. I along with my syblings and fellow volunteers, chopped meat and vegetables, picked greens and even helped to actually cook some of the items that were going to be served. After having such a positive experience here, I've decided that once I obtain a position that frees up my weekends, I will spend at least one Saturday morning a month volunteering there.

2. Minimize my "woe is me, I miss New York" antics
Yikes! This will probably be the most difficult hurdle for me to jump over, so if it takes me until about May or so to do, don't say I didn't warn you. DC is not New York, it never will be. But I suppose that's the beauty of the DC (see how I gave that a positive spin, I'm really trying here). Back in August, I made a tough life decision and the truth is that I actually don't regret it. I do however think that my expectation for how quickly I would feel settled and have my new life up and running were quite unrealistic. I haven't lived in DC fulltime since 2003. The city has changed, my friends have changed, my family has changed and most of all, I've changed. So for me to expect that things would simply fall back into place was unfair to me and this experience as a whole.

3. I will not let men cloud my judgment
This one is pretty self-explanatory. I'll admit that at times, I allow the wool to be pulled over my eyes. But don't get it twisted, I know when it's happening and I'm not stupid. I'm a single woman who has lonely moments and sometimes I just like to play along. I am promising myself that I will no longer allow those men who are sometimey and full of air to have any place in my life. Such actions put me in a bad headspace and a bad mood, thus effecting my ability to be the best me possible. If you never check to see how I'm doing or initiate conversation with me, like to play games, want to treat me like a yo-yo, or practice any other foolishness akin to the aforementioned, you have officially been erased. Buh-bye.

4. Try something new
I would love to travel abroad, go skiing, go skydiving, take Samba and pole dancing lessons, sing infront of a crowd and learn to speak fluent Spanish with Rosetta Stone. The likelihood of all those things happening in the next 358 days is highly unlikely. If I do just oooone of these things I really feel like I can check this one off. Experience is not just the best teacher, but it also helps you grow. I want to try new things in order to broaden the scope of who I am.

5. Curb my spending habits
I'm not going to say that I'm going to stop shopping cold turkey, because quite frankly I'm not. However, I will vow to shop less. The more digits I see in my bank account, the happier I am. This may mean that that Alexander Wang bag I've been eyeballing at Barney's Co-op may just have to stay on the shelf (at least until it gets marked down, ha!).

6. Be a better blogger :o)
I, Diana, do so solemnly promise to be a better blogger. I will try my best not to go on any more month long hiatuses and keep my posts updated and fresh. If there's something you all would like to see me write about or maybe you wish I did something on here differently, just let me know. I'm always open to suggestions.

So this is my New Year's resolution broken down into pieces. What's yours??