Alison's House of Grey - Welcome to 2009!!!

 Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe welcome to the year, and I must say that I'm looking forward to the year ahead. Even though it's the last Saturday of my glorious winter vacation, I feel pretty good about my productivity and relaxation these last couple weeks.

I've been doing some writing (and sent my beta the next TWO chapters of Many the Miles -- but give her, and then me, some time to work on those since it's about 16,000 words that she has to edit and I'll have to fix. *g*).

I've spent major amounts of quality time with M, who, despite living with me, I felt like I hadn't seen in forever given the crazy semester he endured. We managed to clean out our bedroom, closets, office and kitchen/pantry and trashed/recycled/donated a ton of stuff. Just the act of decluttering so much makes me feel better. It was a daunting task, but we did it. And after the last couple weeks of actually taking the time to talk and take care of one another, in many ways, I feel like we're closer than ever. Pretty amazing after being together for 11 years. 

I've spent a lot of time reading pro-fic. I had a conversation with ariaadagio recently about books, and she ended up giving me a huge list of recommended reads based on our similar tastes. I've read the first book of the Dark Hunter series by Sherrilyn Kenyon, and I just started reading Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. I've enjoyed both so far, and I intend to read all the books in both series this year. (I also intend to get a library card because all of these trips to Barnes & Noble and Borders--my two favorite stores--are going to bankrupt me.)

Finally, although I tend to hate New Year's Resolutions, that didn't stop me from setting goals for myself for 2009. 

There are 9 specific things. Some will be easy, others far more challenging.

1. I want to lose 50 pounds. I've struggled with weight all of my life, and while losing 50 pounds still wouldn't put me at my ideal weight, it would get me close. I want to be healthy and in good shape for a variety of reasons, and it's just time for me to get my act together and do it. I won't burden my flist with the details of my trials and tribulations on this journey, but I do have a separate weight loss blog for anyone who is interested.

2. I need to take the GRE. I tried to schedule a date for it a couple months ago (it was going to be today, in fact), but the website was down at the time, and I took it as a sign. *g* I need to take it this spring, however, and I want to skullfuck it, so studying will be necessary--especially for the verbal part. I suck at analogies.

3. I want to create basic daily routines that I can follow to keep my life in order. Although parts of it are pretty hokey, I like the basic idea of the FlyLady system, and I want to try incorporating that into my life to help me stay organized. 

4. I want to get my lesson plans done during the week so I don't have to haul that crap home with me and use my weekend time to do it. I was able to do this at the beginning of the year, and then I stopped. I need my weekends to be work-free if I'm going to preserve my sanity.

5. I hope to average writing 750 words/day. At my peak during NaNoWriMo, I could do that in a half hour. It won't all be fanfic or even fic, necessarily, but some sort of writing. And it's an average, so I can get by if I miss a couple days here and there.

6. I want to read at least 250 pages of pro-fic each week. As long as I find books that are interesting, that should be an easy goal for me. I've become a far better reader in the last year, and I want that trend to continue.

7. I'm going to apply for National Board Certification for my career. It's an arduous process, but one that will make me a better teacher and make me more marketable as I move towards getting a PhD.

8. I want to attend a Reading and Writing program held at the Teacher's College at Columbia this summer. It's a two week program that is incredibly bad ass, but it aligns well with my professional goals and interests, and I've always wanted to do it. This is the first year that it's potentially feasible for me.

9. I want to be a better parent to my dog, Franklin. He's a great dog, and he needs more attention from M and me. I want to take him for longer walks -- at least 30 minutes -- three times a week, or at the very least, play with him that long to help him be more active. He's got a ton of energy, and I'm sure that the behavior problems we've had with him last year stemmed from the fact that we were too busy to take great care of him. The weather has been crappy the last couple days, so we haven't had a ton of outdoor time, but we've been playing fetch with tennis balls a lot in our condo.

So that's it. Do-able, but challenging. What about you guys? Any resolutions/goals you want to share?