Happy Birthday to Me!

Thursday, my age was incremented by one. Other than the fabulous birthday wishes I received on Facebook, it was a fairly ordinary day around here. Work, shuttling Chloe around, moving forward on the to-do list filled my hours.

But I also set aside some time for dreaming about what I want this year to be and what my goals are. Now that we have settled into our new lives of simplified space and school days, my goals are a little different than they were in the past. But my top priority goal is one that has been a high priority goal in the past but has somehow always managed to fall to the side when life got stressful.

I need to lose weight. And a lot. Not just because of how I look. But because of my health. My energy. My being almost too large to participate in activities that I would like to participate in. And so, this is my top priority this year.

I’ve tried various diets over the years; the only one that I had some long-term success on was Weight Watchers. So I’m starting it back up today. I know that I won’t be eating the best of foods all the time, but as long as I’m losing the weight I need to lose, I’ll be drinking diet Coke and eating some pre-packaged foods. I will be overwhelmed if I try to eat local, healthy and within WW points. I’m determined to make this stick and work. No “cheating” or giving myself a day off!

Other goals for this year include:

• Improving my photography skills. I’d like to set one month of my Happiness Project aside for this and find some classes that fit my schedule and needs.
• Fitting in more travel. Even if I have to do it on my own or stay much more local than in the past.
• Get in more walking; I really want to walk Hadrian’s Wall in summer 2013. This includes getting some well-fitting shoes that don’t make my toes hurt after a mile.
• Dressing better. I’m hoping that as I lose weight, I will enjoy clothes more. Right now, I am often dressed as in the photo below, comfy, yes, but not very nice.
• Being more attentive to my health, other than just weight and walking more. Make sure that I floss, get the dentist and eye-doctor and get to a doctor for a annual checkup.

I know that these are a lot of goals, but I am very optimistic that this is going to be my year.

me at 41