Resolutions - 2008 Edition

To re-cap my resolutions for 2008...

1. Get healthier.
2. Try to be more green.

Please note that both resolutions are wonderfully vague and open to interpretation. I've never had much luck with definitive resolutions. I usually end up feeling like a complete failure. Now I call those ideas "goals" and am a bit more...loose...with my resolutions.

1. Get healthier:

I feel pretty good about this one. I lost 25 lbs last year and while I fell short of my goal by 20 lbs, at least I didn't GAIN weight or stay the same.

I got more exercise - especially during the summer and fall when we were riding our bikes everywhere. We drew a 3 mile radius around our house and tried to always bike on errands within that circle. It was a bit challenging at times, but I felt better. The best was bicycling to Joseph's swim lessons. There were always so many people arriving and leaving that finding a parking spot took forever. I discovered that my commute was actually shorter when I rode my bike.

I joined a CSA and, until it went out of business, am proud to report I devoured veggies like they were going out of style. I need to get back on track with that. I recently found another CSA that intrigues me...

2. Try to be more green.

This resolution started off as a way for me to justify the purchase of those cute reusable Target bags. (Have you seen their new line? Adorable!) What ended up happening surprised me. I signed up for a weekly MSN Go Green newsletter and, the more I read and educated myself, the easier it became to be a little green. While I'm far from forest green, I am now a nice shade of sage.

Some wonderful successes:

• We stopped buying bottled water and bought a Brita filter instead. (Saved us money!)
• The CSA I joined to be a little healthier ended up being good for the environment too.
• I switched to Method cleaning products and, while they are a bit more expensive, I don't have to worry about Joseph drinking them.
• Fewer plastic bags = more room under my sink AND I got the cute bags.
• Green gardening was fun, challenging and successful. I can't wait to try out some of the things I've since learned.
• Changing out all our light bulbs got Chad involved.
• Lowering our heat and raising our AC saved us money and made us feel good.
• Cycling to get healthier also allowed us to save on gas.
• We switched from charcoal to propane. Bye-bye carcinogens.
• We switched from Teflon to stainless steel. Hello butter. :D
• We limited our meat intake to once a week. Actually, considering Resolution No. 1 consisted of me being on Weight Watchers for most of the year, this wasn't much of a chore. (Would I rather have 4 oz. of grilled chicken or 2 cups of pasta...hmmm...) We actually ended up limiting meat to once every two weeks.
• Recycle everything, green waste food. We usually recycle but I hadn't thought before this year to put potato skins, carrot tops, dead celery and banana peels in the green waste bin. I don't have the space for a compost pile, but this is the next best thing.
• Drawsting bags and creative "wrapping paper" was a fun challenge that made me use my imagination and sewing machine.

We had some failures too. I just don't think there's any way that I can ever go completely forest green. But overall, it was a lot of fun, very educational and made me more aware of how my actions effect my environment.

Bottom line? I successfully kept my 2008 Resolutions. (See? Vague resolutions = success)