2010 The Year of Me

I'm excited that 2009 is 27 days from being over.  2009 was not a banner year in most regards.  I ate my pork and sauerkraut and still bad things happened.  I make resolutions every year, just like everyone else, well this year I'm making a plan and my only resolution is to put myself first.  It sounds selfish, but if I don't take care of me I won't be any good for anyone else.  So let's recap 2009 and see what I can learn from the events.

January - Found out my employer was implementing a wage freeze.
February - Got a bad case of  the flu
March - My father passed away very unexpectedly
March - Our sewer system erupted in the backyard the day after my dad's funeral.  Spent $8,000 to get it fixed.
April - Started grief counseling - this was actually a good thing
May - My paternal grandfather passed away
May - Took mini vacation by myself to work through grief issues - another good thing
June - Work, work, work oh...my boss resigned and I got a new one - also a good thing
July - Very stressful family vacation
August - Learned of some very personal marital issues - working on it!
September - Started working out with co-workers one day a week - Painful at first, but now I love it
October - Vacation with the husband - more marital issues - still working on it
November - Planned a big family Thanksgiving that was reschedule because of everyone else's timing issues.
December - well it's not over yet

I know, it sounds pretty lame and the only tragic thing was the death of my father, but that's a pretty big tragedy.  After I finished my grief counseling I realized that I needed to turn this tragedy into a positive learning experience.  My dad was significantly overweight and had heart problems.  In mid April I made it a point to start getting healthy.  I don't just mean weight loss, I mean eating better, exercising and taking care of my high cholesterol.  Six months later I had lost 25 pounds and my cholesterol was in the normal range.  The last few months I haven't lost nearly as much as I would have liked, but I'm still exercising and staying on track most of the time.  The marital issues have caused some stress and I get a little depressed and tend not to be as focused on my goals.  2010 is going to change that. 

As you know, I track my food and exercise daily on a web-site.  I will continue to do that in 2010, but I'm also getting a really big calendar for my wall so I have a visual plan to see each and every day.  There it will be right in front of me in the morning and evening.  I'm also going to make more of an effort to read all the fitness and health magazines I get and to save the helpful and interesting articles.  Most importantly, I'm not going to let everyone else dictate how and when I eat or exercise. 

I liked taking some time away from my husband and my mother.  I'm doing that again in 2010 when I attend the FitBloggin convention in Baltimore with a friend of mine. 

I'm also going to pick one thing that I habitually stress over each month and work on a plan to reduce the stress it causes me.  January is going to be money.  I'm going to finalize a budget in January and work on a way to reduce my debt and increase my savings.  What better time to do so after the Christmas spending season.

So, what I can say about 2009 is that I learned a few good lessons and made some real progress with my health.  I'm very thankful for that.  At the same time, it is the last year I had my father with me so I will be sad to say good-bye in that regard.  I am welcoming 2010 with open arms and vow to make the year of my 40th birthday the best one yet!