Resolutions Recap

So now that we're 3 months in to this new year, I've had a while to work on my new year's resolutions. The following is a progress report. Get ready for a long post. Sorry!

1) Become more involved in the ward

eh...I'm still inactive. But recently, I actually have made a better effort to be on time for church and to stay for all 3 meetings. It's kinda funny, though. Last week in RS, our ward clerk came in and was reading off our attendance numbers for the different meetings. RS and EQ had something like 85% attendance while Sacrament only had like 60%. Well, no duh!!! Sacrament is at 9:00am. Nobody wants to get up that early on a Sunday!!! I thought Sunday was a day of rest. With church starting at 9:00am, I have to get up just as early as any other day of the week when I'm getting ready to head to work!

I also haven't even tried to do any of my visiting teaching. Though, I've tried making myself a lot more accessible to my visiting teachers so they could at least fulfill their callings. No use taking everyone else down with me.

And in an effort to be more involved, I've actually taken kindly to our RS book group. Right now we're reading Sense and Sensibility. I'm not really that big of a Jane Austen fan...even though I've actually read many of her major novels. Still, Sense and Sensibility is actually my favorite Jane Austen, so I've been looking forward to our next group meeting.

Lastly, I really did try to join one of our ward intramural teams. But when it comes to basketball, I'm crap. I'd rather save myself the embarrassment.


2) Run a 5K

This is the one resolution that I thought I'd have the toughest time keeping up on. But, it's turned out to be the one goal that I've actually worked the hardest to meet. Three days a week, I run for about 30-45 minutes. I'm on a running program that gets you running for 60 consecutive minutes in only 8 weeks. Right now, I'm on week 3 and I can run about 35 minutes non stop. I'm pretty proud of that!! And actually, just this past Monday, I finally met my 5K mark. Yup. I ran 3.1 miles. Nevermind the fact that it took me about 45 minutes to do it. It's still a HUGE victory for me.

About 2 years ago, when I was playing rugby, I was running up to 7 miles a day. After I tore my ACL, had surgery, and got pregnant, I did nothing to get back in shape. Now, about 2 years later, I've FINALLY pulled myself out of my sedentary rut and begun running again. It just gets frustrating though, when I struggle to run 3 miles since I was once fully capable of running 7. Oh well, I'll get back there eventually. In the meantime, I'm tentatively shooting to run my first real 5k on May 2nd. Until then, I actually signed up to walk a 5k with Mom, Wikki, and the babes. I'm excited!!


3) Manage a healthier lifestyle

This is actually another goal that I've been trying really hard to meet. I've done pretty well with the no soda thing and with drinking at least 8 cups of water a day. (I sure have to pee a lot!) But consuming only 1200-1500 calories a day has been a lot more difficult. What can I say? I LOVE food!!! And don't worry, on the cruise I gained 5 pounds, and over Lâlea's luau weekend I gained about 3. But alas, I've actually worked those pounds back off. So technically speaking, I've lost 8 pounds in the last month!!! I know, not really. Don't ruin it for me.

I also haven't done very well at maintaining a weekly dinner menu or shopping list. To be honest, I haven't even tried! It's hard when you don't know where you'll be at dinner time. Sometimes we don't even make it home til like 9:30pm and by that time, you're too tired to make a meal. Or, we'll be over at someone's house and just eat dinner over there. So, it's hard trying to plan meals. But, I should be better at not wasting food. I've already lost so much fresh produce...sad.

4) Save money

Well, these last few months have been saturated with parties and celebrations. Needless to say, we've spent a lot of $$$$$. But now that all the birthdays and stuff are over for a while, Ry and I have decided to really buckle down.

I've cut up my credit cards and have committed to paying about $50 more than the minimum payment on all my debts each month. Slowly but surely, I'm hoping that those 50 extra dollars will add up and help me get rid of my debt faster.

Ry and I also just recently purchased a whiteboard that we use to record all of our spending. We actually call it "The Board of Sorrow," because it's a visual representation of all the money we really don't have. And it's already dissuaded me from spending money on superfluous things and eating out. I'll be on the way to go buy something, then I'll think of the board, haunting me at home. I feel guilty, so I don't end up buying anything. Money saved!!!

And going back to being inactive...pretty sure I'm gonna fail my temple recommend interview. I haven't been very good at paying a full tithe. Don't get me wrong, I pay it about every other paycheck. So I'm not a complete heathen. But if I don't stay on top of any of my other money saving methods, I really should make paying tithing my #1 priority.

5) Implement more constructive family time

Well, I'm a horrible mother and a terrible wife. I've yet to take Baby on a walk outside, though Ryan did take her to the park last week. And, I haven't done much about helping Ry study for the GMAT. However, the weather is getting warmer and I've been trying to get home from work earlier, so, I think I'll be able to start taking Lâlea on more walks soon. And since none of our job prospects have panned out yet, Ry has started going back to his GMAT class on T/TH and plans to take the GMAT in May.

Also, we've started doing FHE with the Huntsmaniacs on Monday nights. During all the craziness with birthdays, the cruise, and anniversaries, we missed a couple Mondays. But, we're trying to get back on track. Likewise, Ry and I both recognize the need for family praryer but have done poorly to implement it. Now, as we need more help than ever with getting jobs and securing our future, I think we recognize the importance of praying together. So, we'll definitely start doing better. Shoot, during this recession, we need all the help we can get!!!

Reading throught his progress report, it sounds like I've really slacked off. But in all honesty, I think I've done pretty well! It could be a lot worse, let me tell ya!! I've become really obsessed about working out and TRYING to eat right, so things are looking pretty good there. Now, I just need to become obsessed with paying tithing and visiting teaching. Eh, maybe I'll put a hold on obsessive visiting teaching. Let's not bite off more than we can chew.