Happy New Year!
I hope you all had a great New Year Celebration and that you all got a kiss at midnight. Here’s mine:
Oh, and speaking of chocolate…
365 Days, 3 Hours and 15 Minutes. It…is…time.
Tag: New Year Resolution
Half Year Update
Wow….we’re already just about half way through 2011… Does it look like I’m going to achieve all my New Year Resolutions? Let’s take a look and see…
1. Spend 30 minutes every day in Scripture: At the beginning of the year this was my most faithfully kept resolution, but unfortunately now it’s probably the worst… 🙁
2. More dancing: I’ve finally started making good progress in this area, thank goodness! Since my last update, I did the Beginner’s Boot Camp at Swing Diego. I’ve just finished a month of lessons and I’m signed up for another round. Finally getting back on track… 🙂
3. No more rushing: I think I’m still winning here. I’ve had quite a few extra commitments in the past few months (such as hosting Theology On Tap, taking a new course at the Pastoral Institute), but I think I’ve kept the rushing around to a minimum and even had a few peaceful weekends kicking around the apartment.
4. No chocolate: I’m still chocolate-free. When I miss it, I just stare at this picture for a while…
5. Get into the best shape of my life: I think I’ve been doing pretty well here – my diet is under control and I’m regularly doing moderate exercise. However, I’m nowhere near the best shape of my life. I think some kind of “big push” is needed…
6. At least five minutes of guitar practice every day: I’ve managed to keep this up. I’m actually doing more than this because, come September, I’m going to be the only guitarist at the LifeTeen Mass.
7. Keep proper track of my finances: Virtually all sorted. I’m even being good and checking my bank accounts most mornings for fraudulent activity (you know, like grown-ups do).
8. Get back to England for a couple of weeks: Sorted that back in March.
So, I’m going to have to (i) find a way to integrate Scripture reading into my daily life (ii) keep up with the dancing and (iii) go the extra mile (literally!) with the exercise.
All in all, none too shabby…
30% Checkup
Are we really already a third of the way through the year? Yikes… Time for a New Year’s Resolution check up!
1. Spend 30 minutes every day in Scripture: Although my prayer life has been nice and regular, I still haven’t found time to sit down regularly and just pray with Scripture.
2. More dancing: Still not good, but my time in England with my former ballroom posse gave my the kick I needed to start fixing this. Also, Swing Diego is next month!
3. No more rushing: Despite a very packed timetable while back in England, I think I still resisted the urge to rush about.
4. No chocolate: Still abstaining…still missing it 🙁
5. Get into the best shape of my life: The diet still remains modest, but the regular exercise has yet to materialize. Having said that, I’m going running with John tomorrow at 5:30am… :-/
6. At least five minutes of guitar practice every day: Still going great. I now regularly play as part of Evening Prayer and Night Prayer.
7. Keep proper track of finances: Still going well. I’m back into the habit of regularly checking my bank accounts and keeping to a budget.
8. Get back to England for a couple of weeks: I did this last month and it was great 🙂
16% Checkup
…and so another month is torn off the calendar and we have now entered March. Time for a New Year’s Resolution check up!
1. Spend 30 minutes every day in Scripture: I’ve not done as well with this as I did in January. I’ve spent a good bit of time in the Word, but it really hasn’t been devotional reading. Summary: “Could try harder!”
2. More dancing: Hmm…really failed at this one in February. I had great plans but they were consistently scuppered by forces outside of my control. I really have to get on top of it this month…
3. No more rushing: Still doing well with this one. I’ve been pretty good at keeping my timetable balanced and reasonable.
4. No chocolate: Still haven’t touched a single piece. It’s getting hard though. A couple of times I’ve been at a café and I’ve very nearly bought myself a pain au chocolat without thinking. I can really sympathize with the Vicar of Dibley on this one:
5. Get into the best shape of my life: Not bad, but could still do better. I’ve got into the habit at work of doing push-ups and pull-ups each time I go downstairs to go to the bathroom or to get a drink. My diet has remained pretty modest. I still haven’t got back into the regular way of exercising though… :-/
6. At least five minutes of guitar practice every day: Still going great. I’ll probably start playing at the LifeTeen Mass soon.
7. Keep proper track of finances: Much better. I now have a “finance guy” who is badgering me to get things sorted. Things should be probably settled after I get back from England.
8. Get back to England for a couple of weeks: All flights are booked and the majority of people are now organised.
It has been a busy month. I’ve also taught teenagers to Foxtrot, started learning New Testament Greek, requested a Social Security Number, passed my Californian Driving Test and finished a Bible study on the Epistle of St. James. All in all, not bad…
8% Checkup
It’s hard to believe, but January is already basically over. That’s 8% of the year gone already!
This means it’s time to check up on my New Year’s Resolutions and see how I’ve done so far… (told you I take these things seriously!)
1. Spend 30 minutes every day in Scripture: Okay, I have done not too badly on this one. Between preparing the Sunday Gospel for the JP2 Group and preparing other Bible Studies, I’ve been spending some time in Scripture pretty much every day.
However, I’m still not quite regularly up to the full half an hour and it’s not quite as meditation-focussed as I would like. That’s something to work on…
2. More dancing: I’ve been limping through this resolution. So far, I have been out dancing once each week, which is certainly more than I was doing last year, but I still don’t feel I’ve really embraced the spirit of this resolution yet. I have a plan though…
3. No more rushing: I’m rather pleased with this one. I have certainly cut down my number of social engagements, distributed them better and set aside more time to just chill at home. My state of mind has definitely improved as a result. This one is a “win” 🙂
4. No chocolate: Not touched a single piece. I really miss it though…I even had a chocolate dream last night 🙁
5. Get into the best shape of my life: Really have done very badly on this front. I’ve definitely cut down my food intake and increased the amount of fruit and veg, but the exercising really hasn’t happened. Must do some lengths in the pool before bed tonight…
6. At least five minutes of guitar practice every day: This one is another “win”. I’ve done a minimum of five minutes every day, but very often more, particularly at the weekends. Love it.
7. Keep proper track of my finances: Utter fail.
8. Get back to England for a couple of weeks: All flights are now booked. I’m going via Washington to see the lovely DC people and coming back via Philadelphia to see Jen.
So…all in all, I don’t think I’ve done too badly. I think the two big ones I have to concentrate on this next month are (5) and (7).
See you next month 🙂
New Year Resolutions
Well, it’s a new year, which means it’s time for New Year Resolutions. Here are those available for public consumption:
1. Spend 30 minutes every day in Scripture: Commentaries and spiritual reading don’t count
2. More dancing: 2010 was an utter failure on that front
3. No more rushing: Stop trying to pack too much into a day
4. No chocolate: This is going to be a toughie… (Note: doesn’t include hot chocolate!) This exception has been viewed as “cheating” by most of my friends and has therefore been dropped.
5. Get into the best shape of my life: I’m in my 30’s now ya know…
6. At least five minutes of guitar practice every day: Gotta get better…
7. Keep proper track of my finances: Even if it is really, really boring…
8. Get back to England for a couple of weeks: It’s about time…