Happy New Year!!

Okay, I realize that I am nine days late on this new year resolutions thing but it took me a while to formulate my goals for 2011 and pare them down into something realistic (at least I hope it is realistic).

In an effort to build healthy, lasting habits that don't get thrown out the window by President's Day I like to pick one general health focus a year. As an incentive, the past two years I have picked things that involve me splurging on new products to help motivate me to maintain my goal.

2009 was the year of dental hygiene. I bought a new sonicare electric toothbrush, new dental floss and anti-cavity mouthwash. I vowed to brush my teeth twice daily (which I was already doing but with a far inferior toothbrush,) floss every night and rinse daily with anti-cavity mouthwash.

2010 was the year of skin care. Let's been real, I don't want (nor could I ever afford to have) plastic surgery so I figured if I wanted to look young forever I should stop tanning and start noticing my skin. I invested in Clinque facewash, toner, lotion and sunscreen.

This has worked well for me. The thing about my resolutions is that they are intended to be cumulative. You see, just because 2010 was about skin doesn't mean I was allowed to stop flossing or brushing my teeth. And that's the whole idea, self-improvement achieved by building good habits incrementally overtime.

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This year I was having trouble selecting a focus. I think it was mostly because 2011 is going to bring so many changes to my life. One of which being that for the first time in as long as I can remember I won't be a student anymore. I will have my nights and weekends all to myself and I will experience my first whole summer season sans coursework since 2006. In September, people will pay me (!?!?!?!?!?) to provide speech-language therapy. No more indentured servitude, they will pay me with money.

On the cusp of so many changes can you see how I couldn't possibly rein my ambitions into just one objective? So, even though I devised my previous resolution system with good reason (i.e. smaller more focused goals are easier to be accountable for, achieve and maintain) I am thinking bigger this year.

In 2011....

I am going to be Kristi 2.0*
[photo courtesy of Tish]

*Note: if you are not familiar with this reference you should read this post for clarification

Or at least I will be by the time 2012 rolls around. You see in this year of many changes I am speeding up the time frame in which I improve myself. Remember, the overall effect is cumulative (and in this case, works forward and backward, to a certain degree.)

Stage 1: Look better. [Initiated on the first day of Winter Quarter]
You may recall one of the original premises for Kristi 2.0 was to be better groomed. This may sound ridiculous but if I am going to be out applying for jobs (or even just being responsible for the ongoing treatment of people's loved ones in the university clinic) I need to look like someone who has their s!@t together. For me this means getting over my fear of spending money, buying some new clothes (and throwing away my khakis from junior year of high school) and waking up early enough to blow dry my hair and slap on some eye make-up. Shoot, I might even start accessorizing.
Note: I already started this one and people are noticing. The other day my supervisor told me I looked "very Russian-spy." I took that as a compliment.

Stage 2: Eat better. [To be initiated in April]
Once I am no longer a student (internships don't count) I will have no excuse for sticking three plain tortillas in the oven and calling it dinner. I will make myself real person food and I will invite people over to share it with me.

Stage 3: Live better. [To be initiated in June]
This is where things are going to get really crazy with the dancing, the speaking of foreign languages, the instrument playing, the blogging and the socializing. As of now the plan is to take the whole summer off just to re-establish myself as who I want to be and erase any vestiges of reclusive-student-me.

Stage 4: Exercise better. [To be initiated in September]
Unfortunately, you only get one shell to live in. Here is where I am going to take a hard look at how I am caring for mine and start filling in the gaps in my exercise routine.

Alright guys this post is getting lengthy. Since I can only hope to hold your attention for so long I am going to wait to tell you about how I am trying to incorporate a piece of all of these stages into the first segment for later. Stay tuned.

In the meantime, what are your hopes for 2011?