Time to write my resolutions for 2015 and they are exceedingly practical. I’ll try to toss in a few silly ones to remind me to stay young at-heart. If you’re curious what my resolutions were for 2014, I wrote them down HERE.
• Turn off my iPhone at mealtimes.
• Only eat meat a maximum of seven (out of 21) meals per week (the remaining 14 meals will be pescetarian/vegetarian).
• Do exercise every day, either cardio, pilates, yoga, or a determined walk. Even if it’s only 15 minutes, it is better than nothing. Last year, I averaged five miles determined walking per week.
• Take an online course in anything (this didn’t happen in 2014 so it is being carried over). Like: Introduction to Technical Communication: Explorations in Scientific and Technical Writing (MIT), History of Architecture (Jacqueline Gargus, Ohio State), Lighting Essentials (Simon McIntyre, The University of New South Wales), Photography (Jonathan Worth & Matt Johnston at Coventry University), Edible Education 101 (Spring 2014) or Edible Education 103 (Michael Pollan, UC Berkeley), Food Production, Public Health, and the Environment (Bob Lawrence and Polly Walker, Johns Hopkins), Science and Cooking: From Haute Cuisine to the Science of Soft Matter (Team taught, Harvard), Speak Italian with Your Mouth Full (Dr. Paola Rebusco, MIT), Wine (UC Davis), Introduction to Copyright Law (Keith Winstein, MIT), Creative Writing: A Master Class (Alison Ersheid), Branding, Content & Social Media (Christine O’Malley, Ohio State), Writing for Strategic Communication (Karen Morath, La Trobe University), The Ethics of Jazz (Lecture Series) (Herbie Hancock, Harvard), The Unanswered Question: 6 Lectures on Music (Leonard Bernstein, Harvard), Philosophy of Nature (Science) (Richard Dien Winfield, University of Georgia), Business Courses, Math Courses, or Social Cognition (John F. Kihlstrom, UC Berkeley).
• Make an effort to put myself together. This comes on the heels of wearing my PJs and unbrushed hair downstairs to pick up a Christmas Eve parcel and running into not one but THREE neighbours I am friendly with.
• Brush up on my French: French in Action (Yale University) or French 1 & 2 (Carnegie Mellon) – Note: This was the same as my high school French curriculum so I feel like it would trigger memories and help me recover all I already learned plus build on it a bit. I spent six weeks in France speaking no English at all, so my brain is certainly up to the challenge.
• Screen-free zone in the bedroom. Keep a couple good books there instead. Inspired by THIS article.
• Cross something off my wanna-do list.
• Shop locally, eat locally, or at least recognize where my money is going.
• Try to create things (knit, sew, hot glue,…) with my existing craft supplies before going out to buy new supplies.
• Design, photograph, and prepare my second book (the first one, Bake Knit Sew, is out in the world already) to be published in 2016.
• Strengthen my relationships with far away family members.
• Go someplace outside Ireland. With any luck, it will be to someplace I’ve never been before.
What’s on your 2015 New Year’s Resolution list?