Resolutions 2009 Recap

I usually make a pretty long list (of resolutions both productive and social), and while I can't find the physical piece of paper from 2009, I do remember most (if not all) of them:

• Lose 25 pounds - Mixed results (mostly positive): Using my little brother's proven South Beach Diet method, I lost 25 pounds in eleven weeks, beginning in late March. Over the summer and fall I slowly gained ten of it back, but a net loss of 15 lbs is pretty good! Not to mention an overall changing of my eating habits, which should help me as I go forward.
• Exercise more frequently - Success: I began a 3-times-per-week workout regimen of either taking a long walk, riding my bicycle long distances, or doing an hour-long curling bar/push-ups/abs/cardio regimen. There were very few weeks where I didn't accomplish this feat, and many where it was more than 3 times.
  
• Use my passport - FAIL!: Being unemployed, I didn't exactly have the disposable income to make something like this happen, though there was an inexpensive trip to Bermuda I'd strongly considered in the spring. That being said, it wouldn't have been much fun alone, so I went to Martha's Vineyard with Brian and Gavin instead.
• Visit my youngest brother & family in California - Success: Thanks to his company providing him with several free plane tickets each year, I was finally able to go out to Walnut Creek, CA for five super-fun days to visit with Jason & Stacie, Ryan, Cooper and Sawyer! ☺
• See ten live music shows - Near-success: I got to see (in order): Lights & Andre Obin, Vanessa Kafka, Laszlo Gardony, The Mark Zaleski Quartet, old chums Jay & Luc, The Johnnies, Mute Math, and The Cranberries. Eight shows, all of them a very good time, with friends both old and new!
• Learn to play guitar - Success (a work in progress): As I have nothing but free time, I decided to put it to good use, and I took fifteen weekly guitar lessons every Thursday afternoon from the beginning of September. I enjoyed every minute of them, and have spent at least an hour a day practicing, 5 or 6 days a week.
• Write a book - Success: I finished the first draft of a childrens book that had been banging around inside of my brain for the last few years. Now I just need to do some editing, turn some bad sketches into final illustrations, and then figure out how to get it published.
• Draw a lot more frequently - Success: I have several large sketch pads I keep everywhere for something productive to do as I watch sporting events on tv, or wait for a website to load. Instead of getting an idea and thinking to myself "I'll draw that later", I grab a pad and draw it in the moment.
  

An amazing side-effect of trying to keep all of these resolutions this past year was the way they fueled each other. If I wrote for awhile (the book, my daily journal, or one of several blogs), I'd grab a pencil afterward, and draw. If I spent a couple of hours learning a song on my guitar, I'd reach for the weights after, and spend an hour working out. I even tried cooking a few times! The seafood chowder got mixed reviews, but the whole family loved my homemade applesauce (haha). At any rate, in a year when I couldn't find a job, for me the best days were the ones where I drew, worked out, ate smart, and practiced my guitar. And there were many like that.

To sum up: I kept many of the resolutions I made for 2009. Some of them I made public (my diet), and others I kept to myself (guitar lessons and writing the book). There is no right way or wrong way to get things done, just YOUR way, however it works for you. I needed the fear of public failure to get through the diet, and the lack of pressure (and comfort zone) of going unnoticed to learn the guitar and write the book, with the working out and drawing falling somewhere in between.

I will post the list I have planned for 2010 sometime next week. In the meantime, I would love to hear what successes you have had in the past year, as well as what you have planned for the coming year!