New Year's Resolutions: The 2007 Edition

I really like the idea of New Year's resolutions. I'm a planner so having goals and setting timelines appeals to me. It always seems a good idea to take a fresh look at life and see what you'd like to make better.

This year, my resolutions seem to have the theme of "Health." I have three--one about my own physical health, one about financial goals, and one about some mental exercise I need to take on. The experts say that you're more likely to be successful if you have others to keep you accountable, so I figured I'd let the world know what I have resolved. Hopefully you in the blogosphere will help keep me honest.

1) Lose weight and eat more healthily.

Last summer, I decided I needed to regain control over my expanding midsection. Regular readers of this blog know that I love my food, my wine, and my cocktails. It showed. So my other half and I decided to try a detox diet. It was quite successful: I lost weight, had newfound energy, and just generally felt great. Over three months, I lost 17 pounds. I've put a few of those back on in the last several months, so it's time to jumpstart things. I'll tell you more about our diet plan in a couple of days. Hope some of you out there will join me in the adventure.

2) Pay down those &*(^& credit card bills.

I've done a great job in the last several months reducing day-to-day expenses. (A freelance income forced one to do that!) And it's been good for me. Heck, I didn't even buy anything at the Crate and Barrel post-Christmas sale. But I am now annoyed that I am carrying credit card balances. So, I am going to do everything humanly possible to be credit card debt free by the end of the year. I think I can do it. Especially when there are tools like this out there to help.

3) Read.

I love to read. But too often I find myself looking at food and wine magazines (or even worse People) while watching TV. Meanwhile, the "good" books are piling up. So, I am going to make an effort to sit in a quiet room (or even better out in the backyard!) and read real books. I already started last night. Picked Titan back up. A great biography of John D. Rockefeller Sr. that I picked up two years ago while in New York. Still in the stack are books by Tom Clancy, Patricia Cornwell and Capote's In Cold Blood. Maybe I'll tell you about some of them later.

And of course, I'll keep working to make my life beautiful in simple ways. And take the time to enjoy that beauty. And tell you about it.

So, post a comment below and let us know YOUR resolutions. We're all in it together!