Day 31 (a few hours early) of Gwen Bell’s Best of 2009 Blog Challenge:“Resolution you wish you’d stuck with. (You know, there’s always next year…)”

I don’t make New Year’s resolutions; rather, throughout the year I set intentions about various things that need addressing in my life. But if I had to pick something that was along the lines of a typical resolution, I’d say that it would be to improve on the quality of my intake. I actually eat very healthfully — lots of fruits and vegetables and I even cut out coffee this year, but my weakness is my sweet tooth. I went through a good stretch (about a month I think) earlier in the year where I cut out dessert. I had more energy and felt fantastic (and I trimmed up in a hurry between cutting sweets and exercising regularly), and then I fell off the wagon. I’d like to work on reducing sweets in the coming year as part of my general process of eating more mindfully and more cleanly.

(And it probably wouldn’t hurt to cut sugar given that I no longer have dental insurance…)

Happy New Year’s everyone!

Day 25 (two days late) of Gwen Bell’s Best of 2009 Blog Challenge:“Gift. What’s a gift you gave yourself this year that has kept on giving?”

Self-care. It sounds utterly cliche, but taking care of myself this year has improved all aspects of my life.

I hope you will consider giving yourself this gift in 2010. Because you matter.

Day 21 of Gwen Bell’s Best of 2009 Blog Challenge:“Project. What did you start this year that you’re proud of?”

I know I’ve dedicated a lot of time to my Shredheads journey on this site, but it is deserved. As someone who tends to put everyone and everything — family, work, friends, laundry, myriad errands, etc. — ahead of myself, 2009 was remarkable because I finally had this challenge (project if you will) that was all about me.

I needed it. I was drowning a bit emotionally before I started taking care of myself beyond the occasional pedicure and I’ve since been sailing on the most even and happy of keels in recent memory.