new year's rezzos

1. stop saying the word "amazing"
2. do more sit-ups (cuz i have a bad lower back + a stronger core is supposed to help w/that)
3. wear sequins more often
4. be grateful 


i found some resolutions from 2006 that amused me:
1. stop saying "really?" [still struggling w/this one]
2. don't be sarcastic 
3. don't overreact [this one stayed on the rezzo list for a few years; i took it off 2012 simply b/c i was tired of looking at it]
4. be gracious


i also used to pick quotes for each year. 2006 was: “Not everything that is faced can be changed.  but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” James Baldwin. 2012's quote comes courtesy of Lauryn Hill: "How you gonna win it if you ain't right within?"

A Year of Living (fill in the blank)

 i don't remember when i stopped making new year's resolutions. as a kid i was obsessed with self-improvement, mostly along the lines of wanting desperately to be prettier, skinnier, nicer, a better artist, etc. in fourth grade, i decided to be brutally honest, no matter what. this resolution was abruptly killed when i told a classmate her tights made her legs look fat (in my head, this was completely different than saying she was fat; i was saying the tights were the culprit). she told everyone i had insulted her, which resulted in me getting the silent treatment from a number of fourth grade girls. a valuable lesson in social skills: brutal honesty does not increase your popularity.

these days, i don't have the energy to care about self-improvement. but apparently, millions of other people are still seeking out ways to change themselves so they can be happier/thinner/richer, out of which is born oprah, dr. phil, and an entire section of the bookstore devoted to self-help books. out of curiousity, i typed "year of living" into amazon.com's search box, and came up with:

a year of living your yoga
a year of living consciously: 365 daily inspirations for creating a life of passion + purpose
a year of freeconomic living
1877: america's year of violent living (1877??? really???)
living a year of kaddish
living oprah: my one-year experiment to walk the walk of the queen of talk
the year of living biblically
the year of living shamelessly
and my favorite title: my year of living heterosexually: and other tales from hell



 there are so few things i'd be willing to commit to for a year. i started making a mental list:
a year of cleaning the grout in the bathroom tiles twice a week
a year of not buying anymore art supplies until i use up the closet-full of supplies i already have
a week of not picking at my nails (i'm a big believer in realistic goals)


how about you?