After spending a week conducting various informal polls and researching ideas on the internet, I hereby resolve:
1. To be a better person (ha.)
2. To handwrite a letter per week to my husband after he deploys next month. 7 months x 4 = 28 letters. We already bought a new netbook so we could skype and a new camera so we both could take photos. Then I splurged on some nice Uniball pens. Now I just need to stockpile some stationary.
3. To lose 5 lbs by giving up sugar (after I finish a last bag of holiday M&M's. Since I already run nearly daily and eat mostly healthy foods, I figure totally eradicating the midafternoon chocolate fix is the only way to lose weight. That goes before the evening glass of wine. I suppose I could also try to give up the breakfast cereal and cut back on dinnertime pasta, but my spirit is too weak. Either the choc or the carbs, not both.)
4. To get up 30 -45 mins earlier to read Magnificat and do morning pages.
4b. To accomplish #4, go to bed 30-45 mins earlier.
5. To limit internet time to 2 hrs, unless working on a project (such as taxes, bleh…)
5b. To accomplish #5, write a blog post, if I’m going to, before I read a bunch of blog posts.
6. To make something pretty. And/or useful. And to get rid of any clutter that is neither pretty nor useful. Ditto on clothes. Goodbye, ill fitting clothing.
7. To work on that book list – I meant to add Bleak House after reading recommendations here and here and somewhere else that I can't find now. And for spiritual reading: Spes Salvi. I have a plan to pick at least one Brit lit novel, one American, one spiritual classic, one nonfiction work, one book of poetry, one book in translation, one Greek/Roman classic, at least one new chapter book my kids are reading, one short story (Nabokov's "Cloud, Castle, Lake" for Reading for Believers) and one fun book. And then fill in with recommendations or what grabs my fancy.
Last year my resolutions were
1. To fear less, regret less, enjoy more. Um, pretty much a silly resolution that I made little if any progress on.
2. To be more willing to accept help. I actually did better with this one. Same with
3. To capture memories in writing. Thanks, blog. But I did not do so well with
4. Reading aloud more to the kids. Mixed results were had with
5. To be more conscientious about shopping. Moving caused me to shop frequently at Walmart, but I tried not to shop for Christmas there. And because we now pay tuition, I don’t buy as many organics, but I am buying more fruits and vegetables for their lunches. Another resolution I failed at was
6. To pray more openly – listening instead of asking. But I did better with
7. To get organized. Moving into a bigger house with built in book shelves, office files, and cupboard after cupboard with tall, deep shelves or pull out shelves and plenty of drawers helped with that resolution, as did the major purge before the move.
8 comments:
Great resolutions, best of luck to you on them! I used to run nearly daily and I was slim and trim. I have gotten so lazy in the past year and the pounds have been piling on as I plunk myself in front of the computer instead of lacing up my shoes. That would be a good resolution for me, to get back to 3 miles daily.
BTW, I think you had a post not too long ago, or did I see it on Betty's blog, about some books you were reading. I picked up "The Madonnas of Leningrad" and "Recovered Body" and am looking forward to reading them. And did I mention how much I love Caryll Houselander? The Reed of God is one of my favorite books. Her Way of the Cross is awesome as well!
Thanks for your comment on my 7 takes post. I did reply there, but in case you miss it since you won't be spending as much time reading blogs this year, I linked to my son's blog. He put a link of the youtube clip on there. I was too embarrassed to link on my own. It's hard to see yourself on tv, I am much more comfortable hiding behind a computer screen.
Here's the link to his blog...http://writingsofaboydiscerninggodscall.blogspot.com/2010/01/welcome-archbishop-listecki.html
Oh yeah, I love Bleak House. I hope you enjoy it.
Thanks for the link, Anne! I'll check it out. I did just read both of those books over Christmas vacation - hope you enjoy them. I especially liked the middle section of Cairns' book where in the voice of a rabbi he rephrases some Old Testament stories bringing to light new insights. And I did love Reed of God - she used such original imagery. I thought the story of Houselander's life was fascinating too. I'll have to add Way of the Cross to my list.
Melanie, maybe it was you who wrote the other plug for Bleak House that I read. I've never read it, although I've had it on the shelf for years. I think the length has deterred me, but after rereading David Copperfiel last year and Matthew Pearl's fun mystery, I have new dedication.
I did leave a comment on Jamie's post. Like all Dickens' novels it has some slower parts. But if you allow yourself to slow down and appreciate the language and imagery even those parts are good. But maybe I'm just partial.
I should probably add a warning on the Scott Cairns poems: He has a couple poems addressed to Erata, one of the nine Greek muses, which are a little explicit. I think he's trying to invoke a sense of intimacy with the creative spirit, and maybe they are somewhat inspired by the imagery in the Song of Song or some of the mystics (I'm thinking of the statue of St. Teresa of Avila by Bernini (I think) in Rome, where she's being stabbed in the heart.)But I could see how those poems could be offensive to some readers.
Hi. Re: the Erato poems in Recovered Body, they present one element of an overall "recovery" of the body that the book addresses throughout in its central grappling with and against a pervasive Gnosticism that continues to diminish our sense of the human person, and to diminish our sense of the extent to which Christ redeems our poor matter. Just saying.
Let me just say that I think it is quite impressive that you comment on a book and the next thing I see is the author of that same book commenting on your post!
I loved the book, it was inspiring and so interesting. I was not at all bothered by the Erato poems-they were a bit of a surprise I must say, but very creative.
Belatedly, I just saw that the conversation was continued here ... I appreciate the editorial comment by Mr. Scott Cairns - thank you for illuminating the conversation! I loved your poems, but added the warning because I once raved about Ron Hansen's Mariette in Ecstasy to a book club only to be discouraged by the negative (gnostic?) reactions of my fellow readers when we read the book together because of a scene where Mariette physically experiences her love for Christ. Feeling guilty for having them buy a book they didn't like, I ended up buying back their copies and giving them to other friends and family whom I thought would not be offended. I appreciate your attempt to reclaim the body in your poetry, and perhaps should not be so apologetic about recommending books with an incarnational perspective.
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