resolutions: 2009

To recap, here's a link to my post for 2008's resolutions. I think I did OK overall - I didn't blow them away or anything, but I did a good job of sticking to them.

Resolution no. 1 was about running year-round and not stopping after the Shamrock Half Marathon. I did a slightly better job this year - running through May, joining the Norfolk Fitness Center around Memorial Day, and resuming whole-heartedly in October. I went to the fitness center between May and October, but not as often as I should have. *And* I ran my second half marathon in March (about 26 minutes slower than the year before, but I can deal with that).

My second goal was to pay more attention to my body when it comes to eating better, sleeping enough, etc. This isn't really a measurable goal, but I think I've started to do a better job of it. We've instituted "project 1:30" at our house, which means we're in bed by 1:30 a.m. on the nights we're working. I think that's a pretty good goal considering we work till midnight most nights. (On the nights I work til 1 a.m., it's more like "project 2 a.m." ...) I also think I have done better about eating healthfully in general - lots of improvements to make still, but I know how much better I feel when I'm eating more healthfully, and I'm sloooowly eating less of everything.

My third goal was to watch my spending habits. I'm still putting 10% of my paycheck into my savings account, and I'm still paying well more than the minimum on my credit card statements. Unfortunately, I'm still occasionally putting big-ticket purchases (a plane ticket or hotel room) on a credit card, and occasionally I dip into my savings to pay for those things right away. It's a bad cycle to get into, but I don't know how else I can afford these things. I've signed up for an account at Mint, which tracks your spending habits, and that's already made a difference in my habits. (Do I really want to see three purchases at Yorgo's in a two-week span? Noooo.)

I'm going to keep these goals for 2009. I'm already building momentum from last year. I'm planning on two half marathons this year, I'm eating more healthfully (especially with bringing my packed dinners to work more often and drinking less diet pop late at night), and I'm being ever vigilant with my spending.

As for my yarn habits ... well, I had set some guidelines for that last year, too, but I only kind of stuck to the goal. I really made my purchases more meaningful - such as setting a budget (and not even meeting that amount) at Maryland Sheep and Wool, and I didn't really spend much at LYSes (except for a 40% off sale dangled in front of me, so I bought a sweater's worth of Cascade 220). But yeah - my goal for finishing a pair of socks before I can buy sock yarn? I totally come close to sticking to that.

This brings me to my goal for 2009: slow stashing. I read this post from Clara Parkes at Knitter's Review and it was a wake-up call to me. She says, "At its core, slow stashing involves being mindful of every skein we own, and only bringing in new skeins that are truly deserving of our time, our attention, and our resources." I think I've done this in the past, but I could do a much, much better job of it. So, I'll be very mindful of this in the coming year.

I immediately followed her recommendation of slowly going through your yarn stash and seeing what speaks to you and what doesn't. The what doesn't pile should leave your home somehow. I culled about 10% of my stash on Ravelry *just by going through sock yarn.* I have several bins of other yarn, too, that I probably should go through but haven't yet. (To be fair, I went through those several months ago and culled a garbage bag full of random yarn for Goodwill.) I've listed the yarns on my sale/trade page so, uh, check it out, knitterly friends. =)