Good Intentions

I have been remiss. This little space on the interwebs has been pretty much abandoned. I guess maybe I haven't had much to say, or maybe I've just been lazy. Yeah that's really it. I've been lazy, because lots of things have happened since SEPTEMBER! The quick and dirty? I ran my fourth and final 5k of the year. I went on a trip to Boston, NYC and Washington DC with Scott. We had a wonderful Christmas. Our New Years Eve was quieter than usual but just as fun. And now a new year has started. So to start this year out right I'm posting a list. My list of good intentions. They aren't resolutions because I don't want to set myself up for failure and I tend to feel guilty and/or pathetic when I don't get something on my list accomplished. So this year, it's intentions. I have every intention of making the effort to accomplish them, but it's not the end all of lists. I can add to it, or remove things from it as I see fit. It will be my intention to make a real go of it though. I always do have good intentions.

1) Train for and run a half marathon. I'm actually going to do this. There is a plan in place.

2) Lose 15 pounds. It is my hope that training for the half marathon will assist with this greatly, but I know that I also have to stop shoving pie (and fries, chips, candy, hotwings, etc) in my pie hole.

3) Develop a time line and structure for a story that has been keeping me up at night.

4) Read at least one book a month, maybe more. This might sound silly, everyone knows I love to read. Not very hard to get one in each month. The thing is, this is more about taking the time to sit and be still.

5) Work on my walk with God. If you want to talk about being remiss, this is a good subject. No more. It's an extremely personal thing and I struggle with my political beliefs and my religious beliefs. I need to find some balance and understanding.

6) Try more veggies. We'll see. But like I said I have good intentions.

7) Save money. I LOVE a budget, but usually I'm trying to work an angle to fit just one more thing in. This time I'm going to be removing things and padding the savings account. I've already got Comcast to give me $20 off my monthly bill just for being awesome. Yay me!

8) Let go. Of control. Of people who have chosen to move on. Of the idea that things must be perfect. Of my worry wart tendencies. This is going to be extra hard but I'm going to try. Really, I swear I am.

9) Plan a dream vacation. We might not actually travel this year, though it would be the goal. The idea here is that I have something fun and adventurous to look forward to. If we can get the money set aside for the Meeker baby fund, we can then set aside money for a trip. And if we are blessed with a baby, it will be our last vacation as a couple. If we aren't successful with IVF, it will be a break and distraction from the stress and worry.

10) Finish one round (at least) of IVF. Don't know when, or how, but that's the plan for now. As part of the whole letting go intention (see above) I will be stressing about this less and taking a leap of faith that things are going to work out.

11) Take more photos. I stumbled upon this new project. New to me. I will take a new photo every day and post it. It will be my year in snapshots. Should be interesting and will encourage me to carry my camera with me more often which is something I'm always thinking I should do. If you want to see them you can visit them at http://365project.org/erinlis/365

So that is the list. For now. Some easy, some not. But I really have the best intentions. For certain, I have every intention of getting as much out of 2011 as possible!