Resolutions...2017 Edition

Today's harvest = eggplant/tofu, fresh-squeezed tangerine/orange juice and pesto sauce. :-)

I started writing out my usual list of goals for the year, but then I realized that most of them had a similar theme of 'self care'. The more I thought about it, the more it made more sense to have a 'theme' (which is all encompassing) rather than a list. 'Self care' can mean eating cleaner and less, and exercising more, of course. But it also means ignoring fake news/stressful 'unpresidented' tweets, making time to read, doing less/declining social events and ignoring FOMO*, buying less/living simpler (since more money + less crap = happiness), laughing with my son, being more forgiving, complaining less... It's pretty all encompassing, right? Which means because it's so broad in scope, I literally have hundreds of opportunities each day to achieve it.

My ultimate hope by focusing on this theme, is that I'll not only feel happier and look better, but that I'll also be in a better position to help others (family, friends, community) as well.

*Fear of missing out

I'm not off to a bad start. Though quite a few of these initiatives are far from glamorous, they're no less important:

• After months of procrastinating, I finally got a haircut! (Moms are so funny. I think nothing of taking my son to the barber like clockwork every 5-6 weeks, but I space out my own haircut 8-10+ months apart because I feel bad spending the $! And I know I'm not alone!)
• I also got my once annual Limelight treatment. It hurts like a mother and it look pretty freaky for a week, but it's a small price to pay to turn back to the cruel, unforgiving hands of time.  
• I declined to sign Ryan up for junior golf. It was so tempting- it's at the course near our house, it's only four sessions, it's inexpensive, it'd be great for Ryan, I love the organizer and could help her...etc. But...it's on a Sat afternoon, we're already at a sporting practice four days a week, and...I don't like golf. So for this round at least, it's a no. ;-) 
• I finally joined a gym!!! After a very brief, 8-year hiatus (since my last membership lapsed, though I'm sure I've retained most of my muscle/definition), I figured it's time to get stronger. and since I only ever run, I have the upper body strength of roughly a 4-year old, pudgy child (I need to add the word 'pudgy,' since I'm sure there are many 4-year olds who are much stronger than me that would be insulted).
• I ordered a ton of medication I've been needing, and had an aging filling resurfaced at the dentist. Not fun stuff, but it all falls under the banner of 'self care' since I'll be better health because of it.
• Despite dreading the process, I've slathered myself in sunscreen a little more frequently than normal this week (despite being Asian, I'm destined to look like human leather in my 50s due to golfing for decades without sunscreen). So I stay vigilant and fight my laziness.
• I've been on a household purge again (traditionally, I try to do this every winter during the holidays so I feel slightly less like a hoarder).
• We are months from a harvest, but today Ryan and I planted carrots (these don't do well here), butter lettuce, kale, pole beans and beets. 50% of the seedlings will get eaten by the bugs and birds, fungus will take out another 10% and pure neglect will kill off another 20%, so if we end up with 20% of our produce...we're winning.
• This is a stretch to claim it under 'self care' improvement, but I did for the first time since we started our composting pile a year ago...shovel all the 'new' damp, fertile soil into buckets and spread it out under all our main trees (eggplant, orange, tangerine, avocado, etc.). I felt like a proud, mother effing champ raking up my tiny pile of what looked like horse manure. I couldn't believe our kitchen scraps created all that free fertilizer!

I'm already faltering after a strong start (I started this post over 10 days ago). It's been a rough couple of weeks of overeating (I gained 3 lbs. over the holidays, my breathing is crap, I over committed on a few days, but seeing this has helped remind me of my mission, and how seriously I need to take it if I want to succeed.