Wavering Resolve

What a difference a year can make. Please pardon the cliché, but it's true. This time last year, I was looking ahead to 2015 with cautious optimism, hoping it would be a good year. It wasn't. It was a great one. Relax - I'm not going to write another "my life is so wonderful" post. If you've been reading the blog at all in the past year, you know why it was great. (No excuses for not reading it. Seriously - I only wrote three times.)

Last year, on New Year's Eve, I made a number of resolutions for 2015. Twenty of them, in fact. (Refresh your memory here.) I haven't had time yet to assess how I did in keeping them, so I thought I'd do it the same way I made them - while writing about it. Here we go!

1. Start a new career.

I don't think anyone in the history of state worker-dom has ever been as excited to become a state employee as I was. And assuming I pass my final probation report next week, I'll pretty much be in the club for life! #Winning

2. Get healthy. 

Yeeeeaaaaahhh. Nope.

In all fairness, I was doing really well for a while, but then I got the new gig and started enjoying having a life a little too much. Happy Hour, every hour.

3. Not eat an entire brick of cheese in one sitting. 

Stuck to this one! Although with the discovery of uber-affordable, extra-sharp Vermont cheddar at Trader Joe's, I will admit it hasn't been easy.

4. Drink less. 

Bahahaha. Right. We knew this wasn't going to work.

5. Swear less during football games. 

Gronk and Edelman both got hurt. Oh, and we basically played the whole season with the JV squad. So this one never stood a chance.

6. Only hit Snooze Once.

Not. Even. Close.

7. Wear my hair down at least three days a week.

Let's go with "moderate" success on this one. I grew it out, so I do wear it down more than I used to. But still rocking the pony (or barely getting away with it, anyway) a lot.

8. FaceTime with the family more often. 

Nope.

Because let's be honest. Facetime is creepy AF. And I can't "mute" Facetime, which means I can't secretly pee while I'm talking to my mom on the phone.

9. Continue trying new foods.

So bacon wasn't one of them, but this kid is basically my spirit animal, so it works. But yes, I did try lots of new things this year. "Runny eggs included. Okay, soft-boiled, but given my post-food-poisoning fears, I'd say that's a big step forward. Also, mushrooms are pretty tasty. Who knew?!

10. Stop apologizing for being a "cat person."

Mission accomplished. Also, now that I volunteer with dogs, my social media posts are a bit more "balanced" so I get less shit from people.

11. Make my cats Instagram-Famous.

Does 368 followers count? Yah, I didn't think so either. I feed you, house you and make you look good in photographs. The LEAST you girls could do is make me a few bucks in return. Sheesh.

12. Open Sacramento's first Cat Cafe. 

Someday.

13. Take more pictures.

Resolution reached. And then some. Still dreaming of a decent camera, but I'll probably have to win the lottery for that to happen. You never know - I do have a ticket for PowerBall tonight!

14. Be more cordial to strangers.

Soooo this one backfired. I seemed to have forgotten that some people misinterpret social cues. At least until I was awkwardly reminded of it last week when one of the valet guys at work apparently took me being friendly as me being interested in him and asked me out. Nice enough man, but old enough to be my dad. Gross. So, so gross.

15. Drink less coffee. 

Not a chance in hell.

16. Fall in love.

Let me put it this way. Have you ever tried online dating?

On the bright side, I've now met so many assholes, I have more than enough material and motivation for a new writing project about the disaster that has been my dating life. Stay tuned.

17. Start swimming again.

This one was a success! Joined a gym with a great pool. Only problem is it's outdoors and for the first time in 3+ years, it actually feels like winter in Sacramento. Damn you, El Niño! Back at it when it warms up!

18. Try yoga.

Never happened. But I'm okay with that. Maybe this year.

19. Stop avoiding judgement from grocery store cashiers by buying frozen veggies.

Easy. I didn't buy a single bag! All fresh this year! Although, I do often feel like this about eating them.

20. Try 10 new beers.

This was legitimately the only resolution I knew I'd keep. Probably got there by February.

So it's safe to say I made good on about half of them. Better than I expected!

This year, I'm keeping it simple. Just three resolutions that I really want to focus on.

1. Get healthy

2. Get my finances in better shape

3. Write more often

(And obviously, more beer. But that's a given.)

Happy 2016!