Monthly Check Up - January 2011

I thought it would be fun to check up on the progress I've been making with my New Year's resolutions. For the month of January, my commitment to each goal varied so here's a run down on the three of them: 

1. Take better care of myself - 

Eh, I've made pretty mediocre attempts at this one. I knew this would be the hardest resolution for me to commit to so even though I've kind of sucked at it this month I am by no means giving up. I started the month with a bang making sure to exercise, eat right, and practice portion control. While I didn't totally blow it (I think I only went back for seconds during dinner once this past month), I slacked here and there including eating snacks right before bedtime (as opposed to no snacking after dinner), and I didn't keep up with my exercise plans. I also allow myself one cheat day per week, and I stretched that a bit (maybe two cheat days per week) this past month as well.   

I royally blew it at stepping up my work appearance. I wore makeup to work a couple of times (i.e., more than just eyeliner and mascara), but my style can still be described as poor college student chic. In my defense, I did wear heels and nice pants TWICE! I think I even wore a necklace! 

There have been no signs of nail polish or haircuts in January. Not even a bang trim. (That's what she said.) So there's definitely room for improvement all the way around.      

2. Stop living for the future - 

This one is hard to measure, but I think I did well during January. Like, I would give myself a B if I had to assign a grade. Normally, I wouldn't shoot for a B. In fact, I'd probably be pretty bummed out with a B.  With all things considered, though, I think it's a step in the right direction. For example, I'm trying to avoid falling into a deep funk on Sundays knowing that Monday is right around the corner. I'm doing my best to enjoy Sundays. It sounds kind of lame and like an elementary concept, but when you live your life in a cube, trust me, you tend to get a serious case of The Mondays.

3. Take more photos - 

This is my favorite resolution. I think I look forward to meeting the challenge with this one since it lets me be creative. While I didn't do tons of things in January that presented photo opportunities, I managed to take some pictures. Nick and I went snowboarding at Squaw Valley USA, and I snapped a few photos.  Note that my resolution wasn't to take GOOD pictures, but here are a few of my favorites. 

I still want to take more pictures, though. Even if there are no photo ops, I should make my own!