Birthday Reslolutions

I was born in early January.  For my mother, this meant that she spent the fall and early winter slipping on icy Pullman hills with a belly so big that she resembled a turtle.  For me, this meant that I spent most of my childhood disliking joint Christmas/birthday presents and feeling monstrously put-upon when the birth of Christ overshadowed my birth.  As an adult, however, I love the fancy, spendy presents that come when Christmas and birthday resources are combined (Thanks for the shiny, new iPhone, Mom! [And also for giving birth to me.]), and I have grown to appreciate the proximity of my birthday to the beginning of the year. 
Firstly, I appreciate that it condenses my quarter-life anxiety into a brief time span.  The turn of the year is a really natural time to take stock, evaluate your life and wonder where you're headed. In my case, this often leads to career related angst, single-ness angst, financial angst, biological clock angst and general feelings of "what am I doing with my life?"  These thoughts also tend to surface at birthdays along with the bonus of long sessions in the mirror trying to detect new wrinkles or gray hairs.  Lucky for me, I get this all over with at once and then get to settle back into my default cheerful mode.
Secondly, I get to do a trial run with my New Years' Resolutions to see which ones stick.  I make "rough draft" resolutions in the end of December and then by the time my birthday rolls around, on January 7, I have a better idea how new, better lifestyle choices will fit into my normal routine.  I then make Birthday Resolutions.  In theory, this leads to more lasting change....
Here are my Womanly Birthday Resolutions for my 29th year...

Take more pictures (especially with my shiny, new camera lens [thanks, Deb!]):
So far this year, I'm doing well.  I downloaded an app on my iPhone that reminds me to take a picture every day.  They might not all be masterpieces, but they are all a snapshot of my day.  My gut feeling is that I'm going to have to get really creative about photographing my job in interesting ways.
Another success in this arena is that I shot pictures for this very post.  Good showing, but I think I will be more successful in this endeavor after my lease is up in April.  My current apartment does not have great light, and I'll definitely be looking for more windows in my next place!

Read thru the Bible:
I give myself a C on this one.  I downloaded a daily Bible reading plan and a week into the new year, I'm a day behind.  Not stellar, but I have time to catch up and get better.

Create more:
Specifically, blog at least twice a month, which I know is setting the bar low, but look where I'm coming from, and more crafting.  I think I'm on course with this one too, especially if you count the Christmas presents that I was too busy to craft before Christmas, and ended up making in January!  In this category, I'm also working on my handwriting.



Be kinder to my body:
This one is super broad, but in my mind, it makes sense to group it all under an umbrella.  Specifically, I plan to sleep more, eat healthier and get on a workout schedule.  I'm gonna be honest and say that so far, this the "rough draft" resolution at which I have been least successful, but I'm not nixing it.  I'm going to apply my hard-headedness in a positive direction and remember that I only have one body and treat it like the temple it is! (Starting Monday, after I've eaten all the delightful things that accompany a birthday!)

Photograph of Machu Pichu courtesy of Ivan Utz via Flickr

Someday however, I'll take a picture like this!

And a couple pipe dreams:
Learn to: sew (better), play guitar, draw/paint, speak Spanish (well)
Pack my bags and run away to South America
Figure out what I want to be when I grow up
Become independently wealthy and spend my days sleeping in, baking and volunteering for worthy causes