I never make New Year’s Resolutions. Making a resolution would be admitting to myself and everyone else (if I dared to put my plans for change on my blog) that I indeed have flaws and areas for improvement. Sure, it probably would not hurt me to add some fruits, vegetables, cheese and yogurt to my diet and cut out a few candy lunches. And yes, tucking aside a little money for the kids’ college education would be a worthwhile endeavor. Being able to find my keyboard under a pile of books and papers might be an advisable pursuit. Likewise, a daily exercise plan would be probably be great for my ass and attitude, but resolving to have a neater office, a richer bank account and a healthier body is just too much of a commitment.
I prefer goal-setting over resolution making. More shades of gray exist in the realm of achieving goals opposed to keeping resolutions, which is a good thing because I failed miserably at my 2010 goals. On January 1, 2010, I set two goals for myself: Learn how to bake cookies without crisp, black smoke emanating bottoms and to complete my one-act play with the working title, “For the Love of a Dead Woman.”
At the time, my goals seemed to be reasonable and attainable unlike past goals of achieving abs that look like Adriana Lima’s, learning Italian in three months, and reading a book a week. But indeed, I set the bar too high yet again.
On the cookie front, I attempted to increase my chances for success by purchasing air-bake cookie sheets (guaranteed to prevent charred bottoms), a cookie baller (a cross between a melon baller and an ice cream scoop that ensures that all cookies are the same size), and a Betty Crocker Cookie Cookbook with easy, semi-homemade recipes that use Betty Crocker cookie mixes as the foundation. With a full arsenal of cookie baking gadgets, I was equipped for success. Indeed, I baked cookies that did not have black bottoms but instead the air-bake cookie sheets prevented crisping to the point that the centers fell out of all my cookies regardless of size, consistency, or type. Once again, I was left scrambling for cookies to take to the Annual Cookie Exchange, so I took the chocolate and peanut butter cups that my eight-year-old daughter made. Of course, I claimed full bakership.
Sadly, my efforts on my one-act play were even less successful than my cookie baking attempts. In an entire year, I added four lines and changed two stage directions that I originally wrote in July 2009. Perhaps I will write a few more lines in 2011.
But what other goals will I try to achieve in 2011? My main goal is to not set expectations too high for myself. So perhaps I’ll finish some books, particularly The Confederacy of the Dunces and The Elegance of a Hedgehog; I might walk somewhere briskly if the weather is warm and I am wearing the proper shoes; I might eat salad if made with spinach, mushrooms and Mandarin oranges; I probably will file a paper or two; and, I could possibly edit and re-write a few of my favorite blog posts. I plan on using my new camera for more than family photos, perhaps even a few artistic shots are in my future. I hope to mail birthday and holiday cards to relatives on time, and I might even bake a cookie with melt in your mouth perfection.
Chances are I won’t do most of the things on the list. But, with a list so long and so vague, some success in 2011 should be eminent.
