Happy 2011!

I am kicking off 2011 with a stuffy nose, a sore throat, a dizzy head, and a voice that sounds like a 70 year old smoker's. I can't drive my car until tomorrow, my office job has been cut down to one day per week (which means that I am going to, once again, be looking for a new job). I need to learn a year's worth of algebra in the next three months and figure out financial aid, and then take classes at community college that I didn't bother to take in undergrad and now need. My grandma is in the hospital (hopefully nothing serious), and there are still 5 more months until it (might) become sunny on a regular basis.

On the bright side, a less than perfect start to 2011 means that it can (hopefully) only go up, right? Hopefully this will be a quick sickness, so that I can get back to working out, running, swimming, and hiking. Hopefully I will find a new job soon, and become amazing at algebra, and hopefully grandma will make a full recovery ASAP. I will focus on finding small fun things to do throughout the remaining winter months, and get outside as much as possible so I don't drive myself crazy. In some ways, I think it's better this way. Start 2011 with a clean slate and everything perfect, and there is pressure pressure pressure to keep it that way, to not screw up even the tiniest bit. Now, since I am starting off with a mess of things to work through, I can focus on checking everything off the to do list on the way back up. Accomplishing things, fixing things, and taking steps in the right direction actually seems better to me than trying to keep things perfect (although hopefully I'll be there sooner rather than later!).

Once I feel better, here are my New Year's Resolutions for 2011.

1. Diet and exercise - whole, natural foods, less sugar/caffeine/alcohol. Run at least 3-4x a week, swim/yoga/strength train at least 3x.

2. Backpack through the Enchantments and climb Mailbox Peak (will require more than a few training hikes!)

3. Marathon PR at North Olympic Discovery Marathon in June

4. Complete 1/2 Ironman Triathlon at Black Diamond in September

5. My most important one: Be open-minded. By this, I mean say yes to anything (within reason), go in with a good attitude and a goal to have fun, even if it's something that sounds silly or lame to me. Too often, I have gotten cranky over doing something that doesn't sound like fun to me, and I feel really silly when I actually end up having a good time. Why not go into everything with "I don't know what this is going to be like, but let's try and make it fun"?

Happy 2011 everyone!