Hello 2010

I've never been very good at either nailing down meaningful New Years resolutions or then keeping them, for that matter. My half hearted attempts at trying to change my careless spending habits and penchant for junk food usually collapse by about January 3. No joke. I really like shopping and sugar. 

As we head into a new year and I get to shed this 364 day old one, it is impossible to ignore the hope of a fresh start. I get to leave old disappointments behind, have yet more distance from bad choices and wipe my hands clean of 2009. A new decade, a world of new possibilities. Anything can happen. 

My resolutions for 2010 are less about ceasing shopping and more about continuing to shape the person I'm trying to become. Yes, at 30 I'm still very much evolving, and turning (I hope) into a person I can be proud to be. A person who will one day be a sound and steady mate and the best and most patient of mothers (like mine). A person who will be a more thoughtful and level daughter and a more generous and kind friend. A person who looks at the glass as half full and tries to live every day as if it counts (because it does). 

Dear 2010,

I have no idea what yet to expect from you, but you are a gift so I hope you are wonderful. See you in a day. I'll be the one in sequins.

Love, Ally Redhead

Resolutions for 2010

1. Stop procrastinating. No one ever got anything done by burying their head in the sand. Be an adult and do the things that you don't want to do, because they have to get done. Call the student loan centre, apply for jobs, straighten things out at UBC. I am the worst procrastinator and it needs to stop. In another day (ha ha). 

2. Be a more thoughtful and generous person. Be the first one to pick up the phone or contact a friend you want to see, instead of waiting for them to get in touch with you. Send birthday cards. Give genuine compliments. Be generous of spirit. Kindness is the nicest gift of all.

3. Stop dwelling on the "what might have been" and live the life I have been given. Live for today and its realities. Don't look back and don't regret. Don't make someone a priority when they barely make me an option. Embrace the future, the unknown, new possibilities and the endless fish in the sea. 

4. Stop self obsessing. The world isn't about me. Stop thinking it is so personal. Stop taking everything so personally. Get out of this head, stop being selfish and look at the wide world in front of me. 

5. Be more positive, work on being happy. For some people this is easy and for me it is work. Not work exactly, but not... simple. Work on being happy. Take pleasure in the little things, like seeing a cute raccoon at night while I walk to my car or my daily yummy Starbucks or one of my favourite songs on the radio or Lulu biting my toes. Don't descend into that dark space but try very hard to stay buoyant and positive. 

(Stay tuned... there may be more as they come to me!)