Resolved!

Happy 2007 people. Where has this century gone? It seems like only yesterday everyone was panicing about the Y2K bug!

I had the quietest NYE ever. My friend Dave came over and we watched Rambo! I now I have many things I want including a helicopter and a rocket launcher. I’ve not beeing feeling 100% the last few days so it was good to just vege out. I didn’t even have a booze (but I did have a Mint Slice Cornetto!)

So anyway, my goals for 2007:

Health and Fitness:

My weight is up to 76.6 kg (yikes) and I really want to go get to 65 kgs. That’s 11.6 kgs to lose. I can do that. And I will do that. This is the year of getting to goal and maintaining it.

I want to do the Run For the Kids and the Great Ocean Road Half Marathon. I’m sure they’ll be many other fun runs along the way. I’m looking to set some new PBs this year.

I want to master real push-ups (was doing good with these until I hurt my ribs last year) and chin ups.

I’m also planning to do a regular boxing class, yoga at least once a week and lots of cardio and weight training.

Career:

This year I will finish my novel and I will send it out to publishers. I am also going to start my second novel.

I don’t have any real big ticket resolutions this year and I think that’s because so many things are up in the air. I have no idea about work or about where I’ll be living. It’s hard to make plans at the moment but that’s fine. I’m happy with things the way they are and I’m sure the future will take care of itself.

One thing I want to do is have a small weekly goal so that I can start weeding out the bad habits. I call this the Weekly Goal Lifestyle Changing Challenge-A-Rama. First on the list is to drink more water because I’ve been crap at this lately.

2006

Since it’s the last day of the year, I’ve decided to rate myself on how I met my goals for the year:

Health and Body:

The word for 2006 is tone. Weight-wise, I want to lose 11.4 kilograms to get to my goal weight of 70 kgs but the largest task ahead is to firm up all the jiggly bits.I really want to get to my goal weight before the end of March – that’s when my friend is getting married and my other friends will be home from the UK.

Well I got to 70 kg but sure as hell didn’t stay there. I’m thinking this is like bungee jumping, I go down then bounce up then back down until eventually I settle at the bottom. Just need to work on the down bit! All up I lost 5 kg in 2006 and that’s just not good enough. I was going to give myself a big zero for this goal but figure I lost HALF my goal and weighing less at the end of the year than the beginning is a huge tick – so I reckon 5/10 for effort. As my report cards said every year, Kathryn needs to try harder.

I want to be able to run 5 km by the end of the year and continue pushing myself at the gym. I’d like to have the stamina to do a RPM hi performance (1.5 hour) class. Once I start working again and probably studying as well, I want to find ways to ensure that I still get in my gym time.

I mock this goal. Phht – run 5 km! After the Run for the Kids and the City to Surf, 5 km seems like nothing. I give myself 10/10 for exercise.

I want to get off my diabetes medication and control it by lifestyle only. I also must have all the diabetes checks – I’m a real slacker about these. Must go to the eye doctor and the podiatrist and try to get an appointment with a dietian as well.

Woohoo, I did it. I’m a star. 10/10.

Healthwise, I’d also like to be weller in 2006. In 2005, I had all manner of little worries – colds and flus galore, not to mention back problems.

Not so good, but what can you do? I think the plan for next year is when the colds start, rest rather than try to push through it. And get a flu shot.

Get a massage once a month.

I didn’t get a massage every month, but some months I got more than one so on average I reckon I did it. 10.10.

Appearance and Self Image:

I want to work on being more confident on the inside and less slovenly on the outside.

Nope. Still slack and slovenly!

Work/Career:

For me, work is a two pronged thingie. On one side is the stuff I do to make money – usually IT or admin work and on the other is my writing. In 2006, I want to find a good way to balance these two things. Ideally, I’d like to find a part time job that gets me enough money to live on but leaves time for other things.

Nope. Still want a part time job but it’s so hard to find anything that isn’t reception or accounts, neither of which I can do.

I want to finish the final draft of my novel and get it sent out to publishers by mid year.

Ha, still working on it.

I want to get at least 6 short stories written and published.

Prolly about 3 so half points.

I want to get into my course (which, for those who asked, is the Diploma of Professional Writing and Editing) and get higher distinctions in the subjects I do.

Started studying. Not sure about my marks yet.

Finances:

I want to stay out of debt this year and save money.I want to buy a laptop. I want to spend some money getting my car in tip top condition.I’d also like to travel a bit this year.

Ha ha. I did none of this but I bought some pretty dresses. Oh I did get my car sorted.

Living Environment:

This is a hard one – I’m not 100% happy with the place I’m living mostly with my housemates but I’m dead lazy about moving and there are definite advantages to living here – it’s cheap as chips and I have a huge room.

Still here. Still hate my housemates. I have made things much nicer though.

Friends/Social Life:

I had a heap of stuff about improving my social life but I did none of it. I think mostly I felt I should do this stuff but I have no real commitment to it. I should just accept my anti-socialness.

Good Things

Last night some friends came over for dinner. The best kind of friends – they bought the food and cooked it then washed up! You gotta love that. We went for a run before dinner – well it ended up being more of a walk since I’m having running shoe issues – but managed 13 km around the city circle trail (that is 6.5 km then home).

Yesterday my housemate moved his car from the front of our house for the first time in 12 months. Since he has 3 cars, he seems to rotate them and I swear he does it at like 3.00 am so no one else can ever park there. So I saw the space and quickly moved my car. Now my car is out the front and I’m never moving it again.

Things are turning to a war zone here – yesterday the housemate woke us up hammering the side fence (right outside our bedrooms). Since it was 9.30, we couldn’t really yell at him. Then we went out and shut the front door so he got pissy because he’d gone out without his key. Tough shit, I reckon. If he doesn’t have the sense to take his key with him, it’s not my problem. Oh yeah and he’s stolen the plug from the kitchen sink!

I made the yummiest french toast for breakfast this morning. I had it with a little yoghurt and stewed fruit. Yummo!

Tonight we’re off to see M Ward at the Corner Hotel then I think NYE will be a quiet one. NYE tends to be such a sucky night out so the plan is to go to the bar down the street (the same thing I do every weekend). I can’t deal with trying to get anywhere else plus I hate all the drunken yobs around so a few quiet ones then home sounds good to me.

Better

I’m feeling a bit better now. I had a most productive day doing edits on my novel then went for a 10k run – all good things for clearing the head.

I’ve had a lot of worries on my mind lately – money stuff and job issues. On one hand I want to start earning the cash but on the other I want to get my novel finished and I want to have the time do it without fitting it in around work – I’ve done a first and second draft that way and I think it lacks cohesiveness because of it. But since I edited so well today, I’m predicting a mid-Jan finish which is around when the job market should be starting to open up again after the hols. Nice timing indeed.

Another worry is the word on the street says our owners are going to be selling our house. Arrgghh… for all it’s faults, I don’t want to move. I love living in this neighbourhood (although not so keen on living on a main road with cars blaring doof music all night) and i love the cheapness. I’ve just been checking out the Tenant’s Union website and they have to give us 60 days notice after the house is sold so have at least 3 months before it really becomes an issue.

Then there is my housemate. I’m going to kill. I just need to do some research on the grounds for temporary insanity pleas. His selfishness and lack of personal hygiene is one thing but I’m also starting to think he’s not playing with a full deck.

I’ve got all my toiletries in a drawer in the bathroom. A few weeks ago, I noticed the lid had come off my Fudge hair dye and it had leaked in the drawer. Normally I’m extra careful because it’s such messy stuff but figured maybe, just maybe, I’d been in a hurry and not put the lid on properly. So I cleaned up the mess and forgot about it. About a week, later the lid had come off again. Obviously someone has been into it and is being a bastard.

I think he’s got away with a lot of shit because we’ve always had other housemates so you can’t pin the blame on anyone but recently there’s just been the three of us in the house so it’s obvious who is the culprit.

For at least a year, we’ve had toilet issues – he doesn’t flush so I talk to him about it and things are fine for a month or so then it starts again. Today I asked him, yet again, to flush the toilet. I really think you should not have to ask someone over the age of three to flush the toilet ONCE, let alone multiple times. He swears it isn’t him. Yes, we have a peeing poltegist. Who know that non-corporeal beings even needed to go?

On top of all the issues I have to constantly nag him about, there are so many things that bug me that I can’t really say anything about – you can’t tell someone NOT to fry food in the kitchen even though it’s so frigging messy, you can’t tell someone they shouldn’t own three cars and keep two of them for storage and park them in the spots outside the house so other people have to park right down the street, you can’t tell people not to talk to you because you are sick of hearing about their bloody prostate issues. Well you can, but murder seems like a far simpler option.

NB: I’m worried now that I’ve posted this that something’s going to happen to him and I’ll be the #1 suspect, so I’ll put a disclaimer there that when I say I’m going to kill my housemate, I don’t mean it at all literally.

Blah

I’ve been feeling a bit down lately. It seems like all I have to do is look at food to put on weight at the moment and, believe me, I’ve been doing much more than looking.

Last week I got on the scales and I’d put on 2 kgs almost overnight. I thought it must have been a mistake and I’d been retaining water but the 2 kgs is still hanging around (maybe more, I’m not getting back on the scales for a while).

When does this get easy? When do I get my happy ever after with rainbows and butterflies and pretty sparkles?

Merry Christmas!

I got coffee yesterday, so I’m happy

Been out for a Christmas morning run and now I’m waiting for my sister to finish in the shower so I can get changed, pick up Andrew and do the presents and food things.

Wow, I timed my run to perfection – it’s pissing down now.

Have a good one. Personally I’m trying to figure out if that goodwill to all men thing extends to my housemate… would it be wrong to punch someone on Christmas day?

Merry Freakin’ Christmas

I dunno how I’m supposed to enjoy Christmas when every place that does takeaway coffee in my neighbourhood is now closed. I just went to get one and there’s nothing! Looks like I’m going to have to go out foraging further afield, and that’s just wrong.

If I don’t make it back, have a good Christmas.

Kathryn’s Tips of Yuletidey Goodness

Around this time of year, you read articles in magazines giving you tips to make Christmas easier. Most of them are complete crap. Don’t listen to them. Instead read my Tips of Yuletidey Goodness for the best Christmas ever.

1. Generic gifts, don’t do them. Some friends of mine do the generic gift thing. During the year they buy up cheap candles and books from discount shops and the like then come Christmas, they divvy them for the people on their gift giving list. That really makes a girl feel special! If someone can’t make the time and effort to go out and buy a gift especially for me then I don’t want it. If you have friends who do this or if you do this yourself for people, then maybe it’s time to stop exchanging gifts – you’re only doing it out of obligation anyway and who needs that shit anyway!

2. Emergency Gifts, don’t do them. You always read those hints about buying a gift or two to wrap in case an unexpected visitor turns up at Christmas time. What a load of bunk. Imagine this, right. I go home for Christmas and my mum drags my off to see old Aunty Whosit, that I’ve not seen since I was yay high. So she drags a gift wrapped cake of Cashmere Bouquet soap from under the tree. That’s not going to make me feel all festively happy. I’m going to know it’s her ‘oh fuck’ gift and she’s going to know I know. It’s going to be awkward and uncomfortable and really not worth the fuss for a cake of soap. Sometimes fine hospitality is the greatest gift of all.

If you forget to buy someone a gift then maybe it’s because you don’t really like them. Cut them off your list.

3. Don’t get into insane gift-giving spirals of doom. So last year Mrs Jones from across the way gave you a plate of her homemade shortbread and this year you feel like you should give her something in return. It’s never going to end up well. Within a few years, you’ll be spending most of October and November sweating it out in the kitchen because you’re giving gifts to everyone within a 5 km radius of your house. And think about it – did Mrs Jones give you those treats because she wanted you be guilt-wracked and anxious? Do you think she wants your obligation cookies? Sometimes receiving graciously is the greatest gift of all.

4. You don’t have to buy EVERYONE gifts. I didn’t know until this year that people give gifts to their kids schoolteachers. Who’d have thought it? Then I realised I gave them the greatest gift of all – I gave them the gift of my son to educate for the year. And that’s like the most Christmassy thing of all because if you believe in the whole Christian thing, Christmas is about God giving his son to to the world. Also, teachers don’t need another tin of talcum powder, really they don’t.

That’s it. The basic rule of thumb here is – if you don’t enjoy it, don’t do it. If you love spending hours baking cookies then that’s all well and good but if you hate it then just stop. Eat the things you enjoy, be with the people you love. If people get offended then screw them. Hopefully they’ll still not be talking to you by next year and that will be one less stress on the Christmas list.

Miscellaneous

I’ve been getting some very happy news lately re writing – two stories acccepted for short story collections. One of them I submitted over 2 years ago. Things move awful slow in publishing. Anyway, more details, if you’re interested, at my writing blog.

Arrggh, the smoke from the bushfires is so awful in Melbourne today. I’d been planning an outside run but I think I’ll just go to the gym instead.

I’d planned a gym yesterday but ended up spending most of the day in bed instead. I’d gotten a takeaway coffee and a snack (a chocolate coated mini Chrissie pud, bad me) then got home and my sister wanted to go to the coffe shop. I said I’d got with her but didn’t get a coffee or food because I felt so stuffed. By the time I left the coffee shop, it was like I’d eaten a 20 course meal. There is no way I should have felt that bad, I’d even shared the mini pud with my sister. So I decided to lay down and ended up sleeping for hours! I’ve been having lots of belly issues lately. I thought it was just due to my womanly time, but that’s come and gone and the belly issues remain. If it doesn’t stop soon, I’ll go to the doctor.

The Game Plan

Okay, this is the plan. I’m going to be very good for the next week. No treats (well except for the fruit mince pie I got this arvo from Bakers Delight but I had to test drive them for Christmas lunch — two thumbs up!) and extra cardio. No greasy pizza breakfast at the market this week, no chocobana balls with coffee.

Then come Christmas day, I’m going to enjoy myself, foodwise without fretting over calories and such. We’ve got a relatively healthy lunch planned – just your basic turkey, ham and roast vegies – with some yummy desserts.

After Christmas I’m right back into it. I need to shake off the extra weight I’ve put on plus get into training for the half marathon.

I’ve almost finished Christmas shopping – woohoo! I just have to get a stocking of lollies for Andrew and that’s it. Oh and maybe a fan. My mum told me to stop buying him stuff because I’ve already given him cash for Chrissie but I’m his mum, if I don’t get him socks and jocks and stuff like that he’d wear the old ones until they disintergrated!

Oh and on Christmas shopping – do folk stay at home all year practicing their most annoying behaviour for this time of year? Why do people think it appropriate to stand around chatting with their friends in the doorway of shops?

I think the worst thing I saw was a woman buying her teenage daughter clothes in Dangerfield. She kept asking the daughter questions while the daughter chatted on her mobile. I’d have slapped her up the side of the head and left the shop without buying her a thing but then Andrew would have never dared treat me like that.

Time to go for a run then some creativity. I got a pad of these thick blank postcards and I’m planning to draw pictures on them then send them to my aunties and my nan with Christmas greetings. Much nicer than a card, I think.