14 in '14

Some goals--
School:

Get an internship.
Okay, okay this is a cheap shot.  Obviously getting an internship is a goal.  But it would feel wrong to exclude such a laborious process from this list.

Take it easy.
I have spent the last 4.5 years giving a lot of myself to my doctoral study.  I will continue to do that.  But this (hopefully) last semester I'm giving myself more allowances.  Reflected below:

Mommyhood:

Promote Henry's truancy.
I want to pull him out of daycare for a whole day or afternoon more often.  I love spending late afternoons/ evenings and weekends with him and sometimes I crave more but I just don't have the time.  But I'll make the time.  Every holiday makes me realize how much fun we all have together.

Join the Parenting Center.  Use the membership.
We're generally good about taking Henry places.  None of us do well stuffed up indoors.  But the Parenting Center is way more than a means so socialize both Henry and his parents...check out their great classes.

Body:

Take better care of my skin.
I need to enjoy good skin days as much as I enjoy good hair days.  It's just so hard to maintain a good skin regimen in the mornings with a toddler running around. Contemplating Estee's Advanced Night Repair Serum.  Already have the firming day creme (smells heavenly, but as indicated above, I don't always have the 30 seconds it takes to put it on).

Take better care of my hair.
I'm talking regular trims.  Touching up the color.  Brushing it.  Just kidding.  Also, I just chopped it all off.  The ombre, anyway.  I like it :)


Lose 5 lbs.
This is another old favorite.  I just bought 6 months of Pure Barre.  Sigh.

Eat more vegetables.
It's decided:  I'm investing in a box.  I'm become obsessed with feeding Henry new and wonderful things and forget that it's really something the whole family needs.

Shopping:

Don' bother with the shit that don't fit.
I think I get better at shopping for clothes that fit me every day.  And that's mostly because I have let go of wearing things that just do not work with my body type and embracing things that do.  For example.  I love high-waisted pants and shorts.  LOVE.  Since I'm pretty short, lots of things end up high on the waist anyway...and so I'll try to work that more.  Speaking of short, it's hard to find a skirt that truly fits.  Skirts should be just above or just below the knee - never at.  This is hard to achieve for a petite lady.

Good fit, an awesome sale, or on-trend, doesn't mean something looks good or that I should buy it.
I need to be more meta about shopping.  I need to ask myself why I want certain items, and if I really want them at all.  Or why I'm shopping in the first place (eg respite...its true).

No more mall.
The mall sucks.  Seriously.  The best thing I get out of it is Chick-fil-A, which I can do without.  There's nothing in the mall that I can't find online.  Boutiques are more fun and force support of local business.  Plus they have better stuff and better sales.  Recent scores:  A Michael Stars silk shirt for $20 (From ah-ha on Mag, I'm not shitting you) and an Alice + Olivia dress for $50, from my favorite on Metairie Road - SNAP.

Purge my closet.  Frequently, and liberally.
 I've gotten increasingly better about purging, especially in light of various causes (e.g., The No Fleas Market on Mag).  After the devastation of Tacloban, and in light of our trip to the Philippines, we decided to rally and gather goods to Balikbayan.  We ended up with five big boxes of donation goods.  And I know I'll barely miss the items I gave up.

Bring better design to my house.
My house has so much potential.  We have 4 mantles begging for tchochkes.  Walls desperate for decor.  And importantly, remnants from a gutted house ready to be repurposed.  I'm up to the challenge.

and finally, importantly, in light of the amazing vacation I just took:

Make a family tree.  Keep in better touch with the people on it.
My trip to the Philippines included meeting so many relatives and enjoying great times with them.  I am related to amazingly generous, fun, joyful people.  Now I know where Henry (at least in part) gets it.