Bi-Annual Report on February Resolutions

I was reminded today that many institutions are coming to the close of the fiscal year, and it seemed like a good time to make an accounting of progress on my 2009 resolutions. Here's the round-up:

Composting--I have the composter, and it has stuff in it. But it's not quite compost. I haven't turned the pile for a couple months. It got a bit out of whack with too many "greens" (mostly kitchen waste, in this case) and not enough "browns" (shredded paper, cardboard, dried grass, etc.). I do need to get back in the groove with it.

Beside the composter, though, we do have 18 square feet of garden with some lovely plants growing. We've already been harvesting herbs and lettuce, and we're eagerly awaiting the carrots, bell peppers, squash, and eggplant. Our trusty neighbor is going to keep it all alive while we're on vacation.

Exercise--I've gotten into a good exercise routine. Three days a week of Fluidity during the kids' naptime, and two to three days a week of walking with the kids. I've even managed to get right back to exercising after trips, and we've been incorporating hiking and walking into family days and dates. The kids and I have also been taking a once-a-week parent-kid dance class, which gives us all a chance to get in some much needed wiggling.

Eating Healthfully--I'm eating healthfully enough to be 15 lbs. lighter than I was in February. (I'm down to the weight I was at the end of my freshman year of college--for the first time since then.) Eating well on upcoming summer vacations will be a challenge, but I feel like I have the tools to choose better eating.

Dissertation work--I did turn in a prospectus draft this month and got a good response from my advisor. I'm finalizing the draft this summer, and I'm starting on a conference paper/chapter. (Side note: I got a paper accepted to a panel, and the panel was accepted to the Renaissance Society of America conference in Venice, Italy, in April 2010. Now I need to add "learn Italian" to my list.) I also managed to find a preschool and get the kids enrolled for fall. With some husband help delivering the kids to preschool, I'll have an additional 8+ hours a week of daytime work starting September 1.

Laughing--We could still laugh more. Must work on this one. :)

Limiting commitments--I'm still not great at limiting commitments. I am starting to feel guilty about saying Yes to things. I haven't added much to my schedule, and I've been more aware of how busy a week our family can handle. And I think it's finally sunk in that I should never, ever schedule anything for Monday mornings.

Other stuff--I haven't pulled out the knitting needles, but I've had the opportunity to do some musical things--writing some songs with my husband, playing with friends, leading the band at church, recording some songs. For my birthday, my husband gave me "recording a kids' album," so we're gathering equipment and getting ready to take some evenings off and lay down some tracks. Our son is also learning to read, and we're taking our time with it. All in all, the 2009 resolutions seem reasonable, helpful, and accomplishable. We still don't have our pictures hung in our new place, and I've still got three boxes left to unpack, but all in good time.