Welcome to GET ON WITH IT Resolutions -

For many years I have deliberately decided not to make New Year's Resolutions - because I don't have a very good record of keeping them. But this year, its time for a few, very specific ones. These will form the backbone of my blog - but will not limit it.

Fashion. Beauty. Health & Fitness. Study. Sanity. Soul.

And all this from someone who is a Chronic Procrastinator. So GET ON WITH IT Emelie...

My Dirty Dozen Resolutions
"...more like 'Guidelines' than actual 'Rules'."- Pirates of the Caribbean
Fashion:
1. Learn to sew well enough to sew my own clothes. They mustn't look obviously 'homemade'. Make time each week for this (less TV). An ideal piece of clothing would be:
-Designed and made by me
-Fits and flattering
-Very reasonably priced
-Recycled or reused pieces
-Fair Trade (no slave labour or ridiculous retail brand mark ups)

2. Focus on flattering age appropriate basics - don't impulse buy and end up with clothes I don't wear &/or can't really afford &/or don't need &/or feel guilty about.

Beauty:
3. Develop a simple, quick and very reasonably priced skin rountine that suits my skin (combination with occasional big zits and bright red/rosacea flush across nose). Ditto for makeup.

4. Start wearing Sunscreen.

5. Don't obsess about how I look. I have my good days more than my bad days now. Be thankful. Don't stress. Try and be more confident in the 'Skin I'm In'.

Health & Fitness:
6. Eat better for life. Move better to live. Smaller, more nutritious portions. Monitor against Emotional Eating (stress, bordom). Learn to deal with Temptations. Exercise 5/wk incorporating cardio and weight bearing exercise. For weight loss, toning, bone strength, me-time and endorphins.

7. Get 8 hours of good sleep 5nights/wk. Aim for regular hours.

8. Celebrate my progress. I wasn't fat to begin with, just unfit and stealthily eating bigger portions of less nutritious food. Since August I have dropped from 64kg to 57kg. Almost 2 dress sizes if it wasn't for Christmas. I would like to comfortably wear a size8(US size4) fitted jean by mid-Feb.

Study:
9. Do a little bit everyday. When that goes well, do a little bit more. Try and do a weekly overview - each week. Not at the end of a month, semester or night before.

Sanity:
10. Cherish and forge new friends (esp non-Med friends).

11. Read a non-study book 1/fortnight. I did this for a couple of years and really enjoyed it.

12. Try and make a realistic budget. And actually stick to it. Aim for Simplicity. Do I really need this right now? If possible, put aside regular savings.

Soul:
Seek to walk with Jesus every day. Listen to Him. And Get On With It.

Learn not to listen to my 'Tyrant'. Be free of my burden of deep, biting self-criticism and self-hate.


So for better or worse - here we go 2008. This is hopefully about putting balance into my life, not about achieving things.

I would love to hear of your NY resolutions...

I will try and update this blog 2-3 times a week so there's something new to read about when you (hopefully someone) check in...

GET ON WITH IT Resolutions

Hello to any readers out there -

Over the last coupld of years, I have enjoyed reading a few staple blogs every few days covering numerous interests. So I decided that this might be a fun venture to share with other people. I suppose, being New Years' Day 2008, it is also a way for me to be accountable to myself (and hopefully others) for some resolutions I want to keep.

A bit about me:

• I am a major Procrastinator. Contrary to popular belief, procrastination is not just about laziness - I am not a lazy person. I do lots of things very well - just not the things I should be doing. It has gotten to be a very serious issue in my life and I am seeking help for it. I am trying to build up layers of accountability for myself, and writing things down is one way. I can type faster than I can write, plus, I like the idea of other people's insight.
• I am in my 20's and still at uni. I am only just moving out of home this year to do my 6th year of uni in a regional hospital (I'm studying to be a doctor). I have one degree as a Medical Laboratory Scientist. This year will be full of challenges (hopefully good ones) - moving out of home away from my sisters and parents, living on a budget!, finding a new job (fast), dealing with study, keeping up my health and fitness momentum and all the while aiming for balance, confidence and enjoyment.
• I have always loved Fashion, History of Clothing, Sewing as well as Architecture and Garden Design. I have sketch books from when I was really little. My Mum remembers asking me about my first day of Grade 1 and I proceeded to describe in detail what all the teachers were wearing. I still keep detailed sketches and clippings. I also dream about clothes - I wake up knowing exactly how a seam should be placed and fitted, colours and fabrics. I don't have 'weird' dreams, they are all about clothing, designing and decorating buildings and gardens (like those design computer programs where you can choose different designs and colours until you like a particular one...).
• I love listening to music - according to my mood. I pretty much love every sort, except for repetitive Techno and extreme Heavy Metal, Punk or Country Music (although I love the soulfulness of Bluegrass). I am the kind of person who can really like a song, but not have a clue of who wrote it or what it is called. I hate listening to the radio (due to ads) so my CD collection has be built on the basis of listening to my friends music in their car.
• I also love reading - and re-reading. Also, re-watching favourite movies. My Mum doesn't understand this at all - she has probably watched less then 10 whole movies on TV as she always gets up and 'does things'. I don't watch much television, but I know what I like and I watch it again. My sisters and I can keep a track of characters, plot lines and quotes. This gets annoying when I have studied a medical concept for hours and can't remember it, but can recall a whole section of lines from a TV show I've only watched once!
• I love being around people but also love being alone. I think that's one reason I love exercise - I can get outside and have thinking time to myself, or listen to my favourite music. Its also a main reason for wanting to do Medicine over working in a Laboratory.
• I would love to Paint or take beautiful Photographs. Of people, of nature, black and white, amazing panoramas. I've decided that these hobbies can wait for next year - I want to concentrate on my sewing skills.
• I would love to do Swing Dancing. I've tried it once, and it's addictive. But each partner needs to know what they're doing. Otherwise its just like Grade 7 Graduation dance with the girls dragging their reluctant male, pre-adolescent partners around the floor, apparently called 'Bush Dancing'... excruciatingly humiliating for all involved.
• I live in Australia - in Queensland. This is a pain for someone like me who loves Winter coats but it never gets below 10Celcius during the day. My daydreams all involve immigrating to somewhere where they experience all 4 Seasons. Its also a bit of a pain, because we are such a small country and very underrepresented. Most blogs refer to British or American products, brands and pricing. From reading these I have gleaned two very important differences. The Brits pay too much and the Americans too little! For those in the US - you get VERY cheap clothing and beauty products with amazing choice of brands.