I am resolved…

to do many things, but on this particular day, said resolutions are inspired by The Rejectionist’s yearly testing of next year’s resolution for the month of December.  I will still call them ‘Practices to Enact’, I think, because that has a nicer ring to it.  Regardless, here’s how things will go down:

*Eat less pastries/cookies/sweets in general.  I failed miserably at the attempt in November (I blame it on my birthday.  And getting engaged) but hope to have more peer pressure this time and actually succeed.  That and I need to take it easy before the sugar-fest of holiday time.

*Write every freaking day.  Either in this here blog, or in my personal journal, or in the lovely little Greenway notebook that was my goodbye present from Laura K upon ending my LVC year at the Coalition, or poetry in the snow.  Whatever.  Write write write write.

*Start budgeting.  Like really think about the things I spend $$ on now, the things Benjamin and I will want/need to spend $$ on in the future, and map it out.  At this precise moment in time I am not living paycheck to paycheck by any means, but with bike adventures/possible house/a plethora of awesome community activities in the future, it would be enormously helpful to actually track my spending and have a real reason to save for lovely things in the future.  Maybe I’ll make an art project out of it…

*Keep my Facebook-note promise to write at least one letter to a friend at least once a week.  Thus far I have only done this once, which is unacceptable.  This could also help with PtE #2, come to think of it.

*Make progress on growing mushrooms and my t-shirt quilt.  I’ve been working on the latter for years, and thinking about the former for months, and have been in stasis.  But on Tuesday I bought batting and thread for the quilt (and also decided I should sign up for the beginning handquilting class at the quilt shop in February/March taught by a 90 year old lady), so it’s going to happen this time.

December, commence!  Now I expect all of you wonderful people to ask me how these things are going so that I’m held accountable 🙂

Dreams Accountability Collaborative.

I have many dreams.  Goals.  Hopes.  Visions.  Plans for the future.  Whatever you want to call them.  Here’s a smattering: hike the Appalachian Trail; go to Burning Man; write a book; learn to play the drums; brew my own beer/wine; grow mushrooms; have chickens in the city; bike the Mississippi River trail; never own a car; build beautiful spaces in the city.

I have  made countless lists of my dreams, to-do lists of life plans, but occasionally (actually often, if I’m truly honest) these dreams go by the wayside in favor of the demands of day to day, week to week existence.

But I don’t want to give up on my dreams, silly as some of them may be, and I don’t want to one day stop making big plans because I rarely followed up on any of the earlier ones.  And I’m betting many of you, dear friends, have similar dreams that you might need some reminding about once in a while.  So I propose a Dreams Accountability Group, a loosely knit association of individuals filled with ideas and dreams that will hold each other accountable to where those plans are at.  At its most basic I envision merely asking each other how things are, where the planning/action is at.  And on a deeper, more distant level, maybe even joining each other on the journey to realizing some of our dreams.

Somewhat cheesy?  Yes.  But the alternative is much more distressing- a future life without extravagant plans and impossible dreams.

Are you interested in joining my Dreams Accountability Collaborative?  Let me know here!

~Lauren