2011: The Year of Me

I don't normally do New Year's resolutions.  But it just so happens that this year, I am starting quite a few new things in January, and so I decided those could conveniently be my New Year's resolutions! Sort of sly, right? Yep. That's how I roll.

Also conveniently, most of these resolutions revolve around ME (well, I guess, who else would you be resolving for? You can't very well resolve something for someone else, I guess).  Therefore, 2011 will henceforth be known as the Year of Me.

Resolution #1: Write More.
I really miss writing, so I have started contributing to a website called OkinawaHai.  This webiste is known to every American on this island.  It contains all information pertaining to living in Okinawa: how to move here, how to find housing, cars, child care, preschools, regular schools, and what to do here - beaches, parks, fun stuff, historical stuff, festivals, everything!  Check it out in your spare time, but be sure to check it out on February 7th, because that's when my first write-up will appear!  I have two more articles in the works as well. 
Resolution #2: Do More Fun Stuff, Just for Me.
I have been hosting a lot of events lately and have had so much fun doing it!  I am excited about entertaining more.  And now that Olivia is almost one (!!!) I decided I need to get out of the house more with my friends.  My friends have also started doing fun stuff, and have invited me to take part as well.  My friend Robin just started a monthly BUNCO group and my other friend - also named Robyn -started a monthly book club, both of which I'm excited about!  I am also looking forward to continuing my involvement as co-organizer of the Okinawa Kids Clothing Swap and volunteering for Tommy's unit. 

Resolution #3: Join (and Get Involved in) a Church
This is a harder one.  It has been a long journey for us to find a church. I grew up Catholic and Tommy grew up Baptist.  When we got married we intended to do so in the Catholic church, but after a lengthy debacle that left both of us disappointed, we ended up having a Protestant service and with brief exceptions, have flailed around homeless ever since!  I won't bore you with the details, but we really struggled to identify a church that was both in line with our personal views (relatively liberal) yet conservative by nature in terms of its service.  In other words, (and I sincerely hope this doesn't offend anyone) big screens and powerpoints weren't going to cut it for us.  We needed to feel inspired by the message.  We have tried a few different places but nothing seemed to fit the bill.  Turns out that all along, the answer turned out to be right under our feet - literally!

I had been resisting going to All Souls for church service because it is where Wyatt attends preschool and I didn't want Wyatt to feel like he lives at the place.  Plus, my neighbor and good friend is the priest there, and I felt funny trying it out because if I went and didn't like it, I would have to explain why I didn't like it and that might be sort of uncomfortable.  However.... they happened to have a service on Christmas Eve that was early enough that the kids wouldn't be falling asleep at it.  So we tried it.  And loved it!

All Souls is an Episcopalean (Anglican) church.  But the service was so strikingly similar to a Catholic service - almost verbatim - that I wondered what the differences were and started reseraching it two days later.  Turns out there are many similarities and many differences.  For me, the similarities tend to be in the service (Yay! It felt so familiar!) and the differences in its liberal views (Yay!!).  There is a great summary here if you are interested (warning: it is a bit lengthy), although it doesn't cover it all.

Resolution #4: Eat Less, Exercise More.
Isn't that everyone's resolution???  Enough said. :)

So those are my New Year's resolutions for 2011... the Year of Me! :)  What are yours???