Two weeks ago, I whipped myself into a frenzy about resolutions and told everyone to go forth and plot their plans for 2010. (If you haven’t yet, check out my original post on making New Year’s resolutions.) So, with just a few days left in 2009, it’s time for show and tell!
I am making three resolutions for 2010. I have many plans for 2010, but only a few things can actually be called a resolution. Like, dating my husband is not a resolution because it’s out of my control, and getting a publisher for my book is not a resolution, so much as it’s just What I Am Going To Do. I thought about my resolutions a lot. There were around four front-runners — it felt like “The Bachelor” finale. But these resolutions are getting the final roses!
Explore other cultures more, especially through food, literature, and the arts. Being “worldly” was a defining aspect of my personality when I was in college because I could travel/study abroad, take social and cultural history classes, and take advantage of cultural happenings on campus. Then adulthood/poverty set in, and I kinda let it go. And I miss it! So, this year, I am going to fall in love with the whole world…all the continents, and cultures new and old. I don’t think I will be able to travel much in 2010, so I am going to have to be creative at home, but there are still many ways I plan to make this resolution happen. Read books about other cultures, watch foreign films, go to museums more often, go to the opera, click around to new niche blogs, cook/eat new foods. I really want to take foreign language classes, but I’m still working out the logistics on that one — fingers crossed! Breaking it down, on a month-to-month basis, I want to have at least one new cultural experience a month.
Learn about food and how to prepare and cook it. OK, this is the year I stop just fucking around in the kitchen, yielding whatever sharp object and old spices I can find. I love food, but I want to learn more about it — the different types of salt, how butter temperatures affect a finished dish. It’s not like I can’t cook, but I know this will make me a much better cook. I want to learn the basics: knife techniques, vocabulary, simple sauces, how to enhance flavors. I really want to be able to make wonderful meals that come from simple, whole foods without always having to follow a recipe. I would love to take formal cooking classes, but I can’t find what I am looking for in Michigan, so I hope that can happen later in the year. In the meantime, I’m going to commit to teaching myself! I’m getting a lot of inspiration from The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters, and my mom gifted me a culinary school textbook for Christmas. Also, my grandparents gave me The Joy of Cooking which is probably going to be my textbook for the year. It’s huge, and it’s absolutely fascinating. Working my way through these books will teach me a lot. There will be many monthly goals for this resolution; I haven’t determined them all yet, but I can say that they will definitely lead me to put my efforts into buying simple ingredients as opposed to processed foods. Some monthly goals so far: make tomato sauce from scratch, grow my own herbs, and attend a wine class/tasting.
And I’m sure you can see how these two resolutions will overlap! Since food is such a huge part of culture, I hope that my second resolution will help with my first.
Learn to properly use “lie” and “lay.” I mean, let’s be honest, I used “laid” more than “lie,” “lay” or “have lain,” but still…I was a journalism major and I am the grammar police, yet these two trip me up every damn time! I am giving myself 365 days to figure it out.
I think 2010 is going to be off the hook in so many ways, and not just because by the end of it I’ll be really good at beating egg whites and fluent in Italian. So many of my friends have said, “I think 2010 is really going to be my year.” I couldn’t agree more. The world is a good place to be right now, believe it or not.
Oh BTW when I was running 18 miles the other day I remembered my resolution from 2007: to stop hooking up with frat guys! HA. Thank goodness I don’t have to make resolutions like that anymore!!
Anyway…now it’s your turn! What did you come up with? Tell me, tell me!!!
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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m keeping it simple with a few doable goals to work upon as the year unfolds. But my biggest resolution is to be more productive with my time. This means making a schedule and working it. We all say we don’t have time, but I find I waste so much time by not having a plan of attack. Of course I have more specific goals, but that is the biggie and if done properly, then all of the others will fall in line, too.
.-= Anne´s last blog ..POW! BAM! ZONK! =-.
I also got the Joy of Cooking for Christmas. It is chalk full of information!
My resolutions all fall under the “delayed gratification” umbrella! SAVE MONEY, eat this not that, be more diligent about washing my produce, and put the incline up on the treadmill for 60 percent of the time!! Happy 2010!
Girl, I feel you on the lie/lay. I was an English major and now getting my Master’s in teaching English, and I still can’t figure out that one plus affect/effect. Grammar Girl to the rescue: http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/
Hi,
I fallow your blog for some time now, and I’m actually from the Netherlands (if you do not know where it is I don’t blame you, it is tiny! But if I say Amsterdam, tullips and wooden shoes you will probebly get an idea.
But back to why I commended on this post, you want to learn about culture? Me to, so why don’t we learn about eachothers culture? I could help you and you me, let me know if you are intressted,
I love your love for resolutions and goals
I’m glad I have goal-oriented friends! As for my resolutions, I think I like making them because it’s an excuse to make a list and I LOVE lists!
1. Floss more. I make this resolution every year, but I’m ok with that because usually, if I floss more, I’m more likely to take better care of myself in general!
2. Be better about revisiting my resolutions throughout the year!
3. Take advantage of more of the cool sites/events in DC.
4. Have a life outside of grad school. This could be crafting or reading for pleasure or really anything besides reading for school and writing memos.
5. Apply for at least two jobs per week until I have a job for spring semester and for the summer.
6. Run. I want to be running more consistently each week and maybe even train for a 10K or a halfsie! This will require me to focus more on my nutrition too, which is sometimes a fail!
Your resolutions are awesome! I especially love that you can see the difference between resolutions and things that might be out of your control. Happy new year!