new year's resolutions

I've never been one to make a list of resolutions, mostly because I'm leery of trying to tie change to a time of year. There are two things that I've been wanting to work on though, this year, that I started thinking about well before the new year.

The first item was something I've wanted to do a long time - cut soda out of my diet. There's nothing good about soda - the sugar, or artificial sweetener, citric acid, chemicals, etc. I had a health instructor in college who said, "If you wouldn't take a shower in soda, why would you shower the inside of your body with it?" Sure, you could apply that to a number of things, but that mental image has stuck with me for the last 13 years. Obviously, this has been a long time coming.

So far, I've done okay. Three times, I've succumbed to the craving - usually after watching someone consume it in my house. Once, I had one at a party - it was the only thing available. Six weeks into the new year, I'm doing pretty well.

My other resolution was to reach out to people more. I have a lot of acquaintances and new-ish friends that I really want, and need, to get to know. For those who don't know me, this is really hard. Once upon a time, I would easily come up with excuses not to do something. I started to break out of my shell when I was asked to be on a steering committee at church. The commitment thing, and the God/calling thing, kept me going as hard as it was. From there, things picked up. I met my husband, a very social person, and started beating back my fears and insecurities. I became more involved with my professional association. I forced myself to go to networking receptions, as scary and painful as they initially seemed.

So here I am today. Many of my closest friends live far away. I'd like, and I need, to build some relationships closer to home. Since New Year's Eve, I've managed to schedule and follow through on three meetups with friends/acquaintances. And the great part about it is not only how much better I feel after actually doing it, but also the good feelings that emanate simply from having connected with others. It's incredibly fulfilling and a real accomplishment for me. I'm setting a goal to do this at least once a month.