New Year's Resolutions

So I have been contemplating what my Resolutions will be this next year. I have been (slowly) this year working on reorganizing my life. Mostly because one day I woke up and my son was three (or going to be) and I knew I wasn't setting a very good example. Complete Chaos reigned. I started out small... Cleaning my house and reorganizing things. I tossed about 6 bags worth of crap and donated at least 3 boxes of stuff every other day for 2 weeks. And I am still not done. I tried to quit smoking but I chose the week from hell to do it and so was not successfull... (but I am going to try again...)

My next step in the great (ongoing) transformation of myself was to start dating again. This blog started out as a way to begin tracking my progress in that field. I got really lucky and have found the man who could very well be "The One". Which is a little scary but I have been playing it safe for far too long.

So as I pondered all the begining steps from this year I finally came up with my Resolutions for next year:

1. I am going to stop smoking (this is the biggie so keep your fingers crossed for me)
2. I am going to finish reorganizing my house (this relates to the final resolution)
3. I am going to find new homes for two of my three cats (this one breaks my heart a little bit but keep reading to find out why I am doing it)
4. I am going to loose 50 lbs (this should be the easiest one becuase I lost 60 lbs this year)
5. I am going to be squared away so that I can move.

Explanation of number 5:
hmmm how do I explain this. I currently own my house. Which is cool, especially since I own it out right. But then it is just a mobile home. I still pay a lot rent for the land my house sits on, but everything inside those 4 metal walls is mine (except for my ex's stuff). My ex still lives with me because I can't afford to live with out him. The economy bust has hit us pretty hard here in Vegas. I am going a little crazy living with him, but I know that I can not afford to live on my own. I have come up with a pretty good solution though. If I sell my house (sniff) I can move into the public housing which is just down the street. I do after all qualify for every dang aide program in Nevada. From the proceeds of the sale of my house I can purchase a car (which I desperatley need in this city) and begin saving money for a down payment on a real house (with a foundation and everything!).

There is another option. One that may not ever happen but I am going to prepare for just in case. (secretly its the option I would prefer). I could move in with Bruce. Well no into his place but into a different place (probably a house). Not my place because I am still going to be selling it.

The reason why resoltuion number 2 realtes to number 5:
I refuse to move all this crap again. I need to slim things down because if I move into public housing I will not have the space that I have now, and if I move in with Bruce* there is no way the two of us will even fit into a normal house with all the crap I have.

The reason why resoltuion number 3 realtes to number 5:
It will be easier to get into public housing with one cat instead of three and Bruce is allergic to cats. If I get my own place it will be easier for him to stay over more often with only one kitty in the house and if I move in with him the same principle applies.

I have been looking for inspiriations to keep me going on this trek of life changes. Here are some of the ones I have found so far:

These were orginially post over at Laughing Purple Goldfish. She credits them to Robert Louis Stevenson. I liked them so much I am reposting there here.:

• Make up your mind to be happy.
• Learn to find pleasure in simple things.
• Make the best of circumstances. No one has everything and everyone has something of sorrow.
• Don't take yourself too seriously.
• Don't let criticism worry you. You can't please everybody.
• Don't let your neighbors set your standards; be yourself.
• Do things you enjoy doing but stay out of debt.
• Don't borrow trouble. Imaginary things are harder to bear than actual ones.
• Since hate poisons the soul, do not cherish enmities and grudges. Avoid people who make you unhappy.
• Have many interests. If you can't travel, read about places.
• Don't hold post-mortems or spend time brooding over sorrows and mistakes.
• Do what you can for those less fortunate than yourself.
• Keep busy at something. A very busy person never has time to be unhappy.

Next up are Ghandi's seven deadly sins. These were introduced to me by EZ.

• Wealth without Work
• Pleasure without Conscience
• Science without Humanity
• Knowledge without Character
• Politics without Principle
• Commerce without Morality
• Worship without Sacrifice

And finally Maslow's pyramid of self actualization. Steve* told me to look this up one day when I was feeling kind of low. SO I did...

*names have been changed to protect the innocent, the a**holes and the clueless.