October Resolutions Check-in

(These monthly resolutions were inspired by The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. I highly recommend it to anyone who’d like some smart self-help.

1. Embrace imperfection.
I regretted making this resolution—the universe (and my own mistakes) gave me far too many opportunities to practice it. I bounced the checkbook, a nasty event coordinator e-yelled at me for four paragraphs when I canceled my Winter classes, odd traffic tickets kept popping up, I struggled in math class even though the professor kept saying “It’s just common sense…” etc.

However, I’ve learned to sometimes be able to see problems as just themselves, not as universal exemplars of catastrophe. Yes, I was stupid with the banking, but that doesn’t mean I’m stupid forever. A beeyotch yelling at me doesn’t mean I am permanently unable to connect with people. Math conundrums were often figured out after a good night’s sleep.

This was HUGE progress for me. Gold star.

2. Walk in the woods.
Every Fall, I worry that we aren’t looking at leaves enough. Weekly or twice-weekly walks/runs in the Wissahickon go a long way towards assuaging that worry.

3. Buy less.
While I was depressed, I developed a very mild shopping addiction, and I feel like that’s starting to fade.

We get a thrill from grocerying at the Save-a-lot instead of the Acme. We keep wondering why we didn’t do that before.

4. Make meals that involve steps.

My favorite one of these is my mom’s broccoli soup: Boil a whole bunch of broccoli stems in salted water for about 2 hours. Mash/cut up the stems and add the broccoli florets to the broth. Cook some elbow or farfalle macaroni in a separate pot, strain and add to broth. Cook for a couple more minutes. Serve with generous amounts of grated fresh parmesan.

I also like Rachel Ray’s Cabbage and Straw.

Next month I hope to recreate my mom’s vegetable barley soup.

5. Follow curiosity more avidly. (See: 20 Things I LOVE LOVE LOVED about October 2010)