Amanda

Today’s Resolution: Appreciate the Internet

Today is a planned black-out for many of your favorite websites as a statement against the businesses (Walmart, Adidas, Apple, Microsoft, Dell, Coach, Comcast, CVS, Ford, Johnson & Johnson and so many more)  and politicians who supported the now extinct  Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). Thankfully it was denied from the White House, but it’ll be back in another form, and Protect IP Act (PIPA – the Senate’s version of the act) is still being amended. More about those two.

Today’s Resolution: Write a Haiku

A Haiku or /ˈhīˌko͞o/ is defined as “a poem of seventeen syllables, in three lines of five, seven, and five, traditionally evoking images of the natural world.” I haven’t written a haiku since my creative writing class in college, and I’ve never been very good at them anyway, but I look at them as a fun sort of troubleshooting exercise.

Today’s Resolution: Fake Plan Your Dream Vacation

Dreams are just things we haven’t done yet, and there’s no better way to do the things you dream of, than to start planning. So today your goal is to window-shop your dream vacation. Pretend that you’re leaving in six months and research flights, hotels you’d want to stay in, and excursions you’d want to do. Who knows, you might just find out that it’s not as far out of reach as you thought… or maybe it is. Either way, it’ll be fun to plan.

Today’s Resolution: Eat a Vegetable

Nobody has more trouble eating cooked vegetables than I do. Give me a barrel of carrots and broccoli straight out of the garden and I’m good. Try to boil, grill, skewer, casserole, or Crockpot them and I’m like a one-year old trying pickles for the first time. So today’s resolution is to eat a vegetable. Easy for most I’m sure, so to add a little spice to this one, you might go out an discover a new veggie recipe.

In fact, you might just go all out and try to eat as many veggies as the Food Pyramid tells you to (that’s 3-5 servings per day). Also according to the pyramid, this is what’s considered a serving:

• 1 cup of raw leafy vegetables
• 1/2 cup of other vegetables, cooked or raw
• 3/4 cup of vegetable juice

So, you know, do whatever challenges you.

Today’s Resolution: Watch a Movie From Your Childhood

One thing I miss from my childhood was heading to the local drive-in theater to watch a bunch of kick-butt 80’s movies all in a row. Unfortunately, I have it on good authority that Howard the Duck just isn’t as good as we all thought it was back in 1986. Still… it was still pretty rad, right? That chick from Caroline in the City was all “…oh Duckie…” and Howard was all, “…on my planet, we never say die, we say… NOT MY SHORTS!”

Good laughs all around.

So today your goal is to catch up on an old flick. You might be able to find it online using Netflix (they have a 1-month free trial) or Hulu, or even looking in the catalog of On-Demand movies that comes with your cable package. And then there’s always your local RedBox or Video Store.

When I was a kid I was obsessed with The Goonies, An American Tale, Fuzz Bucket, The Quest, My Girl, and Howard the Duck, just to name a few. Oddly enough, I was even so enthralled by Stephen King’s IT so much that I tried to dictate the entire 3-hour movie once entirely from memory. Patrick’s faves were The Goonies, Ghostbusters, Indiana Jones, Back to the Future, Home Alone, Die Hard, Lethal Weapon, and The Toy. So needless to say, it should be a good, fun, nostalgic day!

Today’s Resolution: Don’t Watch the News

Watching the news is no different than reality television, it’s the ultimate reality television. Except, when you’re done watching the news you usually feel angry, sad, nervous or otherwise unpleasant. Because honestly, the world is not a positive place and hearing about local shootings, homes being robbed for Christmas and whatever hocus pocus your local politician is up to will do you no good in the mental health department.

You’ll worry, you’ll get angry, you’ll rant on Facebook, and while nothing will have changed in your own personal world (your mom still loves you, you still have a job, your favorite show is still on tonight, you’re still hanging out with your best friend tomorrow), you’re suddenly in a crap mood for no reason.

Today’s Resolution: Remember Everyone’s Birthdays

Facebook makes it way too easy to remember the birthdays of those you love (and some that you don’t). The trouble with technology is that sometimes you get behind on using your own brain. So today, write down everyone’s birthday (yes, you can get them on Facebook if you want) and make a mental note.

Today’s Resolution: Take a Silly Photo of Yourself

You can’t be serious all the time, you know? You gotta hunker down, grow a little humility and tell yourself, “it’s OK to relax and be silly once in a while”. This might seem like a silly resolution in itself, but judging by overload of boob and ab shots on Facebook, it’s definitely about time we all got a little sillier and stopped worrying about our double chins, crooked teeth, or whatever our personal insecurity is. Be silly, take a photo, and post it for the world to see.

Status: #11 COMPLETE: Spent All Day Taking Stupid Photos

Today’s Resolution: Wrap Up Early and Unwind

I’m not going to go out there and say “go home and get wasted tonight” because I’m a proper lady and I’m sensitive to the issues of alcoholics. However, there are lots of ways to unwind and today you have permission to say, “it’s 5 o’clock (or whatever o’clock you work on), and I’m off the clock”. Do absolutely nothing but exactly what you want for the duration of your evening. You deserve it.

Today’s Resolution: Make a New Friend

The world of social networks somehow brings us all together yet so painfully far apart at the same time. “Like, I totally responded to all of your posts for the past year, so why do we need to get coffee and catch up? Guh! You’re so needy!”

So while you’re passive-aggressively putting those meetups off, let’s try to start fresh. Today your goal is to make a new friend. Maybe they won’t be a lifelong friend, and maybe they’ll just be a new friend you made in line at the grocery store. Regardless, let’s make a friend. Ask them what they do, who they are, how they get their teeth so white… you know, all the usual new-friend stuff.