Happy New Year!

September 30, 2008 /

(image found here)

It’s Rosh Hashanah, (unless you’re Ted, and then it’s Rush Hashanah), which is the New Year according to the Jewish Calendar.  I’ve made the impulsive decision to make my New Year’s resolution now rather than in January, because there are a couple of things I need to work on, and there’s no time like the present, right?  I don’t generally go in for New Year’s Resolutions, actually, but this year, I feel the need.

So.  Here goes.

1. Floss.  I know, I should have been doing this all along, but I haven’t been.  I don’t enjoy flossing, and I don’t get much tartar on my teeth, so I have very little motivation.  I read a post on Red Stapler, in which Suebob encouraged us all to floss, and more importantly, mentioned the floss to buy by name.  Thank you, Suebob, because really, up until now, I just use the kind my dentist gives me (Reach), and it doesn’t work very well, and I get frustrated and give up. It sticks in between my teeth, or I can’t get it in between my teeth to begin with.  I went out the other day and bought some Glide floss, and amen, it’s easy, it’s painless, and I’m flossing twice a day!  All hail Glide floss!

2. Exercise.  Cherry told me about a bloggy friend of hers who recently completed a 5K, which she trained for using this method.  It’s basically, start slow, using intervals, and work your way up.  But it does give specific workouts for each week of the program, and by the end of about 9 weeks, you’re running 5K.  I’m no runner, and I don’t play one on TV.  I had a Physical Therapist once tell me I should not run, unless I want knee surgery at some point in my future, which I emphatically do not.  But, I would like to do something to kick my workout routine up a notch.  I’m 42, and I need to take care of my heart and lungs.  Osteoperosis runs in my family, so walking is a great weight-bearing exercise to build up my bones.  And I’ve gained a few more pounds in the last year or two than I would like, and it would be nice to get back into some of my other clothing.  So, I’m going to start this ‘running plan’, but just alter it to a ‘speed walking’ plan.  Yes, I’ll be one of those dorks you see walking all weird in the mornings.  So what? Starting tomorrow, rather than my 40 minute walk, I’ll be working on week one of the program, alternating 60 seconds of fast walking with 90 seconds of regular walking, and see where that gets me.

3. Money.  I’m pretty good about keeping my credit cards balances down low, but the temptation around Christmas is to buy things, and pay for them next year.  Since the ‘spending season’ is coming up quickly, I am going to work on getting through this season without using my cards.  With Ted out of work and the economy looking shaky as hell anyway, this is probably a really good idea.  So I’m thinking home-made gifts of some inexpensive kinds for family, and a hug and best wishes for friends this year.

I think that’s enough, don’t you?  I’ll let you know how I do.  Wish me luck!

14 Comments

  • Ted

    September 30, 2008 at 2:23 pm

    Well, these seem very do-able, so I don’t thing you’ll have much of a problem keeping your resolutions — except maybe flossing. 😉

  • shelliza

    September 30, 2008 at 4:31 pm

    L’shanah tovah to you and your Jewish readers!

    I need to join you in those resolutions. I haven’t been flossing and just the other day I was thinking that if I don’t maintain these teeth I spent so many years trying to straighten, I’ll lose them.

  • Cherry

    September 30, 2008 at 10:07 pm

    I’ll give you all of the Glide we have! We’ve switched floss brands and still have half of the Costco pack of Glide Eric was using. It’s totally all yours!

  • dewey

    September 30, 2008 at 10:10 pm

    Best of luck to you with these. I find that I just don’t feel right at all if I’m not exercising regularly, and I hope your new program has you feeling GREAT.

  • Autumn's Mom

    October 1, 2008 at 8:37 am

    I recommend Glide as well. I also like the stuff our dentist gives us, GUM. I’m a bad bad flosser. My hygienist said I’m not one of those people who can get away with not flossing. I had to refrain from calling her a name. Sigh. I’ve been trying to work up to once a day. Yay you for doing it twice! I think you have some great resolutions here. You can do it!

    Happy RUSH Hashanah

  • jeri

    October 1, 2008 at 11:57 am

    Glide floss rocks, I tell all my patients – if you have to struggle to floss you aren’t gonna do it…so kudos to you for discovering it…now like you, if I could just conquer the exercise thing…some people floss some people exercise….happy new year!

  • Luna

    October 1, 2008 at 5:35 pm

    Hi J,

    My name is Luna and I’m a Stanford University student interning at Cooliris, a web start-up in Palo Alto, CA. Your blog always features some great finds for parents. So, I thought you and your readers would be interested in Cooliris, our free software that transforms your web browser into a full-screen interactive 3D Wall that revolutionizes the way viewers interact with media on the web. You can now seamlessly browse and instantaneously zoom in on thousands of images and videos in seconds.

    Today we are especially pleased to announce that Cooliris now offers an enhanced shopping experience.

    Cooliris Shopping lets you skip all the navigational headaches traditional shopping interfaces induce. Instead, we bring the enjoyment back. With Cooliris you’ll be able to find what you’re looking for faster than ever. And we’ve got your shopping needs covered with Macy’s, eLuxury, Beauty.com, Nordstrom, Apple iTunes, Amazon, Wal-Mart, KB Toys, Lands End and more.

    I’d love to show you Cooliris with more than words, so please check out Cooliris at http://www.cooliris.com. You can see a demo of how the product works as well as download it for free. We hope Cooliris can make life a bit easier for you and your readers! I’d be happy to answer any questions you may have and I look forward to hearing your feedback.

    All the best,
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  • C

    October 1, 2008 at 7:14 pm

    Great resolutions, J! Looking forward to hearing how that goes. At least you’ve set realistic and attainable resolutions 🙂

    My dad, being the joker that he is, always tells me that he “resolves to not make any resolutions”.

  • LauraH

    October 1, 2008 at 8:39 pm

    I am way off topic here and have been a horrible bloggy friend. I wanted to let you know how very much the card you sent meant to me. It was the only card I received that day, a day when I thought the world has forgotten him. I will never forget that, or that you thought of us.