In with the new and out with the old?

I don't know about you but when it comes to resolutions, I rarely look back on past ones. I suspect that's because they tend to be very similar year to year. But in the interest of progress (hopefully) I thought I'd review last year's before making new ones this year.

Last year:

Get my body in better order aka Get my a** back to the gym or into some kind of exercise regime and stop eating the leftover Christmas baking. I did mention Hiphop Abs in passing previously but I was only half joking...it might be worth a shot! A subsidiary of this resolution is to get my closet in order...looks like it's time to pitch some more things and tidy up again. I also need to figure out a better way to store shoes, purses and jewellery so that I actually might use them to better advantage. Of course if the ladies from the Cityline fashion segment want to stop by and help me pull together some outfits that would be fantastic.

Get my financial house in better order - this will involve getting up the guts to speak to one or more mortgage consultants about refinancing with a better rate and shorter amortization which on paper should result in paying down the mortgage quicker as well as decreasing my payments a little. Next up, if I get a raise (which I'm supposed to so I should say "when" not "if") I should increase my RRSP contributions (which are paltry right now) since I can't contribute to a pension plan for another year and a half. And there is always the ongoing battle to pay off the credit cards. I managed not to use them for Christmas purchases so hopefully I am off to a good start. I know that you should pay them off monthly but I haven't ever managed that so that is a big goal for me.

Get my home records in better order - there is a new desk and file cabinet waiting to be put together in my office...in truth the file cabinet is part ways together but it wasn't going well so it needs to be continued. I have lots of filing to do but am hopeful that once I get started I will have a system that I can stick to.

So how did I do?

Well, I fell off the gym wagon sometime in late summer after an attempt at a boot camp. And I bought Hiphop Abs but never felt compelled to bounce around my livingroom to it.

I did kind of refinance the mortgage; I couldn't bite the bullet on the giant penalty but I did blend and extend. Essentially keeping the penalty about the same but making some better progress on the balance...minor but still some progress. I haven't done anything with RRSPs...oops I bought an old pick up truck....but it's shiny red...maybe I could retire with the truck and trailer? I did make some progress on credit cards but there is more to go.

And the filing cabinet is together but the desk is not. I'm due to go through the pile of old bills and mail and file again but there is somewhere to put it. I doubt I will ever be the most organized person in the world but hey, baby steps.

Soooooo what does that mean for this year?

Well I hauled butt at work last year and that has paid off with a new job. So one of my resolutions is to take advantage of that learning opportunity as much as possible. And at the same time try to find some balance.

Which leads to the next resolution - to not fall off the gym wagon altogether. I actually started back at the gym in late November. I even managed 3 times on the treadmill over my Christmas holidays - not stellar but better than nothing. Tonight was 5k in 43 mins. A far cry from where I was but I'm at 2.5 min walks and 1 min runs and hope to get to 2 and 1s and then start increasing my runs.

Beyond that it's to figure out what next. Am I still leaning towards a 5 yr plan with a return to the prairies? 'Cause this Easter I will have been here for 4 yrs already. Or am I starting to settle in here? And if I am, is that in this house/area or am I starting to feel ready to move? And am I happy being a party of 1 or am I going to shift my focus to being a party of 1.5? Or should I work on being a party of 2 and then 2.5?

Maybe this is the year to find the start of the next path I want to be on? And to get my bod and brain in shape to take it.