Just like the rest of life, dreams and goals are constantly evolving and changing. So while I'm pretty on track with my "Celebrate and Sparkle" goals that I set back in January, since then I've accomplished some new ambitions, added some new aspirations, and also identified some elements that need eliminating from my life.
As I've progressed down my "Celebrate and Sparkle" path, there have been a couple of ambitions that came up that I've actually already been able to check off my list:
- Take an aerial silks class. I did this in May through Cabiri and it was amazing! The first class was a bit rough, as I felt like the body mechanics weren't clicking for me and my old shoulder injury was flaring up. Walking out of my class, that Negative Nellie in the back of mind was whispering demoralizing things like "Maybe you're just too old" and "Wow, you're really out of shape since your gymnastics days." After a short lived pity party, I'd had about enough of that, told negative Nellie to piss off, and was back at class the next week. And I was much improved! By week three I was having visions of performances and stunning feats of acrobatics. I'm currently on hiatus due to scheduling conflicts, but you can certainly bet that I'll be back at it again this fall. Health bonus: taking the class actually ended up helping my shoulder, as I learned to engage properly through the rhomboids and stop hanging by my rotator cuff.
- Become a subscriber at the 5th Avenue. The 5th Avenue Theater has a spectacular season coming up and I'm now officially a subscriber, which is head over heels cheaper than buying individual tickets. For the price of $33 per ticket, over the next year I'll be sitting in row 7 (yes, as in seven rows back from the stage) smack-dab in the middle while I eat my heart out watching Rent(!), Les Miserables(!!), Damn Yankees, Oklahoma!, and Cinderella.
Looking forward to summer and out through the rest of my year, my new aspirations now include:
- Reading. Lots and lots of reading. Some of my happiest memories from childhood were the weekly summertime visit to the library to stock up on novels and then racing home to dive right into my new finds. Even now, walking into a library or bookstore gives me a great sense of peace. Each book a miniature door into possibility and imagination. The titles whispering to me to peer inside. Exotic worlds just waiting to be discovered. With those memories swimming around through the back of my head, I have a deep desire to spend a good majority of summer lazing about outside with a book in hand.
- Sleep more. The health and beauty benefits of sleep are countless. So instead of rushing out to spend big bucks on the latest beauty revolution, I've decided why not just sleep more. For free. Seems like a no-brainer. I'm pretty good about always getting a minimum of seven hours, but my body tells me that I'd really prefer to be getting at least an half hour to an hour more per night. There will always be more dishes to dry and more status updates to read on Facebook, so instead of doing that one last thing before bed, I'm going to just skip it and go to bed.
And some things I need to remove, smite, magically aspirate, or otherwise eliminate from my life:
- Car problems! What is with my bad car luck?! Last year, I had my car broken into while on vacation, which was then subsequently damaged by the repair shop while they were repairing it. After having it back for a few weeks, I was then in an accident when another driver failed to yield. I thought my luck had changed this year, until I had to have it towed to the dealership for repairs in May. Which I again thought were fixed and behind me, until less than a month later, the problem started again and I had to have my insurance send out someone to give me a jump start and then drop the car off for more repairs. I am in desperate need of some kind of car karma cleansing! On a positive note, at least I'm getting my money's worth out of my roadside assistance policy.
- Time stealers. I think we all have them - certain activities that suck the hours right out of your day. I don't really watch TV, so that's not one for me. But compulsively checking email sure is (iPhone, I love you, but this obsessive relationship needs to stop), as well as taking too long to get ready (either for work or for bed). Both can easily take me an hour or more. I don't know how. My bathroom's not even that big. I don't particularly enjoy spending time in there. Which leads me to the conclusion that there must be some time of peculiar time wrap isolated to that one room of my apartment.
How about you goddesses? How are your goals coming along for the year? What's working for you and what isn't?
