Meet George Jetson...his boy Elroy...

Hello people of the future!

I mean, is it just me or does 2010 sound like the age of the Jetsons?! It is the future people.

This marks week 1 of the new year and with it brings moves and experiments and plans to make-oh my!

First of all: MOVES.
I am now (unofficially) living in Lynchburg, VA. The cute (read: frustrating) part is that mere days after I got all moved in I received word of 2 things: A) Liberty won't be giving me free undergrad classes B) UVA is discontinuing their well-respected MFA program. All that to say I'm in VA and I'm not sure why. Well, that's not true. For the next week I am here to spend time with my sis and bro-in-law while they're stateside. I feel really grateful that it's possible. For a big picture thinker/do-er/color-coded calendar-er such as myself I loathe the concept of floating through life. Decisions have to be made...even if my present options don't make my heart palpitate. I think that is called being an adult?

EXPERIMENTS!
Back when I was in New York I spent a great deal of time with my health-food loving uncle. I noticed his zeal for fresh fruits and vegetables. His kitchen was organic EVERYTHING. (Now, because he reads this and I cannot tell a lie--he does have a soft spot for sweets and breads. But there is way more healthy food in his fridge/cabinet than carbs.) After dinner one night in Astoria we walked by a little vegetable stand and began admiring tomatoes. While he was uber-sensitive of sounding too Jewish mother-y he expressed concern for my (what we'll call) poor eating habits. It's not that I ate SO terribly. It's just that I didn't give much thought to what I consumed. (and by "much" I mean "any".) The thought occurred to me that perhaps I would have more energy, stamina and better all over health if I actually make a concerted effort to make healthy choices. I thought I felt pretty good when I wasn't exercising, getting a normal sleep schedule and eating whatever was around. So maybe it's worth it to see if I do in fact feel that much better if I try to take care of my body. So I'm giving myself a month (for now) to see how it goes. Here's what I'm doing:

1. No carbonated drinks.
2. No sweet tea. (knife in my heart.)
3. 8 glasses of water a day (I'm building up to this one.)
4. Exercising 5-7 days a week. (Running, Pilates, Zumba, Strength & flexibility classes)
5. Nothing obviously bad like fried foods or burgers.
6. Veggies/fruit every day.
7. Committing to a regular sleep pattern. Midnight to bed. 8 am to rise. (I like to sleep 9 hours but as an adult I shouldn't need to. I'm thinking the 9 hrs results from my unhealthy lifestyle.)

So if you want I'll update a little here and there on the Wellness Experiment. We'll see if doing healthy things really makes a difference in how I feel. I know this is unprecedented. Update women's magazines the world over!

PLANS TO MAKE!
Instead of resolutions this year I've assigned each month of 2010 a different focus-either a skill I want to learn, a trait I want to possess or a value I want to focus on. Obviously January is "Wellness." February is "Learning to (really) Cook." I got the idea from a blog I like & you may want to check out: Happiness Project

Also with the New Year came a slew of new books, movies, plays and trips I want to experience! I shall report back on all noteworthy items.

For now I'm going to go not eat a cookie.