2012 New Year's Resolutions

I hate the whole "New Year's Resolutions" crap. No one sticks to their resolutions. You never see any blog posts at the end of the year saying 'look how well I did with my resolutions!'. The gym is always crowded in January with these fake fitness goal seekers. "I'm going to lose 85 pounds and get into a bikini." Yeah, whatever. I'm no Tony Horton, but I'm also no Kevin James, either.

Some people quit smoking. Some people read more. Some people spend more time with their families. Blah-blah-blah. Most people just go about being themselves. People don't really change. Therefore, I'm not calling these New Year's resolutions. I'm just calling these things I hope to accomplish.

Early in the year we were introduced to the Believe in Tomorrow Foundation, an organization that provides respite and hospital housing for families with critically ill children. After we had the opportunity to spend a long weekend at their beach house in Ocean City in February I felt the need to do something for them. I learned that the Believe in Tomorrow Foundation sponsored the Port to Fort 6K. At that point I decided to start running so that I could participate in this race, which was in April. Then I kept running.

A month after the race one of my old high school friends posted on Facebook that she just ran X miles and was halfway to her goal for the year. I thought that was a great idea and I decided to run 200 miles by the end of the summer. I accomplished that goal. Then I decided I was going to run 350 miles by the end of the year. But then it got cold, work got busy, and I didn't make my goal. I did, however, run almost 300 miles. Not too bad.

So how many miles can I run next year? I think I can run 500 miles in a year. That's not that big of a deal. It's about 9 miles per week. I was running almost 20 miles per week during the summer. I also want to run a 5K with my daughter. She says she wants to run cross-country and track in high school (and she's about a year and a half away from high school), so she started ruining with me now and then. My friend Charm City Kim says that we should run a half-marathon together. A half-marathon is 13.1 miles, and when you finish you're allowed to have a 13.1 sticker, which also makes you eligible to buy a Volvo.

My weight has also been a struggle. I'm about 185, but I think I should be about 165. My wife thinks I should weigh 125. The next time I weigh 125 will be after I've been dead for about 9 months. I think with my continued running, I should be able to bring it down into the 170's. That is if I can contain myself with my daughter taking an interest in baking.

My youngest daughter continues her treatment for leukemia, so while I have no control over her illness, I want to see her healthier and not be in the hospital. I think she was in the hospital 4 times this year, maybe more. She has her down weeks, but her precious smile makes the other weeks so much better. She loves school and I want to see her go to school as often as she can.

There was a lull for a while in my reading. I picked it up again at the end of the year. I'd like to read at least one book per month. Most of my readings are history with the occasional classic. Perhaps some of my readers can offer suggestions. Romance novels are out of the question.

I'd like to paint my bedroom. We've lived in our house for almost 13 years and still have not painted our bedroom. Perhaps 2012 would be a good year to do that.

I'd like to see Martin O'Malley come to some sort of self-recognition of his abysmal failures as Governor and step down from office and start volunteering for a non-profit instead. I would also like to hear him admit that his Congressional map that he drew is not fair to Marylanders and submit a new plan.

On the blog front, I'd like to keep my bloggin pace a little more frequent than it was through most of the year. I know that several times this year saw a lull. Perhaps I can blog at night after I've read some of my book while eating my daughter's tasty desserts.

Is there anything else I should be doing? What are your goals for 2012?