April Resolutions

Accept a job offer	Get interviews from book club	Get some warm weather clothes (maybe with Kristin or Katie and Wendy)	Prepare for the partner slam	Buy the products from Bath and Body Work that i wanted but didn't cuz the line was too long
Finish all the books I’m reading	Grab lunch with Nikki	Bike 7 miles in thirty minutes (on the stationary bike)	Celebrate Justins birthday (should I try baking the cake?)	Go on all the “trails” at the gym
Finish four Under the Sea coasters	Have another session with a person trainer (female) and devise a workout program that works for me	Free Space	Consult with my psychiatrist on sensory deprivation tanks	Weigh yourself every Friday. Try to lose two pounds a week minimalWeigh yourself every Friday. Try to lose two pounds a week minimal
Try an elimination diet (go gluten free, eliminate Monster)	Work on my upcoming books under my second pseudonym	Spend plenty of time with Scout	Finish creating Catalina (my DND character)	Practice patience
Get interviews from slam team	Start Katie’s wedding present	Write a poem every day (April is poetry month)	Get to know lana and larisa better	Looking on te bright side

Every month it gets harder writing resolutions that are unique to that month and aren’t too repetitive. This month I feel ambitious. Here are my goals:

• I believe I will be offered a job at a senior center doing various activities with the residents like bingo, music, coloring and sensory stimulation. It is not a done deal yet so I’m a little hesitant to write it  on here but the activities director seems enthusiastic and I have a phone interview with him next week.

• I’m reading (I think. If I can count that high) eight books. These range from book club books about mice to Anne Bronte to a gender studies book to a book on Katherine of Aragon. It’s a lot to digest but I love being immersed in so many different worlds at once, meeting so many people, a million introductions, a thousand goodbyes.

• I got a pack of coasters off Amazon because Michaels was out (they are definitely slacking) and they are “under the sea” theme. My favorite is the turtle. I’m partial to turtles.

• The elimination diet is not something I asked for (does anybody ask for it? It means taking a large staple of my diet out of my diet (including caffeine and gluten) and then slowly edging them back in to see what items upset my stomach and what items don’t. It’ll be really hard giving up on some food but it’ll be really nice not to have diarrhea five times a day.

• I’m still gathering my interviews from the Rockland Poets slam team but I’m also interviewing those in my book club and I mean to make a small book for each member with the results.

• Right now I usually only focus on cardio. However I would like to become more familiar with the machines and floor exercises. I’ve learned I needed someone to watch me and give me notes and I definitely feel more comfortable with a female trainer especially since I want to ask what exercises/ machines will get me a better ass.

• I want to knit something for Katie. She’s marrying my best friend Adam and they are the cutest couple I’ve ever seen. My knitting teacher said she could teach me to knit flowers onto a handkerchief. I’m not sure I’m up to that but maybe I’m  more advanced than I think. 

• I don’t  have very many cute “spring/ summer clothes”. I have sweats and T-shirts. I want cute halter tops, tank tops, pastel colors, skirts. I want to stop dressing like someone who doesn’t care about her appearance. I am going to lose weight and dress like someone who does.

• My record is 6 miles (or a little over 6 miles) in thirty minutes. Usually I get seven miles around thirty five minutes. Time to shave off a few minutes.

• I have a sweet little cat named Scout who is around twenty two. You can tell he isn’t going to be with us much longer. His kidneys are shutting down and he sometimes can’t jump onto chairs or our laps because his back legs are so afflicted with arthritis. For now, we are just keeping him comfortable. I always try to spend as much time with him as possible, letting him lie in my lap or cuddling up next to him in my bed (which he  loves when there are sunny patches. He really likes being in the sun). We lost his sister a few years ago and that was  like having your heart squeezed in a  meat grinder. I anticipate this will  be just as hard.

• April is National Poetry Month. I’ve actually never written a poem daily in April even though I know many poets do. I’m going to try this year since I’m really serious about developing my poetry.

• In June Justin and I are participating in a partner slam where we compete as a team in a poetry slam. We are still writing the first poem. I am always hesitant to do anything as a partner even if that guy is Justin because I like being independent and I’m scarred from doing group/ team work in school. But I figured if we started preparing early enough and didn’t wait until the a week before the slam, we actually could have a shot.

• Justin wants tea for his birthday which is entirely doable. I know he likes chocolate cake so I was thinking this year maybe I could surprise him by baking the cake myself. Then when he says how good it is I’ll reveal that I’m the one who baked him (if he says it is awful then I’ll pretend my mom made it).

• I’ve been interested in sensory deprivation tanks for a while. Basically they are pools where you can submerge your body in and float there complete weightless in the dark. But there is a warning that if you have anxiety or a form of claustrophobia (I have anxiety, not so much claustrophobia) you should probably consult with your psychiatrist before you do it. My mom didn’t seem to know why I was interested but it’s a new, unusual experience so I’m going to ask my psychiatrist tomorrow.

• I am in a new DND campaign. My character is Catalina and she is a combination of several of the wives of Henry the VIII (Katherine of Aragon, who is probably my favorite, Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard). I have the piety of Katherine of Aragon, the cunning of Anne Boleyn and the vivaciousness of Katherine Howard (the last two were the ones who were beheaded). 

• At the gym you can bike or run along scenic trails from all over the world. I want to visit every trail to keep things interesting. So far I’ve ran through Niagara Falls and Vermont and biked through Costa Rica. Every trail is different difficulty wise as well. 

• So far I have lost one pound. It’s a start. If I only lost one pound weekly for a year, that’d be 52 pounds!

• I don’t know why but recently I have found myself losing patience with people. Usually they can win back my favor rather easily but slow drivers, loud people and kids on bikes have been pissing me off lately. Maybe I’m not fun anymore which would be depressing. I really have got to smile more.

• I discovered I recently have become more a pessimist. I don’t know why. My life is mostly going very well and I’d rather not dwell on the parts that are less than ideal.