Tuesday 31 December 2013

New Year's Resolutions for 2014

Every year, like most of the population, I thoughtfully and diligently string together a list of resolutions to carry out in the New Year; and every year, I carefully and diligently work on completing these resolutions – right up until around the time when my birthday rolls around. (This would’ve had the potential of being a lot more impressive if my birthday wasn’t within the first few days of January).

So this year I’m trying something a little different. In hopes of extending the amount of time before shamefully giving up on my goals, I’m going to make myself accountable by posting a list of my resolutions to my blog. Hopefully this works in keeping me more motivated – maybe I’ll even make it to the second week!


    1.   I am going to achieve and maintain a weight of 160lbs. Over the past year and a half I’ve lost just over 100lbs, but am still just a couple pounds short of my goal weight. By eating healthily and exercising regularly (at least 4x a week) I will not only reach, but also maintain the 160lb mark I set out to achieve.

    2.   I am going to deepen my relationship with God. By going to church regularly and attending spiritual classes (at least 3), my relationship with God will be stronger and more meaningful than ever before.

    3.   I am going to discover what I want out of life. As of right now I am not 100% sure on the direction I’d like my life to take – but by the end of this year I will be well on my journey. Whether it’s back in school or starting a career, I’ll be working very hard this year to get my life back on track.

    4.   I am going to keep a tidy living space. Sometimes I can be a tad messy or unorganized, but this year it’s my goal to keep everything looking spic and span.

    5.   I am going to be more confident in myself. Although this is a pretty broad goal, I will take steps in boosting my self-esteem and loving myself this year.

    6.   I am going to practise my clarinet at least once a week. Plain and simple – you can’t grow as a musician unless you play your instrument.

    7.   I am going to crochet an afghan. These goals are getting a little more random, but so what? It’s been a few years since I made a blanket, and this year I will complete another one.

    8.   I am going to get in good enough shape to be able to run for 45 minutes straight. For most of my life I have been an out of shape person – getting bad marks in PE and always finishing last on runs – so this goal is a pretty big deal for me. Right now I can keep to a pace of 6mph for just under 20 minutes, but I hope to more than double that time before the year is through.

    9.   I am going to post to my blog at least once every two weeks. Sometimes I get lazy or life just gets in the way, but writing is a passion of mine and this year I will keep it up more regularly.


So that is my list of New Year’s resolutions - it’s said that people who write down their goals are more likely to succeed, so here’s hoping! I have high expectations for 2014, and am greatly looking forward to working on these aspirations throughout the year. In a few days when my birthday comes along, I will be more than ready to whip out this list and use it to beat the urge to quit away from my motivation to achieve these resolutions!

Friday 20 December 2013

WWSS - What Would Schnitzel Say?

So let’s face it, I have the cutest, smartest, most amazing hamster in the entire world. His name is Schnitzel, and he is my baby. I’ve had him for the past year and a half, and over this time I’ve wondered: If Schnitzel could talk, what would he say to me? He and I have spent a lot of time together, and by observing his mannerisms and getting to know his cute little personality, I think I have a bit of an idea.


1.       “No, my eyes are not crusty. Don’t you dare come near me with that washcloth, I’ll bite you! I don’t like getting my eyes cleaned, give me a minute and I’ll do it myself.” Since he’s getting older, Schnitzel has recently been having a problem with his eyes getting a little crusty. In the beginning I would take a washcloth and wipe his eyes, but he’d completely freak out; now he somehow has figured out how to clean out his own eyes so I’ll leave him alone.

2.       “Hmm, I see you’re giving the guinea pigs treats. I’ll just walk over to the front of my cage and make cute faces so you’ll give me some too. But I won’t actually eat the treats; I’ll stash them away in my cheeks and hide them later. And you know that I’m doing this too, but that won’t stop you from giving me more treats because I’m so gosh darn adorable. I bet I can get you to give me three treats before walking away. Hehehe.”

3.       “Wow, it sure is dark and quiet in here. Seems like the perfect time to run around on my squeaky wheel. Oh, you were trying to sleep? Well now that you’re up you can play with me and give me more treats!”

4.       “You just grabbed your car keys, where are you going? Petsmart? You haven’t been to Petsmart in awhile, I think you should go to Petsmart. Did I mention that I’m running a little low on yogurt treats? Good thing you’re headed to Petsmart, you can pick me up a bag.”

5.       “There are a lot of these weird, seedy things in my food dish. I don’t really like them, but I know that they won’t go away unless I eat them. You won’t throw them out if they’re in my food dish, will you? Well, it’d sure be a shame if the seeds spilled all over my cage – then you would have to get rid of them. I’ll just go over to my dish and bump into it as much as I can to, umm, mix the food around. Aw shucks, it just tipped over. Darn.”

6.       “You put all of this nice nesting material in my cage and expect me to pee on it? Ew, you’re gross. I’m just going to take all of this bedding and build a giant nest in the corner – I’ll go to the bathroom in that bare corner over there. What, it smells bad? Well suck it up buttercup, I’m not wasting my perfectly good bedding on that.”

7.       “Hey, so fun fact: I’m NOT dying! So quit tapping on my cage and making weird clicking sounds to check if I’m alive – I’m just sleeping. Hamsters are nocturnal; this is the middle of the night for me. Stop freaking out about me, I’m perfectly healthy and alive.”

8.       “Geez, if you’re going to pick me up you gotta warm up your hands first, you frosty fingered dummy! Now I have to crawl back into my nest to warm up my butt. I’m going to stay here and sulk until you buy back my affections with a couple cookie treats.”

9.       “So when you’re alone in your room, singing German folk songs at the top of your voice, you realize I can hear you right? And you realize that although my name is Schnitzel I have no interest at all in learning these German folk songs, right? And that hamsters have sensitive little ears, and your singing might just be a teensy bit off key. But you know what could muffle the sound a little bit? Me crunching on some yummy corn nut treats! Hint hint.”

10.   “When you let me run around on the ground, and my cage is 3 feet away from me with the door wide open, I’m going to want to go into my cage. There’s food in my cage – any counterargument you might have is invalid.”