Revisiting last year's resolutions and looking forward to this year

Last year, I told you I wasn't one to make New Year's resolutions but would try 3 simple ones.

So let's revisit 2009:

Balance: I'm going to work hard at balancing home with work. Each day, I will consciously "close shop" and not return to work until the next day. I will take one day off a week (a solid day of not working). FAIL - this year was by far my biggest year for online sales and marketing. But that didn't come without a price.

Exercise: I will take time each morning to exercise. I got a stationary bike (yay, Craigslist) and have really enjoyed riding 7 miles each morning. A great feeling when we have 6 inches of snow outside. FAIL - no comment.

Don't sweat the small stuff: Time is valuable and I'm going to work on not worrying about things that don't really matter. Everything works out in the end and stressing doesn't help. I'm also going to try to actively give away or throw away things that I don't need. Clutter can be a big distraction. If I don't read something right away, I'm not saving it. Satisfactory but needs improvement. I did make some progress here, but there is always room for more.

For the record, this is what I'd like to see for myself in 2010:

1. Balance - I want the same thing as last year. This year, however, I'll be evaluating what is truly worth doing vs. the toll it takes on my personal life. I know there are ways to cut back and I've already begun exploring those options. I'll let you know what they are as I approach them throughout this year.

2. Exercise - I've arranged a personal training session at my friend's gym and intend to start seeing her at least 2x a week. I need someone to hold me accountable. In the meantime, I've been doing my yoga regularly. I love yoga and always feel fantastic for the rest of my day. The problem for me is I tend to go into my office first thing and then get sucked into the vortex of work. I need to break that habit and workout first.

3. Continue to work on not sweating the small stuff.

4. Explore new things - Just before Christmas, I visited my local yarn boutique and found out about their open knitting circle nights. I want to re-learn knitting and actually make a few items for fun and for myself. I also started embroidering, which I've never done before. I'm just feeding my curiosity and want to continue to nurture this desire to learn new things. [Local readers, let me know if you want to join me in learning or practicing knitting. There are already a few of us planning to do this, so feel free to join us.]

While I'm at it, I want to revisit some of my past projects and see if I can improve them. One of which is transferring images to canvas. I really enjoyed photography this year and would love to put some of my work onto mini canvases. I'll be sharing my projects (successes and failures) with you throughout the year.

So, what does your 2010 look like? Have you resolved to change, learn, or do something new this year?