Boring is Beautiful

There are a lot of things to be said for New York City.  It's busy and huge and full of Thai food and concert halls and museums and people.  My life in New York has consisted of a lot of late night cabs and drinks downtown, rock shows and musicals, gourmet cheeses and fancy haircuts.  My life, until this point, has been exciting.

Now here are some things that, unlike New York City, are not awesome at all: I am massively in debt, emotionally exhausted, and significantly overweight.

A lot of that has nothing to do with NYC, and a lot to do with the scattered way I live my life - the habits I've picked up over the years that keep me from sticking to a budget, a diet, a routine.  But I'm in my mid-30's now, and while I am fully aware that 30 IS the new 20, I am also fully aware that any bank in America would laugh themselves stupid if ever I went in for a home loan.

Also, my pants don't fit.

I have decided that what my life needs in order to fix the above is less stuff, not more. The world is beautiful outside my window, and inside my cozy apartment I've accumulated a lifetimes worth of things that make me happy.  I have friends who will love me whether I go to the bars or not.  I have goals laid out for myself that I want to actually accomplish, and not let slip and slide all over the place this time.

So, starting today, I am going with a new life motto.  Boring is Beautiful.  I'm relearning how to say no.  I'm picking up a library card and putting my credit cards away.  I'm rediscovering what I already own.  I'm putting good habits back in my life, and weeding the bad ones out.  I'm going to learn to love my life (and myself) from the ground up.

This blog is a record of progress made (and lost), tips and triumphs and things that make me smile.  It's going to be a reminder of how far I've come and how far I'm going.  It's my diary, my organizer, my standard of accountability.  I'm making this public because I need to make these changes publicly; my friends and family are my rock and my sanity and they will keep me honest while they hold my hand.

Here's to a tough, eye-opening, life-changing, boring beautiful year.