I don't exactly believe in New Year's Resolutions. They're kind of trite, often vague, and usually everyone has the same ones, and they almost always fizzle out before a habit can form. For the past month or two, however, I've been feeling very dissatisfied with my lifestyle in a couple of key ways, and I've become resolved, if you'll excuse the term, to fix it. I need a real plan: not just a goal, an actual plan. The thought of 30 looming ever towards me is also a factor, and so I thought, why not take the next couple of months to formulate my plan, have it ready by the first of march (my 29th birthday), and make the next year my year of action? That way, I will have hopefully created a new lifestyle which will sustain my resolutions, my 'fixes,' without the need for willpower or hopes or wishes. I'm choosing my birthdays as arbitrary dates that will give me specific goals to shoot for, because I think it's the vaguery (what? it could be a word) that's been my downfall in the past.

These are the two situations I've got going that must be reversed:

Situation One: I'm Overweight. It's between 30 and 50 pounds extra, actually, which, although I've never been about the numbers, has for the past year or so become far too much. It's causing undue stress on my knee, my breathing capacity, and almost worst of all, my psyche. I'm starting to think fat, and I've begun buying into the thought that if I've got a double chin or back fat, nobody will think I'm pretty, and if I'm not pretty, who would want to talk to me? Aiee. It's got to stop.

Vague Solution One: Obviously, eat better, exercise more. But how? So far, I've bought -- don't judge me -- Dr. Phil's Ultimate Weight Solution. I know, I know. But I'm going to read it and then decide if it will work for me. So far, so good, although I wish he'd just Shut Up Already and say what he means to say. I did skip around a bit and have discovered it seems to be a combination diet thingamabob. If nothing else, there are some good meal suggestions in there.

I've also got The Smoothies Bible, which isn't just recipes for juice but a list of fruits, veggies and herbs, their medicinal and nutritional properties, and how to add them to any smoothie. I've already got a list of about fifteen different fruits and veggies I'd never have thought to try.

For exercise, the best thing for me would be to move within a 15-20 minute walk to work again, but that's pretty sketchy, so I will have to find and commit to a real exercise routine. Curves, although in my work building, is probably right out. If I had a car, it might be an option, but right now, also dicey. It'll have to be something I can do at home. Pilates used to be good, but now I can't seem to find a floor space big enough except the kitchen, and that's just weird.

Situation Two: I make jewellery, and seem never able to pull my act together enough to make it make money - or even to recoup the money I put out on supplies. I've been making more pieces than even I can wear, and that's a good start, but I need a solid business plan, and I need help to make it happen.

Vague Solution One: I don't know who or how to ask, but I have to find somebody who can help me. I need packaging, marketing, and pricing advice, and I need it badly. The next month or so will be devoted to finding those people and asking them for help, and the next month after that, hopefully, will be spent creating a plan that will suit me.

This is what I've been contemplating since before the holidays (which were fun, by the way). Being me, I take at least six weeks to think a thing through. I think my birthday plan will work.