Happy Monday!

Warning - this is going to be a long post.

Starting tomorrow, Tuesday - December 1, 2009, I am starting a new club. It's called: A New Leaf Club. I am not a person who come January 1st they make a "New Year's Resolution". For the most part, I think those resolutions are never followed through. With that being said, I do, however, want to make some changes for myself and my family in 2010. No more excuses, procrastinating, stalling, ignoring . . . whatever you want to call it.
During our 30 day commitment that we just finished up on November 19th, when I was outside, I watched as the leaves on the trees turned from green to various colors of red, yellow, orange and brown. Then they all fell off the tree.

Even though we can't see the actual leaves on the trees right now, the tree is already planning for next year when it will bear new leaves and have another season of growing.

I
NEED to be like those leaves. I
NEED to make some changes.
There are a lot of different things I want to accomplish this next year, so I didn't want to put a "specific" heading at the top. For example, I want to declutter and organize my house. I've read all the books, watched shows on the subject, I
KNOW what to do . . . I just
NEED to buckle down and
DO IT!! I am tired of wasting hours and hours looking for things that I know I have, but can't find. Not only does it waste my time, it wastes my energy looking for them. Plus, it frustrates me when I can't locate whatever it is I'm looking for. I have similar items throughout the house and need to get them all in
ONE specific spot where they are in a container that is labeled so I can find it (i.e. Christmas items . . wrapping paper, ornaments, cards, etc.).
I want to downsize and pare down all the "stuff" we own. The more stuff we own, the more time and energy it takes to maintain or keep up with all of it. I don't need any more trinkets to put on shelves to gather dust. I want to get rid of the stuff that is no longer used or worn - either by donating them or having a garage sale in the spring. Enough is enough!
I also seriously
NEED to do some exercising. We have a treadmill that has been sitting in the living room in the upright position for ?? years. A
VERY long time!! I have Richard Simmons tapes that I can exercise to (got to love the energy of that man!! LOL). Anything to get moving is better than what I am doing now.
I
NEED to limit my time in front of the computer surfing the web and playing on-line games. I know I could get a lot more accomplished if I eliminated that specific pitfall for me right now.
What I'm looking for in this "club" is someone else who is
serious about making changes in 2010 too. I don't care if there is just one other person in this club with me - - as long as you are
serious. I don't want any more excuses for myself - I
NEED and
WANT to do this . . . for as long as it takes. I figure with 365 days in a year that I should be able to accomplish a lot if I keep working at it. Granted, this is
NOT going to be a "daily" thing . . there will be days we just don't feel well and can't do all the things we want too. There will be times when we
NEED to tend family issues, vacations, sickness, etc. As long as we pick up where we left off and keep our goal in sight.

We can post what we've accomplished, ask for suggestions to finish a task, etc.
If you are not into getting your house and life in order - that's fine, this club is probably not for you then. I don't want "downers" . . I want us to be "positive and uplifting". I'm excited . . . I hope you will be too.

I would like this "club" to be a group that helps motivate each other and encourage each other outside of our daily lives living with Sjogren's. To re-quote from Dr. Phil McGraw: "The key is to assemble a winning team, and that means making sure all the players are supportive, positive, and helpful. You need people you can trust and people who can energize and inspire you because there is strength and power in support."
I didn't want to wait until January - I'm starting tomorrow, December 1st - will you join me?
Bucky
