It's the holidays again!

Conference call in the middle of my solstice morning

celebration, how representative of my year!

Can you freakin' believe this? It's the holidays again!

Last year at this date I was getting buried in a new job that I knew very little about, and looking forward to a busy year. Ah! I was not kidding about that! It WAS a busy year, also a difficult one at times, but looking back, it was still a good year.

Now looking forward, I'm trying to put together a plan for the coming year. Things have moved so fast in the last 13 months that I sort of lost sight of anything but work really. What are my plans? What do I want? Good questions! I'm not one for New Year Resolutions. "Starting January 1st, I will... Every day!" Naaww, that never works.

I am however a plan maker. There are a few things that I do know: January-February will be busy at work, I just know it; February-March we are planning to move (YAY!) ; I'm planning a trip to Montreal this spring and one home this summer; and finally I would love to finally get my trainer certification.

In a more mundane, day to day view, I want to get my routine back into focus. Cooking everyday and working out regularly are the only way I can keep myself on track. We were doing good with this for a while, and this fall it all fell apart.

Thing is, I know my job now, it's not getting any less busy, but I can manage my time much better (famous last words). I've also learned a valuable lesson this year: You can't do your job well, whatever it is, if you don't learn to put boundaries and to take care of yourself. Now if I want to do everything I've planned to do, I'll have to really put that into practice.

The funny thing is that nobody is putting pressure on me but myself really. I'm the one who takes everything on, and says yes to everything presented to me. Then I feel overwhelmed and end up working 7 days/week to catch up. So this year, my master plan is learn to say no, and manage my time so that I have more time for myself and my personal goals as well as for my husband and critters.

Last year was very challenging professionally, and I think I've proven to myself that I could handle it. It's time to make space for myself and my family. My job is still a big part of my life, if only because I enjoy it so much, but we've come far enough to where it doesn't have to be my whole life.

Here's to a successful and enjoyable year 2011!