No Personal Space

I have always loved New Year’s resolutions. Even when I was little, I would make them each year. Like always, last year I made a few and there were some accomplishments and some failures. To talk about one side with out the other does not seem to be fair, but I decided that after talking about them I would come up with a guide on how to succeed for all my resolutions in the following years.

So, for the accomplishments, I would say the biggest one was my resolution to cultivate friendships. I had some amazing friends that I felt like I was not putting enough effort into and then I also wanted to make new friends as well. I decided to put myself out there and really commit to this. I decided to start texting and calling friends more and making an effort to remember special things to them. I realized friends do not need fancy gifts to know that they are loved, calling and having a dinner date or sending a funny text will do the trick. Making new friends was also part of the resolution, so started by trying to meet the neighbors and taking our dog for walks. I installed the app my neighborhood uses to communicate to meet local neighbors and attend events. I also installed the Meet Up app to met locals that have similar interests and went to a few different events, one with Nerdy ladies for cocktails. While this resolution will never be over, I can definitely see an increase in friends and the quality in which I treat them. At the end of the day, its all about effort and working for what you find important.

My other accomplishment is about hobbies. I have always had a couple of them but I wanted to try new things and increase my skill level for the ones I already have. While I tried quite a few, the ones that stuck are: my blog, reading more, art, baking, and photography. I love all of these hobbies and I practice them on a regular basic. I think the big thing on this one was being willing to fail. I knew going into it that I was not going to be good at, or enjoy, everything that I tried. Allowing myself to know this a put no pressure on myself while trying something really helped me cultivate these hobbies. And yes, I have been baking for a while now, this year I really branched out into some areas and have enjoyed learning new things.

So, now to the failure. Weight Loss. This goal had a number attached to it, but no clear path on how to get there, which is why I decided to make this guide in the first place. While we do use a scale to determine our weight, weight loss is a result of getting heathy, not the only factor to consider. So this year the goal has changed and I have decided that this resolution is important and is going to receive my dedicate and effort.

That being said here is my list for 2016. I am going to spend the next couple of weeks talking about them more extensively, but here is what I have.

My Goals

1. Get Healthy

   • Work Out

   • Cook at home more when not traveling

   • Make healthy travel meal decisions

   • Get 6-8 hours of sleep

   • Drink 64 oz of water

   • Log meals on Lose It

   • Cut back on sweets

   • Cut back on sodas

2. Be Smarter With Money

   • Use Mint.com to keep track of spending

   • Create a budget and stick with it

   • Pay off all credit cards (this year)

   • Save for Cody’s 30th Birthday Trip

3. Get and Stay Organized

   • Spend the month of January getting deep organized

   • Weekly (Bathroom, Bedroom, Kitchen, Cody’s Car)

   • BiWeekly (Pantry, Refrigerator/Freezer, Office, Closet)

   • Monthly (Garage, Whole House, Lauren’s Car)

4. Enjoy Life More

   • Stress less

   • 10 minutes of yoga a day

   • Plan weekend activities for Cody and I (free preferred)

   • Read more (At least 1 book a month)

   • Take more me time (20 minutes a day to do what I want)

   • Stop the negative self talk and become my biggest fan

   • Practice photography more

5. Make and Keep a Morning/Evening Routine

6. Refine Make Up and Hair Skills

7. Clean Up My Language 

So these are my resolutions, what are yours? I would love to hear from you.