(I am using Elise Cripe's Get to Work Book this year).
Some goals for January:
- Do the 4 Weeks to a More Organized Home challenge
- I started the challenge today, so you can still join me if you'd like! Today is a fairly easy day, too. I did this challenge for the first time in November of 2014. I established a morning routine due to this challenge, which has revolutionized my mornings. I'm not a natural morning person, but I love my mornings now.
- Participate in this 30-day green smoothie challenge
- I'm buying a blender this month- I'm leaning towards the NutriBullet. I'm alternating between these three smoothies: this tropical, green smoothie (but I'm using kale instead of spinach right now); this spinach smoothie, and this green orange banana smoothie (I omit the strawberries and add spinach or kale). I'm not new to making green smoothies. I've had them inconsistently for the last year or so. I am new to sticking to them on a daily basis though. I do notice that as I have a green smoothie on a regular basis, I tend to crave more greens in my life. I believe that you'll crave what you eat. If you eat junk, you'll crave junk. If you eat healthful foods, you'll crave healthful foods. I recently heard, "You don't satiate an appetite by feeding it. You satiate an appetite by starving it."
- Write a winter manifesto
- I had much success with my fall manifesto. I didn't cross off everything, but I did cross off several things. My manifesto includes a variety of fun, seasonal things to do- some alone and some with my family. I love referring to it when I want to do something fun on the weekend or when we have free time.
- Blog often
- My posts became inconsistent towards the end of last year. As I've already said multiple times (ad nauseum) this is a busy season in my life... not that I wasn't busy when I was posting more consistently, but this season seems even more busy. I didn't really have a set time to blog before and that flexibility is not working for me anymore. If I want to blog, I have to schedule it into my day more rigidly. Blogging is one of my favorite hobbies. It's a time-consuming, "is this really all that fun?" kind of a hobby. A hobby is especially fun, I think, if it challenges you though. Blogging requires dedication and thoughtfulness. I'm still considering what will work for me in this coming year. As of right now, I am reducing my posts to 4 times a week. We'll see how I do with that.
- Read at least 15 min. a day
- I started reading on a daily basis in 2015. I was an avid reader throughout my childhood and adolescence. I minored in English, so I could schedule reading into my life in college. I LOVE reading. I had stopped reading for several years, and I missed it. I realized I needed to make time to read. I read 19 1/2 books last year (I just finished #20 this week). I used a daily tracker to track my reading for the year. See my tracker here. Read more about my Reading the Books Before I Watch the Movies project here.
- Exercise/incorporate strength, interval training 3x a week
- I had much success with weight loss when I was strength training using Jillian Michaels' DVDs. Jesse bought me kettlebell weights for my birthday (I put it on my Christmas list and he surprised me with them on my birthday). I plan to use Jillian Michaels' kettlebell Shred-It with Weights workout. The first level is on Youtube if you want to give it a shot before you buy the DVD.
- Reach 10k steps a day
- In my December recap, I mentioned that I had been using Weight Watchers' Active Link to track my activity for most of the year until the service was terminated by Weight Watchers in November. At the end of November, Jesse kindly bought me a Fitbit (I have this one). I love it! It's motivating me to move, move, move.
- Document our memories
- I'm a scrapbooker as you already know. "Document our memories" is just a fancy way of saying that. This will be my fourth year using pocket scrapbooking. I plan to continue with that this year. I will most likely be sticking to what I did in 2015. I used a 12x12" planner for most of year. I used 2 smaller 8 1/2x11" books for my summer book and for my December Daily. This works very well for me (though I am currently behind. Don't judge me. ;)
- Declutter/minimize the junk in my home
- I have 4 little kids. The junk accumulates. I feel more at peace with less stuff. I want to work on having less stuff.
- Work on "redecorranging" our home
- This is the layout of our home (the living spaces anyway). Though this works, we could use some refreshing.
- Meal prep
- I would simplify my life so much if I did a little meal prepping at the beginning of the week. I'm going to really make an effort this year.
- Track my meals
- I'm currently using the Fitbit app, but I have used a food journal in the past. I have also used Weight Watchers' app. I am going to stick to the Fitbit for a while, but I may go back to regular, ole pen and paper. I do this to be mindful of what I'm eating- though my body will definitely track everything I eat for me. (Thanks for that, body).
- Eat more greens + vegetables
- I've been feeling meh about vegetables, which if you don't know, are, like, really good for you. ;) This is why I'm doing the green smoothie challenge. Plus, there are some really tasty vegetables out there. I need to stop being lazy about this.
- Eat healthy desserts
- I have a major sweet tooth. I don't think I'll ever give up dessert, but I can have healthy versions of my favorite desserts. This is why I started my Greek yogurt 52 ways project. Some delicious desserts have resulted from that project.
- Drink more water
- The Fitbit app is so cool. It even has a feature for tracking water. I don't typically have caloric drinks. I kicked that habit some time ago. (As Jesse's coworker's friend would mockingly say, "Look at you.") Anyway, though I don't drink caloric drinks, I also haven't been drinking enough water. I could use some hydrating. My skin will thank me.
- Stick with my morning routine and afternoon/evening routine
- I can't stress enough how much routine has improved the quality of my days. I think most people follow some sort of routine... but a mindful routine helps add life-enriching activities to your day. Incorporating my goals into my routine is how I get them done.
- Have my girls stick to their morning/afternoon/evening routines
- At the beginning of last year, I made these assignment lists for my girls. A few summers ago, I realized that we couldn't just wing our summer breaks together. My girls get batty and I do, too. I realized that their school days follow a routine and are structured. Structure brings peace and calm.
- Keep a prayer journal
- I've kept a prayer journal over the years. I hadn't been consistent with it until recently. I like to prayer journal because my mind tends to wander otherwise. I follow a prayer template. I'll tell you more about it soon.
- Make time for myself outside of the home (on a weekly basis)
- I can go a long time without getting cabin fever (I'm a homebody), but then all of a sudden, it hits me. I'm aiming to avoid that frustration.
- Go out for dad/daughter, mom/daughter, AND dad/mom dates (monthly)
- Jesse and I agree that spending one on one time with each of our daughters will be beneficial for them. I think I would have enjoyed quality time like that with my parents. We're trying to work that into our lives. He's looking at taking them out to dinner once a week. I am thinking I want to start a book club with them (with age appropriate books).
- Write fun, seasonal manifestos
- As I already mentioned, my fall manifesto was a success. I had so much fun with it. I plan to write manifestos for every season this year.
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