Happy New Year!! My Resolutions

Happy New Year!

I hope each of you had a fantastic New Year's Eve and most importantly were safe!

New Year's Eve falls within my top 10 favorite days of the year! I absolutely love everything about it, not only are you celebrating the year that has past but you are also celebrating the year to come.  A new year means a new slate, it means 365 more days of fresh starts and countless possibilities.

Every year I make myself a list of resolutions for the coming year and generally speaking fall flat on my face with them in the middle of February.  This year I have made myself a list of 5 resolutions that I will plan to do my best with throughout the year.

1.  Monthly Budget

Now you all know that I have my budget book and have my entire year planned out, but this resolution more so means for me to stick to that budget all year.

2.  Make a Weekly Vlog

Writing memories down is great, but there are a lot memories that will never be the same unless you can see them again.  Now for awhile I was really good with taking video and posting them to YouTube but fell off the bandwagon for one reason or another.  I look back at those videos now and think, "Why did I stop?"  Those memories that I captured with Chris & Alex are irreplaceable.  I have even made into the budget a vlogging camera fund.

3.  Do More with Photography

I have kind of reached a place with my photography business where I feel like if I put a little bit more effort into publicizing my business will increase.  So my plan is to network more and shoot to average at least one session every two weeks.

4.  Lose 40 - 50 pounds

Now this one will be my hardest this year.  I am doing my best to not let me foot and restrictions become an excuse.   I have 3 other working limbs darn it!  I have my next appointment with my surgeon on the 7th and I am really hoping he will give me the all clear to start walking and maybe doing some light biking on a stationary bike.  When Chris and I are completely caught up on bills we plan to join a gym and begin exercising regularly again (I really miss spin classes :().   But also we are doing our best to begin to meal plan and eat more at home.  We are so bad at getting fast food and take out and both know that if we would make more meals at home we will begin to lose more weight.

5.  Become a better cook

There are a few places within Cincinnati that do cooking classes but are all so expensive.  I think perhaps the most adventurous I will be with cooking classes is going to a place like Dream Dinners.  Chris and I have talked about doing this as a date night once a month or once every other month, this would help to provide meals in the freezer that just need to be heated up.  I have also began to find recipes on pinterest for our slow cooker and meals that claim to take 30 minutes or less to prepare.

Generally speaking I believe that all of my resolutions are obtainable but will be challenging, they will all require for me to make changes in my lifestyle but also will be beneficial to me.  I pray that throughout the next year I can stick with these goals and in December of this year can look back and say I gave it my all. 

 

New Years Resolutions 2013

 So this year I really want to set some goals for myself.  Most years I just push them off and say, "Well i will never carry them out so why make them?"

But this year I am going to make a change!

My goals for this year I have thought long and hard about.  And I am going to make an honest effort to follow through with them.  

Here they are:

1.  Spend at least 1 hour a day, with no TV and just play with Alex.

On the days I work this is the hardest, but I WILL do it!

2.  Go to Church more.  I am not going to set a limit on that but in 2012 I only went probably 4 or 5 times, if that.  I really want to spend this year getting more connected with God.

3.  Pray each night before bed. 

I always say how I am going to add someone to my prayers and I do, however I really just keep them in my thoughts throughout the day.  And I usually think of them often but I never really say a real prayer.   So my goal is to change that.

4.  Read at least 20 books.

I used to read so much!  I would finish 2 books a week when I was really reading.  But once I started into nursing school that all changed.  All I read were textbooks and nursing things.  But I want to get back into reading real books and do it for fun.  

I think these goals I have set are realistic and achievable and as I accomplish them I will only add to them, not say, "Well I accomplished my goals, now I can be lazy for the rest of the year." 

So now I plan to check back in on these goals with you all maybe once or twice this year.

I hope I can really stick to them.