So of course I love setting resolutions each year. It's a time to reflect on the past year and start dreaming about the new year. A fresh start to plan for the new year ahead. If I am not intentional on how I want my year to look I set myself up for failure.
One of the greatest lessons I've learned is the things you want in life don't fall into your lap. You have to work for them. Set goals and make a plan to accomplish them or they just will never happen. And life is just to short to let life happen to me. I'm ready to take 2016 by the horns!
But I'm getting a head of myself. Lets see how I did on last year's resolutions first:
1. Lose 45 pounds and keep it off. I am halfway there! I lost 25 pounds this past year and I'm incredibly proud of that. I changed some bad habits like binge eating. I incorporated a heck of a lot more fruits and veggies into my diet. I walked 10,000 steps at least five times per week. I lived by the rule "You can have it all, just not all at once." So I know without a doubt I'll lose the rest of the weight this year once and for all.
2. Paint the kitchen. We did it! I never thought this would happen, but it did. I'm so thankful we put in the time and effort because it was worth it. A year later and I'm still loving the kitchen. It's my happy place.
3. Buy new furniture. Since we are seriously considering moving we decided it wasn't the best time to start buying new furniture. It would make the move so much easier if we waited. We wouldn't put our house up on the market until spring so we will have a clear direction by then. I cannot wait to start purchasing new furniture once we get clarity. I'm dreaming of a king bed, a sectional couch and a new coffee table. So exciting!
5. Host a Stock the Bar Party. This didn't end up happening and I'm okay with it. I don't know if it was too much hosting over the last few years but I just lacked the desire to host. Every time I went to plan this party I got stressed out so I decided it wasn't worth it. I know my hosting groove will come back eventually. It's just a season we are in. Maybe this will happen in 2016, but if it doesn't that is okay too.
6. Go to one big event. We went to Phantom of the Opera in April and we went to our first Lions game in September. Both events were awesome! Seriously, so much fun. I'll take experiences over material things any day.
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1. Lose 30 pounds this year and keep it off. This will put me at my goal weight (above picture). I would like to lose the last 30 faster than I lost the first 25 pounds. I plan to stick to Weight Watchers, keep active and lose seven pounds a month getting me to my goal in April. I think that is doable and I'm ready to keep going!
2. Attend church regularly. We wanted to start looking for a new church last year for various reasons. That somehow morphed into not going to church much at all last year. I did morning devotionals, kept a prayer journal, listened to Willow Creek sermon podcasts weekly and G and I did a few studies.So I never felt like I strayed from God, but I did feel like something was missing. As my dad wisely pointed out, community was missing. It's time to get out of our comfort zone and check out new churches and find the best fit for us. I miss it!
3. Practice gratitude. I saw this prayer on instagram and it really resonated with me: "Give me new eyes this new year to see how blessed I am." I want to complain less. Appreciate more. I have a gift (er... curse!) of finding the negative in any situation and I want to get out of that habit. I want to look at the positive more often. Realize how blessed I am and fall in love with my life. See it through new eyes. Savor every second of it. Not take a moment of it for granted. I plan to write three things I'm thankful for everyday in a journal to start my day on a grateful note. I'm also holding G and my bff accountable for not letting me complain.
4. Decide if we are moving or not. We could potentially gain 10 hours of our life back if we move close to work. We commute. We spend a lot of time in the car. It is nice that G and I can carpool and talk in the car and read to each other. But it would be nice to live closer. There is a lot to say about quality of life when you aren't driving all the time. But we do love our house, our community, our neighbors and how close we are too family so it's a tough decision. We need to start praying for clarity, start looking at houses and make a decision.
6. Plan a few vacations this year. The year of the house is over (woohoo!!!) and our friends sold their lake house (boohoo!) so it's time to start planning a few fun weekend getaways (Milwaukee? Chicago? Indianapolis?) and a few big trips. We have a trip to Myrtle Beach planned this year and I would like to plan one more big trip in March (San Antonio? The Keys? Savannah?). The options are endless so I need to start looking for deals!
How did you do with your goals/resolutions last year?
What are your goals for next year?
1 comment:
I love your plan to practice more gratitude and thankfulness and less complaining. I so need to do that too. Why is it so hard? So about your house, I hear you saying you love your house and neighbors and being close to family- do you love all that more than your jobs? Maybe look for closer ones? I know that's not easy, but neiher is buying/selling. It's exciting tho! Will be interesting to see what you guys decide!
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