I wrote everything down on a piece of paper and then picked the things that I REALLY wanted to get done. Here is what I came up with…
HEALTH: Exercise Regularly and Eat More Real Food
FAITH: Quiet Time
MONEY: Make and STICK! to Budget
HOME: Declutter Projects
EXTRA:Stop Wasting Time
I am the most sporadic exerciser there is… One minute I am religious about it and then one tiny thing will get me off schedule and then it will be weeks before I get back in my routine. Or I will choose something like running, that I detest and then will look for the tiny excuse not to go. And as much as I wish it were, exercising every day just isn't for me… So this year I am going to try to walk 4 times a week…. NO MATTER WHAT!
Last year I became obsessed with 100daysofrealfood.com. I really like her approach of eliminating processed food. I think that everything is okay in moderation, but choose the healthier alternative when I can.
The changes I've already made in the name of real food:
- Instead of Splenda and French Vanilla Creamer, I use real maple syrup and milk in my coffee.
- I quit my Diet Dr. Pepper addiction and added a Pellegrino addiction. (I used to hate sparkling water, but last September I stopped drinking wine for the month and this was my savior! Just add lime!)
- No more store bought Ranch dressing or Taco seasoning etc.
- I started buying my bread and tortillas through greenling.com. They deliver it from a local bakery.
This year I want to try to eat at least 2 fruits and/or Veggies at each meal. Dinner will be easy because as is Hare tradition, we have a green salad with most dinners. Breakfast shouldn't be too bad because a handful of berries or smoothie will do the trick. But my staple hummus and cracker lunch, if lunch happens at all, needs to be tweaked.
{Note 1: I haven't braved getting the kids totally off of processed foods… Note 2: I MUST stop snitching their junk food! Note 3: I took the above salad pic before I took off the cucumbers. Detest them.}
Does this count as two veggies??
My faith is everything to me! During the chaos of having babies and raising kids, I have not devoted enough time to growing spiritually... Spending time reading my Bible, reading books that inspire me to be better, carving out time to pray and truly being quiet so I can focus of what kind of woman/wife/mother I want to be and that God wants me to be.
Even though my mornings start at 6 and are cray-zay, I want to wake up earlier and have this quiet time before I start my day. I am going to start with 15 minutes and then work my way back from there. I have read a million articles that say the one thing in common in crazy successful people is that they all wake up early…. We shall see.
I am a spender and Stephen is not a spender… REALLY not a spender. The only way we can live harmoniously is to have a budget. (Ugh! I can't even stand that word!) When a budget is in place, I know exactly how much money I get to spend and Stephen knows exactly how much he gets to save. Last year, we let the budget fall to the wayside because it was a good year. And surprisingly, it wasn't as glorious as I would have thought. Its amazing how overspending can cause anxiety! This year is gonna be a titch rough, so the budget has to be back.
{side note: I cringe every time I see someone post on FaceBook how wonderful it is to fill up their cars for so cheap. Most of Stephen's customers are in the Oil and Gas business, so low oil prices are not a good thing around here!}
Last year we converted our guest bedroom into an office. We live in a small house and we felt we needed to utilize every square inch. Stephen was working from the dining room table when he was home and our desk was crammed upstairs in the playroom. It was a much needed move even though I resisted it at first. I pretty much have it decorated, but I just threw everything in the closet. Plus there is a corner upstairs that is still piled with paper work. {Goodness knows what is up there!} So Project #1- Organize Office Closet
For years we have been over run by toys. This year I've noticed that the kids don't play with their toys as much. It makes me so SO sad! I am not ready for this. But they A) just don't have the time and B) would rather play electronics. I did a test over Thanksgiving and put 25% of their toys in boxes in the garage. My plan was when they asked for a certain toy, to give it back and then donate the rest. Well, they never asked, so after Christmas I donated it all! When they finally did realize that things were gone and I told them I donated them, there was a minor melt down. I promised I wouldn't do it again without their knowing it, so this time around they will have to be involved. It will slow down the process, but I think they will learn lessons in having excess and giving to those who have less. So project #2 - convert playroom to media room.
I am sure that this is the case in many of your homes, but our Master bedroom is the landing pad for any and all things that don't have a home. We dump EVERYTHING in there. This is the room that is supposed to be our haven and refuge in the chaos of our lives. It's supposed to be peaceful and inviting… Exactly the opposite of what it is now. So project #3 - Declutter and Decorate Master
The last goal I have is to stop wasting time. Some days when the kids would get home from school, I would wonder where the time went and why didn't I get anything accomplished. I have 7 hours alone, people!!! As I kept a mental time chart of my day, I noticed that a LOT of time is sucked by my Charm King addiction. (This replaced my Candy Crush, when I couldn't pass level two hundred and something.) I explained it away in that I only play for 5 lives at at time, but when I added up how much time I was playing, it was ridiculous! (embarrassing to admit, but true!) I went through withdrawals when I first erased, but am actually happy that it is gone!
During the month of January as I thought about what I wanted to accomplish this year, I kept coming back to this: be content. I noticed that last year I spent too much time focusing on what others had that I didn't. This year, I am going to purposefully focus on being grateful for my husband and family and the happy little home that we are building. I am going to choose to find joy in the little things in my life instead of waiting for big things to bring happiness. And I will not compare myself to others.
ohhhhh, elle! good ones!! can't wait to help!!
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