Goodness, how is it 2015? I turn 30 this year! How did I get to be such an adult? I think my brain is still stuck in 2000. The other day I referenced WWII as being 60 years ago. Nope, that was 75 years now.
Time is a ticking, my friends.
It always takes a lot of energy to enter back into the world of routine after the holidays. Even though I worked up to Christmas Eve, the days leading up to it were lax in my office and we all found ourselves loopy for a break. And during my time off, I got used to sleeping in past 8am (well, it only happened twice, but it was so nice!), wearing sweatpants until noon, going out for a long lunch, and being around the people I love the most. So to say goodbye to friends and family, take down the twinkle lights, put on heels and enter back into routine leaves me a little wary to enter the new year with gusto.
Nevertheless, I know the beauty of the holidays wouldn’t be half as brilliant if my life looked like that every day, and Lord knows I really need early mornings and routine back in my life before I turn into a sloth. And, as you may know already, I love a good new year challenge, a chance to reflect on the past year and look ahead to the things I want to accomplish this year.
I also like to ease into my goal-making for the year, too. It takes some time for me to reflect over the past year and really think about what I want to accomplish in the next. I’m not really a resolution girl, they are way too hard to keep! But goals — actionable, tangible goals are more my speed. I also find it refreshing to read what other people have to say about the goal-making process before I start mine, so here are a few life-giving articles I’ve read in the last week that I thought to share:
The Thing About Being More Awesome… – Jen Hatmaker
Burn the Candles -Shauna Niequist
Lara Casey’s Goal-Setting Series
The first half of the year is going to be full and busy — I’m taking a weekend trip to Florida with my inlaws, my sister is getting married, we are going to Europe for 10 days, and my other sister is having a baby in May. The second half, though, is a little unclear and there is very little on the calendar. Regardless, it will be neat to see what comes our way this year.
My main prayer this year is that God will give me openness. An open heart to receive his grace. Open hands to freely give and freely receive. Open to others on the things I’m failing at and am learning. Open with my time. Open eyes to see everything that comes my way, whether good, or bad or really annoying, as a gift and an opportunity for gratitude.
On to my goals….
J and me on New Year’s Eve. I love that guy.
2015 Goals
DONE! / Go to Europe. Our flights and hotels are booked and we leave in March for two weeks to London, Paris and Germany! We have been planning this trip for the last three years, and I can’t believe this is the year it will finally happen. I also want to blog through how we’re paying for this trip (spoiler – we have only spent $11 so far), and a full recap of the memories we will make while we are there.
Run a 10k. Running is my exercise of choice, and I’ve learned I run better and more often when I have a goal. I ran my first 5 miler in the fall, and absolutely loved it! I’ve run 5ks, half marathons and even a marathon, but never a 10k before, and think it is the perfect distance. I may do a half marathon again this year if I have a few friends who will join with me, but for now I will just stick to training and running in a 10k race.
Complete the Live Life Beautifully journal and a Best of My Days calendar. I started following Gretchen’s instagram feed about a month ago, and have been so encouraged by her posts and bought her journal for each week this year. She’s a girl after my own heart. I also hope to write one thing I am grateful for, or a good part of my day, using Ashley Ann’s daily calendar she shared last month. I gave this as gifts to a few friends for Christmas, and have been so encouraged to see what they have written so far.
Don’t weigh myself for six months (except at the doctor’s office). Y’all this one is a biggie. I resolve every year, like everyone else in America, is to find and maintain a balanced and healthy lifestyle. It may seem like a silly and counter-intuit goal to not weigh yourself if you are trying to be healthy, but I’ve noticed that the number on the scale can drastically effect my mood and my activity and eating habits. If the number goes up, I start to workout like crazy and feel really bad about my body. If the number goes down, I feel like I’m doing okay and indulge a little more. My hope in taking out the scale altogether is to just be healthy, and to stop thinking about myself so much. Let the way I feel dictate my health, not a number on the scale. I’d like to try it for six months and see whether it’s a practice I want to continue or not.
DONE! / Host a Galentine’s Day party. I tried to host one last year but had to cancel it because we had six inches of snow (here’s my sad IG post). So maybe this year it’ll happen.
Celebrate my 30th birthday in style! I can’t believe I turn 30 this September! I’m not sure exactly what “in style” may entail, but I’d like to celebrate it in a non low-key boring way. :) And same for J… he turns 30 in June. However he wants to celebrate it, I’m game.
Landscape the backyard. I decided to pour most of my domestic energy into decorating the house last year, but this year it’s time to focus outside! If half of this list gets accomplished, I’ll be a happy camper.
My list includes:
– add pavers along one side of our house
– create a natural area on the other side of the house with wildflowers
– get rid of the bushes in the back that have died, and maybe replace with privacy trees?
– plant peonies
– fix or replace our canopy outside (it’s been beaten up in the wind/rain/snow)
DONE! / Get dining chairs for our new table. We bought our table in October for a great deal from West Elm, and are looking for chairs to match. It’s so hard to find six affordable, timeless yet chic-looking chairs without paying $1k!
Go to Lake Lynn every month. My favorite place to run or walk is Lake Lynn in Raleigh, so I’d like to go at least once a month. My goal is to have 12 photos of the lake by the end of the year.
Read 20 books. Maybe 20 is a little aggressive, but I’ve already finished three this year, thanks to my quiet break, so I’m going with it. To see all of the books I read, or plan to read, see my goodreads profile.
Write to our sponsored child six times this year. My goal last year was to write to our sponsored child through Compassion International each month, but that was hard to keep up with. I’m going to shoot for six times this year, and hopefully will end up exceeding that number.
Declutter every space in my home, and reduce the stuff we own! It’s pretty likely I will get to the end of December and have the same goal, since this is an ongoing challenge, but I still want to go through each space in my home and declutter what I can. My goal is that whenever anyone asks, “Where is____?” I know exactly where it is. A place for everything, and everything in its place.
This list includes (for my reference throughout the year):
– master bedroom closet and dresser
– master bathroom cabinets
– guest bedroom closets and dresser (3)
– guest bathroom cabinet
– desks (2)
– coat closet
– office bookcases (files and papers)
– hutch and entryway cabinet
– kitchen cabinets
– kitchen pantry
– living room bookcases
– garage
– cars
Meal plan every week. It’s amazing how 20 minutes of meal planning can help the rest of the week flow so much easier. Also, I’d really like to eat at the table more this year, and not park ourselves in front of the TV all evening. I’ve thought about sharing our meals each week on this blog, but we’ll see if that ends up happening. :)
Create a capsule wardrobe. Google that phrase, and you’ll get all kinds of resources on how and what exactly a capsule wardrobe entails. I am not looking to create a super minimal wardrobe, per say, but rather a thoughtful one. I want to be able to wake up in the morning and not have to run around finding an outfit that looks great and (the kicker) I haven’t worn in the last four days.
Go on a date with J once a month. And bonus if it’s going out to a restaurant we’ve never been before.
Follow the Chronological Bible Reading plan. The chronological bible reading plan follows the Bible through the events that happened in chronological order. I don’t know that I will finish this plan by the end of the year, because that time commitment normally makes me feel rushed, but I’d like to finish at least 3/4 of the plan this year.
Phew! I’ve got some work to do. Here’s to 2015!!
Do you make resolutions or goals in the new year?
What goals do you have this year? I’d love to hear!
busy schedule, I’m sure that God will help you every day!!!
your year sounds fantastic and Europe…how exciting!!