Happy New Year! I hope all my friends and family out there had a great holiday season.
I feel like I’ve written this blog in my head a few times over the last couple weeks – but now I am finally sitting down and writing it so I am sure it won’t make as much sense. That’s how it works.
New Year’s Day is the day reserved for making resolutions. I find that resolutions are not really what I want – resolutions seem like easily broken all or nothing sayings… for me, I like to think about how I want to shape my life for the next year. My aspirations for life for myself and my family.
This year, I think it really comes down to a lot of small changes I would like to start making, to just become a slightly better me. Realistically, I like who I am and where I am in my life. My family makes me so happy and I feel blessed. There are always areas to work on, of course, and so those are the small changes I am going to focus on this year. It’s not a all or never attitude – it is one of gradual change to make these changes into habits and just a part of day to day life.
Here is a somewhat random list of the small changes I am working on, and that you might see discussed here on the blog in 2012:
- Meal planning. I started using e-mealz last year, and when I use it – I love it. You pick your grocery and type of menu (portion control, family friendly…) and it uses sales from that week to help plan your menu. Just having a plan helps save money, but factor in the sales and it really can help save. This year I want to be more consistent on using it and factor in lunches more as well.
- Budget. An added layer to above, we are taking a Dave Ramsey-esque approach to our food buget. The food category is the one that seems to be the most controllable, yet the one that most easily spirals out of control with eating out, last minute meals, etc. So this morning I pulled out our cash for the month. That is all the food money for the entire month, with the exception of a few dollars for Chris to eat out once a week at work. If at the end of the month we are doing well, we can splurge on a family meal out or we can save that money… it is up to us.
- Organized. We moved just about four months ago, and we are starting to settle. I now want to start tackling a room or closet – maybe one per week or one or two per month – and truly get it organized and settled. Get rid of trash, give away excess, make it usable. I love how it feels to be organized – I just have to work at it. This actually includes cleaning up the zillions of mailing lists my email seems to be on, as well as computer files.
- Exercise. Exercise is always an up or down thing with me… I get on wagons, get off them… get injured… even did a sprint triathalon last fall. (2010) I just want to go for more consistency, and that includes waking up early if necessary to make it a part of a routine. I don’t want to run a marathon. I just want to be in good healthy shape.
- The Small Things. Having green tea (with healthy antioxidents) instead of a 2nd cup of coffee with half and half. Eating a small piece of pure dark chocolate (again, healthy!) instead of carb-loaded random snack I find and crave. I picked up the latest O magazine and Dr. Oz had 28 tips for a New Year – I really did not know when I bought it if it would be extreme, small… it turned out to be just about perfect for me. You don’t have to do them all at once, but gradually over time add them in and end up just in a healthier place – body and spirit. Other things included beyond to above two were taking 5 minutes to meditate, take your vitamins, get quality sleep… basic stuff when you think about it. The small things.
- Journal. Whether it is here through this blog, or in my journal – documenting my journey really helps me.
Final thoughts for today – one of my blog inspirations – mentioned that she picks a word each year to help define her path for that year. A word that resonates with her. The word I keep coming back to this year is Creative. I have always defined myself as ‘not the creative one’. However as my photography business has grown I keep getting drawn back to that word, that thought… and I think that is my word for 2012. While it easily applies to photography and pushing myself to be creative in addition to technically sound, it also applies to everything above. Creative ways to budget, creative ways to fit in exercise and blogging… 2012 is my year to stretch and be creative. I have a really good feeling about this year.
What better way to end the post than with a picture of my main inspiration – my girls – from New Year’s Eve. We explored a little hike near Highlands called Sunset Rocks and while we were not there late enough for the sunset it was beautiful and the whole family enjoyed our time up there.
Rock The Shot