Beauty & Banter: 6 New Years Goals to Start the Year Off With a Bang!

I am back to blogging for the Patch after a brief hiatus and am ready to start the year off right! In October I welcomed my second child to our family. His name is Kipton and he is smiley and so happy. I have been spending the last few months getting to know him and also trying to figure out how to be a mother to two kids. Boy is it a big difference! I found myself struggling with getting back into my routine and usual activities, but since it's a new year I thought why not make some goals to get me started. Here are my New Year's Goals.

1. Don't Make Resolutions-Too many times people make resolutions that are impossible or unattainable. For example: "I’m going to make this year the best year ever!" What?? Really? How do you plan to do that? Where do I begin to even make that happen? Then I get overwhelmed a month into it and just give up. Here are the solutions-Make goals! Give yourself small goals that are attainable and that you can actually achieve. Every day work toward them and don't look back.

2. Get Back Into My Fitness-So of course after it being 12 weeks since I had my little boy I am in serious need of getting back into shape. I figured if I work out 3-4 times a week for the next few months that I would slowly lose my baby weight. So there is my goal: Exercise 3-4 times per week. Guess what? It's okay if I can't make that happen every week. As long as I am trying to get the workouts in then I am meeting my goal of working on my fitness. Being active other ways like bike riding, walking, basketball, tennis, yoga, hiking, and roller blading are all ways to stay active and have fun.

3. Eat Clean-I have no problem with eating healthy, but I do have a difficult time with eating clean. Eating clean requires a certain amount of proteins, fats, fruits, vegetables, and of course my nemesis CARBS! Where do I begin to tell you how difficult carbs are for me to cut down on? I struggle with when to eat them and how much. Bread is my best friend...we get along so well. Actually we don't because I feel awful after I eat it, but it tastes so good. Mmm...Anyway, my goal is to focus on proteins, fruits, veggies, and complex carbs like sweet potatoes, brown rice, and whole grains. Easier said than done, but hey I am a work in progress! All I can do is try everyday to do my best, and to quote someone who is prevalent my life Mr. Tony Horton, "Do your best and forget the rest." 

4. Spend Less & Save More-This is such a big deal to me this year. I want to add to our savings account and spend less. How will I do that? Well...first off I am going to sit down with my husband and find ways we can tighten up our budget. I think having a budget is a good thing. I know where all of our money goes and what we are spending it on. Right now one way I am trying to save money is by clipping coupons for our household items and groceries. Seriously it has helped! I have saved a total of $211.00 in coupons and discounts just in the last month! If you are interested in clipping coupons here is a list of websites that I have found that helped me. The Frugal Girls  and The Krazy Coupon Lady  have tutorials and blogs about how to get started and also links to other great websites to get printable coupons. 

5. Spend More Quality Time With Friends & Family-This year a goal of mine is to cultivate those relationships that I have had and also just started with friends. I love hanging out with my friends, but also love having an long hour long conversation with my best friend who lives in Chicago. I think we have to schedule time for those calls because both of our lives are so busy, but its so worth it when we do. My family has had a bit of a rough year, but this next year I want to focus on getting to know new members of the family and enjoying the ones that I haven’t been able to connect with in a while. Another relationship that is top priority is the one with my husband. I have made a small goal of at least one date night a month and hopefully a day date as well. I figured we don’t have to do something that costs a lot of money every time, but just spending time together is what is most important. 

6. Make Myself A Priority-As a busy mom and wife I have to put myself first, and if I don’t then I will be unhappy or left feeling depleted from taking care of everyone else. My goal is to do something for myself everyday that makes me happy. Unfortunately that won’t be shoe shopping since I am trying to save more, but it doesn’t hurt to try them on.

Laughing…

So start small and don’t get discouraged if you make a mistake or mess up. Just do your personal best and make better choices the next day.

Until Next Time,

Alexis