Hello 2019!
Just FYI, this page may contain affiliate links. Meaning, if you shop through my links, I may make a small commission at no added cost to you. Please know that if you do shop through any of my links, I am extremely grateful as it supports the blog (and buys dog treats for Jackie, Lola, and Lady). Life has been hectic over the past month. The holidays at work were not only busy but tumultuous (Murphy’s Law…if it can go wrong, it will). That’s partly the reason I took an unexpected hiatus from the blog. The bigger reason…during the limited free time I had during the midst of all the crazy, I just didn’t have the heart to write. I was having a really blue Christmas. A couple of months ago I mentioned Scott and I would be celebrating Christmas solo for the first time since we started dating. For the past five years, we always went back to my hometown to celebrate with family. But not this year. Because this year, I had to work every holiday. Initially, we planned to make a big deal out of our first Christmas alone. We couldn’t be with family but, dammit, we were going to make the most of it. We were going to decorate the house, bake Christmas cookies, watch Christmas movies, check out Christmas light displays, and make it a festive holiday. Remember what I said earlier about Murphy’s Law? Yeah. Our plans pretty much shriveled up into nothing. Between me managing the chaos at my job and Scott dealing with staffing problems at his, we didn’t get to spend a single day together during the holiday season. So, it definitely wasn’t my best Christmas. But…it’s now in the past. The new year is here and last week we finally got to go home for a belated celebration with my family. And, better still, we’re looking forward to some really awesome changes in the coming year (nothing’s set in stone, but stay tuned). So…that brings me to the point of today’s post. I’m not a fan of New Year’s Resolutions. They’re not enlightening, encouraging, or positive. New Year’s Resolutions are just an acknowledgment of all the things you don’t like about yourself…and that’s depressing. However, I am a big fan of goals and planning (Scott would be more than happy to tell you about how I have a plan for everything). So…these are my goals for 2019. Principally, I want to spend more time writing, which means dedicating more time to Not Done Yet. Writing has been a huge part of my life since I was a kid (my nerdy childhood hobbies included writing poems and short stories). I joined a literary club in highschool, pursued a journalism degree in college, worked on my university’s newspaper, and did an internship with a local newspaper. For a long time after college, writing took a backseat to another goal…paying the bills. And then, a little over a year ago, a seemingly innocuous commercial on TV slapped me in the face and led to the beginning of Not Done Yet (you can read more about that event here). So I started writing again and remembered the goals I dreamed about before becoming a functioning adult took priority. In 2019, I plan to spend more time pursuing those goals, starting with the blog. I want to build on what I’ve started, work on my skills as a writer, and (just maybe) realize a dream that started when I was 12. 2. “Family is not an important thing. It is everything.” I left home for college almost ten years ago. Since then, I’ve never lived less than three hours away from my family. Between the distance, financial constraints, and work obligations, the amount of time I got to actually spend with them became pretty limited. I missed a lot over the years. My little brother played baseball for several years as a kid and teenager…and I only ever made it to a handful of his games. My nephew has been through tee-ball, soccer, flag football, and now karate. I’ve only made it to a few of his events and only a few days ago finally got to see him practice karate (after taking lessons for over a year). My niece is almost 9-months-old now, and I’m seeing all her firsts and milestones through photos and videos. I’ve missed too many holidays, countless birthdays, dozens of family get-togethers, and hundreds of memories. The older I’ve gotten, the more I find I treasure the time I spend with my family…and I plan to treasure a lot more of it. So this year, I’m making it a goal to attend more family events and see my family at least once a month (thankfully, my car has pretty good gas mileage). 3. “Take care of you body. It’s the only place you have to live.” I’ve always struggled with weight and body-image issues. A lot of these stemmed from a health condition I had as a teenager and poor self-esteem. Over the years, I’ve tried all kinds of fad diet and workout routines. I made great progress getting healthy when I was in college…but I still had image issues. I kept telling myself that I just needed to lose a few more pounds…and then a few more. It was a really unhealthy mindset. Over the past year, I’ve forced myself to take a step back and pay more attention to what I’m putting my body through. Limiting calorie intake to the point of starvation, sacrificing key nutrients in the interest of reducing fat, carb, and calorie intake, bouncing between different “fad” diets…I realized I was doing myself more harm than good. So, instead, I focused on giving my body the fuel it needs, paying more attention to nutritional value and health benefits than calorie count or fat content. I stopped tracking my workouts by how many calories I could burn and started noticing which workouts made me feel better, physically and mentally. I plan to continue pursuing my fitness goals…but so that I’m happy and confident in my own skin, not so I can buy clothes a size smaller. I’m looking forward to what 2019 brings. There’re changes coming, and challenges (because when aren’t there). Oh, and DIY projects…definitely more DIY Projects.
