2012 is over and most people are looking forward to starting the New Year. Although I am excited for starting a new year with my new addition, 2012 was a big hit! I got pregnant, graduated with my Master's, moved to a new state, and had a baby. Those are just a few highlights.
It is now officially the first day of 2013 and resolutions are to be made...and broken within a few weeks by most. Last year, Jason and I made 12 resolutions (one for each month) then we lost the paper and only ended up doing 3 of the 12. Fail. This year we made an Excel spreadsheet to stay organized. We also uped our resolutions to 24 (2 per month) and a personal yearly resolution. This will definitely be a challenge. Here are our resolutions by month:
January:
1. 100 Burpees or squats a day.
2. Inventory a room a week. This probably needs explanation. We are going to go room to room and make a list of everything we own. We are doing this because we want to know how much 'stuff" we really have so we can figure out what we don't need and/or want. Sort of a declutter if you will. It will also help with insurance.
February:
1. No sugar or candy.
2. Give away 30 items (1 a day).
March:
1. 30 minutes of T.V or Internet a day.
2. Schedule meals for the entire month and stick to the menu.
April:
1. No sitting on the couch (or Jason's desk/office chair). I will also explain this one. You can sit in other places...just not the couch or office chair. This will force us to be more active, stretch, and not just plop down in front of the T.V or computer.
2. Only use 1/2 our monthly budget. This will be tough! We already have a budget and to only spend half will be a huge challenge. We will need to be creative on how to save money and if we succeed we can put them into our regular budget.
May:
1. After dinner walk. We actually completed this one last year and we loved it! We did it in January which was cold (even in GA) so we decided to do this one again...and in a warmer month.
2. Two new projects in the month. Whether it be a sewing project for me or Jason building something. We need to start and finish 2 new hand-made projects.
June:
1. 30/60 minutes outside. 30/60 is separating the weekdays from weekends. We will spend at least 30 minutes outside on the weekdays and 60 minutes on the weekends. It can be walking, going to the park, playing a sport, having a picnic..the possibilities are endless!
2. Perform maintenance daily. This means doing some general cleaning, or maintaining, of stuff we have. It could be an oil change, cleaning the car, organizing the closet, cleaning the coffee machine, mowing the lawn...
July:
1. Backpack/Camp every weekend. This sounded crazy to me when Jason thought of it. Camping or backpacking EVERY weekend...and with a baby!? But if you think about it, it is only 4 weekends. And by backpacking I mean going on a hike for a couple hours. We could do 2 backpacking trips and 2 camping weekends. It's going to be very interesting if we can accomplish this one with Nate.
2. Eat FRESH veggies with each meal. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I am not really a fan of veggies. I pretty much force them into my dinner meals because I know they are good for me. And most of the time they are from a can, which is not the best for you either. We choose July because we know we will be able to hit up the farmer's market and get some great veggies!
August:
1. Volunteer twice in the month. We are thinking Habitat for Humanity, but haven't set that in stone.
2. Cook culture weeks. Each week we will pick a culture and find recipes for each day of the week. For example, if we choose Italian, we will find recipes for each meal. We might just find something new that we love. The next week could be German, Thai, Mexican...
September:
1. 15/30 minutes of exercise a day. Broken down by weekdays and weekends. This will force us to be active and do SOMETHING physical.
2. 15/30 minutes of cleaning a day. Some days we just don't want to do the dishes, or start the laundry. But this month, we will clean something. There is always something that seems to be dirty.
October:
1. Save 50% of income. More money saving!
2. Drink a glass of water before eating. I know I don't drink enough water...you probably don't either. This will also help with feeling full and not overeating.
November:
1. Write a blog post daily.
2. Paleo for entire month. We used to be more strict with eating Paleo, but we have definitely fallen off that food wagon. We dedicate this month to being completely paleo.
December:
1. One compliment a day. To a stranger would be preferred, but I think a compliment to each other every once in awhile would be okay, too. And they have to be genuine.
2. Read 30/60 minutes a day. 30 minutes on the weekday, 60 on the weekends.
Phew...that's a lot of resolutions, but since they are broken down monthly they are reasonable.
My yearly resolution is to save 1,000 dollars and to get back to my pre-baby body. Pretty standard.
I hope everyone is making resolutions and stick to them! We chose ones we thought we going to make us healthier, more active, have more money, more creative, and overall better people.
Here's to a new year!
