New Years Resolutions

I've heard several people say that they don't bother making New Years Resolutions because they know they'll break them. I actually like making resolutions and the thought of a blank slate. I think the trick to resolutions is to make realistic measurable resolutions. For example: instead of saying "I will lose weight this year," or even, "I will lose 20 pounds this year," say "I will not eat dessert." Now, that is not one of mine because I love desserts too much, so I have made one along those lines that is realistic for me, but will still improve my health (I think). I divided my resolutions into categories: Spiritual, Health, Marriage, Parenting, Career, and Financial. I have 24 total, but I won't share them all here; I'm not that interesting. But I did pick out some to share that are going to be especially important to me this year and that might inspire you too!

I will not eat fried food.

Although I'm back to my pre baby weight, nothing is in the same place and everything is flabbier that it used to be. So I don't have a specific weight goal, but I do want to be more toned. Obviously I'm going to have to make some exercise and dietary changes and this is something that shouldn't be in my life anyway. By giving myself a hard and fast rule, I will be less likely to rationalize

I will not eat desserts unless it's made from scratch by me.

Like I said I love desserts. I cannot and will not give them up. However, I know I need to maintain some sort of self control when it comes to sweet treats. So I came up with this one. I figure I will only actually make a dessert if I REALLY want it. Plus if its made from scratch, I know exactly what's in it, and it doesn't have any preservatives or additives. On a side note, I'm trying to make a lot of my desserts from my new cookbook, Deceptively Delicious. This week I made amazing chocolate chip muffins and the batter was made up almost entirely of squash and pumpkin! Now that's a dessert I can actually feel great about! You can find out more about this HERE. More blog posts on this to come.

I will not eat work food.

The only exception to this if it's lunch served during a conference, team lunch etc...something where I pretty much can't avoid it. And then I must make a healthful choice. The things that get me aren't the food that I keep at home. I'm pretty good in that department. It's work grazing, get togethers at friends houses, and church potlucks that make be blow it. So this year, it's bye bye work food...and yes that even means Muddys Cupcakes (wow, never thought I'd say that!)

I will read to my kids every day.

This is something that isn't that hard because I usually read to them every night anyway, but I just want a reminder of how important quality time with my kids is to me, as well as emphasizing the love and importance of reading

I will wait until the end of every month to purchase something that "I want."

This one might be a challenge if there is something that I want that has a timeframe. Like decorations for Savannah's birthday party or a new outfit for an occasion. But I've found that it's the little things that I want and get throughout the month that causes us to blow our budget. So hopefully this will force me to plan more appropriately and ponder those things that I don't need.

I will put my phone away during work and only check it on breaks.

This is a big one. I don't actually think I'm that bad about this or at least as bad as some people, but in this day and age (I sound so old here)I think our mobile devices ironically make more disconnected and more inefficient. I might not be on facebook all day long, and my phone may be on silent, but I still see it blinking when I have a message, text or call and will naturally check in to see what's going on. The way I see it, anyone that truly needs to talk to me right away knows how to reach me at work. Then for the non-emergencies, I can just check in during breaks. The world will not stop.

I will pray every day.

Again, this is something I should be doing anyway, but I need to make a promise to myself and exercise a little discipline. I'm embarrassed to say that if I don't make a rule for myself, I probably wont pray every day...it's so easy for me to just let life get the best of me and fall asleep at the end of the the day without even thinking anything meaningful at all. I think it's important for everyone, whether you pray or not to give themselves a few minutes every day to just clear your head.

I will read the headlines every day.

I don't know about you, but I find that it's hard for me to keep up with current events. In the world of DVR, I only watch what I choose so that includes fast forwarding through local news channel commercials. I don't like news on TV anyway (too sensational) so where does that leave me? The internet. Well, this is ok, but it can be a bit overwhelming. There's so much information, on so many sites, so where do I start? You can pretty much choose any publication (CNN, Fox, New York Times, etc ) and just read the headlines....then you'll see what's really important and learn to filter through what's not. Also, if something piques your interest, you can read further. I got two free apps on my iPhone that will allow me to do this: one for local news (Action News Five all) and one for world wide news (CNN app). We'll see how it goes.

I will write at least one sentence in my gratitude journal every day.

I had to include the words, "at least once sentence" for this to work for me. I've tried to write in a journal, but that never worked because it was too overwhelming. But one sentence...one sentence I can handle. I've been feeling very grateful these days and want to quantify these feelings. I think by doing this exercise it will encourage me to give back as well as take into account the really small things that I am thankful for.

Again, check out thoughts and ideas on resolutions over at The Happiness Project.