goodbye 2017, hello 2018!
I love the feeling a new year brings. A new year is a fresh start, a clean slate, a desire for change. As soon as Christmas is done and over with, the wheels in my brain start turning, and I start thinking
and reflecting on my life and my self. I answer deep questions such as: What amazing things do I want to accomplish this upcoming year? What kind of person do I want to become? What traits or habits do I want to gain or lose? Then I make a list and get to work.
Before I share with you my goals for 2018, let me review with you my last year's goals.
I had 7 things on my "list". Here they are exactly as I wrote them down on December 26, 2017.
1. Read the Book of Mormon every day- by myself and as a family.
I did awesome at reading everyday by myself. I followed the Instagram account bofm365, which breaks the book up into small sections to read everyday. It also offers a question to ponder while you read. By December 31st, I had finished reading the entire book again.
As for reading it as a family - - -yeah, that didn't go so well. We started at great as we always do, but then life gets busy, we get tired, and family scripture reading always seems to be the first to go.
*UGH*
I think we almost made it through 1 Nephi.
2. Spend more time with my children.
I had to ponder on this, but as I look back, I can see that I definitely accomplished this. Going into this goal I had lofty ideas, such as, mommy dates, and lunches, etc. I never did any of those things. However, I did try to always be where they were; whether it was watching tv, playing outside, going for a walk or a bike ride, or sitting beside them while they played x-box.
3. Stop eating sugar/white flour/processed foods and feed my family the same
This goal was a doozy! - in both a good and a bad way. I learned so much working on implementing this goal.
I'll blog more on this later.
4. Rid myself from the cynical, negative me. Somehow become a kind, happy, positive, upbeat person that spreads light wherever she goes. Someone who only sees the good in others and their faults only when necessary.
This goal has seriously changed my life. Heavenly Father placed so many people, and books, and programs into my life that opened my eyes to what I was missing and to what I needed in my life. I can honestly say have become a new person. Not a perfect person, because perfectionism isn't healthy, but a new person. I am now someone I like love.
Don't worry -I will definitely be sharing more on this!
5. Exercise 5-6 times a week and walk more.
Last year for Christmas Santa brought me a Fitbit Alta. My goal was to reach 10,000 steps everyday. In order to reach this goal, I had to be up and moving a lot. This kept me active and from sitting too much.
In January I started the Bikini Body Mommy 6.0 challenge. I blogged all about my love for Bikini Body Mommy HERE. I can't remember if I finished this challenge or not, but somewhere along the way last year, I stopped working out.
By the end of the summer, I was noticing that my toned body was not so toned anymore. No more muscle definition -anywhere- and definitely a little more budge -everywhere-. August 21 I started back up again with Bikini Body Mommy Challenge 3.0. Maybe it had something to do with the Solar Eclipse, but I've been working out everyday ever since. I'm halfway through with her 4.0 challenge.
6. Switch to all natural products and do a better job at keeping up on house cleaning and organizing.
I first switched my skincare, then my soap, then my house cleaning products, and them my shampoo/conditioner, and lastly my toothpaste.
Here's what I discovered:
I love love love the way oil-based face cleaners make my skin look and feel.
I love a good smelling homemade soap (not made by me, of course).
Natural products don't really clean the way I want my house to be clean. I also found that regular cleaning products make me feel ill when I use them.
Do you see the dilemma here? What's a girl to do?
I use natural until I need to get a good clean and then I bust out the Clorox, which luckily is only every few months or so.
My hair loves a sulfate, fragrance-free shampoo and conditioner. When I run out and have to switch back to Biolage, I tend to get break out on my scalp and hairline.
And lastly, as bad as I know it is for me, I just can't give up my Colgate Total.
7. Be better at having meaningful prayer
Since I'm usually tired and groggy when I first wake up, I set a"prayer alarm" on my phone to go off at 9:00 am. This was the perfect time. Everyone was off to school for the day and nothing was really going on yet. I tried several things to make my prayers more personal and meaningful: thinking about what I wanted to say before, writing notes down, picturing myself sitting in Heavenly Father's living room talking with him like I would my earthly dad. Some prayers were really passionate and powerful, and others fell flat, but I definitely established an awesome habit of having morning prayer time. . .that is until summer came and my schedule changed.
I'm trying to get back into a good habit again. Some days are better than others.