I try really hard not to bully myself into being a “better” version of myself each New Year. I try to never set myself up for failure, because I’m my worst critic, and I get down on myself when I fail…I’m sure I’m not the only one. I do though believe in setting healthy and attainable goals. I perform well under pressure, and setting a goal that gives me a little push can help me grow, and is sometimes a really good thing. I’ve been thinking about things I’d like to try this year, places I’d like to go, and things I want to try to do to improve my health and well being, and here’s what I’ve come up with.

1.|| Drink more water!!! Ok, this is not a goal, this is a necessity. I am terrible about drinking water. I avoid it like the plague and will trade in a glass of H2O for coffee, juice, or a diet soda any day. My husband is constantly harping on the fact that I’m probably chronically dehydrated, and gets highly annoyed when after eating my meal I pound down his glass of water because I’m so thirsty. Apparently by the time you actually feel thirsty, your body has already started becoming dehydrated. This is a habit I need to break, especially so that I can be a good role model to my daughter. Priority #1 this year. (I failed at beginning this yesterday, so I’ll start today. Oops!)

Before & After

2.|| De-Clutter my home. In the course of a year I have managed to accumulate a lot of stuff, and all of this stuff is cluttering my home and making me feel anxious. I crave clean, organized, and clutter-free space. Most people would look at my home and think “Looks good to me!”, but it all feels so chaotic and messy to me. I’ve already started on this task by cleaning and organizing the closet under our staircase. It’s a massive L-shaped closet that became a war zone after pulling out Christmas decor. I bought a wall organizer and containers from Lowes, donated boxes full of things that we hadn’t used in the last year, and magically found the back of my closet! I will continue tackling the clutter room-by-room, and I’ll post progress pics for all of you that would like to make the same goal. Power in numbers, right? Let’s do this! PS…Please keep encouraging me, and remind me that de-cluttering may feel a lot like cleaning…which we all know sucks…but it MUST be done!

3.|| A photo a day of my sweet Camryn. I printed a book last year of all my instagram photos of Camryn, and it is by far my most loved possession. I skim through the pages and reminisce, usually cry, and tell my husband “I need another babyyyyy!!!” I can see how much she changed over such a short period of time, and I get to relive all those moments with her, and it’s just a really beautiful keepsake. I have wanted to do this for a really long time, but never took the leap and started, but now feels like the right time. I took the first picture of her yesterday while she was riding her new tricycle, dressed as a kitty (her current obsession). I created a page called Camryn Daily located at the top of the blog, next to Contact Me and Home Tour. I will keep that page updated with ALL of the photos, and in addition I will post some on FB, IG, and here in random posts.

4.|| Travel. Our little family took a 2 week vacation in September 2013 to France and had the most incredible trip, and it’s something we want to continue doing each year. Our daughter is no stranger to traveling, and has been to 4 countries, and been on nearly 50 flights. Visiting other countries, immersing yourself in their culture, seeing all the art and history, and experiencing the beauty of those places is a reminder of how little space we occupy on this earth and how little we know about one another. I want my daughter to meet people who live differently than we do, and learn to value our differences, and respect their ways of life. I want her to see this amazing world. We only get to live on this earth once, and it would be a shame not to see as much of it as we can.

One of my favorite memories with my husband and daughter. Summer 2013

5.|| Prioritize. I like to tell myself that I can do it all, but honestly, I can’t. I want to make an effort to put down my phone, close my laptop, and walk away from my office in the evenings and spend good quality time with my husband and daughter. I spend all day, everyday, with my tiny lady but I want to be more present and in the moment with her. I am guilty of being on my phone instead of playing, or getting involved in my blog each night instead of curling up with my husband…although, I’m not sure he’s been missing me lately. Football is his mistress…I should say his other mistress, because work takes the cake. Work hard, play hard. Prioritize, and then reap our reward…hopefully we’ll be reaping our rewards somewhere overseas this year. HA!

Those are my goals. What are your goals or resolutions for the new year?

XO – Samantha