Tag: fresh starts

Categories
Fabulous living

2025 New Year’s Resolutions

Hello Everyone and Happy New Year! 

I hope you have had an enjoyable holiday season. For many people, itā€™s back to work and reality, but others have a few more days to relax and unwind. I hope these past few days or weeks brought you rest, family and friend time, a good recharge, joy, love and memories. I know my heart is full after this holiday season.

I like to use the time between Christmas and New Year to reflect on the past year and look forward to whatā€™s to come. 

I did my annual planner prep this week!

I accomplished a lot in 2024, you can read all about it here.

Before I get to my New Yearā€™s Goals and Resolutions for 2025, I wanted to give you an update on my resolutions from last year. You can read about them here.

My motto of the year was to ā€œBe Open and Aware of Changeā€ while it was a challenge, I certainly embraced the change that was thrown my way. I grew a lot this year, I became more independent and confident in myself and my decisions. 

This year, while I leaned into my routines, I worked on being more flexible when it comes to schedules. Flexibility is something I have always struggled with and Iā€™m constantly working on and itā€™s something I want to continue to improve on in the new year.

My 2024 Resolutions for 2024 was to donate blood, do an 8K or 10K, Relearn Piano, Learn how to Braid Hair and Cook One Meal a Week. 

I accomplished all of these goals minus learning to braid hair, that was mostly because I have short hair and itā€™s not conducive to braiding right now. Once I grow it out, I plan to learn how to braid it. 

I donated blood for the first time this summer and I have continued to donate every time I am eligible. 

Donating Blood

I ran two 10Kā€™s this year and broke my personal record during my second one.

First of Two 10 K

I attempted to teach myself piano and practiced almost every day, but I donā€™t know if I will continue with this hobby in the new year.

Learning Piano

I have continued to make one meal a week and tried lots of new recipes and even mastered some too!

Cooking a new meal each week

I was pleased with how much I accomplished this past year whether it was trying new hobbies or continuing with old ones.

My mindset going into 2025 is to approach my days and schedules in a calmer manner. I found myself overbooking last year and want to leave more room for flexibility every day and focusing on doing one thing at a time and not always multitasking. Flexibility is something I want to be better at in the new year. Itā€™s something I say every year and each year I am getting better and better at it.

I want to continue with some of my habits that I started from last year including daily meditation, donating blood, making one meal a week , and paying attention to my budgets. 

When it comes to new goals or resolutions for 2025, I want to:

-Run a half marathon (something I have been working towards over the past few years)

-Read 70 Books (I read 68 this past year, so I think this is doable.)

-Learn How to Bake Bread (I know this was very popular during the pandemic, but now I am jumping on the bandwagon and want to learn as well.)

-Learn how to iron (I know how to iron, but I want to get better at it this year.)

-Get more involved in my community (whether this is through joining a fitness class or club, I want to meet new people in my hometown.) 

In addition to these new goals for the new year, I want to work on spending more time outdoors, especially when it comes to being with my dogs. I want to continue to spend time with friends, go on a family trip and visit a new state. 

I have a few other personal goals that I want to work towards in the new year. I love the feeling of a fresh start and new beginnings that each year brings and I canā€™t wait to see what 2025 has in store for me. Happy New Year! Welcome 2025!

Categories
Fabulous living

Using the Good Things in Life

Hello everyone! Happy First full week of March! We hit 70 degrees on Monday, the sun has been out longer and I’ve gotten more walks in to embrace the warm weather. It has been a great start to a new month. Today’s post is a bit personal, but I hope you will stick around until the end.

Remember those shoes you always wanted as a child and when you got them, you were afraid to wear them and risk getting them dirty or ruined? Or maybe you kept holding off on using your good dishes because you were afraid you would break them? We have all been there. We sometimes long for items and never end up using them or don’t use them as much as we should. Today’s post is a little different and more personal, as I’m sharing about the importance of not waiting and using the good things in life.Ā 

This topic came to me around the holidays, we were getting the table set for Christmas dinner using the good China and linen napkins. I always enjoy a good party prep and entertaining, I thought it was such a shame that fine China and fancy items only get used so often or for special occasions. While I know it’s important to honor and celebrate the big moments in our lives with fun items to mark the occasion, why can’t we use the linens more often? Or who says we can only use good plates for holidays? No one. I realized we can permit ourselves to use the nice dishes or wear the dress we have had in the back of our closet, or even add some expensive jewelry to our everyday outfits. What’s the point of having these items if we aren’t going to enjoy them to their fullest?

When I came to this realization last year, I allowed myself to use the good things, take the opportunities and experiences and not wait or put them off and I hope after reading this maybe you will too. Over the past few months, I have been trying to use what I have or the things I don’t use as frequently and incorporate them more in my everyday life. 

Here’s how I’m doing that:

Clothing: I have a lot of clothes, but I find myself reaching for the same items on days off or to wear to work. I decided to make more of an effort to change up clothes for work or outfits that I was wearing on days off or out to appreciate what I had. Instead of just wearing leggings and a hoodie on a day off (which still happens), I decided on jeans and a nice top to wear out for errands. I felt better about my appearance and better that I was wearing something I hadn’t worn in a while. 

Appliances/Gadgets: I got a Kitchen Aid mixer for Christmas last year and used it a handful of times but took a hiatus due to a busy schedule and the fact it was stored in a place that isn’t always convenient to get it when I wanted to use it. I decided that I enjoyed using it and it made cooking and baking easier, so I would walk the extra few steps to get it out when I wanted to cook with it. 

Experiences: My friends and sometimes family often talk about things we want to do or try or adventure, but they don’t end up happening due to life or commitments or forgetting about it. I’ve tried to make more of a point to actually plan the trips or outings when I am with family of friends. For example, one of my friends and I are both book-worms and enjoy supporting local businesses and reading new books. I heard about a local book sale happening and made plans with my friend to check it out. We easily could have talked about it and not acted on it, but we made it a point to find a time that worked well for both of us and go to make it happen. Rather than going around in circles talking about if we want to go someplace or do something, you are making a decision to make it happen.

That’s the lesson, make the decision and don’t be afraid to use the good things in life. What’s holding you back? Give yourself permission to take the risk or make the jump and use the good things in life instead of having them sit.

Let me know your thoughts on this. How do you feel about making the big jumps and using the finer things in life?

Categories
Fabulous living

Twenty-Five

Twenty-five, a quarter of a century, a full blown adult.

These are a few of the things that have been running through my mind over the last few weeks.Ā 

Let me back up, I turn 25 next week and it’s a milestone birthday filled with all the emotions. Excitement, anticipation, nostalgia, and a bit of fear too.Ā 

Growing up, I always thought when you turned 25, you were officially an adult. No longer a child, teenager, or even young adult, but a full-fledged adult, and you had to have it all figured out.

Spoiler alert, I’m almost 25 and I don’t have it all figured out and I’m okay with that, in fact, I’m glad I don’t have it all figured out. I’ve learned you don’t have to have it all sorted out quite yet.

Your twenties are all about growing and learning and taking risks and seeing where life takes you. My first half of my twenties were filled with graduating college, moving back home, starting a career, going through a pandemic, getting promoted, making new friends and meeting my boyfriend, that’s a lot of change for five years.

But, let me let you in on a secret, I have loved every bit of it, even the stressful days or the moments filled with unknowns. I’ve learned so much about myself and from those around me and I’m so happy where I am today. I’ve learned to savor every moment spent with family, whether it’s a major holiday or a Tuesday night dinner (just ask any of my brothers, I always comment how special it is that we are all together-and it drives them nuts.) I’ve also learned to be open to new opportunities, but to trust my gut and how it’s okay to say no to things if they don’t feel right. I’ve learned friendship works both ways and some friendships aren’t meant to last forever, some are only meant for a season, while others are forever.

Most importantly, I’ve learned to savor and love the little things in life, whether it’s a morning walk, a coffee with a friend or even going through an evening routine. The little things in life are often the things you will remember the most.

Now as I embark on the second half of my twenties, I am eager to continue to see how I can grow more and what things I can learn about myself. I’m also interested to see where I will be at age 30. Will I be married? have children? Living in the same city? So much can change in five years, but I also now so many things will still be the same. I know I will have a loving family by my side, I know I will have supportive friends and a caring boyfriend. I’m excited to see where these next few years will take me and how I will grow and change. I always like reflecting as big milestones come and go to see how far I have come and what I’ve learned.Ā 

As far as what this year brings, I don’t have any big goals for this next year, I want to keep doing what I’m doing. I want to keep working hard at my job, putting family and relationships first, making sure I’m taking care of my body and self with different hobbies and I want to make sure I’m taking every opportunity available.Ā  Because my birthday falls in May, I’m halfway through my 2023 New Year’s Resolutions and so far they have been going well, definitely room for improvement in some areas, but I have seen progress in other realms.

My birthday falls on Memorial Day and I’ll be working so I’m not quite sure what the day will hold, but I’m excited for what year 25 will bring!

Here’s to another year! Happy Birthday to Me!