Tag: New Years resolution

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Fabulous living

2024 New Year’s Resolutions

Hello All!

Happy New Year and Happy January!

I hope you and your loved ones had a wonderful Christmas and New Years. I thoroughly enjoyed my holidays with my family. We ate lots of food, enjoyed our favorite holiday traditions together and made some wonderful memories. I have no complaints about my holidays, everything was merry and bright and filled with joy.

A look at our New Year’s Eve spread

We are in a new year which means it’s time to start thinking about New Year’s goals and resolutions. I always enjoy the feeling of fresh starts and new beginnings. Get me a new planner, a fresh sheet of paper and pen and I am one happy girl. I am doing the 2024 Simplicity Challenge through Simplified this year again, so be on the lookout for a post on that in the coming weeks. As a new year begins, I also like to take some time to look back on how far I’ve come and what worked from the year before and what didn’t before I start plotting for the year ahead.

As a quick recap, my goals for 2023 were to eat healthier and run a 5K (which I accomplished), take advantage of local spots and parks (I did a good job with this in the spring and summer, but fell off the wagon a bit in the fall and winter), plan to do things on days off (I was really proud of how I used my vacation days and weekends to the fullest by planning things to do with friends and building in down time), and continue to grow in my profession (I accomplished this by tackling new projects and assignments through the year.)

My motto for 2023 was to “Embrace Change”, even though the year didn’t bring all the changes I was anticipating, I still did my best to be flexible and adaptable through the year and embrace whatever came my way.

As far as 2024 goes, my motto or phrase of the year is “Be Open and Aware of Change”. I am someone who loves and craves her routines and rhythms and doesn’t do well with change. This year I want to do better with being open to change and adapting to it and not fearing it. I also hope to be more flexible and not as rigid with a schedule, (we will see how that goes, but I am up for the challenge).

I really liked the routines and hobbies I established last year, and I want to continue and build off them in the new year. For example, I took on the hobby of running and grew to love it. I want to continue to run and work on my speed and distance this year. I also made sleep and self-care by establishing a good morning and evening routines and establishing better boundaries and I was to continue that in 2024 as well.

From 2023 to 2024, I have list of goals and resolutions for the next twelve months, here’s what I hope to accomplish in 2024:

-Donate Blood– I am not a fan of needles, but I have heard so many good stories about donating blood. I also know so many people who donate and who benefit from it. I want to give back more this year and this is one way I can achieve that.  I hope to get over my fear of needles but donating blood to help others and possibly save a life.

–Do an 8K or 10K -This is building off my new hobbies from last year. I want to challenge myself and run an 8K or 10K. I really have grown to love running and I want to challenge myself this year by upping my mileage and doing more races. I have lucked out with fairly nice weather in the fall and winter to continue to run outside and I plan to do that for as long as possible until I have to run on a treadmill indoors. I’m hoping by setting these goals it will challenge me to run farther and faster.

–Re-Learn Piano– Speaking of hobbies, I want to re-learn to play piano. I learned when I was in middle school but didn’t put in the time and practice that I needed to keep up with it. Now, that I’m an adult and I have a bit more freetime, I want to re-learn piano this year as a creative outlet and to challenge myself in a new way. I’m looking forward to seeing how this goes and how quickly I recall things from my earlier lessons.

-Learn how to braid hair-This may seem very silly, but I have never learned how to braid hair and I want to learn this year. This may only take a few YouTube videos and a few hours, but once again, I am looking for a creative outlet with this hobby and I;;m looking to learn a new skill

-Cook a New Recipe a week– I started doing this a few years ago and then I slipped but I want to get back to trying new meals each week and cook for my family. I love being in the kitchen whether it’s for cooking or baking and I want to continue to use my skills and learn new recipes, so when I am out on my own, I have plenty of recipes to cook. I also think cooking is a skill that you can always get better at, and I want to be savvy in the kitchen. 

These are some of my big goals and resolutions for the new year, I have a few others that are a bit more personal, but these are goals that I think are attainable and realistic. 

Tell Me: As we begin a new year, what are some goals or resolutions that you want to achieve? Let me know in the comments below so we all can hold each other accountable and lift each other up. Have a great first week of the new year. 

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Fabulous living

2023 New Year’s Resolutions Check In

Hello everyone!

Happy Wednesday and Happy August! It’s hard to believe we are into August. This summer has been packed full of work, crossing things off my summer bucket list, seeing friends, traveling to new places and still finding time to enjoy the lazy days of summer. It has been the best two months and I’m looking forward to what this next month brings.

Sweet summer mornings

As we make our way through the year, I wanted to do a New Year’s resolution check-in. 

I always think it’s a good idea to hold ourselves accountable to our goals and resolutions and check in to see how we are doing with things we set our mind’s to. Here’s a look at my post from the beginning of the year.

My motto for 2023 is “Embrace Change” and although there hasn’t been too much major changes that has happened to me this past year, I have been doing my best to be flexible, open to change and embrace it. It hasn’t always been easy, but I’m doing my best to be open to new ideas and opportunities.

Here’s a look at my resolutions for this year:

Eat healthier and Run a 5K– I am really proud of this 2023 goal. During the spring, I started to train for my 5K and I’m running it this weekend! I’m both excited and nervous to compete, I’m not doing it to win it all, rather to say I did it. I started running twice, sometimes three times a week and have upped my mileage every week.

One of recent runs.

I also started to eat healthier in the spring and summer. I have been making healthier meals, snacking less and making smarter food choices and being mindful of what I’m putting in my body. Overall, I have felt so much better. I have more energy, I am sleeping better, overall, I feel healthier. This has been a resolution that I am very proud of. Even after I complete my 5K, I still plan on running since I have enjoyed this newfound hobby.

An example of a new summer meal.

Take advantage of local parks and spots– I have done a pretty good job of this one, but there is still room for improvement. I have found some new places around the region to hike and walk in my own backyard rather than traveling distances to go hiking. I have taken advantage of more places in the spring, summer and fall, but I still want to do more in the winter, it’s all about bundling up for the walks. 

A new place to go hiking
A familiar place to go hiking.

Plan to do more things on days off– This is one area that I have done pretty well with, but I still want to make sure I’m taking full advantage of my vacation days and weekends. I try to make sure my weekends are balanced between work and relaxing, but sometimes, the balance isn’t always there. The same goes with vacation days, sometimes I have certain things planned but other times, I don’t take advantage of them to the fullest. This is something that I still have time to work on this year.

Seeing Ed Sheeran and heading to a new park to go hiking was a day off well spent.

Continue to grow in my Profession-This is one that I will always be working on every day. I have been a part of a few big projects during the first half of this year that have challenged me and helped me grow, but I am always looking for ways to get better and challenge myself. I try to get creative with my job and find different things to bring to the table and I think I do a pretty good job at it, but I know the only way we grow is if we challenge ourselves.

One adventure was heading to Canada for a work trip.

Those were my four main goals and resolutions for the year. Overall, I think I have done a good job of accomplishing them so far this year, but in good news, I have several months to continue to work on these goals.

Tell me, with several months to go, how are you doing with your 2023 Resolutions? Have you accomplished? Are you pleased with where you are at? Let me know in the comments below! See you Friday for another edition of Friday Favorites!

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Fabulous living

New Year’s Resolutions Check-In


Happy Wednesday!

Can you believe we are half way through a June and half way through 2022? This year is flying by. The winter months being cooped up inside certainly dragged, but once spring and summer came around and I’ve been able to get outside more, the days are flying by. I’m doing everything I can to make the most of my days off and time after work by being outdoors. 

A walk on a day off is the best way to enjoy summer.

With the second half of the year ahead of us, I wanted to look back on my New Year’s resolutions to see how I’ve done so far and what areas I can improve in.

You can see my New Years resolutions here. 

I broke up my resolutions into the categories of physical, spiritual, professional and lifestyle.

For my physical goals, I wanted to focus on eating more veggies and I’m so proud to say that I’ve been eating vegetables every day with multiple meals. I’ve done my best to use a vegetable as a replacement for a chip or carb with meals. Hello celery sticks instead of potato chips.

I ultimately feel better when I eat more vegetables compared to more carbs, which I know sounds like a no brainer, but to feel the effects is rewarding. I’m going to continue to add more fruits and vegetables to my plate for all meals and snacks for the next six months of the year.

For spiritual goals, I wanted to spend more time with Jesus besides just going to Church once a week. Although, I’ve been happy with being more consistent with my prayer life this year, I know there’s still so much I can do. I want to continue to live out my faith with my actions and get more involved with my church and community (one of my goals for 24, if you recall). I always start my days with journaling and praying but want to do more for a more fulfilling faith life. After all, the ultimate goal in life is to be with God. 

The Laudate app makes it easier to get Jesus time in during the morning.

For professional goals, I wanted to focus on being more creative in my storytelling. I’ve done a pretty good job of this so far, but I know there’s more ways to improve. I try to be creative when I have them time at work, but sometimes I’m in a real time crunch and I don’t always have the extra time to be creative. I want to think out of the box when telling stories and putting in the time to learn new things. I still want to boost my creativity in the second half of the year.

For lifestyle, one of my goals is to use more sustainable products and I’ve really done a good job with this. I almost always use plastic containers instead of baggies when packing my lunch. Thanks to more stores doing away with plastic bags, I’ve been using recycled and reusable bags. I know it’s not much but I feel good that I’m doing part.

That’s a look at my resolutions so far, I’ve certainly made progress in many areas, but I know I have lots of ways to improve. I like to use these check-ins to hold myself accountable and hopefully help you hold yourself accountable to when it comes to our resolutions. It’s great to set goals at the beginning of the year, but it’s even more important to stick to them. How has your resolutions been going so far? Sticking to them or have a few gone to the wayside?

Let me know in the comments below!

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Fabulous living

2021 Resolution Recap and Year in Review

Hey guys! Happy Wednesday! Merry Christmas! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with family and loved ones. I always love the time between Christmas and New Year’s, whether you are off for a break or working, it’s always a nice time to relax, catch your breath and take some extra time to reflect on the year. 

I wanted to take some time to reflect on the past year and my resolutions. For a quick recap, you can read my post here about my 2021 Resolutions. My word of the year was intentional. I wanted to be more intentional with my time with friends and family and more intentional with the things I put time and energy in. I wrote it on a post-it note in my planner and moved it from month to month as a reminder for myself. Overall, I think I did pretty well with focusing on family and friends when I spent time with them. I also prioritized what things I did during my free time too.

My first of three resolutions for this year was to be more intentional with family and friends. I found myself doing a lot of multi-tasking and wanted to be more focused on one thing at a time. I did well with spending time with family and a lot of this had to do with my new work schedule. I now get to spend a lot more time with family and do my best to put the phone down and be present, but there’s always room for improvement. 

My second resolution was less screen time. I did well by setting up times on my phone to have my phone shut off to focus on work or housework. But there were times that I was tired by the end of the day and just aimlessly scrolled, not the best use of time, but sometimes you need a brain break. That will continue to be something I work on in the new year. 

My third resolution was to be more consistent with friends. I definitely made more time for friends by setting up times to do things with friends. The pandemic put a halt to a lot of social activities so by really setting aside time for friends, I was able to maintain my friendships I hold dear to my heart. For example, I started the year out with my virtual book club with my high school friends, Maddie and Ryan. I also set up time for monthly facetime dates with friends (more on that on a post in the new year).

Stay tuned for my goals for 2022 next week!

Now, for a quick year in review. I had a lot of high hopes for 2021 and a lot of them came to fruition. 

I was able to spend lots of time with friends, either in person or via facetime or zoom.

Seeing my best friend Danielle was a highlight of the year.

I also got in a lots of day trips to new places for hiking and walking, from State Parks, to National Parks, new trails and old spots.

Going on walks makes the winter more manageable.
Fall weeks are good for the soul.

I also tried new things like ice skating and have loved it. I went three times in the past three weeks. 

Skating on the bay was such a fun experience.
Skating in Buffalo.

I got to travel with my family and get some great one on one time with loved ones.

Family time with my brothers on vacation.

I got a chance to stand by one of my best friend’s side as she got married.

Getting wedding ready!

I got lots of fall walks in and got to celebrate the start of the holiday season.

Apple picking was one of the fall walks and adventures I embarked on.

The best part of the year was getting my Covid-19 vaccine.

Work has been busy this year, but I’m so lucky with all the opportunties I’ve been given and all the things I’ve learned along the way.

Covering different stories every day makes my job so fulfilling.

I’m so lucky to have a loving family and supportive friends along for the ride too.

What a year 2021 was….2022…let’s do this!

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Fabulous living

New Year’s Resolutions

Happy New Year!! 

Christmas morning spent well, the tree all lit, a warm cup of hot chocolate and time spent with family

It is good to be back. I have been posting a few looks to wear when you are out and about but today it is back to normal with blogging. I hope you all had a restful and relaxing breaks, whether you are still on break from school or you only got a few days off, I hope they were restful and filled with loved ones, good food, presents, and joy. It was so nice to spend some quality time with family, although I did work a bit over break it has been so refreshing not having to worry about school work and just be present in the moment. It’s crazy how fast my time home went by. I am headed back to school on Thursday, time to gear up for another semester. These past few weeks have been restful and rejuvenating and its time to get back to the school work. 

Today, I’m sharing my New Year’s Resolutions with you. These were my goals last year. For the most part I accomplished them well. I was busy during the day at school so that snacked way less than normal. I also tried to eat much better at school. I’m going to try to do the same when I head back to school. I got a lot of reading done over the summer and over Christmas break. My Christmas book review will be up next week so stay tuned for that! I was more flexible and spontaneous towards the end of the year especially when it came to going out with friends but I am still very much into my schedules and being on top of things.

Heading into 2019 with the right mindset

I’m calling this year-2019- “My senior year”. Since I will be graduating next December, I thought it would be appropriate to call 2019, my senior year of college, with only two semester left of college, I hope to make lots of memories, try new things, and live up my senior year. I also decided to pick a word that I want to center around this year.

After a lot of thought, I decided to choose the word… “Patience”. I want to try and be more patient this year with others, myself, and life in general. I have often felt being rushed with everything I do and getting stressed and overwhelmed by it. I want to strive to be more patient this year, everything will get done, it always does, sometimes we just need a little more patience in our lives. I will keep you updated this year with how it goes. 

My mindset for the new year….patience and positivity

Now, moving onto my resolutions. I have set three for myself, all pratical and easy to incorporate into my life each day. 

Be more positive– I have often found myself complaining about the trival things in life whether it be about too much homework, being busy or having too much on my plate. This upcoming year I want to focus less on the negative and more on the positive, and if there is stuff bothering not talk about it all the time rather just find a solution.

Don’t sweat the small stuff-This goes along with the first one, I want to try to not stress over the little things in life, rather focus on the big picture. I am going to not let the little things get to me since they don’t matter in the grand scheme in life, I really want to work on bettering myself this year and not get overwhelmed with the small day to day things. 

Be more social– This is going to be a more challenging one this year. One of the great things about college is making friends with people older and younger than you, however, it can also be really rough when all your friends graduate early/study abroad/ start work. This year will be an adjustment with so many of my friends leaving, I never thought I would have to make new friends as a junior in college, this year I am determined to step out of my comfort zone and still be social and see friends and do things on nights and the weekends. I’ll keep you posted on how this goes. 

That’s an update about what’s going on with me these past few weeks and what’s to come with this upcoming semester. As I embark on my senior year, I want to thank you all for being a part of this journey with me. See you back on Thursday!