2014

I'm not usually one for New Year's resolutions. I've always been more of a "if you want to make a positive change, do it, and it doesn't have to be January 1st" kind of person. But, I had a hard time making positive changes this year. This has been by far my most difficult school year so far, with many added stresses this year and diminishing support. It has made it hard to focus on me and it has made it really hard to focus on my family. So, I've been mulling over a few resolutions and here is what I came up with:

1) More meaningful activities at night. Usually as soon as the girls are in bed, I do school work, and then I let myself go online until I fall asleep. I don't do any of my hobbies any more, like knitting, I haven't read a book since the summer, and I really have fallen into the habit of doing mindless things. It's a nice release, but it also makes me feel like I'm not spending my time as positively as I could. But, I also get anxiety about starting something I won't have time to finish. So, I'm going to make time. That also includes time for blogging.

2) Get to a yoga class at least once a week. I used to do yoga a little more frequently, but then started to focus much more on running. I got more concerned with how much I could sweat, how sore I could get, how far/fast I could run, and even, sadly, how many calories I could burn. With the added stress this year, Jayson really encouraged me to get back to my yoga practice, and I feel like I am benefiting from it much more than I ever did before. I do feel the change in my body, and I also feel that it puts me in a very good place mentally and spiritually. So, that's going to continue to happen on a more frequent basis.

3) Fewer chemicals. We have already moved to being more natural in what we clean with, what we eat, and what products we use. This is something I would also like to ramp up, especially with food. I think we often choose something that is low fat or fat free over something that is natural, and I'm going to work on choosing more natural. Too often the ingredients that are altered to make foods lower in fat are replaced with things that I can't even pronounce. That's not to say I'm cutting out junk food. It just means being a little more conscious of what's in our food and making a better choice when we can.

Also, I hate it when people get all public about how healthy they are and how what they do to stay healthy is the right thing for everybody, so I pretty much hate this post. But, I felt a need to write it all out and put it somewhere that will make me feel a little more responsible for sticking to it. So, sorry. More blogging about my crazy kids will happen soon. When I finish my game of Candy Crush and put down these Cheetos.