2019...Already??

WELCOME, 2019!

Did 2018 fly past or is that my imagination? Seems like it was just a few days ago that we celebrated the start of 2018 and that it is impossible that we are about to welcome a fresh new year, but my Dad always said that time moved faster as you got older, and as with most other things, he was correct.

So, are you ready for the coming year? I know I am not feeling ready to embrace a new year, but it comes whether I’m prepared or not, so it’s time to bid a fond adieu to 2018 and plan to have the best year ever. What’s on your self-improvement list for the year? Tell me in the comments.

 

2018 Goals Recap

Friends, this year was long. There's just no other way to say it. I fell down and dropped the ball on so many of my goals, succeeded wildly in others, and completed ones that I didn't even have at the beginning of the year. So I'll just pop a quick overview and then start working on 2019's goals. Updates to each goal will be in GREEN. 

Spiritual:

• Make a new habit of praying WITH Dan as often as he is willing. This happened only twice. Dan was unwilling.
• Read the Bible every day. Dropped the ball after January and never got back on track.
• Make a prayer list and pray more often and more specifically. I did well on this, and will continue to improve in 2019.

 Health:

• Instead of specific numbers/servings/grams, etc. I am adopting a eat-to-live attitude instead of my usual live-to-eat policy. I'm trying to pack simple healthy lunches each day, get more veggies in than in the past, and make sure I get my water every day. By end of year, I want to be able to hike Dripping Springs, A Mountain and Aguirre Springs. That's it. I did well on my eating policies for the first half of the year and then slowly got out of the new habits for the second half. Aaaaaaand, I never went hiking even once. Oops. (2019's goal will be to get my foot fixed and then slowly work on hiking.)

Books: 

• Read 52 books (or approximately one per week) hopefully along these lines: Only managed 32, but frankly, I'm not too upset about it. It's more than last year and I'm slowly working on putting my phone down and picking up a book instead.
  
  • 6 marriage 4 read
  • 2 financial 0
  • 10 novels 10 read
  • 1 magazine subscription 1 read
  • 2 gov't 1 read
  • 3 history 1 read
  • 10 read-alouds with DT 4 read
  • 2 book club choices 1 read, 1 started
  • 1 spanish 0
  • 10 Christian Living 3 read
  • 10 books that I had on my list from last year 3 read

Family:

• Start eating together at the table at least twice a week Only managed this a handful of times
• Get away together for at least one long weekend and 4-one day trips. Nope. Not even once.
• DE-CLUTTER the whole house. I mean it. For reals.I worked hard at this, and did well. Or so I thought until The BIGS moved back home and I had to condense my collection of SCHTUFF. Turns out I had mostly re-homed my things, instead of getting rid of them. I'm adding this to my 2019 goal list for sure.

Cultural/Social:

• Attend one cultural/social activity per month that's inexpensive or free~ Game Night does not count, no matter how much we love it. Did great the first quarter. And then, nope.
• Attend 1-2 BIG events this year (Newsies, Lion King, TobyMac, etc) YES! TobyMac with Dan was AMAZING
• Participate in #NoPantsApril2018 and #100HappyDays Totally owned this one! Every Single Post went up on FB, still working on transferring them over to the blog.

Personal: 

• Wear Make Up 1-2 times per week No. Managed to slap on some mascara about once a month overall.
• Slowly upgrade my wardrobe with an emphasis on high quality classics with a few trendy pieces thrown in for fun (Limit t-shirts with writing on them) I was gifted some clothes throughout the year, almost none with writing on them, and added a few pieces from thrifting and am pleased with the upgrades.
• Plan meals and cook 4 times per week, plus pack healthy lunches for DT and I at work. With just an occasional slip-up, DT and I carried our lunches all year long. Boom!

Financial: NO TO EVERY PART OF THIS. As of this writing, Dan has been out of work for 51 weeks. There's no financial goals met this year with the exception of still owning the house and no one going hungry. However, that credit goes to The BIGS, who moved back home in October to  help us keep the house.

• Get back on track once Dan gets a new job and stay current on the bills
• Save 50% of my monthly earnings to start and grow our emergency savings
• Tithe more generously (not just to the church, but to our community)
• Pay off Dan's Honda
• Put up a clothesline, repair the breakfast nook roof/ceiling, install raised garden beds in the back yard, get a coop and 4-6 chickens, and plant dwarf fruit trees along the rear fence line. (probably only 1-2 two of these will happen this year and that's OK)
  ***Edited in January of 2021 to add, Dan still doesn't have an official job and it has been THREE YEARS this week. BUT, we still have the house. Yes and Amen. We have saved and used our $1000 emergency fund 5 times since this post was created. We paid off Dan's Honda and then sold it. Dan fixed the breakfast nook ceiling, we planted a small #VictoryGarden in the front yard, and currently have 9 laying hens, but still no clothesline. Dwarf fruit trees are on the agenda for Spring of 2021. 
  

It's The Little Things: Day 365

I want to focus on the good things this year.
All the things people get right.
All the times that everything works out just perfectly after we assumed disaster had already struck.
All the times that the right word was spoken at the right moment.
So, let's celebrate those little moments together, shall we?

• 'Shua and Lauren bought me a plane ticket to come see them in the New Year after #BabyThea is born. I am so blessed, and tickled pink! 
• My dear long time friend Lauren is on her way here and will be here in time to celebrate New Year's Eve with us tonight. 
• Dan and I decided not to throw a party this year and just be cozy at home. That's a decision I can live with all year long. 
• I don't have to work tomorrow. Hooray for sleeping in once in a while!

 

 

 

What's on YOUR little things list today?