Howdy!
I have been MIA for a few weeks! Hopefully you enjoyed the break (whether from school, work, or from my posts!)
There were a lot of times I wanted to write, or thought about writing, but didn't. I should have, but I'll admit, it was nice to take a little break for the holidays. By the way, "Merry [belated] Christmas, ya filthy animal. And a Happy New Year!"
Fun things I/we did:
-Moved to a new apartment and spent a week or two settling in
-Went to two ward parties
-Went to Moody Gardens in Galveston, freaked Tina out by eating at The Rainforest Cafe, and topped off our visit with a Mango Gelati from Rita's!
-Watched lots of movies (because of the whole VidAngel thing)
-Busted out my ugly llama sweater (which you can buy here, if you want to)
-Went back to the Motherland for Christmas!
-Made my Grandma Lu's Christmas Enchiladas with my Aunt (also, today is my grandma's 90th birthday! Happy birthday Grandma! Love you!)
-Went to our family Christmas party, complete with Bingo, an indoor snowball fight, and a visit from Santa! Tina ran right up and sat on his lap without any help. She loves that dude. Lil Spits was a little wary, but she's quite a koala baby nowadays, anyway.
-Saw Rogue One. So sad, but so so good. I already want to see it again.
-Went to the temple!
-Went to the DI, that blessed establishment.
-Ate out at a lot of our favorite places that we don't live close to anymore (Beto's, Papa Murphy's, Hunan Village, Maddox, etc.)
-Ate a butt-ton of candy.
-Played reindeer games, such as Avalon, Four Square, and Shanghai Rummy.
-Spent time visiting with friends and family. We got to see quite a few of you and were so happy we got to! And to whom it may concern: we're sorry we missed you! We hope to catch you next time!
After we got back to Texas we went to a fun New Year's party with friends from our old ward. They almost didn't make it home in time because of some issues with their flight, but they said, "party or bust!" and made it awesome! They have their countdown at a more kid-friendly hour of the evening and we all had a blast! Tina and Lil Spits both thought the noise makers were super duper cool.
I really like New Year's Eve! I like the anticipation of a new year, reviewing the goals I made for the last year, assessing how I did, and making new ones. I know that New Year's Resolutions can come off as a little cliche. There's not a lot of expectancy to keep them, and they usually revolve around things that are superficial or beyond one's control. This New Year's, however, I felt strongly that I needed to think hard about what I wanted to put on my list for 2017, and it needed to be heartfelt.
After I wrote it, I felt like I needed to share it on my blog. It's a little messy, and I have A LOT to work on, but after running it past Spouse Unit and getting the thumbs up of approval, "this is my grown-up [New Year's Resolutions for 2017] liiiiist":
1. The FamJam
-Have more meaningful time with my husband and my daughters
-Phone free as much as possible (put it in a basket elsewhere)
-Limit distractions and give them full attention
-Keep promises
-Treat them kindly, show them patience and love, make them feel important
-Family Home Evening and Date Nights = PRIORITY! Take girls on one-on-one outings, too!
2. Health
-Set realistic fitness and nutrition goals that have milestones, not an end goal. There is no end--only progress for the rest of your life.
-Complete "Insanity" and utilize the gym 4x a week
-Go to the zoo 1x a week
-Find enjoyable ways to get moving--dance parties, tennis, signing up for a race, etc.
-Moderation in all things: limit sweets to special occasions and don't bring it in the house unless it's a gift or I'm hired for an event.
-Good fuel in = good performance!
3. Baking Business, Yo!
-One event a month (if you're interested, please let me know! Since I'm just starting out, it'd be a pretty good deal)
-Find my "niche"
-Research and develop recipes, business models, and pricing
4. Spirituality
-Go to the temple once a month
-Log into familysearch.org once a week-- set as my homepage
-Complete "52 Questions in 52 Weeks" (link here) for our family; start a family journal
-Read about my ancestors, not just find names that need their temple work done.
-Read scriptures 10 minutes daily alone + scriptures with husband + scripture with the girls
-Meaningful prayers--real conversations with God
5. Self-Reliance and Self-Improvement
-Reread The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo and do it!
-Extra income: part time job?, teaching piano, baking
-Patio garden
-Budgeting, couponing, and meal planning
-Practice piano and/or singing 15 min a day, 5x a week
-Find a way to give service at least once a day
-Find a new hobby
-Make a conscious effort to think positive thoughts and be grateful
-Care about your appearance! Take showers, do your hair, get dressed, brush your teeth 2x daily, wear deodorant (now I'm embarrassed that you're all reading this... I shower, okay? Sometimes I just need a little reminder!)
-Take time for self and own hobbies
-Read 2-4 books a month (30 by end of 2017)
-Write in my blog once a week--meaningful, fun, and uplifting content
-Donate my hair!
6. Relationships (same as #1, only not)
-Give sincere compliments daily
-FaceTime families once a week
-Feed the missionaries 2x a month
-Send birthday cards in the mail
-Send gifts for no reason at all
-Reach out to others and get involved in the community
-Keep in touch with old friends and make new ones
-Bear my testimony
I tried to list things that were in my control. I can't necessarily control whether I lose 35 pounds, but I can eat good food and give my body the exercise it needs. I can try to potty train Tina, but I can't make her want to (it bombed again, by the way, thanks for asking). I can't control how many followers I have on my blog (Google says I have zero, but I know you guys are out there!) but I can write a post each week and invite you to read it.
And, I know, it's a hefty list, but a lot can happen in 365 days. Plus, they are the things I felt I needed to write down. They are doable (that's important), but I also know I won't be perfect at all of them. That's kind of why I wrote the list-- I need to work on all of those things! Arguably, some of the resolutions I made might seem like they're out of my control, but I'm going to do them anyway! I'm going to put myself out there, love myself and my family more, and I'm going to make 2017 the flipping bomb.com!
What's your game plan for 2017? I hope you'll join me this next year on my blog and hopefully we will all see some positive changes in ourselves!
See ya on the flip-flop (see what I did there? Makin' changes already!),
Melissa
I have been MIA for a few weeks! Hopefully you enjoyed the break (whether from school, work, or from my posts!)
There were a lot of times I wanted to write, or thought about writing, but didn't. I should have, but I'll admit, it was nice to take a little break for the holidays. By the way, "Merry [belated] Christmas, ya filthy animal. And a Happy New Year!"
Fun things I/we did:
-Moved to a new apartment and spent a week or two settling in
-Went to two ward parties
-Went to Moody Gardens in Galveston, freaked Tina out by eating at The Rainforest Cafe, and topped off our visit with a Mango Gelati from Rita's!
-Watched lots of movies (because of the whole VidAngel thing)
-Busted out my ugly llama sweater (which you can buy here, if you want to)
-Went back to the Motherland for Christmas!
-Made my Grandma Lu's Christmas Enchiladas with my Aunt (also, today is my grandma's 90th birthday! Happy birthday Grandma! Love you!)
-Went to our family Christmas party, complete with Bingo, an indoor snowball fight, and a visit from Santa! Tina ran right up and sat on his lap without any help. She loves that dude. Lil Spits was a little wary, but she's quite a koala baby nowadays, anyway.
-Saw Rogue One. So sad, but so so good. I already want to see it again.
-Went to the temple!
-Went to the DI, that blessed establishment.
-Ate out at a lot of our favorite places that we don't live close to anymore (Beto's, Papa Murphy's, Hunan Village, Maddox, etc.)
-Ate a butt-ton of candy.
-Played reindeer games, such as Avalon, Four Square, and Shanghai Rummy.
-Spent time visiting with friends and family. We got to see quite a few of you and were so happy we got to! And to whom it may concern: we're sorry we missed you! We hope to catch you next time!
After we got back to Texas we went to a fun New Year's party with friends from our old ward. They almost didn't make it home in time because of some issues with their flight, but they said, "party or bust!" and made it awesome! They have their countdown at a more kid-friendly hour of the evening and we all had a blast! Tina and Lil Spits both thought the noise makers were super duper cool.
I really like New Year's Eve! I like the anticipation of a new year, reviewing the goals I made for the last year, assessing how I did, and making new ones. I know that New Year's Resolutions can come off as a little cliche. There's not a lot of expectancy to keep them, and they usually revolve around things that are superficial or beyond one's control. This New Year's, however, I felt strongly that I needed to think hard about what I wanted to put on my list for 2017, and it needed to be heartfelt.
After I wrote it, I felt like I needed to share it on my blog. It's a little messy, and I have A LOT to work on, but after running it past Spouse Unit and getting the thumbs up of approval, "this is my grown-up [New Year's Resolutions for 2017] liiiiist":
1. The FamJam
-Have more meaningful time with my husband and my daughters
-Phone free as much as possible (put it in a basket elsewhere)
-Limit distractions and give them full attention
-Keep promises
-Treat them kindly, show them patience and love, make them feel important
-Family Home Evening and Date Nights = PRIORITY! Take girls on one-on-one outings, too!
2. Health
-Set realistic fitness and nutrition goals that have milestones, not an end goal. There is no end--only progress for the rest of your life.
-Complete "Insanity" and utilize the gym 4x a week
-Go to the zoo 1x a week
-Find enjoyable ways to get moving--dance parties, tennis, signing up for a race, etc.
-Moderation in all things: limit sweets to special occasions and don't bring it in the house unless it's a gift or I'm hired for an event.
-Good fuel in = good performance!
3. Baking Business, Yo!
-One event a month (if you're interested, please let me know! Since I'm just starting out, it'd be a pretty good deal)
-Find my "niche"
-Research and develop recipes, business models, and pricing
4. Spirituality
-Go to the temple once a month
-Log into familysearch.org once a week-- set as my homepage
-Complete "52 Questions in 52 Weeks" (link here) for our family; start a family journal
-Read about my ancestors, not just find names that need their temple work done.
-Read scriptures 10 minutes daily alone + scriptures with husband + scripture with the girls
-Meaningful prayers--real conversations with God
5. Self-Reliance and Self-Improvement
-Reread The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo and do it!
-Extra income: part time job?, teaching piano, baking
-Patio garden
-Budgeting, couponing, and meal planning
-Practice piano and/or singing 15 min a day, 5x a week
-Find a way to give service at least once a day
-Find a new hobby
-Make a conscious effort to think positive thoughts and be grateful
-Care about your appearance! Take showers, do your hair, get dressed, brush your teeth 2x daily, wear deodorant (now I'm embarrassed that you're all reading this... I shower, okay? Sometimes I just need a little reminder!)
-Take time for self and own hobbies
-Read 2-4 books a month (30 by end of 2017)
-Write in my blog once a week--meaningful, fun, and uplifting content
-Donate my hair!
6. Relationships (same as #1, only not)
-Give sincere compliments daily
-FaceTime families once a week
-Feed the missionaries 2x a month
-Send birthday cards in the mail
-Send gifts for no reason at all
-Reach out to others and get involved in the community
-Keep in touch with old friends and make new ones
-Bear my testimony
I tried to list things that were in my control. I can't necessarily control whether I lose 35 pounds, but I can eat good food and give my body the exercise it needs. I can try to potty train Tina, but I can't make her want to (it bombed again, by the way, thanks for asking). I can't control how many followers I have on my blog (Google says I have zero, but I know you guys are out there!) but I can write a post each week and invite you to read it.
And, I know, it's a hefty list, but a lot can happen in 365 days. Plus, they are the things I felt I needed to write down. They are doable (that's important), but I also know I won't be perfect at all of them. That's kind of why I wrote the list-- I need to work on all of those things! Arguably, some of the resolutions I made might seem like they're out of my control, but I'm going to do them anyway! I'm going to put myself out there, love myself and my family more, and I'm going to make 2017 the flipping bomb.com!
What's your game plan for 2017? I hope you'll join me this next year on my blog and hopefully we will all see some positive changes in ourselves!
See ya on the flip-flop (see what I did there? Makin' changes already!),
Melissa
That's weird that it says you have zero followers cause on the left hand side it say Followers (0) and then the button to hit that would normally say, "Follow" says "Unfollow"...so....I don't understand. Doesn't that mean that I'm a follower? Or do I need to subscribe?
ReplyDeleteAlso, cool goals. I'm not sure if I'm going to make any this year still. Or I'll just put them here:
1. Push 6-9 lbs of human out of my body, medicated (additional goal here to overcome my fear of an epidural)
2. Not go insane raising 3 children - at least not in 2017.
I had some similar attainable (though a lot fewer) goals last year and I wrote them out in my journal and I was surprised that when I looked back at them I'd done a decent job. Not at all (practice the piano 1 hr/week, write in my journal 1x/week) but at many of them.
I have a feeling you're already accomplishing many of these goals, so you're going to rock!
Hahaha Morg, you're my favorite! I want more babies so bad but I am terrified of the idea of 3. You're my inspiration. Can I just be you when I grow up?
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