If you have been a reader for awhile, you know that I’m not big into the whole New Year’s resolution thing. I think that consist goal setting is a necessity for living a happy and successful life but i do not think that making a bunch of goals once a year is practical. It’s unrealistic to make year long plans in bulk. However, this New Year I do happen to have a few new goals for myself among others that I’m already working on. I have mentioned a few of those in previous posts but I’ll recap them again in hopes of holding myself more accountable by stating them on a public platform. <Peer accountability>
- Take more vegan friendly routes. Dairy being the biggest one that I’ve already converted our family to vegan on but I’ve been using egg and meat substitutes too sometimes to help preserve our own harvested egg and meat supply. This is a goal for me not because i plan to ever be a full blown vegan but because we want to become self sufficient as far as what we consume at home goes. Meat, poultry, veggies, fruit, ect. Also the obvious benefit of not supporting unethical farming as well as it being a healthier way of eating.
- Slow my roll on the cussing. Honestly, cussing never has bothered me. It’s always been apart of my personality and i do not mind it but i also don’t feel comfortable anymore with my potty mouth in regards to my children. As I get older, I feel personal conviction about it. Nothing against those who do it. I have done it for 7 years. It’s just something that has began to weigh on my own conscience. I still cuss around adults and online but around kids, my kids — I’ve drastically cut back on my vulgar ways ha.
- Improve my health activity wise. I have 4 kids. A husband. Errands. School. Doctors appointment. Vision therapy for Andlee. Dentist check ups. Vet appointments. Taking my dad to give blood regularly. Magicallee Made. Doodle LANE. Family. Friends. Sports. Gymnastics. Birthday parties. Ect. Life is crazy busy and I am by no means a non active person but i do not set time aside each day to exercise anymore which i miss. For me, it is apart of self care and I’ve neglected myself in that area. I love the way that high interval training and yoga makes me feel. I sleep better. I look better. I eat better. My hormones level out naturally. I just feel better mentally and physically. It does so much for me and influences most aspects of my life.
- Grow my business. Magicallee Made as done better than i ever imagined. I truly only expected to sell a few things to friends and family. It makes my soul very happy to create natural and cute products for people. I’m so grateful for the people who have supported me and are on this journey of growth with me. It’s such a spiritually fulfilling hobby. I am launching more apparel tomorrow and there will be a huge jump in shirt designs after that including Valentine’s Day shirts, mommy and me shirts, dog mom shirts, witchy shirts, Christian shirts, customized mom/grandma shirts, ect. I found my way around creating designs that I actually love and I’ve ran with it now that I’m confident in creating long lasting products. I’m a super picky person and critique myself very harshly. It takes a lot for me to be totally happy with something that I’ve made but I am on a roll y’all. It’s so wonderful to be consistently thrilled with what I’m making.
- Keep my cabinets organized and do better putting laundry away the second that it’s done drying. I have 3 junk drawers in my house. It’s pathetic. I’ve already cleaned out the two that I’m not keeping but now I want to make sure to keep them this way. As for laundry, it’s Satan in his purest form. Need i day more.
- Go on more dates with Brian. We neglect date going badly. We have alone time nightly but actually leaving our house just us is rare. We both want to make it a monthly thing. We enjoy it and feel like for those few hours it’s like it was when life was just about our relationship. We get to live totally wrapped up in each other’s company.
- Spend even more time with family. This year brought some of the biggest heart ache. From my dad’s constant battle with kidney failure to miscarriages to losing my papa, it’s been the worst year of my life and i will not miss it. Family is literally everything. Nothing brings me more happiness than my loved ones. I want to spend every moment possible surrounded by them.
- My biggest goal was inspired by a movie that I watch which is a long story but to keep it simple, I am going to treat my children like every single day with them is my last day with them. Every day. I am refusing to let the stress of life make me bitchy or over whelmed to the point that I’m testy towards them.
- My final goal isn’t something that I’m going to share because it relates to something private but I will say that I’m full of surprises. Just when you think you know what’s coming, I promise you that you have no clue. How’s that for passive aggressive? I revile in the ability to shock people. I love being unpredictable and I’m pretty sure that my next trick will top any trick that I ever have done or ever will do. Hahahahaha.
When I think back on my year, I have to make myself change the subject before it sends me into a full blown panic attack. My instinct is to say that it was the worst year that I’ve had but at the same time it was the last year that I had with my papa and another year that I had with my other loved ones. I was closer to papa the last 2 years of his life than ever before. I was always over there visiting him and my grandma. Because of that Eilee was close to him too. I made some unforgettable memories with my family. For that, I can’t hate the year that I had. I spent the last 8 months going through the motions of life with my heart barely even present. My soul hasn’t really been in my body and my mind has limits that it’s never had before for the simple sake of surviving this loss. I deeply pray that 2019 brings me peace and comfort. I pray that it brings my family (specifically my dad) better health. This year, I cut any people out of my life who were either constantly a form of negative energy or simply not real friends including a twat waffle from Gentry that’s the literal definition of psychotic pathological liar and several social media acquaintances that I until this year just felt guilty deleting them. I was scared to hurt their feelings but I’m at a place in life that if you are a positive, encouraging presence naturally — you aren’t meant for me. (We all have negativity in us and we all have bitchy days or moments but those rough patches or triggers don’t define us as a whole. I’m not talking about those cases, obviously. We are human. There’s a difference between bad days and bad souls.) On the flip side of that I made some life long friends that I am forever changed because of. Empowering and uplifting women. Animal advocates. Feminists. Pure hearted souls with a side of smart assy sass. My. People. I watched my children grow and learn. We celebrated their 1st, 5th, 6th, and 7th birthdays. I breastfed like 30-50 times a day for the entire year. Aside from being married nursing is the hardest commitment that I’ve ever made. I watched my favorite famous person in concert with my 2nd longest friend in life thanks to my grandparents. I flew over the Royal Gorge like a bird — literally. I hiked the Rocky Mountains. I saw wildlife that I’ve never seen before freely roam in their own peaceful element. I watched the sunset over the Gulf of Mexico and watched the sunrise over the mountains in Colorado. I rode a historical train and visited places that I had never been. I played in the snow with my loves on multiple occasions. I swam in the ocean and saw a shark. I watched fireworks on the beach with my parents, husband, children, and siblings while we roasted s’mores. I watched Eilee take her first steps and say her first words. I watched her personality become familiar to that of my papa’s. I watched my bigs thrive in school and improve academically. My kids learned to skate and also learned that I’m way better at it than they expected. I pierced my nose after a decade of being to scared that it would send the wrong message about me as a wife and mom. No regrets, by the way. I started my own little homemaking business on Etsy and now have started the dirt work to open up a feed store by Spring. It was one of the most eventful years of my life. The year brought with it shitty lessons and immense heart break but it also brought memories that I will never get to make again. Hugs that I will never get to feel again. Voices that I will never get to hear again. Ages of my children that I will never get to relive. Time is a thief. It brought proud moments and many laughs. It brought failing at times but thriving even more. It changed me as a mom and a person. With all of that being said my final words to 2018 are: thank you, NEXT!
I’m going to dedicate a post each month to my new goals as the year passes but also to update y’all on how my current goals are going.
