ZonePerfect 2014 Blog Forward Challenge #1

Every year, I make resolutions. 
I resolve to eat healthier, become more active, save money and get the house and my life organized.

Every year, I fall off the wagon after just a few weeks.
In an act of rebellion, or maybe just lack of will-power, I fall back on bad habits.  I stuff my face full of junk food, plant my butt deeper into the sofa, resort to tapping into our meager savings to catch up on bills, and just ignore the clutter to the point that the piles of bills and junk mail are near spilling from the drawers and shelves.

I'm not proud of my past behavior and realize that for me, jumping into all of the lifestyle changes, that I honestly do want for myself,  immediately after the stress of the holidays is just too much for me to handle.

This year, I decided that I would put off those resolutions and give myself two months to recover from Christmas before beginning the challenge of changing ME.

This year, I joined the ZonePerfect 2014 Blog Forward Challenge to help me along the way and as my two month "break" is coming to a close, I am very excited to get started!  Over the course of the year, ZonePerfect will send me challenges and I'll post them here for all to see! Way to keep accountable, huh?

Today I am sharing Part 1 of the ZonePerfect 2014 Blog Forward Challenge.  This is where I share my resolutions and also a letter to my future self.

Here are some areas of change (resolutions) I will be working on around here:

• Eat Healthy.  

Eating healthier would please me right now.  Cutting back on the junk food, if not cutting it out completely, would be a huge step.  I will be incorporating more meatless meals into our weekly menu plans while loading up on veggies.  Drinking more water will also be something I will be working on in the next several months.  Hummus with veggies, salads,  and ZonePerfect Bars (the Dark Chocolate Almond are my favorite!) will be (and have been in recent weeks) a part of my daily routine.  

• Stay (Become?) Active.  

In November, when we brought the Christmas decorations down from the attic, my treadmill was moved from the living room to make room for the Christmas tree.  The new location of the treadmill was just for storage purposes and cannot be used as the space is too tight.  Out of sight-Out of mind, the large piece of equipment never made it back to a more convenient location.  During the next couple of days, I will be working on finding a new location for the treadmill so then I will have no excuse to not put it to use!  

• Save Money.  

Living on one income, saving money is a huge challenge in itself.  We don't live extravagantly and there really isn't much we could cut back on in order to save.  Like last year, I have automatic transfers set to our accounts to transfer money into our savings account each week.  While the $10 per week we save each week isn't much, the money has come in handy when unexpected expenses pop up.  Starting in March, I've increased our weekly savings to $15.  I'm also doing the 52 Weeks of Savings Challenge that I was unable to complete last year.  

• Get Organized. 

Oh goodness!  I don't even know where to begin to start on this one!  I'm lazy.  I'm a slob.  Plain and simple, I'm a lazy slob.  That's it!  I've confessed!  Laundry, paperwork, toys, everything!  I need to implement everything has a place and everything in it's place....but sometimes it's the finding a place for everything that's the big problem.  This is something I plan on working on a little each day.  I'll be having a 100 item de-clutter challenge again in the near future!  Let me know if you want to join in!  

• Be a Better Wife and Mother. 

There are days I feel as if I am just going through the motions when it comes to caring for my family.  Not putting in any extra, just the bare minimum of what needs to be done.  Nothing more, sometimes less.  This is my JOB and if I were working outside of the home with this work ethic, I'd have been fired a long time ago. This needs to change.  I need to start putting in more time and effort around here, I owe it to my family.  I owe it to myself.    

• Take Care of Me.  

I am beginning to realize that if I don't work on this final resolution, I don't have a chance at succeeding in any of the other changes I want to make this year.  I need to take care of myself both physically and mentally in order to take care of anything or anyone else.  I'm not sure how much I want to share about this particular resolution just yet....

Here is my letter to future me.  

Now, when I am feeling discouraged or maybe a little defeated, I can look at this letter to myself and feel encouraged to keep reaching for my goals!  

Disclosure:  As part of the ZonePerfect 2014 Blog Forward Challenge, I will receive complimentary products and information to assist in reaching my goals.  I will also be entered into a contest when I complete the entire challenge.  Product opinions, resolutions and my plans for reaching those goals are all honest and my own.