brainstorm

I am super excited for this time of the year!! I love the fresh start feeling that comes with New Years. I have already written out my resolutions, which I am also super excited about! :) I want this new year to be a good one! My awesome husband got me a crap load of art supplies. Which, believe it or not, I think will help me in my weight loss goals! I haven't painted in such a long time and I am so excited to have something new to occupy my time.

I want to go into more detail of what I want to accomplish as far as fitness goals go, and I am just brainstorming ideas of how to accomplish this. I've tried a lot of things, and by tried I probably just mean I made a plan and didn't stick to it. I think you could make weight loss work if you just stuck with it. So, I have got to make it stick this time!

Ok, so here are some ideas that have crossed my mind of what I want to do:
No eating after 7 pm. Only water!
Juice once a day. (to get those nutrients and veggies and fruit, and use the pulp to make muffins and stuff!)
I think a huge part of my success is going to depend on portion control, so I must measure and track everything I eat!
Obviously exercise/being more active will be a part of all this and these are the ideas I have about that: at least walk for 30 min a day, do fitness classes at the gym (as long as they are free!), run, do stairs, bike, hike, spin class!, strength, paint, keep the house clean, yoga?

man, I totally just had one of those nostalgic feelings. I remembered how I felt at the gym, lifting weights and running and spin class, getting all sweaty and then walking outside in the cold and feeling so good. I miss that feeling so much. and how it felt to have jeans that were loose. that is why I want to do it again!

mostly I just want to do new things this year. I really don't want to look back and wish I had done more things. what I am afraid of is letting myself down again. which really is pretty silly because I am in charge of my decisions, so you'd think that I would choose to do the things I want to do! the problem is I have had many days that I just don't want to do anything but sit at home. it is those days that I really need to work on. it is okay to have them once in awhile, but I definitely had more than I should have.

anyways, I tend to ramble a lot but it helps me work through my thoughts and motivates me to do better. I'm really doing this blog for myself and I don't really care if anyone reads this or if you think I have issues. ;) this is for me and if it in anyway benefits someone else then great!

gosh, I am so ready for a change!

Moving Forward.

We are all searching for happiness. We think we can find it if we lose weight, if we get a better job, when the house is paid off, you get the idea. I realize that too much of my happiness has been based off of "things" this past year. Things that I haven't done, things I regret doing, etc. Truth is, we first have to love and accept who we are. If we don't like who we are, we need to take a hard look at ourselves and find some things that we can do differently and also look at the things that we may not be able to change and learn to love them.
This has been such a hard process for me because when I look at all the things I am not doing, I get discouraged and start feeling inadequate and depressed. But without looking for things to do differently, I will continue living like I always have. I think happiness really comes when we make an effort and we accept it as an effort that is good enough for now. Improvement comes with time.

Last year I didn't make any real resolutions. I tried to say my resolution was just to be better, which is very very vague. I think I was just lazy and also thought to myself that I usually forget what my resolutions are a month into the new year anyway, so why do it? I think I also felt discouraged about the economy and the future, and I think i just really had a hard time.

Well, not that I hated 2012 or anything... but it just wasn't the greatest year ever. So, this time I WILL do some resolutions and this time I WILL have the greatest year ever.
I want my life to be happy and its not going to happen if I sit on the couch watching netflix. Maybe I let myself give up a little last year, but I haven't really given up, and I refuse to. So, I'm back.There are so many things I want to do!!

Therefore, here are some things I am looking forward to doing in 2013!
1. Use my gym pass. I bought it and I have only gone a handful of times.. not anymore!! Working out feels so good, and is such a great way to take a load off my shoulders.
2. Go on a hike/bike ride/something outside away from home once a month!
3. Go visit Brooke and the family in Washington for spring break!
4. Spend more time with family playing games, making crafts, whatever.
5. Have more quality time with my husband, doing things he loves. Watching movies, playing video games and regular games, etc
6. Go to the temple once a month. I need this sacred time more than ever!
7. Become more involved in our ward. I love it so much already and I barely know anyone!
8. Cook healthier meals. I love food, too much. But I need to learn to cook healthier in order to lose weight like I want.
9. Lose 65 lbs. Yes. This year. Must.
10. Volunteer somewhere. I will need to research what is out there, but I feel like I need to reach out to others somehow.
11. Journal. I will write in my journal about my progress as a constant reminder of my goals.
12. Picture a day. My friend Laura started this and I think it is a brilliant idea. Take a picture a day! It will be a great motivator for me to do more and also a great way to paint a picture of the year.
13. Paint/draw/anything artsy! My visually creative mind has not had an outlet for a couple of years, and its time to get it back out again! Possibly even sell some of the things I make? That would be cool!
14. Start trying to have kids. (This will be more toward the end of the year since my goal is to have healthier habits before I decide to take care of a mini me!) I will also need to talk to cody about this one.
15. More sex. Yeah, I am putting it out there! Plus it will increase the odds of the above happening. Plus cody will like it. :) hehe
16. Grow a garden! I am not sure where yet, but I LOVE homegrown veggies and fruit. Plus it will save us some money.
17. Spend less money on random things, especially eating out. I am not sure how to do this yet, because I like shopping. so much. but, its not good for our bank account. And on top of this, do more to get out of debt.
18. Make some things from piterest. I have so many pins, and haven't done any of them.

Some of these are pretty general, and I will need to break it down a little, especially losing 65 lbs.. haha. I love doing things like this, even if I don't fully reach every single one because it makes me feel good about the future and what I can accomplish if I just set my mind to it.

More to come. :)