A Year of New Happiness

I was up until 3:30am last night (or is that earlier this morning?).  Wow, can't remember the last time we did that.  We had a last minute gathering at our home with friends.  It was kid friendly, so we had a bunch of children having a good time as well.  We ate good food, played poker and Trivial Pursuit, and rang in the new year (quite noisily I will say).  

New Year's is not my favorite holiday.  I love New York City, but would never wish to be in the thralls of those people in Times Square.  I feel like New Year's is just an excuse to party hard.  And then there's the resolutions.  Do you feel pressure to come up with a resolution?  Do you believe in them?  

For me, resolutions come at many times in the year.  When you've made a decision to change something in your life and you've whole-heartedly committed to it, then do it no matter what time of year it is.  For me, though, I have 2 things in my life that I've committed to change and they happen to fall right at this time of year.  So, I am masking them with the ominous "resolution" title, but it's really just a timing piece.  So here they are:

Get Back in Shape

I was in the best shape of my life about 2 years ago.  After having my third (and final) baby, it was time.  It was a whole life change.  I improved my eating habits.  I began running, doing yoga, the elliptical at home, bike riding, and anything else to keep me active.  In the last year, life became more stressful.  Sales for my wedding business are down.  My husband lost his job.  I've struggled a bit finding that perfect balance of family life/business needs/personal time.  What was great about regular workouts is it made sure I got some personal time.  

I've faltered in the last year.  I've put the kids healthy eating habits at the forefront, but let mine slide.  I haven't exercised as much and haven't gone for a run in 3 months.  I finally woke up a few days ago and just hit that final straw.  This is crazy.  I must get back to the "happy" that I was when I was fit.  

So, it starts today.  I am tired, but motivated.  It will be better tomorrow.  Baby steps, one day at a time.  I will keep you posted on my progress.  

Get Organized

It's so easy to let organizational details slide when you are a busy Mom.  Between raising my children, spending time with my husband, writing 2 blogs, running my wedding business, and trying to make time for myself, a lot of things ends up at the end of the list.  Sometimes I'm only able to do the bare minimum in cleaning the house.  Sometimes the clothes get washed but sit in the hallway for a week.  And sometimes, "clearing the clutter" means stuffing things in the closet or adding to the pile in the garage.  

Well, I've got to make it a priority.  For me, organization is more important than cleaning.  I can let the dusting go for awhile, but if I have cluttered counters, a mound of paperwork, or clothes strewn everywhere, I start to go a little crazy.  

So it begins.  I am not sure how I am going to tackle it, but I like the baby step approach.  So, I will probably address one specific organization issue or room that needs help and build from there.  Again, I will keep you posted of my progress and share good tips I discover along the way.  

I wish you luck in your resolutions and a fruitful and prosperous 2013.