Happy New Year guys! I’m writing this on New Years Eve because if I know me, I’ll be living off of Pedialyte and prayers tomorrow. There’s no dry January for me, I’d end up with a mug shot ha.
Speaking of Dry January, let’s add Whole 30 to the list of things I know better than to attempt to commit to. These are things that I like to refer to as “my personal version of hell”. I think that if I don’t manage to make it to the pearly gates that eternity lies somewhere between Dry January and Whole 30. My friends find me absolutely ridiculous for thinking this because 30 days of anything can’t be that bad.
They’re wrong.
It can be that bad, and it is.
You see, I was stupid enough once to try both of these. I did really good actually! I made it to day 3 before I said fuck it and had a cheeseburger, fries and a beer. Six beers actually. I was so disappointed in myself for having failed, that right then and there I decided that I’d never participate in another viral fad.
I’ve compiled a list of New Years resolutions that I’ve made in the past with an alternative approach. I think you’ll find that they’re fairly common resolutions and I hope that they make yours more attainable.
1. Excercise 3-4 times a week.
I understand that this is simple to some, it’s a lifestyle, if you will. For me, it just isn’t attainable. Between my work schedule and running a household, being a parent and my community service obligations, in my free time (what’s that? ha) I have the energy left for nothing except couch time. I live in a nice neighborhood where people often walk/jog/bicycle, so committing to a 30 minute, two-mile walk a few days a week seems more achievable. So that’s what I’m holding myself to this year.
2. Save money.
Last year, one of my resolutions was to save 25% of my earnings. A couple of weeks in, I realized that this just wasn’t possible at this stage in my life. Towards the beginning of March I saw a video on Facebook that talked about the “$5.00 bill challenge“. I was intrigued, so I clicked in. Thinking this was definitely something that was manageable, I got an old bank bag from my boss and started putting every $5.00 bill I got in it. I counted my little savings account last week and I have $1,010.00. I’ve also found that when you get excited about saving and work hard for it, you’re less likely to spend it. For instance, I set mine up with the savings goal of purchasing a Louis Vuitton. When I counted my money, I realized that I didn’t really need a LV, but that AC needs braces. One thousand dollars is a great down payment on an actual need. I’m excited to implement the $5.00 bill challenge again this year!
3. Travel More.
Everyone wishes they could travel more, am I right? I tell myself every year that I want to go to Pennsylvania or Vermont in the Fall, New York City at Christmas, and Savannah in the Spring. I know good and well that between B and I’s schedule that this travel itinerary just isn’t feasible. We manage a beach vacation with AC and my best friends family in the Summer, and that alone is hard enough to schedule. I’ve found that smaller scale trips work best for us. We were able to travel to NOLA (post here) for a George Strait concert a few months ago and it was nice to just get away for a weekend. Something that I’m going to try this year are smaller weekend trips like Lake Guntersville and Mentone. They’re a stretch from the destinations that I mentioned above, and maybe one day I’ll get there, but for now, these will suffice.
I hope everyone had a safe and fun start to 2019!
Photography by Ryan Sherrod
