2015: A ReSet

Yes, folks, it's that time: time for a New Year, New Me post. A post full of resolutions and goals. A post full of reflection and positivity.

I am really into making things real by writing them down - I know how that sounds, but I'm a to-do list maker, a grocery list writer, a post-it note inspirer. I think that maybe this is why I haven't written down resolutions for quite a few years now: if I don't write them down, they aren't real so I don't have to hold myself accountable.

Well, part of the fun of having a blog is having an outlet for these types of things, am I right? Not only am I putting thought to word as a means of holding myself accountable, I'm inviting you to hold myself accountable as well. 

I'm viewing 2015 as a reset year for myself. I know what should be happening across the board and have opted to ignore all of that. In 2013, my focus was on my wedding - even after it was long over, I felt like we were still piecing together a collage of Life After Marriage (which included some large setbacks, like a disease/surgery). 2014 brought a year of a mess and although it has ended well, it was tough more often than not. So in 2015, I'm focusing on all of the stuff I can change and should change and am going to change it. I'm going to use it as an opportunity to press the reset button, so that we can begin to prepare for the future and whatever it may bring. 

personal collage | Photo credits, clockwise from top left: Reading Challenge, Financial Goals, Fitness Goals, Makeup/Skincare Goals, Closet/Clothing Goals

In no particular order:

Goal #1: Read 100 Books in 2015. 

I guess the wording of this goal is slightly vague: not only do I want to read a total of one hundred books, but I want to remember and track them. Getting to the total shouldn't be hard for me, but I think actively keeping track will be a slight challenge. I've spent a significant amount of time over the past week or so updating my Goodreads profile (feel free to friend me!) and have also loaded the app on my phone and tablet. Also, thanks to the blog, I also have an outlet for in-depth book reviews when the mood strikes. I am such a book inhaler that I typically have to do fairly extensive digging to figure out if I've read a certain book if it's not one that immediately stands out - I had a conversation with a co-worker recently that consisted of me asking a ton of questions ("Is it the one where she has the dreams?" "Oh, wait, this is the one with the school?" "Hmmm. . .does the bad guy have the powers, too?") because I was sure I had read the book. Turns out, I had wish listed it on Amazon but hadn't actually read it and was confusing it with a different series I read years ago. Not every book is going to be super noteworthy so I'm looking forward to keeping myself in check. 

Goal #2: Get Finances In Order. 

Granted, this one is more of a Jon goal, as he's recently taken over our financial situation. I'm a mess with money, there's no way around it. Pair that with adjusting to a once-a-month paycheck and you have an inevitable Situation. My personal goal, though, is to get rid of all of my credit card debt. The amount is not too staggering and I've created a spreadsheet to plan it out - so long as I actually stick to the schedule, this is do-able by November of 2015. I'm hoping to do this so that I can direct all of that money to both Jon's and my student loan debts (again: very thankful that these amounts are not as intense as they could be) so that we can clear up our credit in case we ever want to get crazy and, oh, buy a house or a second car or something. Hey, dream big or don't dream at all, right? 

Goal #3: Get Healthy. 

This is so much more than simple working out - this is figuring out what the hell it is that upsets my stomach, what the hell I can and cannot eat and sticking to it. My friend Jennifer (of Scraps of Life) has been so incredibly helpful thus far with information she's provided (including this book) and general encouragement so that I have a solid starting point. I also need to commit to fitness goals, though, as I am overweight. It's not even my clothes not fitting, it's more of how I look and feel, and I know that's not how I am supposed to look and feel. Within the past year or so, I've discovered Zumba videos on YouTube and have had a blast working out at home - there was a period over the summer where I was super committed and experienced  a significant change. I just need to re-commit and stay with it. I'm also fortunate to have free fitness classes offered at work as well as supportive, non-judgmental co-workers who attend. I'm going to start regularly attending the Zumba class, which I have tried and loved, and I have a co-worker encouraging me to join her for Spin class - which is incredibly intimidating to me but who knows? I'm going to supplement the classes with at home workouts, including a weight routine (Jon has a mini home gym, it was his birthday/housewarming gift to himself). I'm really excited about this goal, almost most of all, because I know that it will have immediate results once I commit and, as I've mentioned once or twice, I'm all about instant gratification.

Goal #4: Take Care of My Skin.  

I've lamented to you all about my skin issues and how miserable I've been lately. I'm optimistic that Goal #3 will help with Goal #4, but regardless, I need to accept that I'm simply aging and I need to take an active role in my skincare regiment. I am hoping that my Ipsy subscription brings more creams to try but in the meantime, I'm using my Nourish Organic Eye Cream every night and re-stocked my Biore supply today. 

Bonus: Put Together a Go-To Makeup Routine. 

I asked for Sephora gift cards for Christmas and the various Santas in my life obliged. I am also fortunate to have makeup gurus as friends, specifically one of my BFFs Jess, who gifted me the Bare Minerals Up Close & Beautiful 30 Day Complexion Starter Kit pictured. I've already recruited her for a Sephora trip in the near future and am excited to put together a makeup routine that will hopefully leave me shine-free and put-together. I'm thinking that better quality products will lead to a better quality of skin, but that could totally just be me trying to justify the amount of money I'll be spending. . .

Goal #5: Purge and Start Fresh. 

In all fairness, we experienced a not-necessarily-by-choice purge when we moved over the summer, so we actually got rid of a lot of stuff. In my opinion, though, there is always more and I know that some stuff that should've gotten peaced out got packed in haste instead. I plan to start with my closet as soon as possible, perhaps the next time I do laundry - talk about freakin' instant gratification, am I right? I have this vision of me looking into/standing inside of my closet and breathing a sigh of contentment as everything fits on the rack. I also want to go through our dishes, though (pots and pans specifically) as well as our spice cupboard and pantry. I might even go crazy enough as to catalog some of these things and put little index cards on the inside of the cupboard doors so that there's no more of the, "hey babe, did you see that one tupperware with the orange lid. . .?" questions. This one has me kind of giddy because of all of the possibilities. 

So, that's it for my 2015 goals, all supportive of the reset theme I've put to the year. I have to admit, I'm already looking past this year, with the mindset that all goals have been successfully achieved, thinking of 2016 goals that are fun, like traveling to some place neither of us has ever been or planning a really active getaway that puts both of us outside of our comfort zones. The daydreaming will have to keep me sustained for the next 365 days, though, as I'm bound and determined to achieve these. 

This post was inspired by a conversation with girlfriends as well as 15 Fresh Starts for the New Year on yes and yes. If you need a little inspiration yourself, that article is a great place to start - I mean, I've already accomplished two of the items on her list (#10 - changed phone background and #15 - got myself a new cut and color 'do) and I feel super kickass because of it. 

Are you a resolutioner? If so, what are some of your goals? Do you have a theme for 2015?