My New Year Resolutions for 2019

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Shirt | Jeggings | Lip Color

Wow, it’s hard to believe the end of 2018 is already here. You know, to be completely honest, I always say that Christmas is my favorite holiday, but when I really sit down and think about it, I think New Years is really and truly my favorite. I love the feeling that the slate is wiped clean and the year starts fresh and new. The fact that people have hope for the future year to come and plan and make goals to improve and make their lives different and better, even if it’s in the smallest ways. I think New Years is a magical holiday and a time for celebration and change and looking forward to new and exciting things that will commence in the coming months.

Which is why I have always made it a priority to take time at the end of each year where I sit and reflect on the year that has passed and on all of the things that have happened. I think about the choices I’ve made, both good and bad, and how I can improve in the next year to make the bad times good, and the good times great. I sit down and I think about things I want to change and do differently in the new year—how much time and energy I put towards each task, each person, each sector in my life and evaluate my priorities and the things that really matter and deserve the most effort. I think it’s important to do that each year as to not lose focus on our overall plans and goals. It’s so easy to get side-tracked with minuscule details and distractions that pop-up throughout the year, demanding our attention and end up drawing us away from the big picture.

I take this time by myself to make sure I start my new year off by taking the right road down the path to my future. I believe there will always be forks in the road; there will always be times when you stray from the direction in which you ultimately want to be facing. These are the moments that define our lives, define our characters. No great thing has ever come to be, without first having to overcome adversity and achieve that, which we believe to be unachieveable. I think every person is different, and you have to find out what works for you and what helps you to achieve success and pave your path, but for me establishing goals and setting a starting point for myself each year helps me to stay on the right track.

So with that being said, I wanted to share with all of you guys what my goals, dreams, and objectives are for the coming year. Here are my New Year resolutions for 2019.

1. Adhere to a savings plan – At the end of each year, I make a plan for the coming year about how much I want to have saved by the end of that year. (I’m a planner, I know.) I calculate how much I want to have saved by the end of the year based on what my salary is at the time, how much my bills are totaling each month, any other expenses I plan to pay for that year (i.e. trips, gifts, etc). Then I enter it into a spreadsheet (don’t judge) organized by how much I want to save each month and then organize it even FURTHER by how much I’ll be putting into savings each paycheck! I know, like I said… I’m a planner, what can I say?!
2. Exercise 3-4 times per week – Okay this is one I REALLY want to stick to this year. I am the worst about working out. I will finally force myself to workout one day after telling myself I need to for two weeks, and then I’ll workout, feel very accomplished, and proceed to avoid the gym for the next month. Not a great habit to get into AT ALL. I used to work out every single day when I was in college. I would work out early in the morning, late at night, it didn’t matter! Whenever I could fit it into my ever-busy schedule, I was at the gym. I enjoyed exercising— running, doing body weight workouts, getting on machines and lifting weights. I loved it, and it made me feel good about myself, I felt healthy. So my goal for this coming year is to get back into the habit of working out at least 3-4 times per week and get back to a healthier version of myself.
3. Cook at least twice per week – This one probably sounds like a no-brainer for most but for me, the girl who eats pizza rolls and chocolate waffles for dinner most nights, it would be a major change. While I honestly like trying to cook, I never really learned how to cook growing up. Then when I started college, I lived RIGHT next door to my grandparents, which meant I practically never had to worry about dinner. So when I moved to Houston and started working, I soon learned it takes planning and energy to get home at 5:00pm after being at work all day since 7:00am and actually exert the energy to cook. Hence, the pizza rolls and Eggo waffles. BUT, I want to start cooking at least twice per week during the week to try to be healthier, and also learn some new and delicious recipes I can whip up on my own!
4. $10 total weekly limit on lunch outings – Ahhh yes, another reason I want to start cooking more… LEFTOVERS. When I do cook, I always love it because I end up having enough food to bring for lunch for the next couple of days! I spend probably a lot more than I should going out to eat for lunch during the week, simply because I never have much to bring for lunch. Not that I don’t have food or anything like that, but mostly because I never think to pack my hot pockets or Nutella sandwiches (yes, I eat Nutella sandwiches and they are amazing) for lunch. So I end up going to one of the many fast food establishments around my office building and grabbing something there, which as I’m sure you can imagine, really adds up when you do this each day. So this year, I am vowing to only spend $10 total each week on going out to each for lunch, so that I am more likely to bring leftovers (which also forces me to cook! See? It all comes together.)
5. Chaos and Coffee – So I didn’t specify anything for this, because really I want to do a lot of things with Chaos and Coffee this next year. I want to grow and expand the brand and continue to write new posts and find out what kind of content my readers like to see. I want to work on growing my social media accounts, as well as work on implementing new social media into Chaos and Coffee such as recording and posting YouTube videos. I want the site to be a place people think of in their minds as a place to visit when they have an event coming up and need a little fashion inspo or want to shop a certain trend or get an idea for decorating their home and making a space their own. So really, I want a lot of things for Chaos and Coffee this year, but I don’t think a lot of those things can be broken down into specific goals (which is definitely different than what I usually do!) So, for this NYR, I’m just writing Chaos and Coffee, to keep myself thinking about the future and to remind myself to keep working towards the goal I have in mind for the future.

Thanks for reading, and most importantly, thank you for letting me share my life with you guys these past 6 months. I didn’t really know what to expect when I started a blog, but I can honestly say it has been more rewarding than I ever could have hoped and the people I’ve met and had the pleasure of connecting with along the way have really made this whole experience that much better. Until next year, friends! 😉  Xx.