My 2021 Goals

Happy New Year! It’s that time again — that time to reset and refocus our energy, our priorities and look back at successes and even failures from the previous year, things we’ve learned about ourselves. And with that, it’s important to review your previous goals – and if you didn’t have any, you can only go up from here – so here is a quick update on how I did with my 2020 goals.

My 2020 Goals Successes: I paid off my credit card debt, before my 30th birthday — and even better, I’ve kept the credit card paid off. It’s so refreshing and freeing to have that under control. I also successfully completed one of my fitness goal of running 6-races, which proved more challenging because they all got delayed into Q4. We were also able to squeeze in one trip, which I will take for how 2020 went. And, I think that I fulfilled my goal of saying “No” which was also a bit easier, because you know, covid — and maybe one of the few things I’ll thank covid for.

Here are my goals for 2021:

Pay Off My Student Loans by December 2021. With the pandemic, student loans got a break with 0% interest among other things for most of the year — so I made sure to take advantage of that, while also paying more on my loans due to the money I’ve saved without having other expenses (car, gym, spa). With the help of my rain-man hubby, we’ve calculated for me to be on track and student debt free while I’m still 31! Being able to pay these off all by myself, while I’m still relatively young and 9-years post graduation is something I am truly proud of and fortunate to be able to do.

Monthly Volunteering. I unfortunately got out of dog walking volunteering, which I was doing almost weekly pre-covid. I then was trying to get a goal of at least monthly, which I was doing pretty well with, but the end of the year not so much. So my goal is to get back to that monthly volunteering for at least 2-hours, and then if things get better, I’ll start going more frequently. This will also help push me to do more “social” things without actually being social.

Good for the Soul. Focusing on things that are good for the soul and things I enjoy doing is going to continue to be a priority. Things like: Friends, travel, good food, bubbles, saying no, house projects, decorating, speaking my truth, reading, creating, dogs, sleeping in, and watching Bravo. Traveling is always a priority and on our to-do list (& oh so good for the soul), and we already have two trips outlined. This past year has also proven to enjoy the simpler things in life, like hanging out just B and I, playing games, listening to music and laughing the night away — hopefully we can just add a few more friends and family to that scenario.

Continue to Invest in Myself. This is both mentally and physically. Due to affect effects of covid, I’ve found that working out and staying healthy is going to be more of an effort, also sadly, because my former gym ended up closing last year due to financially hardships. So I’ve already started to purchase more at-home fitness equipment to help workouts become more attainable, without an excuse of not having equipment. Mentally, I’ve been needing to find someone to talk too since the spring. Again, I’ve made excuses not being able to find anyone that feels right — but I need to get it started. I spoke to someone in college and it helped immensely.

As you may have noticed, a lot of these goals, seem to be getting back to a normal life and piecing together the after effects from the pandemic (which BTW is still happening). And one of those biggies will be my fitness goals. I’ll be sharing those more specific goals on my upcoming Fitness Friday post — I think it’s important if you want your health and fitness to be a priority and is a personal goal, to make specific goals attainable and specific to fitness without just saying; “stay in shape” or “work out.” And I’ll be sharing my fitness goal failures too.

I also recently did one of those word scrambles, where you look at a bunch of letters and pull out the first four words you see. My four words were: Health, Family, Love and Strength. I think these are good mantra words to hold onto and focus for my new year — even if it’s a silly little internet thing.

What’re your goals? Share one or one of your focus words in the comments below!

My 2020 Goals

I feel like my 2019 goals sort of sucked? Ok, maybe not all of them, but a good handful of them — I look back and am like, HA! Not a good thing, right? Well, that’s why it’s a new year! So, in addition to making my fitness goals a priority, which includes getting six races in this year, I have a few other personal goals that I want to focus on!
Pay off My Credit Card Debt by my 30th Birthday. This has been a goal of mine for… a bit, and it’s been one that I’ve been embarrassed to share, but I know I’m going to get this paid off and I’m damned determined to enter my 30th year with $0 in credit card debt. So that is just about 2-months from today *smiles*

More vacations. I just want to travel, always. I want to see so many places and experience, see new views and taste all the good foods. Our trips for the year are pretty much already planned out. But, I’m hoping to squeeze a few long weekends into a few more getaways beyond the bigger trip we have planned for later in the year. As always, I love sharing our travel adventures and eats with all my Bee readers, so stay tuned for a fun year of new places!
Saying No. I just had an exchange with my mom the other day, as I told her I’m sick of doing things – especially in my free time/weekends – that I don’t want to do. And she responded saying; “Well isn’t that life?” …and I said back to her… “Why does that have to be life!?”  We do things to please other people, because we may feel guilty or it’s just easier to say yes than it is to say no. But I’m over that, so don’t get offended people, or get ready to be offended. *winks*

Being More Present. This is across the board; in personal, professional, friendships, in family and self care.  I find myself being distracted, my mind wandering, picking up my phone to scroll — it’s easy to think of the millions of other things we want to do, already forgot about, or even dream about, but it’s not always easy to be present. And I think another part of that is continuing to be present and staying touch with all those important people, especially my hubby.

I want to continue spending time with our dear friends, more one on one time, slowing down and just talking — we were reminded of that over the Christmas holiday and it was, refreshing, it was like old times, times I missed. I want to continue fostering my creativity through DIYs, house projects, writing, my career, and through encouragement and support of loved ones around me.

Needless to say, there is no shortage of goals over here in the Bee Life — but the ones above are the top, for now. What’re your goals for 2020? There’s no better time to start working on them, than now!

My 2019 Goals

New year, new goals – am I right? I am sure the interwebs and your social feeds have been bombarded with everyone’s resolutions, positive mindsets and consistent workout routines and clean diets for the last 8-days.  Well for me – I’ve been really thinking about what I want to accomplish this year, especially coming off of a super normal 2018.

So as I’ve been thinking and thinking… and then looking back at past goals there were a few that came to mind immediately – traveling and my health routine.  More to come on the health routine – I’ll be kicking off my monthly Fitness Friday posts with my 2019 fitness goals, because those my friends will be a lengthly list as well.  *smiles*  Ok, ok, back to my 2019 goals.

More trips! This is pretty much a goal every year – and last year’s travel goal was a bit lofty, thus our travel game in 2018 was a bit weak compared to years previous.  So this year, I’m going to keep it simple and focus on longer weekend trips that B and I can take together whether it’s a car trip or a cheap flight. The other sub-goal of more trips is trying to fit a few new cities in – we’re repeat vacationers, so I want to make sure we keep exploring new places!

More time for friends.  We have friends that live next door, we have friends that live 1-hour away and we have friends that live hours away — so it’s important to continue to make time with all of the friends no matter how far away they are.  And the key to this is planning ahead!

Spend breaks. I have yet to be successful with this goal – and I know this will be a hard one, but we’ve had friends that have been successful with this and say it really helps! So we need to plan for our spend break(s) and make it happen.

No scrolling before bed.  I’m so guilty of this, and habits die hard – but this is one I really want to work on.  In fact, making it more of a rule, like no social media for an hour before bed as my work-week rule of thumb.

Keeping fitness a priority. As I mentioned, more to come on this – so stay tuned!

Continue being creative. One way that I’m able to express my creativity is through decorating our house and doing DIY projects or up-cycling furniture – and then sharing my projects and creations with all of you! So I want to continue to be inspired, take risks and be creative!

There are of course a million other things I want to work on for myself and do in this next year, but these were the few that stood out to me as priorities for the new year – that are just good for the soul.

Fitness Friday 01.18

Happy first Fitness Friday of 2018!

If you’re new to a Bee Life Fitness Friday, welcome! I like to share these FF posts every month to check-in, provide motivation or tips, to any of you working towards goals, share my struggles and triumphs, and new ways I’m achieving my goals. One of my goals for 2018 is to maintain all of the awesome progress I finally made this past year!

It can often be overwhelming to have goals that seem impossible – but let me tell you, nothing is impossible.  The key in achieving your goals is to have a plan, but also know you can be flexible with your plan.  Are you going to follow a running training program? Going to join a cycle studio for classes? Or other fitness classes?  Have an exercise plan, make the commitment, and have a goal of number of days you plan to go and plan your week around those classes, runs, or workout sessions.

The next step in making sure your plan is set-up for success is having a nutritional game plan. And this does not mean an extreme diet or something that isn’t achievable with your lifestyle.  Meal prep, switching out soda for water, adding in more veggies to your diet, eating a salad twice a week  – taking smaller steps to work towards progress is the best way to start.  Trying to completely change the way you eat on day one will only be harder, everything in moderation!

It’s matching these two pieces – exercise and nutrition and continuing to refine, and push yourself that will truly allow you to reach your fitness goals and become the best version of yourself!

Goals for 2016

Okay, okay, I know I said I wasn’t going to share my goals for 2016, I sort of changed my mind… I’m going to share a few, the rest are just for me!How am I going to accomplish each of these goals?  Well, it’s not going to be easy… but here are a few ideas:

1. I am already signed up for one race, and about to sign-up for my second.  Then I’ll just need to find two more for the summer/fall seasons.
2. I’ve got something up my sleeve, and I’m excited to share this will all of you, but not yet!
3. In July we have a wedding in Denver to go to, so that’ll check off one new place – B and I always have the travel bug, so I hope we will figure out another fun trip!
4. This is something I’ve been working on, but haven’t made a focus; and I want that to change.  There are many aspects of this, less Starbucks, less eating out, less house projects!, etc… so I’m going to learn to say “No” a little more, even if that means saying “No” to me.
5. I’ve made many excuses this past year and I’m over it – so I’m hoping that better 30-day focus and my Friday Fitness blogs will help some of you, as well as me!
6. Without technology!  It’s a bad habit, and I do love my social media, but I find us too often browsing when we could be talking or paying more attention to each other. That’s one example of how to accomplish this.

Another goal is to focus on these goals (I know that sounds silly, right?) and modify them and re-evaluate these when needed, if needed.  Goals are meant to be reflected on, and worked towards gradually and if they aren’t reviewed regularly, chances of success are few.

So remember to focus on your goals and have check-in’s so that you can have 2016 success!

Bye 2015!

We are less than 24 hours away from welcoming in the new year, so let’s take a look back through pictures at my 2015 to get ready to say good-bye.

January 2015 – Puppy fever

February 2015 – Katie & Travis visit

March 2015 – My Birthday

April 2015 – Celebrating my Promotion

May 2015 – Mother’s Day

June 2015 – Dress shopping for Kates

July 2015 – #emnbtostbc

August 2015 – Celebrating G&P

September 2015 – Fin & Moz

October 2015 – Sunday House Tailgate

November 2015 – Winterfest

December 2015 – Moz

I didn’t do very well with a lot of my 2015 goals, honestly I didn’t focus on them as much as I should have, so I’m not totally surprised.

My 2015 goals:

1. Get back into a workout routine – failed miserably, again.
2. Start the 5:2 Diet – nope, hardly tried.
3. Travel outside of the country (Dublin 2015?) – not this year
4. Get a promotion at work – yes!
5. Run a half marathon – at least 3 other races – ran 2 races, but no half
6. Read more books – a little success
7. Don’t sweat the small stuff – maybe?
8. Live in the moment – maybe

I’ve been thinking about my 2016 goals, I’ve had a lot of time to reflect in the last few months about successes, failures, hopes and wishes, and am truly working on a plan and change. I feel like I’ve made strides within the last few months in comparison to a majority of last year and early this year.  So I’m excited about my new focus and motivation for a positive change.

Cheers to another blessed year and cheers to another year of opportunities!

Fitness Friday

Here are some ways to get a kick start to your New Years resolution before the major holiday weight gain sets in.

1. Sign up for a race, now! Don’t wait for those prices to go up, spring and summer races are still priced low – so get ahead of the curve and register for a race or two sooner than later. That way you’ll also be able to a jump start and maximize your training schedule! I’ve already signed up for one in April and have my eyes set on one in March.

2. Eat healthy, but still enjoy. Since the month of December is nothing but endless weekends of parties and lavish dinners there is no excuse to not indulge. At the same time, be smart during the week and eat healthy and light. Fresh greens and protein with extra water. The day of your parties? Be sure to eat a good breakfast and hearty lunch, this will help you from snacking too much on hors d’oeuvres or over eating your main meal.

3. Easy on the alcohol. Same rule for the food applies for the alcohol. Cut back on your free days, even if you’re used to having a drink or two. Make sure to drink water throughout your party nights and stay away from shots! Also, the less you drink the more likely you’ll be motivated to get a workout in the next day.

4. Don’t miss a workout. Don’t let a party or house guests get in the way – the second you break your routine the more likely you’ll be to fall off track and your resolution won’t be looking so hot.

5. Switch it up. Start exploring some new workouts and facilities to mix it up and give you a new challenge – starting new habits now will make you stronger tomorrow.

Let’s start getting back and stay on track with that healthy grove and enjoy these holiday parties!

 

New Year, Fresh Start.

I think everyone likes the idea of being able to have a “fresh start” at the beginning of each new year, it’s a time when we can set goals, learn from mistakes, and dream bigger… it’s hard not to get caught up in all of the chatter.

My 2015 goals, are definitely going to be bigger, and after seeing what I accomplished last year, I believe that writing down and setting goals, and seeing them every day really does help you to accomplish and allow them to be in the forefront of your mind.

My 2015 goals:

1. Get back into a workout routine
2. Start the 5:2 Diet
3. Travel outside of the country (Dublin 2015?)
4. Get a promotion at work
5. Run a half marathon + at least 3 other races
6. Read more books
7. Don’t sweat the small stuff
8. Live in the moment

A lot of these are similar to my 2014 goals, but I liked them! And I feel that I can always strive to improve on all aspects, whether it’s my personal, work, or health life – and these goals help round all of those out.

Happy New Year! Let this be the year you dream bigger and do better.