My 2018 Resolutions

Whoa. I can’t believe that 2017 is officially over. I know most people say this every year, but this year flew by! 2017 was one hell of a ride. It brought lots of sadness and disappointment, but it also came with such joy, gratitude and excitement. I’m so excited to see what 2018 has in store for me and my family. But before I can really dive head first into 2018, I need to set a few goals/resolutions for myself. I’ve been doing this for years {2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010}, and it really sets the new year off on a good note. 

1. Read at least 1 new book each month.

Reading more books has been on my resolution list every year, and I almost always never accomplish the goal. Life gets busy, I forget about my goal, I get tired at the end of the day… I’ve made every excuse I could think of. This year I wanted to be more realistic, so instead of giving myself a crazy amount of books to finish in 12 months, I’m starting with a smaller goal of just one each month. That’s definitely doable. Since I know that I’m pretty burnt out by the end of the day, I plan to read more during my lunch breaks at work. I don’t always have the opportunity to dedicate an entire hour at lunch, but I plan to read even if it’s just for 30 minutes. Plus, it’s good to turn away from my computer screen for a little while each day. I’ll be starting with The Smell of Other People’s Houses by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock, Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng, and What Happened by Hillary Clinton. 

2. Unplug once baby arrives.

This goal isn’t very specific, since I don’t know how life will be once the little lady arrives, but I wanted to add it to my resolution list anyway. I’ll be taking a three month maternity leave at my full-time job once baby arrives, but I hadn’t really thought about what I’ll do doing with the blog during this time. I know that I won’t be able to completely let the blog go dark for this whole period, but I want to make sure I’m taking advantage of lots of newborn snuggle time with my little one. My plan right now is to have some pre-written content ready to go {nursery reveal, quick recipes, favorite Amazon finds, healthy hacks for busy women, how to prepare for meetings with brands}, but to also write some new stuff as well {newborn essentials, my registry favorites, baby’s birth story}. Of course, I’ll be posting to social media regularly, so make sure you’re following along on Instagram and Twitter for updates. 

3. Start looking for a house {maybe move?}

Boy oh boy. This is the goal that I’m most excited about this year and the one that I’m really not sure will come to fruition. I’m adding it to the list anyway, because why not? We recently signed another lease at our apartment which expires this upcoming fall, but I don’t want to wait until then to start looking for a house and be forced to sign yet another lease. Let me be 100% honest – I don’t hate our current place, but it’s already starting to feel a bit small. I can only imagine how limited we are going to be on space once the baby gets here and we start accumulating even more stuff. We are very fortunate to have a second bedroom that will be for the baby, but I want my kids somewhat close in age and we definitely don’t have the space for more than one child here. I think I would go absolutely crazy. Plus, I really just want a place of our own. A single family home or townhouse in a decent school district with a yard would be ideal. 

4. Start BBG after baby

As much as I love attending yoga classes, I want to incorporate more cardio and weight training into my workout routine this year. I don’t have any intentions to start training for a marathon anytime soon, but I’m excited to get just back into the gym. It’s been WAY too long. Once I’m given the okay from my doctors, I plan to start Kayla Itsines’ Bikini Body Guide {BBG}. I’ve heard so many great things about her program and have seen incredible results on Instagram, so I’m intrigued! Her 12 week plan is reasonably priced at $53.60, which is significantly cheaper than a lot of other programs on the market. I know a lot of bloggers, including one of my favs Rachel Parcell, who started BBG after baby and really enjoyed the experience. Once I start the program, I’ll be sure to write all about it here on the blog! Maybe I’ll do weekly updates. Is this something you’d be interested in reading? Let me know!

5. Reach at least 5,000 Instagram followers

I know this goal doesn’t seem like a lot, but the recent Instagram algorithm change really makes it hard for bloggers to get traction anymore. So instead of saying I want to reach 15,000 followers {I’m currently hovering around 2,100}, I’m being a bit more realistic. I’ve recently taken a look at my Instagram strategy over the last year and determined that I need to be posting a lot more frequently – on my feed as well as on Stories. I have to get over the fact that not every photo or video is going to be absolutely perfect. People like seeing the behind the scenes stuff just as much as they like seeing beautifully curated images! My plan is to provide you guys with a mix of both. I think posting more often + adding in better hashtags + tagging relevant brands will make all the difference.  

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