Welcome 2018!

So 2018 is finally here, hooray! Welcome 2018, I’m so glad you are here (odd numbers and prime numbers make me super anxious so good riddance 2017). Eight is my lucky number, 2018 is evenly divisible by 2, so life is good.

Moving on.

Let’s chat for a bit about new year’s resolutions. Are you a lover or a hater of resolutions? I’m a lover, I love to have goals. Even if I fail (which I inevitably do), I just love the internal competitiveness of it.

My new year goals always start super strong and end super weak. Sound familiar? If not, congratulations on being perfect. But I have to admit, last year I didn’t do so bad. And now here we are at the start of 2018. A whole new year to start a whole new list of goals. What are my new year’s resolutions? I’m so glad you asked!

*Scroll up for a quick Leo break, he's so cute!*

New Years Resolution #1: Exercise

Of course, exercise is on my list, what would a new year’s resolution list be like without it? Last year I joined a gym and still love it. Could it be that I actually kept a resolution all year? Let’s say yes. So part 1 of exercise is continuing with my gym. Part 2 of exercise is to always be 5K ready. You never know when someone will tap on your shoulder and ask you to spontaneously run a 5K. Okay, so that might not happen (but what if it did?!), regardless, I enjoy running and want to keep it up. Gym + Running = 2018 exercise goal.

*Leo break*

New Years Resolution #2: Eat Better

I know how to eat well. My husband is a nutrition nerd, we eat sauerkraut, drink San Pellegrino, have “super shakes” for lunch, eat avocados daily, minimal sugar, minimal carbs, healthy fats, lots of protein, etc. It is just the “doing it consistently” part that we stray from. Again, this was on my resolution list from 2017 and I started out strong. For six months last year, I didn’t eat grain or sugar and had very limited alcohol. It was the best I’ve ever felt. But around October I started to stray. And by the end of the year, it was pretty ugly. For example, on Christmas day my food intake consisted of: cappuccino, monkey bread, homemade toffee, movie theater popcorn, french fries, a triangle of a cheese quesadilla, cheese and Ritz crackers. My dear friends, I am not even kidding. The good news is that it’s a new year! I’m excited to get my eating back on track in 2018.

*Leo break*

New Years Resolution #3: Finances

Most relationships have at least one person who has tight control over the family finances. We don’t have that person. My husband and I both kind of manage finances. And it has worked well for us for 18 years. We took Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University several years ago and it worked fine for a while and then it seemed like too much work. Just the idea of money in envelopes makes me shudder (unless it’s my birthday or Christmas, then bring on the money in envelopes!) So this resolution is to basically just watch our money more closely. Spend wisely. Be smarter about shopping. Save more. Without the envelopes.

New Years Resolution #4: Practice Gratitude

My hubby and I have been working very hard at this. We have so much to be thankful for and talk about it a lot. It is so good for the soul to focus on what is going right versus what is going wrong. Try it! It is hard to be in a bad mood when you consistently think about all you have to be grateful for.

*Leo break*

New Years Resolution #5: My Faith

Continue to grow in my faith. I look forward to diving into my bible every morning. I have a daily devotional that I read. I have a church that I absolutely love. I have another church in another state that I love to listen to their sermons online every week. I am involved in two Bible studies, both are new, but I am looking forward to diving deeper with them. And just continuing to pray and sharing my heart with Jesus.

New Years Resolution #6: Stop babying my son

Just kidding. That will never be on my list of resolutions.

And finally…

(The Real) New Years Resolution #6: Keep Writing

As I mentioned in my very first blog post (find it here), I’m writing a Christian devotional. It is a project that I am passionate about and absolutely love. It is so good for my faith and for my heart and for my soul. God laid this project on my heart and I haven’t looked back since. My goal is to finish by May (please pray for me friends!).

And this blog, I have loved writing this blog so much. It is different than writing the devotional, more of my humor can be released here. It keeps my creative juices flowing. I’d appreciate it so much if you would share my Facebook page What’s a Neko? with your friends. I'll post all of my blogs there and more! Having a successful blog will help me in the publishing process. Thank you, friends!

Let’s make 2018 a great year. Let’s crush these resolutions friends! Or get together for drinks to mourn the loss of a failed resolution. Either way, we’re in this together!

What are your resolutions this new year?

Until next time,

Neko

*Extended Leo break*