This is the first year since I graduated high school that I don’t have an impending move looming over one of our heads. With that in mind, I really want to become more settled this year. Because of that settling and not waiting on the change, I want to experience more. I want to live my life not just survive it. I am hoping that this will mean that I will have more time to do things with the family, for myself, for fun, etc.

So here is my attempt to do monthly goals to be more intentional with my time and space.

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• Fitness-Do 1500 squats this month. I love squats, so I figure this is a good one for me to challenge myself with. I made a chart to go in my bathroom so hopefully I will remember while I am doing my nighttime routine.
• House Tasks-
  • Take down Christmas decor
  • Organize/Put away George’s clothes he has outgrown (We have at least 4 boxes I have been throwing stuff in for the past few months in his closet that are just screaming to be sorted and taken down to the basement.)
  • Sort/Donate toys (This kids just has too much already. Some of it needs to go!)
• Something with George-Do finger-painting
• Something with Tom-Start watching Parks and Rec
• Something for me-Do a mommy and me photo shoot with George trying out my new camera remote

I like doing these short goals better than a year long resolution. That is too long of a time for me to get lazy, forget about it, and not follow through.

I am really excited for this year, and I have high hopes that it will be one of our best years yet.

Do you have things you want to accomplish this month/year? Do you do resolutions?

Seeing as it is the last day of 2015, there is a lot of reflecting that is occurring. (Was it a good year? Will 2016 be even better? 31 seems like such an odd age? What adventures will we find ourselves in? Will Ben really find love on the Bachelor?)

For fun, I thought I would share what my most read posts were from 2015.

1. Life

2. It Must Be Easy

3. When Love Gets Comfortable

4. It’s Not “Mom” Hair

5. Mom Confessions

6. Your Questions Answered Round One

7. Home

8. 4 Years

9. A Baseball First Birthday Party

10. I Must Confess

It was fun to look back at these. Some made me weepy and some made me laugh at myself all over again.

As usual, a lot happened in the last year. George has grown into a little boy, and my momma heart just can’t take how small he looks in some of these pictures. Tom and I have also grown a lot and overcome some big things. Now we are sitting pretty in one of the best seasons of our relationship.

I am pretty excited about 2016! I can’t wait to share more with you. Thank you for reading about our life.

 What are you excited about for the new year?

I can’t believe I have been recording my workouts for a year! (Never mind that I forgot to post last week because of Christmas. It was the only week I missed though!)

When I started this fitness journey, it was an attempt to make my body feel like mine again. After giving birth, I felt like I had lost control of my own health while focusing on George. By logging my workouts, I really wanted to make sure that I was making my fitness a priority again.

So what did I learn over the last 52 weeks?

• I need to be training for something to really kick my butt into gear. I don’t do well without a plan. I definitely worked out more when I knew I needed to get so many runs in a week. This past month I started training for a race with no race actually in mind, and it makes such a difference with my progress.
• I don’t have to have a gym to be successful. I loved our gym in Iowa, and it made me think that I had to have a gym for consistency. I have struggled with working out over the last 2 years partially because of it. Unfortunately, when we moved into our house here the gym was not a good investment since it was a half hour away. I have been able to actually keep up with workouts just as much if not more since cutting the cord with our membership.
• On the same note, sometimes I have to get creative to make a workout happen. I did workouts while wearing George in a baby carrier, and there were a couple times that I ran in circles in my kitchen and living room. You have to make it work. Also the internet is an amazing thing, and there are so many videos and apps now that you can use. I highly recommend SWORKIT if you have an Android.

• I fall off the wagon right after a race and when I am sick. So I just need to be cognizant of those times and find some motivation besides feeling sluggish to get back out there. I also don’t work out when I travel. I always have the best intentions and pack workout stuff, but my schedule when traveling never seems to allow it. So I need to remember little things that I can do like squats and lunges.
• Your happiness is not related to a number on a scale or tape measure. I was keeping track of my weight and measurements the first couple months, and it was miserable. I was miserable. I don’t do well with that type of motivation. I have never been someone to watch the numbers on the scale, and this was the first time that I really felt awful about the way that my body looked and felt so having that there was very harmful. I decided t0 focus on how I felt in my clothes and energy levels as my motivation instead of trying to be a certain number and hating myself because I wasn’t. I find this makes me a lot happier when I focus on my health instead of my weight.
• I have to make working out a priority. No one else will make it one if I don’t. I had to take charge and demand this time for myself. Some would say it was selfish to pick George up a little later a couple days a week or to insist that I worked out while George napped instead of doing the laundry or dishes that have inevitably backed up. It was something I needed to do though. Having that me time to better myself, I think makes me a better mom, wife, person in general. I am a person that needs time to recharge, and working out has those elements for me. Plus if I am sick all the time from not taking care of my health, how am I supposed to take care of anyone? I had to be ok to ask others for help so I can take 30 minutes here and there. Luckily Tom is on board with the fitness train, so having him help me do this was a no brainer for him.
• Every workout doesn’t have to be perfect or an hour long. Most of my workouts are only a half hour, and that is ok. I am still making things happen in that amount of time. There were also many workouts where George came along or climbed over me as I attempted a yoga pose. Again, the workout still happened even if I didn’t meet a PR. I showed up and that is what matters.
• These pants are motivating. There is something about crazy neon patterns that makes me want to work out when I put them on.

• All in all, my body is amazing. There were some down moments the past year where I thought my body failed me. However doing this challenge kept me pushing through each week and helped me focus on the positives. I am a lot stronger than I thought, and I did things like PR on a 10K as a thirty-year-old mom. I carry a 25 pound kid around and do things one handed all day every day. I just needed to give myself some grace and know that my body will do what God has willed it to do.

I am really glad that I did this. It pushed me out of my comfort zone to think about things differently with my fitness. It also brought me back to workouts a lot quicker than I would have had I not been logging it publicly. I won’t be doing this again on the blog just because it was a lot to keep up with each week. However, I am going to do a monthly thing though because I do like the accountability. It is going to take on a different form, but logging it does help.

My fitness goals for 2016 are:

• Work out at least twice a week with the aim of getting in three workouts.
• Run at least two races, with one being a 10K.
• Get a bike to obviously ride it. We have some great trails near us, and a bike would be great to change up my workouts.
• Keep creating an active lifestyle with my family. Now that we don’t have a move looming over our heads, I am hoping to do some more active things in the upcoming year. Like playing ball/chase in our yard, going on hikes, taking George to swim lessons and more.

What are your fitness goals for 2016? Have you ever logged your workouts?

This weekend is Tom’s 31st birthday, and I normally have a post devoted to him because that’s what every man in his 30s wants right?

Anyway, I thought I would do something a little different this year. I am going to turn the tables and have the post write itself, but I need your help.

So here is an open invitation to ask Tom any question that you would like. A raw version of Talks with Tom.

You can ask about parenthood, his job as a police officer, our dogs, working out, his handyman skills, really anything.

Maybe you will get some responses like this line from my about to be 31 year old husband.

“George is completely homemade. We just used juices and eggs we had around the house.”

So what do you want to know about Tom or want to hear from his perspective?