Is it just me or are there a $h!t ton of programs and groups out there this year to help you plan and reach your goals? Has it always been like this or is this the first year I have really paid attention to making myself some meaningful and useful goals? I wrote out a whole bunch of things I thought I wanted to label as goals for 2016, but decided to go back to the drawing board after diving into all these goal planning topics.



I don't want to set goals that are un-achievable, but I also don't want to sell myself short by placing goals in effect that have no real value to me. After going through and reading some of my favorite bloggers goals, I found it really fascinating how each person seemed to take a different approach to setting them. I wanted to give this goal thing another thought.

There are all sorts of tools out there to help you make a list. There are free worksheets, printables, as well as books and workbooks. You can read oodles and oodles of topics on just about every kind of goal out there. Personal, professional, blogging, relationship, financial, fitness, and the list goes on. If you want to achieve it, there is something out there for you.

I have printed out a bunch of different worksheets that ask more in depth questions about what it is I am looking to do in 2016. I have joined an Instagram reset challenge that encourages you to plan your goals around your current lifestyle. I joined a Facebook group dedicated specifically to goal crushing. I ordered a planner that will not only keep track on my daily activities, but also my goal progress.

All of these tools have made me realize if I want to set healthy, reasonable goals, I need to really think about what it is I wanted to achieve in not only the next year, but in the next 5 years. Then the next 10 years. Goals to help me grow as a person for my whole life, not just my year.

So instead of posting those old goals I came up with today, I am going to sit on this for a bit and see what where it takes me. I am going to fill in my worksheets, and read more exercises on these things. I can already start to feel the stress falling off my shoulders as I look forward to my year.

How about you? How do you set goals? Do you have a plan or do you just go with the flow? Lemme know! I need all the help I can get :)

I know you all expected to read about goals today. The goals I am setting for 2016. I woke up this morning expecting to post them and something changed. I let my emotions drive. Something more important was on my mind.

A big part of my goals this year is to come back to being me. I am going to continue to remind myself that I am doing things like blogging for me.

My holiday week was pretty jarring. I faced a lot of hard realities. I am starting my first week of the new year with a heavy heart and frustrated.

I know there has to be some bad to see the good, but sometimes that is really hard.

I know you can all relate and can understand my frustration.

Hello first Monday of 2016..

I gave up on new year resolutions a long time ago. I feel like they are meant to be broken, and if that's the case, why make one? In 2015 I decided to set goals and break each month into a different project. I feel like it worked out for me, more than I had anticipated.


I started 2015 with a word. I felt 2014 was a little crazy, so I picked the word Rejuvenate. I wanted to slow things down a bit. Come to peace with some things. Get some rest. I have to say, my year was the complete polar opposite of this.

I struggled. I stressed. I hurt. I cried. A lot.

Looking at it now, I think I did rejuvenate more than I had realized. The official definition of rejuvenate is: make (someone or something) look or feel younger, fresher, or more lively; restore to a condition characteristic of a younger landscape.

I was able to finally move past some harsh realities and I have made myself feel more lively. I am working on having fun again. I am learning to look at everything in a different angle. It's really hard but it does seem to help you think more positively. 

I have thought about my word for 2016 for awhile now. It is something I have fought with in my head but in the end it keeps coming back to me. It only makes more sense to me because I have this word tattooed on my body already. I had that done 10 years ago.. It's time I start remembering why it was put there. 

My 2016 word is Dream.  

I forgot what it feels like to have hopes and dreams. I have watched others in 2015 achieve some of their dreams, while I sat on the sidelines feeling sorry for myself. That will not happen again this year. It's a new year and I am a new age. Time to prove to myself that I can do it. 

Official yearly goals to come next week!

So today is the day. The end of another year. Another birthday. I also am sitting here reflecting on the fact that so much has changed for me in the last 8 weeks. A whole entire year and 8 short weeks of it made the difference for me. It goes to show that any amount of time can change the way a person lives their life.



There are 2 things that have happened in those 8 weeks that have really made the difference. They will send me into 2016 as a 33 year old with a new vision. Those 2 things are finding a new job and meeting my new therapist.

I  have made it no secret that I have been burnt out and unhappy this year. You saw that in my writing. You saw that in my inconsistency. I was in desperate need of a change. I was in desperate need of a new point of view.

Making the decision to change jobs was not an easy one, no matter how unhappy I was. It was familiar and I was comfortable there. We must remind ourselves that just because we are comfortable, doesn't mean we can use it to justify our unhappiness. The opportunity came up quickly and I knew in my heart I needed the change. Before I knew what I was really doing I accepted the job and sat on it for a few days.

Putting in my notice was really hard. In those days leading up to my decision I saw things in the people around me that made me remember why I once did love that place. I saw the kindness in the coworkers that became my friends. The friends who became my family. I was shown such respect and kindness in my last days. I almost felt guilty for leaving.

I stood my ground and left with my head high. I knew it was time for something new. A new chapter in my life. It was my last day at my old job that I got the call about my new therapist. I had been waiting 2 months for a replacement due to my therapist moving out of the practice.

I started my new job on a Monday and met my new therapist the next day on Tuesday. They have both opened my eyes to new ideas. They have both shown me that I have been unhappy for way to long.

I am happy to say, that today, on my birthday, I am finally ready to move past all of the sadness and pain I have held onto this year. I am ready to take on 2016 as the strong person I know I am. That is the best birthday gift I could ever give myself. Letting it all go. Setting myself free. Setting up myself for great things to come.

It also makes me a little less bitter that I have to share my birthday with the entire world ;)

Happy New Year!

As R and I drove back from my parents house on Christmas night, I was lost in thought about how this year didn't go as planned. At first I was sad and a bit upset about this, but then I started thinking. Was it really as bad as I thought it was, or was this the normal thought for this time of year?  Christmas always seems like the time of year when we all focus on all of the things we don't have. The year is ending and we focus on what we didn't accomplish.  Why do we do that?

I started thinking back to all of the things I wanted to accomplish in 2015. I started thinking about this blog and what I posted here. It started out as a place to write down my thoughts on products and ended up turning into a diary of sorts. Even when I talked about something specific, I still tied it into my everyday life. You can't really write about something you didn't experience right?

I looked at past posts and realized how often I gave excuses for things I didn't do, or places I complained for not good reason. Was I really that miserable this year? Had I allowed myself to get so far into the negative that I forgot about the good things?

I thought about the things I didn't post about. How I reconnected with a friend from my past, only to have it cut short by his untimely death. It makes me wonder why these things happen as they do. Then there was the uphill battle of depression. I fought the feelings so much this year, only to finally give in and realize I needed to do something about it. I lost my relationship with my brother. We have not really had a conversation in 6 months. I dealt with getting engaged and not having the support from people we hoped would be there for us.

The lessons I learned this year can be looked at as struggles, but looking at them now, I understand they have shaped me into something I thought was long gone. I still have fight in me. I can still stand tall and find strength in the hard times. R always told me he fell in love with me because of how strong I was. He admired my will to fight even when everyone tried to prove me wrong.

That alone makes me want to do better. Be better. Move forward and think about the positive.

I know who I am. If you don't, maybe it's time you get to know me.

Even with all my struggles, I am still ending this year with things I am proud to say I accomplished.

I found a new job that I absolutely love to go to everyday. I thought that was an impossible goal. It does exist if you are willing to take a risk.

I have friends and family who are willing to stand behind me no matter what the circumstance.

R and I are still in love and ready to take the next step into marriage in 2016. We have been through hell and back, but we are still here and are excited more than ever to start our lives together.

As far as this space goes, I got myself on and off track what feels like a million times this year, but I am not going to look at that as a failure. I am going to see it as testing the waters. Taking risks. 2016 is going to be an open canvas and I can't wait to see what I create..

Thank you to all of you who have stood by my side this year. It was not only me going through this roller coaster, but you all were along for the ride. Whether we have met before or not, I hope to spend more time with you in the upcoming year. I hope to get to know you all even better. And most importantly I hope we all can continue to help one another grow and prosper in whatever it is we want to accomplish.

If I don't see you again before then, have a happy and safe rest of 2015. Don't sweat the big things and focus on the little things you can change to make the big things happen!

MUAH!