A New Routine

Its no secret that the start of a new year provides an automatic opportunity for a "clean slate", a fresh start and for some of us, just the little push you need to start a new routine or make some changes in your life.

I've never been a fan of resolutions, mostly from years of failing to actually keep those resolutions! This year I sat down and wrote down a few things I'd really like to focus on this year and now I'm starting to put together a few details of how I might practically focus in on them.

- I want to be a calmer person, to better be able to let life's unexpected hiccups roll off me without me becoming too stressed and frustrated.













- I want to get to know my husband and best friend even better, to look for those little ways to encourage him and make him happy, to actively put him before myself.













- Develop habits. I know this sounds weird, but I've never really been good at consciously developing good habits or any type of routine outside of work. I want to develop some healthy consistencies in my day-to-day life. A few that come to mind are:

• Writing/working on my novel every day (this is my second book and it has been difficult for me to reign in my ideas into a cohesive plot)
• Starting my morning with reading God's Word and prayer
• Return to healthier eating habits and workout routines

So how do I break these ideas down into steps I really can accomplish? I'm going to take it one week at a time so I don't get overwhelmed. This morning I made my first step and started my day by reading the Bible and prayer.

I'm also reading a book my sister lent me called "If Mama Ain't Happy, Ain't Nobody Happy". I know I'm not a mother, but the focus of the book is how your attitude affects everyone in your house and how to make the choice to be a more joyful and optimistic person. I'm about 40 pages in and really enjoying it! Starting my day this way automatically makes me calmer, turns my focus onto God and reminds me of small ways I can show my husband how much he means to me today. Score!

I've been doing pretty well improving my overall eating habits over the past year, really getting into cooking and staying away from more processed high-fat foods for the most part. Now its time to plug in the exercise component. I was doing really well last year, but once the crazy wedding planning/moving phase hit this past fall, it all fell apart. Time to get back on the workout wagon (yes - I realize that sounds ridiculous, please ignore the dorky alliteration and focus on the enthusiasm!). I'm heading to Curves in a few minutes - I really love their workout circuit and my goal is to go there 3 times this week and walk either outside or on the treadmill for 30 minutes at least 1 other day this week.













Here's to developing some positive habits - if anyone has any advice for me, let me know!