2016 Goals

2015 has flown by and was a great year for me! However, there are some goals I'd like to reach by the end of 2016 so I'm going to try and hold myself accountable to these goals by sharing them here. I've never been a person to make New Year Resolutions but I figure, why not? Maybe writing them down while keep me inspired to keep working at them.

1. Read 18 Books

- I've fallen in love with reading now that I don't have only required readings to do (like I once did in school) and I want to escape into more books this year. I already have a long list of books I'd like to finish by the end of the year and any time I'm at Target or Barnes and Noble I find about 5 more I'd like to add to the list!

2. Write in my "One Line A Day" journal.

- I purchased this journal in December last year at Francesca's and I want to make sure I continue writing in it. I have never been much of a journaler but I thought having a book that allowed me to jot down a thought or memory for each day of the year would be something I could keep up with. The best part of this journal is that it is good for five years so you can compare your days year after year.

3. Practice my hand lettering & take a class

- Throughout 2015 I experimented with different hand lettering techniques and had so much fun with it. This year I want to take it more seriously and master the craft and even take a few classes to learn new tips and tricks. I've had my eye on a class by Woven + Wed that I'm hoping to participate in this year!

4. Post on my blog at least once a week

- I started my blog last year wanted to have a place to share my crafts, recipes, and adventures. I spent a lot of time developing what I wanted my blog to look like and what I wanted it share with you. Now that I have a general idea of what I'd like to focus on I want to make sure I start posting more often! I attempted (and failed) to do a 12 days of Christmas blog post series in December but it made me realize how much I really love blogging. I just didn't realize how big of a time commitment it really is. So to start of 2016 I am setting a goal to post at least once a week in hopes that I will start to get better with my time management so I can eventually post more.

5. Visit 8 new state parks

- Another adventure I started last year was my attempt to visit all of Minnesota's State Parks! I visited 7 new parks last year and I'm hoping to visit 8 this year! I'm trying to be realistic with this goal so I thought it was safe to just add one more than last year to my goal. My job is really busy in the summer but I'm hoping I'll be able to fit in a few smaller weekend trips so I can accomplish this goal!

6. Don't eat out as often

- In 2015 I ate out a lot! Mostly just for the convienence or because I was meeting up with friends. I want to try and reduce how often I eat out for a few reason. First, it's so expensive! I could save so much money if I stopped eating out so often - and that sounds great to me. Second, it's not that healthy. I could make myself eat a lot healthier if I made food myself and I would know exactly what is in the meals I eat. And finally, it makes going out to eat more of a treat if I don't do it so often. I would be more willing to go to a nicer restaurant and enjoy the time if it wasn't something I did so often. I want it to be for celebrations like birthdays and anniversarys not just because it's Tuesday and I'm lazy. This also means I can experiment with new recipes and discover new foods I love! I just learned I love roasted brussel sprouts and now I can't get enough of them!

7. Spend less time on social media

- I am very guilty with spending way too much time on social media. I don't know why I feel the need to check it so often but I want to break free from that habit. My first step to spend less time on social media is to not allow myself to check it after 9pm when I should be getting ready for the next day and relaxing with a book. I'm also going to delete people off of Facebook - because do I really need to spend my time seeing what someone from high school is doing when I didn't even talk to them when I was in high school? I don't think so. Less people updating means less time wasted on the app.

8. Work out three times a week

- Of course I had to include some sort of workout related goal, doesn't everyone? It's time to get out of my slump and start making myself workout at least three times a week! I want to try new workouts while I'm at it like yoga, pilates, and kick boxing. I'm hoping to find some classes to join to keep me excited to workout!

So those are my goals/resolutions for 2016! It felt good to sit down and evaluate the areas I wanted to improve in my life and to set realistic goals for this upcoming year. What are your goals for 2016?

- Jaqui