Happy Monday! Happy New Year! I’m here with Holly sharing some fun from our weekend. I hope you’ll link up with us for Hello Monday! We have a new graphic for this year so be sure to grab it for the link up!

I am doing a two part post today. I decided that I want to get back to creating and sharing monthly goals. I feel like last year got away from me and I’m trying to change that for 2023. I also missed Monthly Musings with Patty and Holly last week so I am going to add that to today’s post since it is focused on resolutions.

1. Do you make resolutions/goals for the new year? Yes, I do make resolutions and goals for the new year. I am an Upholder so I usually achieve my goals. I don’t beat myself up if I don’t reach my goal though. I just keep working on it the next year.

2. Do you have diet/exercise goals? I sure do! I tend to set diet and exercise goals each year. If I don’t have a goal, like last year, I find that I flounder a little bit with motivation and direction.

3. Do you have personal/professional goals for 2023? Again, I sure do. I feel like I have been in survival mode at work the past few years and I want to change that in 2023. I always have personal goals.

4. Do you use a planner? Paper? Electronic? Combo? I sure do use a planner. I am all paper planner all the time. I do not even mess with an electronic or digital planner. I’ve used the Erin Condren vertical weekly planner for the past few years and it really works for me.

5. Do you have a word or phrase for 2023? I don’t this year. In the past I’ve tried one but my goals are too varied to feel good about one word.

6. Ring in the New Year or asleep by 10? Well, this year I was asleep before 10. Jeff and the boys were playing golf on New Year’s Day and had to leave the house at 7 am so we went to bed. I like to stay up until midnight if it works for the plans on New Year’s Day.

7. Favorite thing to do on New Year’s Day? We always have pork tenderloin for dinner. I try to have all the Christmas decorations put away before I go back to work so sometimes I finish up on New Year’s Day. I like to get outside for a walk on New Year’s Day and I did yesterday. Our weather was gorgeous and I had a lovely hour long walk.

8. Any travel plans for 2023? Yes, but not as much as last year. We will go to the beach. I have a few other places in mind, but nothing else is booked.

9. Things/events you are most looking forward to in 2023? We are going to the beach with my family in August. We haven’t been on family beach vacation with my parents and sister in years.

For Christmas, my sister and I got tickets to see Billy Joel in NYC. Jeff and Zach are going with us and I cannot wait!

I have some fun ideas for our summer. I am always looking forward to summer fun!

10. Will you be watching any bowl games on our around New Year’s? I sure will! We continued our family tradition of eating Chick-Fil-A and milkshakes during the Chick-Fil-A bowl

Here’s what I am working on this month:

1. Read one nonfiction adult book, three fiction adult books, one children’s graphic novel, and one children’s novel.
I know this is a lot of books to read, but I am scrolling on Facebook and Instagram too much lately. I need something to replace that activity and books are the perfect thing to replace it.

2. Exercise 4-5 mornings a week.
I got out of the habit of exercising before school and I did not always get to it in the afternoon through the month of December. I notice a big difference in my stress and patience when I exercise every day.

3. Run 2 days a week.
At Declare It Day, I said I wanted to run a 10k. I haven’t done it and the only way to get up to a 10K is to start running. This is the month. I don’t have to run fast or far, but I need to start running.

4. Only get lunch out 3 school days.
The wheels really came off last month regarding planning for and packing my lunch. I already planned dinners for this week and have enough leftovers in mind to pack a lunch every day.
*Disclaimer – We have a professional development day and I will most definitely get lunch out that day. It also doesn’t count against my 3.**

5. Work ahead on blog posts.
Hello Monday posts are usually weekend recaps so they need to stay on my Sunday evening list, but the rest of my posts can be written a few days early. For instance, my reading update comes out on the the second Tuesday of the month. I will add each book to it as I finish reading. I didn’t blog as much in December because I just ran out of time in the evening.

Looking ahead to January, I have two weekends that I’ll be sitting in the stands at swim meets and that is the perfect time to read and work ahead on some blog posts. Those swim meet weekends also mean that I have to make good use of my time to get meals planned and shopped for to pack my lunch. Here’s to the next 29 days to crush those 5 goals!

I hope you’ll link up with Holly and me today and every Monday in 2023. Happy New Year! Have a great day full of sunshine and books!