New Year's Resolutions, SMART Goals, and More Tips

Just a few short days until 2014 is upon us and I'm super excited and unabashedly love the cliché, "New Year, New Me." The New Year is all a fresh start and having a clean slate ahead, why not take advantage of the opportunity to be a better you? Maybe "New Year, Better Me" or "New Year, Best Me...yet" is more appropriate then. ;) 

My experience with New Year's Resolutions is pretty similar to a lot of people I know. The first two weeks of January start off great! You're motivated and on top of your game when suddenly, or not so suddenly, the honeymoon phase ends. It's too much, it's boring, it wasn't a very well thought out plan in the first place. (I'm pretty guilty of that one.)

One of the best ways to plan resolutions to use the SMART goals method. SMART standing for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, target date. In short, do you have a resolution that isn't vague, something you can see if you're accomplishing, realistic, something to bother doing in the first place, and sometime you'd like it to be done by. 

Some of my 2014 New Year's Resolutions are...

- make my bed everyday

- no poultry, beef, or other land critters
(which means I'll still be enjoying fish, shellfish, eggs, and milk products)

- activity everyday for an hour

Other tips include having an accountability partner, this helps keep you on track by having another party check in with how you're doing. Reward yourself appropriately, get new smaller clothes, a mani/pedi, or jewelry. Lastly, don't beat yourself up if you do slip up. January 1st is a new beginning but so is every day, brush yourself off, and start again tomorrow.

What are your New Year's Resolutions?

Last Minute Gifts

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve and I cannot wait! But maybe you're nervous because you don't have some (or any) of your shopping done, don't worry it happens to the best of us. Here's a few last minute gifts that can also pull weight as stocking stuffers.

Tumblers and To-Go Cups // These are perfect for students on the go and can perform double duty as a container for other little cute gifts. Perfect for secret santa or a gift exchange

Facial Towelettes // Cleaning your face doesn't have to a boring nightly chore. Make your sister, mom, or best friend feel like a queen. I'm a big fan of Yes to Cucumber towelettes and Burt's Bees Baby Bee towelettes. Both smell amazing and are perfect for sensitive skin.

Lip Balm // Your lips have the thinnest skin on your body and the bitter, dry air of winter can really take a number on them! Help your gal pals keep their lips moisturized and look cute too with a fun brand like eos or softlips.

Earbuds // Again, earbuds are an essential for music lovers and those who simply like blocking out the world to get stuff done. I love earbuds but often times they don't fit my tiny ears, be sure to get a pair that comes with different size cushions available in case your pals need to adjust as well.

Keychains // Another easy way to let your recipients personalities shine. Favorite TV shows, movies, books, monograms/initials, symbols, and animals offer lots of good starting places for ideas.

Gift Cards // This one is arguably a cop out, but when combined with some other gifts (like the ones above) you can really come up with some cute themes like a coffee lover's dream or relaxation station.  

Christmas Cheer

Please, say it with me...

"The best way to spread Christmas Cheer is singing loud for all to hear" - elf

There's an atmosphere from late November to December that never fails to disappoint, it really is the most wonderful time of the year. ;) I look forward to ABC Family's 25 Days of Christmas, to playing my seven hour (and growing!) long playlist of Christmas songs, to baking cookies, to holiday parties, to Secret Santa exchanges, to our Christmas Eve traditions, to It's A Wonderful Life and elf. It's perfect.

To get even more in the mood here's my 10 Essential Christmas Songs playlist. (Quite honestly I would  love to the 150+ song playlist I having going on Spotify though!)

What's your favorite part of the Christmas season?

Whoops II and Blogs I Love

Well it happened... I once again have missed out on blogging for almost another straight month. Whoops part two indeed. Part of me is embarrassed for being lazy, but another part of me knows that I genuinely was busy with school life, traveling/Thanksgiving, finals, packing, and now settling back into a routine while I'm home for the next few weeks. There's a balance to be learned here.

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I've seen many blog, tumblr, and pinterest posts about overcoming writers' block and one tip/trick is to get inspired. So I looked to some other blogs I read on the reg and suddenly it was clear. 

SHARE THEM. 

I mean, really. I check them daily to see if they've been updated and look forward to what they say. Why not spread them around for others to see as well? 

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The College Prepster

I discovered Carly's blog on Pinterest during my first semester of college and I couldn't have found it at a better time. She has tons of organization tips, gift guides, school advice, fashion, and maybe the scariest of all... post-grad life. (She graduated from Georgetown the spring before I found her blog.) This translates to a lot of the school stuff is in her blog's archive but your searching will be rewarded and you won't be disappointed! 

Blair Blogs

Blair is also a college grad with many lifestyle posts ranging from apartment decor to DIYs to the Christian faith and it all flows seamlessly! Her post "Why You Need To Light A Candle In Your House-Today" especially speaks straight to my heart! I'll note that this blog is more focused on post-grad life (dun dun dun!) but she also has a previous blog that was more of the "college-girl" variety. That blog's front page will redirect you to her new one but you can still read her posts in the archives sections and once again you won't be disappointed.

History in High Heels

Ashley is a student in Florida earning her PhD in History! Again, her blog is super diverse with topics like fashion, study abroad tips, decor, and academia (I love her post about what exactly PhD students do, other than write dissertations!). Bonus: She has a little undergrad history in a graphic design and an adorable Etsy printshop!

Prep in Your Step

I also found Dorothy's blog on pinterest while looking for dorm/small bedroom decorating tips. Honestly, her dorm room looks like it was staged professionally for a magazine and I highly recommend watching her dorm tour video. As an out-of-state student and someone with a flair for all things "preppy" I find I can really relate to Dorothy's postings.

An honorable mention...

All Good in Mommyhood

I'm not gonna lie as much as I love YA or Twenty-somethings blogs, mommyblogs are a total guilty pleasure of mine. Jodi's sharing of desserts, Disney (that's the tab brought me to her blog in the first place), and stay-at-home mommy life are something I can't get enough of!

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What blogs do you read? Where do you look for inspiration?

Whoops

Sometimes you forget to blog for month...

     This likely because I started this blog with out having a real basis or direction for it. But that's changing. I've decided that a daily-post would be ideal and is a big goal I'm carving out for myself but for now I'm going to start with two or three posts a week. As for a theme? Your guess is just as good as mine. I've got a few swimming around but they aren't very compatible. Or maybe they are and I just don't see it yet. So stay tuned for more posts on things I love, the many facets of my university life, and the Christian faith.

Any pointers or tips to help a new blogger out?

glee

#Confession I've been on a major glee kick lately, it's my guilty pleasure. 

Like spending a huge part of last night and today watching it on Netflix and Hulu... 

I was a sophomore in high school when the show premiered in the fall of 2009 and, my friends, classmates, even some teachers (I'm looking at you Mrs. Whitehaus) and I were hooked. Something about glee is inherently likable: the characters, the storylines, and my favorite part: the sheer audacity. Each week I tuned in to see what was happening in Lima, Ohio. That was until the job I had caused me to miss a few weeks here and there but overall I caught up on Hulu and saw what episodes I could on TV. Looking back part of charm was many of the characters were my age. When they graduated high school, I graduated too; when they started college so did I. And so I began to watch regularly again last year and over Christmas break I binged on it and backed off over last semester. After hearing about Cory Monteith's death this summer I found myself watching many of his performances again. I also surprisingly enjoyed this season's opener which was a two-part tribute to The Beatles. <3 (another post on my love for the Fab Four later.)

Tomorrow, I will definitely be watching "The Quarterback."

"Be it's very definition, Glee is about opening yourself up to joy" - glee, "Pilot"


Do you watch glee? What are your guilty pleasures?

Fall Break

Here's to a four day weekend: a chance to recharge and get stuff done! Even though sleeping-in will nice (and taken advantage of!), I'm most looking forward to actually sitting down and finishing work! This will include, but not be limited to...

- laundry: about two and half weeks of it,

- cleaning: my room, bathroom, and the apartment in general,

- decorating: school's been in about a month and a half but the apartment is still pretty bland,

- crafting: big/little week starts Sunday(!), presents are on Tuesday(!!), and I still have a good bit to do, and

- homework: yes, homework. But this is a good thing, sometimes I feel as if it's more valuable to skip class and finish work than it is to go to class in the first place. That and professors usually have the mentality "Oh you have two extra days, so here's more stuff to complete."

How do you typically spend breaks?