Let’s compare lists. Here are my New Year’s Resolutions! What are yours?

I LOVE making New Year’s Resolutions! Don’t you?

Experts say your goals need to be SMART (more on that here) and that you shouldn’t make too many goals. That seems like sound advice, but I can’t resist having a resolutions list long enough to reach from here all the way to Downtown Houston, because I just like believing that each new year will be THE year to tackle all my projects and get my life in order! Wishful thinking, but why not?

For the sake of this post, I’m only sharing my top 10 New Year’s Resolutions for 2021, but just know that this is not my complete list. I am really addicted to goal-setting! Maybe you’ll enjoying comparing my list to yours, or maybe my list will give you some ideas. Also please note that I’m not necessarily listing the “SMART” version of my resolutions below. These are just summarized versions.

1. Reach my toes. When I stand up straight and then bend forward to reach my toes, I’m about 3-4 inches shy. I was touching them just fine earlier in 2020. And then COVID happened, and my regular stretching routines (and my regular “moving around” in general) went out the window. The good thing is that you can easily become more flexible just by stretching (properly) little by little. I plan to incorporate yoga into my lifestyle several times a week.
   
   
2. Master 12 new chef-quality recipes. When I say “master”, I mean I really want to get good at the techniques involved in the chosen recipes and make the necessary tweaks to make each dish a family favorite. I think if I can get some new knock-your-socks-off meal creations under my belt, we’ll be less inclined to eat out. I plan to look online for the copycat recipes for the dishes we like to order at our favorite restaurants. I'm also ordering a copy of one of Ayesha Curry's cookbook, because I've been told her recipes are legit! 
   
   
3. Organize my closet. I envy my husband’s closet. It’s nice and organized and magazine-worthy. My closet, on the other hand, houses too many clothes, too many shoes, hair products for all 5 of us gals, fabric for my sewing hobby, toys that I’m storing away as heirlooms, and lots of other stuff. It was organized earlier this year, and things have once again gotten out of hand.
   
   
4. Read my Bible every day. Is this hard for you too? I don’t get why I find it to be such a chore. I mean, I read my phone every day, why is reading the Bible so difficult for me? I have a Bible app or two on my phone, and one of them even pops up with a scripture each day, and sometimes I close out the verses without reading them because I’m anxious to get to another feature on my phone. Nope, not in 2021. I’m making my Bible-reading time a priority. I plan to set aside a specific time each day and make it my “happy hour” for the day. (Nah, I’m not saying I’ll be reading for an hour; that’s just an expression.) Hot tea, a scented candle burning, the kids outta my face… yeah, I’m looking forward to the time already.
   
   
5. Volunteer at my church. Right now we’re still taking COVID precautions, but before the year is out, I want to sign up to serve others in my church in some way. Many years ago, I learned that my “spiritual gift” is hospitality, and I think I might enjoy being on the team that greets folks as they walk into the building. I’ve been reluctant to do this in the past, because I’m bad with remembering names, and I fear I’ll be put in too many situations where I’m chatting with someone I’m supposed to remember but won’t. Ah – but fear won’t hold me back in 20201!
   
   
6. Have more guests over. Years ago, we used to have friends over almost every week, and then life got more difficult, and all that stopped. I’d like to start back in the new year, after the pandemic, of course. On the one hand, I enjoy hosting at home, and on the other hand, it exhausts me. I’m an introvert, and when I’m in the company of others, it’s not long before I’m needing to retreat back into my private space so I can feel free again. One way to prevent feeling stifled is to host shorter gatherings and to share the event’s “end” time, even if it’s just casual company.  “We’d love to have you guys over from 5-7pm.”
   
   
7. Visit my parents more. They live in Houston. What’s that – a 45-minute drive? No excuses in 2021!
   
   
8. Get more quality sleep. I’m a night owl, and most nights I’m up far past midnight, and then the kids start waking up at 7 or 8-ish in the morning, so I rarely get the full night of shut-eye that I think my body needs. For the new year, I resolve to give myself a bedtime (maybe 11pm) and try to get 8 hours of sleep each night.
   
   
9. Spend more time dolling up the girls. Hairbows and the latest fashions from Gymboree were my jam back when motherhood was new for me. In the past five years, however, I haven’t spent nearly as much time keeping my daughters as neat and polished as I would like. My 6-year-old is tender-headed, and most days when I comb her hair, she starts whining or even straight-up crying (tears and all) and I just give up trying to detangle it and instead just brush it into a messy something that resembles a bun. Even my 10-year-old often gives me the blues when it’s time to do hair. And along the way, I’ve gotten out of the habit of ensuring that every wayward strand is brushed back into place before we leave the house. I’ve stopped buying matching hairbows for each outfit. And I stopped packing my brush and spray bottle of water with me, to make any last-minute fixes. For 2021, I resolve to invest more time in our appearances. I know appearance isn’t everything, and we do work hard to make sure they are beautiful on the inside, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with being beautiful on the outside too, especially if all that’s needed is a bit of effort.
   
   
10. Lose 15 pounds. This one’s so simple, because when people want to lose weight, they usually already know what to do. It’s just a matter of being disciplined. I plan to be more active with my kids, spend more time outdoors hiking/biking, eat cleaner meals, and drink more water. And how will I be disciplined enough to follow through with my plan? I have a few tricks up my sleeve, but I’ve noticed I’m more successful with weight loss when I plan my meals and activities ahead of time and also build in some non-edible rewards to look forward to as I reach milestones.