I love new beginnings, clean slates and fresh starts……and January 1 represents all of these and more!  We have been blanketed with snow these past few days in Ohio, and I for one, think it is so appropriate for this new beginning.  Mother Nature starting her ‘cleanse’!  LOL!

Have you created your New Year’s resolutions yet?  Have you fallen off the wagon yet?  The older I get the more I am becoming to despise resolutions.  I know … I know I just rained on your parade.  In my defense, wouldn’t you agree that most of the time we are setting ourselves up to fail, which in turn makes our self-esteem and mental health take a plunge down the Niagra? 

I for one am tired of creating lofty declarations…only to be disappointed when I don’t achieve them.  I have spent more than half of my adult years declaring that this year is going to be ‘The One’!  If memory serves me correct, they all revolved around dieting and exercising.  I started off well, but somehow, somewhere I got derailed and then I played the internal boxing match.   I am 45 years old, and have to give up the illusion that I am going to look like a cute teeny bopper wearing a string bikini on the beach.  No way, no how…..if it was not in the cards when I was a teenager, it is not in the cards as a grown woman.  So why beat myself up about it, right? 

Internal struggles and demons cause anxiety and stress, and we DO NOT need that in our lives.  We have enough of that thrown at us from external forces, so why not try to relax and soften our inner issues.  Ease our burdens….. being kind to our souls…..

Wouldn’t you agree that a body, especially the mind, can only take so much?

That does not mean that I do not have goals for the New Year, I am just going to be very realistic about them.  Why not make 2014’s goals attainable, which can inspire us even more?  Break them down into smaller chunks, so that I am not overwhelmed, beaten down before I even get myself out the door.

In 2014

•  I will put my house on a diet … better the house than me, right? A cluttered house = a cluttered mind, which causes the internal boxing match to start up once again.  After 13 years, our house is screaming for a thorough cleanse.  Decrapping the house will also enable me to use that beautiful new miter saw {aka: Blue Eyes} that is sitting in our garage.  I cannot wait to try my hand at building some furniture, and tweaking the moldings and baseboards that are begging to be ‘beefed up’.

• I will be kind to myself, especially in regards to my duties as a full-time wife, full-time mom, full-time employee and some-time blogger.  I know I will make mistakes trying to juggle all of these hats.  I am only human and I am not infallible.  I will stop being so critical when I fail, get up…dust off my hands and try again!

• I will continue to pursue photography even though I seem to have the time only at night when there is absolutely zero natural light to play around with. It gives me enjoyment, relaxes me and I swear I am going to get off the ‘automatic’ mode this year. =) I would like to also dive into portrait settings……do you think I will have a willing participant in K?

• I will nurture my relationship with PT.  As we begin the process of becoming ‘empty nesters’, I do not want us behind the eight ball wondering who the other person has become.  That would just be sad!

• I will read more.  My desire is to consume a minimum of 26 books in 2014.  Reading gives me the escape into other people’s lives that no amount of reality television can fulfill.

•  I will understand that I am a work in progress, forever evolving and learning. This is my life, my journey and I should stop sprinting through it.  I need to start thinking of it in terms of a marathon and stop getting so antsy and fidgety, dashing past the roses, not even taking the time to smell their beautiful scent!

Phewwww…..I feel like to just spoke a mile a minute to you all, and I am totally out of breathe!  LOL!

Now that you have heard all about my goals…..

What are your 2014 goals and aspirations?

                                                xo,  Shaunna

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Fresh Start: 2015 Goals {2014} Happy New Year!! {2015}