Goodbye 2019 + Hello 2020!

Hey beautiful souls! Happy New Year to you! Can you believe that we are creeping on into a new decade? I hate to sound all cliche with resolutions and goals but I do jump on that bandwagon a bit. Listen, I might not be super successful at either but, hey my intentions are good! As I get older, I feel like I should have this whole ‘goals’ thing down. I mean, I have the gumption but maybe I am lacking the follow through? So my question is this – are you a resolution type of person or is the new year just another year? Is there much fanfare in it for you? I love being home for the big ball drop. I may not even stay awake that long to be quite honest. This is definitely a night where the whole JOMO (joy of missing out) thing couldn’t be truer. Honestly, JOMO is kinda my speed these days. Being a homebody makes me happy.

New Year, Who Dis?

So here’s the deal, I don’t feel like I am living my best life. What does this mean? Well, it means that I am not as physically or emotionally healthy as I could be. Who do I blame for that? Um, myself obviously. So who can make a difference? Me. Yes, I am the only one in charge of taking care of myself. While I shamelessly promote self-care, I could do better. My current self-care includes daily walks, an occasional massage or pedicure and time by myself to recharge. BUT I need more.

New Year, New Goals

As we dive into a new decade and get past the craziness of the holidays, it feels like a good time to reassess what I am hoping to get and give in my life. It’s a time for reflection, to think about where I want to put my energy and how I can contribute more to this life. What does that look like for me? The basics: diet + exercise. More salads and fewer carbs. More weights, yoga, and cardio. Adding in some meditation. Listening to more podcasts and reading more books. What I am looking for is progress, not perfection. I should say that this is a bit of a mantra in our house these days. We are all imperfect so trying versus not is an accomplishment in itself.

I  purchased this weekly day planner at Commit 30 to help inspire me to live my best life! I’m also hoping to book some time with a life coach to help push me along and figure out what direction I am going cause y’all, I feel like I am kinda swimming upstream without a real destination as far as a business plan. I have too many ideas without a clear enough focus. I need some help in finding and staying in my lane.

New Year Fitness Goals

I know, we all just want to get healthy + skinny in the new year but reality? Most of us fall off of that ‘intent to live our healthiest life’ bandwagon pretty quickly. I mean, I am a huge fan of carbs and I suck at eating enough fruits and veggies BUT I do know how to be successful. Planning. It’s all about meal planning and food prep which helps create better habits. So yeah, I know how to eat healthily but it’s now a matter of implementing a plan.

As far as working out, I walk just about every day. I love getting outside and I have been tackling hills more but I need more. I made the suggestion of turning a small room in our house into a home gym. I should say that this room has worn a lot of hats over the 15 years that we’ve lived here. It’s been a formal living room, an office, kids hang out space and now, it’ll be a home gym. We were looking at joining the gym as a family but this makes so much more sense financially.

I’ve wanted to add weights into my workout routine so this definitely appeals to me. We also have a couple of avid mountain bikers in the house so a stationary bike will likely be a part of the equation too. I’m kinda rooting for a Peloton. I may or may not win that battle. I’d love an interactive option that I can do at home. Classes are motivating to me but getting my butt to the gym? Not so much.

via GIPHY

Truth? I am kinda lazy when it comes to working out but I know it’s a big deal to feeling healthy. So here’s to a home gym and looking better. Muscles anyone? Also, I am totally ready to listen to any workout advice that you might have for me. I have a killer Pinterest board towards working out. FYI – I don’t reference it ever. Again, I need some motivation!

Family Goals

One of the biggest takeaways from the last part of 2019 is the health of my family. If you’ve followed along for a while then you have seen my transparency over some struggles with parenting. From the trials and tribulations of parenting have come a lot of clarity. Sometimes you have to pick your battles. Sometimes you have to let your kids fall and pick themselves back up. Sometimes you have to step in and make big decisions for their well being. I’ve learned that trusting your gut and not listening to all of the outside noise is crucial to your sanity. Trust me. This one is not easy but definitely a must.

When I talk about family goals it means this. Less fighting. Less confrontation. Less reacting. More deep breaths when things are stressful. More love. Less judgment. Here’s the thing, I feel like I’ve always loved hard and tried to encourage my kids to be who they are. There were also many moments of critiquing their choices which was probably not the best way to guide them. Here’s the thing, life doesn’t come with a manual and parenting certainly doesn’t come with one.  Parenting and life aren’t one size fit all.

Let’s Motivate Each Other with Kindness + Support

Something else that happened in 2019? I started a group on parenting over on Facebook. It’s a private group that I’d love to grow in 2020. It’s called Parenting Teens – How to Survive + Thrive. Parenting is a hard gig and we need all the support we can get. This group is basically a parenting support group geared towards parents of teens but it definitely has nuggets for all parents. Parents share their stories, articles, memes and just about anything that might inspire or make you laugh. Comedy is a necessity for the survival of parenting, in case you wondered. Some think that wine is crucial, for me it’s sarcasm and a really good sense of humor.

I recently listened to a podcast on Oprah’s Super Soul Conversation with Lady Gaga. She talks about how she heals through kindness. One of the things that she talks about is how she considers herself a kindness punk. I absolutely love this reference. The whole podcast really resonated with me. I love inspirational stories and things related to self-care and self-help. I’ve turned a lot towards books + podcasts to help me get through some hard stuff.

Say Hello to Gabby McGraw, formally Organized Squirrel

I’ve also revamped my blog a bit. You may have noticed that Organized Squirrel has switched to Gabby McGraw and that I have a new logo. I am in the process of switching my name across my social media channels as well. Gabby McGraw allows me to be a bit broader in what I am sharing. You’ll still find a lot of what you saw on Organized Squirrel but I’m incorporating a lot more life stuff in there. So if you don’t subscribe, please do! You’ll find lots of fun things including home decor, organizing tips, yummy recipes as well as life nuggets and inspiration. I’m also open to other suggestions so if there are things you’d like to see more of, let me know!

Happy New Year!

I wish you all an abundance of peace + joy as we enter into a new year. Thank you for following along as I do life. I am grateful to each and every single one of you.