Happy (Very Late!) New Year

I hope you all had a very safe, and a very Happy New Year’s Eve. My New Year’s Eve was filled with games, silly pictures and lots of laughs.

There was even a trophy for the Wii Bowling Winner!

I climbed in bed at 2:00 am. (Mike went home long before that. Sometimes….okay, most of the time, he’s smarter than me.)

I woke up Friday morning (New Year’s Day) ready to start the New Year. I got dressed, made myself a coffee to go, and hopped in my car and headed to my WW meeting. I was really looking forward to starting my WW week and my New Year! What an idiot. I pulled into the strip mall parking lot, only to find all stores closed and the parking lot empty, except for one woman walking back to her car. As I drove past her, I didn’t make eye contact and totally pretended like I was taking a short cut through the parking lot. What the heck Julie?? No joke. I just drove through the parking lot acting like I completely knew that everything was closed.

As I started my drive home, I remembered hearing about a cafe close to my meeting location that I hadn’t had a chance to check out. I decided coffee and eggs in a little cafe sounded like a great start to the the day and the year. I made a U-turn and headed to the cafe. Yep. Closed. Seriously? Why am I dumb? I went to Walmart, where I knew I would find an open door, bought a few new totes, came home and began the un-decorating. My plan was to take it all down, get the house in order, then sit at my desk, and blog about all of my big goals for 2016. Instead, I took my Christmas down, put it all away, then I took every little knick knack (and I like knick knacks) off of the bookcases, shelves, walls, tables, etc.

I put everything on the dining room table, and decided to rearrange it all.

A ton of it is still on the table!! Late Friday night, I decided to take a break from it all, only to start up again on Saturday morning (avoiding my goals for 2016). I spent Saturday afternoon helping my mom get her apartment back in order from Christmas. After leaving her house, I replied “Yes” to a text and met some friends at a bar, where I ate grilled chicken tenders (yay!) and drank beer (boo!) We continued the fun at a friends house. I came home at 2:00 am, again. Who am I? Happy New Year Julie. Now….what exactly are your goals for 2016?

I had planned to start the Whole30 on January 1st. I knew it would be a great way to get back to no snacking, skipping the sugar and skipping the adult beverages. It’s a good plan for me. Instead, I had a glass of wine Friday night, I ate two pieces of fudge at my mom’s on Saturday, then met friends at a bar where I drank beer, so uh…never mind. I just hadn’t quiet made up my mind to get started.

Then yesterday it happened. That moment in your head when you make the decision. When you say, okay, I’m ready now.

Here are my 2016 Goals

1. Make time each week to Meal Plan.

This one is HUGE, and always leads to a successful week for me.

2. Drink 100 ounces of water each day.

Drinking a lot of water helps me wake up without that puffy feeling that I can often get, and it just makes me feel good.

3. Exercise 5 days a week.

Five days a week will be a challenge for me. Three or four is probably more realistic, but I have become much better at getting in regular exercise and I know that 5 days a week is a good goal for me. Finally finding a variety of things that I enjoy will help me reach this goal.

4. Focus on Three Meals and One Snack, daily.

One of the things I took away from the Whole30, was making more of an effort to not snack. The Whole30 suggest three meals a day with no snacking. I usually eat lunch at noon and dinner around 7:00 pm, so I know that I will be hungry in between those two meals, and it just makes sense for me to have a planned snack.

5. January 3rd, Begin The Whole30.

Yay! When I did the Whole30 the first time, I didn’t track. I’ll track this time and hopefully get a few new recipes on my blog

Here are yesterday’s eats