My 2014 New Year's Resolutions!

This is an interesting activity for me to do this year because last year I blogged my New Year's Resolutions for 2013. I can look back and see how well I did. I also want to make new resolutions for this year.

Looking Back at 2013

These were my resolutions last year. Let's see how well I did.

1. Lose Weight: I really struggle with losing weight. I did Jenny Craig for a long time. I decided to quit, and do a hypnosis program instead. That failed miserably. I don't know if the program failed or I failed, maybe a little of both. After quitting that program, I think I rebelled and decided to eat whatever I wanted. I'm scared to look at the scale now. I'm sure that I've gained weight. I'm still in the same clothing size. I know that because my clothes still fit! Instead of losing weight, I think I gained it!

2. Drink More Water: I think I did a good job with this. I made drinking water a habit. I'm at the point now where I crave water instead of soft drinks. I drink water all day long. I got a cute cup to keep in the car, and have water while I'm driving. I notice I get thirsty in the car.

3. Read the Bible: I think I get a B in this area. I decided to bring my Bible to work with me and read it during my break, and that has been a great routine for me to keep it a habit. It makes me focus on what is important during the day, and gives me motivation and encouragement. For example, I could be having a grumpy day and just getting through the day, but then when my break comes I read my Bible and it encourages me to love people. I get motivated to do this, and I think of how I can be more loving while I'm working.

4. Playing the Violin: This is sort of sad. I found out why I have so much pain. I actually have arthritis in my neck. I went to a lot of doctors, and the final verdict was for me to go back to physical therapy, and if that doesn't work, they would give me shots in the back of my neck. I found out that it would be very expensive to go to physical therapy and this second time my insurance would pay none of it. I decided to just stop playing the violin, and that way I am pain free. It is sad to give it up because I enjoyed playing the violin, but I didn't enjoy the pain.

These are my resolutions for this year!

1. Lose Weight: I want to lose weight, but I'm not joining any programs or diets. I also don't want to weigh myself. I will keep track of my weight by my clothing size. To lose weight I have some habits I want to incorporate into my life, and habits I want to break. I don't want to eat anymore Safeway cake! I have weakness for this vanilla cake. It is so unhealthy for me. I eat this cake almost every day! I think I could lose weight if I just cut it out of my diet. Also, I read in a magazine that someone lost weight by just cutting in half everything they ate, and eating only half of it. I think I could do that. I eat very large portions. I could eat half of it, and not feel like I'm starving. I would probably loose the stuffed feeling I normally get from food. I'm also going to continue to drink water instead of soft drinks. I think I've made this into a habit, but I want to keep it up.

2. Keep a Journal: I have this really cool journal that I got last year. It is called, "Q & A a Day." It has a question every day, and space to write for 5 years! What is cool is you can see how your answers to the questions stay the same or change every year, and you can see how you have changed or stayed the same as a person. It is also really easy to write in it because they give you a question to focus on. I did a good job for about half the year last year writing in it, but then I went on vacation and brought the journal with me. I never unpacked it when I got home, so I went months without writing in it. I dug it out, and am back answering it every day. I want to do this every day and make it a habit.

3. Read the Bible: I want to continue to read the Bible every day. For Christmas I got a devotional called, "Streams in the Desert" by L.B. Cowman. It is really well written and inspiring. It has a little bit of reading for each day. I also want to continue reading the Bible passages the pastor has for each day, and I've been reading in "Our Daily Bread," which is a devotional that has you read a passage from the Bible and then a little page of devotion to go with it. I want to read a little more of the Bible this year, than I did last year. It makes me feel good to read it, and I feel like it renews and clears up my head.

4. Save Money: I thought of this after I posted this blog post. I want to save my money this year, and not spend it all the time. I wrote down how much money I have in the bank, so I can see if I have more money this time next year.

I hope you enjoyed this blog post! What are your New Year's Resolutions? Are you going to make them? Leave a comment below!