2015 Resolutions, a Brand New Blog, & a Giveaway!

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I wasn’t going to do one of these resolutions posts.  Everyone is doing them and I’m generally averse to doing something just because someone else is doing it.  Actually, I hate doing stuff everyone is doing!  Well, I caved on the burlap fad this past fall and after a week of reading lurking on everyone else’s resolutions posts I was inspired to write my own.  New year.  New blog.  New resolutions!

1. Find the silver lining
         I’m guilty of being way positive for other people but terrible about doing the same thing for myself.  I’ve been saying for a few months now that I wish I was more positive.  No time like the present to find the silver lining in every cloud.  To turn that frown upside down.  To make lemonade from lemons.  Ok, you get the point.

2. Love myself unconditionally
         I’m so dang hard on myself!  I can pep talk someone else like nobody’s business but I will beat myself up over some of the silliest things all day long.  No more!  2015 is the year I forgive myself for the little things and use the big things as a way to recognize areas of improvement.

3. Recognize my own potential
          I’m struggling to come to terms with the fact that a career I’ve worked for my whole life isn’t something I want anymore.  Frankly, I’m tired of beating myself up for discovering a new passion.  I’m going to embrace it, even if it’s not conventional, and listen to my own voice and my little cheering squad going forward this year.  Just because it’s not how my parents did it doesn’t mean I can’t be successful at it!

4. Read one book a month
         Reading makes me a better, more creative writer plus its a great escape from life’s stressors.  This will probably mean that I read a chapter or two before bed instead of falling asleep with the TV on.  So, really it’s like two resolutions in one!

5. Work on my own novel at least once a week.
         I have a novel I have been working on for almost 1o years!  It’s time to get it finished and send it to best friends for editing.  Eek!

6. Take risks.
          I hate change.  Seriously.  It’s more than a little terrifying for my type-a, extroverted introvert personality and I just can’t do it until I have planned everything out for the next 5 years.  So far that strategy hasn’t been doing a darn thing for me.  I’ve been considering a big move to rile things up, shake this depression that’s been setting in the last few months, and live with some amazing, supportive people who speak to my soul like nobody’s business!

7. Go on a vacation.  Alone.
            I am not one of those vacationers that enjoys getting up with the sun and exhausting myself by sight-seeing all day.  I recharge best alone, in a quiet environment and vacations are all about recharging your batteries and getting away from every day life.  Right?  This year I’m going to plan ahead and take a little vacation all by my lonesome.  Load my kindle up with books, leave my laptop at home, and spend as many days as I can afford in a different city, in a nice hotel, just taking some time for myself.  Don’t worry, I promise to do some sight seeing!

8. Blog World Domination
           I. Love. Blogging.  Seriously, if I had known how fulfilling this would be for my soul I would have taken my few meager attempts at blogging a couple years ago way more seriously.  This year I intend to work on my photography, network more to make even more amazing bloggy friends, and take the blogging world by storm.  Blogging is gonna be my business!  Blog World Domination or bust!

9. Get {and stay!} organized.
            I’m sure some of my friends think I’m crazy reading that ’cause I’m already pretty organized.  But there is just so much to keep up with when you’re blogging, working part time, struggling to manage a brand new business, and contemplating starting a second one.  So I created a planner to get me hyper-organized so I never miss a beat!

10. Create a plan to get out of debt {and stick with it!}
            My friend Nicole from Little Blog on the Homestead has this amazing 5 year plan for being debt free that makes me totally jelly!  I want that.  It might take me longer than 5 years but I want to be proactive in my debt solutions instead of reactive.  She’s agreed to sit down with me and share her plan for getting out of debt and help me set some actionable goals for my own mountain of student loans.  I’m going to make a plan for getting out of debt, cut back where I can, and stick to the plan that gives me some financial freedom that I’ve never experienced before in my adult life!

I’m giving y’all a job now.  I put this out here on the interwebs because I’m counting on you all to help me stay accountable!  Check in!  Give me a little push!  Some pom pom cheering action!  Keep me honest!  2015 is gonna ROCK!  I can feel it way down deep in my bones.  Do you have some new years resolutions?  Share them with me in the comments!

Ok.  I’m dying.  What do you think about this brand new blog??  My beautiful, fabulous friend Jen, who blogs over at The Easy Homestead, designed this baby for me.  And bless her heart for putting up with all my OCD nit picky-ness because I’m sure she heard about a thousand times “I like that but…”.  She’s launching her own web design business in 2015 and I’m so honored to be on the receiving end of her services!  Keep an eye out for her because she’s about to take the blogging web design world by STORM!

Ok, ok.  Now you’re dying.  This giveaway!  If you read all about my impending Blog World Domination then you already know the secret!  I’m giving away a copy of Abby’s book Building a Framework: Everything I Learned My First Year of Blogging!  This is the book that inspired me to take the leap and blog for real and I am soooo grateful to have found Abby and Just a Girl and Her Blog because I have learned so much from her!

If not for accidentally bumping into her on Instagram I never would have started this blog.  Or…the other blog and I certainly would not be here today with you fine folks!  Enter below to win a copy of Abby’s fabulous book that covers everything from the technical how-to’s of setting up your blog to networking to making money and so much in between AND a copy of her amazing blog planner to get your organized for our own bloggy domination!