the one with swagbucks

“I wanna buy 5 shares of SGJ and I wanna buy them now! Time is money my friend. Thank you.” – Monica Geller
“Time is money my friend?” – Rachel Green
“Yeah you missed ‘takes money to make money’ and uh, ‘don’t make me come down there and kick your wall street butt!'” – Joey Tribbiani
“Hey, I made $17 before breakfast, what have you done?” – Monica Geller

Those closest to me already know about me and my new best friend. Mostly because I’ve told everybody I come in contact with about it, made them register so I could fill a square on my swago board, or been taking surveys or checking off my to-do list when I’m with them.

All that sound like gibberish? Allow me to explain…

Swagbucks is my “side hustle” if you will. I started it in June when I was an invalid post-surgery and was desperate for extra money due to the whole “quitting my job with no back up plan” situation. Ahh fun times.

Swagbucks consists of surveys, videos, discover deals, games, shopping bonuses, etc. Basically it’s a one-stop shop for earning some extra cash. Every 100 swagbucks is a dollar, and you can cash out with gift cards, donate to charity, or my personal favorite: PayPal. I have been doing it for roughly 6 months and I have earned 1,047.52.

Yes. One Thousand Dollars for doing nothing. 

$1,000 for taking surveys or “watching” videos on my phone while I’m watching Netflix. 

Now, I’m not going to lie to you. I put a lot of time into this. It’s not hard, but it does take effort. There are people that make way more than me and there are people that make way less than me. You truly get out of it what you put in. But if you’re in the market for something simple that can be done from anywhere to make you extra money, this is a great place to start.

I will also put this disclaimer: It’s harder when you first start. You don’t get that great of surveys and you get disqualified a lot. But after about 2-3 months I was getting big earning surveys and even getting In Home Usage Tests opportunities – which are always big earners.

Swagbucks helped me get through some tight times towards the end of 2017. I will be using earnings from it in 2018 to help pay down some debt, you know, to keep that intention I set? 😉

If you want to sign up, follow the banner below or the link above and you could get a 300 Bonus 🙂

You Can Get Free Gift Cards For Shopping, Searching and Discovering What’s Online at Swagbucks.com

the one with a year of intentions

“It’s just that I’m sick of being a victim of this Dick Clark holiday. I say this year, no dates. We make a pact. Just the six of us – dinner.” – Chandler Bing
“Yeah, okay. Alright.” – All
“Y’know, I was hoping for a little more enthusiasm.” – Chandler Bing
“Woooo!! Yeah!” – All

This year, I kind of rejected the whole “New Year” thing. I don’t know that I really did it intentionally, it just kind of happened. I didn’t post a 2017 recap on any social media, I didn’t make all these ridiculous resolutions that I’ll never stick to, and I didn’t really count down the hours until a new beginning started.

Now, just over a week into the new year, I’m thinking of what my goals are and what I want this year to look like. I was recently talking to a coworker about setting “intentions” rather than resolutions. I believe resolutions set you up for failure rather than success. But, if I set intentions, there’s not really a measure of success or failure attached. It’s, instead, just putting down in words what I want to do moving forward. Steps towards milestones or goals in my life. Little things that will make me a better person or have more experiences… you get the idea.

So, with that being said, I’m going to mark my intentions here. More as a way to make myself accountable and make them real. Call them goals, call them resolutions, call them what you want. But to me, these are intentions.

Pay Down Debt
This isn’t going to happen overnight. Hell, it won’t even happen by December 2018. But I am making a conscious effort this year to pay down my debt instead of add to it.

Commit to my Passion
My sister got me an amazing DSLR for Christmas so this year I want to make the effort to hone in on my craft and improve my abilities. If a goal of mine is to one day have my own freelance production company, then I actually need to do something about that, rather than just keep saying it as a pipe dream.

Lead a Healthier Lifestyle
No, I’m not going to try all these crazy diets that I’ll never actually stick to. No, I’m not going to cleanse for a week and then go back to binging on In N Out. This intention is just a way of me committing to making better choices. Does this mean I’m never gonna dominate a whole sleeve of oreos again? Never going to indulge in movie theater popcorn slathered in butter? Of course not. But I’m sick of feeling like crap and it’s only going to get worse as I get older. So it’s time to just think about what I’m putting in my body.

Be More Consistent
This covers a lot of topics. Posting more on this blog, working out more consistently, cleaning every week, what have you.

Explore
I live in a pretty amazing city. I want to explore more of it instead of taking it for granted. I want to take advantage of being so close to so many great areas. Of course, a lot of this has to do with money, but there are still plenty of things that I can do for free or cheap!

That’s it! They are broad, but applicable to my life. They set the stage for me to live my best life in 2018. I don’t know what this year holds, but I’m excited for the journey!

the one with the 25 things update

 

“Okay, here it goes. I’m not 22. I’m 25… and thirteen months” – Monica Geller
“Huh!” – Young Ethan
“But I figured, you know, that shouldn’t change anything. I mean, what the hell does it matter how old we are?!” – Monica Geller

I turned 25 exactly a month ago, so I figured it would be a good time to revisit my bucket list to see how I did… (Spoiler Alert: Not great.)

1. Read 100 books in one year
   Done! Completed this in 2016.
2. Run a Half Marathon
   Sigh.. not yet. I was set to do this in Spring of 2016 but then I actually got a lung infection that took me out of the aerobic game for a while. And now I am recovering from shoulder surgery in June, so maybe next year.
3. Pursue my dream of film (school)
   I can happily say that I am in a new job where I actually get to work with video on a daily basis and I have an opportunity to pursue my film dreams and maybe even school…
4. Plan a vacation with my best friends
   This probably would have happened already if we didn’t all live in different parts of the country and work jobs with crazy conflicting schedules…
5. Try something I’ve never done before
   Well this was kind of an arbitrary goal… so i’m just going to say I didn’t complete it.
6. Visit the Eiffel Tower
   Done! 
7. Try a food I’ve refused to try all my life
   I didn’t say no to a single food item in France. So yes, I definitely ate some things I would have refused to try before.
8. Get my credit score up
   ehhh kind of. It’s a work-in-progress. But i’m working on it. Promise.
9. Learn how to cook at least one impressive meal
   I’m going to say I completed this because I have done Hello Fresh, Blue Apron, and Home Chef. Cheating you say? I don’t care.
10. Take a Roadtrip
    Yes! It helped that I moved to Phoenix and was forced into it, but I saw the Four Corners AND Grand Canyon! 
11. Do Charity Work
    I am a terrible person.
12. Go to Vegas
    Not yet. But since I now live in Phoenix, this is more realistic!
13. Learn how to say no… and not feel guilty about it
    I learned this before leaving my last job, because my happiness became more important than making others happy.
14. Develop a substantial savings account/emergency fund
    Ha. I’m broke.
15. Write a Book 
    Why did I make this a goal?
16. Take an art class
    Does Wine & Canvas count? I’m saying yes.
17. Attend a music festival
    Done! Lollapalooza 2016 🙂
18. Throw/Attend a fancy dress up party
    I don’t have classy friends.
19. Watch the AFI top 100 movie list
    I just suck.
20. Create something I can sell
    Really, I’m just lazy.
21. Run a 7 min mile…consistently
    See above to lung infection/shoulder surgery. I am not fit.
22. Attend a film festival
    Sigh, not yet.
23. See the Northern Lights
    Why did I think I would do this before I turned 25?
24. Visit the Hollywood Sign
    I didn’t climb up to it, but I went to Hollywood AND got to go to a taping of Jimmy Kimmel. It was just wonderful.
25. Be open to love
    I was open, it didn’t work out. Here’s to second chances.

11/25 completed. So, I would say this was a massive fail. Here’s to maybe completing these by the time I’m 30?

the one with fate

"Look don't you see that this all came together so that I could stop you from doing this?" – Phoebe Buffay

"Couldn't it just be a coincidence?" – Earl

"No, it's Fate!" – Phoebe Buffay

"It really doesn't seem like enough to be fate." – Earl 

Let's talk about fate for a second. Now, before recently, I can't honestly say if I was a believer in fate or not. In theory, yes it seems plausible. But I never really had an experience with it. That is, until about a month ago.

After life at work became increasingly difficult and I became overall just unhappy with where I was in life, I decided to take a massive leap of faith and quit my job. No, I didn't have another job to fall back on. No, I didn't have a massive savings account to get by on. But I decided that my current state of unhappiness was worse than being broke and falling flat on my face.

So I gave my notice. And (this is not a joke or an exaggeration) i'll be damned if not 2 hours later did I find out that I was a finalist for a job I had had a phone interview for a couple weeks prior.

Sure it was just an interview, but it was more than I had at the time that I quit my safe bubble that produced a paycheck every 2 weeks. Whats more, is the interview was for a job in Arizona. And it just so happened that I had a flight booked for later in the month to visit friends. I was able to change the flight so it worked both to visit those friends AND do my interview in person.

So I did. And then I came home. I had one more week of work left and then I had a week of camp to work that would give me a bonus paycheck to fall back on in my unemployed loserness.

So about that fate thing? Well I went to work Tuesday, after returning back to South Bend from Arizona, and found out that I wasn't going to be able to work camp anymore because they had somebody to fill my position. So no bonus paycheck. Cue financial freak out. BUT THEN not even 3 hours after that news I received a phone call from the Arizona area.. yep, I got the job.

I really can't make this shit up. No matter what you believe in, one must admit that there had to be a higher power at work here. I've been needing a change for a while now and it took me being scared shitless but finally putting myself and my happiness above everything else for things to fall into place.

Life has a funny way of working itself out in the end. And i'm excited to see what it has in store for me with this new adventure.

 

the one with the thing nobody tells you about growing up

“Welcome to the real world! It sucks. You’re gonna love it!” -Monica Geller

My two best friends in life I met in college. Since then, almost all of my other meaningful friendships have developed from the work place. Maybe it’s just the job I have [one where there is really not much time to do anything outside of work] or maybe that’s just how it is in the *real* world, but I really just haven’t met anybody outside of work that I actually develop a relationship with.

Work friends understand a massive part of your life, and empathize with it. They know all the things you need to vent about without any explanation. You get to see them during work hours as well as social hours. Sometimes, you even get to travel with them for work. So it’s understandable how those types of relationships are the ones that become the most meaningful in your life after college.

I personally have been blessed with some of the best work friendships. But the thing nobody tells you? When you’re in your twenties, people move on. They get new jobs, they move to a new city, a new state. And suddenly that close friendship is just gone. Sure, you still stay friends [especially with technology these days. Thanks, Facetime.] But because that friendship was a big part of your work life and your social life, everything changes.

I guess Friends gave me an unrealistic expectation of how life is. You dream about having a group of close friends that live in the same city and go on adventures and figure out life together, but does that ever really happen? I actually joke about this with my best friends all the time. About how we’re going to get married and force our husbands to live near the others in the same suburb or even in the same big mansion [once we make it big.] We also joke about how we’re all going to quit our jobs and move to Chicago to start a coffee shop. But as much of a dream that would be, that’s really all it is. It’s not exactly realistic to take three friends, that all have very different careers and live all over the country, and place them in the same city forever. The reality is, we met in college. So we’re all from different places, and even now, we all live in very different places. It’s just like the work friends… life took us in different directions and will probably continue to. So how can we expect this picture-perfect, sitcom-inspired life?

I’m still trying to figure it all out, but so far what I have figured out is: Enjoy these friendships. You might not be in the same place forever, or even for long, but they have the most impact on your life during that time. And the best part? You have so many places to vacation when all your friends move away.

the one with the friends anniversary

Today is the 12th anniversary of the series finale of Friends! It truly doesn’t feel like it was that long ago, but that’s partly because I watch Friends on an almost daily basis, so it feels like it’s still airing. In honor of the anniversary, I decided to do something I, surprisingly, have yet to do on this blog: Write a post that is completely about Friends!

I’ve compiled ten of my favorite Friends episodes. I’m not even going to try to rank them or call it my “top ten” because there’s just no way to do that. So below are ten of my favorite episodes! If you’re looking for a way to celebrate this amazing holiday, you really can’t go wrong with any of them!

the one with the embryos. Season 4, Episode 12
This is one of my all time favorite episodes. Phoebe is off at the doctor to get Frank and Alice’s embryos implanted. Meanwhile Monica, Rachel, Chandler, and Joey get involved in an amazing game to see who knows each other best, with their apartments on the line. The information and jokes that come out of this game are priceless. Definitely a must see.

the one where Joey speaks french. Season 10, Episode 13
How can you not love this one? Countless laughs for hours! Even now, when I haven’t seen this episode in quite some time, I find myself saying “Je m’apelle – Mi Poo Poo!” It’s just so great. Sure there are some other things happening in this episode: Ross turns down sex with Rachel, Chandler and Monica are trying to adopt a baby… But really, Joey speaking French takes the spotlight.

 

the one with the prom video. Season 2, Episode 14
The simple line of “see? He’s her lobster” makes this entire episode. Ross and Rachel finally get together! Flashbacks to when Monica was fat and Rachel was self-centered! Solid Chandler and Joey scenes! Really, one of the best episodes of season 2.

the one where Ross got high. Season 6, Episode 9
Rachel tries to make a trifle, secrets from Ross and Monica’s childhood comes out to their parents, Phoebe dreams about Jack Geller, and wonderful Thanksgiving shenanigans ensue. Truly a classic.

the one with all the thanksgivings. Season 5, Episode 8
It’s no secret to anybody who watches Friends that their Thanksgiving episodes are some of the best. I really like this one because it combines so many Thanksgivings in one. There are flashbacks, there are fake flashbacks (thanks, Phoebe), I love you’s are exchanged. One of the top Thanksgiving episodes, in my opinion.

the one where the stripper cries. Season 10, Episode 11
The reason I love this episode has nothing to do with the title. My love for this episode is purely Joey. He goes on an episode of Pyramid and is absolutely horrid. It’s amazing. “Paper! Snow! A Ghost!” I’m even including a clip because everybody needs to see it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpRfq7xHstg

the one with Phoebe’s birthday dinner. Season 9, Episode 5
This one has so many good individual stories that all weave into each other as the gang is trying to celebrate Phoebe’s birthday. Rachel is nervous to leave Emma, Monica is mad at Chandler but coerces him into having sex because she’s ovulating, Joey’s hungry (per usual) and the restaurant is trying to move Phoebe and Joey to a smaller table. Plenty of laughs in this one.

the one where no one’s ready. Season 3, Episode 2
The gang is trying to get ready to go to a banquet for Ross. Chandler and Joey are fighting over a chair, Joey puts on all of Chandler’s clothes, Rachel can’t decide what to wear, Monica is freaking out over a voicemail, and Phoebe gets a stain on her dress. Love these episodes where the gang is all together in one room for the majority of the time!

the one with Monica and Chandler’s wedding. (and the one following) Season 7, Episode 23
What’s not to love? The show’s arguably best couple gets married, Rachel is pregnant, Phoebe is pretending she’s pregnant, Joey is in a World War I costume officiating the wedding. One of the best finales of the series.. but not THE best…

the last one. (both parts) Season 10, Episodes 17-18
Which brings me to this one. The series finale. This list wouldn’t be complete without this one. Arguably one of the best finales to ever end a long running series. Rachel gets off the plane, Monica and Chandler get babies… Everything comes together. I cry, every time.

 

So that’s my list! It changes frequently. But these are classics that I love to watch every time they come through in my nightly DVD rotation through the series! What are some of your favorites?

the one with the 25 things

“You know what? I am going to do something today. I’m not just gonna sit around like some old lady. I’m gonna get something pierced. Like my nose or my tongue or something” – Rachel Greene

“Really? Cause you know that hurts” – Phoebe Buffay

“So what? You know what? The way I see it -*Phoebe pulls her hair out* – Ow son of a bitch!” -Rachel Greene

“Look Rachel, I know what you’re going through. I’m totally freaked about turning 25.” – Tag

“Get out. Get out of my apartment.” – Rachel Greene

I was browsing through Pinterest as most females do, and happened upon GenTwenty’s 25 things to do before you turn 25 post. I loved most of the things she had, but some of them didn’t fit me perfectly. So what do I do? Come up with my own list, of course!

1. Read 100 books in one year
   I am a reader. I can read 5+ books in the matter of a weekend if I put my mind to it. But 100 books in a year will be a challenge, even for me. But it’s a challenge I am pumped about attempting.
2. Run a Half Marathon
   I was all ready to tackle this one in April, and then registration was full for that particular race. womp womp. Still, this is my goal. I’ve run 5k races, so next I think I’ll tackle a 10k and then a half.
3. Pursue my dream of film (school)
   I’ve been saying this for a year and a half now. I want to work with film. I don’t know yet if I will be heading back to film school or if I’ll pursue other ways of breaking into the industry, but by the time I turn 25 I would like to have a plan in mind.
4. Plan a vacation with my best friends
   My two best friends from college are both in different areas of the nation. We talk every day, but only see each other once in a great while. We fantasize all the time about taking off for a european adventure, but I want to make something actually happen.
5. Try something I’ve never done before
   Maybe it’s skydiving…
6. Visit the Eiffel Tower
   This one may be cheating… since I’ll be going to France in June (yay!). But still, it’s always been on my bucket list, so I’m putting it on this one.
7. Try a food I’ve refused to try all my life
   There are so many to choose from. I have been a picky eater all my life, so for this one I will attempt to put aside my disgust and try something I’ve never tried before.
8. Get my credit score up
   I was victim to an errant hospital bill and naive twenty-something spending tendencies. So I really want to work on improving my credit score by the time I turn 25.
9. Learn how to cook at least one impressive meal
   I can cook rice and pasta. And chicken… that’s really about it.
10. Take a Roadtrip
    Old school “Let’s hop in a car and go” kind of thing.
11. Do Charity Work
    I really should be doing more of this… there’s no excuse.
12. Go to Vegas
    Maybe this can fit in with #10? I’ve never been to vegas in my 23 years. Time to change that.
13. Learn how to say no… and not feel guilty about it
    I think most people struggle with this. If I have too much on my plate already, I need to learn how to say no and not have it eat away at me for weeks.
14. Develop a substantial savings account/emergency fund
    Going along with the “naive twenty-something spending tendencies” from the credit score issue, my savings account also basically sucks. I would like to develop a savings account/emergency fund of at least 3 months of bills by the time I turn 25.
15. Write a Book 
    I have no misguided dreams of being published and becoming a NY times best seller. (Please, it took me years to even get comfortable having others read my writing on a blog.) But I did start writing a book when I was in high school. I would like to actually work on this some more, maybe even finish one.
16. Take an art class
    I love being creative. I want to delve into this more… maybe with a pottery class, maybe painting. Who knows what it will be.
17. Attend a music festival
    In full out festival clothing. Hoping to accomplish this this summer!
18. Throw/Attend a fancy dress up party
    Years of watching Laguna Beach, The Hills, and Gossip Girl have led me to this unrealistic fantasy of having fancy parties every weekend where every guest is dressed to the nines. I would like to indulge in this fantasy at least once.
19. Watch the AFI top 100 movie list
    Remember that blog post way back in 2015 when I said my summer goal was to tackle the AFI top 100 movies that I hadn’t seen? Ha. Yeah I did not watch a single one. So here’s to second chances and actually following through.
20. Create something I can sell
    Maybe it’s something on Etsy… greeting cards or some type of graphic. I feel like this would be a simple way to make money if I actually gave it some time and thought.
21. Run a 7 min mile…consistently
    I can’t tell you the last time I ran a 7 minute mile. I assume it was in high school.
22. Attend a film festival
    I eventually want to go to all of them. I may start with SXSW or Austin. We’ll see.
23. See the Northern Lights
    Always been a bucket list item. Always will be until I actually manage to achieve it.
24. Visit the Hollywood Sign
    Again, cheating. I am actually going to California for vacation in a week. ONE WEEK!
25. Be open to love
    Ahhh. This one. Not much to say here other than I need to get rid of all my preconceived notions of how relationships go, and let myself be open to the idea of it. Easy, right?

Well, there you have it. 25 things that I hope to accomplish by the time I turn 25. Here we go!

the one with the resolutions – update

“Okay, I can’t take it anymore! So you win, okay? Pheebs? Flying a jet? Better make it a spaceship so that you can get back to your home planet! And Ross, phone call for you today, Tom Jones, he wants his pants back! And Hornswoggle? What are you dating, a character from Fraggile Rock?!” *Sits and sighs in relief*

– Chandler Bing

Well, since I made a bunch of resolutions on New Years Eve like a million other people in this world, I figured the Eve of February is as good a time as any to do an update on how I’ve been doing with them. 

Make a budget… and stick to it
this one has been a little rough. Mostly because I am struggling in the money department currently. I did make a budget, and I am sticking to it, but that’s mostly because I don’t have extra spending money. We’ll see how this one goes when I actually have to restrain myself from excessive and unnecessary spending. 

Do or learn one new thing every month
well it’s only been a month, but I did learn a new photoshop trick. So i’ll chalk this one up in the win column. 

Be more health minded in every aspect of life
At risk of sounding full of myself, I am KILLING this one. I workout at least 5 days a week, most of the time 6. (or sometimes 7. I know, I know, everybody out there is screaming at me about how my body needs rest.) I set a meal plan for each week, and have been following it pretty closely, with the exception of a few cheat meals. I do need to get a better understanding of nutrition as a whole, but so far, so good on this resolution. 

Have “me time” for at least 2 hours a week
I would say this one is a big fat fail. Sure, I spend some time alone every week but I have yet to put away all technology for two hours on say a Sunday and just color or craft, or anything. Definitely something to work on, because I actually really want to achieve this resolution

Start matching my bra and underwear more
this one was easy after making another purchase at Victoria’s Secret (oops about that budget thing..?) But still, love this resolution. Ladies, you should all do it. 

Get outside more
ehh this one is kind of a fail. It’s cold, okay? 

Go to sleep without electronics at least one night a week
Also a fail. Alright, I have a hard time letting go of my electronics, I admit. Room for improvement.

take action in my career and stop wasting time
this one is a little harder… especially since it’s only been a month. It’s been a crazy, busy month with work. So now that the super busy part is behind me, I look forward to taking a deeper look at my career goals. 

blog more
Made a schedule, have pending posts.. baby steps, people. baby steps. 

They say that if you haven’t given up on your resolutions in three weeks time that you may actually stick with and achieve them. I actually feel like I’m in a pretty good spot, so we’ll see how February goes!

the one with the resolutions

“My New Year’s resolution is to learn how to play the guitar” – Joey Tribbiani
“Really?! How Come?” – Phoebe Buffay
“Well, ya know those special skills I have listed on my resume? It would be great if one of those was true!” – Joey Tribbiani

Sure, it may be cliche. Sure, people make resolutions every year and break them a couple weeks later. But I still think the New Year is a great time to reevaluate yourself and how you’re living your life, and make the changes that you see fit. It’s a time to start over, or even just modify certain areas of your life. So, yes I am publishing a New Year’s resolutions post. Yes, I have actually thought these through and am planning on implementing them into my life. Some are completely random, others are things I’ve been wanting to change for a while. Regardless, these are my resolutions.

• Make a budget… and stick to it. 
  Making a budget is easy. Trust me, I do it every year. Do I stick to that budget? Watch what I’m spending and stop throwing money away? God no. I am terrible at that part. I want (need) to change that in 2016. I am constantly wondering where all my money goes. It’s time to create a budget that I can actually follow. Maybe I’ll reach out to my budget freak of a best friend for help (talking to you, Liz)
• Do or Learn one new thing every month.
  I don’t necessarily mean “overcome my fears” but I want to try something new, or do something that I haven’t done before every month. It may be something simple like trying a new recipe for dinner, or it may be more intense like skydiving (bucket list item, but yeah right.)
• Be more health minded in every aspect of life.
  Do everything with a purpose. No, i’m not going to get crazy and cut all fun and sugar out of my life. Because, frankly, nobody would want to be around me. But I want to actually think about what i’m putting into my body. Turn off the next episode of Grey’s Anatomy on Netflix and go out and be active.
• Have “me time” for at least 2 hours a week.
  A time when I do whatever I want (without technology). Color, crochet, paint, craft, read. Whatever it is. Take 2 hours every week to myself.
• Start matching my bra and underwear more.
  Remember how I mentioned some of these would be completely random? Well here you go. Come on ladies, you know it’s true. When you are actually wearing a matching set, you feel like you can take on the world.
• Get outside more.
  Wake up earlier and sit on my porch with coffee to enjoy the sunrise. Go on walks or hikes. Cross country skiing. Stop watching re-runs of Rookie Blue, get off my ass, and enjoy nature.
• Go to sleep without electronics at least one night a week.
  Not only are electronics damaging to your sleep cycle, eyes, and so much more when you use them into the wee hours of the night, but they also take away from every day life. I want to regulate one night a week where I put away my phone, iPad, and TV and just let myself fall asleep.
• Take action in my career and stop wasting time.
  I have been talking about doing more video, freelancing, or even going back to school for over a year now. It’s time to actually start taking the steps to further my career and start doing what I’m passionate about.
• Blog more.
  It’s simple really. And I say it all the time. But I need to blog more than 4-5 times a year. Start with once a month, then once a week, etc. I need to find more inspiration and actually dedicate time to this lovely blog every week.

So there you have it! Those are my resolutions for 2016. What are yours?

 

the one with fitness goals

“Chandler, I’m unemployed and in dire need of a project. You wanna work out? I can remake you.” – Monica Geller

“Oh, you know, I would, but that might get in the way of my lying around time” – Chandler Bing

“Please?” – Monica Geller

“C’mon! Let Her” – Everybody

“Alright. Okay. But if we put on spandex and my boobs are bigger than yours, I’m goin home.” – Chandler Bing

I need to stop taking the easy way out. In multiple areas of my life. I need to do more on a daily basis. Stop doing just enough to get by and start going above and beyond to be great.

My health and fitness is one aspect of this. I need to make it a goal to take my medicine daily, to take vitamins and supplements daily, to learn what my body needs to perform and do it. I need to commit myself to fitness. Stop coming up with excuses on why I should stay in bed, or watch netflix, or do anything else. Start with one hour a day. That is not that much. All it takes is commitment and self-discipline.

I need to commit myself to recover. Take the time to stretch properly after a workout. Roll out. Ice. A half hour each day dedicated to making sure my body recovers in the right way.

I need to commit myself to nutrition. Stop taking the easy way out. Stop ordering in or going through drive-thrus. Start meal prepping every week. Start taking the time to pay attention to what I’m putting in my body. Make good choices with my goals in mind.

How will I do all of this? My first step is planning. Marking off time in a planner and making a strict schedule. Sticking to that schedule until it becomes routine. Until it becomes effortless.

Time to get started.