Happy COLD Tuesday, friends! It’s currently 11 degrees outside right now, but instead of a beautiful snow day….we’re dealing with ice…yuck. I told Dustin this reminded me of what happened to us almost a year ago with Banks when we were stuck in Dallas a few extra days because of their crazy ice storm.

Anyway, today I wanted to revisit my 2023 goals (which I actually did complete some!) and make new goals for this year.

2023 Goals

1. Finish BBG 1.0

I actually made it to week 10 out of 12 and then I got sick and had to take a couple of days off. I realized how much I did NOT enjoy BBG, so I decided not to go back and finish it once I was over my sickness. I sweat a ton when I do a heavy workout, which requires a hair washing, and I was tired of doing that 3x a week at least. I didn’t quit working out but just moved onto something different!

2. Swap to a clean deodorant and body lotion.

Shortly after this post, I reached out on social media about clean body lotion since that’s a topic I never hear people talk about. So many people recommended Beautycounter’s body lotion. They just so happen to be having a huge sale on their lotion, so I bought a bottle (I think it was on sale for $10 from $28). It came in the mail and was SO MUCH SMALLER THAN I EXPECTED. For a bottle that’s typically $28, it was insane. I ended up using the entire bottle and really really liked it, but I could not justify the price for lotion that I would be using frequently and a lot of.

As for deodorant, I kept putting it off and then just never tried one last year. I think the stories of detox and what that was like just kept me from pursuing it. I especially didn’t want to deal with it with a new baby, either.

3. Get rid of plastic food containers and move to all glass.

YES!!! I can happily say we did this in our home in 2023 and are very happy about it. I have heard on podcasts and read so much about the endocrine disruptors found in plastic containers. We threw all of our plastic away and bought multiple sets of the glass storage containers from Costco. We have enjoyed the glass so much better. The boys even take their breakfast and lunch leftovers in the glass containers and we’ve never had a complaint.

4. Eat gluten free more often.

LOLOLOLOL. This one makes me laugh because I started cutting out gluten as soon as school was out last May, but I would still have one thing a day that had gluten in it. I totally cut it out mid-June after having a cycle that I felt like about killed me, and well, we all know how that ended. Because of that, I’m a huge advocate for the harmful affects food can have on your body….but also the positive affects! Gluten is extremely inflammatory (I just listened to another podcast on it that I’m going to share on Friday), and there are so many health issues you may have that going gluten free might clear up.

5. Mail 3 notes a month

I did this for January, but then we left for Dallas to meet Banks and bring him home and I just ran out of steam. A new baby will do that to you 🙂

Okay, now onto my very realistic 2024 goals….

2024 Goals

1. Have a baby.

Merritt is due in March, and so my goal is to literally just have a baby. While I prefer a vaginal birth, I will do whatever it takes to get her here safely. Dustin and I have laughed this entire pregnancy that we know what to do once we have a newborn, but it’s the whole getting to that newborn part that we’re clueless on LOL since we’ve never done that part before!

2. Work out again.

I cannot wait to do some sort of physical activity again. I know I could be working out right now, but the fatigue is real….especially now that I’m also taking iron because I’m anemic. Where I would usually head to the gym after Dustin gets home from work, now I’m struggling to keep my eyes open. I’m giving myself lots of grace right now and will resume working out when I can.

3. Find a natural deodorant to start using.

I’m keeping this on here because I really do what to make the swap, so maybe this summer I can finally do that. I know I want to try Primally Pure first before I try anything else.

4. Read 15 books this year.

I started actually keeping up with my Goodreads account last January when I saw everyone start posting their 2022 year in review with reading. I set my goal low (12 books) because we were in the adoption process and I was very hopeful we would be adopting a baby in 2023. I didn’t realize I would read more books at home on my maternity leave with Banks than I did the rest of the year haha!!! So I’ve upped it this year to 15 in hopes that I can exceed that like I did last year’s goal! I’m already done with 1 book….just 14 more to go!

5. Try making sourdough bread.

This one I’m not holding myself to, but it’s something I really want to try out maybe this summer when I have a little more flexibility in my schedule. I know people started making sourdough in 2020 when everyone was forced home from the pandemic, but I’ve read how homemade sourdough is better for people with gluten intolerances because of the way it’s made? Anyway, there’s even a particular flour I want to order and try it with simply because it’s so much lower in gluten.

Okay, I think that’s it! I’m keeping this year easy and realistic and even making that last goal a maybe :). If you make goals for yourself for the year, I’d like to hear what those are!

Happy 2023! I am excited for this year to begin and I have high hopes for this year–I especially hope that this is the year we add a new baby to our family, but I am constantly working on my trust in God and His timing and sovereignty over our lives.

The past couple of years I have not set goals because my schedule was really dictated by Harrison’s. (I’d say the only thing I did last year that I completed was changing my quiet time to the morning and that’s been the best change!) But now that he’s almost 4 (still cannot get over that), I have a little more lee-way in that area–as in, he will let me workout and I don’t have to worry about him putting something dangerous in his mouth or trying to climb up on the cabinets ha! So this year, I’m inspired to create attainable goals and I look forward to completing them!

1. Finish BBG 1.0

I have been struggling with finding a workout routine that I can stick to since Harrison was born. My husband works a strange schedule and it’s been extremely difficult for me to find a rhythm in that. My friend Hailey likes to workout, and before Harrison was born, we used to workout together. She’s really motivated in her exercising and she’s a mother of 3. After eating terribly on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, I texted her to see if she wanted to do BBG with me. She said yes and wanted to start the next day!! So far we’ve completed week 1 and my goal is to complete the entire program!

2. Swap to a clean deodorant and body lotion

I’m slowly working to change out products I use personally, so this year I want to change out my deodorant and body lotion–especially since our skin is our largest organ.

3. Get rid of plastic food storage containers and move to all glass

As you can see, I’ve read a lot about endocrine disruptors haha! If you’ve been around here for a while, you may remember that I suffer from endometriosis, so this year I want to do as much as I can to regulate my hormones naturally because endometriosis is a terrible disease.

4. Eat gluten free more often

I went gluten free last summer in June and then a week later went on a trip of a women’s conference. I could definitely tell a difference in my mental clarity and energy when I ate gluten free–it was just difficult. When I was swapping to gf eating, I noticed that I ate a lot of gf foods already, there were just a few things I needed to swap like my bread or the frozen chicken nuggets I like to eat. It was the eating out that was the hardest, so this year, I hope to tackle that and become gf!

5. Mail 3 notes a month

I love handwritten notes. I mean, who doesn’t?! Sometimes I will randomly write a card and drop it in the mail to a friend or my sister, but I need to be more consistent in my note writing because I really believe that receiving a note in the mail can brighten someone’s day.

I’d love to know what some of your goals are this year!