Hello 2017

I spent the last few weeks trying to write a blog to say goodbye to 2016.  I was having a hard time finding the right words.  I don’t think I’m alone when I say it was a hard year.  It was a year that was full of ups and downs with my emotions being all over the place.  It was a year that had me asking a lot of big questions and really coming face to face with my own mortality as well as the realization that my parents are not indestructible.  Dealing with everything from getting sick with the plague, to the loss of my Nan and everything in between, has meant in spite of the good, which really there has still been lots, it will be a year I am just going to let slide into distant memory.  It also means I’m ready for great things in 2017.

We are now a few weeks into 2017 and I have made sure to take a little time to really reflect on what I want to get out of this year.  I wanted to make sure that the goals I set for 2017 were something that I could actually work towards and accomplish since I didn’t manage to actually complete any of my 2016 goals.  After much thought I think I’m ready to commit my resolutions/goals in writing.  I’m feeling very optimistic about 2017.  It is going to be my year.

My goals have evolved a little over the last few weeks as I tried to lock them in.  It started with a quote I heard while watching a Christmas movie, “try to be the person you want to become.”  This resonated with me and stuck.  I also joined a bullet journal group on Facebook and as 2017 got closer everyone was sharing different ideas and thoughts for goals and how to track them.  One of the ideas that kept coming up was ‘17 things in 2017’.  I loved it and decided that I would come up with 17 things to make my year feel fantastic while working on things that I want to change.  These are all things that matter to me and will help me be the person I want to be, or I hope anyway. 

It wasn’t as easy as I thought to come up with 17 things but in the end I’m super happy with the way this list turned out.  In no particular order here are the things I want to accomplish this year.

1. Do at least 5 different hikes this year. (hiking friends let’s make plans)

2. Get paid to take photos for someone (so if anyone is looking I come cheap and take pretty pictures….hehehe)

3. Visit somewhere in Alberta that I have never been. (Totally thinking Jasper…probably let me get in a couple hikes too)

4. Volunteer somewhere.  (I have always wanted to do this but never made the time for it.)

5. Try a new recipe each week.  (Breaking out the cookbooks and getting creative makes my heart soar)

6. Learn to meditate.  (I’m not so sure I’ll be good at this but I think finding calm and stillness in my world would be a huge help)

7. Read one book a week.  (Dammit I have been trying to hit 50 books for years…this year I will make it happen and add two more for good measure)

8. Host a dinner party each month.  (Totally goes with trying new recipes.  I want an excuse to cook and I love cooking for lots of people)

9. Do a 10k Run.  (This one scares me but I am registered to do one in May…eek!)

10. Plan trip to New York and create a budget for it.  (I was supposed to go this year but circumstances changed so instead I will plan a new one to be taken in the near future)

11.  Meet my great nephew. (This one is the only one I know for sure I will get to check off.  Sometime in the next couple months our family will have a new generation)

12. Do something in British Columbia that I have never done before.  (For years I have been going to the island and for years I typically always do the same things…this year I will find something new to do)

13. Declutter the house and start planning and packing what I need for my new house. (A new house is very soon to be in my future so I might as well start early so it’s not crazy when it comes time to move)

14. Take 1 hour a week for quiet me time.  (This goes along with the whole idea of meditation but is a separate goal and will be counted separately.  I also suspect this might be one of my hardest goals because I realize that I don’t spend a lot of time in silence anymore)

15. Create a bucket list.  (For some reason with all my love of lists and plans I have never actually created a bucket list and I think it’s about time I had one)

16. Go on a date.  (or many dates.  I figure it’s time to get social again and try out the whole dating thing again…hehehe)

17.  Host a family game night.  (I want to try and create more connections with my family again and I figure this could be a fun way to do it)

I’m super excited about tracking all of these goals in my bullet journal.  (I’m also super excited about the whole concept of bullet journaling…seriously google search it and curse me later).  Here is the tracker I created for the year.  It’s not super pretty but I love it anyway.  As I finish the goals I will colour in the circles. 

My most successful year in the last few was the one where I not only wrote these goals down in my blog but also checked in on them monthly through it, so that is once again my intention.  As you can see from the picture above I am also tracking all of these goals in my new bullet journal to also keep me on track.  I am bound and determined to make this year amazing, one way or another.