OK, so I’m a little late for a New Year’s resolution post, I realise that.
And that’s because I hadn’t really given much thought to resolutions by the 31st December. We’d had a crazy busy December with lots going on at work, home and celebrating Christmas. By the time Mr M and Igot our first day at home together on the 29th, I was happy just to ‘be’ and not to think ahead too much.
But I guess with a quieter January and some time to reflect, I think I do want to make some plans for 2015. I’m not sure if they’re resolutions as such (that seems to be a dirty word in blogging this year anyway!) But they’re more ways of life that I’d like to change to make things a little calmer, quieter and less stressful.
And if I write them down, I’ll have to stick to them, right? Well that’s the theory anyway, so here goes:
1) Spend more time with this gorgeous chap
In the winter, when it’s cold, dark and miserable, and there are so many chores to do at the yard, I have a tendency to do the necessary and rush home. Don’t get me wrong, Ben always comes in to a clean, fresh bed, big dinner, lots of hay and water and clean rugs. But I don’t always scrape the mud off, have a cuddle and spend quality time with him.
I nearly lost him at the end of last year, and it made me realise just how important he is in my life, how much I adore him and how much happiness he brings. So maybe not every day, but every couple of days, I’ll be spending an extra 20 minutes in the stable rather than rushing home to sit in front of the TV.
2) Carry on with healthy eating
I’m not going on any more diets, but I want to utilise the skills I learnt last year on Results With Lucy and make sure we are eating more fruit and veg, less carbs, no wheat and generally making sure we’ve got lots of nutrients every day.
This has started quite well with a Nutriblast for brekkie every morning, a homemade lunch, like veggie couscous or soup for lunch and then a healthy dinner.
3) Plan ahead
You know how it goes, you need the weekend to de-stress and relax and catch up after a busy week at work, but if you don’t get your meals planned, the food in, the washing done etc, then you end up spending the entire week chasing your tail.
So we have started to cook a big batch of something on a Sunday, so that dinner is ready for Monday and then freeze the rest so that there are meals for the next week already done.
The washing and cleaning is largely being done on a weekend still, but we are trying to keep on top of it during the week too, so that there’s a bit more time to do fun stuff and chill out on those precious two days.
4) Learn to say no!
This is something I am really bad at doing. Even if I have something on every other night of the week, I’ve barely seen Mr M for days, and I’m beyond tired, if someone asks me to meet up/ visit/ help them with something, my default is to yes, no problem. I hate to let people down, or for them to feel as though I don’t care, but sometimes by saying yes every time, you are so thinly spread that it ends up being counter-intuitive and you don’t spend quality time with the people that matter.
So the second part of that, is to ensure I see and spend time with my gorgeous family and amazing friends more.
5) Exercise more
I know, I know, that’s a NYR for everyone, isn’t it? But I’ve realised that one of the reasons I have periods of not getting my heart rate up is that I don’t always choose things that I enjoy doing.
I LOVE riding, I love going out for long walks, I enjoy a gentle jog and I really enjoy swimming. So instead of pushing myself to go interval training in the pouring rain, I’m going to exercise smarter.
6) Stop nagging
I’ve realised that I’m quite bad at wanting everything done my way and so I nag about the little things that probably don’t really matter in the grand scheme of things. Mr M doesn’t need me to nag about not rinsing the bubbles of the washing up, not using filtered water in the kettle, etc etc. Don’t sweat the small things, Katie.
7) Have a pamper half hour
Because we all feel better when we’re waxed, conditioned and have pretty nails, don’t we?
8) Enjoy us time with Mr M
Sometimes you get into a routine and don’t necessarily appreciate the ‘ordinary moments’ (a lovely blog, Mummy Daddy Me reminds us to stop and notice these, and she is so right!) We go out every Friday night for end of week drinks and often dinner and sometimes, I don’t stop and realise just how lucky I am to live with my best friend and to have found him and have the time with him.
