As cliche as it is, I do always like to stop and make myself think about a few things that I would like to focus on for the new year.  I was pretty proud of myself when I looked back into the blog, that I had actually written one of these posts for the past 3 years.  Each year, there are always pretty similar items; but I feel like that is okay.

Here is a quick look at this years goals…

PERSONAL

 Meal Planning

This is such a big one.  I am definitely not an expert at this and would love to be better at it.  I come across so many great recipes in the blog world each week as I’m reading and I just need to make sure I start writing them down or bookmarking them so on Sunday’s when I want to meal plan, I have them handy.

Family Trips

Now that the kids are two and four they are seriously a ton of fun to travel with! Of course, it can still be totally trying on our nerves; but its so worth it in my opinion.  We have taken several trips now with just the four of us and I love what a great bonding experience it is for our family.  I have always felt that there is no better education you can give kids then the education of travel.  I hope to have many more family vacations in our future.

Date Nights

This just goes without saying, but date nights are so important! We are lucky to have great babysitters and try to get out just the two of use once a week or at least every other week.

Learning Hand Lettering

This is a new goal for me.  I received a hand lettering book for Christmas and I am having so much fun with it.  It helps to teach you and practice your skills in the book.  It truly just takes tons of practice to really become fluid and confident.  I have a ways to go, but I’m really enjoying it.

Reading

So I’m actually really proud of myself on this one from last year.  I had really fallen off the bandwagon of reading after having kids and last year I jumped back on.  I ended up finishing 24 books in 2017 which is a lot for me!  I still owe you guys my 4Q book review but you can find the other ones here.

BLOGGING

You Tube

I am really going to try to bring more You Tube videos to my site this year.  I really really enjoy them and feel they are such a great way to connect with readers!  I have written down several different topics I can use for videos and now I just need to get working on them!  If you are interested in seeing the videos I have so far, you can follow me here.  I have a makeup video coming your way soon!

More Reader Engagement

This will always be something I want to continue to work on.  It means so much to me that you guys are out there reading the content that I put out and following our little family and sometimes there are only few ways to show our appreciation.  I don’t always get to comment back on your blogs or even respond back to each comment I get on this blog, so I want to continue to improve on all of that.

Instastories and Real Life

During 2017 with the release of Instagrams, instastories, I really do feel like I have been able to connect with more of you.  I love when I receive messages from you guys after I post a picture or video and hope to add even more of that this year.  Talking solo in front of that camera is always a really weird feeling, but its amazing how much viewers really enjoy that! I will continue to try and share more of our real life there.

Past New Year’s Goals:

2015

2016

2017