Celebrate 2023

Happy New Year!

I am really excited about this new year! I’m not daring to say 2023 will be “our” year but…we are in enough transitions and positions to settle into a nice groove. So I’m cautiously optimistic! 😉

While I’m not a big resolution person, I am in a major “let’s set some smart goals” vibe! When I consider 2023, I have a few ideas for some measurable, achievable goals! But first, I kick off the annual goal planning session by meditating on a word of focus for the year. This year, that wasn’t an issue because it came to me like a brick earlier in the fall. Once I heard it in my head, I knew that celebrate was without a doubt my 2023 focus word. In addition to embracing my inner “extra” when it comes to celebrating holidays, I want to also get better about celebrating small victories and celebrating the beautifully mundane of each and every day! So…how am I going to do that?

Family

I have to start thinking about the royal we as family is one of my core values. So what can we do better? What can we celebrate this year?

Well, to be honest, we have been on the struggle bus the last few months, specifically with attitudes, laziness, and diets. I got really fed up and bought the book “More than Happy” which focuses on bringing Amish parenting techniques into the modern world. When I take a step back and look at our current situation, I recognize that we are all on our screens WAY too much and we need to change the way we view screens (from an expectation to now being a reward). So as I read more of this book, my goal is to incorporate more of those techniques into our daily lives. So this goal is sort of pending until I can finish that book! 😉

However, in the meantime, limiting unnecessary screen time is a must. We moved the kids’ computer from their playroom to the armoire near our kitchen where they store their bookbags, homework, etc. (which desperately needs a cute name!). This means that it will be used for it’s purpose more instead of whatever computer game is popular that week. That’s been a great first step! We have also said nope to screens on school nights to help the kiddos focus more on homework, playing outside, and reading for the dreaded AR.

Additionally, focusing our down time on family time with more game nights, movie nights, outdoor games, family walks with the puppies, reading time, and craft time! We have already started a family book to read a chapter of each night and it’s been going surprisingly well. We love movie and game nights so that’s been easy to encourage. However, it’s the outdoor adventures and craft time that might need a little more creativity and encouragement.

Another family goal we have this year is limiting snacks and sugar. Our kids notoriously stick their noses up at our dinners. Which is infuriating. However, when I really thought about it, we weren’t doing a consistently great job at limiting when they could grab snacks so by the time dinner rolled around…they weren’t hungry. So, I’m bringing back the snack platter for after school and rearranging the pantry to make it a little more difficult for them to be sneaky sneaks. Additionally, I’m still really kicking the Obesity Code lifestyle, which focuses on limiting added/unnecessary sugars so I plan to keep that going for me and move to the family plan as well. Should be interesting, to say the least! 😉

In terms of celebrations, I know the kids will think I’m being cheesy but I’m ready to go all out for monthly holidays with them. Additionally, something I’ve been thinking about for a while, is monthly cultural celebrations were we learn about a country (it’s culture, history, people, geography, etc.) while also trying food from that area. I’d love for the kids to think more globally and learning about different parts of the world can only be a good thing! Implementation will be the challenge here so I still have my thinking cap on!

Health & Self-Care

Not to brag, but I made some decent progress in 2022 on health and self-care. Here me when I say, I’m by NO means the picture of health and wellness but I’m much better than I was in years past. A few things I’m definitely taking into the new year are my evening bubble baths, exercise routine, my cross-stitching hobby, reading for fun, tea times, limiting sugars, and my regular “treat yo self” appointments at Verde Beauty for fun treatments like facials, lashes, waxes, and hair.

One thing I’m exciting about trying this year is home brewing kombucha teas…because they are delicious! I’ve loved drinking these teas more regularly…but they are expensive and some have a ton of added sugar…so brewing at home seems to be the answer…we’ll see how I do!

A few measurable goals I’ve set for myself this year are:

• Read 23 books (23 in 2023!)
• Log 10,000 Peloton minutes (anything from mediation to yoga to running to rides!)
• 12 cross-stich projects (complete as least one a month)

In terms of personal celebrations, I’m going to try daily journaling to force myself to acknowledge things that aren’t major victories but worth celebrating nonetheless. Of course, to help with this, I bought the most adorable journal that is butterfly themed from Emily Ley! 😉

Home

One thing I discovered recently is our home style…which is a funky, cozy, cottage vibe with a touch of organized maximalism. If that makes any sense to you, bless you! 😉 My deep love for estate sales and second hand purchases has made me realize how much character these vintage pieces have and what joy it can bring to a home. So, I’m going to truly try to not purchase as many “new” items and really focus on filling our home with vintage, second-hand pieces that we can flip for fun! I’ve already purchased a set of furniture off of Marketplace that is begging for a makeover…so stay tuned! I also want to add in more art pieces from our family members to really personalize our home and decor. Should be a fun journey!

A few indoor projects that are on my to-do list this year are:

• Finishing the Eating Nook (wall paper, paint, functional organization)
• The Wet-Bar (paint, updating cabinet doors, functional organization)
• The Laundry Room (wall paper, paint, building a shelf, functional organization)
• Upstairs Hallway (wall paper, paint, board & batten, artwork)
• Lily’s closet (wall paper, paint, functional organization)
• Guest Room (wall paper, paint, new decor, functional organization)
• And…pie in the sky…painting our kitchen cabinets & backsplash! We’ll see!

A few outdoor projects that I’d love to tackle when it warms up are:

• Complete redo and start over with the butterfly garden
• Moving some of the vegetable garden to raised beds in the back
• Ripping up the gardenias in the front and replacing with another vegetable garden (it just gets the best sun!)
• Plant more camellias up front for more of an evergreen look where we have holes
• Finish the fence (top and paint the poles) and plant some shrubs to line it.
• Finish the planter boxes with some easy peasy herbs and flowers
• And…pie in the sky…extend the front stoop with the beginning of a a brick walk way.

Professional

While I have a lot of measurable metrics to watch for my day-job, one thing I want to publicly share that I want to tackle this year is a showcase! Each month, solution engineers like myself show off things they have built for their various accounts and it’s time I join the mix! The goal is to build something worthy of showing off…and then not chickening out when it comes time to actually demonstrate it! 😉

Though it isn’t a super serious side gig, there is potential…so I do have some goals for Lady Chenry this year! One is right here, increasing my blog posting to hit at least once a month. I’m starting off slow to see where it goes! Another is to increase Instagram engagement and Etsy sales. So, get ready for a lot more posting of behind-the-scenes at estate sales, DIY project progress, and more! 😉

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We are still quite early into 2023 so there is ample room left to tweak and edit these goals…but this is what I’m thinking thus far! I would love to know what some of your goals are so please share! Half the fun of setting goals and making them public is the community of encouragement that is inevitably created! Can’t wait to see what 2023 has in store for each of us! 😉