My 2015 New Year's Resolutions

Happy New Year!!

Can you believe we are in 2015?!?! Just the number itself is crazy, let alone how fast I feel 2014 flew by but was one of the most productive and happiest years I have had yet. Sure, there were low points (some being very low points with family loss and sadness), but overall, I look back and see more happiness in 2014 than sad.

For me, a lot of this can be attributed to the goals I set in at the beginning of 2014 and my mental space throughout the year. This past year was about self improvement and getting things done. All my goals were related to breaking out of my shell, increasing what I do for others, and becoming a better person. Boy, did it make a difference! Mental clarity was higher and decisions were easier since I knew where I was going and what was most important to me. Of course, I still had those days of marathoning 7 different Netflix shows without seeing the light of day or sitting on the floor in our bedroom thinking that my life was pointless, but nobody is perfect, right?

Well, since that little goal list I made at the beginning of 2014 was such a personal hit, I decided to do it again. Get ready, because you are in for a super personal post filled to the brim with new goals and personal development. If you do not feel like braving this heck-a-long post, I seriously understand. Just knowing that those in the P+K community have seen these helps me keep them throughout the year. Likewise, I would so love to know what any of your 2015 goals are. What kind of year do you plan on this being for you?

By the way, this year I have categorized them into six different areas of life with goals in each and a game plan of how I am going to get things done. You may notice some overlap between this year and last, that's because I am a firm believer in the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" principle. I also left some things out that are maybe too personal and do not fit with what the average reader would understand (i.e. business stuff and family things)

Ok, here we go!

This year is about becoming a deeper, well rounded, and kinder human being; about Organization and becoming a better leader.

Business

Double blog Readership

• More personal posts
• 5+ posts per week. Must include 1 personal, 1 inspirational, 1 review, and 2 healthy living (workouts or health)
• More personal workout posts network with other bloggers
• Begin advertising on the blog
• Pin more
• Instagram more
• Network with other sites/apps/video content suppliers 

Home

Improve Time Management

• Reduce the time watching shows/movies/YouTube daily
• Set a weekly schedule and daily to-do's
• Get the hardest thing done first in the day. No procrastinating. 
• Read 15 minutes per day

Remove the excess from life

• Cleaning out one room/closet a month and donating or selling the unused things
• Get organized and stay organized. Find a categorical system that will work in the office and implement it. Check it weekly and schedule office organization time. 
• Seriously cut back on buying things on a whim
• Get a new closet organizational system. Ikea!!

Get Wood flooring installed in bedrooms.

Increase Financial Understanding and Well Being

• Invest and give more. Have a secure monthly budget and anything made above that is 50/50 for donation and investment. 
• Keep better track of monthly finances and daily spending/saving.  
• Use check lists for monthly goals and budgeting and go over finances weekly. 
• Give at least $10,000 this year
• Invest at least $20,000 this year. 

Social

Volunteer More

• Either become a big sister or… work at an animal rescue, go on a volunteer trip, or become involved with one more local organization that has values and leadership I agree with. 
• Work harder and have higher integrity with the volunteer positions you already hold. 

Have Better Relationships with People

• Reading books related to the subject
• Be continually in search of better ways to work with people in a team.  
• Become a better leader through reading, practice, and development. 
• Meet with 3-5 friends per week. 
• Talk to three people you do not know per day 
• Be in the moment/ pay attention. Relationships are the most important part of life. Being invested in your time with others shows that you are invested in them. 

Mental

Personally Grow

• Listen to one self improvement podcast/CD a day (at least). Best if 3.
• Do one thing that scares me every day 
• Read a non-fiction and inspirational book once a month (at least)
• Grow Deeper- read at least 6 philosophical books this year. 
• Get a firm understanding of who you are and what you believe. 
• Be more kind to people and about people. 
• Increase your patience level. 
• Go on an adventure
• Accept, at least, one public speaking engagement this year.

Learn Japanese

• Follow the Rosetta Stone System.
• Have time scheduled each day for 15-30 minutes of practice.
• Schedule a trip to Japan in the 2015-2017 year

Physical

Improve Health

• Plan weekly meals ahead.
• Eat less to-go.
• Form a healthier relationship with food. If it does not improve your life,  health, or long-term happiness, why eat it? 
• Read and become more aware of healthy living

Improve Fitness

• Try one new workout a week
• Work out 4-6 times per week
• Complete 1 yoga flow per day
• Increase number of average steps per day.
• Run another Disney race in 2015.

Spiritual

Get a Firm Understanding of What Your Believe and Why

• Pick a church and get into a habit of going often
• Read 6 spiritual related books this year

Ways to Keep These Goals

• Spend more time Outdoors. Go to the beach, park, pool at least once per week. 

• Read goals every day and every night. More on this in an upcoming post!

• Invest more time with family. Show them that you love and care for them.

• Find 3 role models. Ideas: Jane Goodall, Mother Teresa, Princess Diana, Nancy Dornan

Blog Love!

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Sometimes, you have blogs that are simply your favorites, and sometimes, you find new blogs that you absolutely love. My absolute favorite blog for life is Emily Henderson's style blog, my favorite blog for health is According to Elle, and my favorite for inspirations is Dale Partridge's. But, when it comes to recipes and great cooking/meal planning ideas, there is a new favorite in town. One of my good friends has [finally] started a blog talking about good, clean eats. 

Her blog, Good Choice Eats, is brand new like a teeny baby and I love it. The first recipe has hit is out of the park with complete nutritional analysis of food along with a pricing breakdown. Brittany's health theory is simple, inexpensive eats that are completed with planning ahead and organization. Something this one seriously needs when it comes to the kitchen- especially around the holidays.  

I would totally recommend checking out her page and some of her recipes. They are seriously great! Also, here are a few other blogs I love :)

The Fitnessista

Pumps and Iron

Peanut Butter Fingers

Lazy Girl Running

Teatime Thoughts. Here is Candice's guest post.

Cup of Jo

Hommemaker

Yoga by Candace

What are some of your favorites? 

Blog Updates, Travels, Good Reads, and Juice Cleanses

Goodness, I am in a bit of shock at how fast this year has gone by. Can you believe we are in October already?! It is crazy. Last month was also a bit crazy and a few blog posts slipped by- mostly those on Sunday. I know, it is awful. To make up for it, I plan on starting Sunday posts back up as of this week. This picture is also a bit of an apology for the lack of Sunday posts... It is one of my favorites and was taken right around this time four-years ago. The umbrella was random and quite needed since our photo shoot got rained out. Ended up being pretty great anyway!

Another P+K bonus is that we will be doing a few giveaways this month as well in honor of P+K's bday! Yep, P+K is turning two this month and to celebrate, I will be in Greece!! Yayyy! So excited about our trip to Greece in a few short weeks. Ahhhh, still have no idea what to pack though... All in time I guess...

If anyone has any must-see or must-eat at places, please let me know. Also, if you have any yoga studios you love, that will be great to know as well. We will be there for about a week towards the end of October and I have heard that the weather has been and will be fantastic!

This trip has been a goal of mine for about ever and I am seriously excited to finally be going!!! Another big goal this year has just started as of September. We are going for a big business goal that will take an entire year to accomplish. The funny thing is, this was not on the hubs or my goal plans for this year. We kind of just decided it in May and have been building the framework for it ever since. It is a bit crazy how all this happened, but pretty awesome at the same time.

Honestly, I am just so excited about everything we have going on. To add to it, P+K will be having a few guest bloggers and two new weekly article topics. The first being health and fitness app reviews. The second is a challenge post each week. If you missed the 100 burpee challenge, check it out! The challenge posts will be similar to that, but not always that insane. By the way, did you do the 100 burpee challenge? My 100 were completed in 14:30. I was shaking afterwards.

Anyway, I am not quite sure how these articles will all work into the weekly mix. There may need to be some days with multiple topics (a weekly round-up with challenge?), or a few days with more than one article per day. However it works, we will figure it out as needed! And, since this has been quite the long article about a whole lot and very little, here is something funny AND informative. I laughed out loud when I read this article and used it to learn a bit more about juice cleanses.

Juice cleanses have become such a hit that is just seems silly to not try out a few of these juice companies and let you know which are great and which to avoid. If you have any juicing companies you want me to check out, let me know through e-mail or in the comments below.

Question: Have you ever done a juice cleanse? If so, did you like it? What about Greece? Let me know what I should see please oh please!

The Pros and Cons of Drinking Coffee

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Coffee is great and the hoard of Starbucks receipts you could find in my purse at any given time would not argue that fact. But, for as good as coffee is, it has also been getting pretty mixed signals for the health world. Sure, the sugars, creamers, and flavors that are just more sugar are not great- Well, actually, they are quite bad- but, what about coffee itself. If you are one of those highly disciplined people out there who never touches a Starbucks drive-thru or coffee creamer with a 10-foot pole, there is a pretty good chance you are doing quite well since most of the pros for coffee are when it is in it's purest form. 

Go ahead, give yourself a pat on the back all you black coffee drinkers. Now, go on and read the good, bad, and ugly of that cup of jo.

Brain Health

Pros

One of the biggest, and best, pros to drinking coffee is the brain health that comes along with it. Researchers from some of the leading Universities have found that coffee increases memory retention and also decreases our risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease. This is because, like all plants, coffee has phytonutrients and antioxidants that fight free radicals in our body. Free radicals are the things that reduce cell production and harm our DNA and include UV rays, carcinogens, and even the air we breathe.

What is even more incredible is that coffee has been found to actually repair damage to our DNA. This means that our DNA has fewer errors in reproduction and stays longer for longer (all about those telomeres). Keeping our DNA healthy also goes a long way for reducing our risk of cancer. Specifically, coffee helps reduce the risk of brain cancers.

Heart Health

Pros

The antioxidants found in coffee are not just for the brain. Turn's out, that they also reduce inflammation in our arteries and can lower our blood pressure. Both of these being extremely great for that ticker. The reduction of swelling in the arteries decreases one's risk of a stroke. the Nitric oxide found in coffee may also increase the diameter of arteries, lowering blood pressure and the risk of heart disease.

Cons

With all these great pro's, the only con to drinking coffee for a healthy heart is the caffeine. The caffeine found in coffee regular will actually negate the health benefits, making it a "con" instead of a "pro". Caffeine in coffee can also caused increased heart rhythms and an abnormal heart beat.  If heart health is on your mind, switch that caffeinated coffee out for the decaf variety.

Diabetes and Weight

Pros

That's right, coffee reduces our risk of Type II Diabetes. Researchers have found that those who drink 4-6 cups of coffee (decaf or regular) reduce their risk of diabetes by, up to, 30%. Those that drink more than 6 cups per day reduce their risks by a whopping 35%. This crazy decrease may be due to the antioxidant compounds cholorogenic acid and quinides found in coffee that reduce cell's sensitivity to insulin and help regulate sugar levels.

Cons

Unfortunately, this benefit is mainly found in the decaffeinated version since caffeine increases insulin sensitivity. The sugar high that you get from caffeinated coffee will also adversely effect most people's diets when they get to that sugar crash. This is because most people will reach for something high in fats and carbs to even out their blood sugar levels once more.

Weight gain can also be associated with coffee. New research has found a correlation with coffee drinking and an increased sweet tooth. This may be because of chemical reactions in our body, or simply because, as a society, we associate coffee with sweets.

Aging

Cons

Drinking too much coffee can dehydrate the body, causing premature aging of the skin. If you are wanting to drink your usual coffee, it is best to drink it with a cup of water on the side. This will also decrease the headaches that some associate with their morning cup of jo since most coffee related headaches are a symptom of dehydration.

Cholesterol and Your Liver

Pros

Well, this is a mixed bag if I ever saw one. Turns out that caffeinated coffee might just lower your risk of liver cancers by, up to, 43%. Just like it worked in our brains and arteries, coffee limits swelling and inflammation in the liver, thus reducing the risks of many liver diseases. Likewise, caffeine may help inhibit cancer cells from forming.

Cons

Now, for the mixed part of this bag. Unfiltered and boiled coffees increases the LDL or bad cholesterol found in our blood. This is especially evident in French presses and Turkish coffee makers that do not filter the coffee first. To decrease the LDL increasing properties, opt out of non-filtered options and get a drip filter coffee maker instead. It may not be quite as good (so true), but you won't be increasing your cholesterol with each cup.

Energy

Pros

Ready? Caffeine makes you more awake. Bam. Mind blown.

Not quite. Caffeine keeping you awake may not be such a mind blowing idea, but it sure can be a pro in a pinch. There are many people out in our world that rely on that morning cup of jo for their eyes to open and their foggy brains to clear.

Cons

The only bad thing about this increased energy is when it gets in the way of when we need to sleep. Coffee can increase your risk of insomnia since the brain is wired and simply cannot turn off. Everyone reacts differently to caffeine, but it is best to not drink coffee within 6-hours of hitting the hay. Even if you have an easy time falling asleep, your sleep will not be as deep or rejuvenate you quite as well with caffeine in your system.

As our bodies become more accustomed to the effects of caffeine, we will also begin to need more to feel the effects. This can be a not-so-great addiction that will only increase over time and decrease the proper sleep we need to be getting.

Pesticides

Because of all the places coffee comes from, it is one of the most pesticide laden foods we can get. Pesticides in coffee are absorbed into our bodies when we drink it. And, they are not easily gotten rid of. To reduce your pesticide intake (which can lead to multiple diseases including different forms of cancer), opt for the organic option. The coffee industry is pretty strict on what makes coffee organic. This means that you can feel at ease knowing your organic coffee does not contain harmful chemicals.

Here is my favorite organic coffee brand :)