May 2, NY19 Resolutions Check-In

2019 Resolutions

Hi all! I’m here today with another accountability check-in on my New Year’s resolutions. I’m happy to say that I’m still doing fairly well on all of my goals that I set forth. Let’s get into them in order…

My first New Year’s resolution was to keep up with my blog. I’ll have to admit, lately I haven’t been posting as much as when I first started, but I am still posting. So that’s good. I’m posting almost once a week which was my minimum goal when I started. Unfortunately, the toughest part now is thinking of content to write about. I’ve blogged most of my favorite go-to recipes already and a few posts about thrifting. I think I will have to step up my at home cooking a bit more in order to give myself things to write about. I also need to get better at photographing things I’m up to so that I can post about them. I have already moved my seedlings to the garden and laid down my soaker hose irrigation, but unfortunately did not take any photos so it makes it difficult to illustrate my process in my posts. In order to try and keep up with this resolution, I’m going to try and be better at documenting certain processes and recipes that I can post here.

My third resolution (skipping number two because it was only a two week goal at the beginning of the year) was to not buy anything new. I am doing great with this one despite the occasional urge to splurge. No, really, I went to Target yesterday to get an eyebrow pencil (can’t buy these used), and ended up with an entire basket full of goodies. I looked at the basket and realized that I was getting ready to buy a bunch of stuff I didn’t really need and that would really just end up being a waste of money. I’m proud to say that I put all the items back and left with the items I had intended to buy originally. We all know how difficult this can be at Target, so I’m pretty proud of myself to say the least. I have continued to purchase clothing and other items secondhand when I need to. The only new items I’ve purchased so far are a vacuum cleaner, mascara, an eyebrow pencil and of course other toiletries and cleaning supplies you really can’t buy secondhand. Overall, this is a huge win because I used to frivolously spend pretty often. I am excited to keep this going throughout the rest of the year. Oh! However, I should mention, I will be going to Nashville in May, and I am thinking about rewarding myself at the half way of the year mark (close enough) with a new hat. We will see how that goes…

New Year’s resolution number four is sustainability through food. This one is also going great. I have all of my vegetable seedlings now transferred to the garden and have been watering them regularly to keep them alive and well. Some seem like the recent heat wave may have hit them a bit hard, but I’m hoping they will bounce back. I’ve also been fairly good at not ordering out for food (although this has happened a few times – damn you DoorDash!!). I’ve curbed waste in our home by purchasing dinners in the evenings at the store instead of doing large grocery trips each week. I’m finding that this cuts down on the possibility of menu plans being forgotten or skipped and food being wasted. I’ve also found that it helps keep me more accountable to actually make dinner instead of ordering something that may be less healthy and typically more expensive.

My final resolution was to take better care of my physical form – working out mostly. I’m proud to say that my gym opened a few months ago, and I am now on my 7th (or maybe it’s my 8th? I can’t remember) week of going to the gym at least 3 days a week (I may have had one busy week where I only went once or twice, but did work out at home instead). I’m really enjoying going to the gym, and feel like I’m finally starting to see real results when I look in the mirror. It feels great to put in the work and I find that I’m sleeping better, wanting to eat better, and also waking up feeling more energized than I have in months. This also helps with my evening grocery store trips. My grocery store is right next door to my gym, so swinging by after a workout makes it super convenient and quick to grab stuff for dinner.

Overall, I am happy with my progress this year, and I really feel like this blog has been helping me to build good habits. Going to the gym and cooking every night may not seem like alot, but working a full time job plus managing several freelance opportunities and maintaining a home can be tough. Often it can be difficult to balance my time properly and encourage myself to do things other then sit and watch tv when the days feel so grueling. I’m happy to say that finding new things to keep me busy is not making me more tired but quite the opposite. I’m enjoying the fruits of my labor already and can’t wait to see what I can sow throughout the rest of the year. Thanks for reading!

MelissaRose

January 14, NY19 Resolutions Check-In

2019 Resolutions

Today is technically the end of my first New Year’s resolution – a 2 week detox from alcohol, cigarettes and sweets. I’ll admit I didn’t do as great as I wanted, at least with the smoking, but everything else I’ve been fairly solid. I smoked on Wednesday of last week, and while it felt like a small failure, I’m not beating myself up too bad since my goal wasn’t to quit smoking completely. My goal was and is to cut back on smoking and treat it more like drinking I guess. I don’t drink every day, I don’t drink during the day (except on special occasions or mimosas at brunch) and I think I’d like to treat smoking that way as well. So, while I did have a cigarette Wednesday evening, I did not smoke during the day at work or at home at any point and have decided to only smoke socially or when I’m drinking, which I’m good with and completely capable of. Furthermore, I feel that not smoking cigarettes for over a week after smoking for 10+ years is pretty good, especially since I did it cold turkey and without the aid of any sort of supplement such as the patch or gum. I proved to myself that I can quit long enough to get the toxins out of my system, and that’s exactly what I did.

Drinking went almost the full two weeks. I put in a previous post that I had a fairly important birthday party to attend on Saturday and that I was contemplating taking a hiatus from my detox for the occasion. I decided to have that hiatus and so ended up drinking at said party. It was fun, however, I did not anticipate the change in tolerance from not having drank for almost two weeks straight. I may have gone a little overboard, and while I hope I didn’t make a complete fool of myself, I felt it the next day. But I think it was a good lesson learned. I hate the day after drinking. Saturday was such a productive weekend day and it felt so nice to wake up early, get things done and then have time to relax before having more things to attend to. This made Sunday feel so much worse, as I sat on my couch for hours on end, regretting the decisions I made the previous night. Overall, it made me realize that moderation is key, and that I don’t have to drink at every occasion just because other people are drinking. I’m capable of saying no, and capable of sticking to it.

The one thing I’ve stuck to my guns to the entire two weeks is no sweets. This isn’t too difficult for me as I don’t have much of a sweet tooth to begin with. Not that I don’t like the occasional cookie or bowl of ice cream now and then, but I didn’t feel any terrible cravings over the past two weeks. I think I’ll keep this one going too. I’m already seeing good changes in my body from the lack of drinking and lack of sweets. I’ve also started drinking an apple cider vinegar drink in the mornings which I hope will help to propel my progress. Overall, I still feel better during the day with more energy and am sleeping better at night. My biological clock has changed as well. I’m waking up each morning before my alarm at around 5:50am. The best part is actually getting up and ready for work in the morning with time to spare. This spare time is used to walk my dogs if weather permits, and I love having the extra time outside before being confined to an office all day.

I’m also still sticking to my meal prepping and planning. I did my shopping for the week on Saturday morning. I once again purchased the majority of my product from the Farmer’s Market which is great because part of my resolution is to stop with convenience and start supporting more local causes. I have some rather tasty meals planned for the week, a couple of which are new that I’m excited to try and hopefully blog about. I haven’t purchased anything new as part of my no buying anything new resolution for the entire year. And, like I said, I’ve continued to walk in the mornings as part of my resolution to take better care of my body (my gym is still not open… need to check on the progress of that).

I’m proud of my progress and the lessons I’ve learned along the way. I’m excited to get to tackling my other resolutions as well, mostly the gardening. I believe I’ll need to purchase my seeds soon for starting indoors. I’ve been pinning upcycled ideas for planters like crazy and can’t wait to see what other ones I can come up with. All in all, I’m excited and looking forward to the next steps.

How are your resolutions or goals going for the year? Is there anything you’ve learned about yourself so far?

MelissaRose

NY19 Resolution #2: Two Week Detox

2019 Resolutions

My first New Year’s resolution is fairly simple – post in my blog about my New Year’s resolution 2-3 times per week. My second resolution gets a little bit more challenging. This resolution is something that I think about and truly wonder “why I’m doing this to myself”. Let’s talk a little bit about detox. Official definition:

A process or period of time in which one abstains from or rids the body of toxic or unhealthy substances; detoxification.

Fairly straight forward, right? You would think so, but there are so many variations of detox. Detox diets, detox from alcohol, detox from drugs, 24 hour full-body detox, detox teas, colon cleanses, natural detox – seriously, just do a web search for “detox”. Are you seeing the pattern? So when I tell you that my New Year’s resolution is a two week detox, here is what I mean:

For two weeks I am going to abstain from alcohol, cigarettes and sugary foods. This is going to be tough. It’s going to suck, but in the end I know I will feel better. I should also mention that two weeks is a starting point. I would like to be able to continue to use less of these items moving forward, and my plan is to create some good habits within that two week period. I feel like I’m writing out a contract to myself on the internet (hello, accountability). This is why I’m posting, this is why I’m here. It’s written down and now I must do it. And I will do it because it’s going to be worth it. Okay, now that’s out of the way.

A two week detox like this is something I’ve been wanting to do for a while, but with my birthday in Las Vegas, and the holidays (which let’s face it, start with Halloween), life has been one big party lately. I am happy that the New Year is giving me a jumping off point and that New Year’s Eve will be a big celebration to ring it all in. After all, good health is something to celebrate.

The benefits of two weeks without alcohol are pretty crazy. (I found these results on PrioryGroup.com. Priory Group is a mental healthcare and rehabilitation services provider.) Your body becomes more hydrated, your REM cycles become more frequent and you have more energy. Not only that, you’re likely to lose weight because of all the calories in alcohol that you’re no longer consuming. Did you know, one glass of wine is equal to an entire ice cream cone? (Drinkaware.) Yikes. It’s benefits like this that make me excited to kick this resolutions butt. The benefits of quitting smoking for two weeks are even better – increased circulation in your teeth and gums, sense of smell and taste are returning to normal, decreased cravings and increased lung and heart functions. That is a whole lot of good in a short period of time. It’s almost unbelievable to me that your body can change so much in such a short amount of time simply by removing something unhealthy out of your life.

I’m not pursuing this resolution to lose weight, I want that out there. I think it’s a great benefit don’t get me wrong, but my motivation is mostly to prove to myself that I can do it and to rid myself of the toxins I’ve been pumping for the last two months. I can’t wait to see my progress and to document it along the way.

Now, time to find all those holiday cookies and eat them before January 1st…

MelissaRose

NY19 Resolution #1: Don’t Stop Blogging

2019 Resolutions

The New Year is quickly arriving and I’ve never felt more inspired to make some changes to my everyday life. In the past, I’ve never really been one for New Year’s resolutions, but for some reason this year I feel like incorporating some challenging and some not-so-challenging changes to my overall routine and home life. The first resolution I’ve decided to tackle is staying more consistent to my blog. I thoroughly enjoy writing and putting my thoughts down to not only share with others but for myself to be able to look back and see what I was thinking or feeling at a specific time or place. I’ve had blogs before but was never very good at posting in them for long amounts of time – I think may record may be one post a month for 6 months, which let’s face it, is not much when compared to other blogs out there. And so, in an effort to change this and to also help keep myself accountable to my other resolutions, I’ve decided to revamp MelissaRoseRamblesOn.com and to commit to posting every day if not every other day.

Every day posts can be difficult to accomplish when you have a blog with a certain niche. To avoid this complication and lack of inspiration, I’ve decided to make this blog all encompassing to my passions and interests – and let me tell you, they have range. I love cooking, baking, traveling, sustainable fashion practices, making extra money with odd jobs and surveys, gardening, pet projects, sewing, drawing, singing… the list goes on and on. I think by giving myself a broader platform, I am less likely to run out of inspiring content that I would actually care to write about. The other thing that I think will be exceptionally helpful is having my iPad tablet with keyboard attachment that my husband bought me a couple years back for my birthday. I had originally intended to use it for more of an illustration tool more than anything (he got me the Apple Pro Pencil too – it’s amazing!), but I’m seeing now how it will make posting to my blog more convenient than sitting at the computer or being holed up in the office.

So far I’ve added several posts to my blog just in order to have more content and to possibly drive more traffic. I’ve also purchased hosting and a domain name through WordPress which gives me a better sense of satisfaction since I am posting to my own website instead of a “wordpress.com” site. It feels so great! I am also creating Pinterest content as I go in hopes of furthering my audience reach and to also keep me creatively going as I just can’t help but love making new content and graphics. I also plan on pulling out my camera to make these posts more beautiful and unique as well as encouraging myself to make more use of the technology I have at hand and to sharpen my lesser used skills.

I really hope you enjoy following me on this journey. Sometimes it can be tough to stay focused and into something that you feel obligated to do, so I really want to make this a channel for creativity rather than a task that is absolutely necessary in my everyday life. I hope I am able to inspire those of you who stumble across my posts and look forward to connecting with you all!

Happy New Year!

MelissaRose

New Year’s Resolutions 2019

2019 Resolutions

2018 is coming to a close, and for the first time in several years, I’ve decided to tackle some New Year’s resolutions. I haven’t had many resolutions in the past, I think because I didn’t feel like they were important enough to save for the beginning of a New Year. But this year, I’ve decided to tackle some pretty tough and important items to me, and to hopefully, blog about it along the way.

Continue reading →