Simplify.

My one little word for 2019. 

A small word with a big meaning. 

I had no trouble at all figuring out my word for 2019. Life has gotten very complicated- too complicated. It’s time to simplify. Time to take my life back. Time to make changes. With that in mind, here are my 7 resolutions for 2019!

1. Work on my vision for this blog. Now that I’ve figured out what I want this blog to be going forward it’s time to jump in with 2 feet and make it happen. I have a bunch of things on my to do list including design work, editing, and creating new pages. Having a plan makes this process a lot easier. 

2. Choose my TV time wisely. I’ve slowly been cutting down on the amount of mindless things I watch. I watch almost no reality tv anymore. I have a few favorite shows such as SWAT, 911, Criminal Minds, etc that I love. My worst habit is having the TV on for background noise. I don’t do well with silence. But instead of watching shows that I really have no interest in I’m trying to be conscious of what shows I choose to spend my time watching. And confession- I love the old shows. I still watch Roseanne, Everybody Loves Raymond, Home Improvement, and a few others that have been off the air for years. I can’t help it- they’re my comfort shows.

3. Only buy necessities. I’ve been on a self-imposed shopping ban for months now. And it feels good. We have too much. We have more than we need. When we moved back in May be got rid of so much stuff. And we still have too much stuff. I’m not buying things we don’t need anymore. We have a very significant amount of medical debt from our son’s concussion recovery that we have to find a way to pay. And by very significant I’m talking tens of thousands of dollars. We could pay for years of his college with this money. Sigh. We look forward to retiring in our early 90’s. 

4. Be healthier. I’m not going all out here, but I need to make some attempt to be healthier. I’ve not drunk anything other than water and coffee during the daytime hours since before Christmas. Sweet tea is my weakness and I cut it out cold turkey. Next to go is going to be coffee. I’m switching to tea. I’ve noticed recently that drinking coffee is making my stomach hurt and I’m getting rebound headaches. Don’t worry, I’m still drinking wine and liquor at night. I’m not a fanatic. I’m also trying to eat healthier- salads and stuff. I still love pizza and french fries so again- not going all fanatical here. 

5. Accept myself without apology. This is a big one for me. Probably the biggest one. I am who I am and I’m tired of trying to be someone else. No longer will I deny aspects of my personality to make other people happy. I’m done. I will not temper my actions or words out of fear for how someone else will respond. If they don’t like it….well, tough luck! I’m an introvert who loves to read and avoids social situations whenever possible. I’m perfectly fine with that. I’m giving myself permission to just be me. 

6. Get my mental health under control. A lot of this goes with the one above. Constantly trying to be something or someone you’re not is exhausting and it doesn’t lead to a great mental space. My depression and anxiety has been out of control for much of this year and something has to give before I lose my @&^% and end up on the news. I don’t know yet what this is going to look like or what direction I need to take but I’m hoping by eliminating some things and embracing other things the path will become clearer. 

7. Purge social media. I’m going to be ruthless. I’m unfriending anyone who brings me down, who only tries to sell me stuff, who only wants to play the comparison game- both on Facebook and Instagram. Life is too short and I’m done. I’ve already unfollowed about 300 people on IG and it’s a work in progress. 

I have some very specific book resolutions too that I’ll be sharing later this week. I have a good feeling about 2019. 

Peace.