new year's all year 2012: february reflections and march goals

Source: godlysouthern.tumblr.com via Kelly on Pinterest

In January I introduced the 2012 New Year's, All Year Challenge, in which I made broad "endpoints" goals for the year and explained that each month I will make specific small goals that are stepping stones to my endpoint aims. Each month I will also reflect on the previous month's goals and efforts.

My goals for February were:

• Health: track food daily; do yoga at least once a week
• Finances: save specific percentage of each paycheck; open separate wedding fund account
• Relationships: cook dinner for Grandma; plan presents and cards for birthdays in March
• Wedding: set a date for engagement photos; research vendors
• Career: sub 3-4 times a week; reflect on swim season and start prepping for swim team award night
• Self-enrichment: Cook and bake more

Reflections on February:

I did well with my goals for career (subbing is going well and swimming ended nicely), wedding (we might have our reception venue chosen!), saving money, and planning out gifts. While I continued to eat decently the majority of the time and attend Zumba when I was able to, I did not do much yoga in February. Also, while I did spend time with my grandma, I was not able to cook a nice dinner for her last month. Similarly, I wasn't able to bake as much as I would have liked. I hope that I will be able to do more (or all!) of these activities in March, as it seems there will be more time since swim season and all post-season work (except for awards night!) is complete now. All that being said...

My goals for March are:

• Health: get enough sleep; stay hydrated
• Finances: keep saving money
• Relationships: complete as many little acts of kindness as possible - like cooking dinner for my grandma, for instance ; )
• Wedding: continue researching and meeting with vendors and start booking them
• Career: read more articles and books related to my content area (social studies)
• Self-enrichment: volunteer - hopefully at the local animal shelter

Do you have any goals for 2012? How are they going? Any for last month? What are your goals for March? It's not too late to become part of the challenge!! : ) Shoot me an email if you decide to join in.

new year's all year 2012: january reflections and february goals

Source: Uploaded by user via Kelly on Pinterest

Hello, everyone! Has your February gotten off to a good start? So far, mine is going pretty well!

Last month I introduced the 2012 New Year's, All Year Challenge, in which I made broad "endpoints" goals for the year and explained that each month I will make specific small goals that are stepping stones to my endpoint aims. Each month I will also reflect on the previous month's goals and efforts.

My January goals were as follows:

• Health: track food daily; workout three times a week
• Finances: save specific percentage of all paychecks
• Relationships: e-mail out-of-town friends; prepare for Dan and I's three year anniversary
• Wedding: research vendors in the two locations where Dan and I are interested in holding our wedding
• Career: prepare for the end of swim season and substitute frequently
• Self-enrichment: blog much more often

Reflections on January:

I feel as though I did pretty well with these goals! I have been using SparkPeople to track my food, although I have not been disciplined enough in tracking daily (probably only around 3-4 days a week). Tracking my food helped me realize my daily breakfast was too small, and increasing its size helped me stay full longer and eat healthier throughout the day. I did not workout as often as I liked due to my busy schedule with subbing and coaching, but I did get to Zumba classes more than I did in December and greatly enjoyed myself. My finances are doing decently, my relationships are healthy, I've been blogging more often than I had in past months, and I have been working hard at coaching and subbing. The most exciting achievement in January was wedding-related: Dan and I decided where we will be having our wedding! We were debating between Bowling Green (where we went to school and met) and Cleveland (my hometown). We will be getting married in Cleveland! : )

My goals for February are:

• Health: track food daily; do yoga at least once a week
• Finances: save specific percentage of each paycheck; open separate wedding fund account
• Relationships: cook dinner for Grandma; plan presents and cards for birthdays in March
• Wedding: set a date for engagement photos; research vendors
• Career: sub 3-4 times a week; reflect on swim season and start prepping for swim team award night
• Self-enrichment: Cook and bake more

Do you have any goals for 2012 or any for January? How are they going? What are your goals for February? It's not too late to become part of the challenge!! : ) Shoot me an email if you decide to join in.

*If for some reason you are having trouble leaving a comment, please e-mail me at beagleandbear@yahoo.com or leave me a comment on Beagle and Bear's Facebook page. Thanks for your help with this issue!

weekly gems (and a wish for the world)

Source: capecodcollegiate.tumblr.com via Kelly on Pinterest

• Still not sure what goals you want to make for the 2012 New Year's, All Year Challenge? Check out these suggestions...or these ones, or these ones!
• Love this color palette of the week.
• Justin Timberlake may be engaged, but JC Chasez saved a baby! Big week for former NSYNCers, huh?
• I'm definitely looking forward to the publication of this series!
• Super inspiring success stories from one of my favorite magazines.
• Favorite Hello Giggles posts of the week: one, two, three.
• Favorite weddings of the week: one, two, three.
• This post on Makeunder My Life is so uplifting and comforting - it puts into words exactly how I hope to carry out this year and my goals for it.
• I greatly enjoyed reading through Daily Crush's Highlights and Hopes series - check it out!
• Adore Laura's letter to her 15 year old self.
• Recipes I can't wait to try: herb crusted sweet potato bites, rum raisin cheesecake, Elvis panini, Crockpot chicken Santa Fe, and buffalo chicken pizza rolls.
• And lately I've had the urge to bake a cake...maybe I'll decorate it similarly to this one.
• This year's WGA nominations have provided me with more movies to add to my "to watch" list.
  
• I'm always so inspired by The Shine Project. If I could change one thing in the world, I would make education of all levels available to anyone who wants it, and 100% free, no loans or anything to pay back, as long the program (whatever it may be) is completed in its entirety. Don't ask me how all that free education could be possible, I just know it would make the world a much better place for everyone. What would you change?

new year's all year challenge (new and improved 2012 edition)

Hello, everyone! I hope you had a great holiday season - I sure did! I spent plenty of time with family and friends, decorated my heart out, watched plenty of Christmas movies and specials, and constantly sang and danced to my favorite holiday music.

Source: imgfave.com via Kelly on Pinterest

If you are a longtime reader of this blog, you may remember last year I began a challenge called New Year's, All Year. You may also remember, after a crazy first half of the year, I ended up scaling back my challenge.

I'm the type of person who is always making goals. This year I also want to the be person who is always achieving them. I'm not making a ton of super specific goals in a year-long format and then pulling them back throughout the year due to unexpected challenges. Instead, I'm approaching this year step by step.

First, I recognized the major areas of my life: health, finances, relationships, career, wedding planning, and self-enrichment. Second, I made "endpoint" goals for each of these areas - basically, how I would like to end the year in regards to each area. From there, at the beginning of every month, I will make one or two goals in each area that, when reached, will bring me closer to my endpoint goals. Since I am making these monthly goals throughout the year, I will be able to take into account any new obstacles and then set realistic, measurable objectives (while I will always write out my objectives in a detailed manner, I may not always share all the specifics on this blog, for privacy reasons). The one aspect of last year's New Year's, All Year Challenge that I would like to keep is sharing my journey with YOU!

Source: marcypenner.tumblr.com via Kelly on Pinterest

My 2012 endpoint goals are:

• Health: live an overall healthier lifestyle
• Finances: be more organized, balanced, and responsible
• Relationships: maintain mutually supportive relationships that are in balance with one another
• Wedding: have location and date set and all major vendors booked
• Career: aggressively pursue full-time teaching position; develop my coaching skills and knowledge while also developing the school's swimming program further
• Self-enrichment: allow "me" time without overindulging; actively participate in passions, hobbies, interests, etc. further
  

My January goals are:

• Health: track food daily; workout three times a week
• Finances: save specific percentage of all paychecks
• Relationships: e-mail out-of-town friends; prepare for Dan and I's three year anniversary
• Wedding: research vendors in the two locations where Dan and I are interested in holding our wedding
• Career: prepare for the end of swim season and substitute frequently
• Self-enrichment: blog much more often
  

I feel like in 2011, among all the fun, love, and laughter, and despite the stress, self-doubt, and hardships, I learned a great deal about living life in a balanced and positive way. I am very excited to put those lessons to use this year, and to share my experiences with you. If any of you would like to join me in the new and improved New Year's, All Year Challenge, leave a comment and let me know! 2012 is definitely going to be a wonderful year : )

Source: capecodcollegiate.tumblr.com via Kelly on Pinterest

get fit get strong

Earlier today I posted an update on my New Year's, All Year Challenge, and mentioned that I am starting an exciting new journey as part of my effort to complete one of my most prioritized goals, reaching a healthy BMI. In case you don't know what I am talking about, BMI stands for body mass index, which WebMD explains as follows: "BMI is used to find out if a person is underweight, normal weight, overweight, or obese." BMI is not foolproof - it doesn't take into account people who higher muscle mass or women who are naturally more "pear" than "apple" shaped. However, it is a good guideline to follow, and according to it, I need to lose about 40-50 pounds.

In the past, my BMI always hovered a bit into the overweight range, because I swam competitively and had a high amount of muscle mass. I hope not only to lose weight to lower my risk of disease and feel more confident, but also to grow stronger and have more energy. Quite simply, I hope to get toned as I lose weight. So once I am around the 40 pound mark, I will also reassess my waist-to-height ratio, which better assesses people with high muscle mass. Right now, my waist-to-height ratio is .05 higher than it should be, putting me at WebMD says is an increased risk - basically, between what they term "healthy" and "take action" body shapes.

Have I been making efforts to reach a healthy BMI and waist-to-height ratio? Yes. I have been eating more fruits and veggies, reducing my portion sizes, working out more. Have these efforts been consistent? Not really. I let my health take a backseat during college, but now with college behind me, and so much ahead of me, I want to be healthy and strong.

I am going to make consistent, full-fledged efforts to do so. My efforts have been getting more regular, but to be completely honest, this big push to get health was inspired by two things: 1) once again reflecting on my New Year's, All Year Challenge goals, and 2) Kelly (of Fabulous K)'s new blog, Skinny, which has an excellent focus on positivity, community, and accountability.

Accountability and community are key for me. When I was in high school, swimming kept me healthy because I had a set routine and I had teammates and coaches who depended on me. Accountability and community are what I need again, and here is how I am going about getting them:

1. I've started a new Twitter account, @getfitgetstrong. I decided to go the "micro-blogging" route rather than starting a separate blog because I can use my iPhone to easily and briefly update Twitter on the go.
2. Every Monday, starting next week, I will do an extended "Get Fit Get Strong" update in the form of a blog post here on beagle and bear.

If you have a Twitter account, please follow @getfitgetstrong and cheer me on - I would greatly appreciate it. If you don't have one, I would love if you still checked it out every now and then and sent me some positive vibes (either mentally, via a comment here on the blog, or via e-mail)! And of course, I look forward to sharing greater details of this journey with you every Monday.

Do you have any fitness goals right now? What motivates you? What steps are you taking?

update: new year's all year challenge

Source: hurleysashimi.wordpress.com via Kelly on Pinterest

If you have been following this blog for awhile, then you may remember that this year I decided to embark an adventure I call the New Year's, All Year Challenge. I intended to post monthly updates on my adventure on this blog. That fell apart in March when I got pretty sick. April and May were super busy with graduating and moving, and I didn't have the time to really sit down, reflect, and write an update post. So here it finally is! An update on how I am doing on the Challenge.

A complete list of 2011 goals are here. This is the progress I have made in the past few months:

• Developed blog further
• Applied for full-time teaching jobs; attended job fair
• Read a few books (with reviews to come soon!)
• Cooked a couple new recipes
• Gathered wardrobe inspiration and bought a few new pieces
• Began eating healthier and exercising more
• Have made more progress with Madison learning "stay"
• Began using Mint.com to budget better
• Doing better with more thoughtful/meaningful gifts for loved ones
• Using Pinterest to document home inspiration; got my first interior decorating book

While I would love to meet all the goals on my Challenge list, I recognize that might not happen, especially with how busy this summer is shaping up to be. I will continue to work on all the goals, but the ones I will focus on the most are the ones that I think will have the largest and most positive effects on my life right now. These goals are:

• Get a full-time teaching job and/or apply to graduate school
• Reach a healthy BMI
• Save a substantial amount of money
• Bake one new recipe a month
• Cook one new recipe a month

On a different note, you may have noticed that I had multiple goals on my Challenge list that related to health and really could be considered stepping stones to the overall goal of reaching a healthy BMI. I am starting a new sort of journey to reach that overall goal, which I will discuss on a second post later today. Be sure to check it out, I am so excited to share it with you all!

Have you kept up with any 2011 New Year's Resolutions? Similarly, do you have any summer goals or a summer fun /"bucket" list?

my life: spring break to-do list

Source: eyeonlifemag.com via Kelly on Pinterest

1. Catch up with friends over coffee.
2. Bake some sweets.
3. Cook a new meal.
4. Talk, laugh, watch movies, eat dinner, and play cards with family.
5. Walk the dogs.
6. Chat and watch TV shows with the boyfriend via Skype.
7. Grade papers and plan lessons.
8. Work out.
9. Apply for jobs.
10. Read a few magazines and a book or two.
11. Daydream.

What would be on your spring break to-do list?

outfit envy

Earlier this week, I had a post about office envy. Today I'm feeling some outfit envy - I guess I'm just having a daydreaming sort of week! I really like all the elements of the outfits featured above (source: my Pinterest). They're providing me with some definite inspiration for my New Year's All Year Challenge goal of building a wardrobe with intention. What fashion finds are inspiring you lately?

update: month two

Hello everybody! How was your weekend? Mine was nice! I still felt pretty under the weather Saturday, but staying home all day, napping, and watching TV with my boyfriend and dog helped. Sunday I worked on teaching things, baked brownies, and visited with friends.

Today is the first Monday of March, which means it's time for my New Year's, All Year Challenge update for the month of February. Here are the goals for 2011 I made progress on in February:

• Get a full-time job teaching social studies grades 7-12 and/or apply to graduate school. I've gathered my references, finalized my resume, and applied for jobs.
• Cook one new recipe a month. My friend Claire and I made up a delicious pasta dish.
• Create and wear wardrobe with intention. I picked up classic black pants, cute tops, and an awesome white watch from Kohl's.
• Reach a healthy BMI. I've made a tiny bit of progress...but it's exciting : )
• Eat at least two servings of both fruits and veggies every day. Doing well with this still! Especially on the weekdays. Now I need to step it up on the weekends.
• Work out at least 3 times a week. I bought Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred and began it before I started getting sick. I'm excited to get back with it!
• Teach Madison how to stay and give paw. She is still doing really well with stay!

I mentioned in January's update that the challenge wasn't progressing as well as I had hoped. Unfortunately, that is still true. I think this is for a few reasons:

1. February is a short month. Only 28 days to get things done. I swear this must matter! ; )
2. I started building up the sickness that kept me housebound all last week.
3. February made up the bulk of my first full month of student teaching, which was an adjustment.

That actually brings up the bigger reason why I know I'm having trouble making changes - this semester is very different from the rest of college, and I guess the rest of my life (although that sounds really dramatic). I'm in student teaching! so I'm adjusting to the demands of a full-time job that I've never done before, while working part-time and trying as much as possible to enjoy my last semester of college. When I realized this, I wondered to myself, am I crazy to be attempting these resolutions this year, when I'm in student teaching, job searching, graduating, moving, etc.?

But then I realized, there is never a convenient time to make changes. If it wasn't graduating, moving and getting a job, it would be adjusting to a new job. Or going to grad school. Or getting married. Or moving again. Or having kids. Or SOMETHING. Luckily for me, 2011 has 12 months, and I've always subscribed to the theory that slow and steady wins the race.

It's not too late to join the Challenge! E-mail me if you want to get involved. What goals are you working on and how do you deal with roadblocks?

cook it: new recipe

Okay, so I will admit this post is a bit belated - it's about my Super Bowl Sunday! I spent the evening with one of my best friends, Claire. I don't have cable or a digital TV, so instead of watching the Super Bowl, we made dinner and watched Away We Go. Not too shabby of an alternative, if I do say so myself ; )

Pasta & Broccoli

Ingredients:

- penne noodles (I recommend whole wheat)

- broccoli (frozen is fine)

- olive oil

- shredded mozzarella cheese

- pepper

Directions:

- Cook pasta as directed on box.

- Once the pasta has been in the water for a few minutes, you need to work on the broccoli. You should begin the broccoli before the water for the pasta begins to boil.

- If broccoli is frozen, warm it up in the microwave (my favorite frozen vegetable brand is Steamfresh).

- Once the broccoli is warmed up, pour some olive oil into a pan and saute the broccoli.

- Around this time, the pasta should be finishing up with its boiling. Drain pasta and return to pot. Pour in a bit of olive oil and add as much pepper as you desire.

- Add broccoli to pot with pasta.

- Add mozzarella cheese.

- Mix together broccoli, cheese, and pasta.

- EAT! Serve with a white wine and enjoy with good company.

*This dish is good both warm right after being made and cold as lunch the next day.

If you make this dish, please let me know what you think! : )

update: month one

Hi, everyone! How was your weekend? Mine was pretty good. I spent time with my friends, boyfriend, and dog, worked, and knocked some things off my to-do list. I did a lot for the blog this weekend, and I have to say, I'm excited for what's coming up the next few weeks! (One big development to note thus far is the movement of my blogroll from the sidebar to a separate page of the blog.)

Today is the first Monday of February, which means it's time for my New Year's, All Year Challenge update! To be honest with you all, I haven't done as well so far on the challenge as I wanted to be doing at this point/thought I would be. However, I know that I am doing well in other parts of my life and I can use that knowledge to inspire and motivate me.

So far, of all my 2011 goals, the ones I have made substantial progress on are as follows:

• Develop blog further through establishing fixed features, etc. - I have started to post humorous stories or videos every Wednesday. How do you all like it so far?
• Cook one new recipe a month - winter salad
• Create and wear wardrobe with intention - got my first pair of Sperrys! I love them, I wear them whenever I can.
• Eat at least two servings of both fruits and veggies every day - my favorites are apples and carrots.
• Go to mass once a week - I've missed a week or two, but I think I've done pretty well so far.
• Teach Madison to stay and give paw - we're making substantial progress with stay!
• Complete at least 40 service hours - I just finished organizing/executing the last curriculum night I will be in charge of for my teaching community

This month, I hope to make further progress on the above goals and progress on the goals I haven't worked much on yet. And it's not too late for you to join the New Year's, All Year Challenge! Any time is a great time for change. If you're going to join the Challenge, leave a comment saying so/linking to your goals, or shoot me an e-mail.

How are you doing with goals you've been working on? Any problems/tips to share?

Photo: author original

taken with Instagram

winter salad

Last week, the boyfriend and I decided to get creative while making dinner. We made a delicious winter salad. We used the following ingredients:

• organic baby spinach and red cabbage
• chicken
• turkey bacon
• smokehouse maple seasoning (for the meat)
• corn
• chickpeas
• extra virgin olive oil (to cook the meat in & for a light dressing)

Simply cook the chicken and turkey bacon as normal, seasoned with McCormick's smokehouse maple, and mix it along with the other ingredients. Use whatever dressing you'd like. We just used a little bit of olive oil.

What new recipes have you had lately?

non-goals

Hey, everyone! I hope your Thursday is treating you well so far. This week has been crazy busy and today will be my busiest day of all - but that's okay, because tomorrow is Friday! : )

I think it's really easy to get discouraged when you're tired and have been busy for days on end, especially when you still have things that you want to do or need to work on. I think it's also really easy to give up on any big goals you have if (a) you haven't made substantial progress on them for awhile and (b) that lack of progress is all you can focus on.

So, today I am inspired by a couple of things: (1) my busy week, (2) Erin's post about her "non-goals" for 2011 and (3) Kendi's confession that she puts things she's already accomplished on her to-do list in order to feel less overwhelmed about the things she has ahead of her. All this inspiration has lead me to make my own list of non-goals, or the things I'm proud of and want to keep doing:

• Staying organized & thus less stressed
• Eating more fruits and veggies
• Keeping my room semi-tidy/clean
• Thinking more intentionally about how I spend my money
• Making quality sleep a priority
• Blogging regularly and making connections
• Putting family first
• Dreaming big

The boyfriend & I after an awards ceremony this

past spring - to remind myself of what I have

done & I'm capable of doing

What are your non-goals? What do you do when you get discouraged during busy times or when struggling with goals?

thursday tip

Hello everyone! How are you? I'm doing well! Yesterday the school I am placed at for student teaching had a snow day, and I greatly enjoyed having a surprise day at home with my super cute dog. I'm looking forward to a relaxing evening tonight before wrapping up the week tomorrow!

Today I have a New Year's, All Year Challenge tip for you all! I found out about this awesome website, habitforge, a couple months ago.

Here's what the site has to say about its mission: "You provide a Goal and Desire, and we'll send you a customized daily email asking how you did. Simply click 'yes' or 'no' daily. Succeed for 21 days, and the new action will be easier than ever. Skip a day and the clock starts over at day one."

It's a free and super easy to use service. I highly suggest checking it out! What kind of habits are you interested in forging?

Photo credits

live boldly

I'm a big magazine reader. One of my all-time favorites is Self. I was reading the January 2011 issue the other day when I came across this month's "A Moment for Yourself" feature. I liked it so much I wanted to share it with you all. This is what it says:

"Be fearless
If you make only one resolution this year, let it be to live boldly. You control this moment: Rather than cautiously test the water, dive straight into life with freeing abandon. Imagine the person you want to be and the life you want to live, then simply commit to them. Believe in yourself. Embrace your beauty. Discover a new passion. And whatever you do, wherever you go, don't be afraid to make a splash."

Let's have an awesome year, my friends.

tips for writing resolutions

As promised in today's earlier post, here are my tips for writing New Year's Resolutions:



1. Be specific.
I think part of the reason I used to avoid writing goals/resolutions in specific terms is because I was afraid of failure. I was afraid that if I set a certain standard for myself, that it would crush me if I met it (it should be said here that I struggle with anxiety and, to some degree, perfectionism). So instead of setting the standard and trying to see if I could reach it, I settled for writing a vague goal that I could always manipulate and claim that I had met. I have realized now that NOT setting specific goals is a set-up for failure. You need to give yourself a clear endpoint that you are working toward. If you don't meet it, you don't meet it. There's no question and no opportunity to lie to yourself - and that's not a bad thing. No matter what, you'll have gained something from your efforts, and you'll be able to improve them the next time around.

2. Give parameters.
Learning to knit has been a goal of mine for several years now. Whenever I make a list of goals, be it New Year's resolutions, semester goals, or summer goals, "learn to knit" has been on it. The whole time, my focus as been on mastering the process of knitting, and not on what I will be able to do once I have gained that skill. For 2011, one of my resolutions is "Learn how to knit and make at least one scarf." My goal is now focused on the mastering of the skill and putting the skill to use, making the meeting of the goal "learn to knit" more meaningful and providing me with more motivation.

3. Explain how you will fulfill the resolution.
I struggled with a few of my 2011 resolutions when I attempted to write them in specific terms that contained parameters. For example, two of my resolutions deal with creating a wardrobe and decorating my home (my future apartment after graduation). I was unsure how incorporate an endpoint into these resolutions. After, as creatively driven ones, they would never be fully complete, and I am unsure what my money situation that will fund these resolutions will be like in future. So instead of including specific language such as "complete" or number amounts, I explained how I would create my wardrobe and decorate my home. For example: "Create and wear a wardrobe with intention by purchasing and wearing items that match my identified style, can be dressed up and down, and can easily be mixed in with items I already own, as well as donating/selling items I no longer wear." Throughout 2011 and at the end of the year, I can measure my progress in fulfilling this resolution by evaluating whether or not I am taking the actions I said I would.

4. Use positive terminology.
The idea behind this tip is simple: stay positive! It's better to phrase your goals in positive terminology than bad terminology - in other words, it's better to focus on bettering your life than to focus on what you don't like about it. For example, one of my goals is to "Eat at least two servings of both fruits and veggies every day." This is one of my goals because: (a) I personally need to incorporate more of specific vitamins/minerals into my diet and (b) I eat a lot of junk food/food with added sugar and would like to reduce that habit. Notice I did not phrase my goal as "Eat less junk food." All that phrasing does is remind me of the habit I have that I feel disheartened by and does not provide me with a positive action I can take to change my bad habit.

5. Include just-for-fun goals.
This tip is pretty self-explanatory. Include goals that have nothing to do with your health, your career, your relationships, your money, etc. Make goals with the idea of simply enriching your life and increasing the enjoyment you get out of every day. Example from my resolutions would include: reading 25 books, learning to knit, go camping, etc.

6. Be honest.
When goal-setting, you should always dream big. However, you should also be realistic with yourself. When I originally wrote my 2011 resolutions, I listed "Read 50 books." When I thought about it, though, I realized reading 50 books would take a lot of time, and if I was going to be honest with myself, I didn't think I could do it. That would be around four books a month, and I doubted I would have always time for that in the coming year. Instead, I pared it down to "Read 25 books" (or two books a month) and felt much more comfortable with my goal.

What tips do you have for goal-setting? Want to join the challenge but are unsure of what type of goals you want to make? Check out these ideas from around the web:

Lox Papers
Naturally Nina
Design Darling
Glamour
A Cup of Jo
Elephantine
All That Glitters
Design for Mankind
The Someday Blog
Oh, My Darling
Design Crush

new year's, all year

source

Hello, lovelies! I hope you all had a fantastic New Year's celebration. Mine was wonderful! : ) I had fun watching a movie and playing games with close friends.

Have you made any New Year's Resolutions? I usually start brainstorming mine a few weeks in advance, but I have always believed there's a week's leeway in making and starting them : ) The past few years I've made resolutions, but never totally kept them (as I'm sure many people can relate to). Well, I'm at a point in my life where I am satisfied with how things are going (at least, the things under my control) but would like to continue to challenge myself, grow as an individual, and make my life richer.

As a result, I have made some New Year's Resolutions and intend to keep them all for of 2011. As a college senior majoring in education, I have learned a lot about writing objectives for lessons and units - in other words, specific goals for learning that can be measured. I've realized most of my old New Year's Resolutions were too vague to motivate me or hold me accountable. As a result, I have tried to make my goals as specific as possible. I will record my journey of keeping my resolutions in a new beagle & bear series New Year's, All Year. On the first Monday of every month I will provide an overall update on my resolution keeping, as well as mini-updates throughout the year/when appropriate.

I would LOVE for the readers of beagle & bear to join in the 2011 New Year's, All Year Challenge, whether it be with one resolution or twenty. We may or may not achieve all of our goals, but we will strive to do so and gain much in the process! : ) If you are joining in the challenge, leave a comment saying so, and I'll add your name to the list of challenge participants.


Here are my 2011 New Year resolutions:

• Complete a 5K race
  
• Develop blog further through establishing fixed features, engaging series, and gaining followers/building a community
  
• Get a full-time job teaching social studies grades 7-12 and/or apply to graduate school
• Read 25 books of my choosing
  
• Make a perfect omelet
• Go camping
• Bake one new recipe a month
• Cook one new recipe a month
• Create and wear wardrobe with intention by purchasing and wearing items that match my identified style, can be dressed up and down, and can easily be mixed in with items I already own, as well as donating/selling items I no longer wear
  
• Reach a healthy BMI
  
• Eat at least two servings of both fruits and veggies every day
  
• Work out at least 3 times a week
• Go to mass once a week
• Teach Madison how to stay and give paw
• Save substantial amount of money
• Give loved ones thoughtful and fun gifts that have meaning to our relationship or that feed their loves/hobbies
  
• Decorate/design home with intention by identifying a decorating style/theme and actively pursuing ways to execute said theme
  
• Complete at least 40 service/volunteer hours
• Learn to knit and make at least one scarf

Check back here later today for tips on writing measurable and reasonable New Year's Resolutions. I hope you decide to join the challenge! I am super excited to start it and share my journey with all of you!

Happy New Year!