Kick-Starting the New Year with Kin and a Light Snack

This post is sponsored by Laughing Cow in connection with Kin Community for their campaign #KickStartToANewYou in 2015, however all thoughts and opinions, glowing, gushing, or otherwise are 100% my own.

It’s a New Year.  How many resolutions have you made?  How many have you broken? To help me kick-start my New Year, Laughing Cow has sponsored “Kick-Start the New Year With KIN,” a fabulous playlist of YouTube videos to help get your New Year started right. If you have trouble with them, the video Join The Kickstart Challenge! Let’s Make New Years Resolutions! Mind Over Munch Kickstart Series will help you get started. Mind over Munch will walk you through how to create realistic and obtainable resolutions.

I didn’t make many, but did make some important ones. For my resolutions, so far, I’m doing ok.  Here are the resolutions I made:

1. Save money to spend in Italy (I’m headed there in June).

Thumbs up.  Granted I’m two weeks into the year, but money is still sitting in the bank.

Downloadable printables to help you get your New Year’s Resolutions organized and do-able!

2. Get back on track with my dietary protocol in order shed the few pounds I still need to part with.

Well, um, sure! I can do better. I have done oodles and oodles better since the New Year started, but there is still room for improvement. Leaner protein, more veggies.  FEWER CARBS!  This also means drinking more water. I drink about 64 oz. now, but would like to increase that by an additional 32 oz-simply to balance out the coffee and any wine I may drink in a day.  The KickStart Challenge video playlist continues with some good and practical food counsel. The video Healthy Grocery Shopping Tips On A Budget! by Mind over Munch was really helpful in how to navigate the market and stay on your budget, all the while purchasing the healthiest of options.  I love grocery shopping and I do it frequently (occupational hazard) but I still need to be reminded of best practices when navigating my local stores.

3. Grow my blog, but find balance with work and life.

I’m still here writing and you’re still reading. That’s a step in the right direction for growth.  I got quite unbalanced with how much I was working and how little time I was giving to my daughter and to myself. My grandparents taught me the idea of hard work, but I suspect they didn’t necessarily mean work 15-18 hours a day.  Sadly, there were far TOO MANY 15-18 hour days this past year.  I’m not doing much better this year either.  But I am making progress.  I found a calendaring system to keep myself organized. I did some extra cooking to get a jumpstart on available content. Mediation is also key to finding more balance. Now before some of you scoff, meditation is awesome.  It’s something I started doing a few years ago.  It was hard to get started; clearing my mind was near impossible-you don’t want to know what goes on in there. Now, it’s something I practice regularly.  Not daily, but I should.  It’s on my calendar though, to carve out even just 5 minutes to stop, breath, and clear the mind. The first video in the playlist is Meditation for New Beginners by Bexlife.  It is fantastic to help you get started.  Don’t think of it as sitting there crossed legged fingers in a position and changing OM, it doesn’t have to be like that. It’s like a refreshing nap without sleeping, it simply restarts you.

Additionally, I have found if I go to bed earlier (than say 2 am) I can get up a couple hours before my daughter and knock out much of the work I was staying up half the night doing. Which leads me to resolution number…

4. Go to bed by 10:00 and get up at 5 am.

I do well with seven hours.  I am a night owl.  But the few times I have gone to bed early, and get up early to work, I get more done.  But I always manage to get off track pretty quickly.  But that calendaring or scheduling system I mentioned in #3 will help with that.  Check back with me in mid-Feburary to see how I’m doing.

5. Drink more wine.

This sounds like a silly one, but I want to further develop my wine palate. I love whites, but reds and I are still rocky.  However, 6 months ago I would have never taken more than a sip of Pinot Noir and I’m happy to report that I had two glasses last week with a girl friend.  I was quite proud. With Italy on the horizon, I want to truly savor the wines that will be flowing like water in the streets.

 6.  Organize Thyself

Peter Walsh  and his video series #31Days2GetOrganized just might be the answer I have been seeking as far as organizing myself goes. A little each day, I think that’s something I can handle. Since I work from home, staying organized is paramount!  The video Conquer your Master Bedroom is at the top of the playlist and is always the LAST room I tend to clean and organize. He’s already turned me upside down and I love it! When I went through as he instructed and removed all the things that did not belong in my room, I was astounded at how my private sanctuary had become a clutter trap!

Thanks Laughing Cow and Kin Community for putting together such an awesome and utterly helpful series of videos to make my 2015 the best it can be. Here’s to #KickStartToANewYou

Now I couldn’t let the a post go by without providing you with at least a small snack.  Now I know I said I was trying to limit carbs, but I still love them.  Baby steps.

This post is sponsored by Laughing Cow in connection with Kin Community for their campaign #KickStartToANewYou in 2015, however all thoughts and opinions, glowing, gushing, or otherwise are 100% my own.

Thank you for sharing!