Our New Year’s Resolutions

It’s that time of year when almost everyone makes resolutions to change something about their life for the new year.  It’s a time to wipe the slate clean and start anew.  What have you resolved to do for 2011?  We hope one resolution is to follow along with Everyday Road to Healthy on our journey to a healthier and more eco-friendly lifestyle!

So, as 2010 comes to an end, we reflect on the lows and highs of the year and are hopeful that 2011 will be even better.  For our final post this year, we would each like to share our own resolutions with you.  Happy New Year!

Angela:

Over the past couple years I have taken some small steps to improve how I eat and feed my family and how I take care of myself physically, but I know there is so much more I can do.  By starting this blog with Deena, I have felt more responsible for my changes because I know others are reading and relying on us to follow through and “practice what we preach”.  So my overall resolution is to continue to work towards a healthier lifestyle and  share what we learn with our friends, family and readers so that we all can live healthier lives inside and out.

Hydrate – One specific way I am going to work to make myself healthier is by resolving to drink more water.  To some, this may seem like a silly and easy resolution.  But for those who know me real well will know this is no small feat for me.  I can go an entire day without drinking anything except for my morning cup of joe which, since it’s a diuretic, technically starts me out in the hole as far as my daily water consumption!  I plan to start small with a couple glasses a day (no sense setting myself up for failure on day 1!) and work my way up towards the recommended 8 glasses per day.   The benefits of drinking water make me wonder how I’m even functioning without it!  It’s good for the skin, weight maintenance/loss, aids in digestion and constipation, helps with exercise, less cramps and sprains, helps with headaches…the list goes on.

Exercise – I do pretty good with this as it is by hitting the gym at least 3 or 4 times a week, but I don’t push myself to the next level.  So….just yesterday, I signed myself up (Deena is joining me as well)  for  my very first ever 1/2 marathon.  I dabble in jogging but I want to take it a little more seriously and I figured with a set deadline I would be more likely to push myself and stick with the training.  Plus, by having someone do it with me, I will be held accountable for doing my required training runs.  We joined a team that one of my neighbors started so I hope to have someone come knocking on my door on a regular basis to go running.  There’s nothing like having someone waiting for you at the door to motivate you!

De-stress – One thing my children have taught me is patience, however being a stay-at-home mom, my patience gets tested A LOT more than usual.  And I’ll be the first to admit that a lot of the times I fail that test.  I am so worried about rushing through life to get to the next thing, that I take it out on my family by raising my voice to get them to move faster.  So for 2011 I am going to try and take a cue from my kids and “stop and smell the roses”.  My boys are growing up so fast that I need to just let them be kids and enjoy every moment, even if it takes them 15 minutes to get out the door.  I realize there will be times when teaching them about time management is important, but usually I am pushing them out the door for something that isn’t really important.  There are many times I lose my patience because they are misbehaving or just not listening.  I don’t want to ignore these teaching moments either, but I would like to start trying new techniques other than raising my voice.  I can actually feel my stress level and my blood pressure rise when I lose my cool.  So if anyone has any suggestions in this department, I’d love to get some feedback!!

Deena:

Every year at this time of year I start thinking about resolving to change something in the New Year…  This past year my goal was to train for another marathon and to try  something new each month.   The year started out well.  I was running on a daily (if not every other day) basis and I was signed up to run the Marine Corps marathon.   I had recruited my friend Catherine into trying new adventures with me and over the first couple months of the year we had tried everything from gourmet cooking classes to skeet shooting with a 12 gauge shotgun.

Then June rolled in and I got the breath knocked out of me, and suddenly those resolutions no longer mattered.  (For those that haven’t read the About Us section, this is when I found out my 14 year old son had bone cancer).   So, now as I look forward to next year what do I want my resolutions to be?

I want to continue to make strides in researching ways to keep my family as healthy as possible
Where I previously judged others as being overly cautious in what they ate or used,  I now understand.   I want my family and loved ones to benefit from a living a healthier lifestyle.  I plan to continue to share what we’ve learned on this site so that others can use the information as they see best for themselves and their families.

I want to remember the lessons I’ve learned and the moments shared
Lessons such as:

• to be present in the moment no matter where
• that sometimes a room full of argumentative kids will make you happy
• that sometimes the things you think are important will become completely insignificant
• to pay each good deed forward as you never know when you will be the person in need

Moments such as:

• a wheelchair-bound child taking their first step toward freedom
• how people you’ve just met will lift your spirits during tough times
• bald-headed children doing IV pole races
• how one child can motivate many

As for the marathon and new experiences… well I’m not going to throw those ideas out the window either.  I’ve already signed up to run a  1/2 marathon in June with Angela (It’ll be her first time running that kind of mileage and I’m excited for her!).  And I’ve got a few new experiences planned out for 2011 which I’ll share as part of this blog also.   However, my primary focus for 2011 will be to lead a healthier lifestyle and to not take anything for granted.

We’d love to hear your resolutions for 2011 if you’d like to share them.  (Just add a comment on our page).