A Little Reflection

So like any normal human being, I'm going to touch on some highlights of my year as it winds down quickly.  I'm not the type of person that judges their life progress year by year, but it IS good to reflect on lessons, memories, progress, and life overall.

One of the first things I started up in January was my workout jar.  I rewarded myself with a dollar every time I got in a workout of 30 mins or more.  I had hoped to make a bit more, but considering all the hiccups I ran into this year I don't think I did too shabby.

I ended up earning $140 for the entire year up to today.  That means I worked out on 38% of the days this year!  That's a lot more than I could have hoped!  Now that it's all counted up, I can spend it on whatever I want or I can choose to just add to the jar through 2014.  I chose to splurge on myself and will be getting the Fitbit Force delivered to me in the next couple of weeks!

I can't wait to get it and try it out!  My walking buddy was given a Fitbit as well for Christmas so I'm itching to get mine so we can compare daily activity!  The remainder of my money will be kept in the jar to add to 2014's earnings.  I believe I will continue my same deal.  $1 for every workout over 30 mins and something I added in September is I will earn $5 for every 5k I walk or run. :)

 Susan G. Komen 5k

Ugly Sweater Run 5k

The other thing I did through out the year was I worked on my Motivation Board on Pinterest!   That was one of the mini challenges or suggestions of some sort from the Shrinking Jeans.  I love adding to it as I happen to come across workout plans or quotes that move me in some way!  I felt it was a great boost to my "feel good" senses.  I highly recommend everyone make one and add to it as things catch your eye!

My year came with stress like any sane or not so sane person.  I fell victim to them rather than fighting through them and while I can proudly say I did as much as I did, I cannot proudly say I did my best or gave it my all.  But I'm choosing to focus on the first part.  I did accomplish a lot this year.  My knowledge of fitness and health has grown immensely!  I will forever be grateful for the knowledge gained and look forward to adding more to it!

I am ending the year with more weight on than I started the year off with.  It's due to a lot of factors, none of which deserve to be written down as an excuse.  I know what happened and I know I'm trying and that's all that matters.  It's a health journey, not just a weight loss journey.  I do hope to see some changes in my body this coming year as I buckle down now that I don't have school stealing my focus on my off time! :) It's just important to remember that everything worth while takes time and effort.  I'm willing to put in the time.

This next year I'm hoping to go about things a little bit different, maybe a little stronger, a little tougher on myself.  Looking back on my Jan. posts, I feel like I just didn't have the hang of things yet.  But as the year went by, I got more comfortable in my skin, in my blogging, in sharing what needs to be shared, in motivating.  I hope I can continue doing these things, and learn to do it all even better!

Thank you to all that read my blog.  I certainly write for myself but I write for others too.  I feel blessed to be considered motivation for anyone!  I hope to expand my readers a bit more in 2014 as well so if anyone feels the urge to share, by all means please do!

2014 will be kicked off with the Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans weight loss boot camp.  I will not be participating in the dietbets as they tend to stress me out more than they help but I will be doing the weigh ins, the challenges, the projects, etc.  I look forward to seeing old and new names and faces as we all take 2014 head on by force!  I also HIGHLY recommend following these awesome ladies because they have a lot to share and they are amazing supporters!

And my last words of blog wisdom for 2013 to push us forward into 2014 will be: