New Years Resolutions, Not My Thing. But Goals Are!

Happy New Year my blogging friends!!!

Sorry, it's been a few weeks.  I took one week off blogging to just relax and enjoy the Holiday's and family times.  But then last week I caught a bad cold and just decided to take another week off too.  I keep hoping I can shake this cold, but it is starting to seriously kick my butt.  I didn't think colds were supposed to last longer than a week, I sure wish this one would stick to that timeline rule!

Although I had been enjoying our unusual extended fall weather, I knew it would eventually come to an end.  We finally received our snow here, in the form of a White Christmas.  Literally, we didn't get the storm until Christmas morning where the valley's were finally blanketed in that beautiful white stuff:)
With the snow came of course the cold temps that come with it.  So with catching a cold shortly after Christmas I have been skipping the single digit morning temps and not going out in it for runs... yet...

I know I have mentioned this before, but I'll just say it again.  I actually don't believe in making New Years Resolutions and haven't for many years.  Why?

Well, according to Forbes, they say only 8% of people who make a New Years Resolution actually achieve their goal.  So I have always said to myself.  Why set myself up for failure:)
So yeah, that is why I don't set New Years resolutions.  However, if you know me, you know I am totally and completely goal oriented.  I start and make new goals all the time, I just don't make any specific new goals on January 1st and call them resolutions.

Many of you know I am a Fitbit user, and I love it!  I've only recently been adding a few friends on it, and getting into the competitions.  (Not sure what took me so long.:)
I have two sisters with Fitbits, one that crushes 30,000 steps in a day like its nothing.  Who doesn't add anyone to her friends account.  Which is okay for now, but in a few months when I am closer to that, I would love to take a crack at beating her in a day!

One of my other sisters just received one for Christmas, she's currently more a little more on my level.
She jumped right in on it, and added me and others immediately, and started pounding away at goals and competitions on it.

It was all awesome and great until I got sick, and then after two days in bed, and still getting challenges send over by her, with her beating me.  She texts me and tells me she's also got a bad cold, but that she is still going to kick my butt in daily steps.

(If you don't know already, I have a very competitive family:)

Of course, I can't let sickness keep me from beating her especially if she is sick too!  So for about four days in a row I got up, worked out for a 45-50 minutes to get my 10,000 steps in.  Then I would collapse in my bed and sleep off the rest of the day with cold medicine.
But each day she kept beating me, and it was driving me crazy.
Well in true competitive spirit she would keep up with me, and then when she knew I had gone to bed, even if it was 11:30PM, she was up running around her house so she could leave me in the dust on the challenges.

Once I figured this out, I picked one day and hit my goal and then late at night went another 4K steps and didn't sync it until almost midnight so she wouldn't have time to beat me.
Ya, sadly that is the only day I have beat her yet.
My cold seems to be coming back again so even my competitive nature couldn't keep it up over the weekend, and I am just sleeping things off a bit and hopefully will feel better soon and can get out and get running each day again, and then I can crush her in step goals each day!

It's all good and fun, and I am also enjoying the challenge competitions others friends invite me into as well.  I just feel bad I am not much competition right now.  But soon, that will all change!
If you don't have a Fitbit, and your thinking of getting one.  No matter your fitness level, they are awesome and really great motivation.  Especially when you start getting into daily challenges, looking bad just doesn't become an option and you immediately want to show others just how motivated you can be each day!


I was going to share with you some of my goals for the past year, what I have achieved and what I haven't yet.  But then I realized on my Monday posts I keep that part of my life pretty open, so I decided not to bring up things I talk about all the time:)

However, I will make a few mention.  A few months back I said I was aiming for a March Marathon, as my first after coming back after my 2 year forced layoff from them.
I am still deciding if I can be ready by then.  I am keeping tabs on the race and it hasn't sold out yet, but probably will sometime this month.  So January 15th is my goal decide date.
If I think I can do it, I'll pay for it all and start booking the trip.  If I think I need a bit longer, I will  aim for April.  So fingers crossed, and we'll see what the next few weeks bring as I am making the decision.

Another couple of fun goals I decided to give a try this year.  I actually have to give a shout out to my friend from down-under over at Run Mum.  She actually inspired this goal idea from what I read on her blog this year.
She has been working on a Handstand goal.  It got me to thinking about several weeks back when I tried to teach my niece how to do a back bend and then eventually a back bend walkover.  In my mind I still feel young, I only realize my body has changed when I actually go and try to do something that was so easy when I was younger.  When all of a sudden things hurt like never before, and I wonder where the heck all the flexibility went:)
In short, lets just say my niece still walked away not sure how to do it because I was so bad at the attempt to show her how haha.
So I have three similar goals I hope to work on this winter/spring (summer if it takes till then), I'd like to:

Do a back bend, and eventually turn it into a back bend walkover.

Do a freestanding handstand and be able to actually hold it for 15 seconds.

A perfect cartwheel:)

Why those three?  Well they all kind of go together, I think:)

No, I'm not trying to be a gymnast, my gymnast days are long in my past.  But I would like to be able to do those things again, just really for myself.  That and it might be fun to be able to whip one out when others aren't expecting it, haha...   So yup, those are the goals and ya I did steal one of the idea's from Run Mum:) 

I'm still deciding on if I will mention on the blog which race I will be attending before, or if I will wait until after.  I've always been an after the fact blogger/social media poster especially in the past with running.  Mainly for safety, since I am a solo traveler.
I know others do it, and don't have problems with it.  I know my blog has evolved a lot in the past few years.  I just don't know yet how I feel about it for myself yet.  But even if I don't mention which race and state I will be visiting.  If I notice other bloggers I know may be there, I may just reach out to you privately and possibly we could meet up at the starting lines and have a fun chat:)

I've got a lot of goals I am working on right now.  Some personal, some business related and a few that may even change my life quite a bit.  I am always excited about the future and what it may bring, even in all it's ups and downs!
I will say I am so thankful for each and every one of you who have stuck with me and follow my blog.  Blogging would be so boring without you my wonderful followers.  I look forward to blogging with you all in 2015!

If your stopping my my blog for the first time, feel free to leave a comment below.  If your a blogger, please leave me a link to your blog so I can come and visit your blog as well!

Do you make New Years Resolutions?  Or just work on goals all the time as you need or desire them?  What are some of your current goals.
Are you an after the fact blogger, or do you blog about things your going to be doing and places you'll be in the future?  I'd love to hear your thoughts on that, both sides actually since it is something that is quite a bit on my mind on what I should do for myself!