Happy New Year!

I can’t believe it’s already 2014! This past year went by so quickly, and now it’s time to make our goals and resolutions for the next 365 days. While I’ve never been one to follow through with New Year’s resolutions,  I’m going to attempt to make them easier to achieve this year. No more “workout three times a week” or “eat healthy”. This year’s goals are going to be attainable and worth fulfilling. I mean, who really wants to eat healthy for an entire year anyway? It’s just not right.

So here they are in no particular order:

Get organized

I’m going to do this by sticking to a schedule and routine. My mom has literally been telling me for years to get myself into a daily routine, and I have yet to successfully do it. She says its especially important when you’re not going to work everyday. If you don’t have a routine, it’s easy to get cozy on the couch and find yourself still watching mind-numbing TV 6 hours later. So I’m going back to my cleaning schedule, and every night I’m going to plan out my next day. That sounds so corny, but I really think it will make me a more productive person. I’m also going to use my weekly planner more, and stick to the schedule I set for myself. I’m also thinking of ordering this customized planner so I can keep track of both my blogs and all of my personal stuff. It’s a little pricey, but it might be worth it.

this recipe

Dairy Free Product Guide

Don’t waste your money trying a bunch of products. I’ve already tried them all, and I’m sharing my tried-and-true favorites.

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Grow my blogs

This is a no brainer. I work really hard creating content and recipes, and I want to share it all with others. Obviously, there are thousands of ways to grow a blog, but here are few things I want to specifically focus on this year.

• Connect with more bloggers
• Start a new series on A Teaspoon of Happiness
• Develop Love in a Suitcase’s readership
• Attend a blogging conference (this one might be unlikely, but it’s definitely something I want to do if I can)

Improve my photography

I’ve been getting so much better already, but I really want to push my photography to the next level. I’m super comfortable taking photos of food, but I would love to get better at shooting other subjects. Not sure how I’m going to do this specifically, but I know that practicing is the only real way I’m going to improve. So that’s what I’m going to do. I also love reading online tutorials. Some of the blogs I love are Click it Up a Notch, Sweet C’s Designs and Kevin & Amanda. I would love to hear recommendations for more great photography blogs, so if you have some please leave a note in the comments section!

Learn to embrace the frustrations of living abroad

Sometimes its easy to be negative about my surroundings. Certain things about our lifestyle really get under my skin and ruin our experiences sometimes. I really hope to look past these struggles and frustrations so that I can fully enjoy our time abroad because every year we get to do this is a gift, and sometimes I forget that. So this year I’m going to try my best to get over my American self, and really understand what an awesome life we live.

Read 1 new book a month/Start an online book club

I’ve always loved reading. Even when I was a kid, I would stay up way past my bedtime to finish “just one more chapter”, but lately I’ve been to caught up in technology and television that I haven’t been reading very much. So I’m starting an online book club. I’ve wanted to do it for quite some time now, but my other blog just wasn’t a good platform for it. I’ll chose one book to read every month and write about it when I’m finished. I’ll have a list of books I’m thinking about reading and I’ll choose one book each month. I’m thinking about announcing it the week before the month so it will give others a chance to get on board or decide if they want to skip the month. Hopefully it will be a great way to connect with others and get into a good book at the same time.

Last Updated on April 7, 2022 by Melissa Belanger

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