January Resolution Recap

the hot cocoa cookies that got the better of me and my resolutions 

Is it just me, or should January 31st be an actual holiday? Whoever is in charge of all the bogus “holidays” like Sing Showtunes All Day at Work and Crepe Appreciation Day, can you add January 31st to the list, and make it really, really good? Something like Peanut Butter S’mores Waffle Day. Screw it, I hereby declare January 31st to be the day peanut butter, s’mores and waffles come together in a delicious fashion, appropriate for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

We deserve a treat for making it to the end of January, the worst month of the year. I hate to be such a downer on January, since it comes with the best intentions. It’s always the same masquerade; you lie to yourself that you’re excited for January, since you indulged way too much over the holidays and are ready to get back on track. Not only does January bring a clean slate and a bunch of opportunity, you’re really excited by your goals for the new year because this time things are different and this time you’re going to meet your goals and this time January isn’t going to get the better of you. 

Three weeks later, the motivation is gone and the cookie dough crash is real and you’re in a hell of your own making, wondering why anyone would deny themselves necessities like chocolate and peanut butter. 

In case you couldn’t tell, I’m absolutely crushing my January goal to avoid added sugars. Let’s take an honest look at how the month went:

January

No Alcohol
This one was surprisingly easy. January is dark and cold and I just want to snuggle up at home with a cup of tea and a cozy blanket. I wasn’t born yesterday, I didn’t do this ban to coincide with patio drinking or pumpkinhead ale for a reason. 

No Added Sugar
This one started strong, but I soon found myself off track. I knew I had to “cheat” a little, since we tweaked some of the desserts at work and I had to taste a few new things. When I made cookies for the AFC Championship game last Sunday, things started to unravel quickly. I had a dozen hot cocoa and Reese's Pieces peanut butter cookies sitting in my pantry and it was like they were singing the siren song of the Pirates of the Caribbean mermaids; I was helpless to their charms. After a botched day (okay, three botched days) I vowed to finish the month strong, but I’ve had another relapse (or two). I know I need to limit my sugar intake -if anything this month proved to me how addicted I am- but it hasn’t happened yet. 

2018 Continued 

Limit Television
This one hasn’t been as hard as I initially thought. That being said, I haven’t stuck to it perfectly. Last Thursday was one of those “screw it” days, the kind where all your resolutions go to crap, and I came home and binged on cookies and SVU’s. Other than that, I’ve been doing fine with less TV and plan to continue the trend after January.

“Read” 75 Books
I’ve read/listened to seven books in January. I don’t know if I can keep this pace up, but it’s a great start and I’m confident I’ll reach 75 books in 2018. 

Blog Twice a Week
So far, so good. I know it’s incredibly early, but I’m getting better at jotting down ideas when they come to me and writing drafts instead of being all “oh, that’s what I wanted to write about” two weeks later when the forgotten post idea has made its way back to me. I like the accountability this one brings.

Workout Five Times a Week
Every day in January, boom. I have a post coming on how I made the treadmill my bitch. 

Organize all Closets
This one was a filler, something that wasn’t really on my radar, but I took it seriously once I saw it on the blog, and all the closets have been ransacked and reorganized. Hmm, that makes it sounds much better than what happened, which was Brent and I going through the closets one night and being like, okay, looks good in here. Honestly, though, we didn’t have the influx of crap I thought we did and they were already pretty organized. I donated a bunch of clothes from my closet, got rid of some stuff in the mudroom closet, and took inventory of the linen and bathroom closets, so I'm calling this one a success. 

Comments

Stephanie said…
Pretty damn good! The sugar is a hard one to quit. I'm not surprised that it unraveled after you had to taste sugar at work, that's how addicting it is to your brain. Crazy!
Brigid said…
@Steph: So envious of your non-sweet tooth, b/c I can't even imagine not thinking about sugary sweets ALL DAY. Overall, I'm satisfied w/ January; the real test will be if I can keep the momentum going!