We’re basically at the halfway point of #AMonthOfFaves2016– have you been enjoying it! Tanya at GirlXOXO, Andi at Estella’s Revenge and I hope you have!

 

Today’s Topic:

Wed. | Dec. 14 – Best Changes We Made This Year #AMonthofFaves2016 – to your Day / Life / Routines / Blog / Habits

I don’t really know if I made a ton of changes, but I did make a few and more tuned up some of my procedures! 🙂 🙂

1. I said goodbye to negative people. A couple of years ago or so, I was surrounded with some blogger “friends” who seemed really nice at first, but eventually showed some true colors. I wrote them off a while ago, but I had others in my life who it was time to let go of- less about their true colors, but more that after interacting with them, I would feel exhausted. I felt I had to walk on egg shells and ain’t nobody got time for that.

2. Users were told to hit the road. In life, I believe in a certain amount of karma in the world (you do good things, you get good things). So, when a “friend” asks for help with stuff I try to help out. Go that extra mile. All that jazz. But I am not their personal do-er, PR person, creator of their empires. And when I started to see that I was being used as combo of all things- I started walking away. Life is too short to feel used.

3. I used the “unfriend” and “unfollow” button on Facebook. Living in the South, SEC football is big. No, BIG. And me, I don’t give a flying flip about football. But many people do and all those people seemed to be in my timeline being all hateful to one another about football. A little teasing, etc is fine- but this was flat-out ridiculous. Unfollow, unfollow, unfollow. I even went a step further with some people- and unfriended some. If we haven’t spoken on FB or in real life in the 10-ish years that I’ve been on Facebook- we don’t need to be friends.

4. I have ALMOST given up soda. Truthfully, I’ll probably never completely give it up. But where I used to be way too many sodas a day girl, then I became a soda with my supper, and now I’m essentially soda only when I eat out at restaurants.

5. I embraced quiet time. Stretches of time of doing nothing. Just letting my brain rest. Or think (but not about to-do lists, etc) More about books, or how the sky looked perfect, or the clouds looked like I could jump in them. I embraced the quiet, the feel of pool water on my skin, the sun on my face.

6. I gave myself permission to say NO and YES. Sometimes I say yes to things and regret them. It’s more work. My plate is full enough. And on and on. I started saying no to more things. I also started saying yes to other things. To quiet time. To creative time. To fun.

7. I became a better planner. I checked things off my list. I went ahead and wrote the blog posts and social media instead of waiting till another time.

8. I reminded myself that it’s ok to NOT be where I wanted/dreamed/hoped I’d be in life- just as long as I wasn’t stagnant. I’m not married, I don’t have children or the white picket fence with the great big boxer and bay window like I wanted/assumed I’d be. I actually don’t even date (I won’t tell you how long it’s been since I have been on a date). And sometimes, if I being truthfully 100% honest, it bothers me. Especially when I see it look so easy for other folks. BUT I tell myself “this is your path. It may not include all the things you thought it would- it might even be better!” So, I walk my path. I remind myself to do my best every day. And that NOT being where I thought I would be is ok.

9. I decluttered the laundry room pantry. The pantry had tons of things in it. It had become a catch-all for things that I was unsure what to do with, for actual laundry room things and for other things. One day, I woke up and took it all apart. I got rid of many things. Organized what was in there and looked at my pantry happily.

10. I became a gardener. I’ve always loved fresh flowers. The smells, how the butterflies and hummingbirds love them. How they photograph so well. This year was the first year I actually made an attempt to garden, tho. I bought seeds (and learned that dahlia seeds did the best for me). I went to Lowe’s and bought plants. I did patriotic displays. I snapped pictures of butterflies on my flowers. I became a person who loved soil. Who was always looking for color schemes. Who truly enjoyed the meaning of “stop and smell the roses.”

 

 

*What changes did you make in 2016?*

 

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Happy Reading and Bookishly Yours,

T @ Traveling With T