New year, new goals

It's that time of year again, when I like to refocus myself & think of what I'd like to work on in the following 365 days. I know a lot of people don't believe in making resolutions, but I really enjoy taking time to come up with mine. Here are my resolutions: 

1. "Pre-baby body"

I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (an autoimmune disease) in late 2012, and over the following year lost about 1 stone in muscle due to my symptoms. I've been a lot better since starting some new medication, so this year my aim is to build myself back up again. I want to increase my cardiovascular fitness - not looking to do any marathons, but managing regular 30-45 mins of fast walking would be good for me! I'd also like to incorporate a stretching programme into my daily routine, and work on some gentle strengthening (not sure what that will be yet).

The pre-baby bit of this is because of some advice a very wise friend who has recently become a mum gave to me. She talked about the importance of being as fit & healthy as possible before having a baby due to the stress that pregnancy and looking after a small child have on your body. I figured I should start with plenty of time!

2. More music

This year I would like to look at joining a choir again. I was part of a choir from the age of 7  to 18 and I loved it, I'd like to join somewhere that does classical choral singing but doesn't require members to sight-sing - hope I can find one!

I'd also like to go to more gigs, and spend more time jamming at home with my husband. We actually got together following him coming over to my halls to tune my guitar, and many of our first "dates" involved us singing & playing in my room (much to the annoyance of some of my flatmates!) I love live music, and discovering quaint wee gigs to go to - hopefully there will be more of these in 2014.

3. Date night

We would like to have a date night once a week, and we've decided we'll take turns of who plans what we are doing. Hopefully we'll be able to come up with some fun & affordable ideas!

4. Daily devotional

I'd like to get back into the habit of making time each day to read my bible and pray - when this part of my life is going well I feel much more content & happy. 

5. TV dinners max. once a week

Since we are blessed to have a house with enough room for a dining table, we are going to make an effort to eat together at the table everyday (with the occasional cheat day perhaps!).  Hopefully this will help us to make healthier choices for evening meals too. 

Have you made any resolutions?

Fi x