Good morning and Happy New Year! I missed you guys a lot last week but it was really nice to take a step away from the computer and enjoy quality time with family and friends over the holidays.
Ryan, Chase and I spent New Year’s Eve in Orlando with some of our best friends. It was wonderful to see a handful of the people we love and care so much about and I’m glad we were able to make the drive from my parents’ place in Jacksonville to ring in 2016 with some of our closest friends from college.
During the 2+ hour drive to Orlando, Ryan and I spent the majority of the drive talking about the new year. We reflected a bit on 2015 and shared some goals we both have for 2016 with each other.
I divided my goals into categories since I often feel like a Category Queen. For some reason, creating categories for my goals made it easy to compartmentalize my goals and focus on certain areas of my life. This is a wordy post, so buckle up, my friends!
Goals for 2016
Professional Goals
- Streamline/Automate Social Media
I’ve already started to do this a bit in the last two weeks of 2015, but now that I’ve purchased a year-long membership to CoSchedule, I think that streamlining the social media component of blogging will really help me feel less stressed and more organized. Truthfully, I don’t really love social media. I find it distracting, jumbled and overwhelming, but I understand its value, especially related to this blog and I do genuinely enjoy connecting with you guys via social media (especially Instagram!). Hopefully by automating some of the Twitter and Facebook-related social media shares that aren’t time sensitive, I’ll end up saving time in the long run and feel more organized all around.
- Focus On Evergreen Content
I’ve been doing a decent amount of reading about the future of blogging and already can see how much blogs have changed since I first started blogging in September 2009. I absolutely love sharing personal stories with you guys on the blog, but know that for Peanut Butter Fingers to continue to grow and thrive and function as my job, I need to be a little more strategic with my blog content. That’s where Evergreen content comes into play.
For those unfamiliar with the concept, Evergreen content is content that is continually relevant. A weekend recap might be fun to read once, but after it’s published on the blog, it’s typically forgotten and, therefore, not Evergreen. A recipe for an easy 20-minute one pot dinner, on the other hand, is always relevant, making it Evergreen. Readers are more likely to share Evergreen content and it’s much more likely to be searched for on Google, Pinterest, etc. I don’t see myself ever abandoning the personal aspect of Peanut Butter Fingers because I know that is the heart of this blog, but I do hope to sprinkle in more Evergreen content in 2016.
- Update Recipe and Workout Pages
My recipe and workout pages on this blog need so much help. They’re a visual mess and hodgepodge of content that I don’t personally find very user friendly. I’m hoping to get these pages updated sooner rather than later and know I’ll likely need to hire someone to help with the coding of these pages to get them to look the way I envision and make them as visually appealing and easy to navigate as possible.
- Research and Pursue Outside Product Idea
I hate to be vague with this one, but I’ve had an idea for something I’ve wanted to create and sell for years now and would love for 2016 to be the year I figure out how to make it work. I truly have NO idea where to begin but the idea has been nagging at me for way too long to ignore. It’s totally unrelated to this blog and combines my desire to create something beautiful with something that gives back in some way.
Personal Goals
- Bring Back Our Monthly Date Night Tradition
For years, Ryan and I had a monthly date night tradition where we’d alternate months and take turns planning special dates for each other. They never had to be anything fancy but we always had so much fun thinking about the other person and taking the time to put a little extra effort into planning a date we thought the other person would enjoy. With all of the baby craziness of 2015, we let this tradition fall to the wayside, but we are planning to bring it back this year! Ryan will be kicking things off and planning our January date and I’m already looking forward to a fun date night with him.
- Travel
We did a little bit of traveling in 2015 (our Canyon Ranch Babymoon was a blast!) but now that Ryan’s vacation time isn’t going to be totally swallowed up by tons of weddings, we’re hoping to use some of his free days to travel more in 2016. We’ve always loved traveling and exploring together and if there’s one area of our life that we think is worth splurging on a bit every year, it’s travel. Seeing new places and creating new memories with Ryan (and now with Chase!) is something that lights me up inside and I hope we can plan an exciting vacation or two in 2016.
- Focus on Healthy Eating and Meal Planning
I know the food choices I’ve been making lately leave room for improvement. (Helloooo ALL the SUGAR.) During the past two months, we’ve had a ton of visitors stay with us and then the holidays arrived, so meal planning fell to the wayside a bit and I found myself reaching for packaged/convenient/not-so-nutritious foods time and time again. This year, I want to take some time every weekend to plan healthy meals for myself and our family and utilize Sunday afternoons to prep food for the week ahead. I know this is important for me when it comes to setting myself up for healthy-eating success!
- Sneak In 10 Minutes Of Cleaning Every Day
Ryan and I got a little better about keeping our house cleaner in 2015 and I’d love to carry that over into 2016. I’ll give myself a little leeway on this one since sometimes a messy house is unavoidable with a little one, but I’d really like to try to sneak in 10 minutes of cleaning every day. I started doing this right after I put Chase to bed at night last month and noticed how much better I felt when I woke up to a kitchen that didn’t look like a total disaster or a living room that didn’t have baby toys thrown about all over the floor.
Parenting Goals
- Keep Chase Number One
Working from home is such a blessing. I know I am so incredibly lucky to have a job that allows me to stay at home with my baby boy, but there are definitely days when I feel overwhelmed because I don’t have time to do everything I set out to do. The demands of caring for a five month old vary day-to-day and I sometimes allow myself to feel frustrated when a day comes and goes and I feel like I have accomplished nothing professionally. This blog is so incredibly important to me, but Chase is 10,000 times more important. I know I will never have this time with my baby boy again and I don’t want to feel regret when I look back on his baby days and wish I would’ve focused on my son more. He deserves my full focus and attention and everything else can and will fall into place even if it takes more planning, some late nights and saying no to things along the way.
- Find A Playgroup
I am currently part of a women’s small group through a local church and absolutely love it! We meet every Wednesday morning and bring our babies, but it isn’t a playgroup for our little ones. As Chase gets older and more interactive, I would love to find a playgroup or two to join to connect with other moms while our little ones play and learn to socialize and interact with people other than mom and dad.
- Explore Every Day
It can be really easy for me to keep Chase at home when I am trying to get a ton of blog-related work done, but I know that Chase LOVES getting outside and exploring! He is such an animated little guy and seems to thrive on new experiences. It’s so fun to watch him light up and his eyes get wide when we go for a walk together, sit outside in the backyard or even head to the grocery store to pick up food for the week. I’ve noticed that Chase seems to get fussier and more restless if we stay at home all day and I want to continue to focus on showing him new things and getting out of the house every day for a little while, even if it’s just for a walk around the neighborhood with Sadie or a quick trip to a friend’s house for a lunchtime visit.
Question of the Day
- I’d love to hear about some of your goals for 2016! What is one of your personal goals? One of your professional goals? If you are a parent, what is one of your parenting goals? Please share!
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These goals are great! One of my goals is to stick to 21DF/ clean eating. I feel so much stronger in my workouts when I’m not eating processed food!
Good luck Amanda! I just stated 21 DF today. This will be my 2nd round! Love it.
I love your goals, and Happy New Year! A big personal goal for me is to save up money. I’m getting married and hopefully buying a house this year, so I need to start saving like crazy! A professional goal is to change jobs at my current work. I’ve been in the same group for 3 years, so I’m hoping to try something new!
I love your goals! My main goal is to have a happy, healthy baby (I’m due in 20 days!) and balance working and being a mommy, plus a wife, friend, daughter, etc!
Aw, you’re so close! Congratulations! I have a feeling 2016 will be an amazing year for you. <3
Hi Julie!
I love your goals! Mine are to travel more, purchase a rental property (our big goal!), meal plan and eat healthy, increase my blogging income, and REST! 2015 was crazy; so my main goal is to rest in 2016 while accomplishing my goals as time allows. Like you said, our kiddos come first. My girls are 2 and 3, and I don’t want to miss a moment of this precious time!
On a travel note (we also live in Charlotte), we went to Charleston for the night this past weekend and it was wonderful! If you go, I recommend staying in the historic downtown area. We were able to walk everywhere and there is tons to do! Folly Beach was also fun 🙂 You have to drive there, though! (There are tons of beaches and bays in the historic downtown area, too!)
Hope you have a wonderful day!!
So glad to hear you loved Charleston! We wanted to make the drive there for a long weekend last year but never made it. Charleston is definitely on our radar!
I have a vacation rental in Gatlinburg TN for sale if that is the way you want to go. Feel free to email me if you want more info. In 2014 it grossed $32k in income. vickerslauren@yahoo.com
Yes you definitely need a playgroup! That’s how I’ve met some of my closest friends now! A goal of mine is to do a little meal prep every week – for lunches at least!
I feel the same way about working from home for yourself. I often find myself frustrated because I’m unable to accomplish a fraction of my professional to-do list and I feel like I’m lagging behind. The thing i’m working on is just what you said: the baby is #1. So, when he needs me to play with him, I’m working on being 100% present – not sort of playing, sort of working on my computer or phone. This is the season of the baby, and everything else is just going to have to fit around it (even if that means staying up later at night which is something I reallllly don’t want to do! WAHH!!)
Exactly! When Chase is awake, I’m trying to make that time a “No Work Zone” which can be hard!! But he totally deserves my undivided attention a I truly do enjoy giving it to him! I just need to work on quieting the voice in the back of my mind that makes me feel like I’m not getting anything done at times. Being his mom is priority #1 and adjusting my preferred schedule (working in the morning/afternoon) to working in at night may be necessary some (most?) days. Also, BIG congrats to you on your new business!! Sounds amazing! 🙂
Hi Julie! I also have a son about a month older than Chase. Before him, my husband and I were avid travelers! I’d love to hear more about your travel plans- where and how you will be traveling with a baby!! We have a couple of trips planned to visit family and one summer beach trip planned, but I’m definitely interested in other baby friendly ideas! Are traveling internationally? What do you do about a car seat etc. when flying somewhere/ needing to take a cab etc.
So far our trips with him have been road trips only (we did our longest trek over the holidays at 6 hours). I will be flying with Chase for the first time at the end of January and I’m definitely feeling both excited and nervous about it! I booked a direct flight to Denver to hopefully make it easier, but I’m sure there will be a learning curve involved. I’ll definitely blog about the experience when I get back!
These are great goals! Here’s to a wonderful year in 2016!
I love your goals, even trying to fit in just ten minutes of cleaning every day. I loved your December date to the houses in first ward. I still need to get down there myself! Happy 2016, Julie!
Some of your goals are similar to mine! We also want to have monthly date nights and I’m working on a cleaning schedule too. It’s so hard with a kiddo, especially when they’re running around everywhere!
These looks like really well-rounded goals! Finding a playgroup will CHANGE your life in the best way possible! It’s an awesome social time for both mama and baby alike! Hope your 2016 is absolutely amazing! 🙂
Interesting to hear the term “Evergreen Content”
I had a blog consultant look at my Blog this summer and she said to skip the personal stuff. 🙁 Told me my Life Coaching lessons were great, recipes and workouts ok too, but no one cares about my weekend. HEEEY!!
I too, am working on creating relevant content that will be shared. Love things that have a “print” feature. I need to learn how to do that for lessons, recipes, workouts etc… That’s my goal for 2016.
As a blog READER I have to disagree with your blog consultant. I guess the Evergreen content is what will drive new traffic through search engines but if I were to follow a blogger(like Julie) and she eliminated all personal posts, I would probably quit following her. While I like the content driven posts, I can find those anywhere. The personal connection is what keeps me coming back.
That’s great feedback. Thank you!
I think what I take from that is to strike a balance between sharing personal and having relevant content. maybe if I share a weekend fun thing, I can make the relevant content about having fun, or learning to say yes, or learning to say no… tie a lesson into the personal stuff?
I have to agree with Suzanne! Personal content is what makes your readers love you. You can find recipes and workouts anywhere but I wouldn’t return to a blog just for that. So a balance is good I guess. 🙂
Agreed. I would stop following if there were no personal posts.
I totally agree here. I see enough “evergreen” content on social media – I don’t care who wrote it, will just look at one article because it had a catchy title, but would never go back to read more from that author. What keeps me coming back is the more personal content, as it is more relatable. Sadly if your start introducing more evergreen content than you already do (i think there is already a lot, – all the Top 15 posts, recipes, workouts, etc), then I’ll probably move on!
I totally agree. There seems to be a lot of the evergreen already, and I just scroll past. I read for the personal, and, if there is even less personal than there is already, I’ll move on.
I agree with the above. I think this blog is becoming mainly about evergreen content. I honestly skim past most of this stuff because these are things I can find on pinterest, instagram, etc. I started reading this blog back in 2010 because it consisted of almost exclusively personal lifestyle posts. I have started coming here less and less as I’m seeing more and more roundups and top 15’s, and more and more “clickable” content on favorites posts. It always seems like when bloggers get bigger and more popular they start to turn to easier ways to produce content. I enjoyed this blog a lot more when the posts were longer, more personal posts about day to day life. Just my opinion.
I have to agree, Julie. I feel like your blog has much much more “evergreen” content than it had in years’ past, and unfortunately I come back here much less than I used to. I like blogs that are personable and relatable.
I have to agree – I skip over all of your top 15 posts and most recipes – the ‘evergreen’ stuff. its more the personal stuff that keeps me coming back and especially as i get busier and look for blogs to cut back on, those with more of the ‘evergreen’ stuff will be taken out of my reading rotation.
Totally agree! Also as blog reader, I believe the best part of pbfngers is the personal stuff. The recipes, workouts etc.. I can find anywhere (no offence Julie!). It’s the day to day, weekend, philosophical, lessons learned – real life stuff, which has kept me reading 5 or so years now…you know, the little things like Sadie’s vet visits! haha. If anything Julie, I will actually tend to skip over the evergreen posts, and go straight to the personal posts! 🙂
Even though I already commented separately this morning, I just have to add my agreement to this particular thread when I saw it grow. I enjoy reading about bloggers lives more than I do the evergreen content, which can be found anywhere. I guess I see it as evergreen posts getting people IN the door, but people only STAY and return if they connect to the blogger, which they only do through the sharing of personal stories. Dare I say that I know there are bloggers Julie has traveled with and linked to that I don’t visit because it’s all evergreen, all the time, and it doesn’t hold my interest (ugh, don’t want to hurt other bloggers feelings AT ALL, that’s why I’m not naming blogs.) Goes back to the old marketing idiom: new customers will cost your company 5 times more than keeping an existing customer. My most repinned pins are from bloggers who have one evergreen post go viral, but they don’t retain those visitors because there’s nothing personal to return to and connect with. One post with a million views paired with daily posts with 1000 viewers that never grow is the result. Ree Drummond has great recipes, sure, but people came in droves for her personal stories and a glimpse into her personal life. She did a survey earlier in 2015 about what people wanted to see more of on the blog (recipes, personal stories, diy, etc.) and by far, the biggest poll numbers were about personal stories. Since then, she’s increased them. We’ve watched her family live without power and water, watched her oldest daughter graduate high school and go to college, listened to her rambling enjoyable thoughts about nothing, heard song clips of them singing, and so many other, just-plain-personal-and-fun posts. It’s the kind of thing that gains loyal readers, rather than the single-visit people who might stop by Cooking Light once in a blue moon. Just thought I’d share more in depth since I’m a really long time reader who visits daily, and perhaps there are many people like me who feel the same.
Just had to jump in here and give my $0.02 as well. Agreed: keep the personal posts coming!
As someone who struggles with finding a healthy balance (and I know I’m not the only one), I find your personal posts so helpful. You model what a healthy, balanced life looks like, and that’s what keeps me coming back for more…not recipe/workout round-ups (though they have their place…just not what I would call the heart and soul of your blog). 🙂
I like what Kim from MN above said about a survey. Why not survey your readers on what they most want to see the direction of your blog take? Of course, ultimately, that’s up to you, but it may be really helpful info.
Anyway, all that to say that I am one of many who adore the personal touches in your blog! 🙂 Happy New Year!
I totally hear you guys!! I love writing the personal posts and definitely plan to continue to share them in 2016! 🙂 I simply hope to sprinkle in a little more Evergreen content here and there. The personal stuff is definitely staying. Thanks for your feedback!!
As a blog reader…. I get hooked following blogs of women who share similar values & lifestyles to me, currently, active/healthy lifestyled new moms! I can google a workout or recipe anytime and even if it’s a good one- chances are I won’t follow the blog for long, if at all, unless I relate to the blogger. I follow Julie’s blog because it’s fun to hear about her new mom experiences with Chase while staying fit. I’m due in March & it’s encouraging to ‘watch’ someone else maintain their healthy lifestyle through pregnancy and into mommihood. Put in less words: don’t feel bad about posting the personal ?
I agree. I think a mix is good but I do think that bloggers underestimate the power of the personal. It also reminds me that you are human and not just in it for the money.
As an avid blog reader, I disagree. If a blogger stopped blogging about personal/lifestyle topics, I would stop erasing because I can get content in a google search engine. Julie doing a day in the life post about balancing motherhood and work, is not something I can google. Just my thoughts 🙂
Reading not erasing
Love these goals! If/when you find a play group, I would LOVE to hear about how you found it! I’m having a tough time (okay, truth me told I’m an introvert and I haven’t truly tried that hard..) finding one for my son!
Such good goals! I’m having to line up some blog goals for 2016 too. It’s nice to be able to talk it out with the Hubby since there aren’t really blog co-workers!
Glad you had a good New Year!
I love your idea about creating and selling something. I’m looking forward to hearing more in 2016!
My goals:
Personal – Run another half marathon and hike another 4,000 foot mountain
Professional – Increase my income by 10% with side projects
Parent – Get pregnant :0 fingers crossed!
Hey Julie! Do you know if there is a stroller strides group in your area? I think you and Chase would love it! Not only can you do workouts together but they have weekly play dates and monthly moms night outs. By participating in stroller strides when my daughter was an infant I found such a great community and developed strong friendships. You should definitely check it out!
I do social media as my job for several organizations, and one thing you want to watch is the scheduled social media posts. If something important, major, or tragic happens in the world, and you have a post that goes up simultaneously, you could appear to be really insensitive. Especially if people reading you don’t realize that they’re scheduled, and think that you just totally ignored the major act of nature/tragedy/etc. Just something to consider when you’re planning out your goals. Happy New Year!
The evergreen thing is hard isn’t it? I’ve been trying to introduce a smattering of evergreen content in with my daily stuff. You want to be authentic but also have shareable content, it’s a delicate balance! I know that I read blogs to see the personal stuff, to get an idea on how they actually live out their lives and stay on track/get back on track. It’s the reality TV behind blogging!
I know your going to knock your goals out of the park this year!
These are great goals! I’d like to do some big blog cleanup this year too, just organize everything a little better.
I’ve also decided to upgrade my loungewear/PJs. After pulling nothing but yoga pants and gray t-shirts out of my laundry this weekend I realized I need to put in some more effort there!
Great idea Kelly. Mine are usually comfy micro fiber types from Costco. My issue is with two cats, especially one that as soon as I sit down at night is on my lap, I don’t want anything too nice. I try to at least wear cute socks to make up for it! Poor hubby!
Happy New Year! Love the goals you have set and categorizing is my favorite 🙂
My number one goal for this year is to simplify. To me that means decluttering, not buying things that I know I’ll never use, cut down on the time spent on facebook/instagram/snapchat. This means I’ll have more time and money to spend on activities that I’ll enjoy, get outside more, and overall be happier.
Healthy eating and meal planning are definitely on the top of my list too. I love the Evergreen part… totally makes sense. Happy New Year!!
I’ve been using CoSchedule for the last few months and really like it. It’s great to have all the social media sharing done for my post as soon as I schedule it. I don’t have to worry about remembering to do it later. It’s definitely worth the money for me.
Great goals! I just penned down the goals for 2016. Travel is definitely one of them. 🙂 what are some places you are looking to visit? I like your date night idea! I would love to start that with my fiancée.
These are all wonderful goals, and those categories make a lot of sense for where you are in life. For me, my goals fall into running, blogging and personal this year. Running is all about my first marathon, and blogging is about growing while still keeping it fun for me – I hadn’t heard of Evergreen content but it makes so much sense and I can see how the recipe “personal” posts are really enjoyable for me to write, so striking a balance will be key to keeping up both ends of the bargain. In my personal life, there are relationships I want and need to prioritize, and I know blogging may take a bit of a hit because I won’t sacrifice those or my running goals, and my full time job is an intense commitment! So again, I guess this year is about finding the right balance 🙂
Great goals! I have very similar ones myself for the year. MOPS is a GREAT playgroup and I am sure there is one in your area 🙂
Most of 2014 & 2015 were spent getting settled into a new area, a new job, balancing family/friends, & planning our wedding, so it’s seemed like the past few years have been such a blur for us & where we’ve always felt like we’ve had SOMETHING to do. So some of our goals are to really focus in on ourselves again–we know we have a couple year timeline before kids, so we are planning on eating healthy, working out,reading more, buying a new house, traveling (we’ve got a trip to Europe booked for this summer!) & enjoying a slower pace of life. Personally, I’d like to expand my social horizons as well as my HS/College friends are spread all over the state, but I have limited friends who are local. Knowing you & Ryan just moved to a new area, I’d love to hear how you branched out & found many of the groups you’re involved in!
In news that I am SURE will not shock you…I give two bug thumbs up to CoSchedule/automation AND evergreen content! 🙂
Ha! Big thumbs up. Bugs probably don’t have thumbs.
Now I’m finding myself wondering if they do, ha!
I’m SO excited to explore both of these! Let me know if you have any posts sharing your thoughts on either, please. #newbiebloggerproblems
But your Bug Children have thumbs. 🙂
I love making goals, I think it really helps set my intentions and makes sure I’m making the best use of my time. I loved your goal about exploring! I work from home right now too and it’s really easy for me to just stay at home and get caught up doing things around the house. It’s important to get outside though! Glad you had a great holiday 🙂
LOVE this and look at you jumping right into it! I ended up pushing my goals post to this afternoon to start the day with something more lighthearted. But I’m going to have to jump into LiveWriter to make some edits. Evergreen content is a GENIUS concept.
I’m also excited to hear your thoughts about CoSchedule. I’ve thought about it for a while, but haven’t jumped in… yet!
One of my primary blogging goals is to find a way to better connect my blog content to Instagram. I finally started an Insta account related purely to my blog (@SemiSweetTooth) and am still exploring ways to improve on that side. I’ll let you know what I find out! 🙂
xo, Jessica
Happy New Year! Please keep in the personal parts of the blog. I love following along with Sadie, Ryan and Chase antics.
Professionally: Goal is to be content where I am but also grow and develop my own virtual assistant business in 2017. I love being an EA for a company however, we can live any where with my husbands job so my goal is to take my business on the road with us as well!
Personal: Travel and enjoy the moments more.
Health: Make this my best year yet! Lose my fat, build muscle and walk up 3 flights up stairs and NOT DIE!!!
Love these goals Julie!! I am also a category queen but decided to keep the goals a little more low-key this year. My biggest goal is to work on “just going with it”. I love to have everything under control, but life just doesn’t work that way. So rather than getting stressed about the small things, I am going to just go with it. I also have a goal to read at least one book every month. So far, I am just about done with my second book of the month!
For the first time in many years, I actually am not setting any goals this year at all. Part of that is a goal in itself … rather than planning everything how I want it to be, I hope to make decisions as they feel right. Yet, I will always agree with many of the things you’re striving to do — travel — healthy eating — growing the blog with evergreen content, etc. Great goals, Julie! Here’s to an awesome 2016!
2015 ended in a not positive note which left me jaded. I am hoping to change my outlook on life in 2016. So to do that I am keeping a gratitude diary. For 365 days I will be Journaling three things I am grateful for each day. I am hoping the added positivity will make me happy once again.
I just wanted to add that as a daily reader of your blog since the early days, I’m a big fan of the personal/daily life of bloggers. You know that feeling you have when you read a book, and you don’t want it to end? That’s the feeling I have for my favorite bloggers (you included), and what makes blogs so great. I have to agree with Kelli @Hungry Hobby and Suzanne @ Life is a Mix above – the evergreen content is something I can get anywhere, but the personality of the blogger is only something I can get from the individual blogger. Evergreen stuff is the stuff that gets the most individual-post hits and shares, but it’s the personal stuff that gets people to invest and return daily, and what makes this blog, and others I really like, the most enjoyable.
I hope 2016 brings you even more joy. I had a really good 2015, goal-wise, so I’m planning to keep the momentum for 2016!
A personal goal of mine is to get back on track with healthy eating and working out more often. A professional goal of mine is to be more organized especially since I have taken on a new role at my job (and will have a ton more responsibility/duties!). I love your goals though! Good luck with everything this year and I can’t wait to read along! (PS today is my bday–last year in my 20s eeeek!!)
Some nice goals!!! Definitely need to check out the coscheduler tool!
Love our goals! I can’t wait to hear about your product idea once you get it going, you always post such thoughtful and creative craft ideas, I’m sure this one will be amazing! Two of my big goals for the year are to get back to healthy eating and to have more adventures with my friends and family.
Look into your local YMCA for an infant swim class. Our Y allows infants beginning at 6 months and I met a few moms that way.
2016 Goals:
1. Drink more water!
2. Date night with my husband at least every other month.
3. Be in the moment.
4. Set goals and make decisions that energize and empower me.
5. Workout 4x a week.
WOO! Let’s DO THIS!
My personal goal is to complete a Whole 30. I’m currently on day 6 and am looking forward to conquering this resolution by the end of January! My parenting goal is to enjoy a family adventure each weekend.
Library story times are a great way to meet other mama’s with babies around the same age as yours and are so fun and interactive! When we moved to the Charlotte area last year library story time a couple of days a week was the perfect way to get my boy introduced to a social setting! Happy new year!
One of my fun goals for 2016: wear more lipstick!
I’ve always been more a gloss/chapstick girl but I feel like lipstick easily gives you such a polished look, and is on trend. I’m planning to pick up MAC’s Ruby Woo shade as I’ve heard it’s flattering for all skin tones.
Btw, I appreciate both the personal updates and Evergreen content – keep up the good work 🙂 It’s nice to have a balance of both.
As a long fan of PB Fingers, I hope your blog does not become overwhelming Evergreen. I’ve taken many journalism classes, and while I am familiar with the strategy, I love your personal posts. Truthfully, it’s the main reason why I follow you! But take this with many grains of salt. I am just one reader who loves watching your family grow. Do what you need to do for the blog’s success. Just wanted to share my thoughts. 🙂 I love PB Fingers!
I also hope to travel more this year! I traveled way more in 2015 than the 2014, and hoping to do the same in 2016!
My goals for the new year are to spend more time with friends, volunteer more, and strengthen my yoga practice.
Your goals sound awesome! 2015 was such a fun year for PB Fingers. I have loved following your blog and watching your family grow. I am excited for what’s to come in the new year! <3
Thank you for reading, Melanie!
Hey Julie! I like that you categorized the goals. I don’t go to your workouts page, so no feedback on that, but for recipes…I don’t mind that the page isn’t visually appealing. I seriously hate when bloggers recipes pages are just links to posts tagged “recipes.” I like the way yours is – all links to the recipe posts. If I think “buffalo chicken sandwich” sounds good, I’ll click it. On the recipe page, I don’t want to see the first paragraph of whatever of every post that has a recipe, or the full post of every post with a recipe. Takes forever to load and sometimes if I am out of ideas for recipes and think “damn I’ll go to [xx] blog to see if they have any ideas” and when thelayout is like that, it’s a huge turn-off. Efficiency > visually appealing.
Thanks for sharing! This year I’m hoping to worry less, travel some more, and work on growing my blog.
Wow! This was a great list and I will definetely be stealing some of these!
If anybody could check out my blog that would be amazing!
https://sweetpotatoesrunner.wordpress.com
Great goals! I plan to make 2016 my year to start my own business or make a slight career change. It’s so scary to think about but no risk, no reward right?
We’re expecting our first baby in June so my goals for 2016 are basically to get to June as healthy and active as I’m able to be, and then to figure out this whole parenting thing once little guy arrives. I have a feeling that this year is going to FLY by.