This blog post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
I don’t know about you, but the year has flown by so quickly. Last year ended in a rush as we hurried to finish our home study. We were matched with Caleb’s birth mom mid-February and our lives have been a whirlwind ever since between a new baby, getting adjusted to our new normal and plenty of adventures in between. I’m hoping I’ll have the time to put together a recap of our year for you since many of our adventures have yet to hit the blog. While I’m working on that, though, I’m also thinking ahead to 2018. The beginning of a new year is always a great time to reflect, make some changes and plan for the future. In order to help you do the same, I’ve pulled together a few of my favorite posts from some local Columbus bloggers. I hope you’re able to find some inspiration for 2018!
I’ll start with mine. This was a hard one for me to write, so please be kind and gentle. I took a hard look at some of the “whys” behind my struggle with weight loss in order to shift gears and make some changes for a healthier life. I know this post isn’t for everyone, but I imagine that there’s someone else out there that can relate in some way or another. Also, anyone want to join me in overhauling our unhealthy habits?
Jamie and I are generally pretty good with our money. However, we took out a loan to pay for part of our adoption costs. For the first time ever in the 11 years we’ve been married, we have debt other than our house. That’s a big deal. We’re busy working overtime and extra jobs trying to pay it off. Every little bit helps. My friend Mary from Mission: To Save shared about her savings challenge. By just saving up your pocket change throughout the year, you could have several hundred dollars saved by next December. I always have random change lying around, so I’m definitely going to do this one.
Kathleen from Just Keep it Simple Fitness has six steps to making your own workout plan. We have a membership to the YMCA, but I always wander around aimlessly using random equipment if I’m not there for a class. I’ll be using her tips to help me get more organized at the gym.
My girl Lindsay from Find Where You Fit is challenging her readers to rethink the word “healthy” and to make sure they’re enjoying life too.
Eryn from 614 Mom is talking all about vision boards. If you want to know what they are, how to make one and why you need to have one, head over to her blog post for read!
Our family travels several times a year and staying healthy while we’re away from home is something we always fall short on. Katie from Zen Life and Travel has some really great suggestions for staying healthy while traveling. Whether you’re flying across the globe or taking a road trip, these are definitely tips you could use.
This October, we were able to take the boys up to Cape Cod to see my dad’s grave and spend time with a couple of my uncles. The trip was full of stories about my dad. I miss my dad. He was a great man who loved well and was loved. I hope someday that people tell stories about me the way they tell them about my dad. He really impacted so many different lives. Malini over at Lakes and Lattes wrote about this very same subject. Her personal project for 2018 will challenge you to think about your priorities and the kind of legacy you want to leave behind.
Shannon from My Life in the Blink is sharing something that has really been at the top of my list these last couple of years. It’s a lesson in being present in whatever you’re doing at the moment and saying “yes” to the important things and “no” to others. Definitely a great read!
I’m not sure what it is about this fall and winter, but our family keeps passing around the same cold. Liz from Breathe it All In is giving all of her essential oil 101 tips. I’ve definitely found it helpful trying to get rid of some of the icky germs we have floating around our house.
Hope you’re able to gather a few ideas and some inspiration from these posts as you plan for 2018. Go give these posts a read and then come back and let me know what you found the most helpful or inspiring!
I particularly enjoyed the post about what death teaches you. I appreciate the different perspective that the author encourages people to look at to consider what they could do in their daily lives that would make it more meaningful to them.
So many great ideas and very inspiring! I love your post in sharing about your weight loss struggles. That resonates with so many and is very inspiring and hopeful!
These are some great posts thank you for sharing these.
Very inspiring post. Your story about struggles with weight loss is something so many can relate too