Out with the old, in with the new

Ok, 2019, I'm ready for you!

Jason and I made a couple of quick decisions to start us off on the right foot for the year. We cut the cord on our cable and switched to an online TV service (Sling TV). It broke my heart a little bit when we discovered we couldn't watch the Rose Bowl, but you can't have it all, can you? It's probably not the worst thing in the world for our TV to be silent for a few hours so we can play a family board game and make ice cream. I WAS able to watch Northwestern come back from behind in the Holiday Bowl vs Utah, so that worked out ok.

We're also planning to join the gym at Northwestern, which is kind of funny, since I had a free membership for 4 years in college and never went. But it's totally worth it to belong as an Evanston resident because we can use the indoor tennis courts throughout the winter. We're basically taking our cable savings and using them for monthly gym fees, so I think that also works out ok.

In years past, I've tried to simplify my list of resolutions ... some have stuck, some haven't. I'm not even sure I made any last year. This year, I have a nice, long list and am planning to track my progress weekly in a notebook. Here goes:

1. No phones allowed from 6:00 - 8:30 pm. Jason and I have talked about doing this in the past, but haven't really made it a thing. Now it is.
2. Healthy eating. Kind of general, but I know what needs to be done here. (More vegetables, less sugar). Meal planning is key.
3. Exercise 4-5 times a week. I'm already pretty good about this, but now I'm going to track it!
4. Do something special with Molly every week. Of course :) This week, we made ice cream together and played Harry Potter Clue. Just want the reminder to always carve out time for my girl.
5. Date night with Jason. We were SO good about this for a long time and always made sure we planned something every month. Lately date nights been a bit more sporadic (I blame Riley - ha!), so it's back on the resolution list.
6. Long walks with Riley. It's cold and really not all that fun to be outside right now ... but Riley doesn't care. She has a warm coat and wants to explore. We've been phoning in the walks lately, just running around the block or up and down the street. But I promise in 2019 to give her the long, leisurely, smell-filled walks she needs.
7. Random acts of kindness. You want your kids to be nice people? You need to practice doing nice things. At least that's what Unselfie tells me (a parenting book I just finished for a new "Moms of Girls" book club I'm in). 
8. Family meetings. I'm hoping to do this on Sundays ... not make it a big thing, but just take the time to talk about the upcoming week, pay Molly her allowance (which has been spotty and inconsistent up to now), figure out a couple of meals, etc.   
9. Reduce and Reuse. Notice I'm not including "Recycle" here. I think the big push needs to be using and consuming less stuff -- taking the train to work more often, remembering the reusable grocery bags + coffee cups, unplugging cords and turning out lights, eating less meat, and buying fewer clothes. 

I feel good about my list. It's kind of long, but they are all easy things. I just need to turn them into habits :) Wish me luck!