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Healthy New Year’s Resolutions – 2012
Blog Of The Week
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
by Michelle Marine from Simplify, Live, Love
I have lots of New Year’s resolutions. I make them in my head every year, but I rarely write them down and so I don’t have a very good track record of actually accomplishing them. This year, I’m writing them down in the hopes they will inspire greater action! I’ll be writing several posts on all of my goals, but these are the top five in the HEALTH category!
1. Find sources of local meat (pork & chicken) – On my to-do list for a very long time has been to buy better meat. I do have a great source of beef, but I still buy chicken and pork at the grocery store. In 2012, I am finding local pork and chicken! I’ve seen several signs for Amish meat while driving through Kalona and I’m looking through the website Local Harvest to see what I can find, too. Local Harvest is a great place to start if you want to incorporate farm fresh food into your own life.
2. Gardening – I have a lot of gardening goals this year. Unfortunately, my garden did not do that well in 2011. I have learned from some of my mistake. For instance, as nice as it was to garden in the shade, my garden is moving to a new, sunny spot in 2012. I also learned that it is not a good idea to plant a garden over walnut tree roots.
Walnut trees emit a toxic chemical called juglone that is very hard on tomatoes, potatoes, cabbage, peppers, and eggplants – all veggies I love to plant in my garden. My new spot better be walnut root free! We only have about 100 walnut trees on our property, so it might be easier said than done. I have already ordered my 2012 seed catalog from Seed Savers and am excited to begin planning out my new and improved 2012 garden!
I’ll also be planting an orchard in 2012. I am so excited to receive my shipment of fruit trees from Trees of Antiquity. Another gardening goal will be to learn about caring for an orchard to keep those trees alive!
3. Continue to walk to local errands - A continued goal will be to keep walking to local errands! This is a great goal for my health and also to reduce gasoline consumption and fossil fuel emissions. I started walking more often back in the fall for International Walk to School Day and it’s been very nice for my back, my waistline, and is helping keep toxins out of our already dirty Iowa air!
4. Grow my blog – Another goal is to grow my blog. I love blogging – spreading the word about greener living options not only teaches me a lot about the world around me, but I love letting other people know what’s going on. I need to accomplish this in a responsible manner, though, without ignoring my family or spending too much time on the computer. :-) That last part is going to be very hard and will require streamlining and extensive list writing – two things I regularly fail at. :-) In a nutshell, I need to learn to work smarter!!
5. Take a vacation! – Finally, I need a vacation! It’s been too long since we were able to relax somewhere nice and spend some time de-stressing. Last year we were set to go to Florida to visit great friends in January and three major things happened: my baby was hospitalized for pneumonia at Christmas, we sold our house and had to move into a small rental we owned that first needed to be gutted and re-built (a baby step to being able to build our “forever” home by our barn) and my husband’s grandpa died. Needless to say, we did not get our Florida vacation.
This fall, my husband and I were supposed to head to Scottsdale together for a business trip and we found out the same baby had a dislocated left hip {Developmental Hip Dysplasia} and needed massive surgery. That discovery meant I missed another vacation! But this year, I’m going on vacation. As soon as Sara’s cast comes off and we are cleared, we are headed to Florida to see the friends we missed last year. And I’m putting that resolution on this blog to make sure it happens!!
Great resolutions, Michelle! Thanks for sharing them with us! Here are more resolutions submitted through our blogger network:
- Love: New Year’s Goals 2012 by Nicole of Save, Live, Eat, Love
- Slowing Down- My New Years Resolution by Michelle of Mkokopelli
- Healthy New Year’s Resolutions by Paige of Spit That Out
Interested in being a part of our blogger network? Sign-up today!
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What are YOUR New Year's resolution? GIVEAWAY (CLOSED)
Congratulations to Jessica, winner of our Citrus Lane care package! Her New Year's resolution: "My resolution is to start to become more a part of my community. My goal is to go to the local zen center 1x/month and go on at least 1 trip with the local paddling group this year."
Leave a comment by Wednesday, January 4 at 11:59 PST to win a limited-edition Citrus Lane & Healthy Child Healthy World parenting care package curated by our Executive Director, Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff! Debuting in January for Citrus Lane subscribers, the cause-related box features non-toxic products that will help you meet your New Year’s resolutions in creating a safer, healthier home for your family. To subscribe, visit CitrusLane.com - a percentage of proceeds will go to our cause! Citrus Lane offers parenting care packages tailored to a baby’s age, featuring baby and child products most recommended by parents.
Eligibility Statement: Contest open to U.S. residents. Employees of Citrus Lane and Healthy Child Healthy World and their families are not eligible. Entry into the contest is premised on the leaving of a comment and eligibility is not conditioned on the payment of consideration.
Legal Disclaimer: Cithus Lane is a Trusted Partner of Healthy Child Healthy World, a 501 (c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring a movement to protect children from harmful chemicals. Trusted Partners are companies that offer superior products that meet Healthy Child Healthy World's high Quality Standards, demonstrate a long-term commitment to their mission by joining their Trusted Partnership program, and contribute financially to the organization.
The opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and not necessarily those of Healthy Child Healthy World.
Photo courtesy lisaschafferphoto / CC BY 2.0
Posted by Amy on 01/02/2012 at 09:52 PM
I have 3 little boys, and I give lots of thought and attention to their environment, and what they eat. I admit, however, that since having them I have not given nearly so much thought and attention to myself, and am beginning to see a little fraying around the edges. This 2012 is time to give the same care to myself as I give to them. I want the energy and the glow that they have from the proper diet and exercise. I will eat what they do, run and play like they do, and try to enjoy the little things like they do. No gimics, no books, no fads. Just follow what they do, and I’ll be fine.
Posted by Kerrie Gregory on 01/02/2012 at 08:15 PM
My New Years’s Resolution is to cook more and eat out less! I also want to learn how to play tennis :)
Posted by Dreamer...Becky on 01/02/2012 at 09:32 AM
Thanks so much for the wonderful inspirations! We’ve made a few new or re-newed (; commitments as a family - which include walking more often, we moved to a new- to us- home last summer which will make it much easier for us to walk to school, the library, and even a weekly farmers market. We also built two raised garden beds last fall & have been having lots of fun ‘planning’ what will be planted in them this spring - our daughter LOVES kale & seems to think that one entire bed should be dedicated to ‘greens’ (; Wishing you all a Happy & Healthy 2012!
Posted by cathy on 01/01/2012 at 07:55 PM
I’m going for a green smoothie a day resolution!
Posted by Kellie O on 01/01/2012 at 06:07 PM
My new year’s resolution is to pay off all my debt!
Posted by Kim B on 01/01/2012 at 05:45 PM
I love your specific resolutions. Mine are perhaps a bit more generic. Eat more veggies and fruits, eat less sweets, and give away or recycle 1 thing per day (or 7 /wk- “freecycle friday” is what I’m calling it.)
Posted by Roxie on 01/01/2012 at 02:37 PM
Getting chickens, rain barrels, improving and expanding my garden and ridding my kitchen of plastic!
Posted by Delia on 01/01/2012 at 11:38 AM
I am going to start composting this year. My husband and I are going to build a composting tumbler since the box style composting unit didn’t work for us. The tumbler will allow me to compost household papers as well as food scraps.
Posted by Katina C on 01/01/2012 at 02:52 AM
I always do 12 small goals for the year so I plan to increase physical activity for my family and me taking 12 small steps each month. We plan to start by trying cold weather activities like this month will be ice skating.
Posted by Dusten on 12/31/2011 at 08:27 PM
I want to get in better shape to keep up with my kids.
Posted by takenoteon on 12/31/2011 at 05:58 PM
Complain less! Focusing on small negative things effects everyone in the household. My goal is to keep energy levels high. It’s a healthy way to live. We’re already committed to an organic lifestyle, a chemical free home and lots of physical activity. Now it’s time to focus on our attitudes.
Posted by cathy on 12/31/2011 at 02:02 PM
starting the year with a green smoothie commitment!
Posted by nbruce on 12/31/2011 at 10:43 AM
1. I plan on working on getting back into shape after having my now 6 month old baby boy!
2. I plan on continuing to feed my son organic baby food( just as I did with my daughter who is now 4 years old), however I plan on making some foods myself as a project for my daughter and I to do together!
3. Taking time to live in the moment and enjoy my children and family will also top my list in 2012!
Posted by Meghan on 12/31/2011 at 10:01 AM
I’m going to make it this year and eat more of a plant based diet. I really don’t know why I don’t focus more energy on it.
Posted by Carrie Elsass on 12/31/2011 at 04:33 AM
In 2012, I would like to :
1) Make sure my daily priorities line up with my real values and life priorities rather than wasting a lot of time of things that don’t ultimately matter
2) Be present and in the moment more as a gift to myself and my family
3) Reboot with a juice fast for at least 2 weeks
4) Exercise consistently and challenge myself rather than letting it fall to the “if I have time” place on the to-do list
5) Make sure the majority of our meals and foods are healthy and unprocessed
Posted by becky on 12/31/2011 at 03:11 AM
To take the kids outside more when possible & open the windows whenever possible -,more fresh air for all of us!
Posted by Jamie V on 12/30/2011 at 09:47 PM
My resolution is to make sure I spend enough quality time with my family.
Posted by Anne Lehnick on 12/30/2011 at 08:02 PM
I had a baby on December 22nd, 2010. She’s a year old now and I’ve just stopped breastfeeding her, so it’s time to focus a little bit more on me. I really need to take the time to eat better and exercise. I’m no good to my kids if I’m in poor health and I want to give them the best example to live by.
Posted by Sonya on 12/30/2011 at 06:12 PM
My New Year’s Resolution is to cut out soft drinks!
Posted by sue on 12/30/2011 at 05:48 PM
Do yoga more and yell at my kids less—like never. And learn to knit and buy fewer clothes—like none. It will be a great year if I can accomplish these things!
Posted by Christina P on 12/30/2011 at 04:53 PM
My new year’s resolution is to breastfeed my newborn. Breast milk is best for baby. I wont have to worry about formula, bottles, mixing etc.
I also want to try to get my garden started this year. I havent gotten one yet but I love local grown produce and my own back yard is the best place to start.
I also am going to vist my local farmers market for more local foods. Next year in May my town is going to start having a farmer’s market and I want to support them. So if my garden doesnt have what I want, my farmer’s market will.
Posted by Valerie on 12/30/2011 at 04:26 PM
My resolution is to rebuild our family life after my husband’s business closed and we had to sell our house just to clear his debt. We are staying in a small (cramped) condo with children, hoping to move to larger housing in the spring and buy another house in 2013…phewww, what a year it’s been! I’m looking for a good job to help with this goal :)
Posted by Jeri Thurber on 12/30/2011 at 04:20 PM
I also resolve to work on a vegetable garden for my family and to be more active outdoors. My main resolution is to practice mindfulness in all parts of my day.
Posted by Anjanette Barr on 12/30/2011 at 04:12 PM
Working smarter is on my list this year, too! I need to FOCUS on my priorities and get some writing done! We’re having baby #3 in July, so time management will be more important than ever! :)
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Posted by Betsy (Eco-novice) on 01/03/2012 at 11:31 AM
Well, I’m going to get around to posting my resolutions one of these days—but one I know for sure. Make my own hummus from SCRATCH! As in, from dried beans (not canned). I’ve got all the ingredients: a pressure cooker that we already use regularly for pinto and black beans; kids who love hummus; and a great hummus recipe (that I used to make all the time with canned garbanzo beans, back when I bought canned food).
The Citrus Lane box would be fun to try.