The First Step is the Hardest

I'm here. This is good. It's January in South Dakota. This is not good. I am already craving the warmth of summer. Green grass. Flip flops.

Instead I am buried in snow, less than zero temps, and clomping around in snow boots and thermal underwear.

First week of the year. Done! Resolutions are still here! So let's check in.

Money: Put $20 into the E Fund on payday. I also received my check from the newspaper, so that added $215. I had increased my 401k contribution to 15%. This may need an adjustment. I'm going to let it ride through January. Kids and I may have to eat beans and rice at months end.

Writing: I wrote 412 words (baby steps, small wins here, kids). That does not include my weekly column or this blog. Those are actual words for my manuscript. I decided to finish the novel I've been calling "Finding Adam". It's the closest to being done - ha! Now if I could just find the rest of what I wrote....

Happy People Goal is #12 - taking care of my body: Taking care of your body is crucial to being the happiest person you can be. So what does this mean for me? Limiting my coffee and soda. Paying more attention to physical activity. Getting more sleep at night. Taking my PTSD meds.

Photo of the week is water. I'll be posting the pics I took tomorrow.

90 days of water: It's tough! My first day was a failure of epic proportions, but then I picked up a big 2 quart bottle and started adding sliced lemons to it. I can drink hot or cold. I even managed to make it through a weekend! And my coffee intake is down to two cups a day, and both of those are before noon.

Books: I finished a small book I had started before the new year. Now I'm digging into Anna Karenina, which technically I had started before the beginning of the year (like the beginning of December) but I haven't gotten very far. Now it is the only book I'm reading besides the Bible. I'm not consistent about reading the Bible every day, but I'm working towards that. Hopefully this will all work out! My wishlist on paperbackswap.com exploded. Right now I think I have 15 books coming. GULP! Good thing I've sworn off having a boyfriend or any semblance of a relationship in 2015.

Overall I am happy with my first week.