If you are looking for things you do/do not want to do in 2024 and like to read about what other people are doing, lol, this is the perfect post for you. This is a list of Ins and Outs for a Creative Woman.
As I have been pondering the upcoming year, I have thought a lot about what I do and don't want this year. So of course I had to make a list, which I wrote it in my journal. And like a creator does, it's not enough to just have the info for myself, I have to share it.
While that is partially true, it is also true that I am inspired by the things that other people do and I love that they share. So in keeping with that spirit, I am sharing my list.
Ins and Outs for 2024
Ins
- Small Business ventures with Crafting, Antiquing, Thrifting and Blogging
- Comfortable yet stylish clothes
- Drinking more water
- Going for walks with Lizzie
- Looking for the positive
- Gratitude
- Chats with my teen son
- Weekend Adventures with my husband
- Come Follow Me with my family
- Telling People I love them
Since I now have 3 booths in local antique malls, I will for sure be doing lots of things around antiquing and thrifting. I would probably do that even if I didn't have booths. I love the thrill of the hunt and sharing my finds. And I will still be blogging all of my craft adventures. BTW- this is my 15th year blogging. Isn't that nuts? It blows my mind too.
One of the things that I will still be doing in 2024 is taking my dog for walks. It is a 2 fold win.
1. My dog loves going, sniffing all the things and possibly meeting new people, which is her favorite thing in the whole world.
2. It is SO good for my mental health. Every time I'm feeling bad about something, I swear a walk is like a magic wand and turns everything around.
Now that my husband and I only have 1 child left in our home, we have been making a point to spend more time just the 2 of us. Saturday mornings are our adventure day. Sometimes we go thrifting, sometimes we go to estate sales, sometimes it's the farmers market and sometimes it's Costco. No matter where we go, it's time we spend together and I like it!
Comfortable and Stylish Clothes. I will be working on making sure my wardrobe is full of comfortable yet stylish clothes and shoes. In my thrifting adventures, I find tons of clothes. From now on, I am only going to purchase things for myself that fit me well and make me feel good.
Drinking more water. I know that drinking water is good for me. I preach drinking water to my kids. I have even blogged about it a
before. But I still forget. Drinking more water is always a good goal to set.
Looking for the positive. I have someone in my life that I talk to often. She has become a trusted resource and always has such good advice for me. One thing she always talks about is reframing thoughts. When something happens, I can think the world is out to get me, or I can find a way that the thing that happened is for my good. It's all in the way I think about it.
Gratitude. This is another thing that is like drinking water. I preach it to my kids and have also blogged about it
before (<- that entire post is a really good one. I am going to go back and reread it! :) ) I know gratitude works, I just need to incorporate it into my life more.
Chats with my teen son. My youngest child is the last one home and is now a busy teenager. And he likes to keep to himself. But every now and then, he comes to me to chat and I am here for it. I want to always be ready when he is ready.
Come Follow Me with my family. I have been making
CFM printables for several years now and they are always hanging on my fridge. But this year, we are studying the Book of Mormon and I want to do more than we have in the past. So every Sunday we are going to go over the weekly lesson on Facetime with our married son, his wife and our college daughter.
Telling People I love them. I started doing this a little more last year but this year I am going to be an I love you queen. I'm probably going to make it weird, but I want people to know that I love and care about them.
Outs
- Hurrying all of the time
- Complaining
- Feeling sorry for myself
- Stressing
- Overthinking
- Comparing
- Ill fitting clothes, shoes, conversations and situations
The past few years, we've had some things happen in our family that have been less than ideal. (I know we are not alone in that.) And it has made me VERY unhappy. I have had a hard time finding my joy. I complained a lot. I was just a grump. Which then made me overthink, worry and stress about everything. So this year I am going to get on top of all of that. I have put a few things in place to help me deal with the stress. I will be doing a lot more journaling, a LOT more gratitude, a lot more checking my attitude and a lot more of taking care of myself.
Hurrying all the time. In my need to get things done, I have constantly felt like I needed to be in a hurry. But it actually hasn't helped me accomplish more. It makes me so stressed and nervous that I accomplish way less. So I will not be hurrying as much in 2024.
Comparing. I've told my kids and my youth groups for years that comparison is the thief of joy. When we compare ourselves to what we are shown on social media we will always come up short. First of all, social media isn't real life. And also because what is shown on social media is not the full truth. Even though I know that about comparison, I find myself comparing my struggles to others' good things in life, like I have it way worse than they do. But it's not true.
Ill fitting clothes, shoes, conversations and situations. These things are so out for 2024. Like I said above, I am only going to buy clothes and shoes that fit me well. I am also going to have better boundaries in conversations and situations so I am not put into situations that don't fit me.
I think making an Ins and Outs list for 2024 is a fun way to evaluate past years and set new goals for the upcoming year.
