New Year All Year Challenge

My cousin Jean is doing a New Year All Year challenge. Basically, 12 mini resolutions, one for each month of the year. She has a tendency to choose too many resolutions at the beginning of the year and then gets bummed out when she doesn't stick to them. Really though, who doesn't do this? I know I have done the same thing every year since I can remember.  

Here is her list of resolutions:

January - Drink a gallon of water every day
Alternatively: Drink half a gallon of water a day. 

I will be doing the alternate version of this challenge. 

February - Be vegetarian!

Alternatively: No Fried Foods for 30 days.

I will be doing the alternative version of this challenge because I'm just awful when it comes to eating my vegetables and I love meat too much! Fried foods I would be more than happy to do away with though.

March - Be gluten-free!

Alternatively: Limit your carb intake in some meaningful way. 

Uuuuuuugh. But moooooom,I LOVE my gluten. I am so a pasta girl. Macaroni and Cheese is one of the best foods ever invented. I will probably do the alternative version to this one as well because as previously stated, I am not a veggie girl at all. I have not decided yet though....

April - Swap one unhealthy habit for one healthy habit for 30 days

There is no alternate to this one and I will not tell you what habits I plan to swap out! You will have to come back April 1st to find out!

May - 10,000 Steps a day/5 Miles a day/35 miles on foot a week (or more)

Alternatively: If you can't walk that many steps then just choose how many you would like to do, but this month is all about the walking! I'm gonna go for it. I have a fancy treadmill I bought last year that's hardly been used. Time to break that puppy in!

June - Try a class in ANYTHING for one month!

Again, there is no alternative to this. Just do it! Whether you go somewhere to take a class or learn something new right from your own home. Learn a new skill, a new hobby, a new area or interest. Learn something you should have learned in High School but tossed out of your brain the second you passed your tests! (I know I've done that with a few subjects I wish I  hadn't.) Just learn something. If you're at a loss, check out Coursera! They have a ton of free online college courses in a wide variety of topics. Me? I'm going to try to learn photography. I should have my fancy camera by this time. 

July - Put pen to paper for at least 10 minutes a day

There is no alternative. This is a dying art and I love that this is in her challenge. Write a journal. Write a thank you note. Write a letter to your mom. Just write for 10 minutes every day with an actual writing utensil and a legitimate piece of paper. Tablets, computers, cell phones, none of these count. Pen to PAPER. 

August - Use your cell phone as just a phone for one month!

Again, no alternative. Step away from your cell phone. These devices make life way too easy to miss. I know I use my cell phone all the time to help me avoid awkwardly waiting for someone while I'm out in public. Whatever happened to smiling at strangers just simply to be polite? Interact with the world around you. I am a little fuzzy on if I will be allowed to use my phone to text or not, I will get clarification on that. I think she means to only use your cell phone to make and accept calls though. 

September - Read at least one fiction and one non-fiction book this month

No alternative. 2 books, 1 month, easy peasy! Choose whatever format you prefer and go with it!

October - Try to reduce your ecological footprint

No alternative, just simply try to produce less waste. Recycle more. Do some research, find out where you can take your recyclables if your city doesn't pick them up. What is an ecological footprint? Check it out here. Want to calculate your ecological footprint ahead of time to get an idea of what you're working with? They have a calculator here for you to do that too. Choose your region on the map and then answer the questions that pop up. 

November - Cook/Make something new at least three times a week

Alternative (insane) Assignment: Jean has an alternative to this that I will not be participating in. I'm not even really sure how to explain it. Check out her description for November to see her alternative.

I am really looking forward to this one. I love cooking/baking and I really want to learn to love different foods. I'm sure my husband will enjoy this challenge as well!

December - Volunteer

Find somewhere to volunteer your time to help those less fortunate than yourself. I have never volunteered in my adult life, mostly because I suffer from some serious social anxiety and going to do something like this generally gives me a mini panic attack. My main goal for 2015 though is to conquer my social anxiety and stop allowing it to keep me from living and experiencing. 

So that's it! Wish us luck, check out both our blogs as we will both be posting weekly on our experiences with these challenges!