life moments/lifestyle

Upgrading To A Better Me

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Thank you to Kelley Blue Book® for sponsoring this post. All opinions remain my own. 

I’m always left in wonder trying to figure out how time passes by so quickly. Here we are, another month coming to an end and a new one about to begin. My birthday was at the beginning of the month, on the first to be exact, and as I sit here on the last day of the month, I’m realizing now more than ever that I’m one month closer to hitting a milestone birthday next year. You guys, I will officially be in my mid-thirties. How in the world did this happen? 

If I’m being honest, getting older used to scare me. I was never one of those people that wanted to rush to my 21st birthday or wish time away. I enjoyed birthdays, but also realized there was nothing I could do to make myself any younger. Since having kids, and I guess you could say maturing a bit, things have been put in a new perspective for me. I now realize that birthdays are always important. They’re a gift. They’re a time of celebration. And they’re a great time to do some self reflecting.

I recently saw a friend post a question on instagram. It asked, if someone where to ask you if this is where you saw yourself in 10 years what would your answer be? I thought about this one for a while. When I was younger I would just go through life taking one day at a time. I don’t think it was until I was around 25 and got married that I started having more of a life plan. You know, all those adulting type things. Managing your house, thinking about kids, getting more serious with your career, etc. I’m happy to say that in answering this question, I feel that things are even better than I thought they would be. I know it can be so cliche, but I’m not going to sugarcoat things, I feel incredibly blessed, and every year truly does feel better than the last. For that, I am so grateful.

You know that saying, age is nothing but a number? Well, I feel like I really get it now. I’m not exactly sure what someone in their mid-thirties is supposed to feel like, but I know that I don’t feel much different than I did before. Ok, maybe that’s not entirely true. The tired factor weighs in more, and I certainly feel some aches and pains more than I did before. But aside from that, I still feel like I can connect with all different age groups and have friends in many different circles. I really hope that’s something I hang onto and don’t lose over time. 

I’m a firm believer that even when things feel like they’re going really well there are always different areas we can look to improve on. Especially taking a look at things like wanting to make some upgrades, initiating new habits, or goals to work towards. That’s why I’ve decided to put together a list of things I want to work on throughout the year to prepare myself for entering into a milestone age with confidence.

UPGRADING MY CAR:

While there are many things I want to work on specifically for myself, there are also things that I want to take into consideration that would be a benefit for my whole family. I think that’s the adulting part of me talking 😉 One of those things would be to upgrade my car. The last time we upgraded our car, which was six years ago, we were just about to become parents. We had an idea of what we wanted in our family vehicle, but after having multiple kids and now needing it for other purposes (like trailing our Airstream), there is a lot we would like to change about our next purchase. That’s why I love having resources like Kelley Blue Book℠ Instant Cash Offer to help reach a milestone decision like upgrading your car. There are some specific things we would want to focus on for our next purchase, like the third row having three seats across the back instead of two, a larger trunk space, and a great towing capacity for our travel trailer. What I love about using Instant Cash Offer is the different features it provides to you. You first start by plugging in the information needed about your vehicle. Then, once all of that is indicated, Instant Cash Offer allows you to receive a redeemable trade-in offer available at participating dealerships across the country. It also has the options to use the Kelley Blue Book Instant Cash Offer towards the purchase of a new car, or you can receive a check for your vehicle. How awesome is that?! I was so curious to see what my car was worth. I love having a better idea now of what direction we can move in for purchasing our next vehicle and having the confidence I need when going into a dealership. You can find your Instant Cash offer by putting in your vehicle information, seeing how much your car is worth, and then finding a participating dealer for your trade-in to work on getting that upgrade.

HEALTHY EATING: 

Somehow I feel like I’ve let this one slip by me. I used to be a lot better about the things I eat. Somewhere between stopping to pump for the baby and spending a lot of time driving back and forth to his doctors appointments, I found myself eating and reaching for things that were quick fixes and not always the best options. Eric and I did a fast a few months back and I felt so much better after. Unfortunately, the challenge of those everyday life moments came into play and we slipped back into that comfort zone. We still try to incorporate a meatless night at least once a week, and I have been trying really hard to add more fruits and vegetables back into our menu. I think the tough part for me is know I’m capable of doing so much more and just needing to stay committed to it.

FITNESS:

With healthy eating also comes fitness. I have a tendency to want to blame my lack of movement on having a busy schedule and not enough hours in a day. The truth is, if I wanted to make this a priority, I’m sure I could. I have resources available to me that I can take advantage of, but instead, I find myself laying in bed at night instead of getting up and pushing myself to move. This time around, it’s also been a lot harder for me to drop the baby weight. I chalk that up to getting older, my body changing, and also not breastfeeding for the extended amount of time like I did with my others. Again, I don’t want to make excuses, so I’m going to just start moving more and holding myself accountable to it. 

INCORPORATE MORE SELF CARE:

I try my best to take some time for myself. As moms, as women, as people in general, we all can get burnt out. I do little things for myself here and there, like a face mask, or trying to fit in a few chapters of reading, or lighting a candle to unwind. But I feel like there is so much more I can be doing for myself. Most of the time when I am trying to focus on self care, I’m piggy backing it with something else and trying to twist it into also being self care. Like a two for one thing. Oh look, I took some time and watched an extra episode of that show I really like, let me cross off self care for the week. I take time for me as it comes, but this is something I know I could do a better job at. 

BETTER ORGANIZATION: 

Oh boy, I have to swallow my pride here and admit that I am not the most organized person around. I like to consider it organized chaos. Ok, maybe I need to give myself a little more credit, because it’s not that bad, but I know there are so many things I can improve on in this category. For one, my kitchen island and our beverage area need to stop being a dumping ground for all of our paperwork and random things. I also can’t stand my junk drawers. I know they’re supposed to be junk drawers, but I seriously cringe when I open them. And yes, there are more than one. I’d also like to have the kids bedroom drawers more organized and be better at packing away things that are out of season or too small for them. I think I need to just really focus on certain areas and tackle this full force. There are other areas I feel like I am really organized in, like my closet, or my jewelry, but others that I fail miserably at.

UPGRADE MY CAMERA LENS:

I don’t know where I would be without my camera. Maybe I’m a bit more old school with this, but I love using my big girl camera. I know it can be a pain to carry it around, but to me, the pictures don’t compare to what I’m able to capture that my phone just can’t. My camera also has built-in wifi so I can easily grab the images and upload them here or to whatever social site I’d like. So for me, it’s not much a hassle to have it with me. I have several prime lenses (fixed focal lengths) and a stock zoom lens that I don’t even bother with using, because to me, it doesn’t compare to the other lenses I have. What I really want, is to upgrade to a really good zoom lens so I don’t have to constantly switch back and forth between my other prime lenses.

CONTINUE TO SHARE MY VOICE:

The closer I get to reaching another milestone the more I realize how much I have evolved in my blogging career. When I look back at where I started, and think about where it’s taken me, it’s pretty amazing. What started off as something more so for fun, has changed into a viable platform for me. I want to continue to have the confidence to share my experiences, recommendations, brand awareness, and my joys and struggles with all of you. It’s a place where letting your guard down and connecting with others will always be a focus. As different seasons and milestones approach, the content may shift, but that’s what I love about having a platform of your own. I always want this space to be an outlet where there is a bit of something for everyone.

As I think about all of these things that I want to work towards within the next year, I can’t help but wonder how many of you are similar. Do you reflect on things you would like to upgrade or work towards as you approach those milestone moments? Do you use milestone moments to think about upgrades like a new home, technology, or trading in your car?