Hello 2017: Progressing Toward an Adventurous New Year

Happy New Year! Believe it or not, 2017 is here, ready and waiting for us to dive in.  How are you feeling? I have such a huge feeling of excitement, hope, and anticipation.  If I can stay focused, active, and intentional, I know 2017 will be an amazing year for our family.  Sure there will be bumpy parts, there always are, but we’ll persevere and rely on the good to get us through.  I’m looking forward to all that 2017 has to offer.

One Little Word.

I’ve chosen “one little word”, a concept I learned from Ali Edwards, to guide me through the new year.  I’ve adopted words in years past, last year was “plan”, but they tend to die off after a couple of months.  This year, I spent some quality time visualizing what I wanted to see myself doing in 2017.

I worked the thesaurus to capture the essence of my vision, and landed on the word PROGRESS. As I go about life, I want to run the majority of my actions through a “progress lens” asking:

• Am I making progress toward a goal?
• Am I progressing as a mom, wife, adventurer?
• Is this task, activity, choice, etc. progressing me or am I just spinning my wheels or wasting my time?

It’s not that fancy or dreamy of a word, but it’s exactly what I need.  I can already see it fitting nicely into my thought process.

Wild Tales of…Family Goals.

And for those interested in more nitty-gritty, here are a few of our family’s goals in terms of travel, adventure & the outdoors:

• Add nature-based projects into our routine. We’ve absolutely completed some nature-based projects in past years, but I want to make sure we’re doing them on a consistent basis.  I’ve researched art projects, experiments, and studies using several books including Playful Learning, The Kids Outdoor Adventure Book, 101 Things for Kids to do on a Rainy Day, and 101 Things for Kids to Do Outside.
• Get Georgia Hiking. She’s off to a great start as a 2-year old (just had her birthday a couple of weeks ago)! She wants to walk, walk, walk, and run, run, run, and I want to continue that momentum.  At this point, she “hikes” in fits and spurts, and I must admit, we get a little impatient, and just end up carrying her/pushing her in the stroller after a while.  I’d like to dedicate some time and patience to her stamina!
• Tackle a few new trails. I know we’ll return to our old stand-by hikes, but I’d love to add some fresh (to us) spots into the mix.  Still brainstorming and learning at this point, but Ebey’s Landing on Whidbey Island, Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie River (near North Bend), Lake Wilderness Arboretum (Maple Valley), and Paradise Valley Conservation Area are all on the list.
• Visit more local gems. There are so many neat places within our region that we have yet to visit! Northwest Trek, Cougar Mountain Zoo, and Kid’s Discovery Museum on Bainbridge Island are just a few.
• Gardening and yardwork. Our little slice of Seattle needs a lot of tender loving care, and we’re resolving to spend some time getting it in shape.  For starters, we need to plant a tree in the front yard since our beloved smoketree fell during one of the fall windstorms.  In addition, we’ll trim and plant a spring vegetable garden.   And finally, we’ll make sure the kiwi tree gets some attention since for some reason, it didn’t produce fruit in 2016!
• Travel Well. Plenty on the calendar at this point including a local Western Washington adventure, Arizona, St. John, Idaho, and Montana, but of course we’re hoping to add more!
• Get Outdoors Often. Always a goal since it’s always a work in progress with ever-changing routines, schedules, and obligations.

More Inspiration

Have you created resolutions, goals, or intentions for the new year? In case you might need some additional motivation, I got a few of my outdoor loving blogger friends to share their plans!

Kari from Active Kids Club:

In addition to their travel plans, which include Quebec, Norway, Iceland, and Alberta (among others), they’re also resolving to take day trips in their local area on the weekends when they are home.  They have several outdoor activities planned too, including skating, downhill skiing, hiking, biking, open water swimming, and canoeing! How inspiring! 

Angela from Northwest Healthy Mama:

Instead of a resolutions list, Angela created a LIVE LIST.  She thought of things that make her life feel full like a “…gorgeous waterfall streaming over moss covered rocks, full to her maximum capacity, after a snowy winter.” I love this visualization and idea! You can read the list in it’s entirety in her post, but some items on her list include, backpacking, building her new home, and taking more ferry rides.

Susan from Mountain Mom and Tots:

Susan actually doesn’t believe in resolutions.  She believes in setting small attainable goals, and creating good habits. She also feels that we should give ourselves flexibility in our new ventures, and we needn’t feel guilty for wanting to try something else.  Consequently, she created the Hobby of the Month Club! You can read more about it in her “I don’t believe in new years resolutions” post, and you can even join her challenge (there’s a prize!).

How about you? What are your plans for the new year? How do you feel about goals, resolutions, and intentions? What ever you decide I hope your 2017 is happy, healthy, and full of adventure!

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