2014.
A new year, a fresh start.
I love when people share their goals, resolutions, dreams and thoughts from this time of the year. I like seeing that glimpse into a more personal side of them. That they are "real" and not perfect. It makes me feel better about myself not being perfect. I also find it energizing this time of year to know so many of us are working on changes, new ideas, and on making 2014 AWESOME!

I took a much needed and very lovely break over the holidays. During that time I did a lot of soul searching and thinking about life and my work/life balance. I came to a lot of hard conclusions about myself and what changes I need to make in my life for my health and for my family. Because I want to stand true to the decisions I've made I thought it would be a good idea to document it here so I can share it with all of you and we can all help each other work towards our goals for 2014.

I had a wonderful and amazing 2013 but there were a lot of months that my life was out of control. Months of unhealthy work habits. Late, late nights, high stress, pressure and feeling like I just couldn't get everything I needed to get done accomplished. It was mentally and physically exhausting. While I loved all the experiences I had in 2013 it played a huge toll on my body. I still don't feel 100% even after taking 2 weeks off. My body is slowly getting into a new rhythm. Bed before 11pm, no work after 8pm unless I have a special deadline and more sewing/knitting/designing time and less being handcuffed to the computer. It has felt amazing to take back some control. Say no when I need to and start getting healthy again.

You may also have noticed some changes on the blog. A new look, and a new name.
You will slowly see more changes over the next few months as I finish the rebranding. Luvinthemommyhood will only exist now as the url for the blog. The name that you will find me online using as of today is "Very Shannon". I'm so very excited about fully implementing this change. I've changed so much in the last 6 years of this blog and the original name just didn't work for me anymore. It was also very confusing to people and hard for me to spell and explain to people. It's also long and didn't fit well on packaging/branding. So " Very Shannon" was born in the fall and I've been slowly moving in that direction.

Today is the big day though! I'm putting in all my social media changes! So on twitter, facebook, instagram etc you will have to look for me as a new name.

TWITTER: @soveryshannon
INSTAGRAM: @soveryshannon
FACEBOOK: in process of changing name (page url is new though - www.facebook.com/veryshannon) 
PINTEREST: @soveryshannon 
RAVELRY USERNAME: @veryshannon 
RAVELRY GROUP: www.ravelry.com/groups/veryshannon

My feeds shouldn't change at all it will just be when you want to tag me online. I'm sorry for any confusion or inconvenience during the transition but I know in the end it is the right step for myself and my business.



And now my goals....you ready? Have you written yours?

CARE OF SELF/FAMILY
- go to bed earlier (no more 1-2am bedtime every night).
- spend more "present" time with my family.
- differentiate work/family time.
- more work free weekends.
- make a more realistic work schedule and follow it.
- be kinder to myself and my body.

EXERCISE & HEALTH
- continue to eat well and enjoy my green smoothie addiction.
- find the time to exercise and make it a "non stressful" thing in my life.
- swim at least once a week.
- lower work stress and have more time to relax (downtime).
- get rid of the "belly" (keeping it real here ladies).

HOME
- purge and organize home.
- tackle unfinished tasks.
- get rid of more clutter.
- have fun decorating.
- keep workspace clean and organized.

WORK
- make more time to create.
- less computer time/more creative time.
- more focused and structured work time.
- balance designing and blogging.

I'd love to know what you're thoughts are for yourself for 2014. I feel like writing them down and sharing them helps in achieving them and I can't wait to read your thoughts too. Join in the conversation. Don't be shy, coffee's on.