Happy New Year & Healthy Moments

Happy New Year, everyone! Here’s wishing everyone a happy and healthy new year!

For the new year, I made the usual sort of resolutions—to eat better, exercise more, and get more sleep. But additionally, I plan to incorporate more healthy moments into my days and weeks, and plan to share them with you here on the blog! These moments don’t have to be big—doing something for oneself daily, no matter how small, can make a big difference in one’s health and well-being, even if it’s just taking five minutes out of your day to reflect, relax, or do something you enjoy.

Starting With a Healthy Moment

I ended 2025 and started my new year with a healthy moment. This past New Year’s Eve was the first New Year’s Eve EVER within the past 20-plus years that my husband and I spent without our kids! So that was a little weird for us.

My husband spent much of the evening watching a college football game that didn’t do much for me, so I fell asleep with the couch! (The TV tends to put me to sleep for some reason.)

When I woke up, he was still watching, so I dug up a paint-by-numbers kit that my kids gave me for my birthday two years or more ago. I only had a few minutes before the big New Year’s Eve countdown (on TV) to paint, but I managed to complete one section of the canvas. I would love to eventually complete it, frame it and then hang it in my home’s downstairs bathroom. I only spent maybe 15 minutes on the canvas, but getting it started felt like a big achievement!

Healthy Moment Ideas

After I complete and publish this post, I am going to take my first healthy moment of the New Year—I am going to watch something on Netflix and paint some more.

Would you like to join me in completing a healthy moment today? Your moment can be almost anything. You can do something that’s good for you physically (like getting in a few extra steps or doing a few stretches) or mentally. For instance, this morning, I allowed myself a spoonful of sugar in my morning coffee. There are many ways you could enjoy a healthy moment today—these are just a few ideas you can try:

• Enjoy a fruit (like an apple or an orange) or a big salad
• Try out a new yoga pose
• Schedule your yearly physical
• Fill a water bottle and aim to stay well hydrated today
• Take a walk or go on a hike
• Call or text a friend/loved one or two and wish them a happy New Year
• Pick up a new hobby—for instance, I hope to sew a rag quilt this year and learn how to make homemade bread without my bread maker
• Declutter a small area of your home, such as a table or drawer—then pay it forward by donating items you no longer need to a good cause. I like to donate to the Rise thrift shop, which funds a food bank and other very good charitable actions in my community
• Try something new—such as a new restaurant in town, or join a club (such as a book or running club) or community group.

Hope you enjoy your day today and have a happy start to the New Year!