Goals for 2015

Hope you all had a Happy Holiday & a Safe New Year.

It’s that time of year for everyone to decide on what their New Year’s Resolutions are going to be for the next year.  I like to call them “Goals” vs. “Resolutions”.  I feel that if I call them “Goals’’ and I don’t succeed 100% it won’t be the end of the world.

Like most, I wanna lose weight, eat healthier, save more..blah blah blah. So why am I putting my goals on my little ol’ blog…well in hopes that it will help keep me more accountable.  (let’s hope) 

Goal 1: Organization

I would love the be more organized.  Our house feels like its busting at the seams…we have too much stuff.  So one of my goals this year is to be more organized.  My “Goal” is to accomplish these weekly organizational taskers every Monday…but as long as it gets done before the end of the week I’d be ok with that.

I found this awesome little chart/website that keeps me on track and it will even send me weekly emails.   

Our kitchen counters are our catch all places.  We come inside and drop stuff down right there…and then eventually get around to it.  It’s a terrible habit.

I am also purging my baby items as Grant grows out of them.  As much as I’d love to have a little girl….I think we’re done with 2.  We have 3 totally (13, 2.5, 4 months). Luckily a lot of my friends are having boys right now, so as Grant grows out of stuff…which seems like it’s every week. I fill up a bag and send it to someone.  It makes me sad to see if go because that just means I don’t have a little baby anymore but it’s so nice to see it leave too…more room and less clutter!!!!

Goal 2: Health & Fitness

Ok this is where I need to get my shit together…like for REAL.  I have about 30 more lbs. that I need to lose to be close to where I would like to be weight wise.  And yes trust me I have the 30 lbs to lose.  I’m not one of those people that weight 100 lbs and talk about how weight I have to lose. 

I have a terrible sweet tooth…it gets my every time. This morning, I purged the Christmas candy dish…that of course sits on the kitchen counter…see you thought I was kidding  So instead of having it sit on the counter, I threw it in a Walmart bag and I took it into work and filled up the work candy dish. We also switched over the Coke Zero…I don’t drink soda that much at home..but we have it to mix with our adult beverages. 

I am hoping to run & workout more.  I am terribly out of shape…like its bad. I have the next 2 months to get my act together so that I can pass my Army Physical Fitness test and pass my weight in.

Drink more water….I’m terrible at not drinking enough water.  My brother’s GF got me this super cute mason jar drinking glass for Christmas, so I’m hoping the cute glass will assist in my water intake.

We are also working towards more Clean Eating. So I’ve been scouring Pinterest for new recipe ideas…I’m a creature of habit so I could totally eat spaghetti every weds and be ok with it.   I have to have a recipe when it comes to clean eating because I’m not creative enough to come up with it myself. It is was up to me it would be way too bland.  

Goal 3: MONEY $$$

I am going to be honest here…we aren’t terrible with money…but we should REALLY save more.  So I’ve printed out a 52 week money saving challenge page so that I can put it on my change jar and hope to stick with it for the next 52 weeks and save a little extra cash.  There are a ton of them on Pinterest.  

To go along with my health/fitness goal….I am going to eat our less.  I bought a 6 pack bag not long ago and I’ve pretty much not used it since Thanksgiving. So in order to save some $$$, I’m going to start bring my lunch. and when the weather is cold and crappy, I never want to leave and go out in it.

I would also like to try some of Dave Ramsey’s money saving tricks & tips. For the people I know who’s done it…it has worked well for them.

I need to spend less money on misc stuff. Or if I’m going to buy misc stuff ;) purchase from a small business vs. a chain store. 

Goal 4: Be a Better Wife & Friend

We’ve had a lot go on this past year.  The hubby deployed, I ran the house while he was gone. I got to play mommy and daddy to a 2yr old all while pregnant. Hubby returned in August and within the week, we had a new baby.  We’ve been going none stop for the last 4 months and I’m spent. Like physically/mentally spent and I know that I’ve not been the best wife that I am capable of.

With us going none stop all the time, 2-3 kids at any given time…I probably haven’t been the best friend either.  I know I don’t call as much or hardly ever…but sometime a text is the easiest and you don’t have to listen to my small children say “I want more mile”, “Can I watch Mickey” while we’re trying to have a conversation.

Goal 5: Finish my DIY/Craft Projects

If you check out my Pinterest board (DIY Crafts) I have a laundry list of items that I need to start/finish or de-clutter and get stuff out of the house/garage to make more room . Maybe that will be my goal…finish at least 1 pinterest project a month.

What’s your New Year’s Resolution/Goals for 2015?

Book 1 Review of My 2014 Reading List

So I told myself, while John is deployed I'm going to attempt to read a book a month.

Sounds like a pretty small task...but if you know me at all, when I start reading a book, if it doesn't catch my interest within the first few chapters I either give up or it will take me forever to finish.

Since Jan is coming to an end...I'll give you a recap on my Jan Book. (I actually read it at the end of Dec and alittle bit into Jan...so it counts right)

The Fault in Our Stars



The Synopsis by Goodreads:

Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 13, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumors in her lungs... for now.

Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumors tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault.

Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind.

My thoughts:

A friend of mine, Jackie, who is a total book whore, had already read The Fault in Our Stars so I had a good idea what was in store for me.  And lets be honest, the story is about teenagers with cancer how do you not know whats going to happen in the end. Anyway, even though it was about teenagers, I really liked it.  It was a nice, fast, easy read. Definately a good book for me to start out with for my 1 book a month goal.

There was a point that one day at work I was asking Jackie about certain characters in the book and she refused to tell me what happened.  UGH....so I decide the next day to bring my Kindle to work and read durning lunch.  I'm not much of a cryer, so I did not cry durning the book. However, I could very well see where people could.

With out getting into too much detail about the book, my favorite characters were Hazel and Augustus. 

I would highly recommend reading The Fault in Our Stars.

Up Next...

Serena

The Synopsis by Goodreads:



The year is 1929, and newlyweds George and Serena Pemberton travel from Boston to the North Carolina mountains where they plan to create a timber empire. Although George has already lived in the camp long enough to father an illegitimate child, Serena is new to the mountains—but she soon shows herself to be the equal of any man, overseeing crews, hunting rattle-snakes, even saving her husband's life in the wilderness. Together this lord and lady of the woodlands ruthlessly kill or vanquish all who fall out of favor. Yet when Serena learns that she will never bear a child, she sets out to murder the son George fathered without her. Mother and child begin a struggle for their lives, and when Serena suspects George is protecting his illegitimate family, the Pembertons' intense, passionate marriage starts to unravel as the story moves toward its shocking reckoning.

Rash's masterful balance of violence and beauty yields a riveting novel that, at its core, tells of love both honored and betrayed

My thoughts:

I am only a few chapters into the book. The beginning is slow..but I have a feeling its about to start picking up.

Also on my reading List

 Ophan Train

The Longest Ride

Gone Girl

The Book Theif

Know of any other good reads? Let me know, I'm still looking for about 5-6 more.

Bucket List

 

Hi ya'll...by ya'll I mean the 1-2 people who follow the sad little blog.

Anyway...I was driving into work this morning listening to my morning radio show & they were talking about New Year's Resolutions and how many people have already stopped or a given up on theirs.  The conversation then turned to bucket list, which made me think...I still have my bucket list on my computer & it needs updated.

 

But before I go into my ever growing bucket list, I'm going to share with you my 2014 bucket list.

My 2014 Bucket List...

1. Read a book every month

2. Work out more & eat less crap

3. Complete at least 1 Marathon (Little Rock)

4. Be better organized

5. Declutter the house

6. Do more meal planning

7. Pay off some Debit

8. Blog more

9. Meet new people

10.Stay in better contact with old friends

11. Enjoy the present

12. Send more snail mail. letters, cards, ect.

 

 

ok..ok...

Now on to my ever growing Bucket List {aka...wish list}

1.       Learn to act within your sphere of influence and stop worrying about things which are not within your control

2.       Go on a hot air balloon ride

3.       Get a 2^nd chance at marriage (with someone who puts a little thought and effort into a proposal)

4.       Start a family

5.       Complete at triathlon

6.       Take 1^st at the Bataan Death March, Women’s heavy

7.       Go white water rafting

8.       Walk the Grand Canyon

9.        Go to Vegas

10.   See the Northern Lights (the Aurora Borealis)

11.   Learn sign language

12.   Finish my Master’s

13.   Make a difference….Discover my life’s purpose.

14.   Learn to play the violin and Harp

15.    Take dancing lessons with someone

16.   Go scuba diving

17.   Go on a cruise

18.   Travel as much as possible…Australia…great barrier reef , Greece, Bora Bora

19.   Visit every continent

20.   Visit Normandy Beach

21.    Touch a Killer Whale

22.   Ride on a Pedal Tavern

23.   Visit The Kremlin in Russia

24.   Start going to church more often

25.   The Pyramids of Giza, Egypt

26.   Go to a private concert

27.   Do more with my photography

28.   Take up more crafts…and finish them

29.   Become more organized

30.   Grow a garden (it didn’t turn out so well)

31.   Buy/Build a house….and make it “the perfect” house over the years

32.   Read every book your favorite author has written

33.   Learn not to take what others do or say personally

34.   Learn to say “no” without feeling guilty

35.   Make a difference in at least one person’s life

36.   Sell your original artwork or have it displayed somewhere

37.   Run with the Bulls

38.   Find inner peace and Learn to forgive

39.   See the Olympics in person

40.   Go to New York at Christmas time

41.   Ride a gondola in Venice

42.   Restore my ’69 Camaro

43.   Climb a mountain

44.    Learn to Surf

 

45.   Sky dive

46.   Relax…and let someone take photos of me

47.   A run a month for a year (almost there)

48.   Go on a Safari

49.   Watch wild mustangs roam

50.   Go to a NFL game

51.   Find a job/career that I really enjoy