2014 Goals

The end of one year and the beginning of another!! Time to reflect and time to plan ahead. Time to note mistakes and lessons learned and move forward to do better in another year!

I try hard not to make "new years resolutions" but rather, goals that I can accomplish and a long to do list to check off! Goals are things like, work on paying off debt; move & unpack every box. A long to do list would include organize & name my iTunes music and update my iPods (yes, those things are on my lists!!).

Well, without further adieu , here are my 2014 Goals (2014 To Do List coming soon):
**Note: These are in no particular order-just the way they came to mind.**

• T-25 Workout (Intense, 25 minute workouts 5-6 days a week)
• Continued changes to our eating habits (what we eat, when/how we eat it)
• 52 Week Money Challenge (See HERE for more information)
• Pay off as much debt as possible (Debt Snowball information HERE)
• Continue to work a budget every month (More information HERE)
• Continue to work a Meal Plan every month
• Practice grocery shopping 1-2 times a month (except for fruits/veggies)
• Read to my daughter as least once a day
• Plant a small garden & flowers
• Buy a bird feeder and enjoy watching the birds
• Continue to fall in love with the Lord and my D-Group girls/Catalyst family
• Move into our own place and UNPACK.EVERY.BOX!
• PURGE! Less is more!
• Walk daily and spend more time outdoors, when weather permits
• Take my little girl to the beach 
• Love life and fall deeper in love with my husband
• Bring back weekly (or at least monthly) date nights!! 

I'm sure there are many more but those are the ones I can think of right now!! 

What did you accomplish in 2013 and what do you want to accomplish in 2014? 

2013 Year in Review

2013 has been a very long, very hard year for us! We moved back home in March in with my sister because we just couldn't afford living in Charlotte anymore and couldn't secure a good job up there. We intended to get a job here and get back out on our own within a few months but that didn't happen and we felt pretty depressed. My sister got married in June to the love of her life and they moved away to Oklahoma in July (he is in the military). We thought we were going to move to Greenville with hubby's job, but that did not pan out. He ended up leaving that job and finding another one, which he actually enjoys.

So now at the end of the year we are searching for a rental and due to some credit issues we are having the hardest time finding someone to rent from. Very sad that you are so heavily judged by your past (credit). With the way this economy has been the last few years I wouldn't want to rely on someone's credit but rather references and referrals. But that is just me...I don't believe in credit. I want us to be able to get to a point where we can show the world you don't need credit to survive, just cash/savings.

But this year has not all been bad! We've had the joy of watching our little one grow up (too fast) and learn new things! Our marriage has had its ups and downs but we have grown stronger together. We've made plans and dreams for our future, both near and far. I joined a Bible study group and completely LOVE it!! Catalyst has been amazing and is such a joy to be a part of that little group!

Hubby and I recently committed to and purchased a new workout made by the creator of Insanity. We both need to get back into shape but are not willing to purchase a gym membership nor do we have the time to go to one. We've committed to each other to do this for 10 weeks at a time (on a 10 week cycle) and continue to learn ways to eat better, too. I am really looking forward to the results of this workout, though I know the work to get those results will be hard and I'm gonna want to give up more often than not. But since I look in the mirror and am disgusted most days, I have to do something. I need to do something. I am looking forward to wearing my 'too small' clothes again and maybe having a fairly constant size again! I'm looking forward to hubby feeling better and being able to wear some of his/my favorite shirts/pants (of his).

2014 is going to be a productive year. Health wise, weight loss wise, finance wise....we are going to work on our debt snowball and our savings. We want to continue to work on a budget and menu plan each month. We want to declutter and continue to purge things we don't need..selling or giving it away! I want to organize all my photos and get photobooks started online!

Merry Christmas 2013 and Kensei's 1st Birthday

Merry Christmas (a day late) everyone!! I cannot believe that Christmas 2013 has come (and gone) again!! Another year is drawing to a close and another chapter in our lives is closing.

Christmas Day dawned a little late in our house! Baby girl slept til almost 930 and we certainly snoozed ourselves! Once she was awake we all went out to the front room to sit on blankets by the tree and open our presents! We got her an activity cube from Target and she loved it! I think she played with that for a good ten minutes or so before moving on to the next item! She also liked trying to unwrap our presents haha!
We had homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast and went down the road to Mom & Dad's to open presents with them! Kensei at this point could've cared less about opening presents! Ah well, it was fun watching her play with the seasoning spice her Daddy got!

I am so thankful that hubby had off for Christmas Eve and Day! We had a great couple days off getting things done and being lazy together! Yay for quiet days off!!

We hosted Christmas dinner for a few people and enjoyed their company! My baby girl got to play with a friends little one and watching them interact and "talk" was sweet!

Kensei turned 1 a few weeks before Christmas and we had her birthday party with a few of her little friends! At first, she wasn't interested in presents but once that paper started to surround her she decided it would be fun to play with! Needless to say, Mama opened most of her presents!

I had made homemade cupcakes and frosting instead of a big cake! We ended up doing the whole "smash" cake a few days later and loved watching her "eat" her cupcake! She had so much fun and the smiles on her face were priceless!

I cannot believe my little girl is growing up so fast and how fast this year went by! Seems it was just beginning yesterday.....