Happy Birthday to ME!

That's right, tomorrow is my birthday. I will be 29 (ouch!). This is my LAST YEAR OF BEING YOUNG, then I have to be a grown up. BOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

I thought there was no better way to celebrate than to update my 30 under 30 goal list and see what I had accomplished since I made it at the beginning of december (12/5/13) and what I left to accomplish in the next year because.... let's face it friends, 1 year till 30. (cue tears and trembling)

I think I have done pretty good since december! Now I just need to get some of the zoos and parks on the list taken care of since the weather is finally going to get better! I also need to plan a weekend away for just JD and I to reconnect. Ahhhh, life.

Book #1 for 2014: The Fault in our Stars

This book was beautiful. I so appreciate an author who can take something that is heart wrenching and broken and make it beautiful... that is exactly what John Green did with this novel.

Don't let me confuse you, I cried multiple times during this book, UGLY cried. But each wave of sadness was followed by something profound and thought-provoking.

I don't want to give anything away and ruin this book for anyone so please read it! This needs to be on your list of books to read in 2014!

5/5 Stars

Resolutions for 2014; A Link Up!

Happy 2014 Everyone!

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Follow your host (ME!) and link up your post! It really is that simple. I thought it would be great to start off the new year by sharing our resolutions {or goals} for 2014 with all of our blogging friends. I always think that if I put them out there then I am more compelled to actually stick to them or try and complete them.

I tend to like GOALS better than resolutions because I feel like resolutions mean that you are "giving something up" or starting something right then on the 1st. These are things that I want to work on throughout the year so I am calling them goals.

• Read 10 Books- Last year I set a goal for myself to read 12 books {1 book a month} and I did not complete my goal. I started out well but things got really busy. So, I need to lower the goal and try really hard to hit this one. I must say I would't mind blowing this one out of the water!
• Become More Organized- I need to be organized in the way that I plan my life. My planner will help me with this. Now that I will be at a new practice and balancing that with all the other parts of my life I really need to have everything written down in one place.
• Take my Blog in a Focused, Forward Direction- I have started working towards this goal already. I purchased and started taking the Content Brew course offered from MomComm. Loving it!
• {Sort of along the same lines} Execute and Follow my Editorial Calendar
• Build my patient base at the practice that I am joining- I need to build patients that are MY patients who call and specifically request to see me. I am a fabulous provider so I know that I can do this. Bring it on!
• Protect Myself Emotionally- Try to do things for me. I need to be more emotionally/spiritually stable. Infertility has taken so much from me but I cannot change that. All that I can do is live my life around who I am now. So if something is just too hard then I just can't do it. I must stop pushing myself into doing things for others that really really hurt me. I can't continue to suffer in silence.
  
  
  
  That is it folks!
  
  
  HAVE A GREAT NEW YEAR!!!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Update on September Goals (FINALLY)

1. Finish My August Book- FAIL! I didn't even get to read ONE.SINGLE.PAGE. this month. This makes me so sad. Things are so busy and I really wish things would slow down because I really need a breather and some "me time".

2. Clean out my linen closet- Success! I cleaned this thing out and got rid of SO MUCH stuff out of there. It went in a giant box and the Salvation Army picked it up. Yay! 

A photo while I was cleaning it out!

The final product!

Go me!

3. Continue doing weekly Menu Planning- Mostly a fail. At the beginning of september I did really well with this but once I started my diet this had to end. I really couldn't plan meals because people in my house cant be expected to eat what I am eating. So the weekly meal planning came to an end.

4. Build Washer & Dryer Pedestal-  

This was what I set out to build:

It was a success! Here are some pictures of me building it and the final product:

5. Pick paint colors for my bedroom walls and stenciling- Painting the bedroom is on hold for now but as you can see I picked a color and painted the laundry room. Here is before and after:

6. Start building my custom upholstered headboard- This is on hold too. The bedroom makeover isn't on my budget right now =)

7. Try and make some time for my husband- We made it to all of our financial classes in september so yay for us!

September Goals

It is September already and that means that it is time to set my goals for September! I love to write (or type) my goals because it holds me accountable and makes me really try my best to stick to them!

1. Finish My August Book- I am loving my August book but I just didn't get enough time to finish it so I am going to try and finish it ASAP because I need to get onto another book this month!!! This is the book i started is August:

2. Clean out my linen closet- My linen closet has the most ridiculous shelves, they are only half (if that) the depth of the closet and I have that thing packed! All the shelves are packed and the floor is stacked to the ceiling. I want to get this cleaned out before Sept. 11th when I am donating to the Salvation Army because I know that there is tons in there that I don't need/want.

3. Continue doing weekly Menu Planning- This was FABULOUS last month and I want to continue. It helped make a grocery list and keep us fed with great meals instead of random odds and ends. I woke up each day knowing what I needed to do to get dinner made. Loved it.

4. Build Washer & Dryer Pedestal-  I hate bending over and stooping down to fill and empty the washer and dryer. I didn't buy the pedestals that LG made because they were ridiculously expensive and I thought they weren't worth it. So now I am going to build my own. Like this: 

It's going to be GREAT!!!

5. Pick paint colors for my bedroom walls and stenciling- The bedroom is getting a makeover and I cant wait. A bedroom should be pretty and relaxing and inviting. Mine is not. It's a messy catch all and I am over the tiffany blue color that it is. I want something new. So I plan to paint the whole room and stencil the wall behind the bed. Which leads to my next goal...

6. Start building my custom upholstered headboard- When we bought our KING sized bed, which was the best choice ever, I didn't want to buy another whole headboard and stuff. Now I am sick of seeing just the bed against the wall, so it's time to make the headboard finally. This month I want to AT VERY LEAST get the wood cut to shape.

7. Try and make some time for my husband- Not that he has time for me. He doesn't want to go on dates or do couple things like that but I keep hoping that someday he will change his mind. When he does I wanna make time for it. But for now this "husband time" will be the financial class that we are going to be taking weekly starting on the 11th.

Whew..... Did I mention that Sept is crazy busy for us? Hubby is traveling a lot which means I am single-momming it a lot. Also are out of town at PENN STATE (YAY!) for a weekend to go to a football game one weekend. We have a birthday party as well. Plus a couple other things. I need a nap.

Lets see how I did on my August Goals...

Here are my goals that I set for myself at the beginning of August and how I did on them!

1. Start a Personal Blog (Again)- SUCCESS! As you can tell by the fact that you are reading this, I was very successful at this goal. I have been trying to blog almost daily and I have been loving it. I am so happy that I am back to blogging. I knew that I missed it but I forgot how much!

2. Start Weekly Meal Planning- SUCCESS! I did great at this one. On sunday of each week I planned my meals for the week and this month I didn't even repeat meals at all, I don't think. I tried tons of new things and made old things I hadn't made in a while. I enjoyed cooking and Justin loved every second of it. He didn't complain about one single meal. I am so glad that I did this, I want to continue!

3. Read 1 book- FAIL! I started a book and I have been trying to read it as much as possible but I think I only made it a little past 40%. I have been SO busy and I just couldn't find enough time. I am really sad that I didn't complete this goal but I am going to make sure that I finish this book ASAP because I am really enjoying it. I will post about the book when I finish!

4. Organize and De-clutter my Downstairs (main-level) of my House- SUCCESS! You saw my post about my laundry room with was the room I most wanted to organize. I also de-cluttered my kitchen and dining area as well as my family room. There is some laundry folded down there right now that makes me stressed but what's a girl to do?!

5. Take the boxes of clothes that are packed for donation in my bedroom to the donation center- HALF & HALF! The boxes didn't make it all the way to the donation center but for a good reason. I did some research and it turns out that Goodwill isn't good at all, they don't do good for anyone. They take free things and sell them for money and don't give back to the community or needy at all. SO, I called the Salvation Army and they are coming to pick up the giant boxes on the 11th. I am much happier with this decision. The boxes are out of my bedroom though!!!

6. Drink Wine More Often- I think that I did a good job of this in August =)

Project De-Clutter the Laundry Room!

One of my goals for the month of August was to de-clutter my laundry room. It is kind of a catch-all that gets random junk thrown into it so you never know what you can find in there. When we had Foster's birthday party here almost 3 weeks ago it was our hiding spot for things we didn't need in the kitchen once it was party time so as you will see in the "before" picture there was a giant bag of tortilla chips in here. Ugh. What a mess.

I hate to even share this photo but in an effort to "keep it real" here it is folks:

(yes, that is a hoppy- don't judge me)

Have I ever mentioned before that I think that all laundry rooms should be large, have space to hang air-dry clothes, have a sink and also have lots of cabinets? Yeah, dream on, right?!

Anywho, after much work, many loads of laundry and lots of trips to the trash can.... here is the finished product:

I know, I know, you are totally impressed right?

Thought so =)

Goals for August!

One of this things that I want to do is start setting goals for each month and getting them in writing so that I can actually see how well ( or how poorly ) I am doing at completing them. So since it is only the 5th of the month I am going to go ahead and start with August! Here goes nothing....

1. Start a Personal Blog (Again)- I used to blog all the time and it slowed WAY down when Foster was born and then stopped completely when he was 6 months old. This is something that I want to start doing again.

2. Start Weekly Meal Planning- I think that this will help us to eat out less, which will save money. I also think that this will help me to only buy things that we need at the grocery store and to be able to go only once a week, which would be awesome because I cannot stand running to the grocery for only one or two things because I end up spending $50 anyways! I also think this will be fun because it will allow me to blog and post new recipes that I can share will all of you (my readers and friends!).

3. Read 1 book- This will be the last Hunger Games book. I made a goal at the beginning of this year to read 12 books this year for enjoyment. I have never been a reader for enjoyment. Last year I learned that I really can like reading and that I just need to make time for it and find the right books. I did really well at the beginning of the year but I didn't read a book in June or July... things just got so busy with it being summer and Foster's 2nd birthday party planning. So time to catch up. Maybe I can even get to a second but I don't wanna set my goal too high =)

4. Organize and De-clutter my Downstairs (main-level) of my House- I really wanna get my house de-cluttered. I hate clutter but I am a pack-rat. I think I am a clean freak but hoarder tendencies. I think that everything has sentimental value and I am teaching myself to let go of things. So this month I would really like to de-clutter the family room and the laundry room.

5. Take the boxes of clothes that are packed for donation in my bedroom to the donation center- I have had these huge boxes packed and in the middle of my room for like almost a month and a half and I need to get my husband to carry them downstairs and to the car so we can drop them off at the donation center. I forced him to go through his clothes when I went through mine a while back and now we just need to get them out!

6. Drink Wine More Often- Because why not?1 Haha. CHEERS!