Bold and Brave in 2016

I have been doing a lot of thinking on what my overall focus for myself would be for 2016. So much so that we are half way through January and I am just now ready to put this out there. Last year was all about breaking down walls and making myself uncomfortable. I still have some work to do in that area, but this year I want to build on that by being bold and brave.

You see I have always been a creative and used to think of myself as somewhat of a free spirit. The older I get the more I realize while I have been blessed with a creative mind that loves to day dream, but I am FAR from a free spirit. I tend to be practical and a worrier. I am a creature of habit. I over analyze things that really don't need that much thought. I started to realize this past year that often times my creativity and sense of adventure is muffled by my practical side. And fear.

Which brings me to the point of this post - living bold and brave in 2016! I have to stop muffling gifts God has given me because in my head things don't seem practical. Practical has become a new word for comfortable in my life. I read a blog post last year that I wish I could find because there was a paragraph that was amazing. It talked about how God doesn't call us to things that are easy or meant to be comfortable. Following His plan often means things might seem messy in our heads and won't neatly fit into our color coded planner. I am pretty sure the author was speaking directly to me.

Living bold and brave doesn't mean I am going to drop everything and run away with the circus. (although there is this awesome circus school in Dallas that looks like a blast!) Or suddenly lose all manners and tell everyone exactly what I think in that moment. Honestly I am not 100% sure what it will look like, but here is where I am starting.

1. Pray Boldly. Sometimes I find that there are things that I want to pray for but I hold back. I am not sure why, because my hesitation doesn't come from a doubt in Him. For some reason I feel more comfortable praying boldly for others situations, but not always for my own. When I do step out in faith and pray boldly the spiritual reward has been incredible. If this is something you struggle with you might be interested in this great blog post I read on Proverbs 31. It was incredibly helpful to me and said what I was feeling better than I could. 

2. Bravely Follow. In line with praying boldly, I have to be ready to bravely follow. I can recall several times in my life when God spoke to me, but I let fear hold me back. I am much better than I used to be at this but there is still so much room for growth. This means letting go of worry over what others will think. It means getting uncomfortable. It means a world of possibilities far more amazing than I could imagine. 

3. Boldly and Bravely Adventure. We aren't talking cliff diving or anything too crazy here. Last years goal of getting out of my comfort zone was really focused on my weight and working out. This year I want to keep that momentum going, but hitting all aspects of my life.  For starters I know as soon as Cowtown is over I am going to face my fear of taking my bike out on the trail. I have let the fear that has been building from my wreck keep me inside far too long. I  just want to wait till after I set a new PR at Cowtown just in case! (I told you I wasn't going to go too crazy!) Maybe I'll try a type of cuisine that I am pretty sure I will hate. Or finally put aside the fear of failure and start my Etsy shop back up. I don't quite know where this goal will take me, but I am excited to see.

Outside of these three key areas I still have other goals and areas I want to make sure I am always incorporating being bold and brave. Running, giving and saving are three that immediately come to mind.

Feel free to ask me periodically how things are going. I welcome the accountability. And if you have been feeling like you need a change - join me!!  How could stepping out of your comfort zone change you? Think about all the incredible things that could happen in 2016 if we are just bold enough to ask and brave enough to listen when He answers!

Sending Out 2015 With A Bang!

We are only a few hours away from ringing in 2016 and for the first time I don't know how many years we are sitting at home in our pajamas while our friends celebrate at G and Bo's resort, Lush, out on PK. Originally we were supposed to be on vacation but sweet Fenway's bad eye got an infection and the surgery was supposed to have this Spring got moved up to New Year's Eve!

Over the last few days as we have been home bound administering eye drops to Fenway every hour on the hour, I had a lot of time to reflect on the past year. In January I poured my heart out and I set out to make some changes. The biggest being to break down a wall and step out of my comfort zone.

365 days later I am proud of myself that even though some months were harder than others, I did what I set out to do. And I am better for it. I faced my fears of tracking my food. I learned to believe in myself when it comes to running. In turn I lost 30 pounds and set new Half, 15k, 10k and 5k PRs! I finally got a bike - Princess Sparkle Unicorn. And then crashed it into a bridge the first time I hit the trails. I was able to find a new passion in giving back through The Birthday Party Project and had a blast sharing my birthday by raising money for one of my new favorite causes!

Kipper finished his second Ironman 70.3, changed jobs at Cook and was accepted to TCC's accelerated nursing school program. Once school started our lives turned upside down for the first few months, but as expected he is doing great and is now 8 months away from graduating. Oh and in the middle of all that he had surgery to remove Hector (ended up being a cyst) from his neck.

Together we celebrated our 11th Wedding Anniversary. Enjoyed a few road trips and adventure days. Made some home improvements. Drank some really great and some not so great wine. And most importantly laughed.  A lot.

Oh, and after 15 years together I finally got Kipper to dress up in a couples costume with me. Although simple, this was a big deal! 

And in keeping in the spirit of stepping out of my comfort zone, Kipper and I agreed to be part of an article for 360 West Magazine about normal people who made significant lifestyle changes and stuck with them. If including how much I weighed when I ran my full marathon in my blog wasn't hard enough, it is now in print of pretty a popular local magazine. A year ago there is NO way I would have been okay with that. As scary as it was for me, I told Kipper if it inspired just one girl who was in search of a change it would be worth it. Fingers crossed that mission was accomplished. For those wanting to read the full article you can find it here.

The boys had a pretty big year too! They have found a love for dining al fresco and all the attention that comes with it. While I miss having a girl in the family, we have enjoyed all the fun outings that we could have never done with three babies. The boys were not a big fan of their Daddy going back to school because he always had a book or a laptop in his lap, but they adjusted after a few weeks. We also learned Fenway has a hereditary eye disease, which lead to his NYE surgery. The poor guy has spent at nearly 2 1/2 months of the year in the "cone of shame" but has been such a trooper.  And Gulliver has been beyond sweet. He is just ready for his playmate to be all better so he has someone to chase in the backyard. 

This year had its highs and lows, but in over all it was a pretty incredible year. We have so much to be thankful for it is hard to do it justice in one short blog, but I think this pretty much sums it up:

In 2015: We pushed and challenged ourselves. We achieved goals that before seemed impossible. We stumbled, but picked ourselves up. We experienced God moving in our lives. We laughed ourselves silly and a few times cried ourselves to sleep. (Ok that last past was mainly me) We grew as a couple, but also individually. We took risks and went on adventures. We shared moments of celebration and moments of sorrow with those we hold dear. We faced some pretty big fears and challenges, but overcame them with the love and support of family and friends. We had hard conversations and shared in authentic fellowship with friends. We learned more than one should know about the canine eyeball. We found new passions. We loved deeply and soaked up every moment - the good and the bad - this year had to offer. Even though 2015 ended on a rough patch 2016 has big shoes to fill! Bring it on 2016!

New Year, New Me?!?!

*Disclaimer: This has been the hardest post of my life to put out there. I have sat on it for over a week trying to decide if I really want to go through with this. It is really long, a little rambling and should have been split out into 2 parts. Yet I was afraid I would chicken out and never post the second half. So grab cup coffee and get settled in. I will be the girl over in the corner hyperventilating in a paper bag because I finally had the courage to share something I have been trying to do for almost 2 years. Cheers!

Happy New Year!!  2014 was an epic year for the Martin family. Both Kipper and I set out to accomplish goals that just a year before we could have never dreamed of.  Along the way to achieving those goals we made new friends, grew closer to old friends, celebrated 10 years of wedded bliss, did more laundry and dishes than I care to recall (damn water bottles) and learned more about ourselves than we ever imagined.  As we welcome the start of another year it is time to set new goals and put forth a plan to achieve them.  A new year, a new me…right?!?!

Sort of, but not exactly.

At one time I was REALLY big on New Year’s resolutions. I would spend so much time coming up with big goals and ideas of things I wanted to accomplish for the entire year.  And while a few bits and pieces would happen, the majority always fell to the wayside and made me feel like a failure.  My New Year’s resolutions were just another example of me trying to map my life out 365 days in advance and never planning how I would adjust when life threw me a curveball.  And life always throws you a curveball (or five!)

Over the last two years I have done away with what I traditionally called New Year’s resolutions and focused more on attainable long term goals, reevaluating things every few months.  I think Kipper said it best – there is nothing magical about January 1st!  (Other than getting to use a new calendar; which is kind of magical if you are dorky like me!)  If you have a goal or a dream you can start on a random Tuesday in March or a Friday in September.  And if you get off track, all you need to do is wake up and start again. Every day is a chance to start anew.

Life is about growth.  I truly believe you must continue to grow and develop all areas of your life in order to fully live life the way God intended us to.  Sometimes that means pushing past your comfort zones.  Breaking down walls and allowing yourself to be more vulnerable in the eyes of others.  It is an ongoing journey and it can be so scary, yet so incredibly freeing. 

When I started my blog, my goal was to focus on craft and dyi projects, with the occasional post about my personal life.  I didn’t realize it then, but looking back I realize my blog was away for me to escape from issues I didn’t want to deal with at that time.  I quickly found that I was writing more personal posts than anything, although the majority of them remained up published.  I slowly started posting more of them, but was still extremely guarded. 

In 2013 I made a promise to myself that I would be more transparent in my blogging and I began to open up about my struggle with depression, ADHD and infertility.  In 2014 while my blogging was limited, I shared some of my rawest, most honest posts ever.  Sometimes I still can’t believe I ever hit publish on them, but in the end I am so thankful I did. 

Every time I took a leap of faith and put my heart out there, I was blown away by the response.  The amount of love and support I have received, from places I would have never imagined, has been amazing! I was always so concerned about how others would judge me and I am sure there are some who have. Yet through this experience I have found a support system that I would have never had.  I have connected with others in a way that would have never happened in our casual friendship and have been blessed to have been a very small part of helping a few other women start their journey breaking down their own walls.  

Because of the promise I made to myself in 2013 and the small chance this might help someone else, I have finally decided to open up about the issue that scares me the most and plays a huge part of my battle with depression – my weight and self-image issues. I have written countless posts on this topic, but I have never been brave enough to share.  Today - in the spirit of the New Year - that changes.  

Long story short, I have had a long, extremely unhealthy relationship with food and my weight.  For years my thoughts were consumed with calories, dress sizes and weight. I measured my worth in numbers and even at a size 2/4 and 120 pounds I wasn't truly happy.   

Anytime something didn't work out, in my mind, it was always because I was fat. Seriously.  Broke up with my boyfriend – I was too fat. Didn't get the part in a play I wanted – too fat. Didn't make the grade I expected on a test – you guessed it, too fat!  It never crossed my mind that things don’t always go your way or that maybe if I wasn't so preoccupied with what size my new jeans were and spent more time studying I MIGHT have done better on that test.  

In my 20’s I found some relief from this thanks to antidepressants but at the cost of gaining weight.  I came to a point that I just stopped caring about my nutrition or working out, literally doing everything I could not to think about it. Yet I hadn't actually fixed anything, only band aided it and I still thought about it often. It took me several years to realize that. 

A little over 3 years ago, after the hardest year of my life, I had gained a considerable amount of weight – 40 pounds to be exact.  I was miserable.  By the grace of God I decided to start running with Kipper. My original motivation was weight loss. Only I had no idea how this decision to run would change my life so many other ways.  At the heaviest I had ever been, I signed up and completed a Warrior Dash mud run.

Over the next year I kept running and worked extremely hard to get myself off Prozac and Adderall. It took almost a year but I was able to get off all my meds and was feeling better than I had in ages. I lost a little weight, just not as much as I had hoped. Yet I kept running and setting new goals. Somewhere along the way the goals stopped being only weight related and became endurance and health related.

Fast-forward to 2014. Training for and running a full marathon and watching Kipper complete an Ironman 70.3 changed everything.  For the first time it all clicked. My imperfect body had carried me through the hardest and most epic challenge I could imagine.  I had wasted so much of my life consumed with my weight and being smaller.  When I was 120 pounds, I couldn't run more than maybe a mile. Yet there I was at 240 pounds and I had run a marathon.  It actually makes me more proud of myself knowing that I had the courage at this weight to start and finish something that only 1% of population attempts.  (Now excuse me while a freak out that I just shared my weight with the entire world…something up until now only my husband and doctors have known!)

As I move forward in my journey I know that while I am completely healthy now, my weight can’t stay here because there will come a day it will affect me. I also know that dropping some weight will make a huge difference in my running.  Kipper has long thought that part of my issue is on most days I don’t eat enough or I have a major splurges and am way over. I don't have a happy medium. My body is all out of whack and confused.  And while I have agreed with him for some time I have no evidence to support that theory because tracking my food terrifies me.  It gives me great anxiety and takes me back to a former version of myself that I never want to be again.  I will track here and there but as soon as I start to panic, I stop.

I am finally in a place that I am ready to tackle that fear and anxiety once and for all.  I know it is going to be tough. It is going to force me to face demons I have tried to bury for far too long. But I’m not the girl I once was. Food isn't my enemy or a substitute for a therapist. Even though I struggle some days, a number on a scale doesn't define me.  Somehow surviving the first week of tracking my food without any freak outs has reconfirmed all of this.  

Moving forward I have promised myself I will continue to share this part of my journey. It terrifies me. It is the wall that I have never let many past, but it is time. I am so thankful that I have an incredibly supportive husband and that God has placed a handful of people in my life over the last few years that have given me new perspective and helped get me to this point. 

2013's Swan Song

I went into 2013 full speed ahead, with lots of plans and high expectations. As we say goodbye to 2013, I realize this year went completely different than what I could have ever imagined...and I am totally okay with that. Was it perfect? Not a chance. Am I better for every experience, trial and tribulation? Heck yeah I am!

No one wants to rehash the ups and downs of an entire year (especially when I am pretty sure most of you have a terrible hangover right now!) So for this swan song, I give you 13 things from 2013 that changed me, pushed me, made me dig deep and in the end made this year AWESOME!  

1. Running. I set out with the goal to run 1 half marathon in 2013. I never imagined that I would be able to run 4 half marathons. Let alone do it with some of the best friends a girl could ask for. In a strange way, running saved me. Running was a very important part of my personal journey this last year. 

2. Testing my faith. 2013 was a true test of my faith in God's plan for me, both personally and professionally. I am a planner and a dreamer. Both are wonderful qualities to have, but together they can be dangerous. Learning to fully trust his plan has been one of the hardest and most rewarding journeys I have embarked on.

3. Falling in love, again. This past year I fell in love with my husband all over again. Don't take this the wrong way, I never fell out of love with him. But this year was a huge year of growth for him and it was awesome to be a part of his experience.  He inspires me and makes me want to be a better person. There will never be the right words to express just how much I love him.

4. Making the switch. After years of being made fun of for my loyalty to my trusty Blackberry, I gave in and made the switch. In May I turned in my beat up, super glued together Cackberry for my very own iPhone 5. While I tried to maintain that I didn't like it, after a few drinks on a trip to NOLA I announced how much I loved my new phone and I didn't know why had held out for so long. Pretty sure at least 3 people sent Kipper a text within minutes to tell him. (On a side note: I am not sure what it says about me that this was big enough to be included in this list, but seriously it was a BIG deal!)

5. Finding my joy. Looking back at the last year I am not sure I could have come out on top without my renewed faith. A series of events a few years ago had left me angry and made me question my faith. As I began to seek God more, I found that even in dark moments I could still be joyful. In December 2012 at the Christ Chapel's Ladies Christmas Brunch, they had a great keynote speaker (I am embarrassed I can't remember her name at the moment!)  The focus of her presentation was not letting anyone or anything steal your joy. Her message really resonated with me. I began to pay more attention to people, activities, situations that wore on me and essentially stole my joy. Through this process I learned that as much as I might love/care for someone or something, they don't always deserve to be part of my life. In 2013 I had to make the heartbreaking choice to remove things from my life who had become extremely toxic. It wasn't easy and wore on me emotionally, but in the end it was the best thing I could have done for my emotional health.

6. Waiting for baby. As I said in my post, Unanswered Prayers, God wouldn't have put it on our hearts to be parents if it wasn't meant to be. When we began to trust his plan, pieces of the puzzle started to fall into place. 

7. Seeking financial peace. It is something we needed to tackle and figure out for a few years, but  it took a crazy chain of events this summer for us to hit a breaking point. We had been "getting by" for far too long. We need a real plan to tackle our finances and build some security. After Kipper met with one of the pastors at church who helps with financial planning, we joined a Financial Peace University small group. It was one of the best decisions we had made in a long time. It was life changing for us. I would recommend Dave Ramsey's program to everyone I know, no matter where you are financially.

8. Opening new doors. After spending my entire career in non-profit, I took a job with a for-profit company. It was a huge leap of faith that is already paying off. I LOVE my new job and co-workers. In case you missed my post about my new journey,  you can check it out here.

9. Trying new things. We ventured out of our normal comfort zone and along the way had a lot of laughs and even found new passions. I credit a lot of this to the major lifestyle changes Kipper (and I to an extent) have undergone the last few years. We had a date night at the trampoline park, we ran half marathons, Kipper rode in the Hotter N' Hell, I went paddle boarding and even faced some my fears by starting to learn how to REALLY swim! And that is is just the big one that popped into my head!

10. Opening up. In the past as much as liked to pretend I was an open book, there was a lot I wouldn't openly discuss. I was tired of trying to pretend I had it all together.  In 2013 I began to open up about my battle with depression, our infertility and my continued self image issues. For so long these things made be feel so much shame but even just opening up a little I was amazed at the love and support that friends flooded me with. It still blows my mind how many friends have reached out to me about because they have been in my shoes. While very few people know all the gory details, being open has been incredibly freeing and has helped me immensely.

11. Laughing. I am pretty sure I burned a thousands of calories in 2013 from all the laughing I did. We have awesome friends, who are rather hilarious. Just thinking about all the shenanigans we experienced with our friends make me laugh.  Lots of laughs were shared not only with friends, but family, co-workers and my favorite giggle sessions ever are those with Kipper and the fur babies. 

12. Saying Goodbye. 2013 will always be remembered as the year I said goodbye to my very best friend, partner in crime and fur daughter. In October I took Dutchess for her yearly check up expecting her to get a clean bill of health like she does every year. For the first time in 12 years her appointment ended in tears. Dutchess had lymphoma. After lots of research, prayer and conversations with  Dr. Young we opted to not do chemo and treat with Predinsone. We were told to expect 6-8 weeks with her, we were blessed to have her 10. Those 10 weeks were filled with extra treats, cuddles, weekend car rides and lots of family time. Kipper was always concerned how I would react when the day came. (for years the joke was I would have to be admitted to the psych ward) Of course I  was the one who came home first the night things took a turn for the worse. I knew the moment I had been preparing my heart for was finally here. I am still picking up the pieces of my heart and slowly putting them back together, but I am at peace knowing she didn't suffer and that she peacefully passed away as I held her head, singing our special song to her. 

13. Getting back to the basics. Dinner at the dining room table. Saturday nights in our pj's. Walks in the park. Weekend getaways with no real plans. Movie nights with a bottle of cheap wine. Grocery shopping. Breakfast in bed. Casual Sunday afternoons with friends. Taking time to find the awesomeness of the everyday. While some of these things started to save money or because we were just worn out, they made us happy. We took note and started making an effort to get back to a point where we took in the little things and felt fulfilled even when doing normally unimpressive things.

Project 2012!

Before I get started...........

I know 2011 was an incredibly tough year for not only me, but more family and friends than I can even start to list. But that is the past and I have a feeling that 2012 is going to be a great year. I am just thankful for all the blessings in my life that I have and those that God has yet to give me. I pray that 2012 will be a banner year for everyone. 2011 had enough sickness, death, drama and flat out craziness to last us at least 10 years if not more.

As we kick off 2012 I have decided I really want to make a better effort this year to focus on the simple pleasures of every day life as well as some projects that I have been wanting to do for a long time but keep putting off for one reason or another. If I learned anything from this past year, it is that life is too darn short and when you keep yourself so busy, you miss out on the things that are really important!  And to hold myself more accountable I decided I would post them in a blog so it is public knowledge! lol.

Blogging:

Allie 365 - I am really good at documenting the "big" moments and events in my life, but I want to more thought into documenting every day life, as well as get into more of a regular blogging routine. After some thinking, I have decided to put my own spin on Project 365 and Project Life and have come up with Allie 365! Each day I will have a photo of the day, then once a week I will do a SHORT photo blog recapping the week (guessing Sundays, but we shall see.)  At the end of the year I want to do a digital book of the year. I am trying to get Kipper to do Kipper 365 too because 1. I love his photos/photoblogs and 2. I think it would be really neat to be able to include both of our stuff in the book.

Project Blogs - When I started this blog, the goal was to blog about crafts and DYI projects only. Yet as I look back at all my posts from 2011 I realize that I have used it this as a creative outlet for much more than just sharing projects. I have no plans to change that in 2012 either. I just want to do better about sharing the projects I am working on, not just the ones I consider bigger projects. On larger DYI projects I don't want always wait until then end to share either, so I hope to do more mini "progress" blogs.


Around the House:

Let's Get Organized!  - There are several places throughout the house that I have wanted to do an organizational overhaul on, but when it comes down to my free time these things didn't make the top of the list. Having found some really great ideas and new blogs on Pinterest these tasks don't seem as daunting to me anymore. Some will only take a few hours (if that) max, others might be a full day or weekend project, but if I tackle one each month it will be so easy to get them all done!  Here are the areas (in order of importance) that I want to tackle this year:

1. Pantry
2. Important Documents 
3. Garage
4. Laundry Room 
5. Wet Bar
6. Computer Area
7. Bookcase and Cabinets in the Living Room
8. Master Bathroom
9. Kitchen  
10. Coat Closet

Makeover Madness! - While there a TONS of things I would love to do around the house, time isn't the only reason they haven't been done! Kipper and I both have lots of talents that we are very good at, home improvement doesn't float to the top of those lists. Also, finances haven't allowed for a lot of the things we would like to do either (especially since we would have to hire someone for some of it!) After talking to Kipper some more about this, I think there are some things we can make happen this year and actually do ourselves and then there are some that are that wish list if we happen to have extra funds! . Here are the makeover projects  (in order of importance) I want to take on this year:

• Guest Bathroom: 
• Paint walls and get rid of the wallpaper border
• Rip up the carpet and put down tile (we are are a little iffy if this is something we can do ourselves, but think we can)
• Change the hardware on the cabinets 
• New decor accessories



Backyard


• Build raised beds for our peppers in the existing flower beds
• Take down the raised bed Kipper build on the work table last year
• Revamp the work table to be more functional when working outside
• Cut down the dying tree in the back corner
• Plant a new tree or two
• Wrap the big tree by the patio in lights
• New patio furniture - WISH LIST 
• Small storage shed - WISH LIST



Back Bedroom


• New flooring - WISH LIST



Living Room:


• Painted quote or saying above the TV


• Front of the House:
• Redo the front flower bed
• New front door - WISH LIST
• New garage doors - WISH LIST
• New light fixtures - WISH LIST


• Master Bedroom:
• Create a fun shabby chic headboard 
• New flooring - WISH LIST
• New fan/light fixture - WISH LIST
• Replace the old TV with a flat screen - WISH LIST
• Find a great antique/shabby chic cherster drawer - WISH LIST


• Master Bathroom:
• New fan/light fixture - WISH LIST


• Kids/Craft Room:
• New flooring - WISH LIST
• New fan/light fixture - WISH LIST

Life in General:

All About ME!  - Whenever I get busy (which is ALL the time) the first thing I stop thinking about is myself. I get so wrapped up in taking care of everyone and everything else I forget to take care of ME! Well this year that is all going to change! Kipper and I are ready to expand our little family. The more we talk about it the brighter the light bulb in my head shines - YOU HAVE TO TAKE BETTER CARE OF YOURSELF!!! Does this mean I am going to go on some crazy diet or become a workout natzi? Nope! But I am going to make a conscious effort make the following things a part of my daily life:

1. Eat a healthier diet
2. Find healthier alternatives to some of my meds
3. Incorporate more physical fitness into my daily routine 
4. Learn to say no! Before committing to something, really think through how it will affect me emotionally and physically
5. Be more aware of my stress level and using relaxation methods to help control

All About US!  - My over busy life doesn't just affect me (even though I forget that sometimes!) I am so blessed to be married to my best friend and soul mate. After almost 8 years of marriage I still get butterflies in my stomach when he kisses me or holds my hand. I watch so many people I know who have been married a while who have fallen into a rut and just go through the motions. I understand, with everything this last year, there were times I felt we could fall into that. This year I want to focus more on just enjoying each other and all the things we love. I am sure we will come up with lots of great things, but these are a few things I really want to promise myself we will do:

• Chefs in Training: After cooking dinner with Kipper the other night we both went on and on about how much fun we had. This year I really would love to make a point to cook a meal together at least once a week, if not more. Plus it gives us a chance to try out the million recipes I have been pinning into "If I knew how to use my kitchen..."



Take Us Away: We used to travel quite a bit, but the last two years because of time and other commitments that hasn't been the case. We love to have little adventures, exploring new places. Even if for some reason if we can make a big vacation work this year, we CAN make sure we take little getaways. We have been so many places together, but this year we realized there are a TON of places right here in Texas that we would have a blast visiting - we just have never taken the time. 





Let's Get Physical: Working out is way more fun when you have a friend to do it with! Kipper is getting a new bike and is going to start riding with his work buddies. Hopefully in the next few months we can afford to get me a bike as well so that we can ride together as well. This year I want us to help encourage wellness in each others life by trying out new activities together.





It's a Date: Every since we got married we have always been big on "date night/day" and this is something I for sure don't want to change. Yet sometimes I think we forget that dates don't have to be a big, over the top experiences or we get into the dinner and drinks rut. This year I would love to get more creative our dates. I have found some really great blog resources that I want put to use this year! 

Well that all took a lot longer pull out of my head than I thought it would! ha! But I am so glad I took the time to really write these goals out. I can't tell you how many times I have said "I want to do..." and something changes and I forget about it. If I would have had it down in writing, I would have had the reminder of "Hey! This was important to you! Don't forget about it!"

I think we sometimes forget that can't get to where we are going with a road map. Sure there will be detours along the way, but when you have a clear map of where you are going it is so much easier to find your way back from those crazy detours!