Happy Happy!

Happy New Year, folks!

Jan. 4th  isn't too late to still be saying that, is it? Because I've been saying it all day already...

Anyways, we had a wonderful Christmas break and I hope you did too.

here

We traveled over the river and through the woods to just about as many houses as we could fit in a week and half - and still missed people we wanted to see! But our visits were great and Santa was overly generous - I received so many nice presents and loved seeing ours get torn open, too (especially by two excited little boys). We also had a bocce ball engagement party, which was pretty much the coolest thing ever.

After all the holiday excitement, we were major lame-o's for New Years Eve. Nothing wrong with being home on your couch when the ball drops, amirite?

Of course, we did sit down and make some resolutions for the new year. Matt and I had actually been working on them for a few days - it's so much more fun to have someone to team up on these goals with! And just for added resolution we put these up on our fridge - no forgetting!!

2013: Bring it on.

• Duh, work out and eat healthy. But the real resolution is to feel great about ourselves in time for our wedding. So, thanks to our friends Zach and Dana, we picked up a copy of Bob Harper's The Skinny Rules and we're following it to a tee. Don't you just hate friends that inspire you to do unpleasant things that you know you really should do? Sheesh. And we've got a personal trainer lined up for later in the month, once we stop feeling hungry all the time :(
• Have FUN planning our wedding. We've already had enough with wedding stress -the rest of this process is going to be fun, or ELSE! Anyone not on board with that can jump off.
• Volunteer. We spend almost every Saturday cooing over the puppies up for adoption at Petsmart, so we think we'll do something to help out with them.
• Use our free time wisely. So often, we come home exhausted and just camp out on the couch all night ... which just makes us feel more tired and busier on the weekends. So we're going to try to fill our weeknights with some chores (laundry night, wedding planning night) plus even more fun traditions, like our favorite Modern Family / baking night with the Dewey-Gills.
• On top of all that, I'm back in the saddle of the great grad school search. I'm talking to a program (offers online and hybrid classes, plus would take transfer credit from ND) and hope to take a class this year!

So, share the goods. What are your resolutions? 

I am Resolute!



It's time, y'all...



It's that time of the year again. Yes, that time when we all make unrealistic claims about our future, crowd the gym parking lots and throw away all the yummy stuff in our cabinets. It's resolution time.

I know resolutions get a bad rap for being vehicles of false optimism, defeat and self-loathing - in that order - but I think it's healthy to take some time, review what you want out of life (like my life list, from this post) and set some achievable steps for the next  year.

Need some inspiration to get started? Here we go:

This article recommends ways to not make your resolutions huge, soul-ripping disappointments by breaking them up into manageable steps and focusing on goals that are, in fact, achievable. Sounds good to me.

If your resolution is to be more global, check out this post on Internationalizing your 2012.

And here are a few (pretty) samples from Pinterest:



From here.



From here.



So, here I go. You definitely don't need to read it (it's long!) but I hope the act of my publishing my list of resolutions helps keep me accountable to it.

• Get Healthy (again)
• Get back into the gym! I'm trying morning workouts (2 down so far!) and my goal is at least 4 a week.
• Healthy eating - I know this sounds extreme, but I'm cutting out sugar and dairy. Although I'd be happy to shed some pounds, this is more about knowing that I feel A LOT better, ie. fewer headaches, when I eat really clean.
• Take my supplements. Bleck.

• Blog Like a Boss
• Post every week day.
• Craft back up posts for sad days when I don't feel inspired to write. Have 2 or 3 on deck at all times.
• Organize posts by topic on a weekly basis; ie. Mondays for this, and Tuesdays for that.
• Reach out to other bloggers, post on their blogs and (hopefully) get them to comment on mine!
• Add more original content and pictures of my own. This probably means I need to find my camera charger..

• Make a Decision About Grad School
• Schedule, study for and take the GRE.
• Research school options (I'm looking into International Affairs or Relations, if you have any suggestions!)
• Apply (?) and figure out how in the heck this works into my life.

• Decorate My Nest
• Finish decorating my bedroom.
• Find set of matching lamps for nightstands.
• Repaint dresser.
• Art for wall.
• Paint accent wall (?)
• Dining area - make one (so I can stop eating on the coach).
• Second Bedroom needs some love.
• Clean this up so it has some kind of purpose.
• Invest in an air mattress for guests.

• Budget Better
• Set up a monthly savings plan.
• Try to not dip into savings for monthly expenses.
• Limit eating out during the week (1 lunch a month, 2 dinners a month?)

• Be a Better Person, in General
• Make more visits to grandparents (already on the schedule via my Christmas gifts, see here.)
• When I'm frustrated or sad, don't take it out on The Boy. Unless it's his fault ;).
• Be a really excellent cat mom.
• Play with Opie more after work.
• Continue our progress walking on the leash (!)
• Be better about calling long distance friends, and scheduling things with local ones.

• Do things for me
• Read more (not magazines, blogs or websites).
• Listen to some new music, already!
• Check out CDs at the library - fo free!
• Plan a great trip. *** This one's my favorite :) 

Alright all, tell me yours!!