Resolution Check In

Remember those New Year's Resolutions we all SWORE we would really do this year? Well as I was looking back on my blog entries this year I came upon my NYE post and decided to check in with my 2011 Resolutions. So how am I doing? Let's see...

1. I will run my first half marathon. I am already working toward this - I signed up for the Austin Zooma half!

I actually did this! Despite a few challenges that I had to overcome (last minute planning, friend cancelling on me and me having to run it alone, being PREGNANT and not knowing it while running the race) I actually did this. Am I proud of myself? HELL YEAH! I actually can't wait to start running again and training for my next race after this baby is born. Something I look forward to being selfish about - getting my run back.

2. I will be more diligent.... in everything!

Actually, yeah I have been more diligent. Thanks to my handy dandy notebook that I have open constantly, I have really done a good job in writing stuff down and following through.

3. I will paint more, draw more, take more photos, dress up more, cook more, bake more, read more, and generally DO more with my life. A

Paint: A little.
Draw: Not so much.
Take more photos: Trying!
Dress up More: Sometimes, still working on this.
Cooking & Baking: Eek... I've been slacking. Can't wait for Fall - I always cook more in the Fall.
Read more: Getting there... since I found out I was pregnant my main reading material has been (you guessed it) pregnancy/baby books.

4. This year, we WILL travel more.

• St. Lucia (maybe) for our honeymoon in March - make that Hawaii and CHECK!
• New York (again) to visit family - Just got back from Long Island - CHECK!
  
• California (for Casey's work) - This trip has been postponed indefinitely (not our choice)
  
• Colorado for a family vacation - Was scheduled for the weekend before December 6th (Casey's 30th Birthday Bash). Baby due December 26th. Yep... this one will have to wait.
  
• New Mexico to visit Christy and Nick - Nope - Christy is pregnant too! They are also in the process of moving to Wisconsin, so this won't be happening.
  
• On a cruise for Leigh Anne's bachelorette party - Does me cruising to her Galveston Bachelorette party in my SUV count?
  
• Possibly Indiana or Missouri to check out campuses if Casey decides to go to Seminary. - Casey decided that Seminary wasn't right for him so this is a no as well.

All I can say is ... well... life happens! This pregnancy has changed eeeeeverything. Including our travel schedule.

5. I will get back into shape.

I get a free pass on this one - I WAS getting into much better shape (training, etc) and then BOOM! Pregnant. I will just carry this one over to next year since I will be working off baby weight then. The good news? I've only gained 1 lb with this pregnancy so far (according to the doctor) and I'm almost halfway through the pregnancy. Whoo hoo!


So... maybe I should get back to work on these resolutions?

My Blogger Persona

Has anyone else noticed that my blog has multiple personalities? Is it a cooking blog? A family blog? Diet blog? Well my blog, like myself, is quite eclectic... and by eclectic I mean very inconsistent. I like to tell people that I don't know a lot about anything, but I know a little about everything. I also have ADHD (attention deficit) which means that my mind bounces around like crazy from one thing to another and a lot of the time I become "obsessive" about something and do that one thing for a while and then quickly burn out. Then I'll bounce to something else and then burn out and sometimes I'll go back to one thing that I have previously burnt out on and the cycle continues. While this is great if you are a believer that "variety is the spice of life" it can sometimes be cumbersome if you are trying to be consistent at something. Unfortunately my life has never been consistent so that's something that I'm trying to work on. While thinking about my New Year's Resolutions, I really figured out that my real goal this year is to be more consistent. The things I want to be consistent in are all things I've tried, but never made a habit in my life. Here are things that I would like to be consistent in:

1. Photography and taking more pictures and better pictures.
How I will achieve this consistent goal: Making it a point to take pictures every week. Also I am planning on going to my cousin's studio this summer to shadow him.

2. Staying fit. Story of most womens' lives. I just want to quit fluctuating so much so that ALL of my clothes fit ALL of the time and I don't have to have 3 different sets of clothes (really skinny clothing, normal happy size clothing, and "fat" clothing). Currently I am straddling the normal happy size and fat clothing so I want to work on shedding a few pounds on top of staying in better shape. I don't think that I will ever be one of "those" girls that has 0% body fat and looks awesome in everything, but I can be happy with my weight and size and that's what I truly want.

3. Have consistent hobbies. Did you know that I used to be a competitive inline speed skater? On the golf team in high school? A theatre geek? In junior high choir? President of the Home Ec club? An archaeology major? Highly involved in Student Government? A huge movie buff? A budding photographer? A really good cook? A Fashion Merchandising major? An avid doodler and painter? The list goes on. Do I do any of these things on a regular basis these days? Nope. I just want to be more consistent in my hobbies and doing something twice a year does not a hobby make.




In other news, the new Kings of Leon album is phenomenal. I am also really obsessed with the Cee Lo song "Forget You" (but the unedited version). Check them out.

Goodbye 2010!

Hello 2011!

This past year was the best year of my life. I married my best friend, finished my first year of teaching, and rekindled several wonderful friendships.

For New Year's Eve, Casey and I went to Nacogdoches to spend the weekend with Leigh Anne, James, Christy, Nick, Jennifer, and Carl and I can truly say this was the best NYE to date. It was so relaxed and understated and it was wonderful to end the year with such great friends.

Here are some pictures from our weekend:

The girls and I with our sparklers!

The guys did a great job on the fireworks display!

Handsome Casey and me right before midnight. :)

Me and best friend Baker!

The New Year's hats were repurposed as dog bowls!

New Year's Day Shooting

Now for the resolution(s):

1. I will run my first half marathon. I am already working toward this - I signed up for the Austin Zooma half!

2. I will be more diligent.... in everything! I am a GREAT starter, but I have a hard time keeping up with things after I start them and I'm even worse at finishing things. This blog has been one of the only things I have continued to do after starting... well ever!

3. I will paint more, draw more, take more photos, dress up more, cook more, bake more, read more, and generally DO more with my life. As much as I love to sleep and lay on the couch watching crap television, I deserve better and so does Casey. I want to get out and do more with our lives. I want to take the dogs on more walks. I want to watch more movies than TV shows. I want to read more books than magazines (I LOVE magazines...) and I want to foster my relationships with family and friends more than ever.

4. This year, we WILL travel more. I absolutely love to travel... if I had one thing that was the most important thing that I wanted to do with my life (besides becoming a mother, and other family responsibilities) it would be to travel as much as possible. So far this year Casey and/or myself will be traveling to the following places:

• St. Lucia (maybe) for our honeymoon in March
• New York (again) to visit family
• California (for Casey's work)
• Colorado for a family vacation
• New Mexico to visit Christy and Nick
• On a cruise for Leigh Anne's bachelorette party
• Possibly Indiana or Missouri to check out campuses if Casey decides to go to Seminary.

5. I will get back into shape (did I mention that I have gained 10 lbs since the wedding?) and STAY in shape. I'm so tired of the fluctuating due to my whimsical view on food. Food is for nourishment and overeating constantly is just gluttonous.


So hello 2011 and Happy New Year to everyone!