2014

January is flying by and we're already almost into February! I blogged a little about some very general goals for 2014, but I'm still dreaming up some ideas. It can seem a bit silly to write these down, but I'm going for it and hoping to knock a few things off the list.

1. Read a book a month. (Hopefully more, but we shall see).
2. Take a sewing class. -- I've been checking on the schedule for JoAnn's and there are a lot of upcoming beginner classes.
3. Travel somewhere new -- We were hoping to make it out west this year, but we're not sure since this seems to be shaping up into a very busy film year (which is a good thing). Either way, I want to travel somewhere new; I'm open to things really close by or farther away.
4. Be an encouraging wife-- find ways to serve Will.
5. Get into a running/workout routine. Every since running XC in high school, I have craved that solid routine I once had. I'm still not sure if I want to get back into more distance running and train for a half marathon, or branch out and try some other activities like yoga or sprint triathlons. My goal is simply to start & stick with some sort of exercise routine.
6. Find ways to continue learning (ie: visit museums, explore new cultures, try out some conversation groups etc).
7. Be intentional about maintaining friendships & open our home up to foster new & old relationships. 

2014 has already brought so many wonderful changes for us. I'm looking forward to another great year!

Looking Forward

So I thought I posted this on Jan 1st but apparently it didn't go through... so try two!

There's something so beautiful about a new year, a new start and fresh outlook on things. I've always loved this idea, but as I've gotten older I have really started getting excited for this time of year. It is a time to look back and evaluate what worked and what didn't, to say "we nailed that" or "let's keep working on this," to consider the possibilities for a new year and dream some big dreams. 

I'm not a New Year's resolutions kind of person, but Will and I do try to write down goals each year. We find it is helpful to state them and write them down- there's plenty of research proving this as well. We make personal goals, relational goals, work goals etc. And when you write them down you can look at them at the end of the year and celebrate all thats happened and keep working on those goals that haven't. Sometimes you even find your goals from years later which provide lots of entertainment and hilarity. ----We have begun the packing process and yesterday we were purging big time. Will found a box that had a bunch of junk from college, but there was one gem in there... a "2008 Goal List" which included "BE MORE ORGANIZED!!" I loved it and couldn't help but tease him at the irony that we are just now finding this in a box of crap :)  Gotta love it!

So around here we'll be working on organization for sure, but more specifically I want to make it a goal to become more disciplined. It recently has come to my attention that I lack discipline in a lot of ways. I used to be very disciplined, but somewhere between graduating high school and now, I've lost that. My lack of it has become apparent in my messy classroom (and house), lack of a running schedule, inconsistent prayer time and so many other things. I'm brainstorming plenty of other goals, but here is to more discipline in 2014 (who would have thought I'd ever say that as a child)!