2017 Personal & Family Goals

Can you believe 2017 is here?! I'm not sure how that happened. It seems like Dan and I were counting down to 2014 for so long, and that year took FOREVER to get here, but ever since then, time has seriously flown. We'll celebrate three years of marriage this year. Already. It doesn't even seem possible!

Like every other year, I love to start with fresh goals. Without them, I have nothing to strive for, and this year, I set some personal goals and worked with Dan to set some family goals... so here we go!

PERSONAL GOALS

1. Blog at least four times a month. This only works out to be once a week, and I think I'm comfortable with that goal. There were six weeks that slipped by during the fall that I didn't blog once, and I think it was in part due to me being unable to commit to blogging regularly and catching up on everything I missed. I don't want that to happen again. I want to document our life, so I'm going to focus on quality over quantity here. And if I'm able to post more than once a week, then I'm happy with that too!

2. Read 20 books. Last year, I successfully completed my goal of 16 books and even surpassed it with one more. I figure if I can read 17 books in a year, I can definitely read 20 as long as I make a conscious effort. I definitely sleep better when I read before bed, so that habit will continue.

3. Grow my current Etsy shop. AnnaKate Paperie was pretty successful at making passive income last year. December was definitely my busiest month with people shopping for Christmas gifts, and since all of my items are digital downloads, the orders kept rolling in through Christmas since customers could print them at home to give as last minute gifts. I am more inspired now than even before and hope to continue and piggyback on that success... which brings me to...

4. Start a new shop with a clear focus. This has been in the works behind the scenes for a few weeks now. It was actually my husband's idea, and my target customers are going to be military families. I am in the process of creating designs and setting up shop, so I'll be announcing it soon. Stay tuned.

5. Finish my personal cookbook. Yes, this has been a goal of mine for quite some time. I like my recipes to be tidy, so I am re-typing all of them to be in the same format with the same fonts, spacing, etc. I want them to be easy to read when I'm cooking and organized by category. It's been a huge undertaking, and I need to catch up so that all I need to do is add new ones as we try them.

6. Make healthier choices with food and activities. This one is the cliché "get in shape" goal, but I seriously do need to take better care of myself, and that begins with the choices I make. Dan and I are in this together, so I'm hoping that helps us stick to it.

7. Learn how to actually use my camera. We have a nice Canon DSLR camera, and I love it. It's the best purchase we made right before Annabelle was born. The problem is that I'm stuck in auto mode because I don't know how to work manual mode, even though I know I'll get better photos once I learn. There's no better time to learn than when you're trying to capture a wild toddler, am I right?!

8. Publish a piece of writing somewhere. This one is vague, but it's also my big, scary goal for myself. This is the one that will push me out of my comfort zone. It's something I've ALWAYS dreamed of. It doesn't matter if it's a bigger blog or a website or even a printed piece. I just want need to make this happen this year.


FAMILY GOALS

1. Socialize Annabelle. She is such a social butterfly, but she doesn't have any real friends. No one else in Dan's class here has a child, and of the people I've met here who do have children either have tiny babies or older kids. We want to make more of an effort for her to play with other toddlers. This will start with library story time.

2. Go on at least one date night per month. All parents know how hard it is to stay romantic when dealing with a baby/toddler/child 24/7. We want to prioritize our marriage, so we'll be taking advantage of the Parent's Night Out put on through the CDC on base once a month to go out just the two of us and have a great time.

3. Do at least one ACTIVE family activity each week. Remember my personal goal up there about making healthier choices? This will help. Dan is SUPER busy with pilot training, but we can go on a family walk or do any number of other activities at least once a week. We have to make time for it.

4. Hike in the Wichita Mountains. These "mountains" aren't big compared to the ones we were used to in Colorado, but they're only an hour away in Lawton, Oklahoma, so we definitely want to get up there this spring to check it out. It'll be the perfect first "hike" for Annabelle!

5. Go on an Oklahoma City trip. Dan and I explored Oklahoma City once when we first started dating nearly eight years ago, but we haven't really been back together since then. I've been on a couple solo trips there, and we've driven through several times, but we want to take Annabelle to the zoo and the kids science museum there, among other things.

6. Visit San Antonio. Luckily, the Air Force will make this one easy for us. Dan has a training there later this month for a few days, and Annabelle and I will be tagging along. We want to check out the Riverwalk for sure, but there's so much to do there compared to our little town in North Texas.


Do you have any goals for the year?

Goals for the New Year: 2015 Edition

Ahh, a new year is upon us. With that comes new goals. I know some people don't like resolutions or goals, but I do. I look forward to the 'fresh start' each January brings. I love being vocal about my goals so that others can encourage me and hold me accountable. I also just love having things to work toward.

Without further adieu, here are my blogs for 2015 in six different categories of my life.

• Double my blog readership.
• Publish 3+ posts per week.
• Get connected in more blogging communities.

• Add two new prints each week to my shop.
• Create three new products for my shop.
• Reach 1,000 sales in my shop.

• Read 30 books.
• Work my way through my 'Dear America' books from the beginning (more than 30 - may not make it all the way through in one year).
• Continue reviewing books.

• Edit my 2014 NaNoWriMo novel.
• e-Publish my novel. 
• Publish a piece of writing - anywhere.

• Work out 3+ times each week.
• Take a class at the gym each week.
• Run a half marathon (no full this year).
• Drink 8+ cups of water per day.
• Focus on making healthier choices each day.

• Create an organizational system for all areas of my life.
• Work through daily devotionals. 
• Add 4+ new recipes to our cookbook each month.

There you have it - my goals for 2015. I hope this year is as amazing as 2014 was. I have a lot to look forward to and a lot to work toward! 

• What do you think of my goals? 
• Do you have any new goals for 2015?

5 Things to Do in Dayton, OH

September 23rd Prompt: A guide to your city! Share some of the hot-spots and hidden gems of where you live.

This one is a toughie since I have only been living here for two months... and much of that has been a blur with a spontaneous last minute trip to Washington DC, a week home in Kansas City, a weekend away in Denver for a wedding, and another weekend camping in another part of Ohio. It feels like I have barely even been here! BUT I tried my best to come up with some fun things I have already done.

FIVE THINGS TO DO IN DAYTON, OHIO 

1. National Museum of the US Air Force - it's huge, it's full of planes, and it's FREE... what's not to love?

2. Riverscape MetroPark - it's outdoors, it's pretty, and you can do lots of activities there! You can walk, run, bike, swing, people-watch, paddle-board, and more. It's a fun place to hang out with a view of the river AND the city!

3. 2nd Street Market - it's a farmer's market where you can buy fresh produce, but it's ALSO a venue for unique foods. People have booths inside (and sometimes outside, too) where they sell the food they make, including Thai and Colombian (and more!). It's fun, and it is what you make it!

4. Taylorsville MetroPark - There are SEVERAL metroparks to choose from in Dayton, but this one is our favorite so far. You can bike/walk/run on the North County Trail, which eventually runs through seven states and is the longest continuous trail in the entire country! It's nice, it's not crowded, and there are lots of fun pieces of nature to observe while out and about.

5. Dayton Festivals - seriously, there is at least one festival every single weekend! There have been so many since we got here. I have only been to the Greek one so far, but I plan on checking out a couple more this weekend when a friend visits! Dan went to the Beer Festival and loved it, so it seems like they're all great!

It's nice having so much to do for so little. We thought we were going to run into major problems when moving here from Colorado Springs, CO (where there is SO much to do), but each location is what you make it, and we've really enjoyed Dayton, Ohio so far!

What are your favorite things to do where you live?

Blogs I Follow {Blogtember Challenge}

September 22nd Prompt: Introduce us to five blogs you read on the regular, and tell us why!

Since I just did the Liebster Award where I gave a shout-out to blogs I read all the time, I wanted to take a different spin on this one. Instead of listing individual blogs, I just want to share an overall "who I read".

For the most part, I read other military spouse bloggers. It's fun to see different perspectives from all of the different branches, ranks, and parts of the world. I love it! I even follow some older USAFA grad wives, and that's nice too because many of them took the same career path Dan is planning on.

I do follow some others who I have randomly found along the way, though, who I don't know how to classify since they are all so different. I have thoroughly enjoyed "meeting" so many bloggers over the past two years, though. It's been a fun experience, and I can't wait to make this little blog even bigger!

What kinds of blogs do YOU follow?

Fall Favorites {Blogtember Challenge}

September 21st Prompt: Fall favorites. What do you love most about this season?

Where do I even begin? I love everything about fall. Well, almost everything. I hate the allergies that come with fall, but deep down, underneath all of that Allegra, Sudafed, and Singulair,  I am a fall girl at heart. It is my favorite season, and I am so glad I have lived in an area that actually has a fall season each year of my life (Missouri, Colorado, and now Ohio). I'm not sure if we'll really get a true fall at our next base in Texas, so I'm going to live it up while I can!

As you can see, fall exploded in our house this past week. I printed some fall photographs and a free printable I found online. I added a wreath from Target and attached a small scarecrow to it. I bought a basket and filled it with fall colored leaves and a few gourds. And what fall ensemble would be complete without a pumpkin scented candle from Bath and Body Works, right? (My favorite is the vanilla pumpkin marshmallow!)

I also made oatmeal pumpkin cream pies for the AFIT Spouses Recipe Club, which was a blast again. I am so glad to have the opportunity to meet ladies who have been married into the military for just as long as me and for many, many years. It's great being able to share stories and learn from the ones who have been around longer.

In fall, I love:

• the colors
• the smells
• the foods
• the leaves
• the crisp weather
• the clothes
• football season
• the holidays
• pumpkins
• parties
• giving thanks
• the decorations
• family time
• a "new" season

What do YOU love about fall?

A Day in the Life... or Something Like That {Blogtember Challenge}

September 20th Prompt: Share a day in your life. Pictures, timelines, stats... however you'd like.

I don't have one full day documented here... so instead I'm going to share tidbits of many of the past days.

Over Labor Day weekend, Dan and I went to Sandusky, Ohio for the first time. We went to Cedar Point and had a BLAST! We didn't take any pictures there, however, but we did get some at the deer park the next day! I'm going to save most of the pictures for a separate post sometime, but here are a few.

We've also been hanging out with our friends Ellie and Joe, and they have the cutest little baby, Tyler... and we like hanging out with him too!

Dan and I also went to the Greek Festival in downtown Dayton, and it was SO worth it. The food was a little pricey, and we had to pay to get in, but that food was SOOOO worth it! We loved it. 

In exciting news, I FINALLY got someone to take my leg pain seriously! I injured it while marathon training way back in April. Yes, I still ran the marathon on an injured leg, but whatever. Worth it. Doctors have been dismissing me since APRIL, though, telling me it was just a muscle strain. NO. That would be gone by now. I was referred to a physical therapist recently, and he felt HUGE knots in my tibialis anterior muscle and knew immediately that there was a problem. He used trigger point dry needling by sticking needles deep into my muscles until he got a "twitch" from me... and while I was pretty sore for a few days afterward, it feels like it's FINALLY healing now. I go back next week for one more round, and I am so excited to finally have some answers! I can't wait to get running again! The following photo shows all of the places the needles went in.

A good friend of ours called recently to tell us of a fishing mishap he had where he ended up in the ER. He was in good spirits about it, so we decided to send him some fun little puns in the mail.

We got wedding photos up in our house! Finally! I love that we picked three large photos to display. Maybe this will stop me from hanging up a ton of them all over the place... we'll see.

Last weekend, we flew to Denver for a wedding. It was WEIRD being back in Colorado, but we were so happy to see Michele and Chad tie the knot!

And last but certainly not least, what would an "in the life of..." post be without some pictures of the furbabies?

Have YOU been up to anything fun lately?

My Favorite Advice {Blogtember Challenge}

September 19th Prompt: If you could give one piece of advice to a large group of people, what would it be?

This one is easy for me. It's something I learned early on in life. It's something that I've struggled with in the past (as much as only a year ago), but it's something that I ALWAYS come back to. It's something I tried to instill in my students, and it's something that I'll ALWAYS stick to.

But seriously. Why do something that you know is wrong just to fit in? Why appease other people just so they'll like you, even if it means you're doing something you KNOW isn't right? Stick up for what YOU believe in. Always. You will feel better about it, I promise. And if you go along with the crowd just to be a part of the crowd, you will not be happy. In fact, are those the people you honestly want as your friends anyway? I didn't think so. 

What is one piece of advice YOU would share with others?

A Tale of Traveling {Blogtember Challenge}

Yep, I skipped yesterday. I don't vlog, sorry (yesterday's prompt). I hate the sound of my voice, and I didn't feel like making one. So I decided to take the day off.

September 18th Prompt: Tell a tale of traveling, a city or country you've been to or a favorite vacation. 

Because I'm not ready to share the details of our honeymoon locations yet (not because of anything big... just because I've been too lazy to type them all up and then got sucked into the Blogtember Challenge), I am going to share the Bahamas cruise Dan and I went on in December of 2011. It was a blast!

While Dan and I were on our epic road trip in the summer of 2011 (when we got engaged), we decided it would be a blast to go on a cruise together and booked it from the spotty wi-fi at the Grand Canyon. We chose a Carnival cruise, and we left right when we finished work/school for the semester (December 2011). We flew to Florida, spent the night in Orlando eating out and having fun, and then we boarded the Carnival Sensation the following morning! The ship was beautiful, and it was so cool seeing everything decorated for Christmas!

We spent three nights and four days on the ship, and we also got to go to Freeport, Bahamas and Nassau, Bahamas! We had so much fun together seeing new things, and it was great getting a tan in December! ;) 

Our view from lunch before we boarded the ship!

First evening on the ship :)

Wedding date in the sand! :) 

We had a ton of fun on that trip, and I think that may be what inspired Dan to book us a cruise for our honeymoon (that was the big surprise for me!) We LOVE cruises and wish we could go on more... but unfortunately, we don't live near any ports. Maybe sometime!