A Little Update

Guys, did I promise to blog once a week LAST month? 

I did indeed. And I have failed.

I don't really have any excuses other than that life got in the way again, I haven't felt like writing (despite having a lot to write about), and just trying to keep a certain toddler constructively busy and not tearing down our house.

I do have some upcoming things to share soon, such as new recipes, reviews of a few trips we've taken, a 2017 goal update, an Annabelle update, a new shop announcement (eek!), and just some life lately posts. 

I've been super busy lately during Annabelle's nap time taking pictures of and listing her old clothes for sale. It's so sad when she outgrows pieces I've loved seeing her in. I am stashing away those really special pieces in the closet for now and will box them up when we move next, but it has felt really nice to sell a lot of her stuff. After all, we do need to keep buying her new, bigger clothes, so it's nice to recoup a bit of what we spent! 

We  also finally went through a ton of baby stuff and ended up donating to a local women's shelter so much of what we no longer need: three breast pumps (two electric and one manual), a metric ton of breast pads, milk storage bags, bottles, bottle parts, and more. It feels great to have that all out of the house since we no longer need it - hopefully it can benefit some other new moms and families! It is slightly bittersweet, though, since I spent so much time with those dang pumps! BUT it feels great to know we won't be moving those across the country again! 

It's hard to believe she was ever so tiny! I ended up keeping a few of the outfits shown for myself because she was just so adorable in them, and I'm far more attached to her newborn stuff than the rest! 

How have YOU all been lately? 

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: February 2016

A new month means it's time for new goals... but let's check back in with January first to see how I did. Or maybe we shouldn't... it was THAT kind of month. I thought sharing my goals publicly would help me accomplish them, but you can all see that is NOT the case. Oops. At least I tried, right? 

My January goals were:

1. Get the house back in order. Check... and then uncheck. You see, I did get things back to how they needed to be (with the help of my husband - thanks!)... but then I got mastitis (again) and became utterly (udderly? haha) useless, and now the house is chaos again. But hey, at least the Christmas decorations are put away - AND we boxed them up REALLY well, so we can say we have our first few boxes packed for our big PCS next month! Woo!


2. Run one mile without walking. Nope. Fail. I came so incredibly close to this one. I even logged 19.5 running miles for January... but none of them were one straight mile. I had increased from a quarter mile at a time to three quarters of a mile at a time without walking, and I know I CAN run one consecutive mile... I just didn't want to overdo it since I'm just picking back up postpartum AND had a leg injury before pregnancy. That said, I was going to increase to one straight mile on the same day I got mastitis. I've been out since then. Once I'm better, I'll try again. 


3. Read one book. Fail. But really... I have no excuse for this one. I can't even blame the mastitis this time. I just simply didn't get it done. I did read about 250 pages of All the Light We Cannot See, but I certainly didn't finish; I'm only about half way through. Oh, and I missed Book Club anyway... because of the mastitis (bet you didn't see that one coming). 


4. Type 30 recipes for my cookbook. Fail. I didn't even come close here. I guess it just wasn't a priority for me this month like I thought it would be. Maybe soon?


5. Complete one of my 30 Before 30 tasks. CHECK! I did this one. I made it to two new states, which is how many I needed to check off the "visit ten new states" by the time I'm 30. I have just 16 states to go to "collect them all"! We drove seven hours to Niagara Falls for our first vacation as a family of three (more about that later), and I was able to add New York (on the way there) and Michigan (on the way home) during that trip! Yay!

Now that I'm through embarrassing myself for my lack of self-discipline, let's take a look at my goals for February!

1. Finish one book, and read one more. I need to finish All The Light We Cannot See (really, I'm enjoying it immensely... but I just haven't made the time for it), and I'll start and finish another book.

2. Run one consecutive mile. Since I know I'm close but will need to log a few more make-up treadmill sessions from being sick, I decided to go with this same goal. 

3. Go to the gym 15+ times. It's tough with Dan's schedule, but we try to make it work by him going before work and me going when he gets home... or we both go in the afternoon, while Annabelle goes to the daycare area at the Y. I'm not a huge fan of that (germs... ugh), but I need to put my own health first sometimes too.

4. Start packing for our PCS. We move at the tail end of next month, and Dan has to defend his thesis still... we're busy over here. That's why we need to get a jump start on packing some of the things we won't need... like our summer clothes and some of my crafting supplies. Those can be boxed up ahead of time.

5. Celebrate seven years with Lieutenant Lovemuffin. Okay, so this one is easy because it's going to happen on the 25th anyway. But this will force me into celebrating it with him despite having Annabelle around. It's easy to forego date nights because of a baby, but I have something simple up my sleeve for this special day... it's not our wedding anniversary, so it's nothing big, but I still want to make it special. 

    

Goals: January 2016

Yesterday, I shared my goals for the entire year of 2016. Today, I'm here to share my goals for January. I want to be intentional about everything, and focusing on getting things done and making myself a better person is a great start.

Here goes...

1. Get the house back in order. 

We traveled a lot over the holidays, and I REALLY need to get decorations taken down and put away and give the entire house a nice cleaning. It's tough to find time, but I'll try to do it while Annabelle naps each day.

2. Run one mile without walking. 

Okay, so I ran a marathon in 2014. Then I injured my leg... and then I was pregnant and couldn't run because my heart rate would skyrocket every time I tried... so here I am, four months post-partum, and I'm running again. But I'm also walking a lot. And to reach some of my bigger running goals this year, I need to start small and simple.

3. Read one book.

This one is also small... but only because the book I have chosen is REALLY long. Well, it's over 500 pages... but it's for book club, and I've been so excited to finally read it. (All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr). Book club meets on January 26th, so I'll start another book by the end of the month. Maybe I can read two next month.

4. Type 30 recipes for my cookbook.

Since one of my big goals for the year is to completely finish my personal cookbook (with room to add to as I find recipes we love, of course), I need to really get ball rolling with getting recipes typed up. I have a giant basket with random recipes printed off from the Internet... so I will start there.

5. Complete one of my 30 Before 30 tasks.

I have already completed most of the "small" and "easy" tasks... so now I need to get my butt in gear and really start accomplishing some of these. I'm not sure which I'll do this month, but I do have an idea.

• What do you think? Are my goals reasonable?
• What do you hope to accomplish this month?

    

2016 Goals

I don't know about you, but I'm very much a goal-oriented person. I thrive with challenges, especially if I have a routine. That's why I want to share my 2016 goals with you all. It will help hold me accountable, but more importantly, I'll have a reference point.

Here you have it, friends... what I hope to accomplish in this great year of 2016:

1. Read Devotional Every Day - I have a few different devotionals, but I'm going to start with one (Jesus Day by Day by Beth Moore) and work my way into another (Jesus Calling) by Sarah Young when I finish the first. I'd really like a mother of a daughter type devotional after that, so I'll be looking for recommendations. I hope to do this each morning as I drink my coffee, but I know life (ahem, a baby) can get in the way of plans like that, so I'll fit this in wherever I can.

2. Be Intentional About Birthdays - this one will be easier with my new planner and stickers (Dan got me an Erin Condren for Christmas - woo!) 

3. Breastfeed Annabelle to First Birthday - I know, I know... she never would eat "correctly"... but I am pumping like a mad-woman and even have a whole additional month of milk stored in the freezer now - over 700 ounces! At the rate I'm going, I should be able to stop pumping sometime in May and still feed her my milk exclusively (we will add normal food too but keep her rate of breastmilk the same) until her first birthday in September.

4. Finish Cookbook - This isn't something huge... it's not like I'm planning on publishing a cookbook... but I do want a nice, organized, easy-to-follow book of all of the recipes my family enjoys... which is a huge undertaking since we try LOTS of new meals all the time. I currently have recipes printed from the Internet in a basket... we keep all the ones we like. I am going to type each one up in the exact same format so it's easy for me to make each one when I'm busy in the kitchen. I do have this project started, and I'm hoping to be done typing my current recipes by the time we move at the end of March, so I can focus on printing and putting together my book once we arrive at our new home.

5. Blog Twice a Week Minimum - This one is pretty self explanatory. I'll always shoot for three posts (M W F), but we saw how that worked out last year, so I'm trying to give myself a little grace here. ;-)

6. Complete 10 30 Before 30 Tasks - My list is found here, and I still have 13 tasks I have't even started in addition to some that are currently in progress. I need to get busy! I turn 29 in July...

7. Read 16 Books - Last year, I failed at reading the amount I set out for - 26 - but I think that whole having a baby thing got in the way a bit. I chose to keep my goal number lower this year in hopes that I won't give up. I use Goodreads to track my progress, find new books, and review the ones I read. I'd love to be friends - find me here. 

8. Set Monthly Goals to Stay Motivated - That's right - I'll be posting monthly goals on the blog and sharing how I did with them the next month. I know a few other blogger friends do this, and it seems like a great way to focus on short-term goals, so I'm going to give it a go!

9. Focus on My Digital Shop - I have unfortunately made the decision to close my shop, Two Cats Decorations. I love making products for people, but I hate packaging and shipping. My tile magnets are too fragile to pack haphazardly, and I was wasting way too much time preparing them for shipment... time I could be spending with sweet Annabelle. My husband was awesome about helping (he always is), but the amount of money I brought in from the shop in 2015 wasn't enough to justify staying open. Instead, I'll focus on my digital shop, Printspirational Art Co., since there's no packaging involved, and it'll be easier to keep up with on a day-to-day basis. I can always turn my shop off during busy times and not even worry about it! 

10. Be Intentional About Life (being a wife, being a mother, being a friend, being myself) - This one is also pretty self-explanatory. I want to make sure I'm being genuine and trying my hardest to fill my roles in life. That's pretty vague, I know, but I'm hoping this one kind of guides me. 

• What are your goals for 2015?

    

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?

New Year; New Goals

As I venture into 2014, I’ve decided to create six resolutions I can stick to this year. The resolutions are simple and to the point, but they will require strength that comes in physical, mental, and/or emotional form.

1. Read 25 Books

Yes, last year my goal was to read 36 books. I almost reached that goal by reading 33. I was ahead for a while, and I lost some steam toward the end of the year. Since my wedding (and five-six week honeymoon) is this summer, I’m sure I won’t have quite as much time to read as normal, so I lowered my standards for 2014. Don’t worry, though. 2015 will be here soon, and I’ll play catch-up!

2. Run a Full Marathon
Luckily, I’ve already jumped the biggest hurdle by simply signing up for one. I’ll be running the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon on April 27^th with one of my best friends, and I am absolutely stoked! I’ve run several 5Ks and a half marathon, but it’s been a lifelong dream of mine to run a marathon… what better time to run 26 miles than when I’m 26 years old, right?

3. Blog Twice {or more} Per Week
I’ve been blogging for two full years now (but only one year on this blog; I ditched my old one after my “blog-every-day-for-a-year” challenge because that one was so cluttered, but my hope is to have a regular posting schedule. My goal is to plan better for posts and take the time every week to type out two or three posts. I also want to pre-write topics to post while I’m on my honeymoon (and schedule them to post automatically since I’ll be without Internet). Here’s to the year of writing!

4. Grow Spiritually
Last year, I started going to church regularly with Dan. In fact, we actually joined our church, which we love. It’ll be difficult to leave it when we move for Dan’s pilot training. Rather than simply going through the motions, however, I’d love to grow more spiritually. I’m not exactly sure what that means yet, but I’m going to work on it.

5. Complete Seven {or more} Items from 30 Before 30 List
When I turned 26 last July, I made a list of 30 things I want to accomplish before I turn 30. I have three and a half years left to complete my list, and this year, I want to cross off at least seven more items. I’m not sure which ones will happen this year, but you can check out my list by clicking here.

6. Continue Living Fearlessly
In 2013, I made a goal to not be afraid to try new things and to always focus on what I can do rather than what I cannot do in given situations. I think I did a pretty good job, but I know I still have lots of room to grow. I’d like to focus on new endeavors without all of the “what-ifs” that run through my mind. There is no time like the present!

Well, those are my resolutions for the year. Here's to hoping I can conquer them all!

What do you think? Do you have any resolutions of your own?

A New Year and a Fresh Beginning

Hello, wonderful readers!

I decided to retire my "Always Write" blog because writing every single day was just too stressful. It was a fun project while it lasted, and I plan on continuing to document important events, share photos, and post regularly on this one... just not every single day. If you'd like to access my old blog, you may simply CLICK HERE.

This blog will usually be focused on Dan and me, as this year is eventful for us. We go to the Air Force Academy's Ring Dance in May, find out Dan's future job this coming fall, and hopefully find out where we will be moving after his graduation (NEXT year!) toward the end of this year. I'm so excited that we will be able to share these moments with everyone!

Also, please don't forget to follow me on this one! Just look to the right side of your screen and find where it says: "Followers". (It is under the "About the Author" section). All you need to do is click "Join this site", and you will be a follower! If you do that, you will receive all of my regular updates. :)

To begin the brand new year, I have decided to make SEVEN resolutions. 2013 is a year of positive change, and I am so happy to be able to share and document my journey with anyone who cares to read/listen.

Positive Resolutions for 2013

Last year, my goal was to read 24 books. I smashed that goal, reading a total of 34. I want to improve on that by two this year, and I have a list already compiled! (I will undoubtedly read others as well, though). 

In 2012, I only ran three races. Two of them were 5Ks, and the other was a 4.5 mile race. I want to run a variety of distances this year, and completing my second half marathon is the major goal I want to achieve!

I found an idea on Pinterest to write down something I am thankful for each and every day. To make this possible (and simple), I purchased a small Moleskin calendar journal (in lime green, of course) to write down just one sentence each day. I'm hoping this will help me see the bright side of EVERYTHING!

In addition to my "thankful journal", I bought a Question and Answer journal that poses one prompt each day. I will fill out my answer for all 365 days. The really cool thing about this journal is that it gives you a space to write an answer for each prompt for FIVE whole years, so I will continue this to see how my answers change as I grow in life. 

This one is self explanatory. Last year, I stressed myself out blogging every day. This way, I will still have my creative outlet (writing), but I won't feel the pressure of staying up late just to complete my task. It started becoming a chore rather than something I WANTED to do. 

Starting in 2011, I began reading the Bible. Yes, the ENTIRE thing, Old Testament AND New. I have a mere 20 pages to go until that is complete, 1,462 pages later. I have learned a lot about God and how he is working in my life, but I am still not where I want to be. I am still learning and growing, and this resolution/goal will be a daily reminder to me to strive for being a better person in general and to continue learning and growing in my not-quite-there faith. 

This is my favorite resolution for this year, and it will undoubtedly be my most difficult one as well. All of my friends know that I am a worrier. I am overly cautious, and it hinders me sometimes. I want to do EVERYTHING that looks fun. I don't want ANYTHING holding me back, especially a silly fear, such as that of fish. I want this year to be the year I get over all of my irrational, silly fears and LIVE MY LIFE HOW I WANT TO.

Well, there you have it. I have a big year ahead of me, but I am going to attack it at full force. Wish me luck with this big journey of self improvement, and I'd love to hear about YOUR resolutions and goals as well!