year in review | 2013

I'm just going to say what everyone else has said - where has the year gone?? When I sat down to write this post, I got to go through my blog completely and it made me realize what a fantastic year it was. It also made me realize that I used to sit down and WRITE and I enjoyed it. There were some pretty good posts this year!

So, here's a look back at the year. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

January:
This isn't really noteworthy per se, but I posted (in a linkup) the facts of me. I have more readers now than I did then, so if you are just itching to find out more about me, that's a good place to start!

We celebrated my 25th birthday in style at a Mardi Gras ball. And then with a strawberry pie! Fun fun fun.

February:

We went out to eat for Valentine's Day (even though I did not want to!) and ended the night with desserts from Target and puppy cuddles. The best.

March:

I completely embarrassed myself and made a blog with A - maybe we should have learned how to use iMovie prior to posting it. 

I met Ashley for the very first time! It was the most perfect blate that let to the most perfect friendship. Just four short months later we would even take a trip together!

April:
We found out that we were moving to Houston! This also happened on the same weekend of ANOTHER blate with Ashley. Perfection all around.

May:

We bought a house while I was at Jazz Fest! I recommend it highly - you get to celebrate while drinking the yummiest drinks ever. 

June:

I went to Galveston for a weekend of fun with Ashley. But got way too sunburned!

July:

This is my favorite month. Ashley, A and I flew to Charlotte to surprise Alexa for her birthday. It was the greatest ever. 

August:

A and I celebrated our first year of marriage. 

September:

We bought me a new car! I still love my little Ford Edge so much.

October: 

Oh, funny thing, life happened and I did not blog a single time. I spent October in Louisiana a lot and then watching some good football. 

November:

I got a new job! Working in an office again is different, but I love it so much more than working from home. I know, I am insane.

And that brings us to December. December brings lots of time with family and friends. Lots of love and laughter and really good food. 

I was blessed with an amazing 2013 - I can only hope that 2014 will be just as amazing. I have some great plans for it and I'll be sharing some of those tomorrow. 

goals and such : 2013

I'm not very good with resolutions...but is anyone, really? 

I decided to make a list of things I hope to accomplish in 2013 instead of lying to myself and saying that I'll do something every day for a year.

And if these things do not happen in 2013, there's always 2014! 

1. Don't let my work control my life.

My job keeps me stressed at least 90% of the time. I pinned the above picture two years ago and this is the year that I will finally DO IT. I don't have high hopes that it will inspire my work, but I have high hopes that it will make me a sane person. I need to work to live, not live to work. Easier said than done.

2. Get to a point where I can say "I ran __ miles today."

This one is going to happen because I run a half marathon on March 3. OH MY GOSH THAT IS SO SOON. Hopefully the watch I talked about in this post will help - it better. I am NOT a runner, but hopefully by 2014 that can change.

3. Work on standing up for myself.

I'm a total pushover, to the point that I'll let others walk all over me. A points this out whenever I let my little sister boss me around. It's bad for my work life, too. Clients know that I'll cave, and that needs to change! 2013 will be the year I take back control! (ha - this one will be the hardest for sure)

4. Take time to be creative.

I am a very creative person, and the act of creating something relaxes me. After our wedding I think I was burned out, so I haven't really taken time for this recently. I know this will help me be happier in 2013. (I specifically want to make time to do these projects : one, two, three (but make it out of old Chi-O shirts), four and five.)

5. Have more date nights.

By this I don't mean go out to dinner more often, I mean have more thoughtful and romantic date nights with A. Sort of like this night. Fun things that will foster the love.

6. Money money money!

I've always been a great saver - thanks, Mom! But in 2012 a lot of my money went towards our wedding, so I wasn't able to save as much as I hoped. We will (hopefully) be buying a house in 2013 - I have the down payment ready, so I'd like to make up that amount this year. Probably won't happen, but I'll start by not buying as many pointless things that I don't really need. I'd also like to start a college fund for our future bambinos. 

7. Travel.

While I would LOVE to go to places like Italy and Greece, that doesn't fit in with goal #6. Realistically it will be weekend trips to random places - I'd like to get in a few more road trips while we still can! My favorite trip of 2012 (besides the honeymoon, but what can top that?) was when we decided on Wednesday to leave on Thursday to go to Biloxi for the weekend. We stayed in Long Beach in a condo and it was a blast, just the two of us. Hopeful trips include: a ski trip with friends, a road trip to Savannah and Charleston, Chicago, NYC and Destin.

via

I hope these will be easier to stick to than a run every day type resolution, but I'm not going to beat myself up if they don't happen. I'm learning to live life in the moment and let what happens, happen. Can't wait to see what does happen!