A New Year ~ A New Me

Wow! I can't believe we're at the start of a new year. I feel like this is going to be a banner year for our family. Josh and I will celebrate our 10th anniversary next week and are tentatively planning a trip to Hawaii in June. Kaden will start kindergarten in the fall and we'll probably get serious about deciding on more children.

I love new beginnings and fresh starts. However, I have a tendency to overwhelm myself with so many things that I want to change/accomplish/start/stop that I burn out within a few weeks. So, I'm trying to be very intentional and conscious of the areas where I want to improve. I want to take small steps that will lead to lasting changes.

One thing that has had a huge impact on me the last few weeks is a blog I stumbled upon called A Slob Comes Clean. It is written by a precious gal/lady/young woman (no word sounds correct) who is completely honest and open about her struggle with being a slob. I spent every spare minute I could find catching up from her very first post a few years ago. I can't even tell you how many posts I cried through because I.am.her. I was (and still am) amazed at how she put how I think/feel/process things into words that described me perfectly. It is such a wonderful, freeing feeling to know I'm not alone in my struggle to stay on top of housework. So, I'm trying to approach my house with a different attitude. I haven't implemented any of her strategies yet but I've started making small changes that I hope will have a lasting impact. And, I've decluttered almost all of our kitchen cabinets the last 3 days. I even took pictures to post here but my camera is downstairs and I can't feel my legs (thanks to Day 1 of the 30 Day Shred). I'll upload them soon, though.

I hope to use this blog to chronicle what I'm up to...what's working and what's not...progress that I'm making in different areas... No promises as to how much or how often but hopefully more often than not.

Yep, I think it's going to be a great year :-)

The Story of Us, Part 2

The meeting and a little more background...

During my junior year of high school, my best friend (who was a senior) met this guy named Josh. He was a senior at Appalachian and was doing an internship in the graphics arts department at our high school (where he had attended school). Our official meeting was on a Friday night at a football game and, quite honestly, I was not that impressed. ;-). I remember him wearing a baseball hat pulled down really low and when we were introduced he just kinda nodded his head to acknowledge me. Anyway, they started dating and he started coming to church with us. We were all great friends and pretty much did everything together...including going to the prom. (I'm so tempted to post that picture but out of respect for the two other people, I won't.) It's so interesting to me now, the things I remember about their relationship. I loved watching the way Josh loved/treated her...the way he pushed her buttons just to get a reaction (although I don't appreciate it as much now that I'm the recipient of the pushing). They dated that year and into the summer. We did all the usual youth group activities together (camp, mission trip, etc) and had a blast. Josh had graduated from ASU by that point and was ready to get married. I still remember exactly where we were the day he showed me the ring he was thinking about buying. I was so excited for them. That fall, I entered my senior year of high school, my boyfriend started his sophomore year at Gardner-Webb, and my best friend started her freshman year at UNC-CH. A few weeks later, Josh came to Monday night visitation at our church completely heartbroken. He had been to Cary for an interview and stopped by UNC to see my best friend and they had broken up. I will never forget the look on his face that night...

The Story of Us, Part 1

As I've thought about our "story" and how God weaved our lives together, I've struggled with where to start. Details that are significant to me are probably irrelevant to other people. However, every experience...person...relationship played a significant role in who I am today and it isn't our story without those memories.

A little background...

When I was in the 5th grade, my parents felt led to change churches. They wanted my brother and me to go to church with the same kids we went to school with. So, we started attending and eventually joined a new church. It wasn't long before I developed a crush on an older boy who, of course, didn't even know I existed. Although we had never officially met, we actually lived just a few houses from each other. As the years went by, our paths intersected more and more and he eventually started hanging out at our house with my brother. He was an 8th grader and I was just a lowly 6th grader so he only talked to me when no one else was around. Although I had one or two other "boyfriends" during that time, I still had a crush on him. Then, the summer before my 8th grade year...I was 13 and he was 15 (man, we were young!), he decided we could be boyfriend and girlfriend (or whatever we called it back then). We were pretty much inseparable...we went to school together, went to church together, lived on the same street. We had a great relationship and I was completely in love. I know this could be a whole other post, but I am SO THANKFUL that we dated as long as we did. There were plenty of people that thought we were "missing out" or "too serious" but I have never regretted it. I truly believe I was spared most of the drama and pressure of those volatile years because I was in a committed relationship.

So, we dated almost 6 years...from the summer before my 8th grade year, all 4 years of high school through my freshman year of college. We celebrated holidays with both families, he went on every vacation with my family...in my mind, we were headed straight for marriage. In fact, I pretty much had the date set in my mind...just waiting to get a few years of college behind us. My freshman year of college was amazing (he was a junior at the same school). I made awesome new friends, learned so much about myself and my relationship with God and was truly, completely, content with my life.

To be continued...

Consignment Sale

Next weekend is the Spring/Summer Children's Consignment Sale at First Baptist Icard. Feel free to download/save the flyer to pass along to your family/friends. All proceeds benefit the Women On Mission.

Thursday, March 31 6:00pm ~ 9:00pm

Friday, April 1 4:00pm ~ 8:00pm

Half Price Sale

Saturday, April 2 9:00am ~ 12:00pm

The Story of Us

Over the last few days, people have asked me questions about how Josh and I started dating. This got me to thinking that I've never written down our love story. There are so many good details that I don't want to forget. So, I've decided to go for it. Aug 28, 2010 was our 10 year "dating" anniverary, March 14 of this year will be our 10 year "proposal" anniversary and our 10 year wedding anniversary will be Jan 12 so this seems like the year to do it. I haven't decided how detailed I want to be yet and/or at what part of the story I want to start. Hopefully, I'll make up my mind in the next day or so, so stay tuned!

New Year

Well, here we are...one year since my last post. A post that was intended to be the first of many in 2010. And yet, it didn't happen. I could list lots of reasons/excuses but really, blogging was my lowest priority. I do want to do better this year but I'm not making any promises. :)

Although I love the beginning of a new year and dream about all the things I would like to change, I've decided to go easy on my resolutions this year. All the usual ones are in the back of my mind: lose weight, save money, pay off debt, organize the house, etc but I'm not going to call them "resolutions." When I reach those goals I will celebrate but I don't want to set myself up for failure again. So, the two resolutions that I'm focusing on are: 1) to learn to use the calendar on my iphone and actually use it and 2) to put my debit card back in my wallet after I use it. I know they both sound trivial but they are real changes I want to make.

Weight Loss and Wisdom Teeth

Wow! It's been a long time since I've posted anything. So much has happened there's no way I can recap it all. So...I'm starting fresh for the new year. One of my resolutions is to be a better blogger and since I'm actually posting in January, I think I'm off to a good start.

As for my other resolutions, there are a lot of them. I feel like this is going to be a year of purging and pruning...in all areas of my life. Obviously, at the top of the list is (once again) losing weight. I'm not happy with myself and I'm not sure why I can't just get a grip and do it. We just kicked off another Calvary's Biggest Loser. This round we have partners. Our progress is tracked together so I want to go a good job, not only for myself but for my team. We've decided that once we both lose 10 pounds we can do something or buy something special. I've done pretty well this week. I guess we'll see on Monday.

I made my appointment to have my wisdom teeth removed. I've been putting it off for years but they've started causing more problems in the last few months so I guess it's time to get it over with. I'm a little worried (read: freaking out) but I know it will be fine. Surgery is scheduled for Feb 25. I ask for a Thursday morning so I will have a few days to rest/recover.