-Drink more water. Up until last week, my daily water intake was determined by how many cups of coffee I had during the day. Cause coffee TOTALLY counts as water. I mean, that’s what it started out as, right?!
-Go to the gym 4 times a week. Aaron & I just joined a brand-new Planet Fitness that opened .4 miles from our apartment (No exaggeration… It’s that close.) Maybe one day I’ll stop driving there and actually count the walk as part of my workout! Not likely.
-Cook healthier meals. I’m starting to notice a trend here. Ya’ll know I love a good Pinterest recipe… It’s definitely where I get a majority of meal ideas that I end up cooking. With the exception of one or two, most have been really, really good and totally repeatable. However, it seems like some of my favorite Pinterest finds (Mexican Dorito Casserole, White Chicken Enchiladas, and Outback’s Alice Springs Chicken) are not the healthiest choices, to say the least.
-Blog consistently. It wouldn’t be a blog post about goals if I didn’t mention this. :) This time, I have a fancy new blogging calendar that will hopefully inspire some serious change. I sure do need it.
-Invest in an off-camera lighting system for wedding receptions.
-Stay in touch with friends & family. I’ve never been one to be good at this, but it’s never a reflection of how much I miss people that are far from me. After moving from Florida, I realized quickly how intentional I would have to be about keeping in touch, so I’d like to keep that up. Or else I’m pretty sure everyone would forget me for forever. Totally not dramatic.
-Learn to sew! I’m excited about this one! :) Aaron surprised me with a sewing machine for Christmas, and I attempted my first project over the weekend. It turned out pretty well… Just a simple infinity scarf that I sewed using this tutorial, but I definitely have A LOT to learn. Like, why does cutting the fabric seem to be the most difficult part?!
-Write more. This one goes along with the blogging consistently, but I’m also talking about prayer journaling, planning out my day, random notes to friends, etc.
-Take pictures of everyday life with my real camera. Notice I didn’t say take MORE pictures because sadly, I’ve taken NONE since we’ve been married. Sure, I use my iPhone camera constantly, but that’s obviously not the same. I don’t have any good pictures of Noley when she was a puppy, nothing documenting the adventures of our first 9 months of marriage, and no real evidence that I actually live in Arkansas, aside from my complete lack of tan. I need to start being a photographer everyday, and not just when I’m getting paid to be.
-Take Noley on more walks. Although, I’m just going to admit up front that this probably won’t really start happening until winter is over. Poor #NoleyGirl.
-Read a book a month. I’ve actually been doing pretty good with this since October, when I started reading the Harry Potter series. Judge me all you want. I’m just a girl living life vicariously through a made-up wizard world, still bitter that I never got my Hogwarts letter. All HP jokes aside, I really have enjoyed reading consistently the last few months and hope I’m able to continue. And I would LOVE fiction recommendations if you have any. :)
-Stop working when office hours are over. There are so many great perks with working from home. More than I can even count. This issue, however, is not so great. It’s so easy to read an email at 9pm (when I should be relaxing and spending time with Aaron) and think, “Oh, I’ll just respond to this really quick!” No more!
-Keep a cleaner/more tidy apartment. It’s very rarely a disaster (although, there have been times), but I could probably be more on top of this. Especially considering that I do work from home.
-Shoot 10 weddings in 2013. I would love nothing more than to see this happen. I realize that most of it is out of my control, as I cannot force couples to hire me, but I’m diligently praying that it would happen!
-Be a better wife. Marriage has been the greatest thing that I’ve ever experienced, outside of a relationship with Christ. Most people say that your first year of marriage is really hard, but Aaron & I couldn’t disagree more. Sure, we’ve had to learn how to do life with another person, but it was been the greatest blessing of 2012. I know life won’t always be butterflies & roses, and that’s why I want to continue becoming a more godly wife… For the good times & the bad.
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Kristin - You should read The Art of Racing in the Rain, by Garth Stein. Not only is it an based on a true story, it’s also written through the dogs perspective, which is amazing and will have you looking at Noley completely differently.
I will warn you that about half way through the book you will be bawling your eyes out and will want to throw the book across the room vowing never to pick it up again, BUT I promise, it is totally worth it!
kelseytice - I will add that to my list! Just in case I wasn’t already emotional enough about my dog/child! Hahaha.
Megan Harness - I’ll hook you up with book recommendations! :-) I love reading your blog!