2020 Goals

I’m not a fan of New Years Resolutions. I feel they set you up for a big let down and failure. However, I am a fan of setting goals and in the last few years that’s what I’ve done for myself. This year I have a few goals...

Travel

I love to travel. I also think it’s a good thing to teach your child to love to travel, get out and explore the world. You will always remember a trip and if you don’t the pictures will live on forever for you to look back on. So when Presley was born, I made my mission to try to give him some great travel experiences. Our goal has always been 4 good trips a year. In 2019 we took him to West Virginia, Tennessee, Lake Tahoe and Disneyland. We we to WV three times, to Tennessee twice and Disneyland twice. So while he got four different places he went several times to the majority of them.

In 2020, I would love to take him overseas. I am wanting so bad to go back to England but I’m also wanting to go to Australia. I’ve always wanted to go there and I’ve been following the prices and its really cheap right now to book for later in the year. However, I know we will go to Tennessee and Disneyland again this year. I’m also weighing Hawaii. So while we are debating our actual trips this year, I know we will travel. I also love the idea of going to Philadelphia and seeing the liberty bell and doing the Rocky steps. I also want to see the grand canyon! The list goes on and on....

Passports

This goes hand in hand with travel. Presley needs a passport, so does my husband and I need to get mine updated with a name change. It seems like a simple task but I’ve been trying to do this now for a year. We both have to be present with Presley so that’s challenging due to work schedules etc, the post office schedule etc. So I’m making this a goal this year. We have to get everyone their passport. This might be the easiest goal on the list!

Weight Loss

When I was pregnant with Presley, I gained 60 lbs. It was insane and once I had him I dropped maybe 5 of those pounds. I started breastfeeding and that helped me. I got down to about the last 20 lbs and I’ve stalled. The holidays have come and I still need to drop those last pounds. Now he’s almost two and I’ve still got those 20 lbs on me. It’s time to get them off. So my goal for 2020 is to finally get those last 20 lbs off of me. I plan on doing better at portion control, walking more and trying to stay away from sweets. I think that’s what gets me. I love cookies and ice cream and chocolates. YUM! We also got a bike so I could ride that even in the cooler, wet weather of the winter. 

Be in the moment

I've tried really hard to do this since Presley was born. I've tried to stay off my phone more when we are together and during big moments. I use it for the photos and to track his diaper changes etc but other than that I'm trying to live in the moment and be authentic. I can't handle all of the perfect posts and photos people put out there. Here let me post my picture of my messy house with my messy hair and you can see the real me. That's where I am at. Live your life and if people don't like it then UNFOLLOW. My life isn't about followers. But I do like it when you heart my stuff. HAHA

Fabric Christmas

I've been working really hard to grow my side hustle. If you haven't heard or don't know, I make handmade fabric ornaments. I focus a lot on Disney so if you are so inclined go check them out on IG or my website. I make them all year long and really enjoy it. It's fun and it's extra income for my little family. Plus they bring tons of happiness for people at the best part of the year when they hang them on their tree! I want to continue to grow my audience and spread the love of Fabric Christmas. 

A Cross Country MOVE

No, not me again. I want my mom to move to California. We miss her everyday and Presley would love to have his mumsie around all the time. This is one of my main goals in 2020. I want to help my mom move to California or be closer to us even if she moves to Nevada (cheaper). That way we could see her more and she would get to spend more time with us. So I've bought my lottery tickets and I'll be saving as much as I can!

What's your goals for 2020? 

2019 Goals

I hate the phrase "New Years Resolutions" so I always call them my goals for the year.

Blog
Like I said the other day. I want to bring the blogging back in blogs. I'm hoping I can come here several times a week and write about daily life, exciting new things, etc. I use to blog all the time and I know saying having a baby would be the easy out but it isn't. We all still spend time on our phones, looking at instagram etc. I try to be really careful about my time with my son though. When I'm with him, I try to be present. So it does make it challenging but hey, I figure I can sleep when I'm dead.


Read
I love to read. Seriously, if my husband could live without a television, I think I could be OK with not having one for several months at a time. I could get caught up on the giant stack of books that I have and want to read. Last year I read 22 books and this year I'm hoping to continue reading that many if not more. My mother got me several books for Christmas (because I'm old school and like to actually hold the book in my hand, not a device to read) and I have already started one. And what's better than curling up under a warm blanket and reading in the winter?!


Travel
Ahh... travel. Anyone who says they don't love to travel just hasn't had the right experience yet. I love to travel and while it can be tiring and exhausting with a baby it's all worth it in the experience department. I would love for us to go a few places in 2019. I have always been wanting to go to see Mount Rushmore. I think that could be really fun. I've always wanted to go to Niagara Falls. My husband went years ago with his family so he's actually been there already. I would love for us to go back to Hawaii. We of course, have to go to Pigeon Forge. Travel could be a little different for us this year though considering my next goal.


Save
One word- Money. I want to save money. I want to retire when my son graduates high school so I've got 17 years and 2 months to save and pay things off. I'm a somewhat responsible adult and have a retirement with my job and a pension being added to every month, I also have a 401K but saving is always a good thing. I've actually started saving for my son too. I need to get him an account set up and when he turns 18 he can have access to it. Maybe it'll send him on a senior trip.


Cook
We eat out a lot. A quick trip to In n Out, a Chipotle dinner, pizza on a Friday etc. Well enough is enough. We have decided to only eat out once a week. That includes all three meals so if you pick up that sausage biscuit for breakfast tomorrow that was your ONE time for the week. So far I've made 2 days of food and we are lined up for the next two. If you have any meal plan tips or recipes then send them my way! And... as a bonus this adds into saving because food isn't cheap!

What are some of your resolutions or goals?

How I Lost 28 Pounds

When I got engaged in 2014, I knew that I wanted to lose weight for our wedding. It was a day I had always dreamed about and I wanted to look my best. I also started a new job and in that new position I was sitting a lot at a desk which was unlike my previous job where I was on my feet the majority of the day. By the time I bought my dress in December of 2014, I weighed in at 148 pounds. For some people this number may not look too high but to me it was one of the highest weights I had ever weighed in at. Take into account the fact that I'm only 5'4'' in height.

The majority of my weight is usually in my lower half and especially my legs. They just love to hold on to that weight and it's been that way my entire life. The first place I'll lose weight is in my face and chest.

So in May of 2015, I really set out to lose the weight. I started eating portioned meals that consisted of broccoli, rice, chicken or fish. Well guess what... I hate broccoli and asparagus. Which was the alternative to the broccoli. I also went to the gym 5 times a week and worked with a trainer. The results in one week... 7 pounds. That was a crazy amount for me to lose in one week! It wasn't water weight either because I was drinking a gallon (literally) a day. So the next week, I was working out at the gym and on the way home all of my muscles seized up and I had no idea what was happening to me. Queue a ride to the Emergency Room in an ambulance and I was told I had literally no potassium in my body, my electrolytes were depleted and that I indeed was dehydrated.

I said screw this! This wasn't real life for me. I don't have time to go to the gym five times a week. I'm tired after work, I don't want to get up at the crack of dawn to go and I'm just NOT a 5 times a week to the gym type of person. Nor am I a broccoli kind of girl. I'm just not! So after I started eating my normal food again and drinking my water. I had been a huge fan of Diet 7Up and Sprite Zero. I started drinking nothing but Smart Water.

Then we had some crazy life moments and stress kicked in. Then the summer months rolled in and then the fall. I was having tons of anxiety for the first time in my life. By my wedding I had got down to 120 pounds. It was the smallest I had ever been in my life! I couldn't even remember a time in high school or college that I weighed 120 lbs. I was always around 125. But on my wedding day, I was down 28 pounds. Luckily, I knew I had lost a lot of weight and started my dress altering's in October. It had to be taken in multiple sizes.

Since our wedding I've been able to keep the weight off +- a few pounds. Right now I'm sitting at 128 lbs. but I don't sit around and think about it. I like where I'm at and I'm ok with that! I like how my clothing fits and I like what I see back in the mirror. Will I always want legs like Carrie Underwood and Arms like a bikini model? Sure! Do I want rock hard abs that would make those bikini models cry? Sure! But for right now I'm happy with where I'm at.

June Goals

 

The summer is officially here! I miss the days of being on summer vacation. I find that my summer months are always busy and packed with things I need to do, places to go and things that I want to accomplish. This June begins the summer madness. I'm hoping my making a few goals for myself, I'll hold myself to completing them.

Goal 1- Order our wedding album! I have put this off and wrote it down on about 10 things I need to do list. Sitting down and going through 1200 photos and narrowing them down to 80 isn't an easy task.

Goal 2- Write chapters 17 and 18. I've been working on a book since January and really working on it. I've written 16 chapters and I'm currently on chapter 17. In January I was really hoping to have a complete rough draft of the entire book. Hey... life gets busy. I'm hoping to have it completed by August. Then I'll edit my rough draft and then start shopping it out to publishing houses or a literary agent.

Goal 3- Get a doormat. I know what your thinking. Buy a doormat? How hard of a goal is that? Well we've had this ugly brown doormat since we moved into our home. Every day when I get home and look at that thing I'm like ugh, I need to get a new door mat. I'm tired of seeing it and it's the little things in life. I want something nice and cheerful and something that speaks to my style. The hunt will commence.

Goal 4- Soak in vacation. I want to have an amazing summer vacation. I plan on trying to actually relax. I want to enjoy every minute of it and live in the moment. I don't want to worry about if I'm going to be sick. If I'm going to have anxiety. If I'll poop my pants on the drive because we can't find a bathroom (yes these are thoughts that I have). I want to just live.

Goal 5- I got a promotion at work and let me just tell you how excited I am. While I'm excited it comes with a lot more responsibility. So I'm hoping to get a work plan going and be really organized.

Goal 6- Get a pool. Last year with the move we didn't get in the pool at all. The year before that I had this awesome inflatable pool that I would literally inflate anytime I wanted to cool off. I put it up in the backyard and it was awesome. Well this year I want one again. I don't care if we have only dirt. I'll throw some old towels down and walk on them once I'm out. I want my 5.00 kiddy pool back and I don't care who knows it!

New Year, New Goals

 

I haven't made a New Years Resolution in years and instead I try to set goals to accomplish throughout the year. This year I've thought about everything I'd like to accomplish and what I'd like my 2016 to look like. After 2015 being so hectic, I'm looking forward to a calmer and more relaxing year.

Travel.

We didn't do a lot of travel in 2015 so this year I'd like to travel more. Even if it's just little short trips it's still a trip. We have plans for San Diego and now we are working on Seattle, Texas, Tennessee, West Virginia and our honeymoon.

Reading.

I love to read but last year was the least amount of books I've ever read in a year. Luckily my mom helped me out and got me 5 books for Christmas so that should help start out this year right.

Save. Save. Save.

Guess who cut off their premium movie channels? Me! Baby steps to big savings. This year I'm focusing on how to cut corners and save everywhere we can.

Be Positive.

Everyone can get caught in a negative thought or has a friend who's a Debbie downer and can bring us down but not me. I'm going to steer clear of the negative nellies and when people start being negative around me, I'll just remove myself from the situation. I'm going to be nothing but sunshine and keep reminding myself of the positive.

Remain in Contact.

Last year I felt like I was so overwhelmed and busy that I couldn't keep up with my family and friends. I use to send out cards for every little holiday and I didn't even send out Christmas cards in 2015 because I was so busy. So I'm determined to make a huge effort this year on sending out snail mail and be better about texting and calling my friends.

Those are my hopes and goals for 2016. What's yours?

Happy New Year!

It's a new year!

Is here and it's going to be an amazing year. I can tell.

I never do New Years Resolutions. I just make goals for myself. This year I have a few simple things that I'd like to tackle and accomplish.

 

1. Save money for the wedding.

2. Lose at least 5-10 pounds for the wedding.

3. Watch all of the movies I have sitting on my shelf that have gone unwatched.

4. Read at least 10 books.

5. Stay organized and keep the house clean.

 

I kept mine pretty simple this year. I'm even getting a head start by watching one of those movies on the shelf right now!

 

What's your goals for 2015?

The Year of Reading

The past three years I have made the goal of reading 50 books during the year. This is how the past three years shaped up...

2010: I read 44 books. 

2011: I read 43 books. 

2012: I read 37 books. 

Last year I kinda gave myself a pass mid year since I was moving across the country, buying a house and getting settled into a new town. Now that I've been in Sacramento for almost six months and it's the start of a new year, it's time to get my read on. I got a few books for Christmas and I was able to read two of them before the end of the year so those went on 2011's totals. I'm adding to my list of books I can read this year so if you have any suggestions please let me know! One of my best friends, Erica, mentioned Gone Girl so I need to pick that one up. She also recommended Divergent which I've already picked up. 

Did I mention she's a librarian? She use to blog and I'm begging her to start a blog that's nothing but book reviews. DOOOO IT! She lives in South Carolina and has a cat named Hansolo who I fondly refer to as fancy duds. 

Anyways, let's get back to the books! I've already finished my first read of 2013 and it was a biography. It was Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story by Arnold Schwarzenegger. 

I've always been a fan of Arnold's work. I love his movies. I love the fact that he came from a small town in Austria and made himself into a multi-millionaire. He left behind his family, his friends and everything that was familiar to him. He left so he could pursue a dream. He was hanging it all on the hopes that his dream would come true. He buckled down and worked hard. I think the self discipline it took for him to become the best bodybuilder was incredible. He believed in himself when others told him he couldn't do it. He said yes when other people said no. 

I know that a lot of people have strong feelings and opinions on Arnold. Usually you either love him or hate him. Then there is that tiny little fraction of people who just don't know that much about him besides the fact that he was governor of California and his long movie career. In his new book, Arnold sets out to tell the ups and downs of his personal and professional life. He gives readers full disclosure on all the nitty gritty details of his life since childhood. He talks about off screen affairs. His fears of becoming a married man. He's desire to succeed in bodybuilding then in movies. He also shared his stories of real estate success and mail order catalogs. 

The book is over 600 pages. The first 400 were very easy to read and entertaining. Then came the part about his becoming California's Governor or should I say Govenator? Haha! Once Arnold starts talking about being governor and all of the issues and politics that he was involved in, the book got a little.... dry. The only thing that saved the end of the book was his last chapter entitled: The Secret. Yep... he talked a whole chapter about his secret child. 

If your like me you had already heard all about his secret love child and his impending divorce with Maria. The chapter talks about how the secret came out. How and when he found out he was the father of the boy and how he dealt with it. He also talks about what he hopes to come and how sorry he was for it. I felt like he really came clean in this book. He talked about a lot of things he could not of or lied about. He gave details that made him not come off great and it's my opinion that he was probably telling the truth. I mean if you are going to lie wouldn't you paint the best picture of yourself that you could? 

I recommend the book. The last chapters were a little dull but all in all it was a good book. It also had some great photos to back up his life story. 

2013 Goals

As Kit once said in the movie Pretty Woman, "You Gotta Have Goals!"

It's a new year and that means a few new goals. The last couple of years I've been setting a few each time the calendar gets flipped over and this year will be no different. Last years goals got a little off track with the big move so I'm giving myself a pass on those. The goals for this year are a MAJOR priority though. As you'll see some won't take too long but others will take the entire year to complete. 

1. To read at least 50 books. The past two years, I have come sooo close to this. Last year I read 36 books and in 2011, I read 44 books. I think this could be my year! 

2. To pay off debt. The past two years, I've said I was going to do this. This year I'm making my goal more feasible. I'm going to focus on one specific card and my car loan. Once I get those two done, I'll focus on my other credit card. I'll be able to see the results faster than spreading myself to thin over all of the debts. 

3. To save money. I had been doing so well with this for the past three years. I had saved enough money to pay a down payment for a home. In 2012 I did just that so now it's time to start building my savings back up. Yes, it's hard to do while paying off debt but that's why I have to keep my eye on the prize. 

4. To get out there. Since moving to California in August of 2012, I haven't really explored the town. They've got a huge casino within a 20 minute driving distance. There's the redwood forrest. Reno, San Jose... etc. The list could go on and on. So I'm going to make a point of getting out there. I'd love to head up to Lake Tahoe and snowboard before the winter is out so I'm going to try to do that soon. 

5. Send real mail. Last year I made this a goal and succeeded! I sent cards out for Valentines Day, St. Patricks Day, Easter, Summer, Halloween and Christmas. This year I'm going to try to keep up the card giving. I feel it brightens people's day to get a real letter in the mail! If you received one of the cards from me, Did you enjoy it? 

6. Focus on the now. Lately, I've been having a really big problem with focusing on the future and worrying about tomorrow and the next day, etc. I need to try to just focus on the day to day and what makes me happy. I can only control myself. I can't control others or anything else that goes on. So it's time that I focus on me, my happiness and my day to day. 

Will some of these goals be hard? For sure! But can I accomplish all of them? Well of course! It's just going to have to take hard work, will power and determination! I'm sure I'll ask myself a few times over the course of the next year, "Do I really want those new shoes?" "Do I really need the name brand dish cleaner?" But when the end of the year comes, it's going to be worth it.

New Year, New Goals.

As the month comes to an end, we'll be brining in a new year. 

I can't believe how fast 2011 went. At times it felt like the year was slowly creeping by but for me, once the summer hit it was non stop on the go. The days, weeks and months flew. I've noticed the older I get and the further away from my college years, the latter half of the year always seems to be this way. So starting last year I made a few goals for myself so I wouldn't feel like I didn't have anything to show for it. 

Last years goals : 

To read more books. In 2010 I read 44 books. In 2011, I wanted to read 50. I ended up finishing 43. I feel that's a pretty good number! 

To pay off debt. I started 2010 with 5 credit cards and a car payment. I'm finishing 2011 with 3 credit cards and almost half of the car paid off! 

To save money. I am proud to say that I not only met my savings goal, I exceeded it! I have a substantial down payment for my dream home. 

This years goals:

To keep saving money. I've made new savings goals for each month of 2012. 

To keep reading. I'm not shooting for 50 again but I'd like to get near it again. 

To pay off debt. I'd like to finish paying off my car this year. I'd also like to pay off 2 more of my cards in 2012.

To take a fabulous vacation. I'm talking out of the USA. I haven't been outside of the United States since 2007. It's time for me to go global again! 

Hopefully, I'll be able to complete all of my goals for 2012. I'm pretty pleased with all the progress I made in 2011.