Hello March

*via*

March Goals:

1. Finish the kitchen renovation

Nearly all of our time has been devoted to this project for the last month. It’s turned out to be a much bigger job than I originally thought it would be. We had hoped to be finished by the end of February, and right now we’re about 50% of the way done. That makes this project #1 on our March goals list.

2. Bump up my fitness routine

J and I are participating in a Biggest Loser-type competition that ends April 1st. Even though I am currently in the lead (woot!) I am still way off from my goal. So March will be all about switching it up and pushing myself further.

3. Get caught up on Project Life

After February’s re-stock of page protectors my excuses are null. I need to do this. For me. For us. It’ll be so worth it and so much fun. I just need to set aside the time to do it.

4. Stay positive

If all goes as planned, there will be some major changes in our near future. While part of me is extremely excited at the prospect, another part of me is scared shitless. I’m trying to ignore the latter part of me and remember that no matter what, everything will be okay. Change is good. Change is needed. And there’s is no point in worrying about all of the “what-ifs” unless they become “what-nows.”

They’re simple goals. They’re practical goals. And that’s what I need right now.

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P.S. If anyone knows the original source for the image above, please let me know so that I can give credit where credit is due. Thanks!

It is what it is

Source: honeyonmyskin.tumblr.com via Krystal on Pinterest

J and I spent last weekend in Florida visiting his grandparents. We had a wonderful time, and I have lots of pictures to share soon. But for now I am resting, drinking lots of liquids, and trying to get over the cold I brought home with me. Go figure.

 

 

More New Loot!

Indy recently got a Container Store (yay!). I had been excited about it for months. Then, for some reason, I neglected to go when it opened. It was rude and irresponsible of me, for certain. So when a friend suggested we stop in on Saturday, I howled in agreement, “Yes, Let’s!!”

While our respective boys were wiling away the day at the winter beer festival, we made our way through the Superbowl crowds to that great store of storers.

It. Was. Packed.

There were many aisles, holding what I can only imagine to be the containers of the gods, that we were unable to browse. Still, we had a great time. And we both managed to leave with a few new items in our hands.

My favorite purchase? Definitely the washi tape…my FIRST washi tape purchase. Yeah, I know I’m probably the last person on earth to jump on board that train, but hey, better late than never.

I am super excited to put it to good use in…drum roll please…my Project Life album (tah-dah!) Yep, I’m joining the throngs of folks documenting the coming year via adorably bedecked pocket pages. I don’t have any pages to show you yet (still waiting for the darn things to be back in stock), but I will, soon. I swear.

Meanwhile I will continue to collect cute little items to be used in the bedecking process. Like these…

…which I picked up yesterday from the dollar section at Target. Love that dollar section!

So, tell me, are you Project Life-ing?

New Loot

The dogs and I spent part of last week visiting my family in Kentucky. I got to spend time with my mom, and the dogs got to play with her 7 month old puppy, Foxie.

She’s adorable and full of energy. Just look at that face!

On Thursday, while the dogs stayed at home and played, my mom and I drove to Lexington to do a little shopping. First stop was Quilter’s Square. Quilting is one of my mom’s forgone hobbies, but she’s been longing to pick it up again. I was mostly there for encouragement, but I did manage to find a couple fat quarters I couldn’t resist. Not sure what I’ll do with them, but right now I can see them in a future layout.

Next was lunch at O’Charley’s, where I nearly threw away a week’s worth of careful eating on one meal…(but it was so worth it!)

After lunch we headed over to Lasting Legacy, a local scrapbooking shop. My mom is very new, newer than me, to the joys of scrapbooking, and we had way too much fun browsing the many, many products on hand. 

You can see that it was a pretty rainy day, but the temperature was 60 degrees! I didn’t want to leave! I had a really hard time restraining myself, but I managed to walk away with just a handful of goodies and stayed within my budget (woot!)

I’d been eyeing that Simple Stories paper for some time now, and the Echo Park cloud print was too cute to resist. I also snagged some Thickers and a Signo white ink pen that I’ve heard nothing but good things about.

We made a quick stop at Starbucks before heading to Target, where I managed to snag a few inexpensive alpha stickers (I never seem to have enough alphas!)

After Target it was time to head home, where we admired our new loot over a glass of wine (or 3).

All in all I spent very little money, yet managed to have a great time and pick up some fun new supplies to play with. Gotta love that!

A Serious Update

There has been some serious Getting Serious work going on around these parts. In fact, I’ve been so busy Getting Serious that I’ve totally neglected blogging about it. But fret not, I’ve documented everything and promise to share it all in due time.

First, however, I want to share our plan, list style. I’m sure that there’s going to be plenty on the list that won’t quite make sense quite yet, but just hold tight; explanations are forthcoming. Also, in addition to breaking things down by category (health, home, finances, & career) we’ve decided to prioritize and divide by quarter, so this is our list for the first quarter of 2012. Having only three months to complete things will (I hope) provide more of a sense of urgency and keep us from slipping back into procrastination mode. So, without further ado…

First Quarter Get Serious To-Do List

Health:

• Lose weight/Get fit
• Monitor diet to determine cause of allergic reactions

Home:

• Complete kitchen mini-remodel
• Complete basement remodel
• Finish what we’ve started

Finances:

• New management plan
• Research refinancing options

Career:

• Take the GMAT
• Update professional blog and website
• Start certification process

Overall, I think everything is totally doable in the time allowed. And remember, this is for both J and I, so some of the list items only apply to him and others only apply to me. I can’t wait to share our progress so far! But that will have to wait for another day. 🙂

Get Serious!

When it comes to resolutions, I’m usually a failure. I undermine myself; tell myself it’s just a made-up construct that doesn’t really mean anything. And I continue whatever self-indulgent behavior I was trying to remedy.

So this year I’m not doing resolutions. Instead, for 2012, J and I have adopted a theme. This year is time to “Get Serious.”

What does “getting serious” mean exactly? It means it’s time to stop putting things off. It means it’s time to take control of our lives and start working towards the life we want to be living instead of accepting that which falls in our laps. It means it’s time get serious about our home, our health, our finances, and our careers. We’re both overdue for an overhaul. What better time than now to start?

So look for our “Get Serious” posts throughout the year. I have a whole list of them planned already…I can’t wait to share them with you!

Credits:
Notebook paper background
Tape Strips

Happy New Year!

December has flown by along with the rest of 2011. I’ll have much to discuss in the coming weeks, but for now I wanted to leave you with this.

I hope you have a safe and joyous New Year’s!

Lucky

I’ve been super lucky this year in the vintage ornament department. My mom brought be a box from Colorado last month. And I inherited some from my grandma when we cleaned out her house earlier this year.

Unfortunately, my tree is a bit on the small side. We’ve decided (and I’m really trying) to keep things simple this year. That means no big tree. So the ornaments are going to have to find another home. I have a few ideas, but I haven’t decided for sure where they’ll go. Luckily, there’s no shortage of inspiration on Pinterest.

All I know for certain, is that I won’t be making a wreath. I love them; I think they’re beautiful. But I’m a klutz, and I live with three animals (J included). It wouldn’t last a week around here. So I’m looking for ideas that will offer these precious, vintage items a bit more security. Perhaps some sort of vessel would suffice.

Any ideas?

Happy Birthday to Me!

Yesterday I turned 33. In truth, it’s hard for me to believe I’m that old. I don’t feel 33. Or maybe I do, since I don’t really know what 33 feels like…?

…Anyway, I have to say it was a pretty good day. I J bought me a pair of cute boots…

…which I wore to meet my mom for lunch in Cincinnati. After lunch, we went shopping at Ikea.

It was my mom’s first time. She was an Ikea virgin. 🙂

We even stopped to have coffee and apple cake.

Then I went home to have dinner with J. We had planned to go to the Half Moon Brewery, but I was a little later than planned. So we headed to a local Mexican restaurant instead.

All-in-all, a pretty good day!

12/06/2011

Me at 33