2014 Wrap Up

It's the last day of 2014. I guess it's time to visit last years goals.

First of I am very proud to say that we did get rid of our credit card debt, we did end up using our savings. but that is a huge weight gone. And we are saving hundreds in interest charges. I also think I may have forgotten my credit card number... hahaha. 

For the coming year I would like to regrow our savings, and continue to pay of our credit cards each month. 

The fitness was a fail. I think I just need to stop making fitness goals. I think that I may even weigh more than I did at the beginning of the year. Sad. Maybe my goal will be to track 450 miles on my fitness app. That's a little less than 9 miles a week. That sounds totally doable. Another healthy thing I have been working on is a gallon of water a day. I slipped up the last week, but before Christmas I was doing really good on getting almost a whole gallon a day. I would like to continue this. I am really bad about drinking water and have had some issues with it the last year. 

We did travel quite a bit, we got back east to see family, we got to the south west quite a few times to see family. We didn't get much travel done beyond that, but we have been busy. 

I didn't get much photography done. In fact I think it's safe to say I took less than half the pictures I did in 2013. But I got a video camera for Christmas, so I hope to work on both still photography and videography in the next year. 

I'm not really too worried about blog growth anymore. I am here to have fun and share my wisdom, silly stories, and photographs. 

My final goal for 2014 was to minimize. We did get rid of the big bed frame and the big entertainment center when we got here. We also got rid of the couch before we moved, and now we just have a love-seat. We still have some work to do, but I think we made great progress getting rid of stuff and lightening the load before we got here. I hope to unload some more stuff in the coming months and prepare for spring. 

Some new things for next year, I would really like to be more active with Evey. I feel like we have spent a good part of the last few months watching TV. Or rather her watching TV while I do school work, or screw around on the computer. 

I don't just want to work on my walking, but I would like to get her out, walking, playing, just getting exercise and being social. 

I hope to maintain my grades, and continue on with school. Keep on top of my work, and avoid waiting until 2 hours before something is due to do it.

Oh and spend more time at the beach.

Love my little family 

Do you have goals? do you do resolutions? Share 'em!

Just a click to vote- no registration necessary-

 

Fours

I know I talked about trying to blog twice a week until the end of the year, but I got sick with a terrible sinus infection the last week of school. The endless sinus headache, and vertigo I have had has really limited my ability to do anything but watch Gilmore Girls. I am still not up to par, however today is the first day in a week I haven't been eating an enormous ibuprofen with my morning coffee, so that's a plus. 

I decided to do something a little fun this week. I found this last night on Scattered Seashells, and it looks fun! 

4 names people like to call you other than your real name:
1. mom

2. sister (my sister calls me sister, we are weird) 

3. Alana-Banana

4. Banana 

4 jobs you have had:

1. Manager at AAFES

2. Motorcycle sales person (I was terrible at it) 

3. cook in a takeout Italian restaurant

4. Courier for a real-estate company 

4 movies you've seen more than once:

1. Star wars series

2. Indiana Jones series

3. Harry Potter series

4. Strange Brew

Del Mar Beach Camp Pendleton December 2014

4. books you'd recommend:

1. Harry Potter 

2. anything by Chelsea Handler

3. Bitter is the new black - Jen Lancaster 

4. I have read so many books but my mind is blank

4 places you've lived

1. Tucson, Arizona

2. Chicopee, Massachusetts 

3. Okinawa, Japan

4. Helena (and Butte), Montana 

4 places you've visited

1. Washington DC

2. Mexico

3. Glacier National Park

4. Las Vegas, Nevada

4 places you'd rather be right now

1. Okinawa

2. anywhere else in Japan

3. my moms house in Arizona

4. Okinawa

Okinawa, Jp September 2010

4 things you don't eat

1. raw carrots, they are just gross

2. raw onions

3. radishes 

4. natto

4 of your favorite foods

1. Kraft mac and cheese

2. cheeseburgers 

3. french fries 

4. eggs

4 TV shows you watch

1. Gilmore Girls

2. Archer

3. Bobs Burgers

4. South Park
(I don't watch a lot of TV, we don't even have cable, just netflix and hulu)

Okinawa, Comprehensive Park 2010

4 things I am looking forward to this year:

1. making through it in one piece 

2. vacation to NorCal

3. summer 

4. how sad is it that I can't think of anything?

4 things you are always saying:

1. Stop climbing on that!

2. You are not a monkey!

3. I'm tired, is it bed/nap time yet?

4. In or out dogs! in or out! 

Bates Nut Farm 2014

Just a click to vote- no registration necessary-

  

Lessons I learned going back to school

1. I am really bad at time management

At any given time I can think of about two dozen other things to do, studying always falls low on the list. "Shit! dishes need to be done" or "We have no food, must run to the store" or the most common "oohh look at facebook, so shiny" (You can easily replace facebook with: youtube, pintrest, imgur, or the silly pirate game my sister made me download on my phone)

2. Really, really bad at time management.

I actually frequently end up doing my studying, reading, and especially online school work late at night and on the iPad while laying in bed. More times than I can count I have fallen asleep reading, or having Siri read to me on the iPad. 

3. No matter how hard I try to manage my time, the toddler has other plans.

Then there are days like today, where I am ready and rearing to go. Evey wants nothing to do with watching TV, or eating snacks, she is requiring 100% of my attention. So I stand in the kitchen, she can't reach me beyond the baby gate, but I can see her, she finally decides to play and I am able to stand there and go over my flash cards, while I load the dishwasher.

4. My brain isn't quite the sponge it once was.

I love to learn. But some things, no matter how hard I try I just can't get them to stay in my brain. I am really good at certain parts of Japanese, things you can picture, words associated with tangible things, nouns. But verbs, and parts of speech, are just hard. And without going into a Japanese lesson, Japanese verbs change depending on the use (positive or negative) and that just gets really confusing. 

5. Despite the fact that I know I could be doing better if I tried harder, as of this very second I have an A in both of my classes, and I got a B in my class that ended a few weeks ago (#historyclassfromhell).

I've got to be doing something right. I just hope that next semester I can assert myself better and manage my time at least a little better, and not go into finals fearing for my life.  

6. I am on track to graduate with my BA in History in fall 2016.

Unless I find some magic powers inside me that can push me into taking extra classes. Currently the university I am enrolled in does shortened 8 week courses, which sounds well and fine for someone in a hurry, but my poor brain just can't handle too much info at once. Also some of the classes (at the community college) I am taking are purely for my own enjoyment, exploring things that interest me, I have chosen to take advantage of some great grants offered here, and giving myself a well rounded education. But I don't want to overwhelm myself. Plus I am really in no real hurry. 

Just a click to vote- no registration necessary-

 

Sister Smarty Pants

I just wanted to take a moment to congratulate my little sister. She received her Associates in History and Anthropology this weekend. 

I am so very proud of her!

You beat me this round sister, now lets race to the BA! 

Just a click to vote- no registration necessary-