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!

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2014 is just around the corner!

Well the new year is upon us. For lots of people that means making new goals and hoping to find the strength to follow through. 

My one real big goal is to get out of credit card debt. We don't have a lot of debt, but we have enough. We could easily pay it all off with our savings, but that is all in an account where we get punished for removing money. I don't carry the card with me anymore so now I just need to forget the CC number (dang online shopping!) This may require me to obtain additional income, so I may be looking for a job with very flexible hours when we get to California. 

As a family we also have the typical personal fitness goal, but with my newest endeavor with Shakeology and Focus T25 that is coming along, slowly but surely. I am about 8 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight so that puts me about 28 pounds from my ultimate goal weight. But not even thinking about numbers, this weekend I wore jeans that I haven't fit into since before Evelyn was born. Huge accomplishment in my book!

So Cal (maybe even Camp Pendleton?)
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I would really like to do some traveling, we have plans to visit family and friends on the east coast in April, before our move to California. But I would also like to do some traveling in California, besides the weekend road trips I am sure we will have lots of. I am thinking Yosemite, and maybe some camping, Just some fun outdoors. I've only ever been to Cali a handful of times, and besides visiting 29 Palms, when Paul and I were dating, they were all when I was much younger and I don't really remember. 

American Village, Okinawa, Japan 2010

I would like to work on honing my Photography skills. I love taking pictures of scenery, and wildlife. I love capturing the feeling of a place. I love to look at my pictures and have them make me feel something. I want to get to the point where my pictures make other people feel something too. 

I would like to grow my blog. I am actually participating in a facebook group thing that is aimed at growing your blog in 2014. I hope I can keep up with it better than I kept up with everything else this year. 

this is the only picture I can find of my entertainment center, and it only shows about 1/3 of it, the pic is from Okinawa and we were getting ready to move so the house is a disaster, and I am a terrible housekeeper. 

And finally I want to minimize my belongings.

When we got to Okinawa, we were still sort of newlyweds, and we had all this money saved up for furniture since we were living off futons and Ikea stuff before we moved. When we bought stuff we went big, real big. At the time we were thinking of the investment, having a nice piece of furniture that will stand the test of time. Well I still think our stuff is beautiful, but it's HUGE. Our entertainment center is 5 giant pieces that fit together, and the three main pieces are nearly impossible to move. For someone who likes to re-arrange every few months, this makes my life difficult.

So my goal is to get to California and have the movers unpack just about all the furniture pieces into the garage, and then have a big huge yard sale and sell all our crap to someone who really wants it. 

Do you have any big goals for 2014? 

Share them with me, or link up your 2014 goals below! 

Not a lot of pictures in this post so here is one of the dogs, this is in Okinawa on the beach by our house. When I told the dogs we were moving to the beach again they were so excited they almost exploded. 

They love the beach.

What will it be like?

I spend a lot of my time thinking about the future. It's winter here, still, and for the most part I am bored. It's really too cold to play outside, we are walking on warmer days, but for the most part I stay inside. Which allows my mind to wander. One thing I have been thinking is "I wish I remembered my expectations for Montana" because I spend a lot of time thinking about what my days will be like in SoCal. I want to share them, so I can look back at them and laugh in a year when I relise how different things are from what I imagined. I am sure my expectations for Montana were high, but after the first winter, which never seemed to end, I settled into how I feel now. Montana is a beautiful place to visit, but it's just not for me, not somewhere I would ever willingly live again. 

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I imagine there will be a lot of time spend on the beach. 

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Hopefully with all that beach time I will get a nice sun kissed tan.

I know base housing won't look like this, but that looks nice too.

I think that we will spend evenings walking around our neighborhood, strolling away the day. 

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On weekends we will sit around the fire pit with our neighbors and friends, sipping cold drinks and laughing. 

I imagine we will be more outdoorsy, and fit. 

We will hike and walk all over So Cal. 

We will have a nice yard, and a clean house. 

Renji will get over his anxiety and he will be a happy doggie who loves to go on walks. 

We will shop, and eat sushi, and go to farmers markets. 

Paul will take more leave from work and we will take trips, like to Yosemite and San Francisco. 

We will still be in the states, and close to a major airport, so visiting family out of driving range will be cheeper (vs. living in Japan).

Our families will come out to us too, and together we will take Evey to the zoo, and the beach. 

Although I am sad we are not going to Okinawa, I am actually excited about Camp Pendleton. 

I have always secretly wanted to live in California. 

Ever since "Saved by the Bell" and "Beverly Hills 90210", I have had this warm, fun, exciting, picture of California in my head. 

I long to live in a big city again, with real stores and little cute markets. 

I miss variety. 

I miss mild winters, and warm summers. 

In my mind California is full of all these things.

I think I am really going to enjoy our time there. 

I need some change.

I've been in a bit of a funk, a blogging funk and a life funk. Since having a baby I don't do much, I don't get out much, and honestly? I don't even get dressed much. Yoga pants and a nursing tank top is not dressed. I am still only about 10 pounds below my weight when I had Evey, and she was 8 of those pounds, so nothing fits, but I can't justify spending money on clothes that I won't wear for very long, because I am going to loose the weight! March is going to be a revamp of all things me.

I am going to do a mile a day in March. On the treadmill, on the sidewalk, at the mall, wherever I can get my mile I will do it.

how bad ass are these pants? 

I am going to get dressed almost every day. Shower, dressed, even do my hair and sometimes maybe even makeup! I say almost every day, because I reserve the right to have a sweatpants day if I am up all night with the baby and just don't want to wear pants. I guess this means I need to find my only pants that fit.

I am going to blog at least once a week about something non-baby related. I love writing about Evey, because she is really the focus of my life now, but I don't want to be just another mom blogger, I want more, I want readers to get more from me.

I am going to try to get to a workout class at the YMCA with the other Marine wife here at least once. It's still hard for me to be away from Evey because I am breast feeding on demand, and I hate pumping.  But I am determined to do it at least once.

I am going to finish unpacking! Really I think we have two boxes left, and one is just photos so I may not unpack that one. We do however need to build the crib, so we can store stuff under it, and then I need to finish sorting through my give-away stuff. I think this is part of my funk, I am just so overwhelmed with the clutter right now.


So those are my March goals. What do you hope to accomplish in the last month of winter? First day of spring is March 20th!

13 in 2013

I really suck at finishing things. I started knitting socks around when we moved back to America in 2010 and I still haven't finished the first one. I have all but officially quit college. I have so many sewing projects waiting in the wings, its not even funny. So I thought I would come up with 13 things, that are sort of a big deal, or at least a big task, and finish them before the end of the year.

1. Go to a National Park- Dude. I am in Montana, I have Glacier & Yellowstone in driving distance. Yellowstone is like 4 hours from me. How I have I not been there since I was 10ish? I need to correct that for reals this year. 
2. Make my own diapers- I have the stuff for it, but I have a severe case of the lazy
3. Finish knitting moms socks- Seriously severe case of the lazy on this one. And hatred for the pattern, it makes me want to stab someone. This is why I never finished my first socks (see a picture here). 
4. Take weekly pictures of Evelyn's first year- Already well on my way for this one, I think I can do it. 
5. Blog more than 2012- I wrote about 100 more blogs in 2011 than 2012, my goal is to at least blog almost as much as 2011. 
6. Teach each dog a trick- We had dog school in 2012, dogs learned some mannars, now it's time for them to learn something fun, Renji I think wants to learn to roll over. Aiko, maybe we'll perfect her "dance"
7. Get rid of one credit card- This is more of a necessity. Since moving back to the states in 2010 our credit card debt has gotten out of hand (for us at least) and one of our two credit cards needs to go away.  
8. Run a 5K- Great way to work on my fitness. I am super driven to get back into shape. Well I say back into, even though pre-preg I wasn't in good shape either. 
9. Be Domestic- Since I am a housewife for the foreseeable future, I need to work on being a housewife that doesn't have a messy house and irate husband. 
10. Get rid of TV again- Not the TV, but just the part we pay for. We need to cancel our DirecTV. We don't watch much, and there is never anything on. We lived 2 years without TV in Japan, we can do it again. 
11. Travel- We are in the states and we should take advantage of this. We need to go visit family out East. 
12. Sew Evey's bed set- Again, I have the materials for this, I'm just lazy
13. STOP BEING LAZY- Okay this one may not be measurable  therefor not a good goal, goals should be something you can know when accomplished. Figuring out wether or not I have been lazy at the end of the year will be impossible. But it's something I can keep in my mind when I buy craft supplies, or when I make a mess in the kitchen. "Don't be lazy and finish crafting/cleaning/icing your cookies"



- Alana

March!

Source: tumblr.com via Alana on Pinterest

I think I have finally awoken from the haze that was the flu. Good thing too, I am scheduled to work tonight.

This month my goals are:
sew my purses that I bought fabric for two weeks ago.
hang out with females more than once.
eat less fast food and more veggies.
exercise my portly little doggies.
welcome spring with a clean house!

I feel like a whole new me since getting over the flu. Maybe because I have not been that helpless in a long time, and I have a strong urge to do something productive since this has, by far, been the most unproductive week in a very long time. Or maybe because, despite the fact that it's 24 right now, and it snowed yesterday, Spring is in the air. The grass should start turning green again soon, be bunnies are loosing their snow fur and becoming brown, and I think the sun is peeking out from the clouds. well maybe not that last part yet, but any day now.

May Goals

I feel like I haven't accomplished much in the last few months. May is going to be big for me on a personal level. I feel change in the wind and I am looking forward to a change in the weather as well.

• Read 3 books: finish Modoc and I'd like to read the girl with the dragon tattoo series. I also want to read HP again, but that may have to wait.
• Finish bunches and bunches of knitting.
• Exercise, use the treadmill more often and get outside when the weather is nice.
• Take lots of pictures of spring. Lots and lots of pictures.
• Cook dinner at home more often, I've been getting chubbier because of all the eating out we have been doing.
• Play outside with the dogs on nice days.
• Plant some flowers. (may be doing this today!)
• Get some houseplants. (also maybe today)
• Put away the laundry when it's done.
• Clean my corner.
• Keep my nails nicely painted and stop clipping them until my cuticles hurt.
• Get out there and do something!
• Blog at least 5 times a week.
• Make plans to go home for a weekend and see my mom/help plan my sisters wedding.
• Accomplish 3 things on my day zero project

Routine

Today I have started my routine to help get me through this deployment. I want to have a routine so the days go by quicker and hopefully I can adopt some habits that will impress P when he gets home.

Exercise Routine (elastic extends are working that body part with one of those elastic resistance bands)

Monday 

• walk Aiko twice 
• three sets of 20 pushups
• three sets of 10 leg elastic extends
• three sets of 10 arm elastic extends 
• walk/jog or cardio for 30 min

Tuesday

• walk Aiko twice
• three sets of 20 weights arms (curls and up's)
• walk/jog 2 mile or 40 min cardio

Wednesday 

• walk Aiko twice
• three sets of 10 leg elastics 
• three sets of 20 lunges
• 60 min cardio

Thursday 

• walk Aiko Twice 
• three sets of 20 pushups
• three sets of 20 arm elastic
• walk/jog 3+ miles or 60+ min cardio

Friday

• walk Aiko twice
• gym for 90 min- cardio, weights & stairs

Weekend

• walk Aiko at least once a day
• Cardio 60+ min
• three sets of 20 pushups

exercise isnt set in stone (except for dog walks, that is a must), I will just do what my body lets me do, and if things start to get to easy I will add more, and change up the routine.

Chores

Daily

• put shoes away
• dishes done before bed
• food in bokashi
• downstairs bath picked up
• kitchen picked up
• workout stuff put away
• clean my side of bed
• put away dog toys

Weekly

• laundry done
• laundry put away
• garbage out
• dog poo picked up
• cat box scooped
• vacuum   
• stairs swept 
• drive P's car

Monthly

• clean toilets 
• change sheets every two weeks
• clean out fridge

so far today i've walked Aiko and I decided to do some yoga to boost my spirit. i'm going to do some pushups right after i finish this. all and all I think that this routine thing is going to be really good for me, and I am determined to stick to it. 

In a funk

lately I've been in a funk, and I desperately need to find my way out. Quite a bit is going on in the Paul and Alana residence. P is training for his upcoming deployment, A has been knee deep in school. But I seem to be slowly loosing all motivation, I've stopped knitting, I dont think I've touched my needles in months, (sorry Nikki, I promise Chael will get his blanket before he's five) i've been trying to read, but with school it's been hard. I had finals last week though so I will have more time for myself. I've also stopped loosing weight, in-fact the scale has gone up a few pounds.

So i'm making my mid year resolutions:

• knit at least one hour a week
• no starting new knitting projects until Chael's Blankie is done
• continue to make time for school (summer term doesn't start for 3 weeks so I've gont plenty of time)
• read every day, something besides a text book or the internet. even if it's just a magazine article
• walk Aiko twice a day weather permitting. 
• run/jog at least once a week, more preferably
• get to the gym once a week for weight training
• do dishes every day, even if it's just one plate, dishes must be done before bed.
• yoga once a week, even if it's just wii fit yoga.

just to break it down more:

knitting needs to get done, I just spent a large sum of money on yarn, so I must knit, I must!

I've got a few weeks before summer term starts but i'd like to take some time to go through my text books before classes start. 

I also have a problem with ordering books online, I have about 20 books I need to read. 

Aiko is crazy, she needs to release some energy, I think walking her twice a day for atleast a mile can really help her not be a crazy beast.

though my weight loss has stalled, I am not too concerned, what does concern me is, despite the fact I have lost over 20 pounds, my body still doesnt look good, I'm not expecting supermodel (yet) but since I was loosing with pretty much diet alone, I feel I really need to focus on the exercise part of weight loss, I need to tone, to build muscle. I think if I could do that, it would certainly help some of my body issues. 

and the dishes is a given, I suck and housework, I suck even more at dishes, but it's bug season and we live 15 feet from the jungle so bugs are going to be a serious issue if I dont get my shit in gear. 

I am determined to find my motivation while P is in cali. All will be well, as long as I keep my positive outlook.

Resolutions (6 days late)

Now that i am settled in Japan, hopefully this year wont be the dramatic up and down of emotions last year was. I am already on my way to bettering my self but writing things down is a great way to remember and stick to my goals

• Continue at UMUC with at least a B average


• Save $100 dollars a month (i dont have a steady job so this may be tough)


• Compete in 6 5k's and train to prepare myself for the Okinawa Marathon in early 2010


• Eat fast food no more than once every other week


• Continue with Rosetta stone, Japanese.


• Loose 4 pounds a month, or 30 by the end of the year


• Volunteer with at least 3 organizations


• Donate blood (in july, 12 month tattoo rule)


• Continue with my goals after the start of this years deployment.


• take 3 fitness classes a month at the gym.


• Travel off island at least once


• Be Green, Recycle, Compost, turn off lights, walk, carpool, etc.


• Knit more, way more

(cut and pasted from Facebook)