Another check mark off the bucket list

First off: did you know that if you're viewing this on a mobile device, you can swipe left and right to view other entries?! I learned something yesterday! Try it! ...pretty nifty, huh?

OK, ok, I'll get to the exciting news. But first, its back-story time!

I don't know if you've guessed this already, but I like to write. I have kept a journal since I was in 2nd grade, recording who said what, how many friends I had, and what boy I thought was cute.

When I was in 3rd-4th grade, I even wrote a story, "All about Jenny". In this story, Jenny, a 8 year old girl, like myself, lived a life of adventure and chaos. Her parents were in the military, (which was true of my life, as well) and they moved to Hawaii (at this time, my dad had gotten orders that we would be stationed on Hickham base in Honolulu..his orders changed though and we stayed right where we were)... She had a little brother that got her into trouble, and I think that at one point her house was on fire and she had to save her dog... I still have it somewhere.

Anyway, (here comes the news!) I never considered myself to be "any good" at writing, it was just something I did for fun. A way to record what was happening in my own life, and a creative outlet, so to speak.

Well, back in July, I was feeling particularly optimistic, and sent a piece in to a magazine, with the nudging of my husband and my mom. I thought, its OK, no one will ever actually see it, and this way, I can say I tried and they will leave me alone.

(Are you ready?!)
I got an email Monday, and signed the contract on Thursday........I'M BEING PUBLISHED!

OK...permission to freak out? Because...I am. 

 I wasn't going to tell anyone, but I knew that after we told our parents, it wouldn't remain a secret for long.

Soooo... If you would like to read my first published (ahh!!!) piece, look for the April issue of Homelife magazine, by LifeWay. I know our church subscribes to it, so I'm hoping I will get a copy, and I will be crossing "published author" off my bucket list.

I know its exciting, but I have to admit that I'm nervous. My name will be on something in professional print! I also know that they will edit the piece before it goes into the magazine, so I am wondering what they will take out, or which sentences they will "tweak", etc.

Let's see, in other news:

My phone crapped out and had to be wiped yesterday and I lost a lot of my phone numbers and all of my text messages...so, if you'd like me to have your number, get hold of me!

We got charged a fee for moving apartments-this fee was NEVER once mentioned to us. And I was late in paying it because I didn't know we had one. (Fabulous!)

In the past 24 hours, I have made my husband's hair three different colors- if he doesn't like this one, that's just TOO dang Bad because I'm done dying hair for today.

Oh, my Jamberrys are a month old today and still looking great!

And... No post is complete without a picture of my cat, so here you go. Atti sleeping in an awkward position

2016 is starting out to be an interesting year, for sure! :)

Moving pains: Part 2

We're starting the new year out right...moving!


        
 

You might remember in October, I broke out in hives and had a horrible three weeks trying to figure out what was causing them. Turns out, it was the walnut tree right outside our apartment. Our landlord was willing to work with us, so on Friday we moved across the complex- farther away from that tree.

We got our new keys on Wednesday, and spent Wednesday night and Thursday night moving some of the smaller things over. Since someone was living here right up until we were allowed to move in, we didn't get to see the apartment prior to moving day. (Talk about nerve racking!)

We were pretty lucky that the only problem we had while moving was our couch not fitting through the front door, so we had to bring it through the window.

We brought Atti over from the old apartment and so far he has tried to run back "home" to the old apartment twice. He is adjusting, but we can't leave our door open..which we never had to worry about until now. 

We had our first visitor the day we moved and took him to eat our favorite meal, sushi! 

Some definite pro's of this new apartment:

The bedroom is bigger!

We can actually fit our dresser in the room now :) so we have a TV in the bedroom again

The closets are bigger. 

Can't go wrong with more storage! 

Look mom! My closet is clean! 

The living room is shorter, but there is a space for a dining room table..if we had one. (Excuse our mess, we don't have everything put away yet)

The bathroom is twice the size of our old one. I actually have a cabinet to store my things in now! I love that. 

Cons:

The kitchen is smaller and doesn't smell like new cabinetry, like the old one did. 

The carpet is a darker color..I don't like it as well. 

I have to walk across the parking lot to do laundry now. Before, we were next to the building's machines and I didn't have to go very far. 

The dryers in this building still stink and have to be ran three or four times to get clothes dry. And it costs $1.25 for each time you run it. 

But, overall, I think it will be a good move. We are both sore and exhausted. No time for rest though, its back to work for me and Micah starts classes again tomorrow. 

Now that this first obstacle is out of the way, we look forward to bringing on the adventures of 2016! 

Plane tickets have been purchased, and opportunities are coming! 

2016- The Year of No Resolutions

I've never really been one for "resolutions".  And since you're reading MY blog, you get to hear MY opinion about them.

I know it's a tradition that many people take part in, and the idea of starting a new year off by bettering ourselves is something that we should all actually do. However, many of us don't actually stop to reflect on the last year and how we would like to "change" in the new year. Losing weight/eating healthy (or some variant of that) is the most popular resolution...but think about it, we have just finished the Thanksgiving/Christmas season where most of us eat all sorts of "holiday sweets and treats", we have gained weight eating "just one more" of those cookies, candies, pastries, and following family traditions of stuffing ourselves silly with meals. If the New Year would somehow fall in the middle of summer, would the majority of these resolutions be different? Just a thought.


By definition the word "resolution", when applied to this case means: " a person makes a promise to do an act of self-improvement or something slightly nice, such as opening doors for people beginning from New Year's Day." 

Another reason I don't like using the word "resolution", ...it means promise. I don't like not keeping my promises..especially to myself. How many people do you see making the same resolutions as they did last year? People want to instantly fix themselves and make drastic new years resolutions- and, ultimately, don't follow through with them because the change is too much for their (already busy) lives. When you make a vague resolution, honestly, you will probably fail. 

Here's an example: 
Someone who says "I'm going on a diet and going to workout" all too often means, "I'm going to change my daily diet without looking up a real meal plan, be hungry all the time, and buy a gym membership to use for two weeks before it becomes too much of a burden and takes up too much of my free time." You've taken on too much all at once.

Or... the "No more soda" or "No more sweets" resolution:

What really happens: I'm not going to drink soda any more! --I will do great for about a month and a half then..I forgot my drink at home and all we have here is soda. Oh well, I'll have one. A month later..well, I'm back on soda. Yay Caffiene!! 
"NO more sweets"- That probably isn't going to work either unless you have developed diabetes or have a health problem that would prevent you from consuming a bunch of sugar. What KIND of sweets are you giving up? There is sugar in nearly everything, unfortunately. 

" I'm going to be a better parent"-- This should NEVER be a new years resolution..you should be working daily to be the best parent you can be..if it takes a new year to make you realize that you aren't doing your part..I'm sorry, but that's sad. 

Make your resolutions specific- you will be much more likely to stick to them!

"This year, I want to limit myself to 2 dessert items a week" vs. "I want to stop eating sweets"

"This year, I want to limit myself to one soda a day, if I want it." vs. "No more soda!"
OR even, "This year, for every soda I drink, I will drink a glass of water" Something like that... (I have been fortunate enough to not like soda, so I'm not really an expert on the soda addiction thing..sorry!)

"This year, I want to save $1000" vs. "I'm going to start saving money!"

"This year, I would like to lose 20lbs" vs. "I'm going to eat healthy and lose weight!"

"This year, I am going to allow myself one hour a day of phone/computer/electronic time" vs. "I'm going to spend less time on my phone"

"This year, I'm going to do 15 of the Pinterest pins that I have.."

"This year, I'm going to ask myself "Do I (they, we, whatever) need it" before I buy it" vs. "I'm going to buy less stuff this year"

Be specific. 
Be realistic. 
You are to You. 
Only You can better You. 
You are worth it to change yourself for the better, whatever it is that you are wanting to change. 


Now: My 2016 Goals:


1. Finish the Italian language-learning program that I started last year

2. Cook 40 new recipes this year- I'd like to expand my recipe book :) 

3. I am going to master NY new seeing machine! Some goals I have with that are to recycle our old t-shirts and make them into quilts. Also, to fix all of the items in our "mending pile". 

4. I am going to run a 10k for sure. (I would like to run another half marathon, but I'm not expecting to)

5. I am going to limit my sugar intake by being aware of how much I am actually taking in. 

6. Visit at least 30 places I have never been. (Be that countries, states, or just a restaurant that I've never been to)

7. Visit my mother at least twice this year

8. I am going to leave 10 weekends open (purposely not make plans) to spend time doing nothing or something with my husband and/or family

9. We will make our home readily available to host friends and family for meals, get togethers, and parties this year

10.  Attend a random festival, somewhere