Reflections and Goals!

I'm all about making goals and tracking progress, so this time of year is always exciting for me.  I was eager to check back to see what goals I'd made for 2014, what things were on my 'bucket list' and to see how I'd done.  Admittedly, I wasn't very good of keeping those things at the front of my mind this past year.  It seems that 2014 was full of changes for me and I know I spent a lot of time over the last year with my mind spinning with ideas and thoughts and I was just trying to make sense of it all.  It feels really good to have taken time over the past couple of weeks to reflect and make decisions about what I'm looking forward to in 2015.

That being said, first I want to go back to those four goals I made for 2014.  I vowed first to become a healthier person, and I think I nailed this one.  We definitely eat cleaner than ever before, Jarrod and I both exercise regularly and are active role models for the kids, and I even accomplished that goal of wearing a bikini in Cancun!  I took this goal further by starting up as a health and fitness coach with Beachbody and have been blown away by the amount of satisfaction I've gotten from helping others on their healthy lifestyle journey, too.  It's been so amazing to be someone's motivator.  Love it.

Goal #2 was to spend less on groceries, and while I failed to do a good job at tracking that through the year, I'm pretty confident I didn't succeed in that area.

It was hard to make goal #3 because it meant that I was admitting that I'd become a 'yeller' and I didn't like it.  I promised myself I'd be a kinder, gentler mom in 2014.  The dynamics of our family of course are ever changing.  Having a three year old around means a lot of aggravation, if you know what I mean!  But, we definitely have all worked on this goal and we're doing well...still have progress to make, so it will continue to be a goal in 2015.

And lastly, I wanted to be sure to connect with friends and family more in 2014.  Like #3, I know I could do even better, but I am happy with the progress I made in this area.  There are still friends I wish I had more frequent contact with, and I want to do more to initiate conversations with my siblings, but I am proud of my efforts in 2014.

Next comes my 'bucket list' for 2014.  I love making a list to check off through the year....but I didn't do great!  :-/

1. Road trip to Kansas City - YES!  And it was so fun!

2. Read 6+ books - I think so :)  This was one of those areas that I didn't do a good job tracking, but I can remember four books for sure that I read, and I'm pretty confident I made it to six.

3. Earn the consistency bonus every quarter with TS - NO...but that's because of changes I made...more to come.

4. Learn yoga - YES!  And probably one of my favorite things I did in 2014

5. Run a 5K - while I technically ran many 5K, none of them were organized races ;)

6. Make DVDs of my Flip/iPhone videos - NO!  And this will be on my list for 2015.  It's so important to me, but so overwhelming...

7. Overhaul my craft closet - NO :(  Will work on it this year

8. Sew something for myself to wear - NO...I didn't sew much at all in 2014

9. Promote to Team Mentor by the end of 2014 - NO, again because of those changes

10. Redecorate the playroom - Sort of...not as much as I wanted, but we did start

11. Paint something on canvas - YES!  And I loved our Santa painting as part of our holiday decor this year

12. Create and implement an allowance system for Gavin - YES!  And it worked great in the beginning, but he slacked off.  I'll be better about that this year.

13. Have family photos taken - YES!  And I love them.

14. Surprise the kids with a trip somewhere - YES!  Disney was amazing!

Like I mentioned before, 2014 was full of changes.  Jarrod got a new position that made his schedule different.  Getting home early enough for me to schedule parties flexibly became difficult.  Soon, my party schedule with TS became non-existent and I was keeping my business going solely online.  Because of my changes, my sales were not as high, meaning I didn't earn my bonuses, and not being in front of groups on people regularly at party made growing my team extremely difficult, so promoting was not possible.  It took a long time for me to be ok with those changes.  TS has been a part of my life for six years now!  It's hard to make changes.  But I've accepted that my path is taking a new turn and TS can still be part of my life, but in a different way.  I've officially 'retired' from being a party consultant.  I'm not stressing each month to try to get online events planned.  I'm simply going to help my current clients with their orders and continue to enjoy our favorite products at a discount. ;)  And it feels good to be ok with that and be able to breathe a little easier knowing I'm not disappointing my team.

So...after all those reflections, it was time to make some plans for 2015.  I thought long and hard about where I want this year to take us...and my focus on just being happy seems to come up in everything I think of.  (Hence my AIM for Happy adventure...happiness is so important to our well-being!)  Each of my goals will bring happiness into my life in some way.

Goals for 2015

1. Get back to blogging.  It was a sad realization when a friend called me out and made me aware of the fact that I hadn't blogged in months.  I'm promising myself to change that.  Why?  Well, I started this blog for one reason - to keep our friends and family involved in our everyday lives when we moved away from Ohio.  While that's why it started, it turned out to be an amazing way for me to document our lives!  I turned from scrapbooking to blogging and I love my blog books that I print and know one day, I'll cherish having these memories recorded.  So, knowing that I've slacked and missed a lot makes me sad.  Time to amp it up, and I'm going to be sure to schedule blogging time in my weekly plans.

2. Be better with our budgeting and saving.  Nothing stresses me out more than to feel overwhelmed with financial stuff.  We were doing a really good job and then Disney happened and the holidays and several other bumps in the road and I stopped working on our budget weekly like I had been and I feel like I lost control...so I need to get back.  Doing so will also help me work on that goal that failed on in 2014 - spending less on groceries.  I know this will also help us save more, use cash more, and overall, I'll be happier knowing that things are back under control.  Remember that happy theme!

3. Cook more with the kids.  I have a distinct memory of Jarrod and I cooking together in our little house on Carolyn Dr., music playing, and me saying to him that one day, we'd be cooking together with our future kids.  Well, fast forward to the future...we have those kids, and often times there's still music playing when I'm cooking, but that tends to be the time that I let the kids turn on the TV, mostly to keep them out of my hair while I'm trying to get dinner on the table. Better planning and starting to prep dinner earlier than really needed will allow me to include them more in the cooking and having us all in the kitchen together will be a happy time for us I'm sure.  Looking forward to this one!

4. Continue to be a healthy role model and a gentler parent - I think focusing on the type of parent I want to be is key to my happiness.  If I'm not healthy and I'm constantly raising my voice and getting frustrated with the kids, of course I'm not going to be happy.  Plus, when I'm modeling these behaviors, the kids follow.... win, win.

I'm also continuing with my 'bucket list' idea.  I really love these!  And I'm posting this list in my 'life notebook' that I've started using daily so they're always present.

1. Make a DVD of my Flip/iPhone videos (sound familiar?)

2. Overhaul craft closet (hmmmm???)

3. Complete a half marathon

4. Take a weekend road trip to a new place

5. Print another blog book

6. Grow Team AIM to at least 15 coaches

7. Make an effort to have two dates with Jarrod (outside the home!)

8. Back up all my photos and create a system for organizing them

9. Read 10 books (and actually keep track!)

10. Donate my hair to Locks of Love

11. Make a recipe binder/notebook

12. Put cash into my savings envelopes every week, no matter how small

Phew!  That felt so awesome to get all that out!  I'm so excited for this year...it's going to be outstanding.  Let's do it.

Happy New Year!

It's crazy to think that it's 2013!  Jarrod and I were watching an HGTV show recently and the house was built in '96 and was so so so outdated.  He made a comment about '96 not being that long ago, and I had to remind him that it was almost 20 years ago!  1996 was when we started dating....that was a loooong time ago. :)

We celebrated the New Year in style....and by style I mean in our pajamas and by ordering pizza.  It was perfect.  We were planning to go out to dinner with friends, or maybe to a friend's house, but it was a nasty, cold rainy day and we opted to skip taking the kids out and just stay home.  We let Gavin stay up 'late' (9pm!) and we had a little 'toast' at 9 before he went to bed....us with our wine glasses, him with water in a small fancy shot glass!  Haha...  We watched last year's Times Square countdown on YouTube and toasted the year.  It was adorable.

Jarrod and I talked about resolutions.  He actually wanted to make one, which I don't recall him doing before.  He decided he wants to spend more time outdoors, exploring our area with Gavin and as a family.  I loved that!  Over the past year, I've enjoyed crossing things off my '30 Things' list, so I decided to make mine more of a weekly list.  Each week, I want to make sure I spend a little time focusing on photography and sewing {two things I want to become better at}, our budget/finances {a big long term goal for our family}, and doing something with Jarrod that doesn't involve watching TV after the kids are in bed or during naps {playing cards, cooking together, playing Wii, etc.}  I added those things to my weekly checklist so I can try to stay on top of them.  I'm also starting the Biggest Loser again to keep myself accountable.  I did well before and came in 2nd place, but I've gained back about half of what I lost last year since Megan's wedding because I slacked off on my calorie counting and exercising.  Time to get back on track!  

I have a huge training this weekend for my team that I'm spending all my time right now working on, but next week will be catch-up week on the blog! More December pictures and videos coming soon.  :)

Goals

I've spent a lot of time thinking about this new year and what I want to accomplish, and Jarrod and I have talked about what we want to do for our family.  Instead of focusing on the same big goals that we have every year (that we still have!) I decided to focus on small changes that I want to make for myself.  And it sounds silly, but I think I can sum most of my goals up in one statement...  I want to 'do' Pinterest!  

I spend a lot of time on Pinterest, and have found tons of things I love.  Crafts to do with the kids, DIY projects for the home, new recipes to try, photography tutorials, books to read, etc.  This year, I want to focus on actually doing more of the things I'm finding online and not just pinning them on my boards and talking about them.  I'd love to save up some money to buy a sewing machine and teach myself how to sew so that I can do some of the adorable things I've found.  That's something I'd really love!

If I could end 2012 with less debt, a better understanding of my camera and editing software, a sewing machine with projects made, and having read more books, I'd be a very happy person!  And of course, I want my family to stay happy and healthy.  :)

On a business level, my goal is to reach $18,000 in sales this year, add 6 new team members, and promote to Senior Team Manager.  All very doable, so let's see how things go!

2012 Awaits...Make it Fabulous!

Happy New Year!  We had a nice NYE celebration, which consisted of dinner at Fred's Hickory Inn with the Famini clan and then dessert at Yum Yos.  Always a favorite!  As usual, we were in bed WAY before midnight, and thanks to a certain little boy, we were up today around 5:30.  Gotta love the early riser in him...he gets that from his daddy!

I haven't made many resolutions yet.  I have a lot on my mind that I'm considering, and want to decide what the best goal(s) is/are for me and the family.  I decided to go back to look at last year's resolutions and see how we did...

One of my goals for this year was to spend less money at Walmart through couponing, and I really wish I'd done better than I did.  This is something that is on my list of ideas for this year again.  

Another goal was to pay down some debt, and we did a great job with that in the spring, but unfortunately, we've added to that debt again...  With buying plane tickets for Florida and Ohio, among other things, we have a HUGE goal for this year to really tackle our debt and begin a process of changing the way we live and the way we look at our money.

My last goal was to promote to Team Leader with Tastefully Simple and add 12 new team members.  I surpassed the first part of that goal...I promoted to Team Leader in July, and then again to Team Manager in December, so I'm extremely proud of that!  My 12 team member goal was a high one, and though I didn't reach 12, I'm so happy with the 6 new team members I did add (in addition to the 9 second and third line team member that joined us as well!)

Jarrod is off with us tomorrow again, and I'm hoping to talk about some goals for our family.  I know it's going to be a great year.  I'm staying positive about the house situation, and looking forward to making lots of memories this year with my fantastic family!

And before I end...a quick 'Happy Birthday' wish to Memaw from all of us!

Goodbye, 2011!

I can't believe 2011 is over already.  This year seemed to go really fast, but I feel like I've said that ever since I graduated college.  I know the school years always seemed to fly by when I was teaching, then summers went too quickly, and now with kids of my own, our days are a blur sometimes!  It's crazy to me.

This year has had its ups and downs, but of course the highlight of 2011 of watching our family and our hearts grow with the addition of Riley Savannah.  Experiencing the blessing of a newborn through the eyes of her big brother has been amazing.  Watching Jarrod become the Daddy of two.  Seeing parts of me every time I look at our daughter.  It's been more than I ever expected.  Every parent worries while pregnant with their second, I think, how they'll ever be able to love another child as much as they love their first, but it just happens.  From the second Dr. Schmitz placed her on my chest, it was love.

I'm looking forward to a lot of good things in 2012.  This week has been a very stressful week dealing with issues with our Ohio house, and I hope 2012 brings answers , and we're able to move on and make the best out of the situation.  I know that we're so so lucky to have all we do have, and I have to try my hardest to stay positive and realize it could be much worse.

To end the year, how about two photos of the most adorable kiddos around?  The weather here has been gorgeous, so we got to spend some time outside yesterday and I captured a lot of beautiful shots, but these are my favorites.  Happy New Year, everyone!  

Happy New Year!

What a crazy several days! We found out last week that we had to change our trip home because of Jarrod's work schedule. So, we had 2 days to pack and for me to finish Christmas shopping for the Ohio clan. Fun stuff!

New Years Eve we were still here. We went to Charlotte Tavern with Erin and John and then came home and played a game of Rummy. I love that Jarrod's been playing Rummy so much more with me :) We, of course, went to bed before midnight. But, ironically, we were up cleaning up dog puke (thanks, Shirley!) and I looked at the clock, and it was 12:01. Happy New Year to us!

I didn't sleep much at all that night. I was so excited to be going home to visit family, and we were up a couples with Shirley. So, when the alarm went off at 4am, I think I'd had an hour and a half of sleep. But, that's ok....I was running on adrenaline. We were on the road by 5:15. We hit snow in about Buffalo, and it snowed off and on through Columbus pretty much. Nothing too bad, but parts were a bit scary. But, we made it home and were able to spend Friday night and Saturday celebrating Christmas with family and friends. It was so nice! Of course, the traveling and change in routine was awful for Gavin and he didn't sleep well at all.

Gavin is so spoiled! He got so many awesome gifts, including a Mickey Mouse Playhouse ball pit, golf clubs, Little People toys and trucks, instruments, etc. We were pretty lucky as well. Cute clothes, a new Coach purse, a portable DVD player for Gavin in the car, a new coat for Jarrod, an awesome Flip camera! So, you'll be getting more videos that are better quality for sure. :) We did a nice family dinner at El Rancho Grande on Saturday night with my whole family and Travis and Ashley.

Sunday morning we found out that we had a lot of snow here and were expecting more. I didn't hear anything about this before we left. So, we looked up the weather and weighed our options and decided to leave a day early. That way, we had more flexibility and if it got bad we could stop at a hotel. I was sad to leave, but knew it was the right choice. Soon after leaving, we learned that 90 was closed in PA. Nice... We made it to Cleveland, where we stopped and saw Heidi and Anthony, then Greg, Cor, and Addy, and found out 90 was open again. We left Cleveland around Gavin's bedtime in hopes that he'd sleep the whole way. He did....with a few minor crying periods in between. It took us 2 hours longer from Cleveland than normal. Parts of the drive were down right scary. We couldn't tell if we were on the road or not. I was so nervous. Jarrod's arms and hands hurts from gripping the wheel so hard. I left it up to Jarrod, but kept telling him that we could stop at a hotel anytime he wanted. There were a few times I dozed off, but I tried to stay awake and keep talking to Jarrod. We finally made it home around 2:30am. Safe and sound. But, we learned our lesson - no more trips in the winter. It's not worth the risk. So, we either fly, or we stay here. If we're still in NY next year, we'll be celebrating Christmas in the fall or spring :) Christmas in July, anyone?

Of course Gavin doesn't know how to sleep in, so despite us going to bed around 3am, he was up at 7. We unpacked, cleaned, took down all the Christmas stuff....it was actually a very productive day. And today, we're staying in....we are still getting snow! 6 more inches expected today. Gavin and I will just be snuggling and getting some things done here I guess. Here's my first video to post from my Flip camera. This is the snow outside our apartment this morning. I don't know if you can truly tell what we have, but let me tell you....it's a lot!