2014 - Dreams and Goals

I know it's already half-way through February, but it's never too late to have goals and dreams for the new year, right?

I don't like to set resolutions, because they usually end (soon after starting), but I like setting goals.  After reading a great post from one of my favorite blogs (of which I have many :)  I realized that I've been wanting to read more classic literature.  I love to read, and always have, but I typically tend to lean towards fictional romance/mystery books.  I've learned that I enjoy reading biographies, and books that inspire me to simplify my life.  I started reading Walden about a year ago, on the Kindle App, but need to get back to it.  I also have Tsh's new book, Notes from a Blue Bike, that I'm really enjoying!  At the end of last year, I purchased a collection of Jane Austen books for the kindle, and have finally read Pride and Prejudice, and have started the second book in the collection.

I also checked out the Duolingo website Tsh mentioned in her post.  I thought it would be a fun way to brush up on my Spanish that I've hardly used since taking 3 years of it in high school.  My kids are both giving it a try, too!

My family has been moving towards simplifying for the past several years, but it seems to be taking a long time.  This year, I decided to try a challenge of 365 Less things, after seeing it on another of my favorite blogs.  So far, we've thrown away/donated/sold at least one thing for every day this year through the end of February, and hope to continue on the streak!

Another challenge I've decided to attempt is the 333 Project.  The idea is to select 33 items from your wardrobe, to wear for the next 3 months. (You don't count socks/underwear/pajamas/workout clothes.)  I already have my favorite clothes that I pretty much wear over and over from week to week, and the rest of the stuff just hangs in my closet 'in case' I ever want to wear it.  I'm not big into fashion, and I'm not stylish in the least, but maybe this will help me find my style.  Last month, before deciding to try the 333 Project, I had done a small experiment by leaving our freshly washed clothes hanging in our laundry room for a couple of weeks, to see just what clothes my husband and I would wear, when our favorites weren't hanging there to pick from.  After 2-3 weeks, we went through what was left in the closet, and it was a lot easier to decide what to donate.

We are also working to get our home ready to sell, for whenever the market seems to be cooperating enough, so we can downsize. (Hopefully that will be sometime within the next year.)  We'd love to do some traveling with our kids, to see more of the world we live in.  One of my dreams since I was a little girl, was to have a farm.  I loved spending weekends at my aunt and uncle's farm as a kid, running through the fields and playing with the animals.  We'd like something simple and beautiful, with some chickens for fresh eggs and a little room to roam.  If I happen to get the horse I've always wanted, that would just be the icing on the cake :)  I'm currently following living vicariously through some friends (IRL) that are living their farm dreams, and every new post from either of them is like a little gift in my e-mail!  If you're curious, they're Farmer Khaiti and Gypsy Farmgirl.   
 
I almost forgot...one of my other goals for this year, is to start writing a blog!  Here's one post down...more to come :)

Virtual 5k

Today we participated in a virtual 5k race.  It was in celebration of SlimKatie's 31st birthday, from runsforcookies.com.  It was a beautiful day outside, but since it was only 10 degrees, we decided to pack up the kids and head to the community center to use their free walking/running track.  We've just been getting back into jogging the last two weeks, but this was a good challenge for me and Trav!  We were able to run about 2 miles, along with some walking mixed in for good measure ;)  Alaina is not at all interested in running, but she ran some laps with us, then walked some.  She also brought along a book to read on the bench, when she got tired out.  Matthew surprised us by doing most of the laps along with us!  He probably did a total of 2.5 miles, and of course, he told us he wasn't tired afterwards. Oh - to have the energy of a 6 year old again!

Here are our pictures afterwards, along with our fun race bibs (and Alaina with her book):

My stopwatch somehow shut off while we were running (I may or may not have hit a button while playing music on the same device), but I had looked at the clock before hand, and we finished in roughly 40 minutes.  Not too shabby, but that leaves plenty of room for improvement!

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Now, in all honesty, I have to admit...I've been thinking about / meaning to / wanting to start a blog for quite some time now.  I signed up for a blogger account over a year ago, and haven't gotten to writing up my first post yet.  Every time I post a comment on someone else's blog, and it asks for my website, it reminds me that I don't have anything ready to share yet.  Well, as I was filling out my virtual 5k race info tonight, the last box says "if you have a blog, feel free to share the web address".  I might be jumping the gun, but I thought - why not get started now, and list my blog address (that has been sitting here quietly since August 2011).  For the last year or so, whenever something interesting happened, or we've done something exciting, or seen something annoying...I think "that would make a great blog post".  So, one of my goals for this year was to get it started.  I know I have a lot to learn, but I'm looking forward to it, and it will be nice to have a digital archive of memories! 

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Tomorrow, Alaina starts a local theatre class, and she's a little nervous for it, but I'm very excited for her!  Ever since she was a toddler, she's been our little drama queen, and she enjoys entertaining people.  Yet, somehow, she is also shy.(?)  She was in dance class for four years, and never had any issues with being nervous, so hopefully her confidence will carry over from that.  She took a break after she decided she didn't want to be in dance anymore, but we thought it was time for her to try something new.  Hopefully this will be a good fit for her!