2011 Resolutions

I love to make New Years' Resolutions almost as much as I love not keeping them.
So to keep myself accountable... Here are my resolutions for 2011.

1. Spiritual Health - read the Bible more, focus on my journey with God
2. Physical Health - continue Carb Lovers to reach my goal range (165-185 lbs)
3. Financial Health - pay off at least 2 debts this year (maybe 3)oh yeah and GET A JOB when I graduate in May.

There are some other goals I have, but these are the main ones. These are resolutions, the other things (like move, get a job, cross off some items from the 101 list, spend more time with family etc) are more like goals. Which somehow seem different to me.

I'd like to have a monthly update on the progress of these resolutions.


What are your 2011 resolutions if you make them? How do you old yourself accountable?

2010 Review

In the spirit of New Years' I want to take moment to reflect on the 2010. It was full of trials, but it also contained a lot of wonderful things.

January: J lost his job January 1, 2010. It was very scary since we weren't at all financially secure...

February: J began working at Fotowerks for a few hours each week. I got a second job (and a place to live after our lease ends in April).

March: J (finally) started working at Best Buy. They sure did take their time putting him to work.

April: We moved! I had to quit my first job to maintain some kind of balance in my life.

May: Some of my BFFs graduated.

June: J and I celebrated our first anniversary! Our niece was born.

July: I got the opportunity to be a part of South City Theater's "All I Really Need to Know I learned in Kindergarten" which was a wonderful experience.

August: Beach vacation with J's family! J & I begin the Carb Lovers Diet 8/30.

September: We paid off one credit card! It's hard to believe that less than one year after J lost his job we were paying off debt! It just goes to show how much God provides.

October: J had his birthday week. I spent the weekend in Chickamauga/Chattanooga with my class.

November: We celebrated Thanksgiving with our families. I got my acceptance letter to graduate school.

December: I finished the semester with a 4.0. J and I are enjoying spending time with our families while we can.

It's Alive

It=me in this case.
I didn't mean to disappear for the last 2 weeks, but between finishing the semester/working/studying for finals/Christmas shopping and partying... well you get the picture.

But the semester is over. I am (not so) patiently waiting for my last grade to be posted. The 30 for 30 was completed a few weeks ago. I promise I followed the rules (mostly) but I really dropped the ball on snapping pictures everyday. The challenge was definitely a fun and very rewarding experience!

Speaking of fun and rewarding... the best part about the holidays (to me) is getting to spend time with family, amiright? My dad's family is en route to Alabama today! I can't wait to see them... In fact I spent most of the day counting down the hours til they get here. (actually I spent most of the day catching up reading all of the 200+ blog posts I missed when I dropped off the face of the earth.)
Last weekend I took a break from studying and J and I visited his sister and her hubs (who is kicking my butt in words with friends) and their son. We had such a great time!


Our brother in law is a pilot. He took us on a plane ride. In a Cessna (I think).



It was my first time in a little plane. And I've only flown once before. And I'm kind of terrified of heights. Poor brother-in-law... He only took me up for like 10 minutes. But at least I can say I did this once in a lifetime sort of thing!


So, then brother-in-law took J up for about an hour. The wives got to wait at the airport. My sister-in-law is gorgeous, yes?


And when we went back to their house, J played with our nephew. Aren't they cute?


And this has nothing to do with last weekend. But J is so cute with our nephews and niece. It's pictures like this that make the baby fever spike... He's gonna be an awesome dad one day.

J took all the pictures. He's pretty talented.

Surprises (or Day 22)

Tuesday was History Day at my college.




And it was pretty much awesome.



The students in my Senior Seminar in History Class got an opportunity to diplay posters in the library regarding the topic of their Senior Seminar Paper (wow... that seems like a really long awkward sentence). During the History Day event, the library's lobby was full of professors and students walking from display to display talking to (or grilling) each of us about our research topic...

My 22nd (!!!) outfit and my display on Nazi Propaganda Films.

I never thought I'd make it this far in the 30 for 30 challenge. Ususally when something gets difficult or boring I give up on it and move on to the next interesting thing...

I also never thought I'd see the day when I presented my paper... and I'm certainly surprised that the paper is on WWII. I always thought it would be on something regarding Civil Rights or Vietnam or LBJ.

But I have surprised myself. And the best part of the whole thing is my grade - A!

(p.s. my boobs look huge in this sweater. I'm gonna wear it more often.)

Yoo-Hoooooo (or Days 13-20)

Hello there. I'm back. After an impromptu week-long break from blogging (and reading blogs... I've spent all afternoon catching up), I'm here to say that I'm still alive.

Would you believe me if I told you I spent the past week dressing in the 30 for 30 clothes?Well, you kinda have to since most of the outfits never got photographed...

Thanksgiving was awesome! J and I ate and spent time with our families. My favorite things!

Here are the outfits that made it onto the camera (and by camera, I mean phone...)
Outfit # 13. 11/21.

Outfit # 18. 11/26.

Outfit #20. 11/28. Cowboy Boots!

We had a freak warm spell over Thanksgiving break... none of the outfits were particularly inspired. But whatevs.

I have nothing to say today, so it's back to watching mindless television for the rest of the evening... That's how I celebrate breaks from school...

Productivity (Days 11 & 12)

skinny jeans, blue sweater, gold flats. worn to work and the bookstore.

ps. there's a necklace. finally wearing accessories!

skinny jeans, purple cami, black low-cut blouse (waaayyy too low cut, thus the cami), black flats. worn to work and grocery shopping.

This has been a crazy hectic week for me. I turned in my Senior Seminar paper, had a big geology test, turned in a project, and had a presentation. Now that the week is over I feel like the semester is over too. I can finally rest and relax and watch movies and read for fun and go shopping etc etc. But then I remember that the classes that have been on the backburner for um... the entire semester! So, because of the awesome Thanksgiving break planned (full of all the stuff I mentioned earlier), I am racing to get all 8 (!!!) assignments/projects/papers finished. 4 down. 4 to go. Going to be productive now!

Cheater Cheater Pumpkin Eater (or Day 9 & 10)

2 outifts in one day counts, right? It does in my book. So without further ado... Outfits 9 and 10:Skinnies, Turtleneck, Pola Dot Cardi, Black Flats

Worn for running errands on a semi-off day (thanks Brett for working for me today!).

turtleneck, jean skirt, purple tights, black boots
worn for our Christmas card pictures
Did you see that? A Haircut! It feels so good to actually have "style" for the first time in a long time.

In other news, Josh and I got our Christmas card pictures taken today (one of the perks of being married to a photographer). The cards are going to be pretty cute if I say so myself. Here are a few that didn't quite make the cut, but are too good to keep hidden away forever. A million thanks go out to Terry Bruno at Fotowerks. You are such a wonderful friend. We truly appreciate you putting aside time to do this for us!

(isn't he a hottie?)