January Goals

New month, new set of goals! Before I jump into this months goals, I want to take the time to review how last month went for me. 

Out of my four goals for December, I accomplished 1 and a half of them. I say 1/2 because I only KIND OF completed a Christmas DIY. While I technically "did it myself," the craft only entailed rolling a piece of burlap ribbon down the side of our pantry and sticking Christmas cards to it. Instead of being upset with myself that I didn't accomplish the goals that I set for myself in December, I am choosing to be grateful for the times I was able to spend with our friends and family in Georgia and Boston this holiday season. Yes, I could have exercised more and spent more time reading to myself, but instead I went to and hosted Christmas parties and celebrated the season with the people I love. No regrets, here! 

With that being said, it is the 2nd of the month and the new year and I am ready to refocus on becoming a healthier, better me! Before I reveal my goals for January, I first need to quickly recap last month! 

December Goals

1. Read a new book.

Well... I am about seven chapters into Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn. So far it's a really interesting book and I definitely have plans to finish it in January. 

2. Take 15 fitness classes.

Yeah....no. I think I got in 10 classes/workouts, which isn't bad in my opinion! 

3. Complete another Christmas DIY.

I already talked about this above, but my "Christmas craft" for the month was our Christmas Card holder made from burlap ribbon and festive clothespins! 

4. Finally go ice skating in Frog Pond.

Success! For our 2nd anniversary, Ryan made this little goal of mine happen! It was by far the highlight of our anniversary night in Boston! Thanks, Ry Guy! 

Moving on.... 

January Goals

1. Exercise 10 times. 

Realistically, I know that I will be beginning student teaching this month and still have no idea where I will be traveling to every day for the next four months. While it's not really a lofty goal, I do know that I can at least exercise in some form 10 times this month. 

2. Drink 64 ounces of water every day. 

I do not drink enough water a day. I do not. This month, I am going to try to pay better attention to how much water I am drinking and take in a little more each day. 

3. Meal Plan for six meals every week. 

Even if we don't eat six meals a week at home, I want to do a better job of making sure we have dinner options in the fridge this month. I know there will be some nights where we just do not want to cook dinner, but I'd rather choose to go out or order take-out instead of being forced to because I just don't have anything planned. Plus, if we have dinner options in the fridge or freezer, we will most likely choose to just suck it up and eat at home instead! 

4. NO clothes shopping! 

Santa The Schoeff's and the Smith's spoiled me this Christmas. So much so that my half of the closets and dressers are literally overflowing. Really needing a complete clean-out of everything I own, it is definitely a goal of mine this month to not buy anything new for myself! 

There you have it! Here's to a happy and healthy January! 

My Year In Review: 2014

What a whirlwind of a year 2014 has been! I cannot believe it has officially come to a close!

Before diving head first into the new year, I wanted to take a little walk down memory lane and review some of our favorite moments from 2014.

January:

We began January in a little cabin in West Virginia with Lauren, Eliot, Juan, and Jaclyn!

Shortly after our mini vacation ended, I dove headfirst back into my job and the three courses I took towards my Master's degree (math, science, and social studies/history). As you can imagine those things took up pretty much my entire life, so the blog, along with my social life, took a back seat for a couple months. 

February: 

In February, we celebrated Ryan's 25th birthday... 

...and took another mini-vacation to Foxwoods with Rachel, Chris, Tim, Ashley, Amy, and Kent. 

March:

In March, I drowned in schoolwork and apparently didn't surface for long enough to take a single picture. Fun stuff..

April:

April was the month of celebrations! First, we celebrated Eliot and Lauren's engagement in Maine.

We also made a trip down to Georgia to celebrate Rachel and not-yet-born baby Leah! We threw her an "About to Hatch" baby shower around Easter that turned out adorable!

Finally, we celebrated the marriage of my college roommate and best friend, Vida to Joe!

May:

In May, Ryan and I made a weekend trip down to Plymouth for a marriage retreat with Life Community.

I also took an 8-day, 5 hours a day, intensive course (differentiated instruction).

After the intensive, we celebrated by attempting another weekend of camping with Eliot and Lauren. So far, we are two for two on choosing crappy weekends to camp. Maybe 2015 will be our year.

June:

In June, I finished my first year as a paraprofessional and said hello to Summer vacation!

This month, we also made our first trip up to the top of the hub at the Prudential Center with Kristen and Stephen and a short weekend trip to NYC for a Yankees game!

July:

I dubbed this the beginning of the summer of travel for myself. In July, Lauren, Ryan, and I ran the Tory Row 5K for beer.

We also traveled to Indiana for our annual Schoeff Family 4th of July celebration.

After our trip to Indiana, Ryan flew back to Boston while I hitched a ride with my parents back to Georgia for the remainder of the month.

Towards the end of the month, my family (minus Ryan- boo) went on a glorious cruise to Cozumel and Grand Cayman Island.

August:

This month I celebrated my 25th birthday and Ryan and I made our first trip to Europe!

Towards the end of the month, we boarded a plane for an overnight flight, putting us in Dublin, Ireland around 8 the next morning! We spent a week touring much of the country, stopping in Cork, Killarney, Doolin, and Dublin!

My birthday was celebrated in Killarney, where we drove to Blarney castle to kiss the stone and ate my favorite Irish dish, shepherd's pie!


September:

In September, I began a new job as a 1-1 paraprofessional in the third grade classroom. It was a trying, exhausting month but the patience and experiences I gained in the education field were well worth it.

Aside from work this month, Ryan and I were lucky enough to score tickets to an Eagles concert at the Garden!

 October:

Fall was officially in full swing this month! October was also the month of visitors. This month, we hosted Susan, Aunt Jane, Brandon, Rachel, Uncle Dave, and Aunt Carolyn in three consecutive weekends! While it was a whirlwind of a month, we felt so blessed to have the opportunity to show some of our loved ones around our "new" home.

Aside from our part-time jobs as New England tour guides, we also enjoyed some apple picking and apple pie making with friends!

November:

November was a glorious month. The weather was still beautiful and fall-ish and we enjoyed three Friendsgivings and one Thanksgiving (AKA stuffed our faces for thirty days straight!). This Thanksgiving, we rented a cabin in Virginia and met my parents, Ryan's parents, and Jake and Colee!

 December:

In December, Ryan and I celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary with a dinner at the Chart House, ice skating in Frog Pond, and a couples massage at Oasis Day Spa!

I hosted my first ever scarf swap which seemed to be a big hit! I will definitely be making this an annual event!

We made our trip home for the holidays, soaking up as much time as possible with our family and friends and officially becoming godparents to precious baby Leah.

To ring in the new year, we sat on the couch and watched the Yellow Jackets whoop up on some bulldogs from Mississippi. Those puppy dogs from all over got nothing on us this year!!

Phew, What. A. Year! While 2014 was a wonderful year, I have a feeling 2015 is going to be even better!

Happy New Year, everyone!