I'm Back: {Goals for 2015}

Hey y'all,

I am so sorry for the long delay in posting. I ended up getting sick right before Christmas and it was a busy time at the office. I was able to spend a week at my parent's house relaxing, baking, going to the movies (the Hobbit & Into the Woods), and celebrating the birth of Christ. The spring semester starts this week so hopefully I can get back in a nice routine.

Speaking of routine, my word of the year is consistency. I often get really excited and plan on working hard on one thing and then life gets in the way so being consistent is my major goal.

Here are my other goals for the year:

-read 105 books. I love to read and this goal just pushes me to remember to turn off the computer and get reading. Social media can be consuming and getting lost in a good book is a great alternative.

-run a 10 miler. I am signed up for the Tar Heel Ten Miler in April and my goal is to run the entire race! I'm starting my training plan TODAY so we have plenty of time to get in some runs before the big day.

-work on my flexibility with weekly yoga. I was a dancer for most of my childhood but have since let my flexibility go to the wayside. I'm thinking that Sunday yoga would be a great way to refocus before the start of the work week. I went to my first studio practice at my gym on New Year's Day and it was great to spend an hour focusing and stretching.

-maintain a budget. I am that person that writes out the budget and loosely sticks to it but my goal is to be diligent about purchasing especially with my main goal of paying off all my student loans and my car before I'm 28.

-keep up healthy lifestyle. Last April I began to workout more and change my eating habits and I want to keep up those changes and focus on them a bit more especially after a bit to much holiday party eating.

-blog 3x a week, minimum. I love the outlet of blogging and all of the different people I have met through my blog so my goal is to consistently blog 3 times a week. 

-Stop wasting food. I think this is hard for a lot of people and cooking for one can be hard but after reading this blog post I knew I had to add this to my goals list.

What are your big goals for the year?

14 in 2014

Hey y'all,

I found out that I made some pretty lofty goals last year for my 13 in 13 goals but that's ok since I got close for some of them.Let's do a quick re-cap:

1. Grow in my faith and my relationship with God. 
2. Read 113 books. I changed my goal to 100 and I ended up reading 94 books so I think that is completely fine since only 8% of adult Americans on average read more than 50 books.
3. Try 113 new recipes. This was very lofty goal. I did challenge myself to try new recipes this year but 113 did not happen even with pinterest and checking out some cookbooks from the library.
4. Run a half marathon. I did run/walk a 5K this summer with my roommate but I haven't had the urge to begin training again. I have a half marathon on my 30 by 30 list so I think this will be on the back burner for a while. 
5. Lose 13lbs. Also something that didn't happen this year as I adjusted to living by myself I have since moved in with a roommate and got more active, I even have a dietitian but this is happening in 2014
6. Craft 13 things. 
7. Meet 13 new people.  Joining in with my church's young professional group, becoming a sorority advisor and new people at work I have extended my circle of friends in my postgrad life.
8. Keep a prayer journal for the entire year. Something I think of as a continuous goal, while I did not keep my goal for this year I did spend some time journaling my prayers but it was not throughout the entire year.
9. Buy a car.  You can read all about my car buying experience here and here.
10. Finish decorating my place. I have moved since last year but I have since begun decorating my current place and I am almost done decorating my room and the living spaces.
11. Go two months without unnecessary spending. I did limit some spending during the spring before getting my car but I have a friend who is currently not spending money on clothes for two years (except for gift cards) and she is helping me to challenge myself this year to cut off excess spending and focus on my financial savings. YAY for budgeting.
12. Send out cards.  While I didn't send out birthday cards to everyone I did send out my first year of Christmas cards. This next year though I have a handful of weddings, my baby sis graduates and more occasions for cute cards.
13. Have adventures. From beach trips, interesting times in downtown Raleigh, and many more I have tried to be open to saying yes to various adventures, which is hard for me since I love to be in 
    control. 

Now let's get onto my 14 goals for 2014:

1. Read the entire Bible. I have read a lot of the word of God but I really want to dig deep and read the entire thing.

2. Read 114 books. I know I fell short of my goal last year but I really think I will be able to accomplish this one.

3. Pay off 2 of my student loans. I have a couple small loans left that if I focus on saving and eliminating I will be able to pay off by the end of the year. It is just one more step towards becoming debt free by 28.

4. Blog at least 3 times a week. Work and life get crazy but I have already made a blog calendar for the month and I would love to focus some of my free time here to grow my little community.

5. Find joy in my job. I love my job but sometime you get so frustrated or bored you forget your blessings and all the great things you have going for you so I want to remain grateful and find joy in the little things especially my job.

6. Work on my health by reaching my happy weight. I have a particular BMI range I want to make it to an by working on the habits I began at the end of 2013 and sticking to my goal I hope to be confident, happy and feel beautiful in my body.

7.Keep up a daily devotional all year. I tend to have a short attention span with devotionals but this year I picked up Jesus Calling and plan to stick to it all year. So far so good.

8.Workout at least 3 times a week. This goes with the reaching my happy weight but I genuinely feel so much better after a great workout. To start the new year off I am participating in Tone It Up's Love Your Body challenge.

9. Cook at least 52 new recipes. This is one a week and I love pouring through cookbooks so I hope I can continue to use Pinterest and cookbooks to spice up my dinners.

10. Participate in the 52 Weeks savings plan. I know a lot of you have seen this on Pinterest but I need to focus my finances on saving not spending and this is an easy tool to save a lot of cash without feeling like all your money is going into savings.

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11. Break from technology. I think we all in this day and age have a problem leaving social media and the rest of the internet but I want to remind myself to be present when with friends and unplug every night.
12. Run 2 5Ks. I want to challenge myself and a half-marathon is a lofty goal so let's start small.
13. No clothes shopping unless it's a necessity. After organizing my closet on New Year's I was reminded of all the blessings I have. I really do not need any more clothes and I will survive until I am at my happy weight when I am sure I will need a pantervention.

14. Remember to love fully, live simply and laugh often.

I think this song is my theme for the new year:

What are your goals/resolutions for this year?

13 in 2013

Hey y'all,

For those of you that believe that world is ending tomorrow thanks to the Mayan calendar, I guess I will never accomplish any of these goals but, since I believe that we still have one full week left in the year I thought it was time to start thinking of goals for the coming year. Instead of resolutions I think goals are more attainable and I have all of you to keep my accountable!

So here we go:

1. Grow in my faith and my relationship with God. This is one of my goals every year and it is one that I feel can never really end. I have already bought my new devotional for the new year and I am really excited about starting it soon!
2. Read 113 books. I am such a bookworm that I know that I can accomplish this goal and the number thirteen makes it festive. Plus, my GoodReads account really needs some help since my to-read list is almost 300 books and I always love suggestions.
3. Try 113 new recipes. Another festive number but with living on my own I have gone to the staples of pasta a lot. Time to spice things up and with the help of Pinterest, cookbooks & TV shows like The Chew, I know that I can accomplish this! It breaks down to only 3 new recipes a week and I count desserts and side dishes in the number.
4. Run a half marathon. 13.1 miles see a trend yet? I need to get back into running and since running a half marathon is on my 30 before 30 I thought why not tackle it this year. We shall see how this all goes but I know that I can do it since I have set my mind to it!!
5. Lose 13lbs. I know I want to get back to eating healthy and I have gained back some weight since moving out of my parent's house so I need to get back to eating lots of veggies and not eating so much sweets (my office's love of baked goods doesn't help) but the goal is one pound a month at least. Completely reasonable especially with drinking more water and getting active again!
6. Craft 13 things. My pinterest has a million ideas and I need to take the time and complete some crafts and feel accomplished. Not to mention goal #10.
7. Meet 13 new people. It is tough to meet new people now that I work a normal schedule and spend my evenings at home catching up on TV and reading it is hard to expand your friend circle and meet new people especially since I still have friends in the area.
8. Keep a prayer journal for the entire year. This is one that I want to start and continue for years since I know that I would love to look back on days and see the power of prayer and the blessings bestowed on me by God.
9. Buy a car. This is not merely a goal but a reality. It is in my 30 before 30 but I know that my parent's blessed me with borrowing their car this year and I have to return it this summer. But I am excited for this financial adventure.
10. Finish decorating my place. I still have a long way to go including a trip to Ikea but I am excited to finish decorating my place and making it feel like home. Plus I love crafting and I know that some Pinterest crafts need to be completed to finish off my place.
11. Go two months without unneccesary spending. I am thinking March and April. This will help my budgeting and help with saving up for my new car!
12. Send out cards. Whether Birthday, Graduations, Weddings, Christmas, Thank Yous, etc. I want to get back to the tradition of sending cards and best wishes.
13. Have adventures. I am leaving this one up in the air but I think that my Kate Spade idiom bangle from last year says it all "loose yourself in a good book...add a twist...play your cards right...make sparks fly...be as curious as a cat"

What are your goals for the new year?

Peace and Blessings,
jDl

30 Before 30 List

Hey y'all,

If you can't tell by now I love a list and recently I have been thinking about some long term goals for myself. I love seeing everyone's 30 before 30 lists and considering that there are about 7.5 years for me until I turn 30 I think the list is a great way to have some reachable and hopeful goals for the future. So here is my list (in no particular order of course).

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1. Buy a new car
2. Run a 5k
3. Fall in love
4. Get a full-time job I love
5. Travel back to Europe
6. Take a trip to Savannah & Atlanta, GA
7. Read the Bible cover-cover
8. Move into an apartment and have fun decorating it
9. Go on a blind date
10. Get married
11. Go back to visit San Antonio, Texas (my birthplace)
12. Buy a house
13. Go on a road-trip
14. Run the Disney Princess Half-Marathon
15. Go to a Country music concert
16. Pay off my student loans
17. Adopt a pet (most likely a dog but we shall see)
18. Go to Disney World
19. Have a dinner party
20. See a Broadway show in New York City
21. Lean my Momma's perfect apple pie recipe
22. Become a Mom
23. Send out Christmas cards to my friends and family
24. Travel to Charleston, SC
25. Find an organization to volunteer my time to
26. Throw a surprise party
27. Take ballet classes or pure-barre
28. Keep a prayer journal for a year+
29. Visit 5 top art museums in the US
30. Enjoy each of my Birthdays leading up to the BIG 30

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I know a lot of the list is traveling but we have a while until the list ends on my 30th Birthday: January 31, 2020 so we shall see what my goals look like then and if I still have a blog that far in the future. 

What are some of your goals for the future?

Peace and Blessings,

jDl

5 Summer Goals.

Hey y'all,

I am an obsessive list maker so I figured why not post my current goals as a reminder/accountability for my summer goals.

1. Read more. Every summer I spend more and more time reading for fun since I am not worried about reading on a deadline like I had to for the past four years as an English major. I went to one of the local libraries yesterday to look for a book my Mom wanted. Well, I didn't find hers but I found eight books for me. YAY for summer reading time. My goal is at least 20 books by the end of August.

Look at my finds. To see what I am reading on GoodReads click here.

2. Save money. This one will be difficult for me since I am a shopaholic but I need to save up for a down payment on a car since the one I currently drive I share with my baby sister and since I have now graduated she needs the car up at NCState in the fall. I am excited to eventually get my very own car, not so much about the monthly payment but it is another step of being a post-grad.

3. Find a Full Time job. I am blessed that my parents allowed me back in their home and I go back to my summer retail job on Sunday but I know that I don't want to stay in my hometown for very long. I have a long list of deadlines for resumes and cover letters to finish up before Sunday. I will of course keep searching so any good thoughts/prayers/karma for the job hunt will be appreciated!

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4. Learn to love running. I hate to run but I know I should add it to my exercise regime since it is a great way to get healthy. Now without any major papers or deadlines I am going to focus on my health and getting fit not only for the summer but for life. The stress of college had a toll on my health but I am committing to add lots of fruits and veggies and cutting out all that food I would eat at night while I was studying.

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5. This is the most important to me but I want to work on my relationship with God. I am a Christian girl and my relationship with God is very important to me and it is something that takes effort and I am focusing on a devotional daily, a journal and some other sources. Pinterest is another great way to remind myself of God's promises in the amount of verses posted. My sorority sisters are also great inspiration with their journeys. If you have any great inspirational book selections post them below!

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Do you have any goals for the summer? What is your ultimate goal for this summer?

Peace and Blessings,
jDl