I have to give mad props to my sis who on Christmas eve cleared her busy schedule to meet me for some last minute Christmas pics. This was something I had originally planned for earlier in the month when cal was off, but his schedule became too hectic and the month just kind of got away from us. Sad that Christmas was drawing near and knowing that I didn't have any pics, I called my sister begging her to snap a few. She immediately came to my rescue like the awesome big sis that she is and took some pictures for me. So THANK YOU kat! we love you to the moon and back!
Ideally, Cal would be in these pics with us. But that's fire-life. Trying to make things happen around a fireman's schedule feels close to impossible at times. They work 24 hr shifts every other day for three days with a four-day break in between. Technically, they only work 10 days out of the month, but those are LONG days and nights. When I say bye to my husband at 7 in the morning, I don't expect to see him until 7 the next morning. So basically, that's 10 days out of the month that I am 'single momming' it. 10 days out of the month, it's just me and this ^^guy. We have been a team since day one.
Because of this crazy life of ours, I never got around to publishing this blog post. I was a little frustrated with myself for not getting this done, but now that it is January, I figured I would use this space to talk about my goals for 2018 and how I plan on surviving the new year...despite this crazy and unorthodox schedule of ours.
Goals for 2018
- Organization, organization, organization! This is actually a goal I have been working on for the past three years. Anyone that knows me knows that I have never been the type to organize my day. I have always been the free-spirited, go wherever the wind takes you type and though I truly value that side of me, I have learned over the past couple of years how much more efficient I am when I take the time to journal and write my goals for the day/week/months. Doing this has been quite the challenge for me, but I have noticed over the past two years that I have indeed become better at this. It's a skill I wish to continue to develop in 2018!
- Journaling- 2017 ended up being one of the more stressful years of my life. And maybe one day when I am ready to be more personal, I will share some of the hardships I faced this year. I will be open though in saying that debilitating anxiety is something I have struggled with my whole life and it only got worse in 2017. I would work out problems in my head and obsess over issues instead of truly dealing and reflecting on them. I hope to use journaling as a way to harness my nervous energy and contain it so it doesn't become me.
- finding a church - This is probably more of a personal goal, but I still wanted to share this goal on my blog. Though I loved my old church that I grew up attending, my husband and I just felt it was best to find our own new church for our family. Due to his crazy schedule though, it will most likely be me and rob exploring different congregations. I'm excited about this new chapter, but a little nervous as well.
- Learn a new language- Okay, I'm totally stoked about this one! I have been learning a few French phrases here and there, but have not truly mastered the language. My interest in French started after watching some European films. I got sick of reading subtitles so I downloaded an app to help me out a little bit. I still desperatley rely on subtitles (lol!) but it was so fun when I could recognize a few things here and there! I hope in 2019 to become more fluent in this beautiful language!
- less cardio, more strength, and flexibility training- My final goal for this year is going to yoga classes more regularly. I love running, but 2017 proved to be a difficult year for me fitness wise. My body just couldn't keep up with my old routine. I'm still not sure why, but after a run, I would have severe fainting spells. I tried fixing my diet thinking maybe it was dehydration or blood sugar related, but nothing helped. I visited my doctor and he could not find anything either. Considering I already have anxiety, I really didn't need fainting spells contributing to an already massive problem in my life. Because of this I decided to back off from exercise as a whole. A friend of mine reached out and asked if I would do yoga with her, swearing up and down that I would love it. I was a little skeptical at first, but I felt AMAZING afterwards. and best of all- no fainting spells! I will always keep running a part of my life, but its time to listen to my body and slow down a little bit.
So heres to 2018!
May all you dreams and goals come true!
