Quarter of a Century & Taking Aim

One goal that I have for 2014: stop with the excuses.

The fact of the matter is I haven't blogged in over a month.

GASP!

It's not just blogging that I've neglected.  I've allowed too much to slip: responding to emails, following up on promises, running errands that need to get done, making a dr. apt [I know, I know, I've been saying that I'm going to do this for months!], so on and so forth.  My sincerest apologies if any of my readers out there have become victim to my laziness. 

It's not you, it's me!

And all I want to do is provide all of these legitimate excuses as to why I've been absent.  I have no free time, I've been busy, SO much going on,incapable of getting to everything, no time to spare.... Yeah right.

It goes more like this:

[[  ONE  ]] Jim & I have been sucked into Netflix.  I'm bringing Jim into this so that I can at least partake in some divided responsibility.  We have been quite fond of Netflix, especially Law & Order: SVU [ughhhhbsessed] and Alaska the Last Frontier.  On my own, I've enjoyed White Collar, Hart of Dixie, and Scandal [again, ughhhhbsessed]!

Outside of Netflix, we're currently taking a break from watching Modern Family to watch the full series of Friends.  To brief you, we have consumed quite a bit of this show in the past two-ish months.  We've already passed Emma's birth to give you a frame of reference.  Yeah, like I've said, we're CONSUMED!  It's hard not to be - Friends is THE best show.  THE best.

[[  TWO  ]]  If you follow me on Instagram, or if you're a friend of mine on Facebook, you'll notice that I have been actively chronicling my food.  I don't really care if my followers don't care.  I care.  It's food.  I'll say it again: it's food.  No further explanation required beyond I care immensely about food.

Here's a taste - baha - pun intended :)

Faux-tmeal [faux oatmeal... get it?]

Sweet potato [errrr soo goood] & Sauerkraut

Curry Chicken, Baby Bok Choy & Caulirice [cauliflower shredded into rice like chunks]

Chipotle Chile & Blueberry Sauce [if heaven was a liquid] over Pork Chops, Pearl Onions & Steamed Broccoli

You may have gathered from my old posts that I've been trying out different 'diets' [I'm not ON a diet; my diet has special needs] to help with digestive problems.  I've had success as I've transitioned from a more restrictive diet to the Paleo diet.

I enjoy trying new recipes & Jim enjoys testing my experiments.  So far we've had many successes!  We are both enjoying eating without grains, legumes, and dairy [in general] and I feel GREAT!  This is awesome - trust me.  My stomach has felt better in the last few weeks than it has since late last spring.  We will definitely be sticking to eating this way for at least the new few months.

We've been reading the book Practical Paleo to gain increased understanding about the chemical makeup of food and the science behind the digestive process.  I HIGHLY recommend this book.  It has changed my life!  In a previous post I talked about sneaking foods that I knew would cause me abdominal distress, and ever since understanding digestion better, my desire for 'off limit' foods has completely gone away!  Well... it was the education paired with some timely [and INCREDIBLY painful and long lasting] stomach pains that helped win the 'breakthrough.' 

Praise the Lord!

 He is so faithful and has freed me from being a slave to cravings.  Anyone who constantly thinks about food like I used to knows what bondage this is.  It was horrendous and inconvenient having unceasing cravings for foods that I knew would cause me to be sick

Anyway... jumping back to a few paragraphs ago... Jim & I are understanding digestion and the chemistry involved and we are confident that this knowledge will change the way we eat [at least to some degree] for the rest of our lives.

Now that I've sufficiently made myself hungry..  let's move on.

[[ THREE ]]  I'm a grocery store addict.  The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem, right?  Well, I'm not hoping to recover from my grocery store addiction - not in the least!  Unfortunately, going to the store has become somewhat of a chore since my two fave spots are 20 minutes away and 45 minutes away.  It's equally far to a local Saturday Farmer's Market; however, I've been googling like a mad-woman trying to find local farms for meat and fruit.  I've had some success finding farms, now I just need to call and visit.  I'll keep you posted on what I find!

[[  FOUR  ]]  Our guest room is SUPER awesome now that we have a bed.  So... if you're thinking about heading out to the east coast for a visit... we would just LOVE to host you!  Seriously.  Please visit.

This room is so cute, right?  Yeah, so we'll be expecting ya'll soon - just shoot me a text when you're on your way ; )

[[  FIVE  ]]  Jim and I have been super excited to roll out the launch of our brand-spankin-new BUDGET!  Seriously, I hear crowds go nuts when I say that sentence in my head!  I'm a spreadsheet obsessed person; excel literally spikes my blood pressure in the best way possible.  Just thinking about the organization, formulas, data validation, lookup functions, color coordination... I just get absolutely giddy!

Jim & I attended session 1 of the critically acclaimed Financial Peace University [of Dave Ramsey fame] and we're excited to be financial guru's.  Well, maybe not guru's.  We're excited to be financially educated, aware, knowledgeable, responsible... All those goods things!  The program will pair well with our new implementation of a beautifully organized budget : )

[[  SIX  ]]  Pinterest.  Enough said.

[[  SEVEN  ]]  YouTube.  I've rediscovered my love for makeup tutorials.  Especially Jaclyn Hill's videos.  She's got a hilarious personality and awesome tips!  Chances are I'll never do my makeup in the same manner because I would just look silly with THAT much makeup on my face.  She does recommend some great products and techniques.  Click right here to be brought directly to her YouTube channel.

YouTube has also taught me how to fashion a fun 'turban' like headband!  I don't feel like I've quite nailed it, but once I do I'll post a tutorial!

Ignore the kiss face... I sent this to my sister and it felt appropriate...

[[  EIGHT  ]]  Okay.  This serves as my official blog announcement that Jim & I are expecting...

A PUPPY!!  His name is Joey and he is already the apple of our eyes.

He is a Cockapoo [Cocker spaniel & poodle mix] and we will pick him up from the breeder on February 8th!  Jim & I have been anxiously awaiting his arrival.  We enjoy trips to PetSmart and surfing the internet looking at reviews of products.  As many of you can probably relate: we want the best for our guy!

In addition to prepping our space, we've been watching training videos to prepare ourselves.  We are excited about the method that we will be using because it will surely bring positive results.  We're going to have ourselves [after extensive training, of course], one well trained boy!

[[  FINALLY  ]]  It's about time that I bring this post in for a close.  And finally tie in the title of the post - 'Quarter of a Century & Taking Aim'.

TOMORROW is my birthday!  Ooooooh yeah buddy!!  I'll be turning 25.   The BIG two-five.  One fourth of my way to 100.  I'll have a quarter of a century under my belt.

Considering it's January and resolutions are still in the air, I wanted to commit to taking aim.  What in the world does that mean to 'commit to taking aim'?

A few weeks ago, at our church, the Sunday service was centered around 'Ready, Aim, Fire.'  The Pastor spoke on how oftentimes we 'fire' [take action] before we've even taken 'aim.'  When we don't hit the mark, we blame the target, instead of our poor aim.  Or perhaps we weren't even aiming in the first place.  

We cannot hit a target that we're not aiming at.

The sermon went on to explain that Jesus should be our target and we should never stop aiming at Him.  He is our prime and perfect example in all situations.

I have all of these ideas in my head about how I can do this or that better.  There are too many examples for me to even start to list.  I noticed, though, that I wasn't even aiming at several of these 'goals' that I had in mind.

In order to be successful, I must have to implement some form of aim.  I must have an intent to hit the target.  I must create a plan.

I'm resolving to take aim at the things that I want to change.  If I want to have more discipline in a certain area of my life, I am not going to have success unless I have a plan.  The plan would involve writing down what needs to happen, making a verbal commitment and setting up some form of accountability, taking it before the Lord and asking for His hand in this area, and any other necessary steps that would need to happen so that I can set myself up for success.

... Don't get me wrong though.  I'm not saying that I will achieve everything I set my mind to.  I'm not going to hit every 'target' that I 'aim' at.  But I'm not going to allow that idea to prevent me from working on the discipline.

[Yes, I follow Julianne Hough on Instagram : ) ]

WELP.  My blog is my verbal proclamation that I would like to be held accountable to taking aim.  I know this sounds vague.  I'm going to do my best to focus my future posts around how I'm taking aim.  The plan.  What I'm doing to move the needle in the direction of success.  How the Lord is providing.  Being transparent about the areas that I am lacking in and my need to rely on God.  

I'm 25 years into this life.

I'm ready to take aim at my future.

**Queue inspirational music**