{Birthday}

I love birthdays. It's a built in excuse for people to be nice to you. This year, I am turning 37. Every year bringing me closer to the dreaded 40.  I'm officially in my late 30s, ha! I sure don't feel like it!

I have some new goals this year, which I will update a little later on. Setting goals helps me prioritize my time, helping me to focus on where to spend my time a little more intentionally. 

Today has been a great day! My students sang to me, wished me a happy day, and we generally had fun together on a day of the week which can sometimes be a bit of a challenge. 

I'm feeling good about my goals for the year so far. I've made a couple of Pinterest recipes, not necessarily one a week, but that's not one I'm going to freak out about. I'm still running, but haven't settled on a 5K for January or February yet. I'm working on the confidence part and pretty confident that, overall, I am generally a happy person. 

I have a feeling that this year of 37 might be a year of new adventures.... Does this surprise anyone? I ate the first Reuben sandwich of my life today. It was a.maz.ing.  I'm headed to Oula teacher training at the end of the month in order to feed my new addiction and bring the happiness that is Oula to the fabulous city of Spokane.  I'm Oula-ing every other day or so.  It makes me sweat, it makes me smile, and I want to share it with friends. 

I'm more blessed than I can even say... I thank God everyday for the blessings of my children and my husband, and the blessings and challenges of my multiple jobs...wife, mom, teacher, church planter. Each day is a gift that brings thankfulness and shows me ways in which I can grow. 

So, yeah, I'm thinking that 37 is starting out pretty well, and I'm looking forward to what the rest of the year brings. (For starters, it should be bringing me dinner at Outback with my amazing family and a birthday cake made by my sweet girls.) 

{Resolved}

Those of you who follow my blog (or read it when I post sporadically), know that I'm not super big on New Year's resolutions, but that I do view the start of the new year as a fresh start to kick myself in the behind to do things that I know I should do anyway.  January is also my birthday month, and as I get older, it's a good reminder to myself that I should make the most of the time that I have... That number of how old I am just keeps getting bigger.  So, while I don't always make New Year's resolutions, I do often give myself a jumpstart, and sometimes even set a few goals.  I have some goals for the coming year, and here they are:

I'd really like to run at least a 5K race every month.
I'm planning to run Bloomsday again.
I'm thinking about the Missoula Half, but we will see.  It will depend on if the date conflicts with anything.
I want to try to make one recipe off my Pinterest recipe board each week.
I want to read more and TV less.
I want to write more and read less (gasp).
I want to be a more welcoming friend.
I want to use technology more in my teaching and help others learn how to do it too.
I want to OULA more.  (I have a new addiction, and it's name is OULA!!!)
I want to be more open and less judging.
I want to travel, but I also want to stay home. 
I want to focus less on the scale and more on how I feel.
I want to remember that confidence and happiness are the best accessories a woman can have.

There is more, so much more, but I think this is where I will stop for now.  If I say too much, I get overwhelmed and then I just quit before I start.  But I really think these goals are things I can accomplish this year.  At least, I hope so.  Here's to a new start and a happy, healthy 2014!!!