Goals & plans for 2015

Oh hello, my long-neglected blog! Who knew adding a baby to the mix AND going back to work full-time was so time consuming? ;)

I love the beginning of the year for the fresh start it brings. Out with the old, in with the new. I typically make a huge list of very specific resolutions and get so overwhelmed with sticking to all of them that I fail miserably to stick with even one.

There are several things I want to accomplish this year, but I'm cutting myself some slack and picking more realistic goals so I don't set myself up for failure :) Ironically, one of my goals this year is to let go of the need for perfection, so this will be a good exercise for that.

Here's some things I'd like to see happen this year:

• Get Oliver (mostly) potty trained. We started the potty training process last June and he is 100% potty trained at home when he's naked. He runs right to the bathroom when he has to go and never has a problem. But apparently letting your kid run around in public naked is a no-no, so we still have some work to do :) 
• Set up a little photo studio in our house. Oregon is too cold and/or wet a good portion of the year to do outdoor photos, so we're finally bringing the photos indoors. We're drawing up plans right now and hope to have something set up later this month in time for Valentine's Day mini sessions :)
• Pay off my student loans this year. I think I have until the end of 2016 to pay them off, but I've been paying extra as often as possible and hope to be totally done by October of this year. 
• Explore Oregon more. We rarely leave the city (or even our house) anymore, but there is so much beauty to see in this state and I am eager to expose the kids to it. I'm aiming for 1 day-trip each month, even if it's super close (but it has to be a new-to-us place).
• Eat less sugar. I have a sweet tooth like none other and have noticed that Oliver asks for sugary stuff a lot more often now :( So it's time to cut back and lead by example with what I eat.
• Do one small house project a month. Our tentative plan is to put our house up for sale Spring 2016, so we need to start doing a little at a time so its ready by then. We need new carpet, new tile in the bathrooms, a new fence in the backyard, new grass/landscaping and minor repairs inside & outside. We also need to pare our belongings down as we go along, but I'm married to a hoarder (i.e.: I finally convinced him to get rid of his floppy disc collection just a few years back) so it will be tough. lol
• Be in more photos. I'm always the one behind the camera and it bums me out to look through my photos and only have a handful of shots with me & the kids in them :( So that is definitely something to work on for this year!

These are the main ones. Of course I am always looking to improve in all areas of my life (exercise more! watch less tv! read to the kids more! spend less!), but the items above are ones that I feel are not only very important, but also attainable. So wish me luck and hopefully I will have a chance to check back in in the next few months to share my progress :)

Best wishes for 2015 to you & yours :)

Next month's vacation

I am pumped for August for a few reasons.

1. My first vacation at my new job. A whole week off to relax and re-charge and have fun!
2. My brother's flying in from Michigan for a visit. I haven't seen him since I visited him and my sis-in-law last summer.
3. Our road trip to California to see family and explore and take amazing photos :)

Typically when we head down south, we spend 90% of our time with family. This time, we're expanding our horizons and taking more time to see new places and venture off on our own.

We will be spending a few days in Chico, a day in Sacramento and a few days in San Francisco. I can't wait! This will be my husband's first trip to SF and my first time being back in probably 20 years. I want to do and see as much as we can while we're there. 

That's where my BFF pinterest comes in handy. Looking at other people's gorgeous photos gives me an idea of the places I want to visit while I'm down there. Enjoy a few of my favorites :)

A successful 4 day weekend

First of all, thank you to all the soldiers (past and present) that have put their life on the line for us. I could never have the courage to do that and really admire those that can.

Because of Memorial Day, I have today off and also took Friday off just because I wanted a nice long weekend. The weather was mostly rainy and gloomy, but I still found plenty to do indoors.

On Friday, we headed up to Portland with my little sister and my husband's two younger brothers to have a little adventure. First up: Powell's Books. You may recall this was an item on my 30 before 30 list and I'm embarrassed to admit I've lived here 12 years and this is my first time there. It lived up to my expectations and was just massive; it takes up a whole block! They claim to be the biggest independent bookstore in the world and I believe that. It was amazing! I wanted to buy so many books, but only left with 2. I plan on coming back soon :)

We headed to lunch afterwards at probably the coolest place I've ever eaten at: McMenamins - Kennedy School. The restaurant was in an old elementary school building and also had a move theater, a brewery and a hotel. So cool!! The hotel rooms are in the old classrooms and the whole place just had such a fun vibe. The food was amazing too. I know where I'll be taking out of town guests in the future :)

Saturday was a big day for me as I booked a haircut at a new salon and crossed my fingers that it would turn out ok. A brief hair history: The majority of my life, I've had long, straight hair parted down the middle. I'm very low maintenance and value my sleep too much to wake up any earlier to do my hair each morning. lol. Despite my simple hair, I would estimate that 75% of my haircuts have ended badly. For some reason, everyone has trouble cutting my hair straight and I usually go home with lopsided hair without realizing it until a few days later. Because of that, I avoid getting a haircut at all costs and usually only get one a year, if that.

I have gotten a little bolder the last few years, going shorter than ever and trying to incorporate a little style, but usually go back to the straight, parted down the middle that I'm used to. So getting back to Saturday... I bit the bullet and decided to go to one of the best salons in town and see what they could do for me. I was tired of having a bad hair day every. single. day. I didn't have a plan of what I wanted, but told the stylist I need more body for my fine hair. She worked her magic and even make a remark about my previous stylist not cutting my hair even in the back (what a surprise!). I walked out of the salon feeling better about my hair than I have in years and feeling so relieved that I found someone that knows what they're doing. I know where I'm going next time I need a cut :) And it won't be a year from now either.

My husband loved it and was so thrilled that I didn't end up with the same boring, flat hair. I think he cares about my hair more than I do. lol. I can't find a suitable before photo to compare to, but just picture flat, limp, boring hair. (Now the trick will be to figure out how to style it on my own since I am so used to just washing/drying & being's done with it). Here is the after:

Sunday and today were spent cleaning the house, doing some yard work, laundry, baking cookies, watching lots of Netflix (currently hooked on Roswell) and cleaning out my inbox, among other things. It was great to have 4 days off in a row and get some things accomplished that I've been wanting to do. Hopefully I'll continue on this getting-stuff-done kick that I'm on and can cross some more things off my to-do list. Wish me luck!