2012 Resolutions

I believe in making New Year Resolutions.  There are several resolutions that I would like to accomplish this year.  Here are my following resolutions for 2012: 

1) Have a better connection with God.  I hope to accomplish this more by attending church more and spending more time in prayer.  I am so thankful for all of the blessings God has given me and my family.  I need to remember to trust in God instead of worrying and trying to plan out everything.  I need to realize that He is in control and I need to hand everything over to him.

 

2)  Weight loss. I kind of don't want to make this a resolution. It's just so cliche and I'm worried that I'll end up like the forty bazillion other women out there who are resolving to be skinny and are back to eating cheeseburgers and fries by January 8th.  But, I'm going to. I've been thinking about this a lot lately and it's time for me to make some serious changes. I'm ready, and I'm going to do it. I'm tired of being fat and lazy and miserable in my own skin. So, I'm going to change. This pin on Pinterest really resonated with me.

 Its not just about losing weight, but I want to be HEALTHIER and feel better about myself

3)  Yolates.  I started attending Yolate classes last year and absolutely loved it but did not stick with going to the classes.  Yolates is a mix of Yoga and Pilates and one of my resolutions is to at least do Yolates, Yoga, or Pilates at least once per week.  As a nursing student, time is of the essence but so a person's health and  sanity.

4)  Be a better wife.  I am one of the the lucky ones who have an amazing husband.  Unfortunately, I'm the wife that doesn't always show appreciation of the little things my husband does.  He is constantly working to improve our lives and make my life as easy as possible; I need to be less selfish and move giving in my marriage.  

5)  Travel to Europe (Hopefully, this summer)

6)  Become more familiar with the kitchen:  2011 was a big year in the kitchen for me.  I spent a lot of time trying out new and healthy recipes.  I found that I love cooking!  I love searching for new recipes, buying all of the ingredients, and then seeing the end result after time in the kitchen.  I want to continue this in 2012.

7)  Blog More (enough said)

8)  Go on a day trip or mini weekend vacations at least once a month.  I feel like the weekends that Justin and I both have off are sparing, but at the same time when we do have a weekend off together we usually spend it fixing things around the house or just lounging.  I would rather spend time with each other making memories in different places. 

2012: New Beginning, New Hopes, New Dreams

Justin and I were not able to ring in 2012 together since he had volunteered to work so we decided today that we would have our New Year's Date Night if you will.  He did not get home until 5:00am on New Years Day so of course I did not  go to bed until he was home.  After we woke up around noon we went over to the in-laws home for lunch, came back home took a nap, and then got up and started getting ready around 5:30pm.  We decided we would go to dinner at Wings & Rings and a movie in Greensburg.  We decided to see New Years Eve (even though we were a day late)

It was a good movie with a lot of good/heartfelt moments throughout the movie.  One of my favorite quotes from the movie is the following: 

"It's suspended there to remind us before we pop the champagne and celebrate the New Year, to stop and reflect on the year that has gone by. To remember both our triumphs and our missteps - our promises made, and broken. The times we opened ourselves up to great adventures - or closed ourselves down, for fear of getting hurt. Because that's what New Year's is all about: getting another chance. A chance to forgive, to do better, to do more, to give more, to love more. And stop worrying about 'what if' and start embracing what would be. So when that ball drops at midnight - and it will drop - let's remember to be nice to each other, kind to each other. And not just tonight but all year long."

I love that quote and hope to remember it throughout the whole year.  2011 was a great year for us and I am very excited to see what 2012 has to hold.  I hope everyone had a great New Years.  Cheers to 2012 :)

2011 Recap

I have decided that one of my resolutions again this year is to blog.  I want to use my blog as a scrapbook; I think it will be neat to look back and look at the things that Justin and I have done over the years.  I also think one day maybe our children will appreciate being able to read about their mom and dad before we were "mom and dad".  2011 was a great year for us!  Just a brief recap of some things so I don't forget:

*  We got our furbaby Savannah on January 9th; yes we gave her the same name as the first one.  She has brought so much joy to our lives....we constantly treat her like our baby because she is...she's like a child to us and we love her soo much.

*  I turned the big 28

*  Justin had sinus surgery on February 10th

*  I was able to celebrate my best friend, Ashley's,  28th Birthday with an amazing group of people in Lafayette

*  Our nephew Bronson was born on February 25th

*  Justin's position at for P&G was eliminated but luckily he was hired a week later as a Driver Manager at Fraley & Schilling here in Rushville which turned out to be a blessing in disguise

*  One of my besties, Brooke, got married in Bora Bora and hosted a reception here in Indiana

* My sister, Nicole, got engaged to the love of her life Mike (they are a match made in heaven) with a wedding date set for July 21, 2012 in Columbus, Indiana

* Justin's sister, Janel, got engaged to DJ with a wedding date set for August 18, 2012 here in Rushville

* My baby sister, Kathryn, started high school

* I started clinicals in nursing school where I was assigned on the Oncology floor at Reid Hospital and at Richmond State Hospital which is one of the state's psychiatric hospitals.  Both were completely eye opening experiences where I learned a lot about nursing, my patients, and a lot about myself.  I know psych nursing is not for me, but I absolutely loved working Oncology; I would love to work in this area some day.  It was such a humbling experience and every day I left the floor I was reminded of how thankful I am to God for everything he has given me in my life, especially my health.  Every day I took care of people who were literally fighting for their life; it made me realize how little my problems were and made me appreciate all of the little things in my life that I take for granted most of the time. 

* Justin and I celebrated our 3rd Anniversary

* Justin turned the big 28

* My dad invited Justin to one of the Colts game; this was a big deal because it was my dad's first NFL game 

* November 28th - Savannah turned 1

* December 3rd - Justin took the LSATs (we found out the results on January 6th)

* Last Christmas Justin and I adopted a family so this year we decided to just get some things for each other.  We were supposed to just get each other little stuff but I ended up getting him a 51" plasma tv and he ended up ordering my new french doors (which I am soo excited about!!)

2011 was a great year, but I am VERY excited to see what was 2012 has in store for us and our family.

Nursing Orientation

I had my Nursing Orientation today which was awesome! I had to dress up like a SuperHero so I went as a Super Student Nurse. I wish I would have taken a picture of it this morning because my costume turned out really cute! On the back of my lab coat it said:

STUDENT NURSE

I gave up my life to learn how to save yours.

The orientation was really inspiring but at the same time intimidating as well. The senior class started off with 60 people and now have a graduation of 12! Yes, I said 12! Some of those people couldn't make the grades and others couldn't make the full commitment of time, but I know I won't make those mistakes. I knew going to nursing school would be a huge commitment and I am prepared for that but I will miss my husband, family, friends, and having a social life :)

Shopping Adventure

Justin and I had to run up to Greenwood this evening for a little shopping. We ran to Bed Bath & Beyond to pick up a wedding gift, Menswarehouse to get a tux, and to Best Buy so I could purchase a laptop for school. I love shopping for anything and everything except for computers. It's awful with all of the choices and brands! I was thinking about a Mac but a lot of the healthcare software is not compatible so I ended up with the Dell Inspiron. It's pink soo it made the decision a little easier as well :)

After leaving Best Buy, we were starving so we ran over to Olive Garden to grab a bite to eat. I love date nights with my husband but I especially love impromptu dates :) We originally wanted to get in order something little and get home, but we ended up just taking our time. We laughed soo much during that dinner and had such a wonderful time! I'm very lucky that I have such a funny husband!

On our way home we got the call that Grandma Howard was in the hospital with chest pain. We went to visit her (this was about 11:30pm) and the ER Dr. did not think it was her heart but maybe a touch of pneumonia. She was admitted that night but was already feeling better when we left. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers!

Visit To Riley

Justin and I went to Riley's Children Hospital in Indy to visit Aubrey and the Beever/Deno families. Aubrey has a type of leukemia which is called "ALL" the family was hoping for this type because AML is a lot harder to treat. Aubrey was all smiles! You would have no idea that this little beautiful baby was sick; she was walking all around the play area and smiling away. She gets her first chemo treatment tonight so please pray that her white blood cells drop. Hopefully, she'll be able to go home and continue her treatments next week!

Pray for Baby Aubrey

I just found out that my close friend Lacey, her youngest daughter Aubrey, was diagnosed with Leukemia this afternoon. I do not know any more details about the diagnosis or prognosis, but please pray for this beautiful little 1 year old girl tonight before you close your eyes and tomorrow before your feet hit the floor; she is such a beautiful and happy baby. Please keep Aubrey and the Beever/Deno families in your prayers.