2017 Goals

It's still the first month of the year so I want to post my goals. It has been a few years but I posted my goals here on my blog in 2013, 2012, and 2011. I like accountability so here you go, 2017 goals:

Health/Fitness/Running

-Do not purchase junk food for the home. Limit treats to special occasions. Eat Whole 30 85% of the time (eat healthy except occasional, purposeful deviation).

-3 non running workouts per week (CourtsPlus or West Fargo Moms on the Run).

-Run the Fargo Half Marathon on May 20, 2017. Run 200 or more miles in 2017. Run 3 times per week.

Marriage

-12 dates per year, 1 overnight trip.

Kids

- 3 one-on-one dates per kid this year.

Social

-Attend one social event where I can meet new people or get to know acquaintances better.

Spiritual

-Join a small group and attend weekly or bi-weekly for at least 3 months.

Financial

-Refill emergency fund.

-Pay cash for vacations.

-Buy a camper.

Personal

-Get Orion to school before 8:15am everyday. Being on time or early makes for a great start to my day.

-Get Orion to bed each night by 8:30pm. Getting Orion to bed earlier will give me some free time each night but still allow me to fall asleep around 10pm each night.

Home Projects

-Finishing staining trim, doors, and cabinets upstairs.

Travel

-Disney cruise.

-1 trip to Colorado.

-1 trip to North Carolina.


Those are my goals for 2017. What are your goals? What do you think about what I am trying to achieve this year?

2016: A Year In Review

2016 was a year of many changes and many adventures for our family. I thought it would be fun to do a year in review post to highlight some of the big changes or adventures we took in 2016. 

Grand Canyon

During spring break in March we took our beat up 20 year old pop-up camper on a big adventure! We spent one week visiting The Grand Canyon, Zion National Park, and Glenwood Springs, Colorado.We encountered white out conditions in southern Utah and decided to get a hotel and finish our drive in the morning. The National Park campgrounds were all full so we had to stay at a RV Park just outside the park. It got down to 29 degrees overnight and our heater wouldn't work at first but thankfully Nate was able to fix it. It was quite the adventure! It was just as beautiful as I had remembered it though it had probably been 25 years since my last visit. We enjoyed ranger led activities, seeing wildlife, hiking the rim, and hiking several miles down into the canyon. Orion was a rock star this trip and hiked miles each day on his own!

Hiking into the canyon

The canyon rim

Zion National Park

Zion National Park did not disappoint! It was gorgeous! Once again all the first come, first served campsites were full so we had to stay at an RV park. Apparently spontaneous trips aren't allowed anymore. Someday we'd love to go back and hike the river bed. The dripping overhangs, river, wildlife, and scenery were all beautiful.We wrapped up the trip visiting friends in Grand Junction, exploring Colorado National Monument, and spent a full day swimming and soaking in the hot springs. Awesome spring break trip!

Colorado National Monument

Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs, Colorado

In April, Nate accepted a promotion opportunity with his company in Fargo, North Dakota. We were moving over 800 miles away and Nate would be headed there in 4 weeks. We furiously got our house ready to sell. Thankfully it went under contract right away. The first weekend our house was for sale we took a trip to Colorado Springs and visited the Garden of Gods among other sites. 

Downtown Fargo

Debt Free!

With our big move and house sale we were able to pay off the rest of our student loans. We were officially debt free (except our house) 6/28/16. We purchased our 2nd home 6/29/16 and were able to get a 20 year low fixed rate mortgage and put 25% down. Home sweet home in Fargo!

Bought our 2nd house

One thing our big move left me without was a job! After working for 3 years as a full-time salaried employee in a job I loved, I was a bit lost at first. I wanted to take some time to visit my dad who had been ill, visit my sister, and take time to get the kids settled before I looked for a new job. The summer was a whirlwind as Nate started work in May, the kids and I didn't arrive until July, we were only here 3 weeks then we left for a month on the road, only to get back in time for school to start. So thankful to have had that time with my dad (and my sister) this summer and for all the amazing sites we got to see between Fargo and Orlando.

Anheuser Busch St. Louis Missouri

Clydesdales

Our first stop on our trip was St. Louis, Missouri. This was a last minute addition as Nate needed to travel there for work just two weeks after we got into Fargo so we started out road trip early and met him in St. Louis. It was neat to see a city I had never explored but it was HOT while we were there. 105 on the heat index and extremely humid! We toured the Anheuser-Busch brewery, watched a Cardinals game (where I was sure I was melting from the heat), had local custard and soda, visited the science center, and Wynter met up with a friend she met on last year's cruise. Fun stop on our trip!

St. Louis Cardinals game

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Gatlinburg, TN

Our next stop was Gatlinburg, Tennessee where my dad met up with us for the first part of our visit with him. I had never visited Gatlinburg or the Great Smoky Mountains so this was a real treat for me. Once again, never enough time to truly explore and I would love to go back and do some longer hikes when it isn't so hot and humid.

Skinny Dip Falls Asheville

After 2 nights in Gatlinburg we went back to my dad's for almost two weeks there. We took a day trip to explore Asheville. I asked a friend who lives there and she recommended Skinny Dip Falls. It is just off the Blue Ridge Parkway, which was a gorgeous drive by itself but a short hike back and you are rewarded with hidden natural waterfalls, pools, and a deep rock jumping pool. It reminded me of Maui, Hawaii and the road to Hana, gorgeous for sure!

Caribbean Beach Resort, Myrtle Beach, SC

Myrtle Beach, SC

Myrtle Beach, SC

Myrtle Beach was a highlight of our trip. I wish Nate was able to join us for this leg of the trip but he had to work. My dad, his wife, and my niece and nephew joined us at the Caribbean Beach Resort. The resort location and amenities made our time there so special. The property was on the beach so it was easy to go from the beach, to the pool, and to the condo. The only negative was Myrtle Beach experienced record jelly fish the days we were there and both Brennan and Phoenix got stung several times both times they tried to swim. Our ocean time was limited to shallow wading. The pool area was awesome though! Water slide, two lazy rivers, 4 pools, 4 hot tubs, and 2 kids play structures with fountains and spray features for kids. We would love to go back. 

Walt Disney World, Florida

Magic Kingdom

Hubby was able to meet us in Orlando and join us for the rest of our trip. My sister lives in the Orlando area so we got to spend several days with her. We spent one full day inside magic kingdom, another day touring the grounds of the Art of Animation Resort, and another day at Disney Springs. We swam at my sister's neighborhood pool which was awesome and went to Cocoa Beach while the older boys went to Cape Canaveral to tour the NASA facility there. It was a very pleasant temperature our entire time in Orlando. A welcome break from the oppressive heat and humidity we experienced in MO, TN, and NC, the previous few weeks.

Disney World

Disney World

Nashville Parthenon

I tried to plan our trip so we were in the car no more than 7-9 hours each day. I also gave us 2 nights to explore each new city so we had a day without car time in the middle. Our next stop was Nashville where we toured the city and visited the Dave Ramsey show live during his radio broadcast.

Visiting the Dave Ramsey Show

Mammoth Cave National Park

One awesome part about having flexible plans is when we came across Mammoth Cave National Park we were able to stop, do a cave tour, and spend about 3 hours there. Not in our original plan but so awesome. We truly love the National Parks! 

Navy Pier, Chicago

The Cloud Gate, Chicago Bean

Our next stop was Chicago! I was excited because I had never been to Chicago. I was expecting New York, which in some ways it is like but it definitely has a Midwest friendly, slightly slower pace vibe that NYC didn't have. I actually loved Chicago and would love to spend some more time there. It is a day's drive from us so definitely possible for that to happen at some point. We explored the zoo, Navy Pier, The Cloud Gate, the amazing park next to the Cloud Gate, ate Chicago style pizza, and a Chicago style hot dog. We went rode the train from our hotel, which is always fun for the kids.

Brennan bought his 1st car and got his driver license

In 2016, Brennan turned 16, got his driver license, and bought his own car. It is awesome having another driver in the house. I know he is enjoying the additional level of freedom and being able to have a job and drive himself back and forth from his job.

Breckenridge Brewery Colorado

In October, Nate's grandma passed away so we drove back to Colorado for the funeral. It is always hard to say goodbye to a family member but she lived a good, long life! We stayed a couple days after the funeral and spent time with Nate's dad, brother, and extended family.

Orion started playing hockey

Those of you that know me well know we are not a sports crazy family. I am not a soccer mom, honestly with 3 kids that played soccer from 1-10 years I hope to never sit through a youth soccer game again. I was not ready for Orion to start team sports but our neighbor told us about this amazing program through Fargo Youth Hockey where you pay $40 for 6 lessons and if you sign your child up for hockey ($150 for the 5 month season) you get to keep all the gear for free. So Orion got every single piece of gear for free. I mean, skate, stick, pads, bag, everything. It seemed like it was too good an offer to pass up. We tried it, figuring he wouldn't be ready as he had only ice skated twice before but he LOVED it and was skating well by lesson 3. They split them up into teams and we now have practice Saturday and game Sunday with an occasional weekday afternoon practice. I hear it gets more intensive and expensive but so far we love hockey. I even am helping the Fargo Youth Hockey Association with a fundraiser they are doing on February 9th for Giving Hearts Day where 350 area charities have partnered up to raise funds that day and access matching funds to help their organization. So far that has been fun!

Wynter bought her 1st car and got her driver license

We moved while Wynter still held her permit so we weren't sure what that would mean but North Dakota made it easy and she was still able to get her license on time. A few days later she purchased her own car. I now have two licensed drivers with their own cars in my house. Hard to wrap my head around but so convenient!

Besides that I think we are settling in well here in Fargo. We have a great church and an awesome neighborhood with tons of kids. Orion was out playing every day it was warm with other boys his age. Our house is about 700 sq ft and 1 bedroom smaller but we added a 3rd shower, a 3rd car garage, and a bigger lot so it is working well. I love our kitchen and master bath that had been recently updated and love the hardwood floors upstairs. Overall 2016 was a great year for us!

Progress Towards Goals

It's already September and I haven't posted an update regarding my progress towards my 2013 goals. I have a bit of a tradition of posting my goals on my blog and updating a few times throughout the year. Here are my 2013 goals.

1. Get finances on track. I'm doing okay in this area. I do well with YNAB for a month or two then have to make a fresh start. I think it is important to tell your money where it's going not to simply react. I definitely can continue to improve in this area.

2. Get housework under control. This has not happened. I went back to work full-time 3 months ago so I even have less time. I've been trying to avoid it but finally I scheduled someone to come clean my house next week. They are going to come twice this month, then hopefully I can cut back to once per month. Laundry is still horribly behind. I am bad about doing a daily task though now my days are filled with work and driving kids to and from their activities. The kids have been okay about doing extra chores for money. The kids have been starting their own laundry. I guess I've made some progress in this area.

3. Teach Brennan and Wynter to cook better. We need to be more consistent. They have cooked several meals but not every week.

4. Attend church at least twice per month. Since I work at church I'm there at least 40 hours per week, some weeks more. Sometimes I am so busy and we're so shorthanded that I do not attend a service all week. I try to make getting myself into service a priority though.

5. Go on monthly dates with Nate. Be more engaged with each other on a daily basis. We've been doing a pretty good job of dating each other. We had a full day date in March skiing. We had an overnight date in May for our anniversary and we had an overnight date last weekend. We could improve on being more engaged day-to-day.

6. Sew more. No progress in this area. I joined a quilt-along in April, bought all the supplies to make Orion a crib size quilt and then did nothing.

7. Take a photography class. i took a photography 101 and 102 class and loved them both. I need a lot more practice to be the photographer I want to be.

8. Get back into running! Still something I want to do but haven't made happen. I looked into the Team Challenge program but it only meets in Denver, which is unrealistic for me. I need others to run with and encourage me. Hopefully I'll find a program that will work with me soon.

Thanks for keeping me accountable! 

Photography 101

Last month a Living Social deal came up for a Photography 101 and Photography 201 all day class. Since receiving my DSLR as my Mother's Day gift from my hubby last year I've been wanting to take a class. It seemed like every class I found we had a prior commitment that day. Also, up until a couple months ago Orion nursed every 2 hours during the day so being away from him for a whole day for a class was complicated. Now that he is getting older it is getting easier to do these type of things. 

Photography 101 was held in a University lecture room. The class went over all the basics: aperture, shutter speed, ISO, etc. and how to find the controls on your camera. It was helpful but I'm a hands on learner so I don't think I really grasped the concepts until the afternoon photography 201 class which was outside and task oriented. The teacher gave us a photography assignment, we each spent some time completing that assignment, asking for help as needed, we then re-grouped and he assigned the next task. I liked this format except I was always the first one done. I like to do something, master it, and move on to the next thing.

I captured some decent shots and know SO much more about my camera and how to capture the shots I want. I still need to purchase Photoshop as these photos were all just edited in Picasa. I also need a camera bag so I can safely carry my camera and equipment without feeling like I'm going to break or drop my expensive camera. Right now I only have a 18-55mm lens so a future upgrade will be at least one longer range lens. Another thing I struggle with is juggling a wiggly baby and a DSLR camera which is bulky. Not sure that will get easier but maybe I'll get quicker at setting up the right shot.

Here are a few of my favorite shots from the afternoon Photography 201 class:

The location of the Photography 201 class. The Swetsville Zoo is a sculpture garden made from recycled materials. Admission is free, it's local, and a neat place to check out.

 Working on lighting

More lighting 

 Working on focus

 Same shot, just different focus

More focus work

For this assignment we were supposed to take a shot of something and then get in close and take shots of all the parts of that item. Sometimes in the moment you can miss the detail shots which turn out to be some of the best shots.

 Up close

 More up close shots

Same sculpture

 Last one of this guy

 This assignment was framing. You were supposed to look for natural framing. I set the shot up to look down the center of the one part. Most of the day it was cloudy and excellent light for photography. At this point in the day the sun came out from behind the clouds and was blaring down. I never did get the light perfect. The bright sun washed the photo out a bit. This is why I decided to edit  it with focal black and white to take away some of the harshness of the bright sunlight.

Bird's nest inside one of the sculptures

Our last assignment is a shot that is hard to get but a fun one to practice. We were supposed to get a shot of a fast moving car (approximately 55 MPH) and capture the car but blur the background to emphasis the motion. The teacher even said you'll probably only get 2 good shots for every 10 you take but with digital you can take as many as you want without worrying.

 Another car zooming by

I can't wait to practice more now that I have the tools to become a better photographer. Not sure how much time I'll be able to devote to photography but I love taking pictures so why not take good pictures!