twenty fourteen

it's a new year. time to set new goals, challenges, and dreams. i have LOTS of them for this year.

1. stay right. i have worked really hard at my physical health. i eat well [most of the time] and obsess over what is in our food. i exercise religiously. even though i do not see these lifestyle choices changing, i feel that it is important to always have goals. i want to stay focused on this aspect of my life because it is so important to me. which leads to me to resolution #2.....

2. run some races. i have been exercising using HIIT since april. i am ready to challenge myself even more. i want to do that through running [a sport i used to love]. my goal is to run at least two 5ks [if not more] and one 10k. i have been very fickle about road races the past few years, so i think i need to start small.

3. write professionally more. i enjoy writing so much that i want to continue to share it with the world [and it wouldn't hurt to earn some money from it either ;) ].

4. expand the blackout community. sharing my journey through life with epilepsy has been amazing. i want to continue to share my story, while creating a community that fosters education and awareness. 

5. open my own business. this was a resolution from last year. and even though it has not come to fruition yet, does not mean that i changed my mind on it. the timing wasn't right. 2014 is the year!!!

6. financial freedom. last year i suggested that i wanted to achieve financial responsibility. we are financially responsible. but i would like to build our assets and plan for the future. and i think that will give us the financial freedom we desire.

7. pay it forward. through random acts of kindness. through doing the right thing. through sending a card. i just want to put more goodness out into our world.

8. travel to somewhere new. we love to travel, but often go to our favorite places over and over again. i want to see some new places this year!

i think that is a good list to start with, don't you?

what are your goals, challenges, and resolutions for 2014?!!

xoxo,
ks

YEAR IN REVIEW

2013.

where the hell did you go? it was a crazy year for us. what did we do during 2013? let's look at the low-lights, highlights, and review those resolutions of 2013 [how did i do?].

low-lights [let's just get these out of the way...]:

• i had two seizures this year [february and november].
• keith and i both have struggled with family issues that we work really hard at resolving, but find it challenging some days.
• layla is getting older and this makes us sad. we see it in her movements as she struggles with daily activities. 
• and that is it. whew, we are so lucky and thankful for a wonderful year!

 highlights:

• keith got a job at ECU at a clinical instructor for the physical therapy department. he works in one of their out patient clinics and also is active in teaching, mentoring, and research. so therefore, we moved back to greenville [which has always felt like home to us].
• i started writing very semi-professionally. [this means yahoo! sometimes gives me money for the occasional articles i write. but hey, i am published!] 
• i now work at a montessori school as a teacher assistant in a primary classroom and i have fallen in love. 
• MY BROTHER GOT MARRIED!

 

• it was wonderful to return to dowdy-ficklen stadium for almost all of ECU's home games this fall. and we didn't mind the travel to a nearby foe [UNC] to watch a very decisive pirate victory. arrrghhhh!

• we traveled [as usual] to some of our favorite places:  

southport

OBX

asheville

• i started and manage a small online community [blog, facebook, twitter] in order to share my life and story, as well as, to create awareness and educate others about epilepsy. i hope to expand on this greatly in 2014.

• we finished the year with a 5k. probably the most fun 5k in the world. seriously. this has motivated me to run more races!
• and there is no shortage of hockey in our lives [as if!].
• 2013 ended with us already planning out and dreaming up our next big adventures for 2014 [trips, road races, business ventures, community involvement]. we are motivated for 2014!

2013 resolution review:

• stay right. smashed. the foundation of everything i do is centered around "staying right". i almost drive keith crazy with this i am sure. i obsess over our food, our exercise, our sleep - basically anything that is good for us, i want to do it!
• financial responsibility. this was a tough year because of our move and my not working for 5 months. but now that we are more stable, i think we can try this resolution again in 2014!!
• start our own business. you would think when i wasn't working, it would have been the perfect time for this. however, starting a business costs money, which is something we just didn't really have to spare. so again, this resolution wasn't forgotten, it was just put on the back-burner....until now!
• build on resolutions from 2012 [traveling, dreaming, and keep up with correspondence]. DONE. DONE. and kind of done. 2 out of 3 ain't bad? right? ;)

 2013 was a busy, crazy, and unique year for us. we loved it. it's made us stronger, healthier and happier individuals and a much stronger couple.

i am happy and thankful for 2014! it's a new year, time for new beginnings and clean slates. let's do this!

xoxo,
ks

adventures

our next adventure.

it's what gets keith and i excited. we make plans all the time for our next adventure. we love adventures. just at dinner tonight we were planning two trips we must take this summer. both to the beach, of course. one trip to wilmington, the other to the outer banks [did you seriously have any doubt?].

what's life without adventure? keith and i thrive on going to the places we love and visiting the people we love. i am not sure we could go very long without taking a trip. even if that means just a quick trip home [raleigh] for the weekend.

and while we are planning very simple and cheap trips in our immediate future. we have some bigger plans for 2014. a very close family friend is getting married in indianapolis. i've never been there so i really know nothing about the city. actually, i know absolutely nothing other than it is the home of two professional sports teams [pacers and colts]. we are excited to learn and explore a new city. plus once the wedding festivities are over, we are going to stick around for awhile to learn and explore another new city [chicago]. we've never been to chicago, but have really only heard amazing things about it. we are still up in the air of how long we'll stay there. mainly because we are toying with the idea of heading to toronto [our newest favorite city].

so, we get to spend the next 11 months saving money and planning. it will be like our hockeymoon all over again, minus the hockey. well, unless those blackhawks make another deep playoff run [they are currently in the stanley cup finals]. it's a little overwhelming to think about a trip that is 11 months away. however it is something we can't forget about so that we can head up north to those new cities and really get to enjoy them.

adventures.

we are constantly planning for, dreaming about and stashing away for our next big trip.

adventures.

we can't live without them. our life just wouldn't be the same without them.

what is your adventure? is it travel? or is it something else? raising your kids? your career? share in the comments!

xoxo,
ks