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

resolution review

last year i gave you guys a short, yet detailed, list of resolutions i wanted to make and keep throughout 2012. before even thinking about what to do with 2013, let's see how 2012 faired...shall we?

1. "get right".  basically we wanted to eat better, sleep better and move better. we wanted to be healthy. i believe my goal was to go the gym 5 days a week. and eating better was a MUST. the long short of it...we are much "righter" now than we were at the start of 2012. however, i am not as right as i'd like to be. what helped us get right was insanity and papa spuds. both which are still a part of our lives. insanity got us moving, really whether we wanted to or not; and papa spuds has us eating better.
i blogged about the start of insanity for us. well it's an insane workout....yet worth every minute. i am actually going to start the damn series over again starting on monday. i must be insane.
papa spuds is community supported agriculture (CSA) or as they call it, an online farmer's market. we have it delivered once a week and up until last month we had the largest box they offered delivered to us. we figured we order as much as we could from them that we need for the week. and they have far more than just fruits and veggies. they have meats, pastas, breads, coffee....we love it! we only downsized due to winter and the produce selection being much smaller. i am certain that once the summer fruits are in full swing again, our box will be too!
so, at the end of the day, i am very happy with the success of this resolution. it was a huge resolution. it was either going to succeed big or fail big. i am glad we succeeded big. and are only looking for more ways to keep getting "righter".

2. learn to roller blade and skateboard. ummmm.....i must have totally forgot that i wanted to do either of these things. i have not once touched my roller blades or my skateboard. well, that's not true. i picked them up to move them when we moved to our new place in june. so, that's something......right? ok, ok. resolution FAIL.

3. continue traveling. we traveled the HELL out of 2012. resolution totally SMASHED. let's see, just where did we go?
to start, our hockeymoon, which included: toronto, montreal, NYC and philadelphia.
asheville, nc for our first anniversary!
litchfield beach, sc for our annual family vacay
charlotte, for many occasions, like checkers games, coldplay concert and to watch the cowboys beat up on the panthers. and it was odd to be in charlotte that much because before this year i couldn't tell you the last time i'd been to charlotte.
greensboro a few times (big shocker). why? why not is a better question.
PA for my cousin Sean's wedding!
and last, but certainly not least...OBX - would there be any doubt?

4. keep in touch with my friends and family better. i would like to say that i have made progress on this. man, life is busy. not that that should be an excuse. but it sure as hell does get in the way of things i want to do. however, i do try my very hardest to keep in better touch with ALL the amazing and wonderful people in my life. i am lucky to have them!

5. never lose sight of my dreams. this may seem like a lofty resolution. i mean, lots of people just give up chocolate bars as a resolution and call it a day. however, if you aren't challenging yourself, then how are you growing as a person? i have big dreams. i always have. i never want to lose sight of them. no matter how busy and crazy life becomes.
i didn't edit any of the last resolution. it's exactly what i wrote down a year ago. it's still just as important to me as it was then. however, it is amazing how dreams change. even in just one year. that is why you always have to keep your dreams on your mind and your eyes on your goals. and then GO AFTER THEM. i know i am. oh, and i am so ok with my dreams changing. and you should too. after all, wouldn't it be weird to have the same dream every night?

so. how'd i do? well, with the exception of that silly roller blade resolution, i'd say i did really well. i am proud of me! i am glad i reviewed this because it motivates me for this year. whether i keep on track with this 5 resolutions, add to them or start fresh; i know i have the motivation, will power and strength to follow through on my goals!

cheers! happy new year!

xoxo,
ks

why hello 2012!!

new years resolutions.

yeah, i've got 'em. who doesn't? what holds me back is the fear of not being able to stick to them or complete them. however, this year...i am determined! hell, it is only january 2nd, anything is possible. i have 363 more days to go. i can do this. or can i?
the first step to success is to share you goals. make yourself accountable. so, that is what i am going to do. you all are my witnesses. you will watch me climb my mountains of resolutions. all. year. long. (hopefully).

so...here they are...my resolutions. in a very particular order.

1. "get right". those are keith's words. but it holds true to our biggest goals for the new year. we want to get right, ie, healthy, in every way possible. we want to be physically healthy. we want have better eating habits, sleep habits and less alcohol. most of these things we already do, but i want to do them better. i want to go to the gym 5 times a week instead considering a mild dog walk my exercise. i want to remove unnecessary foods from my diet and add lots of good foods, like more fruits and veggies. i definitely sleep enough, but i want a more consistent sleep schedule, 7 days a week. and i don't drink a lot...but i think less is more. ya dig?

so that is a really huge resolution. it really has like 10 goals in one. and can really set us up for failure. as is the case with most people's resolutions. however, i think of this as a resolution that will morph into a lifestyle change. sure, we've set goals for ourselves to see positive changes. but once we see those changes, i don't want to go back to "the way things were". i want to "stay right". i want our goals to just become a way of life for us.
sure this is going to take a lot of work and will power. good thing there are two of us to hold each other up when the going gets tough :)

2. learn to roller blade and skateboard. for real. i can do both of these things well enough. so what if every time i get on my roller blades i must where 20lbs of padding for protection? it's no big deal. i'd like to learn how to do both of these sports because they are fun to me. yes, i realize it seems ridiculous that a women in her 30s wants to do these sports. do i care? not at all. so i want to learn them enough to have confidence to do them on my own.

3. continue traveling. keith and i love to travel. i think it's something we should always do. and keep as an important part of our lives. and speaking of traveling...we have a pretty big and awesome trip coming up in february!! :)

4. i say this a lot...but i want to keep in touch with my friends and family better. i have noticed lately that i am really sucking at it. i need and want to change this. well, because i love you all. and that should be motivation enough to stay in touch!

5. never lose sight of my dreams. this may seem like a lofty resolution. i mean, lots of people just give up chocolate bars as a resolution and call it a day. however, if you aren't challenging yourself, then how are you growing as a person? i have big dreams. i always have. i never want to lose sight of them. no matter how busy and crazy life becomes.

well, there you have it. my new years resolutions. i'll (try to) check back at least once a month to let you know how i am doing.

what are your resolutions for 2012?!?!

xoxo,
ks