New Year, New Goals...

It has taken me a couple of days to sit down and write out my goals for this new year. Many of them, I've found, are based off of my 25 Things Before 25 list, which will continue on until I turn 25 in August. 

.....get out of debt......buy a car.....buy a camera.......record a new album......record an album with my  husband.......have a garden.....love my husband.........prepare us for having a baby (hopefully we will start trying in 2012!!! )...........lose the rest of the weight, only 20 lbs more to go........run a 5k........go on a trip or two......have more quiet time......make our house a home.......read "What to Expect Before You're Expecting".........Book Club.....Do more yoga.....become a vegetarian.........cook more.......bake more..... advance at my work ........learn to love my job more than I do.......map out a business plan for some of my dreams jobs............go to Mexico with my work.....actually write a song to/for/about my husband...... continue working through the Artist's Way......try something new........take a class...........buy local and organic.........stay organized........take a real vacation......learn to brew beer with my dad.....take more photographs just for fun........paint some walls........blog more......actually use my typewriter and sewing machine.......

This list is massive, but I am overwhelmed with excitement for this new, fresh year. Looking back at 2010, we actually accomplished a lot of what we set out to do, with a few unexpected turns as well. We bought a house, played a lot of good music with many wonderful people, took lots of photos, grew closer to each other,  released a new album with my band, got a cat (who is a pain in the butt most of the time), took a trip back to the northwest,  I lost 30 lbs!!!!!, had a family get together at our new home, etc, etc, etc. 

Happy 2011. I'm ready for the best year yet. 

Healthy Eating

I stumbled across this company, Door to Door Organics,  a few days ago and I was so stoked to find that they deliver locally. I love the idea of supporting local farmers, having a box of delicious, organic vegetables and fruits delivered straight to my doorstep twice a month, and knowing that I am taking better care of myself and my husband. 

I can't wait for Monday! (Never thought I would say that.) Monday is the day that they deliver to our area and I cannot wait to cook some meals I have never endeavored upon and to know that I'm eating healthy. For those of you that don't know, I recently went on a diet and lost thirty pounds and my goal is to maintain that weight loss before I continue on the next stretch come January. (More on that in another post.) Being able to finally lose the weight has made me completely rethink the food I put into my mouth and I really do desire to eat healthy foods. 

Here is what will be in our box this coming Monday: 

5 ea. Roma Tomatoes

1 ea. Red Leaf Lettuce

1 ea. Collard Greens bunch

1 ea. Fennel Bulb

1 ea. Carrots 1LB. Bag

2 ea. Zucchini Squash

1 ea. Cucumber

2 ea. Pomegranate

2 ea. Anjou Pear

2 ea. Kiwi Fruit

2 ea. Pinova Apple

2 ea. Pink Lady Apple

4 ea. Navel Orange

I can't wait! I need to grab my mom's chocolate chip zucchini bread recipe from her and actually try it out! 

Again, please go check out their website. 

Door to Door Organics 

#12: Read a book every month

As a part of my 25 things before 25, I vowed to read a new book every month. I have gone above and beyond that lately, consuming a lot of books, which I am fully alright with. 

Some of the titles as of late....

Juliet, Naked

This book was a very quick, but enjoyable read. I consumed it in about two days, when I need to be doing a lot of other things, but this book was my aid to my procrastination. 

One Day

This book takes place in the lives of two people, one day every year for a number of years. It is all about the ups and downs of their relationship and how their lives intertwine with one another. I believe they are also making a movie out of it. 

The Opposite of Love

Some of my girlfriends and I decided to start a book club, nerdy and awesome, I know. This was our first pick. We randomly chose this one late one night at the bookstore and the choice deemed itself wonderful. A story of love, loss, and love found again. It was a total chick book, but in the best way possible. 

Eating Animals

Open at your own risk, for you will never eat the same again. I've been greatly researching the foods I eat and the condition in which our food industry is in. I'm slowly but surely making the change of taking meat out of my diet, for personal and health reasons, but also due to the condition that we find our food industry really in. This book is packed with tons of research, facts, humor, and is a perfect tool for those that want more knowledge about what really eat. 

We are what we eat. 

Omnivore's Dilemma

This is my current read, much like the book mentioned above. I think it is good to know what it is we are actually eating. The necessity of our food has changed greatly over the years and the chicken we even eat today doesn't hardly even resemble to one our grandparents consumed when they were kids. 

I like books like this that challenge me. 

I am sure there will be many more titles to come, but these are the few I have devoured. Now that I have been out of college for a few years, it's refreshing to be able to read whatever I want. 

On a much cooler note, I have a feeling that I will be getting one of these for Christmas. 

Beyond excited. 

With Every Pound Lost

For those of you that don't know, today is a grand day. I am a little more than half way to loosing the pounds I have set out to lose and to achieving my goal weight. (Which is the amount I weighed the day I graduated high school.) This is a little more personal than normal, but once I got married, I became quite comfortable with my wonderful existence and started to pack on the pounds. In a goal to become as healthy as possible for myself, my husband, and the potential kids we desire to have in the future, I made a major life change. 

I have been on a new, pretty intense eating plan for the past month or so. I am down 20 lbs today! The weight on the scale is one I haven't seen since sometime in college. It feels really good. I can't believe the discipline I actually have! Seeing the pounds come off a little more everyday is reason enough for me to continue on. 

I feel like I could take on the world! 

I have been daydreaming about some new outfits that I want to buy once I reach my goal weight. It is good encouragement to actually be working towards some wonderful new outfits! I tend to gravitate towards blacks and whites, but lately I've been trying to add some color to my wardrobe. Lots of oranges, reds, and floral. 

Here's some items on my wish list! 

From Red Velvet: 

(For my husband: this is what your wife would love for Christmas!) :) 

From Modcloth.com: 

And being a photographer, I have major bag envy for this....

From Jo Totes: 

Life is good. 

Mountain Excursions and Weather Boycotts

This weekend we took a journey up into the mountains outside of town to take in the changing colors and nature in general. I can now check another thing off of my list (Number 24!) . Although, sadly, the trees really haven't changed that much, but we did take a mountain excursion, which never happens! It was nice to take a drive and get away from the world for a few hours. 

Tonight, the groceries have been bought, the laundry is in the wash, the house has been cleaned, and now I am boycotting the weather. The last few days have been far too hot for it being close to October. I'm drinking tea and burning a bunch of apple cinnamon candles. 

Take that hot weather. Bring fall back. 

Number Five

I successfully am able to cross another item off of my 25 Things Before 25 List! 

Yesterday my friend Katie and I unpacked my craft/art room! I'm so excited. I still have so many fun ideas for this space, but for now, at least the room isn't full of boxes. I wish I would have taken a before photo as well. 

This weekend has been quite productive....Finished editing a wedding, picked up my house, unpacked the art room, went grocery shopping (starting a new eating plan tomorrow, EEK!) 

Now if only I could get the desire to organize our mess of a garage. Maybe next weekend. 

#9!

We made it home from our wonderful vacation on Sunday night, after two days of my lovely husband driving us all the way back to Fort Collins. (He's awesome like that.) 

Now, reality has hit. My to-do list is forever growing. Part of me embraces it and the other part wants to run for cover. I realize more and more how un-spontaneous I am in many things in life. Routine sometimes is my biggest downfall, yet also sometimes my biggest triumph. I grasp on to all of the lists and all of the goals. Yet, sometimes you just have to get in the car and drive without a destination in mind and be alright with that. 

I wish I had an easier time figuring out how to dwell  in between the chaos and the control. It's a constant lesson. 

Currently, I'm editing photos like a mad women for our friend's wedding that I shot before we left on our trip. I couldn't bring my editing stuff with me so these photos were left in Fort Collins and seemed to call me back to them the whole trip. Now I will edit, edit, edit, edit, edit...

A bit of a sneak peak.... (I won't post photos of the actually wedding party, etc until I have full permission from them...) 

Photography makes me feel so alive. 

On another note, I can mark something off of my 25 Things Before 25 list! This one came around A LOT quicker than I thought it would and I didn't even spark the conversation this time. 

9. Have the Baby Talk! 

Ryan and I have decided when we will start trying to have a family. I realize that God is ultimately in control of all of that and we are constantly willing to go His route verses ours, but we have set a tentative time period that will allow us to somewhat financially prepare and allow me to get my body and health in tip top, baby making condition. 

It's almost weird to even talk about it! For so long I never thought I would get to this point. But, alas, the mama bug has actually bit. Craziness. 

Needless to say, I'm excited. 

And to our mothers..... I promise it is a plan that will not go into action for quite a while. No babies for us yet! :) But, someday you shall be grandmothers! 

25 Things Before 25 (Continued)

Here is the rest of the list, the remaining 10.....

16. Pay off all of our debt

17. Have date night once a week

18. Paint our kitchen cabinets

19. Go camping 

20. Take photos of our house and blog about it

21. Find/Create art for our walls

22. Use my camera weekly, for something other than business

23. Write a new song

24. Go on a drive/hike this fall to see all of the changing colors in the mountains.

25. Do the Couch to 5k challenge (I’m almost scared to write down this one....) Oh boy. 

Part of me is so excited to get home so I can start on the list. I can mark one off that occurred yesterday. I'll reveal which one a bit later. Needless to say: I'm excited. 

Since I didn't blog yesterday, here are photos from our trip to the Oregon Coast. Oh how I have missed the ocean. 

We are off to Portland this afternoon. I can't wait to see that city once again. 

25 Things Before 25

Most of this has nothing to do with our vacation.....

Today was very low key, spent driving from Seattle to Longview for what seemed like forever. Once we hit L-town, I got a pedicure with my long lost friend Liz and then we all went to dinner. Nothing to crazy, but still wonderful. 

As I've been on vacation, I always start to build up my massive to do list for the time when we return. Everyday I get further away from reality and everyday my to do list continues to pile up back where I left it. I've hardly taken the time to realize that we are approaching my favorite season of all: fall. This season is full of boot-wearing, coffee drinking goodness that I look forward to every year. If it could be fall all the time, I would be entirely alright with that. 

I've been thinking a lot about my goals for this year. I even glanced back at my Four Simple Goals post from earlier. I've been working towards a few of them, but not nearly at the intensity I would like. 

Here's the beginning of the list: 25 things to do before I turn 25....

1. Plan for a garden this coming spring
2. Grow out my hair
3. Write at my typewriter at least once a week
4. Get HEALTHY! 
5. Unpack and organize my creative space
6. Buy a new car
7. Create a blog schedule/blog button
8. Save enough money for camera equipment
9. Have the baby talk 
10. Create a business plan
11. Paint some walls
12. Read a novel every month 
13. Actually work on our yard and make it look nice
14. Be able to fit into my jeans from when I moved back home
15. Go through my clothes and donate the ones that have been in my closet for years

I'll post the remaining ten goals tomorrow....