goals

December 30, 2016

so I've been waiting to share this list of goals because of our fun, exciting, sweet announcement we made in july.... and then I forgot to actually post this. oops. gonna go ahead and blame that on pregnancy brain. for those who don't know **or maybe just don't remember** I began making a goals-list for each birth year when a roommate once asked me what my goals were before I turned 25. fast forward a few years later, and the tradition is going strong! there are always things that go unaccomplished because life is a funny, unpredictable thing; however, it's always fun to start a year with something to focus on and chase after! here's my list for 27:

1. workout 3-4 times per week. while this might seem like a small goal to some, with the complete lack of time I had this last year, I need a realistic goal in this area to keep me going and healthy in the midst of a very full schedule.

2. put together a nursery-nook. gender-neutral **because we aren't finding out what it is until nugget arrives**. one-bedroom apartment. law books for dayz. big dreams. a love/hate relationship with pinterest. this is what I'm working with, peoples.

3. intentional dates. set aside time for one intentional date per week. no phones. no agendas. just sweet time together.

4. read 5 non-school related books. I loved this goal so much last year, I think I'll do it again.

5. put together 2 photo-books. one from our wedding, and one for our first year together. **ok, yes, I'm a little behind**

6. write consistently on the memory calendar. this was one of the best wedding gifts we received: a calendar that has the day on it plus a bunch of empty spaces for you to fill in the year & a small, fun memory from that day. 

some other big things that will happen **Lord willingly** before 28: graduate from law school, become a mama, & figuring out our next big move. tons of big changes. look out, 27, you're gonna be a big one!

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August 8, 2015

goals. there is an amazing feeling when you actually accomplish goals that you have set out. if you are just joining **and maybe wondering about the strange blog name** this is where I set out goals for each birth-year. on May 12 of each year, I try to make a list of realistic goals for that year. it's been so cool to see how these goals drive me to do things I wouldn't have dreamed of, push me to accomplish big dreams, and help me live life to the full. however, when I turned 25 I would never have been able to guess all of the twists and crazy life turns that year brought! some of them were planned, others a complete surprise. so, here's my 25th year-review, brought to you by a goals review!

1. run two half-marathons - this one began nicely with the first happening at the end of august when I moved to virginia. I registered for the second one to run this past march in DC... and then all things law school, 1L, second semester happened. I loved this goal so much that I carried it over to this next year!! & this time, it will be accomplished!

2. standing splits & king cobra backbend - ok, well, it's safe to say I can't do either one of these. 1L was a little stressful & time consuming; it was a good day if I could fit in 20 minutes of exercise. this one might have been too lofty of a goal **insert face-palm here**

3. take a full day once per month to breathe & not think about school - check! this one actually morphed into a couple of half-days per month. first semester these were more restful, and then second semester they turned into crazed wedding-planning half-days. yeah, that was a twist I was definitely not expecting when I turned 25...

4. take an overnight trip alone - when I made this goal, I thought it would be a defining moment for my life, help me to see things I hadn't before, help me appreciate my independence a little more. two weeks after making these goals, I met a man. two weeks after that, I took a 10-hour road trip to louisville, ky to visit said man. a year later, we were married... that trip to kentucky might have been the most adventurous, "alone" trip that I took that year **ok, I mean, besides moving to virginia by myself**

5. wear high heels & dress nice whenever I feel like it - check, check, and check. I love the freedom that came from this goal! I had no idea what kind of mind obstacles were blocking me from feeling the freedom to dress how I wanted, when I wanted. you see, standing at 5'10.5" is a little intimidating for a girl, and then I wanted to add wearing heels?! what if I was the only one?! what if I became "that girl"?! oh goodness... that was so freeing to finally get over those thoughts and embrace my own style. sometimes all you need is to put on a great pair of shoes and some lipstick to tackle what seems like an impossible task

here's to goals: may we make them, may we grow from them, may we crush them. happy weekend, peoples!!

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May 13, 2015

twenty-six. the age that sounds so old when you are a sophomore in college; the age by which you think you will have your stuff together; and the age that sounds so young when you get there. for those of you who haven't visited here before, welcome. this is my yearly goals post that came about on my twenty-fourth birthday. I've been doing this for two birthdays now & absolutely love it! I'll post an update about how my goals for this past year went soon, but this post is solely dedicated to goals to accomplish before twenty-seven **yikes, that sounds old** I love that these keep me focused and help me make the most of each year so that I don't just think "what did I even do this past year?!" by the time my next birthday comes around. this coming year is going to bring about so many fun changes: 3 family weddings **including MINE**, second year of law school, navigating married life, becoming an auntie twice-over when my heart friend has her second littles, and so much more! since this is going to be a crazy year, I have some fun goals that mix fun, adventure, and taking breathers in the midst of the crazy... so, what do I want to accomplish before twenty-seven?

1. run 2 half-marathons = 1 by myself and 1 with my adventure partner for life
2. take a weekend to hike/camp in the Shenandoah Valley
3. strength: do 100 push-ups consecutively & handstand
4. breather trips with Michael: DC, Virginia wineries, & Monticello 
5. mind: read 5 fun books **not school related**
6. write & send 1 handwritten letter by snail mail per week

this year will be one for the books, ladies & gents! here's to another year of lessons learned, adventures conquered, and twenty-six!!

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November 22, 2014

oh yeah, remember those goals I have for before 26? well, here's an update.

1. run 2 half marathons - first one done in september. second one officially registered & started training for march 14!!! this one will be so fun because it's through washington d.c. **aka one of my all-time-fav cities** AND it's with my boo/bae/boyf/bestie/insert cliche name here **you da you da** here's to another 13.1 and our first together!

2. right now yoga is a stress reliever for me. I am not anywhere close to the splits or king cobra backbend, BUT it is a great practice for me since I sit down all.day,every.day at the library.

3. the full day a month off of school has become more of a half-day or a few-hours-here-and-there breather. this has proved much more helpful for me than taking off a full day. must rejuvenate as I go otherwise I'll burn out!

4. overnight trip alone still hasn't happened. but we shall see about this one soon!

5. I can officially say that I wear heels & dress nice whenever I want to in law school. it's much easier in an environment where people do this too :) however, I am that tall girl who still loves heels. **sorry not sorry. get on my level**

here's to living life to the fullest, walking in the Lord's perfect plan, & doing work in the waiting. life to the full is the best. 

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September 1, 2014

this weekend consisted of studying, hanging with the boyf, finally jumping in on the ALS ice bucket challenge, and making headway on my goals list! this sunday I ran the first half-marathon before 26. the rock n' roll series is probably one of my favorites! in college, one of my bests and I ran the one in dallas, and yesterday I was able to add virginia beach to that list! there really is nothing like the energy of race day. everyone is pumped to begin, live bands are around {almost} every corner, and the people cheering on the sidelines are seriously the best! even though yesterday was by far not my best run, I'm so pumped to do this again **and hopefully kill my time** 

happy long-weekend, loves! I'll be spending the rest of my day today studying **insert sleepy eyes here** here's to knocking things off the goal list, spending quality time with great peoples, and sore legs for days.

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May 12, 2014 

so I turned twenty-five today. I am seriously blessed with the best when it comes to friends! they know me all too well that I'd rather have a Beyoncé cake than anything with happy birthday, & I love it. when I was little, it felt weird on my birthday because I never felt any older or different. I always wondered what it would be like to actually FEEL a different age, and today I know. twenty-five sounds ancient to junior high kids. to people in college it sounds like you have your life together. to people around my age, it is a fun, maturing year. to those older than me, it sounds young & like I've got my whole life ahead of me. I can officially say that I feel all of those things at once, and it's just strange. the name behind this blog is based off of the goals I made for "before twenty-five". my goals were: 1. become more flexible (specifically do the splits), 2. read a book per month, & 3. become more spontaneous. honestly, the one I did the best in was becoming more spontaneous & I have my incredible friends to thank for that! the splits haven't happened... YET, but you better believe I'll get those down soon **I'm soooo close** reading a book per month did not happen, but I'm going to blame that one on studying for the LSAT.

I enjoyed twenty-four, and I believe a huge part of that was figuring out what my goals for the year were. so, I will be doing that again. since I will begin law school this August, these goals are going to be less academic & more all-around health based. here they go: 1. run two half-marathons (first one is 8/29 in Virginia Beach), 2. standing splits & king cobra backbend, 3. take a full day once per month to breathe & not think about school, 4. take an overnight trip alone, & 5. wear high heels & dress nice whenever I feel like it. here's to another year of growing & living life to the fullest!!

March 5, 2014

"what's in a name?", right? to be honest, coming up with a name for this blog was a big deterrent from me beginning to write. it's like writer's block from the very beginning, which can't be a good sign, can it??

on my twenty-fourth birthday, one of my roommates asked me if I had any goals for this next year. I had never thought of doing goals to reach before I got to the next birthday instead of the traditional "new year's resolutions", but I loved the idea of it! over the next few days I asked myself, "what am I going to set out to do before twenty-five?" these are the goals I came up with: read more, be spontaneous, and become more flexible. the best goal-achievers will tell you that those 3 goals are literally the worst because they aren't quantifiable. SO... here's how they materialized into something I could actually measure: read one book per month (12 total) by 25, say yes to things that scare me in this 24th year, AND do the splits by 25 **hence, the {old} blog title**

so, here is my journey to achieve these goals and many others that come up along the way... as of today, here is where I stand:

• books I've read since last May 12: Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake, The Search for Significance, The Reason for God, Generous Justice, Follow Me, What Alice Forgot, Gospel in Life ... I may have a little catching up to do. studying for the LSAT is my excuse for a lot of that time ;)
• yes to things that scare me: took the LSAT, applied to law school, began this blog, & gave a talk for the first time at work (in front of 400+ students)
• splits: I started practicing yoga last summer & I love it!!! still not quite to this one thanks to tight hip flexors & hammies, but I'll keep ya posted!

one thing yoga has taught me is that it's not about the fact that you can do something, it's about learning along the way. it's about embracing where you are right now & looking forward at the same time. so this is me, embracing the journey.