Thoughts for 2016

I've never been a good resolution setter, remembering said resolution and sticking to it throughout the year. I've also noticed that a lot of y'all feel the same way, which is nice because I thought I was in the minority of the blogger world. However, I do feel a sense of "fresh start" after a new year happens and it makes me think about some things in my life. Even though I don't have any specific resolutions/goals I want to stick to, I do feel that I should change a few things up (starting small) and try to make them into a habit throughout the year.

Health
I'd like to consider myself healthy - not in the sense that I should be, with eating organics and veggies for snacks. Yes, I eat processed food. Yes, I always need a dessert chaser after lunch and dinner. Yes, sometimes I mindlessly eat when I'm bored. Even though these habits are unhealthy, I try to eat in moderation, I buy everything I can low calorie/low sugar/fat free etc., we rarely eat out so we make our own dinners and I try to make sure we always have some fruits and veggies at our meals.

I've decided to incorporate a few small things into my diet in order to make them a little healthier. I want to really give the water with lemon in the morning a go. I LOVE water with lemon and actually tried this last year and did it for about a month. I didn't notice any changes and got lazy. I've heard it really helps your metabolism and preps your digestive tract for the day. Even if I don't actually notice any improvements, why not drink a glass of water in the morning? I could really use the extra hydration anyways.

I'd also like to try to make healthier breakfasts in the morning and focus on protein. I've heard this is really good for you to kick start your day and leave you feeling fuller longer. I'm going to aim to have protein in the morning for 2-3 days per work week. I kicked this off with 1 egg and 2 slices of turkey bacon already, this week.

I'm making the conscience decision to buy wheat bread and not white bread. I've always known wheat bread is WAY better for you than white bread but I've been buying the white bread version of the bread we enjoy because it tastes better. I'm only going to focus on this for our lunches since I make sandwiches for us everyday but I feel like this will make a big difference.

Stephen and I both want to workout again - we feel so much better afterwards but I'm so dang tired when I get home from work. After driving an hour home, I'm ready to crash, get things done around the house and blog but I really need to make time to do something. I think if I find a really good cardio dance workout, I'll be a lot better with this. Let me know if y'all have any good hip hop workouts!!

Spiritual
Last year, I really dropped the ball on my daily devotions until a few months ago when I downloaded the First 5 app. Before I was married, I liked doing my devotions at the end of the day before going to bed but now it's a little harder when I have a husband asking me to turn off the light so he can go to sleep. I would go to bed, realize I forgot to spend time with God and then feel guilty because I miraculously had time for social media, but not God. The First 5 app has some great devotions and it has the ability to set reminders. I set the reminder for right before I wake up so that it's the first thing I read before starting the day.

I also got the Savor 365 devotional book as a Christmas gift and have been enjoying reading it every evening. That book (so far) isn't as deep as the First 5 app but it still packs a punch which is why I enjoy it but also am continuing on with the First 5 app. I really want to make an effort to continue both these items throughout the year.

Okay, so this kind of turned into a resolutions post but I feel like these are some small changes that are specific and I can really focus on. Some of them, I'm not sure if they'll make a difference but I want to try and make some positive changes/habits.

What are some of y'alls resolutions/goals/changes for 2016? I love hearing what other people want to strive for throughout the year.

Linking up with Annie.

Christmas Bucket List 2015

We've been mentioning Christmas-y things that we want to do this December and I wanted to write them all down before I forgot and we missed out this Christmas! Here's our big Christmas to-do list this year:

1. Disney Christmas Sightseeing: Even though we don't have park passes anymore, we still love walking around Downtown Disney and seeing their Christmas displays at their bigger hotels. We did this last year and had a blast!

2. Outlet Mall Christmas Shopping: We also did this last year and found some amazing deals! We had a lot of fun Christmas shopping for each other as well as family. We're aiming to do this next weekend and then meet up with my friend from NC who will be in town.

3. Put Up Christmas Decorations: This goes without saying but it's a highlight to kick off Christmas! We'll be putting everything up this weekend once we get back from Thanksgiving.

4. Mini Christmas at Home: Since we've been married we've had a "mini" Christmas at home a few days prior to heading to wherever we spend Christmas that year. This lets us open all of our gifts from each other so we're not hauling everything to someone's house and spend the day relaxing together.

5. Make Christmas Dinner at Home: This goes with #4 - I like to make a Christmas dinner for the two of us before we leave town. The only problem is I need to learn to cut recipes in half since it always makes a lot and we head out a few days after.

6. Bake Christmas Cookies: So much for watching what I eat... there's so many delicious Christmas cookies (and candied nuts, puppy chow, chex mix, etc.) that I want to make this year. Stephen's favorites are the candied nuts - I make him wait all year since they're so Christmas-y.

7. Spend Christmas in Chattanooga: Every year we rotate between our families and this year we get to spend Christmas with my family in Chattanooga, TN. We are so excited and Stephen's really hoping for a white Christmas since he's never seen snow fall.

8. Rock City Christmas Display: This is one of the main things I want to do after we arrive in Chattanooga and before Christmas. We've also got my dad's birthday and possibly ice skating on the list.

Some of the other little things we can't wait to do this Christmas are watching Christmas movies, making hot chocolate, walking around our neighborhood and looking at Christmas lights, wrapping presents, making goodies for my co-workers and spending time celebrating Jesus' birth together :)

Especially since it's still November, let's not forget about our Fall bucket list.

We were able to get everything accomplished except for going on a picnic and making crock pot apple cider. We agreed that it got too hot in the later fall and a picnic wasn't in the cards. We also agreed that we can still make hot apple cider during Christmas! 

What are some of your Christmas bucket list items!?

As a heads up, we will be heading to my brother and sister-in-law's house to enjoy Thanksgiving with family and our new niece. We can't wait for some baby cuddles - I'm having major baby withdrawals. I will be signing off the blog this week in order to soak up every minute with my family :) Hope everyone has an amazing Thanksgiving!!

Five on Friday

One
I'm sure y'all have heard this already but I'm super excited that Lilly Pulitzer is teaming up with Target!! Seriously - so excited! I'm really hoping that these items will be more affordable because I can't justify spending $200+ on a cute sundress with no special occasion to wear it. Saving my Christmas money for a shopping spree at Target in April ;)

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Two
On Monday, I wrote about some of our goals for the new year. One of them was to read more books on being a better wife and to grow my relationship with God. I'm clueless as to which book is best, so before I go searching at the bookstore, I wanted to see if y'all had any suggestions!

Three
The Bachelor has started! Not going to lie, I didn't pay the most attention while watching it on Monday but a lot of these girls seem crazy! I'm not a huge fan of the first week because it's pretty boring and I get all the girls confused with each other, so I'm looking forward to next week. After watching the teaser commercial, this season seems pretty intense! Looking forward to seeing what happens.

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Four

Speaking of Monday night TV, a new season of The Celebrity Apprentice is on! I figured since it's usually on Sunday, we'd have a good routine with this Sunday and the Bachelor Monday. Well... two episodes are on every Monday night so we've decided to catch up on the Apprentice throughout the week. Love this show and I've gotten Stephen hooked as well. I've already got my favorites and the people I can't stand and hope they go home ASAP. Can't wait to see who wins!

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Five
Stephen and I decided it was time for a sneaker upgrade this Christmas so we both got new shoes. I love my new Nike's from Dick's Sporting Goods. I'm just now testing them out - granted, it was rainy and gross from Christmas to New Year's, but so far, I really like them! Stephen and I have decided to exercise at least twice a week so these new shoes are a great motivation. I also found out I have a month's membership left at my gym so I'm ready to get in there and break them in.

 Hope everyone has a great weekend!

2015 Goals

I've debated on whether to set new years resolutions. Every year I feel as if it's the same old, same old goals - get closer to God, exercise more, etc. Every year I forget the actual goals by late January and continue living my life. I remember the year Stephen and I started dating, he came up with a phrase at which he tried to live his life towards and I really admired that about him. Even though it was fall, he still remembered it from January. We decided to set a few specific goals for ourselves and our marriage in 2015. I'm thankful for this little spot on the internet where I can document those goals rather than worrying about losing a piece of paper or deleting an annoying file on my computer.

We decided on 3 categories for our goals: relationship goals, physical goals & spiritual goals.

Our Relationship Goals
1. Be Real - Stephen is very big on making sure you are real with him and not fake. We've been very real with each other since we've met but we want to make a conscious effort to continue this. We also want to make sure we have real discussions regularly - not just the usual, "How was your day?". Those conversations are great and necessary (I can't handle deep conversations everyday) but we want to make sure to have those deeper conversations more often, which usually brings us closer to each other and God.

2. Disconnect & Reconnect - We decided we need more time together when we disconnect from the world and reconnect with each other. Between my phone, tv or video games it's hard to spend some good, quality time together. Of course we spend time together all the time (sitting on the couch while on my phone and he plays video games) but it isn't "quality" time together. We have decided to make sure there are times where we put everything down and be intentional about the time we spend together.

Our Physical Goals
1. Exercise - We both decided we want to have an quantitative goal of exercising at least twice a week. I know I need to exercise more than that (and I will try to) but 2 times a week is more attainable and (hopefully) able to accomplish.

Our Spiritual Goals
1. Ashley - I need to crack down on myself and get better at keeping up with my daily devotions. Lately, I've not been very good with keeping up with this and reminding myself to do them. I've started a 365 daily devotional on my Bible app which is nice because it's quick and I have access to it anywhere. I also want to focus on becoming a better wife. I want to find some good books on bettering my relationship with God and serving Stephen better. Please let me know if you have any good recommendations!

2. Stephen - Stephen's trying to read the whole Bible. He started in Genesis and is very dedicated at reading a chapter a day. I've been trying to keep up with him, but with my slacking, I've fallen behind. I want to continue to read with him and finish the Bible, but I know I grow better with devotionals rather than just reading so my goal is to focus on devotionals. I'd like to continune reading with him, but we'll see what happens.

I'm really excited to have tangible goals to help us grow this year. I can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for us and how He grows and teaches us along the way.

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