twenty-six

My birthday was just over a month ago, and since then I have been thinking about different things I want to accomplish in my 26^th year of life.  Here are 26 things I want to do this year, in no particular order.

1. Run.  I have a love/hate relationship with running, but one of the greatest feelings is completing a good run. I have participated in several 5ks. My ultimate goal is to run a half marathon. For now, I am starting with a 10k in Charleston, SC in April. I am trying to convince my whole family to do it with me.

2. A month of freezer meals. I read an article about preparing a month’s worth of freezer meals in one afternoon. I don’t like to cook, but I don’t like spending tons of money eating out either. I think this would help eliminate temptation to pick something up on the way home.

3. Buy a house. We found a cute little house on 5 acres of land, with a large workshop, that will be perfect for us.  It is a funny story of how we stumbled across this house...But that is for a different day. We hope to start the paper work this month.

4. Get a promotion. In October I started a new job with the local credit union. I love it, and I am so glad I made the switch. There is so much room for growth, and I hope to earn a promotion by November.

5. Explore NC.  I am blessed to live in such a beautiful state. In 2013 I had plans to hike and go to the Apple Festival that fell through. This year, I want to take time to enjoy the things this beautiful state has to offer.

6. Be a Proverbs 31 woman and wife.  This scripture was read at my Great-Grandmother’s funeral when I was a little girl. I want to be remembered like she is. If you aren’t familiar with the passage, take a moment to read it.

7. Take more pictures. I love looking back at pictures, but I am horrible at remembering to TAKE pictures. This is such a fun time in my life..being a newlywed(ish), and an aunt..I want to be able to look back at pictures of this time years from now.

8. Save money, and pay off some debt.  I would really like to have Kenny’s truck, and mower paid off this year. I would also like to open a Money Market savings account.

9. Take a class. I am not even sure what kind of class..sewing? pottery?

10. Try a new restaurant every month. Kenny and I tend to stick with our “go-to” restaurants, but I would like to branch out. Our January restaurant was The Fourth Street Filling station, and it was delicious. I can’t wait to see where February takes us. Any suggestions?

11. Be crafty.  I like being able to start a project, and complete it. For me, the before and after is the best part.

12. Write more letters. I feel like writing letters and cards is a lost art. It makes my day when I check my mail and receive something other than bills…hopefully I can make someone else’s day by sending them a note.

13. Travel. I am so grateful for the opportunities I have been given to travel in the past.  I have been to Africa twice (Egypt, and South Africa), and Europe twice (Italy, France, Spain, Germany, England, Ireland, and Greece). Kenny and I went to Cozumel, Mexico for our honeymoon.  My family and I went to the Bahamas a few years ago. I would love to travel internationally again, but I feel like there is so much in the U.S. that I haven’t seen!

14. Be more hospitable. I love having people over for parties and meals, and I hope to do more of that once we buy a house and get settled. I really want to get a grill and have cook outs this summer.

15. Take a trip with my brothers. I am blessed with 2 of my best friends also being my brothers. Now that we are grown, with our own lives and families, it is hard to spend as much time together as I would like. I would like to take a long weekend, just the 3 of us..it doesn’t matter where.

16. Get to know my parents. Of course, I have known my parents my whole life…but I want to get to know them as people. I want to know their stories, their dreams, regrets, and favorite things.

17. Read a new book every month. I love to read, but just don’t make the time anymore.  I hope this goal will help. Any suggestions?

18. Become a notary public. I don’t really know why this has always been a goal of mine. With my new job, they will pay for me to do this, so I might as well take advantage of that.

19. Drink more water. I really struggle with this. Diet Dr. Pepper just tastes so much better!!

20. Random acts of kindness. I can think of several times I was on the receiving end of a random act of kindness in the last year, and I want to pay it forward. Whether it is paying for someone behind me in line, or sending a care package to a friend..I want to be kind to others.

21. Take more naps. Kenny laughed when I told him this one, probably because I took an awesome nap this afternoon and couldn’t stop talking about it when I woke up. We hope to start trying for a baby in the next year or two, and I want to take advantage of all the time I have to sleep now.

22. Quality time with my dream boat. Quality time is hands down, without question, my love language. We have recently started playing racquetball together, and it has been so much fun. He has also committed to running a 5k with me, and doing the 10k in April. That in itself has made my love cup overflow. I just love that guy and enjoy hanging out with him. I look forward to being able to do that for a long time, ya know, like the rest of my life.

23. Go to more concerts. Other than The Avett Brothers on NYE, and Hillsong for my birthday, I don’t remember going to any other concerts in 2013. That has got to change in 2014.

24. Kayak. I have only been kayaking a handful of times in my life, but I have always enjoyed it. Time to start doing things that I enjoy more.

25. Become more confident. I hope accomplishing some of my other goals will help make this happen. I have always struggled with my self-esteem, but I am tired of feeling trapped by it.

26. Put my phone down. I have a beautiful life, and sometimes I need to “unplug” and enjoy what is right in front of me.