Looking back and looking forward

I have to say 2014 was a wonderful year for our family. We had fun adventures and enjoyed doing new things together. As a family we zip lined for the very first time in San Juan Puerto Rico. We drove 500 miles on the Pacific Coast Highway in California. We hiked at The Dupont State Forest park in North Carolina. I ran my first 10k in August. My son did his first triathlon. The pilot did his annual 100 mile bike ride as well as a sprint triathlon. The pilot and I just celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary. I'm incredibly thankful for this life of ours. I have to say our happiness is not just luck. We have been blessed and I thank God every day for this life we have.
This morning my son went to kids yoga. Before we left he had me try on a bracelet he made and told me he was giving it to his yoga teacher! Anytime he does something thoughtful he really makes my heart swell. I truly love that he is learning how to think of others before himself.
Even with all the adventures, my favorite moments are simple ones. A couple weeks ago the 3 of us were cuddling together watching a movie. Our little pug Mugsy was also laying on us, it felt like paradise.
Going into 2015 I'm excited to see what the New Year will bring. I finally feel grounded and have a sense of who I really am. Leaving work several years ago was the best decision I ever made. My environment was toxic and I was becoming somebody I didn't really like. Now I'm focused on my family and the life we have together. Encouraging my son to try new things and not to worry about failing but just trying. So in that same spirit I'm going to try something new as well. It doesn't start till May but I'm hoping this is a new career change for myself. I'll share more details when the time comes. The pilot has always wanted me to find something to do in life that I love and I think it has finally happened.
Just like last year we plan on sitting down together and making family goals. In March the pilot is running the New York 1/2 marathon and the plan is for my son and I to go to support the pilot. In April, when I turn 40, we are going out of the country to a place we've never been. In May I will start training for this new career.  Lots of positive things and if their are bumps along the way I know I have God and my family & friends for support.
Happy New Year friends and family, Hope its a great one!!!!!!!

9:30 am Church Service

I may have mentioned in the past I have an issue with parking and parking lots. Especially our church, any time I've tried to go at 9:30 am there is no parking. You have to park at the rec. center or school and they shuttle you to the church. Or you can park in the residential area near the church but its a good 5 minute walk. Since I know this about myself I like to go at 11 am, because I'd rather not go into church in a bad mood before I even get in the building. Why am I bringing this up you ask?? Well, the pilot told me last week he'd like to go to the 9:30 service. I thought I was prepared, I was ready at 9:15 and my son was ready as well. However the pilot was getting into the shower at 9:15 am, not the best way to start. We get in the car at 9:28, when we get there he drops us off. I try to take my son to class but they only have a special discipleship class for his age group, which of course he is not signed up. I have several different adults try to direct me but no one is able to find the right class. I'm agitated that we're late, I'm irritated they don't have a class for my son, so I grab his hand and walk quickly upstairs. I text the pilot and tell him I want to go home! Yes I'm crazy, but you have to understand I knew this was going to happen and the pilot wanted to go anyway. So he meets us and gives me his keys and says I can go home but he is staying. WHAT??? First of all I have my own set of keys so why give me yours and second of all, What? I couldn't leave with my son watching so we all went into the service. The pilot held my hand, and that made it a little better. I finally calmed down and ended up really enjoying the service. I'm very happy the pilot didn't listen to me and glad he can deal with my crazy side.
Fast forward to yesterday, I told the pilot I wanted to leave the house at 9:15 am for church. Guess what? We left at 9:12 am, got a parking spot, and all was right with the world. Their are grocery stores I won't go to because of there parking lots. This is an issue for me and I really wish I could get over it but I'm crazy. Do you have any irrational things that drive you crazy? I hope so, because I'd hate to think I was the only one....

Research and Yoga pants

Its been a while since I've written a blog, but this morning after an incident I had to write. I signed up for ingather research and was selected to join a discussion on Woolite. I truly enjoy these experiences because I get first insight on what the next campaign that these companies are pursuing. I also get paid for 2 hours of my time which really is the best part. And I will probably use my hard earned research money to buy yoga clothing.
At the beginning of the discussion I did mention that I wash all of my workout gear in Woolite and I stated I'm a stay at home mom. So the group knew I did yoga and therefore wear yoga clothing. One participant stated she HATED that women wear yoga pants at Target or in public. Her question was "Did these women just workout or are they going to workout?" When she was done yammering I mentioned that I go to Target wearing my yoga pants. And I wanted to ask her why does she care?? I will say I mentioned pajamas in public was a little frustrating but I don't believe I used the word hate. That is a pretty strong word to use, its just yoga pants. I know our society as a whole has gone more casual but what somebody else is wearing is their choice. I wasn't aware that Target had a dress code. Next time I'll wear my heels & tiara.
I have my own opinions and the lines I try to not cross but I'm not hurting anyone. I also got the feeling that the same woman did not have much respect for stay at home moms. She mentioned she didn't want to see a mom in the ad because they just throw everything in the wash and don't care about what happens to their clothes. REALLY? Did you not just hear me say I'm a stay at home mom.  Wouldn't you think that stay at home moms care more about their clothes because they might be on a budget? Yes I'm sarcastic and I admit to that but there is a difference between being sarcastic and just being mean. No matter what you choose to do in life at least respect those around you and the choices they've made for their own life. It may not be what you would do but thats the great thing about America we have the freedom to choose.
In the end I got my check, cashed it, and I will never have to see this woman again. But I'm sure I will see someone like her again who is thinking the same thing. And you know what, Yes I did just workout and yes my butt looks great in my yoga pants!!!

What are my Spiritual Gifts???

Apparently waking up in time to make a 9:15 class at church is not one of my gifts. Last Sunday our church had a one time class that would answer what our spiritual gifts are and I really wanted to go. Until I woke up at 8:53 am and decided we'd stay home. Luckily my son doesn't judge me and say things like "So why aren't we going to church today?" Maybe he should. Later in the week he told me that his friend goes every week unlike us. Ouch. I explained to him that even though we don't go every week, it doesn't mean that we don't still have our faith or that we don't love Jesus. Save myself that time but will see how long that lasts.
The first thing that comes to mind for me is that I love to give. If I have something that I'm no longer using or that can be helpful to somebody else I give it away. I've given my clothes, jewelry, shoes, my son's clothes & shoes away. And no matter what God always provides for us. This is truly something I enjoy. The second is encouragement, I know I can be sarcastic but truth be told I've cut back on that. I've noticed the people I enjoy most are positive and encouraging people. Of course when they have a twist of sarcasm that also makes me happy.
Now how do I use those two things giving & encouraging? I don't know. I know how to do them in my day to day life but I feel like God wants to use me in a larger way. I really want him to just tell me what my gifts are and how to use them so I'm not wasting them. I had lunch with a friend yesterday and she said "I have a God given talent that I don't want to waste". Which really made me start thinking, what I'm I doing with what God gave me?
If only there was a class or book or something that would guide me? OH wait, there was last Sunday. I forgot to mention sometimes I'm lazy and I like to stay home. I'm working on that, last week I did a lot of things I wouldn't normally do. We went hiking several times and I rode on the back of my husband's motorcycle (even knowing that my hair would be crazy because of the helmet). If you know me I have hair issues. If not, just know wearing a helmet for me is a big deal. I'm trying to say yes and enjoy the place where we live. We are in a beautiful state and sometimes I forget how many places we can go that are just in our backyard.
Its time to hang out in the sun with D-boy and for now I'll just continue to ask God to show me how I can use my gifts for others.....

Failed Volunteer

I fail at least once a year at volunteering. Last year I quit one place because I got a parking ticket. I will admit I have issues when it comes to parking, even my son asked a couple weeks ago when the church parking lot was full if we were going home. Yes I've done this in the past, parking lot full, I drive home. I at least fixed that by going to a later service so their is always parking. 

Last night I volunteered at a cool event for a couple hours. I wasn't fired and I even met some new people. I learned about a new website called Volunteer Match, which is similar to match.com but instead it brings you together with non-profits that match what you are looking to do!! I wish I would've learned about this sooner. I've realized I do better at events since the commitment isn't as big. Its almost like a relationship, sorry its not you its me. I just don't see myself in your office every day because I may or may not get a parking ticket. AND I hate driving around trying to find a place to park, also the parking lots are $15 a day. Since I'm giving you my time for free, $15 really is too much for me to pay. I'm not willing to see therapist about my parking issues, so I quit. 

I tried to foster dogs again, I promise this time it wasn't me. I had a dog every week and I love the dogs just not the organization. The last dog I dropped off they haven't called me since then. So here is what happened, our last dog was a stray from Texas. The very first day I had her she got out of her collar and ran away from us. Luckily a nice man got out of his car, picked her up and brought her to us. She was very skittish and scared of noises. I thought she would get better during the week but instead she got worse. She would scratch at the door and bark to come in and then when I opened the door she ran away. She really was an outside dog. Needless to say at the end of the week it was exhausting, so I took her to the adoption event and let them know what was going on. I said I would not be able to come back that night to take a dog but I would the next night. The pilot really needed to sleep before going to work. Well the person who works with the non-profit was not happy with me at all! I also got attitude a few weeks prior about asking for puppy food since I didn't have any at home. I was thinking, how did they think I was feeding all the other dogs. I don't mind providing food for the dogs but at least don't make me feel bad when I ask for food for a puppy that I've volunteered to watch. I have a feeling they won't be contacting me again to help. I'm happy to help but I think it was probably time for me to move on. 

I'm still trying to find where I fit in when it comes to volunteering. I'm hoping volunteer match will find me the perfect match. 

A New Year and A New Adventure

I love this and it's usually how I feel about New Year's resolutions but this year the pilot had a great idea. As a family the 3 of us brainstormed together what we would like to accomplish this year.  Of course the first thing D-Boy came up with was to be able to play games one night during the week since we only let him play his video games on the weekend. And even then he doesn't play very many. So we made a deal if he finished his homework on the weekend to turn in Monday he would get 1 hour on Monday nights to play a game.  Our first goal, No Extras January. We buy a bunch of stuff and I honestly couldn't tell you what exactly. We might just go to TJ Maxx, leave the store with a receipt of $55. I look in the bag and really wonder how we got to $55. My new yoga clothing isn't exactly inexpensive but I reason that if I can get out of the store for less than $100 I'm doing good (however I don't think about how many times I've gone to that store in a month). I might get a pedicure or manicure. Its not that we can't afford these things, we would just like to be more aware of what we are spending. We also agreed no going out to eat. So what do we do? I think this will help us do more things together as a family. We can play board games together, go to the library,  watch the movies we have at home, take walks, foster dogs, make meals at home, visit with our friends (I did warn one of my friends we might be visiting her quite a bit this month).

Learn something new in February. Our plan is to go to a cooking class or even try something we've never done before. Trying to think outside of our comfort zone. Travel March, for our spring break vacation we are flying to California and doing a 400 mile road trip up the coast. We already have our route planned and fun places to stay & visit. 

Our mini goals are to spend less time on our computer (this one is really for the pilot ;-) I get bored pretty quickly on the internet. However I will say I'm just a tad bit addicted to Facebook. I wouldn't call it an obsession but I may need to spend less time on it. Doing a 6 am workout once a week, now you need to realize this will be a hard one for me. I don't usually get out of bed before 7:15 am or later. 

We are good at making financial goals every year but I never really considered making life goals. I enjoyed spending our evening figuring out the things we want to accomplish this year. We wrote on each month of our calendar as a reminder. We have the rest of the year planned but I think you get the idea. Please realize that usually I'm a no goals type of gal, but I think this really will enhance our lives together as a family. And at some point I need to grow up and realize that goals aren't a bad thing. 

Whats on your agenda for 2014??