The New Year, Goals and Such

Now that we have lived in 2014 for like 2 weeks, let's talk about the New Year.  I know, I'm way behind on  blogging things. That's life.  I recapped last year in my last post, but that was kind of a sad post about 2013.  Last year, I predicted that 2013 would be another year of "even more patience and endurance testing." Check, this is true.  (Read my last post about that.)  I also predicted I would turn 30.  Umm, correct, that did occur.  I also predicted "change was in store."  In some ways yes, Danny graduated, yay!  And he got a new job, yay!  So I guess there was a lot of change for Danny.  As for my life, I didn't feel like there was as much earth shattering changes.  While my last post focused on sad things, I want to now focus on the fun things of 2013, because we really did go on a lot of exciting outings, had some great family and friend gatherings and had very adventurous trips.  So here are the notable occurrences of 2013:

We rang in the New Year in Florida. We were visiting Danny's sister and her family and had a blast there.

A New Niece!  She is beyond adorable.  I love her.

Using our snowshoes for the first time.

Easter weekend in St. George with the family.

Celebrating my turning 30 at Capitol Reef and Mesa Verde.  It was a fabulous road trip.

The Tulip Festival with my mom.  (Tradition, Tradition!)

As I mentioned above, Danny's graduation.

Family and Friend Reunions.

My Favorite Holiday.

Cool Hikes. And more cool hikes!

Girls Camp! (I survived, so it was a success.)

Family visits and summer adventures.

Aspen! Absolutely gorgeous. I love that place.

Our 3rd anniversary get-away.  October was a month of vacations.

We had cool costumes and a good Halloween. Thanksgiving was fun.  And Christmas too.

Now for my resolutions of 2013, hmmm, let's see how I did.

Resolution #1:  More meaningful prayers

Hmm, that's a hard one to measure. I think I had more honest prayers.  I had prayers answered.  I think I can always work on seeking the Lord more, but I do say a lot of silent prayers during moments of nervousness, sadness and gratitude.

Resolution #2:  Complete at least one goal for each value in YW Personal Progress.

Ugh, I didn't do this one.  I think I completed 2 goals, which were good experiences.  But let's look at the positive aspects of my calling in Young Women's.  We pulled off a very successful Girl's Camp, which I mentioned above and we also but together a day camp for the young women in the Swahili Branch, which I thought went really well.

Resolution #3:  Give more time to writing.

I could have probably done better with this one.  I did take time for some personal writing which I sometimes shared on the blog.  It is a good release.  I have found recently I'm kind of in a rut with blog writing and writing in general.  I'm trying to figure out how to put the joy back into it.  While I'm trying to figure that out, there might be less posting here.

Resolution #4:  Continue to strive to only have sweets on holidays and vacation.

Haha, silly Jannifer.  This one sure didn't come to pass.  I think I went off sweets at the beginning of the year and for a short time in the summer.  I did a lot better with this in 2012.  My lame excuse is having one's hormones messed with = a lot of stress which = craving chocolate. What is a girl to do?

Resolution #5:  Go somewhere I've never been.

Yes!  I did this.  Well there was Florida at the beginning of the year, but that might count for 2012. However, Capitol Reef National Park, Mesa Verde National Park and Aspen, CO were all new places to me and I loved all of them!  We had some great vacations this year.

Resolution #6:  Visit the temple once a month with the husband.

Oooo, Danny and I were really close on this one.  We missed a couple of months, but one of those months we would have made it, but we didn't realize the temple closed early that particular day, so we were turned away at the door.  However, I think we went to the temple a lot more than we would have otherwise because we had this goal.

Ok, so I did so so with the goals this last year.  Some were better than others.  Because I know you are all so invested in this forever long post, let's talk about my resolutions for 2014!  Ok, I honestly debated even making resolutions this year, but here it goes:

Resolution #1:  Work on getting caught up on printing my blog books and my mission scrapbook.

I printed our first year of marriage in a book for Christmas, which was so fun to do.  I need to organize and print off a book of my college years, 2012 and 2013 and I really need to complete my mission scrapbook before I forget everything!  Even though I might be the only one who enjoys these photo books, they are at least valuable to me.

Resolution #2:  Work on saving money towards our financial goals by eating out less and putting more into savings.

Danny and I have already cut down on our allotment of "fun money" in our budget to help us with this goal. So far, I've been doing better about eating out when it comes to lunch, but let's not talk about dinner. We'll work on that.  Danny and I are hoping to buy ourselves a little home at some point this year, so we shall see if that is in our future or not.

Resolution #3:  Learn a new skill

Because learning new things is a smart thing to do.

Resolution #4:  Give more priority to my stress relievers, such as spending time in nature, yoga, reading, etc.

I do much better with handling life if I take time to breathe and unwind. I didn't make "going to a new place" a goal this year, because of our financial goals, but I do hope I do get outside and enjoy the mountains.  I have spent more time in 2013 to reading good books, which is good for my mind.  I need to find more activities I enjoy to help me release stresses physically, which made me think of yoga.

Resolution #5:  Focus on Gratitude

Life can be hard.  Gratitude makes it much better.  I hope to try to be more grateful in my prayers, in my conversations and even here on the blog.  There is a time to vent, I recognize that.  But there is also a time to see blessings.  I think counting some blessings would do me some good.

Ok, there you have it.  In closing, I'm viewing 2014 as a year of stretching, growth and change, but I think it will be good change.  I'm actually really looking forward to this year.  I've already experienced one change, which was being released from my church calling this past Sunday.  I'm no longer in the Stake Young Women's presidency.  I was a little sad, but also felt some relief.  Also, if things pan out and we become home owners, I know that will be a big change.  We will just have to see what this year has in store for us, but I feel like I'm looking forward with hope and that is a good feeling.