Happy 30th birthday to ME!

I’ve pretty much been celebrating all month long. You only turn 30 once!

My golden year was pretty amazing. My husband & I did something we’ve been talking about pretty much since we got married (almost 4 years ago, can you believe it?!?). We moved out of South Florida. It happened super fast, too. It was like “Hey, we’re thinking about moving. Hey, we’re gonna move. Hey, we moved.” It was about 2 months from our scouting trip to our move in date. We had been praying about the decision for months & when it was finally go time it was GO GO GO! Only God could have orchestrated such a smooth move for us. My husband is thriving in his new job & we are getting settled nicely.

There were other changes that occurred between last September & this one, but in all of that here’s how I did with my goals:

1. Read the Bible regularly. – Ok, this one never gets crossed off. I have been doing better & it’s only made me want to do it more. 1) I completed my first year of BSF with the study of Romans & now I am hooked. Cupcake loves the kids’ program, too! Transferring to a BSF group in Georgia was the first thing I did after we secured an apartment. It’s been a great way to get plugged in & meet some people, too! 2) the YouVersion Bible app is amazing. I have done several of their reading plans & turned on notifications for the verse of the day. My favorite feature is the ‘compare’ feature: you can see the same verses in different bible translations, even different languages! 3) I am slowly doing the Becoming MomStrong Bible study. (It was supposed to be an over the summer thing, but, you know. Life.)
2. Volunteer. – Habitat For Humanity Project June 16!
3. Lose weight. – Goes hand in hand with #4
4. Get more serious about fitness. – In June I finally started eating better & exercising 3-5x a week. Instead of going hard & getting quickly burnt out, I aimed to break a sweat for at least 10 minutes a day & focus on strength training for muscles instead of calorie burning cardio. I took a pause from working out while we were moving, but after settling a bit I got back on the wagon & I am happy to report that I have lost 15 lbs! I did this totally at home with no gym membership or equipment using a combination of My Fitness Pal for calorie counting & Fitness Blender for workout videos! (not a sponsored post – I just really enjoy their website!)
5. Make Spanish more of a priority at home. – This one is also a permanent goal. My husband has been such a great supporter of this. His Spanish is improving as he tries to speak mostly Spanish to Cupcake. It warms my corazon ❤
6. Throw a fancy dinner party.
7. Go to a gun range. – I didn’t go to a range, but I did get to shoot guns at a family member’s hunting camp in Alabama over Labor Day Weekend. Half credit?
8. Go to local high school football games.
9. Read more books. – Read: Talking As Fast As I Can , Out Of The Silent Planet, Perelandra. In progress: IT, That Hideous Strength, Becoming MomStrong, Dad Is Fat.
10. Learn a (simple) new make up look.
11. Get more serious about my book business.
12. Paint more.  – Some of these watercolors also turned into #28: a letter to a friend! I have enjoyed getting in to watercolors & doing some of the challenges on Instagram. It has really stretched me as an artist!  
    

    

    
13. Build something with my hands.
14. Donate blood.  Feb 19 – After the shooting at MSD in Parkland. 
15. Grow my hair long (& healthy) to donate. 12 inches – June 14th!  
    

    
16. Visit a new city in Florida. – I did TWO! Dec 19: Anniversary trip to Mt. Dora, FL. Jun 29: visited friends near Amelia Island, FL.
17. Fast.
18. Pay for someone else’s coffee.
19. Send a care package to a soldier.
20. Bake a soufflé. – First I think I should EAT a souffle to see what it’s all about!
21. Be more intentional about making new friends. – Having just moved to a completely new area, I am definitely focusing on this one now!
22. Hand make (most) Christmas presents this year. Check!
23. Pay off debt. – This is the first thing we will do once the sale of our house closes.
24. Go on a painting/cooking/activity date with my husband. Check!
25. Go see more local shows/events.
26. Go to one of the Orlando theme parks. – April 21 – we went to Universal Studios with our moms! Despite the look on her face in this picture, my niece had a great time. 10 minutes after this picture was taken she yelled “THAT WAS AWESOME!”
27. Work on knife & butchery skills.
28. Write more letters to friends. – Could have been better, but I’ve sent friends a few cards that I watercolor!
29. Grow in my relationship with God. – Another one that never gets crossed off. I am excited to go into my 30’s as a dedicated Christ follower. I am working hard to choose joy & be the light. I complain too much and my tongue gets away from me way too often. But I can feel the Father, Son, & Spirit working on me!

I really enjoyed having these goals for the past year. Sometime along the way I also made a vision board for our family. I’m looking forward to setting more personal & family goals for 2019.

Bring it on 30’s!

PS: I made that cute belly badge I’m wearing in the first pictures with my awesome new Cricut! My husband totally surprised me with it. I’m already starting to work on Christmas crafts!!!!