goals and things.

So I have this friend that is awesome. She also happens to be a sister missionary from Todd's mission. We met once upon a time when I was home for Christmas. My sister and I decided to go to our stake's annual Messiah Sing-In, something I have been doing for years. I was mostly going this year because I knew that I would see friends from high school and because they asked my dad to give the closing prayer... and I, being his most favorite oldest daughter, didn't want him to be all by his lonesome. So I dragged my baby sister along with me so I wouldn't be singing by my lonesome. (: We picked a couple good seats right in front of my high school choir director and his wife. Down the row from us was another girl (lady? are we old enough to be called ladies?) practically sitting in the tenor section. She caught my eye and asked if we were singing alto. I confirmed that we were indeed singing alto and she came and sat by us. Before the evening of intense sight reading began we chatted a bit and came to find out that she knew my husband from the mission field. I knew that she looked familiar and I had maybe met her at a mission reunion before but she did most of the work by recognizing me from Todd's facebook pictures. The three of us had a lovely time "singing" (hey, the Messiah is hard!) and I couldn't wait to get home and call Todd to tell him that I had met Amy Graham Harker... or Harker Graham or something like that. He thought it was pretty cool that we had met and sometime during the next month he introduced me to her super awesome mommy blog, Swag On, Momma. Her and some of her lady friends post all sorts of fun things about being a mom, wife, and homemaker. So far I have been uplifted by every single post I have read and that, my friends, is why I am writing this post today. Amy's most recent post was all about the goals that she wants to complete before her and her husband welcome another baby into their family. Since Todd and I are about 6 months behind them I thought it would be a great idea to also set some goals for myself so I can grow and feel like myself again before, as Amy put it, "baby #2 blows my mind."

I have my "to-do list" but many of those things are family friendly adventures that I want to experience with Todd and Peter. My goals are going to be dedicated to personal victories and self improvement. Something I am really in need of right now. I found that having a baby didn't just take a toll on my body... having a baby kinda took my "me" and juggled it all up too. I also blame graduating from college for this. Pretty much I didn't adjust very well after getting my degree. I've had a completely different regimen and my brain just hasn't been stimulated like it used to be. And to have a little person needing needing needing away is rough sometimes. Luckily Peter is incredibly sweet and adorable so it's bearable most days.

Recently I have really been needing to center myself and get back to that Katelyn that I actually like. The Katelyn that does hard things, the Katelyn that cares about other people, the Katelyn that is patient, the Katelyn that I used to be. I don't like admitting that I consciously know that I have digressed as a person... that is why I am consciously and publicly working towards improving my "me."

I think setting and working towards accomplishing these personal goals is going to help me get back to that Katelyn. Along the way I hope to develop new and lasting talents, skills, and personality traits that are not only appealing and tolerable to those I associate with but also to myself.

Here they are... wish me luck.

1. Run the Dances with Dirt Devil's Lake Half Marathon this summer: Believe it or not but I asked for this for Christmas. I started running in high school for the cross country team and ever since I have used running as my main source of exercise. I don't usually do races because it seems silly to me to pay someone thirty bucks to run on a road that you could run on for free any other day of the week. However, racing for a good cause or to achieve a goal is never silly. And that is why I'm running 13.1 straight miles come July, to achieve this goal. (:
2. Practice eucharisteo: I am reading a book right now titled One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. Pretty much the book is about her journey toward becoming a more thankful person. She defines this "thankfulness" as eucharisteo which has all sorts of meanings depending on what language you are using and which angle you are looking at the word. Among these many meanings include to be grateful, to feel thankful, to give thanks, and grace. 
3. Personalize our home: This one was also inspired by Swag On, Momma. Right now our apartment (and really every apartment we have lived in) looks like our wedding reception. After we got married my mom let me take any decor that I wanted from our reception to decorate my future homes. Since everything at our reception was purple with orange accents, our apartment is now purple with orange accents. I am satisfied with my decorating job thus far but it has been the same for two years and I want it to reflect us a bit more... not a cultural hall. We have yet to fully furnish/decorate our bedroom so I'm going to start there and see where things go. (: (p.s. I just got off the phone with my mom and her and my dad's first few apartments were the same way... but pink)
4. Read a book a month: Oh reading for fun... something I apparently missed while I was in college but now is far less appealing. So far I've read 2.75 books so I'm a little behind but I just got some new books at the thrift store today and I have tons of books on our book shelf that need reading... I shouldn't be allowed to buy more unless I've read what I already have! The bookshelf just looks so much better when it's full of books, don't you think? Also, getting The Work and the Glory set for Christmas should help with this goal.
5. Read and learn from the Ensign every month: I know that I can get any Ensign article anywhere, anytime on my phone... but I find that if I have a hard copy of the Ensign I tend to read and learn more. Last week I renewed our subscription to the ensign and if I'm lucky the conference edition should be arriving in our mailbox next month!
6. Get back to my pre-pregnancy weight: This goal may be put off until I'm done breastfeeding Peter. Unfortunately I don't make enough milk unless I eat a lot of calories. So many calories that I just can't seem to lose those last ten pounds. Since I studied Exercise & Wellness/Nutrition in college I feel fully capable of achieving this goal. And it's not so much the "10 lbs" that I'm hung up on... there's just something about my clothes fitting well (loose even) that makes me feel so much more healthy and confident.
7. Be someone's exercise and wellness coach: I LOVED doing this for my internship during my senior year at BYU. My favorite program was "Intuitive Eating" and since I helped modify the program my bosses gave me permission to use the material when and where ever I want! I love this program and I really want to be a coach again. The program is all about rebuilding your relationship with food. So many of us grew up with the "I have to clear my plate" mentality and now we all have issues with eating. This program assesses and attempts to resolve those issues. So who wants to get healthy??
8. Play a piano solo in sacrament meeting: This is something that I am actually scared to do. Ask me to sing a solo? No problem. Ask me to play the piano? Yikes. Even though it scares me I think it would be really cool to accomplish.
9. Make a quilt: I have the sewing machine, I have a mother AND mother-in-law that are both quilting queens, and I mostly have some patterns picked out... I just need to pick a week and do it. What I'll do with this quilt once it's done?? Not totally sure yet. I just like the feeling of making and completing something pretty and usable. Heck, it may not even end up being a blanket quilt... maybe a tree skirt... or a table runner to match our soon-to-be new kitchen table!
10. Re-tile our kitchen table: When Todd and I got married we received a kitchen table from my aunt Marci. Her and my uncle received the table from my other aunt, Kayloni, when they got married. So far this table has moved from Oregon, to a quite a few locations in Utah, and all the way to Wisconsin. The top of the table is covered in white square tiles however all of the tiles are cracked and collecting all sorts of eternal grime. A while back Todd had the idea of knocking out the tiles and totally revamping the table. This summer we're going to make it happen... and it's gonna look awesome.

And that is my list for now. As I accomplish these things I hope develop new interests and run into more challenges to take on. (:

I would love to hear about the goals that you are working on right now. How are they progressing? What about your New Year's resolutions? Have those lasted?