Ringing in 2015

I can't even remember the last time I posted on here, which means it has obviously been too long.  I honestly haven't had much to share.

A lot has happened over the last year, and I've decided that 2015 will be a good year and that I'm going to do everything within my power to make that happen.

With that being said, I have some resolutions.  I don't normally do new year's resolutions because I feel like it's kind of cheesy and no one holds up to them anyway.  However, I feel the need for some change and the new year feels like a good catalyst for it.

So, goodbye, 2014!  You won't be missed (much).

Here are my resolutions for 2015:

1. Lose weight.  #leanin2015
I know, I know.  It's so cliche.  But it's high time that my weight become more manageable.  And Matthew and I have discussed how we can make this happen (for both of us).  We've decided to go with a low carb diet (again, for me).

Because of some medical issues, the doctor recommends low carb, which I tried a few years ago.  And I was miserable.  Absolutely miserable.  I lost a considerable amount of weight, but I was miserable.  So why try again?  Last time, I went all out and cut out as many carbs as possible, which meant never eating any sweets (unless they were sugar-free) and never eating any pasta or bread or rice.  That was super, super hard because those are all things I love.

So this time around we're going to give ourselves a cheat day. A day where we're allowed to indulge a bit and have that bowl of fettuccine Alfredo without feeling like the whole lifestyle change (which I prefer instead of 'diet') has gone down the drain.  Cheat day will not be a day to gorge on carbs, but it's a day where we can relax a little and eat some of the things we like.  I feel like the other 6 days of the week will be more bearable knowing there's a cheat day at the end of the tunnel where I can have my bowl of ice cream.

I haven't decided on the measurable amount of weight I'd like to lose or the timeframe, but I will nail that down soon so there's a realistic goal to reach.  The good thing is I feel like this resolution has a reasonable plan that will lead to a lifestyle change and not just a yo-yo diet.  It will be hard, but it's not unrealistic.

2. Find a place to serve in our church.
Matthew and I have finally found a church that we feel like we can call home.  We've been attending for a little over a month and have already connected with several people there, including a small group that we really enjoy.

Finding a church home has been a really tough process for us, and it's so refreshing to find a place where we feel like God is calling us.  And now that we've decided to plant some roots there, I'd like to find one or two places to plug in and serve.  There have been a couple of options thrown my way that I think I'll try on for size, and I'm looking forward to jumping in and serving again.

3. Pay off all of our - credit card - debt.
Matthew and I don't have a lot of debt, but our financial situation has changed pretty drastically from when I worked at the church and since he's become a civil servant.  So paying off our debt hasn't been as quick as we planned/hoped.  But now we can certainly see the light at the end of the tunnel, and it looks good!

So this year, I'd like to get it all paid off (preferably within the first 3 months of 2015) and be done with bad debt forever.

4. Camp!
Over the last 6 months, Matthew and I have been collecting camping gear so we're ready for the 2015 camping season!  We got a nice air mattress for Christmas, which was one of the last big things on our list to get, and I found flannel sheets on clearance at Target this week for $17.50.  So we're pretty much ready to go now.  Plus, Washington has some of the prettiest scenery in the US, which will make camping that much better.

And since we're trying to pay off debt and save for a down payment on a house, we've decided camping will be our form of vacationing this year.  We'd really LOVE to go on a cruise this year, but we're prioritizing.  So we'll go camping instead!  We're both really excited and plan to take a couple of long weekends during the summer for camping trips.

Related to that, camping suggestions/hacks are more than welcome!

5. Craft/Create/Blog more.
I realize that's a very general and broad resolution, but it's more about the principle than crafting/creating/blogging x-amount of times throughout the year. (Although, the leadership minor and OCD monster in me has a really hard time leaving this open-ended and un-measurable... But how will you know if you achieved this at the end of 2015 if you don't define 'more' and set an amount and time frame, making this resolution measurable?!?!  Maybe I need a resolution about chilling out a bit.  Haha.)

I used to craft ALL. THE. TIME.  But over the last year or two, I just haven't had much inspiration or space to craft.  And I feel like my lifeless, dull job is sucking the creative juice out of my life.

To combat that, I'd like to craft more to have something that gives a little light to my life and feels productive in a way that my job can not.  It used to give me great joy to create, and I think I need that back in my life.

- - -

So these are my resolutions, my plans for 2015 (which, by the way, marks 10 years since I graduated from high school.  What?!).

What about you?  Do you have any resolutions up your sleeve for 2015?

One foot in front of the other

Hello, again.  Feels good to be back.

It's been almost exactly 6 months since I took my - not so - little hiatus from blogging.  It has been a long couple of  months, to be very honest with you.  And I feel like I should be a little up front about why it's taken me so long to come back to this.

Back in February - actually, the week of my birthday - a series of different events occurred that sort of, shall we say, stripped me of my urge to craft, bake, create.  This blog was such a fun thing for me to do, and, for whatever reason, I associated it with those events for a little while.  I think it's because I had just started to get really into the whole blogging thing when those events occurred.  And I was just wiped clean of inspiration.

Every once in a while I had the tiniest urge to craft, but it never really stuck - except for one project that I can't wait to share with you.  However, a couple of weeks ago I spent the evening with some girlfriends, one of which is a fellow crafter who occasionally reads my blog.  We were casually chatting about crafting when she told me just how much she had enjoyed reading my blog posts.  She had even tried one of the crafts that I had listed as one I wanted to try at some point!

I don't think she knew it at the time, but my friend ignited the spark within me to get back in touch with my creative side.  She was so encouraging without even knowing it - thanks a million, Emily.  So I decided to revisit the blogging, crafting, creating world.

I also decided that I want it to look different from what I was doing in the past to signify the kind of personal life change-ish-ness that I've gone through in the last months.  That's why there's a new look to the blog.  And that's also why there might be a few things still in the process of renovation - so please bear with me.  You'll notice that the blog has a simpler feel to it (at least, I think so) - it's not quite so busy and cluttered.  I've noticed in the past few months how precious simplicity can be.  To simply love.  Simply do.  Simply be.  I want to express that through this blog.

I look forward to getting back in touch with my creative, inspired side.  I also look forward to getting back in touch with the creative side of my Creator in that personal way that can only be tapped by doing my own creating.  After all, he is my ultimate inspiration...