So Long 2013, Hello 2014!

In a few hours, the new year will be here, and I'm so excited. So, today here's just a little reflection on this year.

2013 is the year:

• I married my love.
• I took Mike on his first cruise.
• Painted my first painting worth hanging up.
• I challenged myself to the 30 Before 30 Challenge.
• We adopted a new cat, Oliver.
• Josey grew into the big girl that she is.
• I visited my birthplace in Virginia.
• I went to New York and experienced the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade first hand.
• Mike and I shared our first married Christmas.
• Mike and I share our first New Year's Eve together.

Now, the year in pictures.




Couple's Shower February 9, 2013



Our Wedding Day- March 2, 2013




My First Painting Class

Josey is so big now!

Oliver is the orphan we found under Mike's car.



Oliver's favorite hiding place.

Josey stealing hearts and covers since December 2012.



Oliver and Butterscotch getting along.

Fun at the Air and Space Museum in Hampton, VA.

The only picture of Peter on our whole trip to New York. He was noble enough to go home and take care of the break-in at my parents house.

Thanksgiving Parade Fun.

Our first Christmas.

Here's to an awesome 2014!!

Kimberly


Vision Board

This past weekend was pretty productive for me. I got to check something off "The List"-- Create a vision board. I turned the normal stack of magazines and a picture frame into a pretty awesome depiction of what I want to accomplish in the next decade of my life.

 

 

I'm pretty proud of the vision board. Here's the end result:

 

I really just wanted something to keep me inspired, so in the next decade, I hope to start taking better care of myself, build a family with Michael, create a more organized and happy home, develop my sense of style, and just live a strong, full, joyful life.

In addition to the vision board, I also transformed our guest room into my office/craft room/retreat. I rearranged the bed to make room for a desk and give me plenty of room to write and work on projects in the wee hours of the morning or late at night, so I don't have to disturb Mike.

I've been out of commission for the past week because I've had a bit of a cold that had drained me, so I haven't been running, but I'm picking up again tomorrow.

I've also started using Duolingo to help me get better at Spanish. I've finished my fifth book, The Spectacular Now, and I'm now itching to see the movie. Review for that book will be forthcoming.

It's time for me to take charge and get back on track this week.

Kimberly



Staying Motivated

I've been in a bit of a slump lately. Sometimes, I just don't want to get out of my warm bed. I still can't seem to get up at 5 AM. It doesn't look like I'll be a member of the 5 Club any time soon. I'm trying though. I still set the alarm for 5. I finally got up at 5:50 AM this morning, but I didn't get to do any writing because I got busy taking care of the animals.

Then, I decided it might be better to get to work early and write at my desk, but by the time I got to work, I only had about 20 minutes to do anything, so I made breakfast (oatmeal), and got my desk organized for the day.

I don't know how people do it. Work two jobs. Work a practical job and a dream job at once. How can anyone stay motivated to do so much? I'm have trouble just getting to my one job on time. I'm already debating whether or not I will go for a run today. I'm already ready to give up.

Maybe this is where my vision board will come in handy. One of my 30 Before 30 Goals is to create a vision board of my goals for the next 5-10 years. I'm still trying to get my life in order and still getting used to being married and having to consider the hubs before I can do my own thing. Perhaps working on this board will help me get things into perspective. I don't know, but I've got to do something to stay motivated.

Kimberly

Couch to 5K Training

Confession time: I've always wanted to be a runner. Well, kinda. Maybe it's because I know a lot of people who run or maybe it's because said people are always posting pictures of their runs and posting about their training and such.

I've never really been into sports or exercise or running for that matter, but dang it, I just want to be cool sometimes.

 

So, today, I'm starting training using the Couch to 5K program. Today--in like twenty minutes. If I don't wuss out first. One of my goals for the year is to participate in a 5K, but I've always been a little afraid to do so for the most ridiculous reasons--namely because I don't "look" like a runner. I don't have a runner's body. Then, I get really worried about what people think about this big girl trying to run a 5K.

It's silly, I know. But it's a very real fear, so I'm still a little apprehensive, but I start training today, and I'll be ready for a 5K in January.

Well, here goes...

Kimberly

Side Note: I'm keeping up with my goal of blogging daily, so here's a little encouragement before I begin my training. Good luck to me.

Book Review 3: For One More Day

"Every family is a ghost story." - Mitch Albom in For One More Day

 



 

Best-selling author Mitch Albom tells the story of Charley "Chick" Benetto who gets the chance to spend one more day with his deceased mother after experiencing a trauma. What follows is beautiful mother and son story about unconditional love, sacrifice, and forgiveness.

How would you spend one more day with a lost loved one? I think I'd want to spend it the way that Charley did--just listening to stories that were never told, understanding things that the person experienced that I couldn't understand as a child. I think the best part of this story is the way that Charley's memories of his mother and her take on those memories are different. It just goes to show that we don't see things the way they are--we see them the way we are.

If you enjoyed Tuesdays with Morrie or The Five People You Meet in Heaven, you will enjoy this book too. It's a fast read and good for your heart.

Kimberly

Visiting Valdosta

Last weekend, I drove down to Valdosta to help judge the Valdosta State University Debate Tournament. I haven't been to Valdosta since my brother graduated from college. So much has changed.

I spent some of my favorite years on that campus, and I barely recognized it. I would've liked to get pictures, but I didn't really have the time or anyone to take pictures for me. Still, I had a great time watching debates, catching up with my old debate coach, and marveling at how big the campus looked since the last time I was there.

Here's a few things I took away from my trip:

• All the good stuff comes after you leave. When I was at VSU, I had to walk across the street to get Chick-fil-a. Not only do current students not have to cross the street for CFA, they also get to eat at a Nathan's Hot Dogs and get Starbucks Coffee.
• I now understand why VSU keeps hitting me up for money--gotta pay for all those nice, new improvements somehow. 
• I really miss being a part of speech and debate. I had such an awesome time as a competitor traveling to different places and meeting new people. 
• Nothing stays the same. I hardly recognized the campus, got lost a few times, and even though it's not the same, everything changed for the better. And just as the campus has changed, so have I. I didn't walk the sidewalks as the same person I was when I was in college. I've grown and changed in ways that I never really realize until I take a step back.

I would have liked to have more time in Valdosta, but I had to get back to Michael because I accidentally took his laptop with me, and he had to do schoolwork. Even though it was brief--I still get to cross "Visiting Valdosta" off my 30 before 30 list.

Kimberly

Time to Fall Back

This time change is way overdue. I've been getting up in the dark at 7 am, which drives me nuts. I need light in the morning.

I am so ready for the time change. And after a fun, but unproductive day, I'm going to bed. At least I'm trying to stick to this NaBloPoMo thing. Hopefully, I'll carve out more time to work on posts tomorrow.

Today, Mike and I were celebrating our 8th month of marriage with donuts or deauxnuts from the Lagianappe Cafe in Fayetteville, followed by a early morning movie, Ender's Game. Then, lunch at O'Charley's. Then, we caught up on Scandal. Fun Saturday, but it will be back to business tomorrow, especially with that extra hour to help us out.

Snug as bug,
Kimberly

Updates & Goals

It's about time for an update, I think. I've had much to write about, but I've been doing a good bit of travelling this week. So, here's a quick update about how I've been doing on completing my list.

• Travel: I've visited Valdosta last weekend while I helped judge the VSU Debate Tournament. I've also planned out my trips to Virginia and New York, booked hotels, and the car, so we are ready to go.
• Health: I've been making an effort to go for a walk 3 days a weeks, and will hopefully be able to walk today if the weather improves.
• Home-Life: I figured up how much I need to put toward paying down my debt, and I've made plans accordingly.
• Personal: I've read 4/30 books. I've signed up to participate in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) to help push me toward writing my first draft. Additionally, I'm on board for National Blog Posing Month (NaBloPoMo) to help me write a blog post every day during the month of November. Writing will be a big part of this next month.
• Life Experiences: We will definitely be seeing a Broadway show during on New York trip.
• Fun: I've watched 2/30 Academy Award Best Picture Films.

Throughout this month, I'll post my thoughts on the books I'm reading and the films I'm watching.

It's gonna be a great month!!

Kimberly

Book Reviews 1 and 2: The Marriage Plot and Sheridan

It's a two for one book review day!! Book 1: The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides, author of The Virgin Suicides and Middlesex, tells the story of a love triangle between Madeleine, a Literature major, Leonard, her manic-depressive boyfriend, and Mitchell, the nice guy who finishes last. The whole book is about these three characters and what they each do after graduating from college. I could relate to Madeleine (minus the sleeping around and having two guys vying for her affection) because of her struggle to find herself, love, and a career. Overall, it was enjoyable, but a bit of a chore to get through. I was also jealous of the kind of college experience that was depicted in which students sat around and talked about books and language and theory.

On the downside, this book was long (400 pages), and I probably would have given up on it if I wasn't reading it to prepare for a book club through Meet Up. I ended up being too sick to go on the day of the meet up and had to cancel. Then, I got this really snooty message about same-day cancellations and how I'm supposed to let them know as soon as I start feeling ill that I can't make it and that they only allow two same-day cancellations before you get booted from the group. What is this a job?! And even though the organizer said that she wasn't trying to discourage me from participating, that is exactly what she did. Luckily, I'm a member of an awesome book club on the southside of Atlanta, and the second book I read was for this book club.

First of all, don't judge a book by it's cover. Book 2: Sheridan by Olivia J was a pretty fun read, but I had my doubts at first. We chose this book for our first selection because Olivia is a member of the club and mentioned that she is a published author, and then jokingly suggested that we read it, so we took her up on it. I was pleasantly surprised. This book about four best friends and their intertwined lives is well written (minus a few editing errors) including characters that are genuine and believable, and the story was filled with more drama than an episode of Scandal. In fact, Sheridan is pretty much Olivia Pope with all of her connections, professionalism, and personal dilemmas. This story is pure heart and all about lifelong friendships, relationships, and sticking by each other through the ups and downs of life. It's definitely not what I was expecting from a self-published book, and it is definitely worth the read.

Kimberly

The List

 

Two months ago, I decided to create a bucket list of things I want to accomplish before my 30th birthday. My plan at the time was to blog about the journey, but I never wrote anything, so now I've revamped my site and will focus on blogging my accomplishments. In the process, I've decided to move all the content from my original "Notes from In Between" blog to another location. It will take some time, but eventually all the content will be moved to the link above.

And just so no one thinks that I've just been sitting around doing nothing on my list, here's a summary of what I've done so far--I've already read 2 books, watched 2 Best Picture films, planned out my trip to my birthplace and New York, about half-way through my next two books, and Argo is being sent to me tomorrow. I'm going to write my thoughts on the books and films I've read/watched in the next posts, but this is just the introduction.

Hope you enjoy the journey with me. 

Kimberly

The Small Ones

“Who cares if we’re apart for the big days? It’s the small ones that made me fall in love with you.” – Dashboard Confessional, “The Only Gift that I Need”

Michael and I have been sharing a lot of big days for the past few years. We haven’t been apart for any major holidays, but those big days are not the days that made me fall in love with Michael. It’s always been the small ones—our first kiss under the stars, going for walks in his neighborhood, going for drives. It’s always been the small things that have brought us closer together. The small things matter.

When I think about God, it’s the small blessings that mean the most to me. Even in the moments when I think that He couldn’t possibly still love me because I’ve wandered too far or been gone so long, He gives me a little reminder that He still cares about me. He is still faithful to me even when I am faithless.

Friday, I was in the shower and noticing that I was running low on shampoo and made a mental note to get some more after work. My job pays me monthly, and toward the end of lthe month, money becomes a bit scarce. When I got into work that morning, I checked my email and one of the first emails I saw was from Kroger, and the advertisement was for a free bottle of shampoo with a Kroger plus card. All I could do was smile—it really made my day.

Some people would see it as a coincidence, but I know better. And sure it’s a small thing, but a very specific thing that reminded me that God of the universe loves me enough to provide me this small thing.

And if He provides for the small things—He can provide for the big things.