Fresh Start

I'm lovin' this new year so far! I feel so energized for some reason. It's going to be a great year!

After spending parts of several days cleaning at Mom McClure’s house in Florida, I crashed when we got home Thursday. Seriously. We ate lunch, and I took a big fat nap on the couch. Then I lounged around some more and went to bed early -- and still slept just great. After we ran errands Saturday, cleaning maniac mode ensued. I can guarantee that my kitchen has probably never been cleaner (and my sore scrubbing shoulder can attest to that).

I love setting goals and seeing my progress on projects. The past couple years I've set some great goals, and this year I had fun thinking about different things that I want to do and improve on in my life. Now, I'm not just for "New Year's Resolutions" -- I believe that there's no time like the present, and if you want to do something, then by all means, do it! It just happens to work out for me to set some goals right now.

Since our move to NC in 2012, I think I've really found the truth that it's easier to keep things clean than to clean up after it has become a mess. It was refreshing to come home to such a clean house. And because it was already clean, it was easier to do some deep cleaning projects too. I love it! (Please don't get the false impression that our home is superbly clean -- it's not. Many areas would benefit from even a surface cleaning.) I know it's easier to keep up on cleaning when I'm not working too, so I can only hope for the best now that I had to go back to work today. At least it was clean to ring in the new year!

Also, we rocked our workout today. Joshua is a great cheerleader and kept me motivated last year. We consistently worked out March through September. October was iffy; then sicknesses and vacations put an end to workouts for us in November and December. Today we went back to our own private gym (the apartment complex equipment room), and it felt great! To emphasize the wonderful magnitude of my having any sort of workout regimen, let me share with you what my mother said last year when I mentioned that we were starting to workout. "What'd you do that for??" Ha. That sentence should tell you all you need to know about my workout history in life.

Anyway, when we started working out last year, I spent most of my time on the treadmill. I like numbers and it was something that I can easily quantify and track progress. After a couple workouts, I decided my goal was to jog a 15 minute mile. (If you're a runner, please hold in your laughter.) It took me until the beginning of June to be able to do that. I think the first time I did it, I did 2 miles on the treadmill and somewhere in the middle was my 15 minute mile at a steady 4.0 MPH. Today, I totally beat that. And I haven't worked out in over 2 months. And I also didn't push too hard for fear of overexerting my afraid-of-workouts-mention-workout-and-I-might-hide-under-a-rock nature (technical term) that I would love to change simply because I know I'll feel better and be healthier if I exercise regularly.

Anyway, cleaning and working out are totally not part of my goals for this year. Major tangents there. I want them to be just a normal part of my life. It's 2014, I set some new goals, our home is mostly clean, and that makes me happy. Life is good. Happy new year!