Reflections and Resolutions, 20014-2015 Ed.

The years are starting to fly by me... 

New Year's is probably my favorite major holiday other than Christmas, though it's not one that I usually celebrate with much fanfare. I just really like reflecting on the past and imaging what the next year might have in store. I'm forever enticed by the promise of a new start, but as I was thinking about it recently, I don't know why we can't make a fresh start on any day of the year! Even so, there's something about the official new year, and I'm working on trying not to set my expectations so high that regular life "ruins" things. 

Here are some of my favorite Instagram moments from the year (at least, what looked nice in sets of 9!). 

This year, we celebrated New Year's Eve with our friends the Gees and the Heucharts, eating finger foods and watching 80s and 90s movies in our sweats. I drank an entire bottle of martinellis by myself (oops) and we watched the ball drop in NYC, except we watched the 1999 into 2000 edition. Oh, and lots of kissing our significant others, of course!

I did a pretty lame job fulfilling my 2014 resolutions, but I also ended up accomplishing some pretty cool stuff that I hasn't resolved to do.

2014 goals:

• Complete 2013's painting. (made more progress...)
• Hang art and hardware in our home. (I never did do that, but we moved....). 
• Learn how to buy and prepare different kinds of fish in at least 3 ways, including raw. 
• Learn to be (or be intentional about being) open, obvious, and proud about/of Jesus as a pillar of my life. 
• Visit the V.S.R. (that's a private one at this point, but I have to write it down to keep myself accountable. As you may recall, Toad - from Frog and Toad - can not even chase after his lost to-do list if that was not on his list of things to do). (lost the conviction for this, wondering if it will return)
• Make my blog pretty. (ha.... anyone want to do it for free? -.- ) 

2015 goals:

• Earn the Pampered Chef incentive trip to the Bahamas. 
• Complete at least 3 more classes at APUS. 
• Make progress with Jonas's school/our future situation. 
• Build up a nest egg - have more in the bank at this time next year than we do now. 
• Not let other's opinions be my standard - not that I don't care about other people's opinion at all, but not let my goals be molded to their goals for me. 
• Focus on being a good listener.
• Yoga 1x/week.
• Visit a museum I've never been to before.
• Have friends over for dinner once a month.
• Cook something I've never cooked before from a hard-copy cookbook, once a month. 

And in very brief, non-exclusive form...

Best of 2014:

• Tasted: Green Minestrone 
• Watched: Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown
• Read: The Cleaver Quarterly (I was published in print for the first time this year! :))
• Heard [will remind me of 2014]: Jessie Ware's "Say You Love Me", King Cresote and Jon Hopkins, TV on the Radio's "Seeds" album, Beck's "Morning Phase" album, Lily Allen's bonus tracks on the album "Sheezus", Pharrell William's "Happy", MAGIC!'s "Rude", Jetta's "Take it Easy", Ana Carolina
• Browsed: The Longest Shortest Time podcast/pages/community. 
• Favorite instagram account: @justinablakeney 
• Experienced: Ira's birth, 8/4/14/ 

May 2015 grow and stretch you, and be full of many joys, great and small.