30 BEFORE 30 [2017]

I posted this list in October 2014. I'm just now "re-finding" it and now I am a year and a half from turning 30. I thought I'd re-visit it and try to find motivation to keep up from now on. :)

FIT LIFE

Make self care a priorty [eating habits, skin, etc.] (in progress)
Walk/run at least one 5K per year (0/2)
Drink nothing but water for 30 days (__)
Find a medication remedy to maintain my health/skin [and sanity] (X)
Plant a vegetable/herb garden [and eat from it!] (__)

FULFILLING LIFE

Achieve inner peace with my medical condition (__)
Buy a journal and complete Keri Smith's 100 Ideas (__)
Volunteer 30 hours (__)
Pay it forward at least once a month [coffee, cards, etc.] (0/18)
Turn off Facebook for at least one month (__)

TRAVEL LIFE

Go on five mini-vacations (0/2 [Branson in June])
Visit New Orleans (__)
Take another cruise (__)
Go on a roadtrip to HOUSTON (X)
Visit a friend who lives out of state (X)

NERD LIFE
Continue my education [Doctorate, Certificate, etc.] (__)
Earn my state Special Education certification (X)
Read 50 new books (0/15)
Grow my blog [followers, dot com, etc.] (in progress - Let's Taco 'Bout It)
Complete a Project 365 (in progress)

REAL LIFE

Become a mother (X [Nessie])
Get caught up on all my scrapbooking (__)
Go fishing for the first time as an adult (X)
Put together a cookbook of my favorite/mastered recipes (__)
Buy a house (X)
Send 20 handwritten notes/cards to family or friends (0/10)
Tour a local winery (__)
Have an EPIC 30th birthday party (__)
Learn to drive a manual car (__)
Host a holiday meal (X)

2017 thus far

Keeping up with this blog hasn't been something I've focused on lately, just because I've been limiting my openness to the world while I struggle through some things. Today, though, I sat down and I realized that if I don't at least update every once in a while, I won't have my commentary on the events later when I want to look back. I don't share this blog with anyone anymore, it's just for me, but I think it's something I'd like to do anyway.

2017 has been a challenge so far. I did well on my weight-loss journey until about a month ago. I meal planned, prepped, and dropped 15 pounds in 2 months. Since then, I can admit, I've become a little lazy. Working out is hard. Eating well is hard. I'm trying to jump on the band wagon again, because I've officially gained 2 pounds back and it's not sitting well with me.

  

The Chiefs made the playoffs again this year. With records finishing the way they did, the Chiefs ended up earning a first round BYE week and a home game for the second week. They ended up falling short at the last moments of the game, but it was a great experience and I got to see some good friends in the process.

  

February brought some fun things like having my phone featured on the KMBC9 NEWS website, celebrating 4 years since shaving my head, and the third installment of the Red Queen series coming out.

  

At the end of February, I took a long weekend and went to Houston, TX with my friend Shelby to continue my search of the perfect taco, visit NASA, and try Texas BBQ. It was a fun weekend, and it allowed me to really reflect on my life and what I'm doing personally and professionally.

  

Jumping forward a couple weeks, I had an entire week off from school for Spring Break. In addition to starting a new medicine, and relaxing around the house, I took a day trip to my favorite place [Columbia, MO] to eat/visit campus/hike Devil's Ice Box, celebrated St. Patrick's Day in Westport, and celebrated both my dad's 70th birthday and my goddaughter's 2nd.

 

  

I also was able to watch my girl Katie tie the knot recently. We met when we both got jobs in Cameron, MO and have kept in touch since both leaving last year. I miss this crew/seeing them daily.

  

Last, but not least, I went on a ride around the Robinson farm in their tractor. What an experience...

Wrapping 2016

   

 

I spent a better part of my snow day yesterday trying to upload all the photos I took over Christmas break to share with you. I made a number of beautiful memories with friends, old and new. With that said, I also didn't think you guys would want to look at 100 pictures and read about random Christmas parties that you weren't there for. So instead, I chose my favorites and we'll tackle something else.

We went back to school on Wednesday (yup, we had ONE day of class and then a snow day), and on their first day back, I had students fill out a "BEST YEAR" paper. This included a reflection of sorts on 2016, and then gave them them opportunity to make some goals for the coming calendar year. Because I was asking the kids to do this, I figured I would too so I could share my goals with them as they worked. It has been really fun to read through their goals, and to be honest, it really made me sit down and think about what mine could be!

One of the things I noted on my "BEST YEAR" paper was that I was looking forward to spending more effort on my overall health. As most who know me well already know, this isn't a new goal for 2017, as I've been trying to make this a priority for the last couple months. (It is amazing what looking at some recent formal photos of yourself will do). For Christmas, my mom/Santa was the bomb and bought me a Planet Fitness black membership. It comes with a lot of perks - massages, going to any branch of gym, tanning, etc. My goal is to go 3-4 times a week, and I'm tracking my workouts with both the FitBit app and the PF app. Additionally, water intake has been a major growth opportunity for me on this journey. I've been really trying to drink more, but it's been hard!! Knowing I'm a visual person (and I may have dropped a hint or 12), my best friend Shelby bought me this awesome water bottle that has times on it so you can pace your consumption throughout the day to hit your 64oz! Both my mom and Shelby bought me Crystal Light because they know how I feel about water! HAHA!

  

Overall, I would say that I definitely feel better physically now that I'm eating better, drinking water, and trying to stay active. When I started this after Thanksgiving, my first BIG goal was to lose 15lbs. I hit 12 this week, and I'm very excited. Considering the holidays are a time of indulgence, I'm so happy that I continued losing, even though I was having a cookie here and there, lol. I would like to lose these last 3lbs toward this goal in the next few weeks. After that, we'll set a new goal, not sure if that will be weight-centered or strength-centered though.

As we move into 2017, I'm looking forward to a lot of things. One of which is working to be more consistently update this blog - both for you and for myself. :)

XXO,

Kimberly