The traditional New Year's post, 4 days late. :)

{Last night, I got to dress up for a bit with my favorite guy. Pretty cute, huh?}

At the end of each year, I get very pensive as I reflect over all that I've been through and accomplished. I felt like 2012 was a big year for us. First full year married, a big cross-country move, new jobs. It was crazy in the best way. 2013, on the other hand, threw us for a loop. It was a tough year, if I'm being completely honest. Living far away from friends and family, financial stress from the cost of living in NJ, packing up to move back to Texas only 10 short months later, and readjusting to life in Texas. The growing pains were real, y'all.

So as we (thankfully) neared the end of 2013, Luke and I did some talking about goals for 2014. A fresh slate; our chance to start over. I love new beginnings and praise the Lord that His mercies are new every morning.

Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. Thet are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him." Lamentations 3:22-24

Here are a few of our goals for 2014. As you can tell, we plan on making it a great year!

*Sara: Complete 16-17 MBA hours

*Sara: Run 2nd half marathon (registered for the Bearathon in Waco in March!)

*Luke: Run 2nd Tough Mudder

*Luke & Sara: Family vacation this summer (almost booked)

*Luke & Sara: Pay off remaining debt (we're starting year 3 of this goal!)

* Luke & Sara: Really commit to saving money towards a down payment for our first house

*Health/weight goals and career goals are a must too, but we won't get in to the nitty gritty ;)

So there you go friends and family. Now hold us to it!

2014 begins for me with 6 straight weeks of Tuesday through Thursday travel for work; it's a bittersweet feeling. It's no secret that I love my job, but it's also hard being away from Luke and the pups that much. But the best part is that I work with an awesome team of people who are all on the same schedule and it's definitely helps us bond/make it through the craziness. If you get the chance, please say a prayer for traveling mercies for me, as I'll be putting a lot of miles on a few rental cars and airplanes this Jan/Feb.

Cheers to a great 2014!

Welcoming 2013.

For NYE, Luke and I went into the city to this lovely place. 

We danced, toasted with champagne, and kissed at midnight (of course).

Afterward, we took a pedicab over to a friend's apartment to check out her rooftop.

Breathtaking, right? I. Love. This. City.

Here's to you, 2013. May you be the best yet!

I guess I should mention a few resolutions...

Can you believe it's 2012?! Actually, I can. :)

As wonderful and blessed as 2011 was (our wedding, honeymoon, job growth, a new puppy, etc...), I am looking into 2012 with a refreshed perspective on life. 2011 was stressful. There was a lot of growing up to do and I must say that I'm pretty proud of Luke and I for making it through.

I know I'm a little late in writing a post about my goals for 2012, but I promise I've been thinking about these a lot. So, without further ado... 

Sara's 2012 Goals

1) Travel, travel, travel! I have waited for this time in my life for nearly 25 years. I'm young, educated, employed, married, and have zero children. It is time for my husband to steal me away to exciting cities! I want to visit Chicago, San Diego, and Nashville. I want to go back to New York this year at least once, if not 2 or 3 times. I'm already planning mine and Luke's 1 year anniversary trip (but not to NYC). I can't tell you where we are going yet, but it's going to be amazing!

2) Be a better friend. 2011 has felt a little too "all about me." My wedding, my honeymoon, my job, my life. I'm ready to turn the focus around quite a bit. I want to rejoice in my friends' and family's successes and joys. I have a friend getting married in August and I can't wait to be there for her. I have a sister graduating early from college (potentially) this year and I can't wait to celebrate that accomplishment. I have friends that are on the cusp of exciting life changes and I can't wait to see where the Lord takes them. 2012 needs to be less about me and more about others. Please hold me to this. I mean it. :)

3) Cook at least 2 nights per week FROM SCRATCH (not Chicken Viola, frozen chicken strips, etc). I want to be the kind of wife that my husband says, "Whoa. That woman I married--she can COOK!" Wish me luck, ha!

4) Pay off all debt, minus Luke's student loans and my car. These are our two largest bills, so to speak, so monthly payments are just going to have to do for now. But everything else? I want it GONE. Luke's medical bills from his motorcycle accident? Gone. Our two credit card bills? Gone. Luke's car payment? Gone. I. WANT. THEM. GONE!!!! And thanks to our new budget that we've put together, I totally believe that Luke and I are going to accomplish this goal. Yay!!!

5) Train for and run a half-marathon. I really, really want to accomplish this. Mainly because I want one of those 13.1 stickers for the back of my car. :) And because each time I see other people accomplish such a goal, I ask myself why I'm not trying. Running a half-marathon is totally do-able for me. I just need to go DO IT.

6) Pack my lunch for work at least 2 days per week. This might sound a little silly to you, but it sort of goes back to the whole saving money thing. I spend way too much money eating out. So, I'm cutting back.

7) Learn to use my SLR at an intermediate level (at least). For Christmas 2009, my mother bought me a beautiful Nikon D5000 to take to New York for my semester abroad. It takes beautiful pictures, but I don't know how to USE it, ya know? I can point and click, but I want to learn how to adjust all the fancy settings and to make pictures look a certain way. See, I don't even know the vocabulary!

Ok, that's only 7, but I can't think of any others at this point. I know there are more, but it's 10:30pm and I still have to go run before I can hit the sack. Hold me to my goals, ok blogger friends? You don't know how encouraging your comments and kind words can be. :)

And one last thing: my blog made a little appearance over here today. Check it out and give Breanna a little love. Thanks!

Happy New Year!

Here's to an amazing new year! I'm not quite sure how 2012 could possibly top 2011, but I do believe that God has some great things in store. :) Today we've slept in, watched NCIS re-runs (typical!), completed our last workouts for the year, and hung out with our furbabies. Up next? A dinner date and cheers-ing to 2012! 

I hope you all have a safe and memorable night. See ya in 2012!!

{Cheers!}