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!

Lately.

 

Let's not talk about how I haven't blogged in for.eh.ver. It's bad enough that I feel two months behind without you pointing it out ok? Let's just pick back up right where we left off...;)

 

The last couple of months have been a whirlwind for The Hinton's! The last time I blogged, my busy season at work was just starting to pick up and Luke and I were trying to settle back in to life in Texas. As much as I would have loved to blog about all that's been going on these last 8 weeks or so, I just simply have not had the time. So, here is a brief recap...

 

-We're currently living in Hallettsville in a rent house my parents own while saving to buy a house.

-I just finished a two-week traveling spree in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas for work.

-Luke is working for my dad right now while we get through the tax season (Mom, Dad, Luke, and I all currently work for the same company. Something I NEVER thought I'd say/type, ha!).

-We took a trip back up to New Jersey in early November for a little work and a little play. It was so great to see our friends and to take in some real fall weather.

-Luke and I ate 5 Thanksgiving meals this year to make up for not being home for the holidays last year (at least, that is my excuse for eating that much green bean casserole).

-I just wrapped up my first semester of grad school, thought it would be a great idea to take a 4-week wintermester class, and then dropped the class 2 days in. What was I thinking?! Momentary lapse of judgment via lack of sleep.

-Luke and I froze our tails off in Waco at the Big 12 Championship game, but it was so worth it to be at the last football game at The Case. Can't wait for next season in the new stadium!

-Instead of Christmas presents this year, my family has decided to go on a family vacation this summer. I know it's a cruise (before baby bucket list anyone? yay!), but I'm not sure if we're headed to Jamaica or the Bahamas. Either way, I'm stoked!!

-The pups are good and are enjoying the Texas sunshine, but they are in desperate need of haircuts. As soon as we get this taken care of, I'll post some pics for you.

-The Hinton's 2014 Christmas Card = Fail. Who wants a Happy New Year card? *womp, womp*

-I've decided to start taking classes at the local health & fitness center and today's bootcamp class just might put this grandma into the nursing home. Can't.move.

 

So as you can see, we're still here. Just a little sleep deprived. :) Here's to hoping I get to start blogging more regularly again. I've definitely missed it!

Our weekend getaway to Washington, D.C.

Last week/weekend, Luke and I took Thursday and Friday off from work and drove down to Washington, D.C. for a long weekend with some friends. This was sort of a Sara's birthday/our friends' anniversary/we all need a weekend away from life kind of trip and it was exactly what Luke and I needed!!

{View from our hotel room}

I had forgotten how beautiful DC is! It had been over 10 years since I'd last visited and Luke had never been. In addition to being saturated in our country's history and American pride, DC is an awesome city for your professionals to live/work in and it has a really fun restaurant/coffee shop/bar scene. We stayed at the Washington Hilton and I would totally recommend this hotel to anyone!

{I love the cherry blossoms in the spring!}

We stayed three nights, but didn't get into town until closer to dinner time on Thursday. Knowing that Friday and Saturday would be our only two full days in Washington, D.C., we spent all day Friday visiting touristy sites. We took the metro over to the Arlington National Cemetery, where we watched the changing of the guard. We also walked through the National Mall and Memorial Parks (Washington, Lincoln, Vietnam, WW2, etc) and even made a quick stop into the National Museum of Natural History. We did a TON of walking on that first day and I'm pretty sure we all felt like our knees/ankles/feet we're going to fall off! 

We also ate some really amazing food that day. I have to admit that my pub onion soup at lunch was by far my favorite!

{Warm doughnuts with caramel and chocolate dipping sause after dinner on Friday night. SO YUM!}

On Saturday, the four of us tackled the Smithsonian National Zoo and it was amazing! DC's zoo is free to the public, but this does not mean it is mediocre in the least. It is actually a very nice place and we had the best time walking around out in the sunshine feeling like kids again! We ate over-priced chicken fingers and french fries for lunch and, of course, Luke had to have Dippin' Dots, ha! Zoo food at it's finest. 

After the zoo and a ton more walking, we decided to start walking back towards our hotel so that we could rest up and get ready for a fun last night in DC, but of course, the girls had to make a quick stop into Lou Lou Boutique, the cutest little shop just a couple of blocks from our hotel. Our sweet boys suffered through and I'm so glad we stopped! I picked up a couple pairs of earrings and a beautiful, spring-inspired infinity scarf for my birthday. :)

For dinner on Saturday night, the four of us walked down to Tortilla Coast, a popular Mexican food restaurant in DC. It was like HEAVEN for these displaced Texas kids just dying for fajitas, enchiladas, and margaritas! We toasted to birthdays, anniversaries, and a great weekend in Washington, D.C.

Waking up early on Sunday morning so that we could get back to Jersey and pick up our furbabies from the doggy boarding place was a rough wake-up call (a little too much fun? nahhh!), but we were excited to get home and relax the rest of the weekend. As we were driving home, Luke and I could not stop talking about how much fun we had and ranking our favorite places we visited. I think that is a sign of a successful, long weekend getaway!  Our 2nd anniversary is quickly approaching and I'm already thinking about a weekend trip to...? Any suggestions??

Until next time DC! :)

The Poconos & Birthday Celebrations

On Saturday, Luke and I drove up to the Poconos to celebrate our friend Jessica's 30th birthday. We met up with Jess, her fiance, and some of her closest friends and family at her parents' weekend house. It snowed on and off all day, so the mountains looked gorgeous. We went for a walk, found a waterfall, and took pictures. Later, we cooked out, ate birthday cake, and celebrated the birthday girl. It was so fun to get out of New Jersey for a little bit and hang out with such awesome people! Hope you had an awesome birthday weekend Jess!!

Baltimore.

I was in Baltimore this week for work. There are some very rough areas of Baltimore, but there are also some very cool areas too. It was fun to see and learn about a new city. And the most fun part of my trip? In stead of flying, I got to take the train. It was only a 2.5 hour train ride, was way cheaper than flying, and the train cafe rocks! I've decided that this is the best way to travel, by far. 

But as always, this road warrior is happy to be home. It was real Baltimore, but Morristown is where it's at. :)

Hinton Update!

Hey everyone! After a crazy week, I am so grateful for the weekend and some downtime to catch you up on all that has been going on in the Hinton household!! Luke has to work today, so Brooklyn and I are just hanging out at the apartment and being lazy, minus the laundry piles I still need to work on and the 3 mile run I have sworn to complete. I've been a little disappointed in myself lately because I'm way out of my normal workout routine. This all changes starting today!

{mo.ti.va.tion.}

House... Luke and I got an update yesterday on the house we'll be moving into (get caught up on that story here). It looks like the house should be ready for us to start moving into next week! The last few weeks have been a little stressful with working out the details of the move, but we're excited and are trusting in God's plan for this time in our lives. Be looking for more moving and decorating posts soon!

Work... When I showed up to work this past Thursday morning, there was a piece of paper laying upside-down on my desk. When I turned it over and read what it said, I got very excited!! On this paper was a travel itinerary for my very first work trip. I will be flying to Phoenix, AZ with two other colleagues of mine for a sales training seminar this December! I'm pretty excited for not only the chance to travel, but also the opportunity to grow my knowledge of this industry. Call me a nerd, but I can't wait for my business trip!

{Oh, hey Phoenix!}

Brooklyn... The pup is doing good, but she's been a little extra whiny lately. Her new favorite thing to do is to sit in front of the laundry room doors (we store her food and treats on a shelf behind these doors) and cry until someone gives her a treat. I have no idea where she learned this! When Luke has to stay the night out at the camp, Brooklyn loves to curl up in a ball and sleep on his side of the bed. I can tell she misses him when he's gone. She can't wait to move out to camp to live with her dad full time and to finally have a backyard to play in!

Travel... Luke and I are headed up to Waco, Texas for Baylor Homecoming in 4 weeks. I can't wait!! This will be our first Baylor Homecoming as a married couple, which makes this trip even more special. We're driving up to Waco early Friday to catch Singspiration Friday night. We'll go to the football game Saturday afternoon and to Saturday night's performance of Pigskin as well. I can't wait to see all of my college friends and to be back on Baylor's campus!

Shopping... Didn't you know there would be one of these? :) I haven't shopped too much lately, but last night Aubrey and I were walking around the mall and noticed that Gap was having a big weekend sale. I bought a cranberry-colored, 3/4-sleeve t-shirt (perfect for fall!) for $9.79, originally $24.50 and 3 pair of low-rise bikini panties for $2.79 each, originally $12.50 each. 68% savings, huzzah!

And last, but not least, I'm guest posting on Following The Walkers today! Go check it out! :)

Hope y'all are having a great weekend!!