so, august is over and so i looked over my goals for the month and sadly came up short.

1. Cook dinner at least twice per week - 1 weeknight and 1 weekend. FAIL, didn't cook dinner at all (but did see Julia & Julia and was very inspired by cooking) :/

2. Attend lunchtime pilates class at least once a week (LOVE lunchtime pilates). I haven't been at all in the past 2 weeks, but the first half of the month i was good. I'll try to keep it up in September.

3. Finish reading Living Artfully by Sandra Magsumen. Ugh...fail. Lately, I have not had the attention span to pick up a book and finish it. So not me.

4. Create a nighttime routine that includes yoga, walking my dogs, a healthy dinner, etc. FAIL, especially since I've recently become addicted to the TV show Dexter and have spent all my non-work hours watching Seasons 1-3.

Looks like I need to do some major work. On a high note, though, I've spent the past 2 nights doing a fun little (or not so little) art project for a non-profit organization that I'm a board member on. Basically, I've taken it upon myself to decorate our hospital room, which currently consists of stark white walls, filing cabinets, and a gyn bed. Instead of shopping around trying to find the "perfect" art work that will appease both adults and children, I decided to do it myself. Yikes! However, I have surprised myself because it is actually turning out well and I've recruited my sweetie to help so we've had lots of fun hanging out in the garage painting together. So much better than our typical vegging in front of the TV. I'll post a picture when we're done.

living abroad

ok, one of my big fantasies for a long time has been to move to europe (preferably france, of course) and live and work there for several years. i could fully immerse myself in the culture plus have the rest of europe to explore much more conveniently. but, i always kind of dismissed it as a pipe dream because i just couldn't see how an opportunity like that could open up for me and i don't think i'm ambitious enough to just move over there and hope to find a job (plus, don't you have to have a work visa or something before you move there?). anyway, it all just seemed too complicated and too unrealistic to seriously consider...until now!

a dear friend of mine is in the process of applying for jobs with the department of defense in such places as germany and italy(!). she hit her breaking point at her current job and so she and her husband have made the decision to move out of the country with their 3 year old son. they have lived in germany in the past when her husband was in the military, so this isn't some spur of the moment crazy decision. plus, can you imagine the opportunity living abroad will have for their son? so, i've been listening to her as she goes through this process and have asked TONS of questions. seems like the possibilities are there as long as i'm willing to take a chance and think a bit outside the box. i'm pretty content where i'm at right now, but i'm seriously looking at the possibility of moving abroad while i'm in my 30s. can you imagine???

friends, fun, and g.i. joe (seriously)

so excited about this weekend and am so sad that it is over. friday evening my sweetie and i met up with another couple at their tavern (aka, their fabulously decorated garage) for a late night of playing games, drinking, and just having a good time. saturday, we headed over to a co-worker/friend's house for her margaritaville party, and today a big group of us went out to see g.i. joe (yes, i know everyone else is seeing julie & julia, but don't worry, i'll be dragging my sweetie to see it soon) and then had dinner at a yummy italian restaurant. honestly, i don't know the last time i have been so social in one weekend and i have say that i'm loving it. normally, the bf and i bum around all weekend and before i know it it's time to get ready for monday and i haven't really done anything special. so glad this weekend was a change.

speaking of change, i started looking around the house this weekend and noticed that i have NO personal pictures up anywhere. is that not bizarre??? i guess it's because i don't like things to look cluttered, but really, no personal pictures? so, i started by buying one of those collage picture frames and filled it with old pictures of my bf and me from college. boy, do we look young in them! i then started sifting through all my pictures picking out the ones i want to frame and i can't believe the wave of nostalgia that overcame me. some of those memories seem so far away; many of my dear friends in those pictures i haven't spoken with in years. it's just so hard to believe (it's also hard to believe how much i've changed physically since college, but i'm trying not to go there!).

july into august

tonight i'm sipping a glass of wine, cuddling with my 3 puppies, and catching up on my fav blogs and podcasts. some how july snuck past me. i'm getting kind of annoyed for always finding myself at the end of a month wondering where the time went. seriously, at some point, i want to reach the end of a month and really feel pleased at everything i accomplished (outside of work) or did for myself.

but july wasn't without its high points. my bff turned 30 (but i'm still working on finding the "perfect" present to give her when i visit her in september), this weekend my sweetie and i drove to odessa (okay, not a high point) and attended a baby shower for his sister, i got to shoot some guns, and we had a couple of fun toobing trips.

but, august can be better. it's been a couple of months since i've made a formal monthly goals list, so...

August Goals:

1. Cook dinner at least twice per week - 1 weeknight and 1 weekend.

2. Attend lunchtime pilates class at least once a week (LOVE lunchtime pilates).

3. Finish reading Living Artfully by Sandra Magsumen.

4. Create a nighttime routine that includes yoga, walking my dogs, a healthy dinner, etc.

we'll see how i do!