The Great Blogging Challenge Day 5- Short Term Goals for this month and Dreams for your Life Ahead

Okay! I suppose I've already messed up a bit on completing "THE GREAT BLOGGING CHALLENGE" by taking 3 days off, but oh well.....here we go! I never blog on the weekends, and Friday was just a bad day all around. But...God is good and the weekend gave me time to clear my head, pray through some things, give them to God and get back on track! We hardly ever even turn the computer on during the weekend unless it's for music, or to check football stats/scores, etc. :)

SHORT TERM GOALS FOR THIS MONTH:

1. To lose a total of 15 lbs- already lost 8! woohoo! Oh and side note: Anna Light, my trainer, let us have a "cheat night" Friday night- we went to RePUBlic and had classen burgers, shoestring fries, and mac n cheese....as good as it tasted- SO not worth it! I felt aweful all evening and my workout with Anna on Saturday was TORTURE....I think she was wise in letting us learn this lesson the hard way ;) Ryan's first comment Saturday morning: "Anna did NOT make that up, i feel terrible!"

2. To finish a book; preferrably "So Long Insecurity" by Beth Moore. I am a TERRIBLE reader- always have been. But really want to become a reader. I just dont ever seem to have time!

3. Make dinner for Ryan at least once a week- this may sound sad, but when your married to a man who can cook as well as him, and who LOVES to do it, it's VERY hard to find the motivation to!

4. Take pictures with all my SWITCH girls- leaders and small group girls; I don't take NEARLY enough pictures.

5. Write at least 5 notes of encouragement and MAIL them. Yes, I said mail; not e-mail, tweet, facebook, text, or heytell. If I ask for your address...YOU'RE NEXT. ;)

6. Run my first 5k EVER THIS weekend....YIKES! Ryan and I are running it together. I know it's only 3.1 miles, but for us- this is HUGE. 6 months ago I couldn't run 1 mile for a million dollars! I'm excited to FINISH!

7. Rent ALMOST all movies that RYAN WANTS via Netflix. He's been SO wonderful for the past month to give me my "Scary movie month"; it was fun, but it's HIS turn!

8. To call my friends in AR at least twice! This, as they all know is HUGE. I think I'm such a face-time person, that phonecalls just dont even cross my mind. I count down the days til I can see these girls again and catch up, but picking up the phone is usually not even a thought! It's sad, I know.

9. To have TWO WHOLE NIGHTS at home- just Ryan and I. This is SO rare with our schedule these days!

10. (Praying Anna Light doesn't see this) To be able to do 25 "guy push-ups" in a row without stopping

11. Putting Christmas up in ONE weekend!!! Hopefully this weekend- this could be difficult being married to someone who cant stand hearing Christmas music before Thanksgiving! haha! Now...to get him to be okay with our home being transformed into a winter wonderland the weekend before! ;)

*okay that's enough short-term goals I think. I'm going to stress myself out if I keep going!

DREAMS FOR OUR LIFE AHEAD:

1. To ALWAYS have Ryan be my #2, and to make sure he always KNOWS he is this to me! God, then Ryan....never letting ANYONE or ANYTHING come before him.

2. To be debt free in 5 years- school loans, credit cards, everything!

3. To raise a family who loves God and loves people! To daily read the Word as a family, and pray together often, but NEVER forgetting to Laugh LOTS! With Ryan and I that last part shouldn't be hard! :)

4. To use what we have been through together in our past for ministry- to be able to help other couples/individuals who are struggling with what we have, through God's power, overcome!

5. To one day- run a full marathon. Okay, let's start with a half! ha...my legs are still preparing for their first 5k Saturday!

6. Be the kind of mom to my children that my mom has been for us- always pouring wisdom from God's Word into our lives, teaching us truth, and not afraid to call us out when we weren't living according to it! Always there for us to talk to about ANYTHING, and willing to drop everything at the drop of a hat to help us. I can't BEGIN to tell you how many nights she stayed up with me til 4am working on projects in High School, or how many times she drove to Conway, AR to be with me after a (at that time) traumatic breakup! I'm eternally grateful for her.

7. Make any sacrifices necessary to send our children to a Christian school. (of Course I prefer CHA) :)

8. Travel Europe for a month with Ryan!

9. Yes, this is seriously a dream- to fold the laundry right when it's out of the dryer EVERY TIME and not let it become a massive pile on our loveseat! haha.

There you have it! I'm sure there are more, but that's all for now!
See you tomorrow!