Goals vs. Resolutions in 2014

As we start off 2014, everyone is busy proclaiming their 2014 New Year's Resolutions...and hoping that this year is different than those in the past.  Will I be able to make it out of January with my resolutions still in tact?  What about 3 or 6 months from now?  If you've ever been to the gym in December AND January, then you know exactly what I'm talking about!

But have you ever actually looked at the definition of a resolution?  What is it exactly that you are doing?

Resolution: a firm decision to do or not do something

Resolve: settle or find a solution to (a problem, dispute, or contentious matter)

Resolutions don't give you much to go on.  They only give you a pass/fail outcome where you either succeed or don't succeed, and let's face it - most "Resolutions" end up in the fail column by the end of March.  Just because you made that "firm decision" to do something doesn't mean you have the support system or framework set to be successful at that resolution.

Also, based on the definition for resolve (another form of the word "Resolution"), you are looking at all of the negative in your life and resolving to make changes to those specific things.  As you focus on the negative and all of the things you want to change, you overlook the positives and all the good you're capable of.  Sometimes this could even lead to those positives slipping into future resolutions.  (For example - if you already exercise 30 minutes a day out of desire/habit, but you lose sight and set your focus on changing all those negatives...you could start to slip on that exercise habit and eventually, it could fall in to that "needs work" area of your life.)

Now take a look at a different option...GOALS

Goal: the object of a person's ambition or effort; an aim or desired result

I'm not saying that it's not a good idea to take a look at those areas in your life that could use some improvement (or "resolve"), but you want to be sure and have a balance looking at the good and the not so good.  When you set goals for yourself, you aren't necessarily looking to "fix" something, you are shooting for desired results.

If you have ever done any type of professional development, you've probably learned the SMART Goals system.  Your goals should be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Bound.  As I mentioned early, resolutions don't give you a framework.  They simply say, "This is what I'm going to do," and then you go after them.  Your goals, using the SMART system give you a very specific framework, allowing you to be prepared for what lies ahead.


So in 2014, I have 14 goals I've set for myself pertaining to "Getting Fit" in 2014 - financially, physically, and spiritually.  I will continually work to improve my "health" in each of these areas throughout the year, and these goals give me things to focus on.

#PhysicallyFit

#DrinkIt128 (Goal of 128 ounces/1 gallon of water each day)

#WorkIt530 (Goal of working out at least 5 days a week, 30 minutes a day)

#RunIt3.1 (Goal of training for and running in the 5k Turkey Trot with my mom)

#EatIt (Goal of making our meal plan and sticking to it)

#FinanciallyFit

#EliminateIt (Goal of cutting our current debt in half by the end of this year)

#AvoidIt (Goal of not using our credit cards to make purchases, #Swipeless2014)

#PlanItDoIt (Goal of creating our monthly budget and sticking to it, complete FPU)

#BuildIt (Goal of building personal businesses this year)

#SpirituallyFit

#StudyIt (Goal of reading through the bible this year)

#RememberIt (Goal of memorizing one verse per week)

#PrayIt (Goal of keeping a prayer journal for 2014)

#ShareIt (Goal of sharing the gospel with those that I meet)

Along with those goals, here are two additional to get us to the 14:

#GrowIt (Goal of nourishing and growing my relationship with my husband)

#ReadIt (Goal of reading at least one book each month from various types/genres)

Along with those goals, I have chosen a verse for 2014 after getting an email from YouVersion that encouraged selecting a life verse for the year.  I searched for verses that talked about endurance because that is what I hope to have this year as I go after my goals.  I loved Colossians 1:11-12 as soon as I read through it, but loved it even more when I read it in the Message version.

My #Verse2014 - Colossians 1:11-12 and My #Word2014 - Endurance

2013 - A *WONDERFUL* Year In Review

Brad and I got married in August of 2009, so this was our 5th Christmas together, and each year I strongly consider sending out Christmas cards.  I love seeing each of the cards we get, getting to watch friends and family grow over the years.  Well this is the last year I consider it, because next year we'll actually be sending one out...not to mention we'll be sending out a little announcement right after the first of the year!!  I always told myself that once we had kids of our own, we'd start sending out an annual Christmas card or letter, so you can be expecting that in 2014!

However, as I sat and thought today about the enormous amount of blessings we've had over the past year, I couldn't help but get out the computer and start typing away.  So I thought this year, we would share a digital Christmas card along with our "Year in Review."  Some might think that spending 36 (to-date) of the past 52 weeks sick would make for a pretty crummy year, but looking back, all I see is blessings, and I wanted to share some of those with you!!

We celebrated our first year as homeowners, Brad's promotion to Consultant and 3 years with CG, along with Brad's 25th and my 28th birthdays.  We made some difficult decisions, including a possible move to Florida, deciding to move forward with IVF as our shot for starting a family, and me leaving my position after almost 2 years with Yardi.  We faced some difficult lows and some incredible highs, but we knew that God was with us 100% of the time, and he was guiding each step that we took.  Here are some more of our favorite highlights from 2013:

We rang in the new year with great friends - We were so blessed to spend the past year with an amazing group of couples, walking through life together, growing through bible studies, praying and praising together, and there was definitely a lot of laughs and a lot of fun!  Our Small Group was definitely one of the biggest blessings of 2013!

We lived for the weekends - Brad started traveling weekly to Connecticut the Monday before Valentines day for a project with CG.  We certainly made the most of our weekends and squeezed in as  much fun as we could, which included "some" shopping (we quickly got over using "Retail Therapy" as a way to spend time together...), double dates with great friends, concerts (including the Kari Jobe/Chris Tomlin concert), movies, and some fun in the kitchen!  We absolutely love spending time together, no matter what we are doing, and 2013 was definitely a year for lots of time together.

 

We survived a scary car accident - Well, Carrie survived the wreck, and Brad survived having to hear about it from 1700 miles away.  Calling your husband to let him know you'd been side swiped on 635 and the person tried to flee the scene (so you chased them while on the phone with 911) was NOT a fun call to make.  In tears, I believe I started with, "I'm okay, but..."  That not so fun week ended up even LESS fun when I wound up with a pretty tough case of strep throat!

We watched Tate grow up...and found out he's going to be a big brother! Due to that ugly little wreck and bout with strep throat, we weren't able to take a trip to Conroe that we had planned...but we got some pretty awesome FaceTime anyways!  Throughout 2013, there were trips to Conroe and SS to spend time with Tate, as well as some time in Arlington, and there was plenty of FaceTime and video/picture messages from his momma and daddy to keep us up to date with our favorite little guy.  That is one smart, fun little boy, and Miss Olivia is blessed to have such a great big brother!!

We considered a BIG move - Most people don't know, but in February, I was contacted for an opportunity to interview with a company for a position in Florida.  Following the first (LENGTHY) phone interview, I was asked to participate in a panel interview for the second round.  As we prayed for days unsure of what we were supposed to do, we started to hear from God that we were exactly where we needed to be at the time.  (And thankfully so, seeing as I found out I was pregnant a few short months later!)

We supported our Rangers - I remember telling Brad, "I don't think I'll ever get used to just driving up the road to go see them play," after heading home from the game on Opening Weekend.  I LOVE my little sports loving husband, and I have so much fun cheering on the Rangers with him.

 

We also had lots of fun cheering on some of our other favorite teams throughout their seasons...

We drank Kangen water - We are certainly believers in what Kangen can do for some one, because I am proof!  After making the decision in January to purchase our own machine, I started seeing some pretty noticeable improvements in my health, and a few short months later...I was pregnant!

We also made a trip to Atlanta at the end of April to learn more about Enagic/Kangen Water, and we LOVED getting to spend time with so many others that had seen similar differences in their lives.  We wrapped up the weekend with a trip to the Coke Museum.

We got our miracle - After years of praying and hoping, sitting in doctor's offices and leaving with little hope, undergoing surgeries and trying various medications...we gave it all up.  So with prayer and an ovulation predictor, we finally got our 12% miracle!  By week 3 of pregnancy, I was nauseas to the point that I knew something was going on...but a negative pregnancy test (again...) shattered my hopes...only to take a positive one 5 days later (followed by another positive one...I had to be sure!)

I had so much fun calling to cancel the IVF appointment we had made only 3 short days before finding out, but that joy didn't compare to sharing the news with all of our family over Mother's Day Weekend!  It was definitely a Mother's Day to remember!

 

Along with getting our sweet miracle, we battled through Hyperemesis and we revealed the Gender.

We had no idea what was in store for us so soon after those two little positive tests...but what followed included a lot of time on our couch/in bed, along with some one on one time with a trash can that would end up being something that went almost everywhere with us for months.

 

By week 18, it was finally time to find out just what this little one was going to be...and we had so much fun finding out for ourselves and then sharing the news with our friends and family!

We welcomed Olivia - After finding out that my brother, Alan, and his wife, Candice, were expecting Baby #2 on March 16, we could not WAIT for that sweet little baby to get here!!  Miss Olivia Lynn made her arrival on October 14, 2013 at 6:55 pm, and she was absolutely perfect!  Tate quickly stepped in to his role of big brother and loved giving her "tisses" and holding her.  We are so excited to watch this little Princess grow up.

 

And We enjoyed time with family - We are so blessed with incredible families, and being with them certainly made for some memorable moments in 2013!

2013 was one heck of a ride, but I'm guessing we better just hold on for what's in store with 2014!

My Kangen Journey

I was introduced to Kangen Water after I got home from a 4-day hospital stay at the end of October 2012.

Brad and I decided to start trying for a family in June of 2011, and we learned pretty quickly that it was going to take a little more than trying to get our blessing, so I visited a fertility specialist in August of 2012, a little over a year after we first started trying.  While at our first appointment, our doctor let me know I’d need to repeat the surgery I first had in July of 2007, followed with quite a bit of medication and a set of Lupron injections.

I had the surgery in September of 2012, and at my follow-up appointment, I was quickly prescribed about 3200 mg of various medications.  All of those medications, along with a doctor prescribed change in my diet, led to my trip to the ER, which you can read more about here.  The final diagnosis: ACIDOSIS, meaning my body was dangerously acidic.

It was definitely a difficult and frustrating week, and it left me feeling hopeless and scared.  Not only did I feel like I was back at square one regarding my desire to have a baby, but I NEVER EVER EVER wanted to feel that way again.  I told Brad several times on the day we went to the ER that I felt like I was dying.  I felt silly saying that at the time until we realized just how serious things were and how sick I really was.

We hadn’t been home too long when I got a call from my high school youth minister, Jimmy Reynolds.  He introduced me to some very simple facts about WATER, and then asked me a question.  Seven very simple words changed my life forever: Would you like to try the water?  As I mentioned earlier, I was desperate to NEVER get that sick again, so I was willing to try anything.

Part of my prescribed fertility treatment was to take care of myself and try to get as healthy as possible – the healthier I was, the "easier" it would be to conceive.  Not to mention I had endometriosis on my bladder, which caused CONTINUAL bladder infections (so severe I would end up vomiting for days at a time and miss countless hours, sometimes days of work).  Needless to say, I had already cut out caffeine, and I eventually decided to cut out everything but water.  I was drinking between 3 and 5 bottles of Dasani water a day, so I was pretty shocked when the kidney specialist told us just how dehydrated I was…enough to need 5 bags of IV fluids over the course of 3 days, which I was told is just about the entire amount of fluids my body requires to function.

Did you know that the bottled water you religiously drink, thinking you are hydrating and helping yourself is actually ACIDIC?  It doesn’t even qualify to go through city pipes, and if it did, they’d be rusted and ruined! On the scale of acidity, 14.0 being alkaline, bottled water is 2.5.  TWO POINT FIVE.  If you’ll take a look at a pH scale, you’ll quickly see that level promotes sickness and disease in your body.  

After talking with Jimmy about the various types of water people drink today, I quickly learned just how wrong I had been about what I thought was a healthy habit to have.  Each of those bottles had directly contributed to the acidic state of my body and were leading causes of my severe dehydration.  I was able to have a loaner machine in my apartment for 30 days, thanks to Ty Musser, my middle school youth minister. He was extremely helpful in our introduction to Kangen water.  He came and installed the loaner machine and talked with us for a good 2 hours, answering all of our questions and telling us some of the stories from things he had seen.

Brad and I agreed we would do anything possible to keep from going back to that state again, so we purchased our machine in January of 2013 after getting settled in to our new home and finishing up with the holidays.

I had high hopes that the water would keep me out of the hospital and, more importantly, keep my hydrated (which it has done both), but I had no idea all of the other ways it was going to help me.

One of the wonderful side effects of the endometriosis I have is IBS, and I have a pretty severe case of it.  I had my FIRST (and yes, there have been multiple) colonoscopy when I was 17.  Each test (colonoscopy, scopes, gallbladder tests, cat scans, endless blood work, etc.) has come back with the same results: inconclusive.  And each doctor left me with the same outcome: no answers, no suggestions, and NO relief. (I received my first OFFICIAL diagnosis of Endometriosis at 21 and IBS at 27…I went to my first doctor appointment for severe stomach pains at the age of 16.)

It is this area of my life and health that has seen the MOST improvement, and this alone was worth purchasing the machine for me: I went from having diarrhea between 5 and 7 times a day, EVERY. SINGLE. day of the week (and no, I am not exaggerating for added effect), to not having it AT ALL.  (If you are praising Jesus right now, SO AM I!)... I realize this might be a little TMI, but it's also TTT (totally the truth) and part of my story, and I hope that I can share the waters with other people that have a similar story.

I have been able to see other improvements from the water as well, including added energy, no soda withdrawals (I now CRAVE water), no headaches (these were actually starting to become a weekly occurrence as well), but I am even more excited to see what’s to come.  I hope to learn ways to manage (or even eliminate) my endometriosis pain and the side effects of PCOS.  I know this isn’t the end of my Kangen testimony.  I am hopefully that someday I will be able to add a chapter about beating infertility. I’ll keep you posted on that one! ;)