progress report: how am i doing on those resolutions so far?

1. Get out of debt, except my mortgage and student loans and save more. (Please note: I only have 5 car payments left, so that is one major accomplishment.) - Making lots of headway on this one.  Got out of credit card debt, except for a store card that I use.  Started a budget more recently, and now my goal is to start saving:)

2. Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a very picky eater, so I will try a new food (healthy) each month. Casey-C, I will TRY sushi just for you:) [please note: credit is due to Holly, Bayley, and Michele: I tried sushi a few years ago, oh what joy, haha... they have attempted to get me to break out of the normal foods I eat, but the sushi attempt failed.] - I have really taken this one to a whole new level, surprised myself.  It will be getting a whole blog entry all by itself.  I can't wait to show you some of the pictures.  I have amazing friends who have been so supportive and cheered me on:)

3. After losing weight in 2009, in 2010, I will tone up and utilize my gym membership I pay for:) - I really challenged myself and worked out with my friend Emily for a few months, which was so challenging, but so much fun to be able to work out with her.  In addition, I have found that I enjoy spin, athletic conditioning, strength and stability.  I absolutely love pilates, so I think I am doing okay, needs improvement. 

4. I will learn to run, sounds stupid, but I actually hate it, but Cheryl wants to train for a 1/2 marathon and I will train with friends so it will keep me motivated:) Whitney has this plan all outlined, and I am trying my best to follow it:) Ask Holly about how she used to have to all but drag my butt out of bed when we lived in Raleigh, 6 AM is early!  - Okay, so no I did not train for a half, I did learn to run a little better, but I think I learned, that running is not my thing.  Maybe I will try again next year, haha.
5. I will go to bed earlier. My normal bed time is 1 AM or later, so my goal is to get in bed by midnight or earlier each night. So far, it has been 1 or 2 AM, not doing so good. - Yeah, still not much improvement in this area.  I would say on any given night it is between 12-1.  I am still working on it and praying that God will help me surrender my time to him, so that maybe I will get a grasp on this issue.

6. I will get up and do my quiet time in the morning, instead of doing it at night, which should help with #5, haha. Also, memorize more bible verses:) - For a few months I was doing really well, but lately, I have fallen back into the trap of doing it at night... since you can see I haven't had much success with #5, clearly this one didn't stand much of a chance.

7. I want to let go of my fear and trust God to go on a mission trip overseas. If you know me, you are probably laughing because you know not having air conditioner would be a challenge in general. - I signed up, paid my $120, and was ready to go to Senegal, but the trip was canceled.  I am not going to lie, this was very discouraging, but I am fully trusting God that if He wants me to go on a mission trip, He will let me know.  I will be obedient.

8. Continue to pursue my goal of going back to nursing school; with God all things are possible. I would love to work in pediatric oncology; sounds morbid to most, but I feel like God has given me this passion and to know that I am helping them would be a-mazing. - Clearly in this economy a mortgage means you are more than likely locked into your current address.  I am pretty content in my current job, so instead I have taken on more wish kids.  I absolutely love volunteering, and that has helped with my passion; I can be patient:)

9. Learn to play a sport ( I am laughing at myself here), I do not have an athletic bone in my body. I enjoy trying new things, however, too many people are competitive and that is intimidating... maybe one day this year? I would play for fun any day, but we will see... - Yeah, haven't touched this one at all, haha.

10. Go on more fun trips with my friends (weekend beach trips, charleston, florida... no limitations, wherever we would like to go). - We went to Charleston for the women's retreat, I went to the beach for a few days, and we recently went to the state fair... next year I hope I can go on a few more!!!

11. Do something nice or a random act of kindness for a stranger each week. Help the poor, cook a meal for a sick person, and the key is do this without recognition. - The key to this one is without recognition, I continue to try:)

12. Take one of my friend Emily's exercise classes. I will drag Kasey-K with me, Emily:) She totally thinks we forgot that it was in her box, haha. - Well, I get a 50 on this one... I worked out with Em lots this year, but I guess Kasey just threw that slip away from her 30 things to do before she turned 30, haha.

13. Let someone else plan something, and not get stressed out about it:) Tried this is 2009, didn't work out so well. - There have been events in which I was not the only planner and they have turned out great, this resolution would be more pointed towards my friends from home, and I would say, the only thing I can think of is I let Lindsey take over a photo project for Crystal's engagement party and I didn't do anything for it... that was good for me, haha.  What can I say, I love to plan.
14. Remind myself daily that God created me in his image as a beautiful creation, I don't have to be a size 0, 2, 4, and tell myself that as Casey-C recently told me, I am "smokin' hottness" (love it). HAVE CONFIDENCE!!! It is attractive. - Always a work in progress.  I have a letter that my friend Lica gave me at the women's retreat and it helps.  I have the most encouraging friends, and I love each and everyone of them for their reminders and encouragement:)

15. Learn to say no, sometimes. - Getting better at it.
16. Learn to cook with the help of my domestic friends, haha. Also ties into #2. [Kasey-K this applies to you, I need help.] - Yeah, I feel as though I need to go take a local cooking class.  Kelsey = clueless in the kitchen, honestly it is quite comical.  I have been trying to eat at home more, just don't ask about the meals.  They are like so easy it isn't even funny.
17. Go to a Bobcats Game. I live in Charlotte; I have no excuse. P.S. Many previous Carolina basketball players play for them, I need to see them play. - Did this, woohoo in January/February timeframe.  It was Make A Wish night too, so some of the proceeds went to MAW:)
18. Have more game nights, I mean, they are so fun:) - We've had a few, but not recently.  We should do one soon.

19. Read more and in turn watch less TV. I'll take suggestions, but don't overwhelm me, as I am a slow reader, haha. - I have tried to cut back on TV and read more, I did really good for a while, but reading is a challenge for me.  It has to really catch my attention.  I did read Captivating and Redeeming Love this year, haha... there are a few others, but these stand out:)
20. Journals - Update them more often, I have so many, but forget to update them daily, so maybe committing to write in them weekly for sure. - I still have a lot, and I update whenever I get a chance. 
21. Only go to the mall when I actually NEED something, serioulsy, the shopping is out of control.
21a. Only go to TARGET with a list, haha.... Need I say more. - In October, this month, I challenged myself not to buy anything that wasn't an absolute need, I had no idea how addicted to shopping I was until then.  Working on that budget, will get back to you on this one.

22. Use coupons more. This could help with the getting out of debt sooner. Jillian K. what is that website you told us about? - Oh, this one has been so much fun... from triple coupons, super double coupons, and e-Vic specials... oh wait, i just discovered bloom and all their coupon deals and fancy scanners, seriously this is so much fun and saves me a ton of money!!!

23. Give more to my make a wish kids, what a blessing they are to my life:) - I love them and it brings joy to my heart to volunteer for such a great organization.  The kids are wonderful; I wish I could do so much more.

24. Make turkey and dressing this year, I don't know if my family will let me, so maybe I can do this for my friends before the holidays. - Lindsey and I just discussed how we should do this and how fun it would be.. maybe it will happen.

25. Make myself a dress, seriously, I recently learned the basics of sewing, so this will happen:) - I have the whole week off next week, maybe I will make Savannah a dress or something, not myself, haha, what was I picking.

26. Learn how to knit. Oh, how these last two make me sound like I am 90, haha. - Casey-C has taken on a new hobbie, so maybe she can teach me.
27. Dance more. - Going to 8-9 weddings, I have definitely danced a lot, but loved every single minute of it:)

28. LOVE GOD MORE:)- I need to love Him more each day.

beth's big day... she gets to marry "her man"

so, shortly after i met one of my best friends in college, i met beth spake.  holly, beth, and i were inseparable our senior year of college.  i guess you could say we had family dinners every night; i loved every minute of it.  beth is the type of friend that you know you can always count on and she will always be there to make you laugh.  without a doubt, one of my most hilarious friends.  sometimes the girl doesn't have a filter and to watch her and holly sometimes provided so much entertainment in my life.  literally the day we graduated, beth had to move to campbell for law school and that is where she met "her man."  i am so happy for danny, beth, and chandler. 

i must say the wedding and reception were so much fun.  when mary ann busted out on that dance floor, i i am pretty sure everyone there had to pick up there chins/jaws from the floor, that girl has moves.  we even rode on a trolly from the ceremony site to the reception site:)  i met some new people from shelby, while having lots of fun with some familiar faces:) 

congratulations to the fulmers!!!

bulkapalooza 2010

so, in college i had a group of friends i was super close with and michele is the first one to get married out of this group, so this wedding was kind of a big deal.  we all knew michele would be the first to get married, as she always had a boyfriend:)  she went off to physical therapy school at western carolina a year after we all graduated from unc, and there she met her now husband, will:)  we all knew that there was something special about will from the start.  after she graduated and will spent a year in chicago, they moved to cary to begin careers as physical therapists.  will proposed in puerto rico, he used self timer and captured it all on camera, so awesome!!!  they got married this past weekend in smithfield, nc.

at the rehearsal, i think a few of us thought we were going to be overtaken by bugs (mosquitoes, gnats, etc)... i mean, we aren't talking about one or two.  we are talking about the minute you step outside, you've been attacked or bitten by at least two mosquitoes and the gnats are flying in your ears, eww.  there isn't enough bug spray in the world to combat this problem at the rosedown plantation.  now don't get me wrong, the place is beautiful, but please note:  kelsey will never get married outside for many reasons, but this is one of them.  the first and most important is the heat.  (i'm kind of going off on a tangent here, but please come along.)  it was extremely hot during the rehearsal as well, we all had sweat dripping down our backs, in places we shouldn't have sweat, and i am standing there thinking...  yeah, nothing about this is beautiful.  it is actually making me ill, dirty, itchy, etc.  michele's dad was having to fan michele's mom with a portable battery operated fan (poor thing).

now, we move to the day of the wedding.  we arrive at 10 am to get hair, make-up and dresses on for pictures before and for the ceremony to begin at 5:30.  now all my complaining in the above mentioned paragraph will subside, as it was a gorgeous day:)  one of michele's family members or family friends yard guarded the ceremony site, so the bugs were a little more tame, so that helped tremendously.  holly, michele's hairdresser, did 6 girls hair in 5 hours, which is simply amazing... she did great work.  if you need a hairdresser (especially for up-dos in raleigh) she should be your girl.  there weren't any big problems, the ceremony was perfect for will and michele.  i couldn't be more happy for them.  i pray that God blesses them with a happy marriage, and i pray that they put God in the center of their marriage for the rest of their life together.

the bridesmaids had a blast dancing with michele on the dance floor and peyden (lauren's son) provided some great entertainment.  you can teach him any trick from the shopping cart, the worm, the fist pump, the scissors, etc.  scott, bayley's boyfriend, even has seven rules for hi and he can rattle them all off by memorization... so cute!

they left to a line of sparklers and are now enjoying their honeymoon in HAWAII.

CONGRATULATIONS WILL AND MICHELE BULK!!!

christine ties the knot

with some of her bridesmaids

their first dance:)

CONGRATULATIONS CHRISTINE AND DOUG

so, next up is christine:)  so christine and doug started dating around april 2009 and got engaged in jan/feb 2010.  shortly thereafter they set a date for labor day weekend:)  we all know one of christine's strong suits is planning, so this wedding was going to planned out and organized to the extreme.  she asked casey, kasey, and jillian to be bridesmaids and then came to her other super organized friend (yours truly) and ask me to be the wedding coordinator.  the ceremony was so sweet and very personal.  we all had a blast at the reception, the dance floor was packed.  it was so much fun.

love you girls so much

that will be mrs. garnett from now on

celebrating lica and tyler

next wedding was still in july, but at the very end of the month!  i met lica through my friend kasey, and what a blessing she has been to me.  seriously, she is such a joy to be around, and stil, she is so completely real, genuine, and encouraging which i love, love, love about her.  she is from columbia, south america and sometimes she doesn't exactly know the sayings or phrases we may use here in america, which is very funny.  lica's husband tyler is hilarious and jokes around a lot.  they are absolutely perfect for each other.  the service was great, and the reception was so much fun... think latin mixed with club dancing, we called it "club acosta."  i think lica and company had fun trying to teach some of us how to salsa or latin dance.  lica was an absolutely stunning bride:)

CONGRATULATIONS TYLER AND LICA!!!

the beautiful cake

so cute, so happy, and so in love

logan and jason's special day

Cutting the Cake

at the reception with my best friends

shortly after i moved to charlotte and started going to forest hill, i went to christine's for a get together, i think for the final four, and i met a girl named logan, from shelby.  (one of my best friend's from college, holly is also from shelby) and i immediately put the pieces together, as i had heard her mention a logan before... such a small world.  logan and i instantly bonded, as we both went to unc, GO HEELS!!!  i've enjoyed getting to know logan over the past two years, and loved celebrating logan and jason's special day with them.  before the wedding, she had a couple's shower, lingerie shower, and we went to litchfield beach for her bachelorette party/weekend.  of course, logan chose carolina blue for her bridesmaid's dresses.  they even had some beach music for those of us that like to shag.  i had a lot of fun being with my best friends celebrating with logan and jason:)  congratulations to you both.  logan, you made a beautiful bride, seriously!!!

all of the girls with the bride

nine years in the making... holly beam, make that specht

so, in october of our freshman year of college lindsey and i thought we would try our hand at match making and on may 8, 2010 i'd say we get an "A"... holly and matt got married. there were many times we didn't think this day would come, as we thought matt never would wise up and buy her a ring, many times she threatened if he didn't, she was leaving, but as always, God had a plan and now they are happier than ever. these two are so perfect for each other. matt actually told holly on their wedding day, "we should have done this sooner." we all loved that he said that! i picked them up from their honeymoon and i don't think i have seen two happier people, it brought so much joy to my heart. congratulations matt and holly, i love you both.

p.s. the group of girls all did a choreographed dance all for holly, there is a video on youtube, so funny!