It's Already Been Ten Days...

So one of my goals was to do a post once a week but here we are 10 days out. 

Which made me look a little more closely at the word goal. The definition according to google is, "the result or achievement toward which the effort is directed."

Why then do people think their goals have to be met on the spot? As soon as they are stated? When in reality our goals should be a work in progress. 

If we looked at our goals in this way perhaps we'd stick to them longer and actually succeed instead of giving up because the path to the end result is winding instead of a straight path. 


The photo above is from my wedding. I have been with my wife for almost 27 years, yet we've only been legally married for little over a year. However, it was one of our goals. Although we couldn't accomplish this goal due to laws in our state for much of the time, we still didn't give up and once it was legal we worked our butts off to make it happen and it was a beautiful and worth the wait!

Moving forward is my word for the year. In order to keep moving forward I can't keep looking back. Even if I stumble I will keep moving forward. 

I'll take three days late over three months. I have 50 weeks left in 2018 to accomplish my goal and I believe I can do it. 

My best, 

Ashli

Goodbye 2017, Hello 2018

Happy 2018!!! 

I have to admit I'm extremely happy to be entering a new year. While 2017 wasn't horrible, it wasn't great either. 

There was my surgery, which basically stole my entire summer, goals I didn't meet and so far, this school year has been less than wonderful. If I'm being honest, it's sucked. Big Time.

However, the surgery WAS a success!! Yay! We are all pretty healthy (aside from the weight we need to lose), Lisa is closer to graduating (double yay!) and I passed my Special Education endorsement license exam! Praise God!

So, all in all, not too bad. 

I was going to do one of those year long recap posts with a gazillion pictures that scrolls on forever, but then I thought, why? 

Why spend the energy to go backwards when I can spend it moving forward. 

I am beyond ready to move forward. 

• Forward with my health
• Forward with my career
• Forward with my debt reduction
• Forward with living with less 
• Forward with spending my time more purposefully

As a family we set some goals for 2018. 

The first one has been something we've wanted to accomplish for a very long time. We are giving ourselves 9 months to "train" for our 7 mile walk around the lake. Sky suggested a picnic at the end to celebrate. We thought that sounded fabulous! 

Next up is going to be a doozy. We have a serious problem with the consumption of pop. I would call it very close to an addiction. So, this one will be tough but I truly believe it will bring the most impact towards being healthy. 

Lastly, is one I actually chose for our family because I think it's imperative to put forth effort towards bonding as a family. We all enjoy games and this is a way for us to spend time with each other that does not involve ANYTHING electronic. 

These are my personal goals for the new year. 

Be mindful.

Be present.

Be grateful. 

They seem simple enough but actually encompass a great deal that I will expand on in future posts. 

Which provides for a great segue into my next goal. 

This blog has lacked consistency on my part, much like many of the goals I set for myself this year. I have stated before that I want to post more often but have yet to follow through. 

I WILL make this year different. Once a week NO MATTER WHAT. I don't care if I do a weekly post that says, "I don't have anything to say". LOL! 

Until next time, 

Ashli

Procrastination and Perfection

"Procrastination is a sign of a perfectionist"-Patrick J Kennedy.

I have always been a procrastinator...I'm not sure I'm convinced it is always because I'm a perfectionist. Although, I must admit when it comes to blogging I think this quote has a lot of truth. 

Part of my issue is, I DO procrastinate because I feel like I have to have the perfect pictures, perfect recipes or perfect content to post but you know what, life isn't that way and after all this is supposed to be a lifestyle blog so I'm letting go of perfection! 

The photo above is our family picture that took me almost three years to order and put in that frame. Three years. I'm not really sure what I was waiting for. I love that picture even though I'm not anywhere near the weight l'd like to be so I don't think this was a case of perfectionism. This was a case of just not doing it. 

Soooooo, I am going to start something new with the upcoming year. I am going to post once a week (minimum) regardless! 

I'm a planner. If I don't plan, stuff just doesn't get done. Also, for some reason I tend to do better if it's written down. A calendar, a schedule, a to-do list...you name it. If I write it down, the chances of it getting completed are much higher.

This school year I've tried to be better about planning my days, in writing. And you know what? It's helping. I'm getting more accomplished in my day with my students because I am sticking to my plan.

Even though this school year started off extremely stressful so stressful that, quite frankly this is the first year that I have questioned my career choice as a teacher. However, things have settled down and now we are in a good groove. Thank God! 

And thanks to more planning, after almost five years of teaching, I've made a few anchor charts. If you are not a teacher you may not know what these are, or even care but the kids really love them and they were actually fun and engaging! 

Here are two that I did. Of course I don't have a picture of the cutest one but oh well, here they are:)

Are they perfect? No. Does that matter? No.

I did them with my students...they learned from them and that's what matters! 

Until next time, 

Ashli 

The Last Six Weeks

My, my, my it's been a minute!

Well obviously if I'm writing this and you are reading it, you know I woke up from surgery! LOL! 

Today is my 6 week post op anniversary and boy do I feel better than week one. To say it was rough in the beginning is an understatement. 

However, I made it and can say I'm doing better than I thought I would be at this point. Thank God! 

I kept that walker busy for a couple weeks. I was so thrilled when I was able to put it to rest! Netflix was a life saver, both day and night. 

This was my view for two weeks...I actually don't remember much of that time! Pain pills and I don't mix. 

Lisa took such good care of me during this time and everything else. I felt so guilty once I was awake and aware enough to know what was going on. I also felt so bad for Sky. Thank God he had camp and it helped when Lisa got the pool up. If I ever have to have this surgery again (and the chances of that are pretty good) I will do it during the school year, during the cold winter months. It sucks for him and it sucks for me to basically miss an entire summer! 

Plus, I wouldn't have to shave my legs. The no bending part of this recovery is probably one of the most annoying. We did manage to come up with a brilliant way that I could shave my legs on my own. Before this little invention Lisa had to do it. Bless her, she also painted my toes. Did a fabulous job I might add! :)

I was able to participate for the most part in the festivites for the Fourth of July. I even made a no bake pie...the first thing I had "cooked" in a four weeks! 

Sky and Lisa made their traditional rice krispie treats :) 

She also made THE most delicious homemade cheeseburgers I have ever had! I put the baked beans together...so technically I cooked two things ;)

The boy had such a good time this year! He lit all his own fireworks! Growing up waaaaay too fast. 

Once I was feeling better I got into teacher mode and started panicking about going back to work in August. I'm moving to 1st grade this year, which is younger than any other grade I've ever taught, and I'm nervous about being able to keep up with them since my surgery. 

So I started planning! 

Target and Dollar Tree gets me every year!

I'm so excited about this new book! I've got most of my first week mapped out...I just need to get into the school so I can get it all together. 

He has become an expert vacummer! (I know that's not a word) 

We made it outside to catch lightening bugs :)

This past weekend I was able to make waffles! One of these days when I get myself together a little more I will start sharing recipes here. My goal is to get all the recipes my family loves onto the blog so they can make them too. 

Last but not least, I was FINALLY able to have a drank! It's been soooooo long and it was soooooo good. 

Well that wraps up the last six weeks. Hopefully it won't be that long before I'm up to writing again!

~Ashli