This year...

Oh, hey there. Look who fell off the blogging bandwagon. Yet again!

Guys, life has been a handful lately. I'm talking reevaluating life, questioning relationships, rediscovering priorities, etcetera and so forth. Tomorrow marks exactly 6 months until I turn 30, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't probably having a helluva time coming to terms with that. Not so much the number or the age itself, but more of what comes along with it.

Am I happy with where I am now? What are my goals? Should I be further along than I already am? Why don't I have my shit figured out? Should I be wanting kids soon? Why can't I get a damn budget in order? Should I move to Colorado? (Seriously.) When will I finally fully love myself?

I probably think about three of these things at least once every day. It's big-question stuff. Stuff that can't necessarily be answered, at least not right away. Stuff that I'd like to address a bit more this year, instead of just pushing it off to the side (because let's be honest, it's so much easier to do that).

So, where do I start?

Well first.. when I took a look at last years goals, I realized I didn't quite do a stand-up job at sticking with them. So some I am going to renew, and some I have changed and added, and will probably keep adding to. Life is all about the process, not the destination... right? Right.

So for 2015:

1. Blog more. (Again.)
I had this as number one on my list last year as well, and all I can say is that I have re-added it for this year and I will do my damn best to stick to it!

2. Read more.
I'm really, really good at starting books and then never finishing them. At any given time, I'm probably about a quarter of the way through 3 or 4 different books, some of which get finished and some of which never do. (There's of course always the random book that I devour within a week, on top of that.) But this year, I am determined to make reading a part of my weekly, if not daily, routine. It helps that I started a mini-book club with a few friends, and also joined another one through my yoga studio.

3. Refocus on healthy habits.
When life gets stressy, I have a bad habit of falling completely off the bandwagon. Nutrition and healthy living is something I am undoubtedly passionate about, but also something that I admittedly struggle with - especially when life gets a bit rough. I've been really focusing on me lately - emotionally, spiritually, physically - and this has helped kickstart a renewed sense of vitality and love for myself. I simply want to continue on that path!

4. Refocus on Gingerbean.
This has been a long time coming. Things are fairly settled with the winery at this point, which gives me much more time to focus on my massage and health coaching business. I really want (and honestly, need) to develop my practice a bit more.. I have dubbed 2015 as the year to do so!

5. Complete my Yoga Teacher Training
More on this soon.. but I have been wanting to do this for quite some time now. My fave studio just released details about their new YTT program this coming fall/winter, and I am cautiously optimistic that I may be able to swing it. Which brings me to..

6. Get better with money.
Long and short of it is I'm really in the weeds, financially. Both Scot and I got ourselves into a bit of a mess, and it's kind of hell getting out of it. So budgeting and sticking with it is actually a top priority, above all right now. And if I can get that in order.. well, #5 might actually happen.

So these are really more like goals, than resolutions. I'm also planning on starting a sugar detox over the next week or so, so I guess that's a "resolution", but I'm not really resolving anything. Just trying my hand at something.

So what say you, fine folks? Any goals or resolutions of your own for 2015?

Happy Endings

I've always wanted to be part of a book club. Well.. at least for the past five years or so.

It's funny because I think book clubs can get a bad rap - conjuring images of 40 year old housewives and 80 year old grandmothers sitting around as discussing the latest Oprah find. At least, that's where my mind tends to go first when I hear the words "book club". While I've always enjoyed reading, the idea of discussing what I read seemed both silly and terrifying to me. Mostly because that's what we had to do in school with every damn book and I will tell you right now, I am the worst with symbolism.  The Lord of the Flies was about some messed up kids, and that's it. Just let me enjoy the book.

And then somewhere along the way, I decided that I absolutely must join - maybe even start? - a book club. Mostly to kick my butt into gear and actually get me reading and finishing a book. I constantly find myself in the middle of 3 or 4 different books, which is super, but it takes me 10 months to finish anything because of my perpetual need for something new to keep me entertained. Then I get all upset because I never finish anything, and forget what I was even reading about. It's quite stupid, actually.

Rewind to last weekend when I was out on the town with my lovely friend T and her hubs. We went to this fabulous little posh-dive bar (oxymoron much?) that specializes in crazy cocktails - one of which was called a Happy Ending. Gin, raspberry, jalapeño, lemon.. I was sold.

The topic of birthdays came up, as T turned the big 3-0 this year, her hubs had a birthday the week before, and I just had mine a few weeks ago. Naturally, we starting griping about "getting old".. and T mentioned wanting to be in a book club. We started bonding over our mutual dorkiness and admiration for the subject, and decided we must start our own club. It would be called Happy Endings.. and it totally relates to books. Not just delicious drinks and naughty things.

So we are currently deciding what to read first.. and I have to say, once again, Pinterest is delivering with all the suggestions. I'm hoping we can choose by tomorrow so I have something to bring with me and read in Maine (in between all the lobster, of course).

Any suggestions? What books have you been loving lately?