2015 Resolutions

My photo from the Revel in Atlantic City, NJ

 

Happy 2015! How are you? Did you have a nice holiday? Mine was lovely - Christmas, 13th wedding anniversary, and New Years. Not a bad holiday season at all.

I've been thinking a lot about what I want 2015 to be. I hit a milestone birthday this year {which I am not happy about - I don't like birthdays that end in a 0, no matter what the first number is}, so I want to make this year special. How? Not sure yet, but I've got a few things I'm thinking about.

But, for now my big goal for the year is to lose weight. Yea...yea...I know. Everyone has that as a goal. I always have it as a goal, but I realized something last week and I think things finally clicked with me. I'll share what another day, but for now I have a goal of losing 50 pounds. I decided to do it in 5 pound monthly increments. That seems reasonable.

And 50 pounds is a pretty lofty goal, so I'm breaking my large goal into smaller monthly ones. Here are the ones I have for January:

As posted in my calendar

 1. Lose 7-8 pounds. I know I want 5 pounds a month, but I figure I can swing an extra couple pounds the first month. Hopefully...
2. Run 48 miles. Currently training for two half marathons in March. 48 miles are for my training runs.
3. Follow meal plan. I wrote up a monthly dinner menu because I fail so much at healthy dinners. I figure having something planned out gets me off the hook.

4. Read 10 books. I had a goal of reading 100 books in 2014. I reached that goal with 36 hours to spare. If I had planned out my reading a bit better {hello only one book in April}, I wouldn't have had to read 10+ books in December.
5. Post ESP photos. For my 13th wedding anniversary hubby and I went to Eastern State Penitentiary, where I took lots of photos. I want to edit and post them to my photo blog. I have been neglecting it. I want to get back to taking photos and posting them.

These are my goals so far. I know I'll be adding to them.  But, these are a start. I want to be flexible throughout the year and take advantage of opportunities as they come up.

What are your goals? How are you planning on achieving them?

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Thankful Thursday

Happy Thursday! How's your week been going? Mine's been good thanks! Today is Thankful Thursday. Have you thought about what you are thankful for today?

Today I am thankful for my creativity. I believe it is one of my better qualities and today I am happy I have it. Well...sometimes it's bad. I can't do horror movies because I can believe it could really happen a little too much to feel safe. LOL!

But, overall I am thankful I have a creative mind. I love photography and trying to find an unusual angle for an image or a fun place to take a photo. I was luck enough to photograph my friend's wedding reception this past Saturday {check it out here}. I also had the chance to photograph my college friend's family while they played mini-golf {check it out here}.

I also take photos of my adorable kitties - Higgy, Pooka, and Elizabeth. I'm addicted to photos of Ferris Wheel's {here and here}. I take pictures at baseball games {York Revolution & Philadelphia Phillies}. And don't get me started on vacation photos {Rome, Florence, Pisa/Venice, Paris, London, Atlantic City...}.

What are you thankful for today? Are you creative? Are you into photography? What hobby do you do that makes you happy?
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Photos of the week

I have been having a hard time getting back into the whole photography thing.  Seems like I have lots going on and it's been put on the back burner.  So, I've decided to try to take a photo a day this month.  It doesn't have to be perfect, but it has to be something I see.  So, without further adieu...

Tuesday, May 1

We are season ticket holders for the York Revolution (2010 and 2011 Atlantic League Champions thankyouverymuch) and opening day was Tuesday.  This is Corey Thurman with the first pitch.  He has been with the Revs for a few years now, has made York his home, and is just an all-around nice guy.  Sadly, he didn't make it out of the third inning, which is odd for him.  And the Revs went on to lose Tuesday night's home opener. 

Wednesday, May 2

Love this sign!  I belong to the YMCA in Harrisburg, of which there is an East Shore and a West Shore branch.  This sign is at the East Shore branch in the ladies locker room.  Which is fabulous if you're a woman, not so much if you're a guy.  LOL!

Thursday, May 3

Cute little kitty in the window.  I walk about half a mile to work and a half a mile back.  I always check the windows of the homes along the way to see if there are any cute pets.  Usually it is kitties, but sometimes there are big ole dogs just sitting on the back of sofas looking out.  This cute little kitty was sitting directly across from my car when I got to work Thursday afternoon.  You can even kinda see my car in the window.  She wasn't there when I came back to my car.

Friday, May 4

Friday nights the hubby and I now go to the West Shore YMCA to get our fencing on.  LOL!  This is the front entrance to that YMCA.  It's so very modern looking and sleek.  Very different from the East Shore YMCA, which is in downtown Harrisburg.  But, it's very nice and I love that we have two YMCA's to chose from when we work out.

Saturday, May 5

Saturday mornings are our time to get a long run in.  Though this week I had to rearrange my schedule and didn't get a long run in.  I got in a 1.5 mile run in and a 30 minute trainer session in at the above YMCA.  Normally I meet with him on Monday nights, but we're going to be away, so I scheduled it for Saturday.  After our Saturday morning workout sessions we head to Dunkin' Donuts since we've Earned Our Donuts.  There is always a medium Blueberry Coffee, then a breakfast sandwich and a donut.  Yesterday's donut was a chocolate cherry.  It was ok, but not great. 

And there we have it.  The first week in May in pictures.  Tune in next week for more photos!