2014 Goals

It is that time of year again where everyone sets goals or resolutions for the new year. 
I prefer to say goals, because they seem to be more attainable and easier to follow :)




Erin over at Love, Fun & Football asked everyone what there theme for 2014 was here,
and I responded with...

Just Do It!

I am so not one to take chances, risks, whatever you want to call them! 
This past year I got out of my comfort zone a bit, 
and really enjoyed it :)

Moving forward I am telling myself to "Just Do It!".

That could be pushing myself to get a workout in because I know I will feel better afterwards.

That could be telling myself to just go finish that load of laundry 
so I don't have to rewash it again.

And it could be just telling myself to take a chance on that new friendship.

So besides telling myself to "Just Do It!" 
I have a few other goals for 2014 that I would like to accomplish...


Eat healthier
Make more meals at home
Spend quality time with our family - no rushing around!
Strengthen our bond with good friends
Use cash more, credit less
Put money into X's college fund
Set aside 30 minutes a day for some form of exercise - family dance parties count :)
Donate clothes & toys we no longer need, use, etc.
Nurture & grow X-tremely V :)


What is your goals for 2014?
Do you have a theme for the new year?


I hope you all are able to ring in the new year with good friends, family, & food! And be safe :)

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A year in review - 2013

2013 sure has had its ups and downs!

I am coming out a year older, a year wiser, and much, much happier :)

We kicked off the year celebrating with some of our best friends :) This past year was about friendship for me and I couldn't ask for better friends that the ones I have! 
You know who you are ;)

In February I began this little journey that is X-tremely V :)

Thank you all so much for allowing me to be me, excepting me with open arms into the blogger world, and continually teaching me how to improve my little space in the world wide web :)

We enjoyed a day trip with X to Wooster where we visited the Smucker's Store & Lehman's Hardware.

We visited Chuck E. Cheese for the first time with X,
Mic and I celebrated 12 years together,
and we said safe travels to one of our best friends.

X began swim lessons and we shared an amazing Mother's Day weekend in Cincinnati :)
We also had some family photos done by the great Christy Rice :)

Mic and I had a great date night,
I enjoyed a fun Father's Day with my dad,
and I started taking a barre & pilates class with a good friend :)

I asked you all for help making my blog more appealing and my girl Erin came through big for me!


I jumped on the Pin-spired link up and saw some of my biggest page view #'s so far (thank you!), 
saw Daughtry live with my dad,
and started my Wedding series in countdown to our 7 year anniversary.


We took a mini vacation with X to Great Wolf Lodge,
and the NFL was back! Go Browns!


Mic and I celebrated our 7 year wedding anniversary,
while also enjoying a wonderful vacation ( part 2 here) to the Smoky Mountains & Nashville!
I also hosted my 1st annual scarf exchange :)


Can you say most page views ever? November was great for this little blog! Thank you all so much!
I received my very first review item as a blogger too!
And we had a wonderful Thanksgiving!


This month has been busy, but fantastic!
This month started out with a sneak peek of our latest family photos from Christy Rice, our amazing and energetic little guy turned 2 years old, I turned 35 and saw an awesome show put on by Justin Timberlake,
and we enjoyed a very relaxing, fun Christmas with our friends and family (here and here).


How was 2013 for you?
Do you have any goals or resolutions set for 2014?
How will you be ringing in the new year?
Any special traditions for NYE or day?


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Linking up with Lisa and Kristen

TGIF

Linking up with the following ladies for

and Lauren for High Five for Friday!

This week was great until last night :(
Mic's car was hit in our work parking lot yesterday and unfortunately the person left the scene without a note of any kind :( Kind of a kick in the pants right after Christmas, but at least we weren't involved in an accident, and no one was hurt.

Moving on to happier things :)

It basically was Christmas for the entire week!

 X and I watched lots of movies over the weekend...
Shrek & Tangled were our favorites :)

I love absolutely love watching my parents interact with X!

 We were excited to share presents with everyone!

 Movies & a big bowl a popcorn go hand in hand in our house :)

His faces kill me!
I just wish I knew what he was thinking!

We had a great time this past week celebrating & enjoying the company of 
our friends and family.


Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas week!
I can't believe we are less than a week away from 2014!
What are you NYE plans?

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and now Facebook!

The Weekend & Christmas Part 2

Christmas was wonderful!

X seriously got enough toys from everyone that we could get rid of all of his other toys and still have a house full!

It was so nice this year to watch him open gifts and truly be excited by the presents he was receiving. Kind of made me feel like a kid again :)

We headed up north to celebrate with my family late Monday afternoon...and the celebrations didn't stop until late last night! 

We arrived at my mom's house and enjoyed a wonderful dinner...I didn't have to cook or bring a thing this year to any of our meals! YEH! 

It was great to just sit back, enjoy laughs and good food with my family. Of course we shared presents as well...

Sorry ahead of time for the poor quality photos....I only had my iPhone with me :(

 X loved the football helmet my little cousin had when we saw him last time! They decided to give him his own Browns helmet & jersey :) He loved wearing it around while opening presents!

X received this enormous (picture does not do it justice) TONKA firetruck from my mom and he loved pressing the buttons to make noises and such :)

 On our way to my dad's house Monday night we drove past a house that had their lights set to music and enough blow up decorations for the whole neighborhood! #onlyinsheffieldlake :)

 Every year my dad has a sports tree set up in the basement (aside from their regular tree). He has so many ornaments now that some of them aren't able to be put on the tree!

I think it is time for a bigger tree :)

 X is a typical boy!

 First time eating powdered donut holes was a messy success :)

 X was so excited to open Christmas presents at my dad's Christmas Eve that he wouldn't stand still for a picture!

 X loved playing around with my dad's new Cleveland Indians slippers :)

 X was super surprised and loved his new Schwinn tricycle from my dad! He just kept saying "BIKE!" the whole day!

 We arrived home around dinner time on Christmas Eve to a package waiting for us ;) We let X open up the bag to see our new Christmas Eve pj's!

We then enjoyed some popcorn & hot cocoa while we watched The Polar Express together :)

 I tried this overnight recipe (similar here) in the crock pot this year for Christmas morning breakfast. Mic really liked it, but I wasn't a big fan :(

 On Christmas morning it was clear that Santa had visited our home! 

Santa left X a work bench that he absolutely loved!

 One of his favorite TV shows is Phineas & Ferb...He loved his new Perry sweatshirt and stuffed dolls :)

 We are officially the house that was built by Hot Wheels!!!

He was in heaven!!!

 Loved my new tee from Mic...Midwest is Best! :)

 It was now time to have our 3rd Christmas dinner and celebrate with Mic's parents. I absolutely love the Christmas dishes that my MIL uses. It has the entire "Twas the night before" story :)

 Again being a typical boy playing with his new trains tracks for his Chuggington trains :)

 After a long day of opening gifts, X was ready for a good nap...I guess "P" was as well :)

Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!

Thank you to all my family and friends for making this Christmas the most magical yet!

Kind of sad to see it go, but I am ready for a new year!

I will featuring the best parts of 2013 next week!

How was your Christmas?

Did you spend it with family & friends?

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The Weekend & Christmas Part 1

We had a fantastic weekend and it carried over into Christmas too :)

Hope you all had a magical Christmas as well!

First, let's rewind to the weekend...

Friday night we finished up wrapping presents and then made some edible Christmas trees :)

 Mic's, X's, and my Christmas trees :)

Saturday night we headed down to Columbus with some great friends for dinner at Eddie Merlot's, but first we stopped by Whole Foods. Honestly, I was busy tasting wine so I didn't take many photos :( I did manage to take a shot of the fresh fish counter...

 This is just gross to someone who doesn't eat fish!

The parts of dinner I was there for were delicious...

I ended up super dizzy for the 2nd night in a row and had to leave before eating my meal to lay down in the car :(

At least we have leftovers :)

Sunday we tried to keep busy while we watched the Cleveland Browns suck once again.

X decided it was more fun to play in our cat's new litter box than it was to actually watch the game...

We ended our weekend with some super yummy Chipotle :)

Silly me did not realize how little time I would have to write this post, nor did I realize just how many pictures I would take celebrating Christmas (it went on for 3 days!).

So with that I am ending here and posting part 2 later this afternoon. 

To be continued....

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