A Review - 2017 Goals

Back in March I shared my goals for 2017.  It's hard to believe the year is nearly over!  So, with the new year only a few days away, I thought I'd check in and share what goals I met and which ones fell a little short.  Here were my goals for 2017:

1) Create a blog & write once a month - I did indeed start my blog, but I fell a little short on posting this fall and missed three months {insert facepalm emoji here}.  But we're right in the middle of a big trip now, so I'll have lots and lots of material to share and post for next year, so here's hoping I stay on track!

2) Take a photography class - While I haven't taken an actual class yet, I have taken the time to learn more about my camera this year.  From watching YouTube videos on how to shoot in manual mode to constantly asking my neighbor questions, I've learned a lot!  My parents gifted me an online class for Christmas (thanks mom & dad!), so I'll be able to check this one off my list soon.  I'm looking forward to learning more and really honing in my photography style.  I've also begun dabbling with editing software and hope to take a class on editing as well.  Here's a little before & after I did a few months ago:

3) Run 4-5 times a week - I'm going to give this one a big check mark (although it ended up a bit modified).  I really wanted to make sure I stuck to my running goal through the summer (the heat & humidity made for a good excuse to not go run), so I decided to sign up for a half marathon to keep me motivated.  But sometime in September I developed a bad case of runners knee (tendonitis) in my left knee and had to take it easy.  I still completed the half though!  It wasn't a PR, but it also wasn't my worst half, so I'll take it.  Since the half marathon I haven't done much running, but I have started getting up early in the morning and hitting the gym on base 4-5 times a week.  Hoping and praying that my knee will heal up soon though, this is prime Okinawa running weather right now and I'm hating not being able to hit the pavement!

4) Travel {at least!} 4 times - Done, done, done & done!  We are currently in the middle of our fourth trip for the year (I'm sitting here writing this post in Thailand as Nora sleeps!).  This past year we went to Taiwan, Korea, Hawaii, Singapore, Thailand and will be making our way to Hong Kong before the year is up.  

 Taipei, Taiwan

Seoul, South Korea 

Maui

Singapore 

Chiang Mai, Thailand 

We've already begun planning our travels for 2018.  We're going to focus most of our time on mainland Japan next year, there are so many incredible places to visit there!  We're starting our list now, but any suggestions of where to go and when would be greatly appreciated!

5) Buy a sewing machine - Yep, total no on this one.  Honestly it was a stretch to put it on my goals for this year, but hey, we can't hit all our of goals all the time - that would mean we're not pushing ourselves hard enough.  Honestly, we don't have a lot of room in our current living situation, and I was just working on other things this year (photography, this blog).  Learning to sew is definitely on my list, but I think it may be a few years down the road for me.  So we'll see!!

6) Take time for myself once a week - I think I've really gotten into my groove here.  Now that Nora has stopped nursing, she's much less dependent on me and allows Jonathan to take the lead.  So I've been going to yoga on the weekends, getting pedicures, or hitting them gym.  It's been so refreshing to have that me-time and it will definitely be something that I continue to work on.

2017 was pretty amazing!  I'm still putting together my 2018 goals, but I'll make sure to share them here once they're ready.  Wishing you and yours a happy, healthy & exciting 2018!

Weekend Adventuring

Oh hey there, it's been awhile.  I've been slacking on my goal of writing & posting at least once a month {read: I haven't posted since Nora's birthday, three months ago!}.  So I'm back and trying to get back to posting regularly.  We've made it to November, which means it's F I N A L L Y cooling off here in Oki.  And cooler weather means we can explore other parts of this island {not just hitting up the beach.  I know, rough life we're living over here!}.  So this weekend we wanted to revisit a few places we have checked out in the past: Nakagusuku Castle and Bios on the Hill.

Peek-a-boo!

The last time we visited Nakagusuku Castle was when my dad & Cathy were visiting last December.  It is such a beautiful spot & we wanted to scope it out to see if we wanted to take our family Christmas card photos here {spoiler alert: we do!}.

The castle was built in the 14th century.  Hello?!?!  How amazing is it that it's still standing {well, not fully standing, but still, so much of it is still intact}?

Such a little ham! 

Breaking the rules since 2015 

Because castle walls make the perfect place to practice handstands 

Bios on the Hill is a little nature park complete with goats, giant swings & the most beautiful orchids.  The last time we visited was for my birthday last year and oh my word it was so hot & humid.  This time around the weather was perfect and we had the best time!  Nora's favorite part had to be feeding the goats.

I mean, how cute are these little guys:

Of course we had to give the hula hoops and stilts a try too!

I love that I see the honor system all over Japan.  So much respect breeds trust and it's awesome!

The greenery & orchids were beautiful.  Everything was so vibrant!

Such a perfect day to be outside with my favorite people!

Our little guide referencing the map

Nora Turns T W O !!!

Here I am, crying all the ugly cries because my baby girl is TWO today!  It's true what they say: the days can be long, but the months and years are short.  How did she go from this teeny-tiny 6 pound baby:

to a whopping 30 pound toddler?!?!

So what is our girl up to these days?  She still loves books and now reads them to us (go look at my recent Instagram video of her reading "Your Baby's First Word Will Be Dada" - it's the best!).  She loves to give squeezes and kisses but is also quick to say "no kiss mommy" when I've given her too many.  She's a great eater - current favorite foods are quinoa, tofu, acai bowls, and most importantly apple sauce!  She has to have an apple sauce every.single.day.  We potty trained back in June and she totally rocked it!  She still has a diaper at night just in case, but that's it! {I highly recommend reading "Oh Crap, Potty Training!" it worked great for us!}  She loves to be outside and is happiest when she's at the beach swimming in the ocean.  She's quite the world traveler - she's visited five countries and has taken countless flights.  Our goal is to have her passport filled by the time we leave Japan!  She's still not a great sleeper, but getting better.  She takes a solid nap everyday and usually wakes 2-3 times a night.  Baby steps...she'll sleep one day.  Right???  She loves her friend Natalie and talks about her non-stop.  She always shows me toys or objects and says "Natalie hold" (her way of saying she wants to share that item - even though most of the time Natalie's not even there - it's down right adorable and still makes me melt!).

We had a little party for Nora over the weekend to celebrate her birthday.  Her favorite part: the bounce house, of course!  She also had her first bite of cake (although, you know me, it was a naturally-sweetened cake, aka no sugar!) and loved it too!  We didn't go crazy with decorations (not Pinterest-worthy), but I did spend a good amount of time making goody-bags for all the kids that came.  I've been practicing hand-lettering lately and wanted to use my new skill to write each kids' name on their bag.  I think they turned out great!  Of course we were so busy playing and eating that we totally forgot to take a lot of pictures, but here are the highlights:

Prob my favorite photo from the party: the look of disappointment when the candles blew out when I took the cake outside! 

Cake face!

We have been so blessed with this girl and I'm so grateful to be her mom!  She brings me more joy than I ever thought possible (I know Jonathan feels the same!).  We love you Nora and we can't wait to see what this next year brings you!