Goal Setting

I was challenged in a book that I am reading about the importance of setting life goals. I am not just talking New Years resolution type things, but figuring out where you are going and how you are going to get there. I find it fairly easy to make goals for a year, often you already know what you are set out to accomplish and so it goes on the list. It gets a little harder when you start thinking about five and ten years down the road. Some days I do not know what I want tomorrow, let along ten years from now.

Despite not really knowing what this would look like, I sat down and set some goals. I did six different areas, Spiritual, Intellectual, Physical, Relational, Professional, and Financial. Each of these areas pretty much covers my life and where I would like to set goals. Then I broke each down into goals for a year, five years, and ten plus years.

Setting goals for a year was fairly easy. Intellectually, graduating from school, physically, running a half marathon. For five years, it got a little harder, but there is things that both Phil and I have said we wanted to do by the time we are thirty like financially paying off all school debt. Thinking to ten years was really hard. For some areas I was able to be specific, but for the most part I wrote things that were more general, like for professional goals to be working in a place that uses my passions, gifts, talents and values.

My hope is to now do this same thing with Phil and set goals for our marriage and life.

Though I am sure some of the things I said will change as the years go by, it is really cool to have these things written down. I would highly encourage you to do this as well!

On Reading

This past month I have really started to enjoy reading again. I think I was a little burned out after undergrad, but as I approach graduation for my masters, I have realized that I want to be constantly keeping myself educated as well as continuing to develop myself both personally and professionally. Though it may be for higher reasons, I am finding great enjoyment in learning more and even finding it very relaxing to read.

A few days ago I was in Borders and realized there were many books that I really want to read, so like I always do, I came home and made a reading list. Yes, I am a dork! My reading list quickly got a little out of control. It now is at over fifty books that I want to read, most I still need to buy.

Currently I am reading two books, the first I highly recommend for anyone who is in any type of leadership role. It is entitled Leading from the Inside Out by Samuel Rima. The premise of the book is that as a leader, we need to be looking at who we are at our core in order to be a great leader. Our culture says that our personal and private lives do not need to match, yet we have seen over and over again leaders fail because their personal life ruined their leadership role. The other book I am reading is Breaking Free by Beth Moore. It is a very quick read and meant more as a devotional, but also really good. In the past week there have been a few big challenges with work that have once again tested my faith, and this quote from the book really stood out to me, “We can believe in Christ, accepting the truth that He is the Son of God, and we can believe in Christ, receiving salvation, yet fail to stand firm in belief and choose to find Him trustworthy day to day”

I would love to hear your suggestions of great books to read and add them to my never ending list!

A Puppy Story

Why hello blog, I guess it has been a while! Between work, school, friends and many other things, it seems this is the first to fly out of the window, which it is a bummer because I am sure you all just can’t wait for another crazy story from our lives… ok maybe not, but I miss it!

Speaking of crazy stories, I have a great one, but be warned, if you don’t like gross things, better just skip reading this one!

Remember how we have a puppy? (I know he is full grown now and almost eight months old, but he is still a puppy to me!) Sunday morning Phil was volunteering at church, but before be left he put Oliver right next to me on the bed to snuggle. He LOVES being close to us, if he can, he will lay right on top of us. It is super sweet and he is so soft it is great to snuggle.  So Oliver was snuggled right next to me, when all of the sudden he lifted up his head and threw up… projectile vomit… ON. MY. FACE.

He also managed to hit EVERY piece of bedding we have. Oh thank you little puppy, that is exactly how I wanted to be woken up. Seriously, I can't imagine that there can be anything worse than dog puke in your face!

Sorry, I told you it was a nasty story! Now that the bedding is cleaned and my face has been washed (like a million times) I actually am laughing about it. Phil thinks it is hilarious what happened, obviously he has not experienced the horror!

Just so you don’t think of Oliver as gross from this point on, I thought I would include his latest trick. We taught him how to shake a while ago now, but because whenever we ask him to shake, he gets a treat, he thinks that if he does it without us telling him to, he will get a treat as well. 

Oliver Shakes from Katie Buckles on Vimeo.

-15 Below

January is by FAR my least favorite month of the year. There is just something about it that makes it seem twice as long as any other month and the good part of winter is over, so I just don’t see the point. These past few days have just incited my dislike of January even more. For those of you lucky enough not to live in this state, we are having our yearly cold snap. And by cold I mean -15 below AIR temperature… I’m sure the wind chill is even colder.  

I am trying, really really trying to have a good attitude about winter, but I am struggling! This morning my car did not even heat up before I made it to work! The thing that is even crazier to me is we (by we, I mean all Minnesotans) CHOOSE to live here. Seriously, we are all crazy! On days like today, I dream of packing everything up and heading south…

For today, I am bundling up and turning up the heat! Happy Friday!

The addiction Continues….

Here is the deal, I think we are addicted to house projects. Seriously. We have a HUGE long list of house projects that never is completed, we just keep on adding on to the end. However while most people I think would find that frustrating, Phil and I love it. We still do need our breaks from the ongoing work, but on the whole when we can put on our bad clothes and figure out what we are going to tackle in a day, that day is great. Sick, I know.

This past weekend, we spend Saturday and Sunday relaxing and doing normal house things… cleaning, laundry, and other little things. Mainly we just rested though. It was a great way to spend the weekend. Monday (thanks to Martin Luther King Day) both Phil and I had the day off and were ready to tackle a project.

In our Kitchen, all of our cupboards are white, but the trim around the windows is a honey colored stain that is WAY past its prime. The trim in the kitchen is in horrible condition, I think because of all the smoking in there and abuse it faced over the years. It has bothered me since we moved in, but just have not had the time to deal with it. Monday, its number came up though!

We started by taking down all the trim because we needed to sand off the old varnish to prepare for paint. The sanding was fairly gross because the nicotine smell started to come out. Once it was sanded we did a couple layers of paint and had completely transformed trim. Phil then, thanks to the help of his new Christmas present (an air compressor and nail gun) put the trim back up.

I couldn’t be more pleased. It makes the whole kitchen come together that much more, and it looks so clean and updated. I am seriously considering doing the whole house now! While I was painting Phil did quite a few little projects around the house as well. In total we got six things crossed off the house list, only a thousand to go J



The Windows with their beat up trim



How in the world did a picture of the dog end up here?  :)

The trim ready for sanding and painting

I am not normally a fan of using tape for painting, but for windows it is a must!

Sanding....

I thought you would better appreciate how bad the trim was from this close-up

Phil using his new nail gun to put the trim back up

The Finished product!



Even the baseboard got a fresh coat of paint!



Don’t be Afraid, Just Trust Me

This past weekend while reading my Bible, I came upon a verse that really challenged me and I wanted to share with you. Our church always is reading a book of the Bible together and recently they have challenged people to read the book of Mark. On Sunday, I was reading Mark 5. In this chapter a lot is going on, it starts with Jesus healing a demon possessed man and sending the demons into a bunch of pigs, then Jesus goes across the lake and a man names Jairus comes to him, falls at his feet and begs Jesus to come heal his daughter that is sick.

Lets just imagine for a moment that you are in this mans position. Maybe it’s not a daughter, but  your husband, wife, mother, father, someone that you love and are desperate to have them be better. Then you hear that there is someone who is healing people everywhere. Wouldn’t you do everything to get them there? I know I would. So Jairus comes to Jesus and begs him to come heal his daughter, so Jesus goes with him. But, there is a problem. Jesus is so popular that there are crowds of people around him all wanting him to see them. I imagine for Jairus this walk to his house was like a dream where you try to run fast, but no matter how hard you try, your legs just won't move as fast as you would like.

To make matters worse, as Jesus is walking with this man people are crowding him out, wanting healing. One woman who has had a bleeding problem for twelve years decides that if she can just touch Jesus’ robe that she will be healed. When she does this, she is healed and Jesus turns around and asks who just touched his robe. I can imagine the exasperation that Jairus was feeling at this point. All he is thinking about is getting Jesus to his house before his daughter dies so that He can heal her, and here Jesus is stopping along the way healing and talking to people.

After Jesus heals the woman, one of the servants from Jairus’ household meets them along the way to tell them not to bother coming any farther, the little girl has died. I can imagine the grief and anguish Jairus must have felt at that moment, he had the answer right beside him and they were too late. Despite his best attempts to save his daughter from death, it happened anyway.

Then Jesus turns to him and says, “Don’t be afraid. Just trust me.”

WHAT? Are you kidding? What kind of a response is that? How about trying, “I am so sorry for your loss” or “I wish we could have gotten there faster” but to say “Don’t be afraid. Just trust me,” really? I wonder if the thought went though Jairus’ mind that Jesus just might be crazy, or maybe he didn’t hear what my servant just said. Either way, the worst has happened, and nothing could change that.

So they continue along their way and are greeted by a large group at the house grieving for the death that has just happened. Maybe at this point Jesus was just trying to get a reaction, but he says to the group, “why all this weeping and commotion, the child isn’t dead, she is only sleeping.” Literally they laughed at him. Seriously, this guy is nuts! First he tells Jairus to trust him and then he says she isn’t dead.

Jesus then took Jairus and his wife to the little girls room. He takes her hand and says, “Get up, little girl.” And she does. The room must have filled with amazement as he little eyes flickered open. Their greatest hopes in Jesus just happened; their little girl was not only healed but was dead and now alive.

At this point, the words must have been ringing through Jairus’ head, “Don’t be afraid. Just trust me.”

In my life there can be so many times when I don’t get it. I don’t understand what it happening, and I truly do not see an answer, there is no answer. Jesus might be telling me “Don’t be afraid. Just trust me,” but I don’t really get it. It is hopeless, just like a dead little girl; there is no coming back from that.

Then something happens, a miracle where Jesus has done something miraculous. And the words ring through my head, “Don’t be afraid. Just trust me.”

I have been so challenged by these simple, yet powerful words. When I don’t feel like financially there is a way, “Don’t be afraid. Just trust me.” When a relationship is so far gone, there is no repairing, “Don’t be afraid. Just trust me.” When I simply don’t feel like there are enough hours in the day to accomplish all that needs to be done, “Don’t be afraid. Just trust me.”

Welcoming the New Year

I am not a big fan of New Years Resolutions, really it seems a little crazy to me that we make all these goals and for the month of January we start strong, but for most people by February all resolve is gone. Last year I was very frustrated by all the people who decided that getting in shape or losing weight was their goal. The gym was totally full everyday and by the end of the month, it was empty again. I have/am guilty of this as well! Last year I made a whole list of commitments and pretty much completely failed.

This year though, I am excited about the New Year. There is something refreshing about starting over that brings excitement and new life. But I have changed one big thing this year. Instead of making year long commitments, I am just going one month at a time. I think part of my problem is I set a goal for the whole year and then put it off until the end of the year, and then it is impossible by November so I just give up. So this year, I am making short-term, reasonable goals.

SO, ready for the first one? In the hopes of being more healthy, losing weight, and just learning better habits I am GIVING UP SUGAR!! Sick, I know. My outrageous headache that I have had basically all month now speaks to how much sugar I was actually eating. Boo… But, it is just a month… right? I have had so much crap put into my body this last year that I really want to clean house and focus on eating better. So far, by cutting out sugar I am amazed at how much less I am eating. Before when I would come home from work, it was just habit to grab something to snack on and it was normally something loaded with carbs and sugar. Now, I typically have a good meal and since I can’t have sugar, snacking has almost disappeared. It feels good to be succeeding at something (yes, I know it is only the 5^th) and since it is only for this month, I know I can do it!!

I would love hear what your 2011 holds!

The Girls on New Years Eve

Quitting the Gym

Yes, I know, who quits the gym in January? I mean really, don’t all Americans make resolutions to lose the extra weight or get in better shape? I guess we are breaking the norms this year.

We have been members at Anytime Fitness for close to two years an have loved out time there. We have made awesome friends because of it and I have been able to realize goals (like running races) that I maybe would not have before.

Our decision to leave the gym was not easy, but we decided to quit for a few reasons. The first is since I have started running races, I run outside when it is warm enough. A treadmill, while it serves its purpose just does not do the same thing. Now that it is cold I am not running outside, but to be honest getting to the gym is hard! By the time we get home from work and eat supper it is dark out and getting out to a cold car to get sweaty and then to go back in the cold is just miserable!  (Yes, I am a winder wuss) The second reason is closely linked with the first, since we are just not getting to the gym much, we are not meeting our insurance requirements making it more money than we want to spend on something that we are not really using enough.

I am hoping to get a treadmill in the future for our basement. I feel like this would be a good in-between for me. Since I want to be outside as soon as I can, having a gym membership just does not make sense, but having the ability to run while staying in the warmth of my house would be something that I think would work really well for us! So my treadmill search starts… anyone have any good suggestions for where to look or what to get? I am hoping to not spend a ton of money, but also know that a decent one is important. Any suggestions are welcome!

Where did the time go?

** I wrote this last night with the full intention of posting it, however our power went out last night (yep, not the greatest thing in the world) so I was not able to do it. One the bright side, it did get me out of doing more homework!

These last few weeks I was super excited to be able to blog more, but as I am sure you have notice I have not blogged… once. Bummer. This list of things I have accomplished is impressive though (at least I think so!) and I am ready to head back into the routine of life once again.

I actually had to go looking for my computer tonight because it has been so long since I have been on it, it’s a strange yet relieving feeling. Everyday I thought about blogging and then the day just got away from me.

Christmas was, well, memorable this year. Despite our plans for Christmas with family and other fun things, all was changed when Phil woke up with stomach flu. I knew he was really sick when he left our Christmas party with his parents and grandparents to go to bed. Christmas Eve night was spent up and down, so Christmas day we literally did nothing. Though it was sad not to spend the day with my Grandparents like planned, it was very relaxing to lay low all day/weekend and really take the R&R we needed.

This past week I have been off work for the most part and have taken full advantage of it. My organizational projects I started earlier this fall I was able to completely finish. I can not honestly say that there is no drawer, closet, bin or cupboard that has not been gone through, organized and cleaned. This last week my attention was on the kitchen and basement. It feels so awesome to have a place for everything and know that everything we have is cleaned and organized. My Mom called the other day while I was in the middle of tackling the basement and I told her I was in the middle of my favorite thing. Yep, I am officially loony, I love to organize J

Tomorrow I start back at work and into regular routine again. We had last week off of class but now have some fairly huge projects to complete in the next two weeks, so I am off to write ANOTHER paper. (This phase of my life will end… right?) In the coming days I will catch up on all the other things, so excuse the lateness!

Happy January 2^nd!