I’ve got the knitting bug again! I found this cute cowl pattern on Ravelry and just couldn’t resist. It’s called ZuZu’s Petals and I’m using a cotton silk blend in a soft cream color that I had leftover from a scarf I made last year. Having the pattern as a PDF on my iPad makes it so convenient to take it with me. I cast on during the Super Bowl last night and I’m already about a third done, can’t wait to finish it.

I love lazy Saturdays… It was such a dreary gray day that Sal and I spent most of the day just relaxing at home. I cooked us a late breakfast and then Sal did some research online to help me pick out a Blu Ray player. I won a best buy gift card last month at work and decided to finally get one today. After dinner at Lilly’s Pizza (LOVE their pizza) we went out to buy one. I love the Studio Ghibli movies so we went to a few places in order to find Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind on Blu Ray. I also found The Cat Returns so I bought that and Sal bought me Nausicaa. So now we’re back home, relaxing and watching movies. (Well, I’m watching Nausicaa and Sal fell asleep, lol)

Waiting for the Sunday morning yoga class to start at Lululemon

I took this the other day, Isabelle LOVES playing in the sheets and blankets when I make the bed. Then she’ll just sit there half under the covers and purr, like it’s the coziest spot and never wants to leave.

Dad just sent me an extra Christmas gift, another Hello Kitty ornament! I love it! :) I’ve got so many I’ll have to have a Hello Kitty tree next year, lol!

Haha! I hope I’m able to stick to my healthy eating and exercise resolutions a little better than this.

Hello 2012!

It’s hard to believe another year is over. I like to start off a new year by reflecting on the one before and everything that I went through and learned from it. 2011 was definitely a roller coaster of a year, the first half being pretty difficult and the second half being pretty amazing. After a breakup in March I had to find a new place to live and a new job. It was a tough time for me. Not exactly what I expected after leaving everything behind in Wilmington and moving to Raleigh only a year earlier. But thankfully I had friends and family who were there for me and supported me, and also helped me find a great new job and a new place to live. On June 1st I started my new job (that I love) and had my first date with Sal (who I also love). I’m still very happy with both, especially my relationship with Sal. I can truly say he’s one of the best things to happen to me in a long time. So basically since June things have really fallen into place and I’ve never been more grateful in my life. 

Overall I’m really optimistic and looking forward to what 2012 will bring me. I hope for good things while knowing I’m strong enough to handle the bad. I have ideas and plans for this year but also know how life can take those and throw them out the window… sometimes in order to give you something even better than you imagined.

Even with all the positive changes I had last year I still love the feeling of new opportunities that come with a new year. I thought it was time for a change, so I updated my blog. I got a new layout and am going to try and start blogging more regularly again. And speaking of changes, I wanted post about a few I’d like to make this year. Yep, my New Year’s Resolutions. Sal and I made these together and are going to help and encourage each other. I think goals are much easier to meet when you’ve got a partner that shares them and you work together. 

So here they are:

1. Save Money (mostly for traveling this year)

We came up with this one together, since we started dating we’ve been eating out a lot and doing a bit of shopping so we’ve decided to start being more frugal and saving money towards some trips we’d like to take.

2. Eat Healthier/Work Out

This one was Sal’s idea, since we’re going to be saving money by eating less fancy meals we might as well make them healthy too. We’re also going to work out together (so Sal can encourage me, he already works out but I don’t really like to) at least 3 times a week. 

3. Go To Church More Often

I came up with this one, Sal and I LOVE sleeping in on weekends so we don’t make it to church on Sundays as often as we should. So this year we’re going to try to go more regularly since we recently found a church we really like. 

Nothing fancy but I feel they’re all pretty important. My plan is to get a calendar to stick on my wall and keep track of how well we stick to our goals, hopefully having a visual reminder will help me stay on track. I admit, I’m not the best at sticking to my long term goals but this year I feel pretty optimistic. Wish me luck!