october resolutions

at the beginning of every new year, millions of people decide on their new year's resolutions, or their goals to work on till the next new year begins. and as we all know tomorrow is the first day of october...not the new year, however i have decided to take this "start" of a new month  to be my "new start." it is time for some october resolutions people!

for the past few weeks i have been in a weird funk. i'm happy with my life, so so happy with an amazing husband, a great job, and loving friends and family. i am so so very blessed with so much, but i didn't feel like i was getting much accomplished at the end of each day. i haven't been holding myself accountable or pushing myself to achieve new things, so the need for some resolutions or goals has set in. and not only is it just me, but the hubby has noticed that our marriage could use some goals to work towards in the short-run, long- run and as he put it the long long-run. we have so many great ideas of things we want to accomplish together and it's time to put those goals in writing and make plans to accomplish them.

our goals in our marriage will be featured in there own snazzy post once we have them set, but for now i need to crack down and set personal goals to work towards this month. so without ado, my october 2013 resolutions shall be...

• Finish organizing and decorating our little newlywed college housing apartment. (That seems like quite a large goal, but we have been living there since the end of August and it is just time to get everything in its final place, and decorated more to be our little home for the next 8 months.)
• Learn to crochet (or knit).
• Exercise smart and eat healthier every day. (Lose some weight while you're at it!)
• Practice piano at least 5 times a week. (I have been struggling to practice multiple times each week and that is no good if i want to improve.)
• Read your scriptures every day with a purpose, and remember to start and end with a prayer!
• Don't forget to pray! Pray each morning and night and often in between.
• Listen and study a General Conference talk each week.

man, i think i could go on forever! i have so many different ideas in my head of areas i want to work on, but those are the big ones lately (especially getting our apartment together and finished once and for all). it will be interesting to see how this goes, but i'm excited to work towards improving myself and using my time wiser. and to be honest, i'm even more excited to sit down with the hubby and make our goals together.

so here's to a fun fall month full of resolution work!

my first piano lesson

i found this little gem one day while i was trying to organize the million and one things we have in our tiny apartment, and if you look closely the very first quality the twelve year old version of me decided i should develop is playing the piano. darn you young women leaders for making me fill these things out and now look back wondering what i was thinking!

back in the day i took piano lessons, but eventually gave up on them and now i am left with measly music skills, and a random memory to play the star wars theme song. 

i'm working to catch up with my twelve year old self though and have taken up piano lessons again! this time my amazing mother in law is my teacher because well let's face it she has led, taught, and inspired her entire family to be so musically inclined and it is absolutely beautiful. in the three plus years that i have known the swainstons i have witnessed countless musical numbers on all different levels, venues, audiences, and settings, and they never disappoint. 

cody finally pushed me to set up an official lesson time with his mom, so we could actually get things started, and yesterday was my first lesson!  

my lovely husband secretly snapped this picture while i was hard at work.

and now today i start my homework for the week. i have actual "homework" pages in one of my books, but i have playing "homework" to practice this week as well in the other books.

this just goes to show that even after you graduate from college, you will still have homework to do.

 

so here's to one goal of mine that i'm working towards...now if i can just figure out a way to have perfect hair everyday and cook like bobby flay.