Happy 2014!!!

Welcome to 2014!

Hope you all had a wonderful New Year’s Eve and brought in the New Year right! We snuggled on the couch and were sleeping by 10:30 p.m. Karl has been on-call this whole week so we haven’t seen a whole lot of him and wanted to keep things low-key. I didn’t mind!

Haven't had a new car in 11 years!! Woot! We chose the one off the lot that had been sitting there the longest so we could score the best deal!

2014 Resolutions

I have a feeling 2014 is going to be a year of moving and shaking for us. I think I mentioned in a previous post that we’re purchasing a new car. I’m already trying to figure out how much money we’ll need to pull out monthly to pay off the bi-yearly car insurance payments. I always like to make sure we have enough saved up that when the “bigger” invoices come there are no freak-out moments on my end.  We get to pick the car up today! Yay!!! I haven’t had a new car since 2003!!

Also, just trying to figure out how we’re going to afford higher monthly mortgage payments once/if we sell our town home and find the perfect house for us. I’m starting to realize how much work is ahead of us. I’ve lived in our townhome for 11 years now. Just think of all that accumulation of stuff. Eesh. Maybe I have high (and too many) expectations for the perfect house.

This is our list:

·         Big kitchen (I love to cook and Karl loves making his super crazy, healthy pancakes!)

·         4 bedrooms (Growing the family sooner than later and my family visits a lot!)

·         A slop sink (You don’t realize how much you need one until you start painting a lot, have a child who throws up or poops…and you have a husband who hunts and brews and does all kind of strange projects…)

·         A basement (just want a lot of room for Jackson and other children to run wild and have a full-on play area for him.)

·         A bigger yard (as in bigger than a postage stamp). No houses on top of each other (again, we want Jackson and family to run wild AND we really want a garden to grow FRESH veggies and fruits!)

·         STORAGE (We have NONE in our town home other than the garage, and it shows.)

·         3-car garage (This will help with storage and I’m pretty sure Karl already has a plan for that third spot)

·         Lower property taxes. (Helps a lot with payments!)

This list kind of makes me think of one of the new favorite HGTV Canadian shows, Like it or List it. Have you seen? It’s kind of fun, but I totally freak at the prices of houses in Canada and how close they are to one another.

I’ve also been told come spring and we’ll be competing with other families to get picked as the next buyers for the houses we like. I guess you log-in to your account and the houses are sold within hours, sometimes minutes. And sometimes you have to make a decision within a few short seconds. Minnesota beat all states last spring as fastest growing housing marketing. Oh boy. Do I really want to play this game? Things are definitely picking up though and we for sure want to lock-in to the lower interest rates. Let’s just say the Realtor is coming tomorrow and we’ll see where we’re at. Like I said, moving and shaking here in the Koester household!

Next big thing is perhaps baby #2. Yes, I get nervous about this. I’m also a little worried this could take longer since I’m hitting high-risk come June, but we’ll see what God has in store for us. Can only give this one to the Big Guy, right?

Also, the biggest resolution is our health. I’m all about getting us outside for fresh air a little bit each day, but honestly this below zero temperature thing is making that goal REALLY hard!

I’m making more time for myself to get to the gym twice a week and then trying to fit in one “in-home” workout. Want to know what’s crazy? I’m closing in on my wedding weight and I feel really great! I just feel HAPPY, HEALTHY and full of ENERGY. This is MUCH needed!!!! SO needed.

I’m also working hard at making sure we’re getting enough wild fish (less mercury) in our diets and lots of veggies. Jackson LOVES his homemade smoothies which usually consist of kale, frozen bananas, blueberries, Greek yogurt, whole milk, mangoes and cherries and sometimes avocados. I just want to keep this up and I’m pretty sure I will. However, it’s no surprise that eating healthy comes with a hefty price tag. Does this make sense to you?

That’s about it! If you look at all that, one word comes to mind: EXPENSIVE.

After reflecting on last year and my huge 2013 Resolution list, I realized I have to let go of wanting control over a lot of things and just be - just go with things. I don’t have the time or space to be angry for long or worry too much. I’ve really been learning how to speak up more when something is bothering me (rather than holding it in) and live in the present, which has been a wonderful thing for me. However, for some reason this mindful thinking business has opened my eyes to how incredibly FAST time goes. Have you noticed this too?

Any 2014 resolutions you want to share?