goodbye 2012, hello 2013.

Well I had intentions of doing a whole month by month recap of 2012, but then I got distracted reading posts and watching old videos of Ryann.  And then I realized I hadn't looked at my 2012 resolutions nor made any for 2013 (aside from my fitness goals) and decided I'd just roll it all into one big ol' jolly post.  Sound like a plan?  Does to me :o).

these photos are unrelated besides the fact that I took them today :o)

2012 came with its ups and downs of course, but some of the highlights:  crafting successful teacher gifts, shared some of my not so professional photography knowledge, had a great Valentine's Day with the fam, discovered my love for crock pot chicken tacos, watched my little girl turn two and alphabet partied with way too many tissue poms, PR'ed a half marathon and ran a race with my fastest pace ever (on my 26th birthday no less), PR'ed a 5k, finally shared pictures of Ryann's nursery, went to my dance studio's reunion, found out I was pregnant, celebrated four years of marriage, baked and frosted my first ever cake, announced the pregnancy on the blog (and totally just teared up reading all the comments again, you all are awesome!),  found out we were having another girl at our gender reveal party,  ran a half marathon while pregnant, managed to transition Ry into a big girl bed, talked about my concerns on breastfeeding, and covered 1000+ miles throughout the year.

Among all of that was lots of hanging out with my mini partner in crime, trips to Georgia, family, fun and friends.  Overall, I'd say 2012 had more ups than downs!  Looking back at my resolutions I'd have to say I didn't truly accomplish very many of the things on the list.    Which gets me kind of down.  Which is sad, because like I said, 2012 was definitely a positive one.

So my goal for 2013?  BE HAPPY.

Uh, yeah, ok.  Great goal Ashley.  Way to go.  But here's the thing.  As much as I love checking things off a list, I'm doing them so I can mark off the box.  Yes, a lot of them make me happy and better me as a person, but I'm more invested in finishing the list than I am in doing whatever line item it actually is.  So this year I just want to do my best, live my life, love my family, and ultimately, aim to be happy.

I know towards the beginning of the year I'm going to be a sleep deprived (hopefully PPD and PPA free, but who knows) mama with a lot on her plate.  And I thought we had our little future planned out for the most part, but now it is up in the air again.  And that stresses me out a bit.  But I have a family who loves me, and who I love more than anything, so I'm just going to go with it.  We may not eat gourmet meals, I may not shower and actually put on real clothes as much as I should, I may not be as organized as I'd like, but as long as I love my babies and have my husband by my side, and we all smile a bit?  It will be a good one.

So bring it on 2013, I'm ready.  It is already shaping up to be a good year.