i see you, 2017. we cool

i think 2017 is gonna be good. chill, if you will.
i've become so much more at peace this year after the trauma of 2015. i actually rocked ollie to sleep in tears last night, thinking of how hard i've come since his birth and how happy i am that he's mine. i am so grateful for my little family.
in this post, i outlined my goals for 2016. i can't believe i'm saying this, but i accomplished all of my goals. maybe they were too easy but i feel so happy that 2016 was so much better than 2015.

in 2016, i:
-lost 25 lbs
-had either a real date, or a "stay-date" each week with brad
-bought a house, and started making it over
-met several new people, through friends or through church, and reconnected with old friends
-got rid of a lot of clothes, bought new clothes, started wearing actual makeup, got 6 inches of hair cut off, and started doing my hair more.
-got out and about with my kids nearly every day
-did whole30 twice and kept most of the habits for our cooking and snacking
-started keeping the house cleaner with a planned out cleaning schedule
-got some side-hustle writing work

life is pretty good here. despite the sucky summer of the broken arms, (and the whole bizarre election situation...what??!) we've been pretty down with 2106. the kids are more work than they've ever been but we're in a good place.
i've never been big on resolutions but since last year's went so well, i think i may try some more.
so far, in 2017, i've decluttered, organized, and cleaned the house, lost all of the weight i gained over thanksgiving/christmas, taken down the christmas decorations, and got my first manicure and pedicure in MONTHS.

in 2017, i hope to:
-continue eating clean
-exercise regularly (cliche, overdone, yadda yadda yadda)
-read my scriptures more
-find constructive ways to direct bea's energetic, "spirited" behavior
-bulk up our rainy day/contingency fund
-continue my house-cleaning regimen
-practice piano more, and regain my previous skills
-change the floors in the house
-start the process of finishing our basement

it's an ambitious list, but i think we can do it!

right now i'm spending the last of the holiday weekend just how i like to, with my annual twilight zone marathon on SyFy. tomorrow real life starts again after brad's long vacation, but we've got a fun january planned, to be topped off with (finally) our trip to disneyland for bea's birthday. i think we'll even survive 2017's winter ok.
i'm optimistic. it's the first time we've lived someplace more than a year in YEARS and i haven't felt this settled in in a long time.
i love living next to our parents and i love living close to my sister. the last time i was settled like this was the first time we lived in connecticut when we lived close to my parents and sister, so the familiarity of that situation helps a lot with keeping me grounded.
i am excited to see what bea learns this year in school and in primary (what?!), and the year also started with ollie going to nursery, which is awesome.

this year is going to be fun.