Lifestyles of the Frantic and Frazzled: {2012 recap}

I only felt right doing a recap for 2012 since I have done one at least the last year (maybe more, but I’m just too lazy to go back on my blog and check). And so here goes, a little snip-it of what has been going on in my/our lives over the course of the last year. I cannot believe how fast 2012 has flown by! I can only hope that 2013 holds as many great things for my family, and yours, as 2012 did! Bring it on! And without further a-do…

January

Another year had come and gone and we started 2012 out with a bang. In January I had set some goals/resolutions for myself in 2012. These goals were: to stay healthy in 2012, blog more, start and finish Project 365, and try harder in school. I am proud to say that at least I stayed healthy, haha! I may weigh five pounds more this January than I did last January, but I know it is because I have more muscle and I KNOW that I am in better shape than what I was last year at this time. I also blogged more, even if it was only 20 or 30 more times. I did start Project 365 and did pretty good with it until about June when life really became busy. And school, well I managed straight ‘A’s, but cannot say that I tried all that much harder. Also, with some time off last January, I was pretty crafty and made quite a number of DIY items at home.

February

I got a pen pal from New Jeresy in February... we wrote actual letters for a while and then we caved to technology and mostly keep in touch via Facebook now. It was super awesome to gain a new friend though! I also second shot my first wedding this month and had a great time!

March

It warmed up in March! We went rollerskating with my dad's family and had a blast! Ayden and I spent a lot of time outside enjoying the nice weather. And towards the end of March I started my journey as a single mother during the week. It would last this way for the next two months as Jay lived closer to his new job with his parents and Ayden and I stayed in Point to finish out the school year before moving. We also found the house that we were going to rent in March!

Sidenote, this is one of my absolute favorite pictures of Ayden! It is just SO him and I think that is why I like it so much!

April

I took and passed the Praxis this month. (Although I wouldn’t find out that I passed until sometime in early June.) I was SO relieved to not have to worry about that anymore. We also started to pack up our house this month and had boxes around for the next month or so until we moved. We boxed up everything that wasn't essential for the next couple of weeks to make the moving process easier. We stopped by our new place and I got to take a picture of the outside!

May

This was a big month for us as we officially moved from Stevens Point to our new house, Ayden had his last day of being a second grader, and I started my year long externship. Granted, the majority of these things happened at the end of the month, but still... May will forever be the month where we left Stevens Point behind. Before moving I attempted the Couch to 5K program for the first time. I wanted to become a runner. That didn't last too long as I ended up with really bad shin splints about two days in and then quit. Little did I know that I needed proper running shoes. During much of the last two weeks that we lived in Stevens Point I did a lot of this. I would work in the morning and then sit outside and read all afternoon until Ayden got done with school. I succumbed to the Fifty Shades of Grey series and my legs got plenty of sun while I reveled in the world of those books, haha!

June

I decided that I wanted to be crazy and signed up for a 5:30am boot camp this month that was held every Monday. Getting up at 5:00am on a Monday! I don't know what I was thinking! But I survived! One of my cousins and one of Jay's also signed up for it, so seeing them each Monday morning definitely helped keep me motivated! As a family, we travelled to the Mall of America for our last outing with Ayden's cub scout troup from Point! We slept with the sharks and had a great time!

July

We ventured out on the lake quite a bit this month! I love being out on the calm water fishing with Jay's family. There is just something special about it! We also went camping in the hottest weather imaginable with Jay's parents. It was a ton of fun, especially since the pond water was so warm and the inflatable toys were awesome!

August

I got my new ring this month. I could not be more in love with it! It is SO me. I loved my other ring, but really I wanted something that was just mine. We also picked out Jay's wedding ring. Cannot wait until we are married! I also went wedding dress shopping and found THE ONE with my mom, sister, and one of my bridesmaids. I cannot wait to wear it on our wedding day. Ayden turned 8 and I turned 26... We went both Hoerth camping (during which I felt like crap) and Schwobe camping (during which I didn't feel like crap and had a ton of fun). We were actually camping with my family on my birthday!

September

Ayden started 3rd grade and Jay turned 27. I decided that I really wanted to be a runner, so I got myself some actual running shoes and started the Couch to 5K program over and really got motivated. I signed up for my first 5K at the end of October and got committed again.

October

Victoria and I signed up for a Zumba class at some point either during September or October. In any case, we both loved it and loved going together. I continued to run and continued to build up my endurance. At the end of the month I ran my very first 5K and finished in under 30 minutes (just under 30 minutes) and was SO proud of myself. All of my commitment to running started to pay off and it just made me want to train harder. After my first 5K I decided that I wanted to train for a half marathon!

Novemeber

Happy Thanksgiving! I ran my first 5 mile run on Thanksgiving Day... a turkey trot and I loved it. After this run I decided that I wanted to run a race every month for the next year! Crazy much?! I ran a total of 75 miles this month, with my longest run being 7.2 miles! SO proud of myself!

December

I wrote the 'obligatory christmas post' this month and then realized after posting it that I had titled one the exact same thing last year. How ironic and how me, haha! Ran another 5 mile race... this time with my bestie. It was her first 2 mile race and she rocked it like no other! We celebrated Christmas with our family! Victoria and I have been hanging out more and more and I cannot express how grateful I am to have my bestie live a two minute drive from me. Our kids get along great and I LOVE IT! Cannot wait to run our 5K Color Run together in a few days!