Wednesday Words:

I hope you will all forgive me seeing as it is now my Friday morning and your Thursday night, and I am now just getting to post my Wednesday writing prompt. I am a few days away from ending this deployment and things have been busy trying to get everything set in order to leave the country.

I'm pretty excited about this one because I found a pin that took me over to Apple Blue who had a huge list of post ideas and I was immediately drawn to one prompt because I have actually been thinking about these for a while now. Since I'm leaving Afghanistan and getting ready to transition out of the Marine Corps I figure it's time to not just dream about the life I will be living here soon, but legitimately set goals to build the life of my dreams. Plus, if I set my goals on here there will probably be some accountability. So without further explanation, I present 5 Goals (to actively work toward this year).

1- Compete in a fitness competition: bikini category
 When the Monster was 6 months old I got a gym membership and a deal to work with a personal trainer. My trainer was so knowledgeable and encouraging she really opened my eyes to the fitness world and made me want to compete. Unfortunately when the Monster was just over a year old I ended up really sick and really out of shape and no longer had a trainer. I kept thinking about doing a competition, but I had no idea where to start and no idea where I would get the confidence to get on stage in just a bikini >.<

After I saw three friends on Facebook get up on stage I said to myself "I wish I could do that." Wellp, the wishin' stops and the workin' starts here! It has been 50/50 with the eating, having the chow hall cook everything is great but the selection of healthy eating is not. Working out is going well, but I get bored easily so if you have any ideas or have competed in a fitness competition leave a comment or email me I'm still a little clueless, but learning more every day... wish me luck!


2. Learn Spanish - like for real this time.
I am 100% Mexican third/second generation and I don't speak Spanish. I can pick out words here and there and I took a Spanish class in high school but nothing ever stuck. So when I get back I'm going to actually take a class and use it every day. I want the Monster to know Spanish, as well as really understand what culture he comes from, so if I learn Spanish I know he will have fun speaking another language and learning about our history.


3. Become Self-employed.
Transitioning out of a job I've had for 7 years is scary, but I'm also really excited about it because I would like to continue with Photography and a little writing (hence the blog) so why not be my own boss? Has anyone else decided self-employment was the way to go? If you have, especially in the photography realm I'd greatly appreciate any input! Even if you haven't but are thinking about it let me know, we can help each other during down times and share resources we've found with each other, besides who doesn't want a buddy or two to help along the way?


4. Improve the blog.
I know this sort of coincides with the previous goal, however I want to set this apart because I would like to own my own site. Blogger, you've been great but I really want to take this blog further. The first thing would be to stick to a schedule... oops. Once my photography work starts to resemble that of a portfolio, I would like to add a page dedicated to it. I'd like to improve my writing skills and increase the reach of the audience. I'm constantly on other blogs trying to see what ideas they have, and of course the SITS Girls site is a great place to look for blogging resources. 


5. Be a better Mom.
I saved this one for last because it is the most important goal I feel I have, the one that is closest to my heart and also the one that will be ongoing. I know through preschool I can probably homeschool the Monster so I want to make sure I'm there for every minute of it. Being away from him for this long has been the toughest thing I've had to do so far. He's grown so much since I've been gone and I can't wait to get back to him.  I have actually submitted paperwork to leave the Marine Corps early. It was a hard decision to think about, but I know that the Corps did absolutely amazing without me for 230 years before I came in and it will do just fine for the many years of its existence after I'm gone, but my son will only be little for a while, he'll only grow up once. After dealing with a couple Marines who need their hand held to do things I know for a fact I would rather be raising my own son than someone else's kid (who is actually a grown man). I do love the Marine Corps and mostly all the Marines I've crossed and walked paths with, but I Love my son more, and he deserves to have me there for the rest of his life. Plus, I'm always on Pinterest and I see all these awesome things to do that I know the Monster would lose his mind over having so much fun doing and learning different things.







I know I have other things I want to improve and goals I want to set, but those are the top five things I want to work on this year. If you have any advice, or want to join me in smashing one of these goals, let's connect and be each other's accountability partners.  Change is always an opportunity for improvement it doesn't always have to be scary.