Hello September - A New Year & New Ideas

Hello September, you awesome month, you!! I absolutely love the month of September. First, there's the obvious reason... it's my birthday month! But beyond that, I love September in northern Wisconsin. The weather cools down, the leaves start to change, getting outside feels and smells amazing, back to school excitement is in full swing... not to mention we kick the whole thing off with a holiday weekend!

Seriously though, how is it already September? Where did the summer go? There's just wasn't enough of it, yet again. I love summer and all of the fun things we get to do as a family with the kids off of school. Yet, fall has my whole heart! It was a pretty rockstar summer though... birthdays, belt tests, races, camping, swimming, fishing, and oh so much more!

As of tomorrow, summer is officially over in this house. We made the most out of every moment that we could, but it's time to get back to school, structure, and schedules!

Not just for the kids either. I actually started back to school last week. I'm in my final year of my master's degree. I will officially have three classes left to go after this one, plus my capstone. I should graduate next summer. WOOHOO!!!! The hubby started back to classes last week too... same graduation timeline. He's getting his BA with the intention of continuing on to get his MA right after he graduates. We'll see how he feels when he officially graduates. Six straight years of school is a lot!

This next year is a pretty big year... Emmy Lou will have her first year of middle school, Kenziebug will have her first year IN the middle school, but as a 5th grader they stay with their one teacher. Abbycakes will have her first year in a public grade school and Jack Jack will entertain the 2nd grade. Outside of class, Emmy Lou will be participating in her first intramural middle school sports this fall - tennis and archery, plus she decided to put karate on hold and started tumbling last week. She loves it. So many changes!!

Plus, next week I will officially be one year shy of 40. Here's where I share my plans for a new year and my final year in my 30s. I have goals to hit by the time I'm 40!

First goal.... GRADUATE!! I'm on track. The hardest part will be my capstone and finding the willpower to pound out my thesis. Shoot, first I have to come up with a topic for my thesis! Ideally, my goal is to graduate with an A in every course I've taken in this program. I transferred in a B+ from my very first master's class that I took before I changed my major, but I have maintained all A's in every Rural Healthcare Management course so far.

My second goal is to take a fun trip for our 5 year anniversary, which is just about three weeks before my 40th birthday.

My third and final big goal is to lose 40 pounds by my 40th. Not just lost 40 pounds, but improve my strength, flexibility, and use the education I received from Mayo to help reduce my Fibromyalgia symptoms. I want to start my 40's in the best physical health of my life! If that's not a clear enough goal... :) You know what they say, set SMART goals - Specific. Measurabl. Achievable. Relevant. Time Bound.

• Specific - 40 pounds, strength, flexibility, best physical health
• Measurable - can be measured by scale, progress, and overall feeling
• Achievable - I believe each part of this goal is achievable - the weight comes down to less than 1 pound per week on average
• Relevant - what is more relevant than my own physical health?
• Time Bound - By my 40th birthday... September 12th of next year!

I've met my birthday goals before. The last one I set was 33 by my 33rd and I blew that out of the water. 40 by 40 is totally doable. I don't want to focus solely on weight though, which is why the goal isn't just 40 pounds, but improving my strength, flexibility and physical health. Those are just as important as the weight, but they also go hand in hand. I need to lose weight to feel better physically!

So, there you have it boys and girls!

This week is officially Week 1. My birthday is Wednesday. I'll be celebrating it at Mayo. *sigh* Hopefully this is my last trip down there, but I'm there most of this week. This will be challenging, as living in a hotel and traveling is not exactly fantastic for healthy eating opportunities, but other than my birthday dinner, I have a plan to keep on track and prove to myself that I can do this... anywhere!! Travel is life! Mayo has been my life for the past three months. I can't ignore my goals just because I'm not at home, where it's easier to stay on track. This is my life and I need to find what works for MY LIFE. Stay tuned...