I have a problem...I'm that girl who has a make-believe life in changing rooms...
Please tell me y'all have done this & it's not just me...When you try on clothes, in your head do you have made up scenarios about where you will wear them and why you need them? I'm the worst & my imagination and make-believe life is so good, I actually have a hard time not buying into it...
Take yesterday...At a lovely little Target with about 37 items, all reduced to $5, my make-believe life was running rampant...I needed this shirt to drink Corona on a beach, this dress for a wedding I don't even know exists but could, this blouse for a garden party I like to think I'd one day attend, these jeans in case I lose 10 pounds and can actually do them up and of course this sports bra for the gym, I like to pretend to go to...All totally make-believe...
I know it's getting real bad & time to walk away, when what I'm trying on is only acceptable to wear on a resort in Punta Cana...Not that I've ever been to Punta Cana, but in my imaginary make-believe life & according to a rubber bin in our basement, I'm going one day...

All that to say, buying to buy just because of a sale is on my;            

List of 14 Things that are Going to Happen in 2014
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ONE: Spend less moula on useless crap...Let go of my imaginary changing room life...Hello reality, I'm a mumma of two small babes living in leggings & t-shirts...When & if I do get to go out on a date or for drinks with my gals, I have more than enough "old" outfits to get me by for a few hours...So my first resolution is to make more things - spend less money...Whether that's DIY crafts, decor, re-using items differently or simply making my own damn coffee instead of Starbucking it up all the time...

TWO: Somehow with my 2 hooligans, all Pip's medical appts, therapies, regular life & the blog, I somehow want to learn to manage my time a bit better - I need it to feel a bit more balanced...Not sure how I am going to go about it but there has to be a way...


THREE: Which brings me to this point...Making time...Needing time to write & finish my book...I'd say I'm halfway there at this point but in 2014 I want to set time aside to get er done...And if that happens & all the stars align, then a huge dream my entire life could come true...To get a book published...FINGERS CROSSED My Friends...

FOUR: Keep em crossed so that maybe that funny gal who I've been harassing, stalking, bugging will give me a call...I feel this year is the year...Come on Ellen...I seriously only want to meet you & help prank people...To have a bug in my ear & you tell me what to say to people would make me ridiculously happy...Weird dream to have eh?

FIVE: Learn more sign language...Pip's 1 now & while she sometimes bust out with "Mumma" that's about all she's got...A lot of blabbering & such but no clear words...So try to organically include signing in our everyday life...
SIX: I tell my husband this every single year but this time I'm serious {I think}....I want to lose this extra junk in my trunk & try to tame the bulge...

SEVEN: Do something special with just Noal...Whether that's take a class or gymnastics again- something where it's just the two of us spending time together...


EIGHT: Change it up...This year I want to do something different with my hair...It's been long & relatively along the same colour for ages...Want to mix it up - Big bold cut, Ombre colouring, something-anything, just time for a change...

NINE: Maybe this will help with #6 but I need to stop being a binge eater...I tend to eat healthier Mon to about Thursday but come Friday I'm all about ordering a pizza & then I spiral into a a teenage boy all weekend...I'm being 100% honest when I tell you I think a cheese ball is healthy...And now because I said it I have to stop writing, go gnaw at a hunk of cheese right from the package, pure class, I know, or I won't be able to stop thinking about it...Cheese, Cheese, Cheese...


 TEN: Read more....Books that is...This past year with Happy Soul Project & all, it's been a pretty technical time in my life...Learning different programs, discovering new blogs, teaching myself HTML & other need-a-gin-or-I'll-lose-my-mind things...And while I'm happy with all I've accomplished, ecstatic with all the other writers/bloggers I've "met" & learned so very much online...I want to step away more in 2014 - I want to feel a book in my hands - I want to fall asleep reading a chapter not checking my phone...


ELEVEN: Seeing my husband's face this year with some of the beauties I've concocted in the kitchen is reason enough to have this as a resolution...The fact that he could barely swallow my chicken means I have work to do...I'm going to knock his snobby-chef-side-of-him socks off this year...



TWELVE: Some friends tell me it's a "nap strike"- Well bloody hell, whatever it is, it sucks arse... The strike has lasted well over a month now, it's not happening & I need to let go...I also need to get this boy into a toddler bed- Not only is he smuggling toys & crayons into his crib, take a look at the damn-beaver-of-a-chew-job he's doing to try & bust out of this prison...Also need him fully potty trained, I am so not a fan of this in between stage...


THIRTEEN: Do something for others...The last few years have been so self-absorbed...Getting engaged, then married, then baby after baby...It's sucked my time, energy, moula & life right outta me...But this year I want to do something to give back somehow...Whether that's simply more random acts of kindness, sponsoring a family next Christmas, volunteering somewhere...Just something to feel like I'm doing my part...

FOURTEEN: Continue to live with a grateful spirit, content heart & happy soul....Continue to acknowledge something I am grateful for each day...Continue to be thankful for the life I've been given, the path I am on...And continue to try & have a happy soul with whatever comes my way...
"Be in love with your life, every minute of it" - Jack Kerouac




So friends, I am excited for 2014...Excited to see all that it will bring..When the blog first started one of the first things I ever wrote was I truly believe the "best is yet to come" ....And I felt that than but even more so now...I feel like this is the year for me - for my family...
And while my changing room life seems adventurous & exciting, my everyday life is pretty damn brilliant...And you never know, maybe 2014 will bring with it a reason to wear one of those binned Punta Cana outfits or maybe I should go back to Target & get a $5 blouse for my book signing or even better a $5 dress for when I'm on Ellen...
Dream big right friends? Hope all your dreams big, small, silly & all come true for you...Happy 2014...