2011 Review, Ready for 2012

2011 was a season of ups and downs. The ups were good, the downs were bad. Suffered some surprising disappointments but finally realized it was God's way of taking a stupid burden off of me.

In May, my husband and I took a 7 day cruise to Western Mexico to celebrate my graduation from grad school (last December) and his bachelors (this May). it was the single most best vacation I've ever been on and I cannot wait to go on another one.

In June, we had to put our Tri-Pawd beagle, Buster, to sleep after the cancer that took his leg returned and consumed him. A month later, we adopted another rescue, this time, a bagel (basset hound/beagle mix) named Freckles.

In July, after 2 years, 5 months and 7 days, we paid off the rest of our 42K in non-student loan debt. This was a big milestone in our journey to getting out of debt. Since then we've been tackling the student loans with a vengeance, between 2 bachelors and a masters degree, we'd like to pay them all off in 5 years or less. However, at our current rate, that's not going to happen. Still wishing for hubby to find a permanent full time job.

In August, I started my own Mary Kay business, it's providing a little bit of extra income, but I have no desire to be the crazy Cadillac lady.

In September, I found out that I have PCOS....and in November I found out that I'm insulin resistant/pre-diabetic. Hubby and I wont be able to have babies until I get this crap under control. Soooo, bye bye pizza, fast food, and processed garbage. I started the eat clean lifestyle (eatcleandiet.com) in November and have already lost 14 pounds. I'm "maintaining" through the holidays and hoping to really get focused after the beginning of the year.

I continue to be blessed in ways that I cannot put into words with the amazing job I have. I celebrated my 3 year anniversary with the company in October, and I'm crossing my fingers for some new opportunities in the upcoming year.

While I can't complain because God has really provided for us....I really hope hubby finds permanent full time work soon. We've made such financial progress, but these student loans are troubling me. If it weren't for the SLs, I could handle the household finances, and we wouldn't have anything to worry about... If you're an undergrad student reading this - PLEASE PLEASE keep/get scholarships, work a part time job and AVOID STUDENT LOANS.

As much as I despise the month of January, I'm ready for it to get here, because the quicker it gets here, the quicker it can be over. On my birthday a few weeks ago, I said 31 was going to be my best year yet, and I mean that. I've got big plans for 2012....and I'm ready to get started.