Best Laid Plans

I was planing to review Big Little Lies because surely I would have finished it this weekend... but then it was Harry Potter Weekend on FreeForm so there you go. I didn't finish the book, I didn't get the house cleaned, I did go to bed at 10 pm on Saturday night though. 

On Saturday, Albus & I ran a 5K that ended with beer (praise hands!) at Red Hare Brewing. They have this really cool wall, pictured above. ALL I WANTED was a good picture of Albus, my cousin, and me in front of this damn wall. We asked three different people and this is the best that we got. I felt so irritated that we couldn't get someone to tell us to move one way or the other, and then I felt even worse for insisting that we take it a third time because I just wanted something nice to Instagram. I don't usually have the perfectionist thing going on, but honestly how hard was it to get this picture right?

a 5K with beer, wings, AND pups? count us in. #redharebrewery

A post shared by Kasey Decker (@kdsmoove) on Mar 4, 2017 at 8:46am PST

Albus loves running 5Ks, it was his 4th one and we finished in 46 minutes! I don't run very fast, if we're being honest. He could probably do a 7 minute mile. I love pup friendly 5Ks because that means there are other dogs for him to interact with. Sometimes I worry that he's going to be that obnoxious only child, so I have to make sure to socialize him. Read, I make sure to socialize myself because some weekends I don't even leave the house or interact with any humans. Plus he made a new lady friend!

If you follow me on snapchat or instagram, you also got a sneak peek of us trying to get the little monster to swim. For some reason he is afraid of the water! He can definitely swim, but straight refuses to get in the water. We even tried throwing balls in the water for him to chase! I'm guessing we'll have to wait until it's warm outside so that I can get in the water with him. Sometimes he can be super clingy. Either way, it was a big weekend for both of us.

So somehow this turned into a weekend update! What did y'all get into this weekend? How ready for spring weather to stick around are we? It was 30-something degrees when we started that 5K on Saturday. BRR.

Currently: March

Literally two days ago I was writing about how I wanted to be more proactive and schedule posts ahead of time because I’m done procrastinating, and here I am writing a post in my down time, four hours after I meant to have it live. Whatever. In my defense, I went to file for my homestead exemptions, which took the least amount of time. Now I have to figure out how to file my taxes, it was so much easier when I just filled in my W-2s and pretended I would get any money back for paying student loans back. (LOL, cute little innocent Kasey) Anyways, let’s talk currently!

Reading: Big Little Lies. I’m tearing through it. I forgot how light reading could be when it wasn’t tiny, tight print for 850 pages. I’m absolutely going to finish it before the weekend is over. Maybe I’ll try my hand at writing book reviews, I don’t know if I could do them without spoiling things… Also I joined the Book of the Month club, we'll see how that goes....

Writing: This post, duh. But also, I’m working on improvingmy handwriting in the bullet journal and coming up with some projects around the house to write about. I did this really cool construction project in the back yard, but I keep waiting for the flowers in the planter to perk up before I take the pictures of it. What would y’all like to see here?

Singing: Colour Me In: Damien Rice. I’ve been pretty hooked on Emily’s February 2017 playlist, and I have always loved Damien Rice. The weather has been nice, so it’s been a windows down, radio blasting, singing-at-the-top-of-your-lungs kind of week.

Grudging: Okay so speaking of the windows down, a piece of plastic broke on my car’s sunroof thing, so it wouldn’t close. I took it to the dealership to have them fix it and great news! It was only going to be the cost of labor to fix it! But also you have $300 of other things that need to be fixed too so go ahead and get that taken care of. So whatever, it’s cheaper to keep her, but I pick my car up & immediately open the sunroof, I need the vitamin D. I get home and climb up to see how it was fixed? THEY TOOK THE ENTIRE BROKEN PART OUT AND DIDN’T REPLACE IT. It wasn’t even a necessary part. Damn y’all, I have a drill, I could have done that. They also called and told me if I give them all 10s on the review the Jeep people send out, I will get a free car wash. I’m pretty sure that’s not how those things work….

HAPPY FRIDAY Y’ALL. I will be running a 5k for beer tomorrow at 8:30 tomorrow morning. That means beer around 9. You can’t drink all day if you don’t start in the morning J Do you have anything fun planned this weekend?

February Through The Lens & March Goals

I would say I'm surprised that we've made it to March, but that would just be a lie. February felt like such  a long month considering it was only 28 days. Let's see what February looked like through the lens of my camera! It's been a minute since I've done one of these! 

Obviously, Albus, the most photogenic pup in the world takes the cake on most of them. He tuned EIGHT MONTHS old, he let me dress him up for the Super Bowl, he ran his 4th 5K (we have number 5 coming up this weekend!) and he had a friend stay over for a whole week! He also managed to officially transition out of the crate life, although he still sleeps in there on his own accord. Then, it was National Margarita Day, and a month of yard work man. 

I would do a recap of my February goals, but aside from keeping the house clean, I failed miserably. I'm going to keep blog three times a week on my to-do list. Here are a few more I want to accomplish:

1. The Yard. I gotta keep up the exhausting work so that this summer my house looks like the cover of a Southern Living magazine.  Every little bit counts or something, I have to find a mantra that keeps me from getting frustrated. 

2. Work on the blog. I want to get back to scheduling posts because I'm still working on becoming a morning person, so it's a lot easier to get stuff scheduled the night before than to try to hammer something out while watching the Today Show in the morning.. I also want to get back into the whole swing of the community aspect of it. I missed y'all!

3. Read at least three books. I only read one book in February, I mean it was 900 pages, but it was still just one book. I want to read at least three. Last night I started Big Little Lies and I also have All The Missing Girls so I need one more to knock off the list in March. Any suggestions?

What did February look like through your camera? What are you reading this month?

Currently & Some February Goals

So, in true Tuesday fashion, I just ran the coffee maker without adding water. So I'm doing great today! I have to be honest, I'm a little rusty/nervous getting back into this whole blogging thing, so today we're going to talk some goals and what's currently happening. Seems simple enough, right? 

FIRST OF ALL. Can we talk about the Beauty & the Beast trailer? PLEASE. I have easily watched it 25 times since last night. #sorrynotsorry I'll just leave it here in case you've been under a rock for the last twelve hours. I am 28 years old and not even a little ashamed to admit that I am so excited and also that I cried when I watched it. Obviously, I definitely just bought my ticket for opening night..

I'm currently planning (possibly entirely too far in advance) a trip to Ireland & Scotland for next summer. Yeah, next summer. I've been daydreaming of Ireland for as long as I can remember, so my thought process was, if I start saving now I can skip the "save money by staying in hostels with 96 of your closest friends" and splurge on a night in a castle or something. Plus, I made a savings tracker in my bullet journal where I get to color every time I save $10. 

SO let's talk goals! It's a short month, so I'm making a short list.

1. Blog three times a week: I've been overthinking and trying to come up with perfect content and pictures, so I've been hesitant to post anything I don't feel is perfect & forgetting that the real joy is the writing itself. So here we go! 
2. Workout every day: I want to be able to do a three minute plank, so I figure if I do one every day, by the end of the month SURELY I can do it. Also I'd really like to get over 10,000 steps every day so my fitbit stops judging me.
3. Keep the house clean: Somehow, I am a person who has someone to clean the house (I feel that it's worth the money to not have to be the one to deep clean the bathroom.) and yesterday was the first day. My whole house smelled like pinesol, it was amazing. I'm constantly pinning all of these "hacks" to keep your house clean, surely I can read one or two of those articles. 

So that's what I want to knock out this month. I'll be using my bullet journal to keep myself accountable, and here, and instagram. What are you trying to accomplish this month? 

Breakup Challenge 2016: An Update

Here we are 14 days into the Breakup Challenge so obviously it's time for an update. My goals were to wake up more than 10 minutes before I need to leave, blog more, and to workout in the mornings (since I'm getting up earlier, duh) So here's where we are...

I have been getting up earlier, usually a WHOLE HOUR before I have to leave, it's made an incredible difference, not only can I make coffee (or use some of the $75 worth of Starbucks gift cards I ended up with for Christmas) but I feel better when I get to the office. I also have time to let my car warm up before I get in it. 

What I didn't take into account is that it's 10 degrees outside when I get up -- so going for an early morning run is 400% out of the question. I have been getting back to the barre more, which I have missed very dearly.  I do plan on biting the bullet + getting a membership, then going to the 6 am classes (I sentence I never really thought I would say seriously.) 

The only issue with my new routine is that by the time I get to work I'm usually at least two cups of coffee deep so I'm talking 90 miles an hour and I can't sit still.... How are you doing on your goals so far? 

2016 Word of the Year

So I have tried, and failed, at New Year's Resolutions as much as the next girl. This year I've decided I'm starting new traditions, one of those is the whole Breakup Challenge, the to other is going to be my word of the year. This year, I've chosen adventure.

What does my word of the year mean? It means that is my focus. Adventure is defined as an unusual and exciting, typically hazardous, experience or activity. My adventures won't all be hazardous, but where else would the adrenaline rush come from? It means that in 2016 I am going to treat every day, every activity like an adventure. 

I'm planning to be a tourist in my own town, there's a lot to do in Atlanta y'all. I'm planning to try things I wouldn't have beforehand so far, I've learned that I actually do like sushi.. I'm going to put myself out there, get outside of my comfort zone, and explore. I couldn't be more excited. 

I will be honest, I'm still brainstorming a hashtag for it, so any suggestions are super welcome. ALSO if you want to join along on adventuring with me this year, I'd love to see where your adventures take you. So let's get to work on that hashtag and it's gonna be the bomb.com. What is your focus for this year?

The Breakup Challenge 2016

So. Laaaaaaast year. er, well I guess two years ago, when I needed a kick in the "stop moping around + be fun again" department, I booked a trip to Europe by myself. Sadly, I can't afford to do that every time I get mopey (but man, what a financial goal that would be. or maybe it would be counterproductive because if travel makes me happy, and I could go any time I wanted, would I ever even be sad?) So when Laura + Amy announced the Breakup Challenge, I figured it was a very good second to being able to book another trip to Europe. 

Now, I am absolutely cheating. First of all January is my birthday (yeah I celebrate the whole month, what are you new?) so I'm sure I could give up booze, but it's my birthday. Anyways. I do have a handful of habits I'd like to not bring into 2016 with me. So instead of the Whole30, what I'm more on board for is the breaking up with bad habits. So I saw the announcement + started brainstorming what bad habits I wasn't going to bring into 2016 with me -- it was a ragtag little list: 

• sending text messages after 2 am. 
• leaving for work without brushing my hair
• waking up 10 minutes before I need to leave for work. 
• being a bad blogger
• letting my room look like a hurricane came through 
• not balancing my checkbook
• skipping dinner because I haven't gone to the grocery store
• eating out for lunch 4 days a week
• not being 

Now, I am pretty sure I've failed at every single New Year's Resolution, show me someone who has succeeded at them all, I'll show you someone who's pants are on fire. So I am not committing to breaking up with all of them. My focus for January is these: waking up 10 minutes before I have to go to work (which will also fix the whole leaving without brushing my hair thing too. guys.), skipping dinner because I haven't gone to the grocery store (which should also knock out eating out for lunch all the time), and being a bad blogger. 

My new plan is this: plan my meals + go to the store on Sunday (blog about it), wake up early enough to go for a run before work (blog about how much faster I can run, what I'm listening to, what my steps are for the week, how bad my sneakers smell....) then, since I won't want to be sweaty, I can make coffee, shower, and blog before I go to work. What do you think? It seems like a small enough change to make a big difference. 

Are you breaking up with any bad habits this year? Allegedly if we can do it for 30 days, we'll make a good habit instead! What are your goals for this year and how can I help you achieve them?  

Not All Who Wander Are Lost

If I didn't put that title in quotes, does someone think I'm trying to take credit for that statement? I'm not. I also didn't write Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit. You know, in case you thought maybe I did that too. Anyways. Now that we've cleared all of that up, I have to say it,  I am lost. I realized it today at work when one of my supervisors asked me what my personal, not work, goals were. I realized I didn't have any. I hadn't had any since I started working. The girl who always has a plan didn't have one. I'm kind of freaking out. 

I don't really talk about my anxiety anywhere. I've started talking about it more in my real life to people who I know are fellow anxious people because I know they won't think I'm trying to get attention. I'm scared to talk about my anxiety because I don't want people to think I just want attention. It's a real fear. 

Two weeks ago I had a panic attack at work and I couldn't calm myself down. I've been having them since high school, that's the first one I really remember. I was in the hallway at school during a class change then all of a sudden I couldn't breathe. I didn't know what was happening or where I was or what to do. I didn't tell anyone about it for probably two more years. The one I had at work was worse than any I've ever had before. I had to have my aunt come pick me up from the office and take me home. 

Then today I started panicking over "what are your personal goals for the rest of September + October?" Which leads me to believe I need to come up with a plan, get back to the basics of what drives me over the weekend. That, combined with the outstanding timing of Chelsea's post yesterday reminded me that this is it, we just get the one life. I am going to start spending it better. (plus that Ryan Adams 1989 came out. you need to listen to that too.) Any suggestions on my next step will be very welcome...

Three Months In: 15 in 2015

I apologize for today, I am having a phone related meltdown. Because it just decided to stop working today, which is super because it's not like I need to call anyone (oh wait, I do) or anything. So, we're going to do a quick check-in of my 15 for 2015 list! 

1. Monetize the blog. heyoooo wanna sponsor Kasey at the Bat? BECAUSE YOU TOTALLY CAN!!! Click riiiiiight here. do it. do it do it you know you wanna! 
2. Leave the country again. merp merp merp. I haven't yet. it's still on the to-do though. I entered to win a trip to Turks + Caicos from Skimm this morning.,.
3. Pay off my credit cards. my credit card debt isn't too bad [it's peanuts compared to my student loans.] wah wah wah wah. I mean I have almost paid of my fancy smancy camera, so that totally counts. I actually am doing pretty good at this, it just doesn't feel that way.. 
4. Declutter. not. even. close. 
5. One race per month. or at least 12 total. Okay. since I did the whole Class Pass + 30 Days at the Barre thing, I haven't had any races. but I'm in the Peachtree lottery + I'll do some leading up to that so my legs don't fall off. I'm pretty confident I can get 12 in. 
6. Read 100 books. Come on summer. I'm on like, 10. I am currently in the middle of like four books, which makes no sense. 
7. Try a new restaurant every month. SO FAR SO GOOD! We tried a new BBQ place just yesterday! 
8. Visit at least 5 of the breweries within driving distance. So far I've been to one! We went to Second Self a couple of weeks ago, which I was pretty underwhelmed by, but I'd be willing to try again. 
9. Take at least one picture per day. YESTERDAY I got a new tripod, strap, AND REMOTE for my fancy camera. 
10. Send thank you notes. So I found these adorable gold foiled notes at World Market, I've been sending all kinds of handwritten notes! 
11. Improve my handwriting, learn calligraphy. 
12. Cook Sunday night dinners every week. welp. this hasn't worked. softball on Sunday has thrown a curve ball. 
13. Accomplish a DIY project each month. THIS I have done! I've just been a bad blogger + not posted about it. Maybe I'll get around to showing bar pictures.....
14. Make it to the beach more than once. AT THE END OF APRIL I'M GOING TO NAPLES + WE'RE GOING TO PADDLE BOARD + SEE ALLIGATORS IN THE EVERGLADES + TAKE PICTURES + WEAR BIKINIS FOR FOUR STRAIGHT DAYS. #teamnopants
15. Find + commit to a workout plan. I'm officially a member at Exhale + now that 30 days is done, I get to class about 4-5 days a week. WHAAAAAT

How are you doing on your goals this year? 

15 In 2015 -- An Update

Geeze. Since we're already in February, I guess it's time to do an update on this 15 in 2015 list isn't it? Better late than never right? Let's see how I've done.

1. Monetize the blog: sponsorship options coming in March! GET. PUMPED.
2. Leave the country again: I'm seriously considering another EF trip. I can't decide. Maybe just a quick long weekend to the Virgin Islands or Mexico something.
3. Pay off credit cards: guys I was stressing out because I paid all of my bills + had a lot of money still in my checking account. Also, worth noting, I have my credit utilization down under 60%. boom.
4. Declutter: I cleaned my room, bathroom, and closet a two weeks ago. TA-DA. Now the goal is to keep it clean + move on to the stuff in storage.
5. One race per month: okay. I didn't find anything for January. But I'm still totally capable of hitting 12 in the year, I'll just double up. Probably in the warmer months. 
6. Read 100 books. According to GoodReads, I'm a little behind. 
7. Try a new restaurant every month: Dad + I went to this cute little place in Acworth in an old mill. It was too cool, had only been open for like 4 days. I was a little disappointed with the food timing, but I'm totally chalking it up to the place being new. 
8. Visit 5 new breweries: I haven't gone to any yet. WHO WANTS TO GOOO? 
9. Take a picture per day:  some of my days are really monotonous. But I'm doing pretty well!
10. Thank you notes: I just bought new stationary! GET. READY. 
11. Improve my handwriting: it's getting pretty good. I'm writing more!
12. Weekly dinners: I've managed to cook a home cooked meal once a week, not always on Sundays though. 
13. DIY Project each month: HOW great was that pinterest fail Tuesday? 
14. Make it to the beach: I HAVE TWO BEACH TRIPS PLANNED. HOW. BOUT. IT.
15. Workout plan: as we've discussed at length -- I'm addicted to the barre..

Well there you have it. An entirely too soon check in, because it's only February. But also, it's FEBRUARY. I gotta get crackin' on that whole out of the country thing so I can make it happen, captain. How are you doing on your goals so far? 

Fifteen Things in 2015

I can't keep new year's resolutions. I usually break them before my birthday month is over [yeah, I call dibs on the whole month, what of it?] Instead, I'm making a to-do list of fifteen things I want to accomplish in 2015. Nothing flimsy like "get in shape" [ did I mention I lost weight in Europe? apparently walking nearly 15 miles a day will do that to a girl. ] but somethings that I can track and update and obviously use as blogging material [sometimes I think I do more things because I can blog about them...] 

1. Monetize the blog. heyoooo wanna sponsor Kasey at the Bat? That option is totally coming soon, so get in line ladies! haha
2. Leave the country again. let's put another stamp in that fancy new passport I got! 
3. Pay off my credit cards. my credit card debt isn't too bad [it's peanuts compared to my student loans.] but I'd really love to not have to make payments on them anymore. 
4. Declutter. this isn't like "omg I need to clean out my closet" this is like, "why are there still boxes of stuff at my parents house from when I moved back from California? what's even in there?" I need to get rid of the stuff, obviously I don't need it. 
5. One race per month. or at least 12 total. So far I have the Atlanta Mission 5K in February, Peachtree in July, and Ugly Sweater in December. I guess I need to find something for January! ooops! 
6. Read 100 books. I think that's like 8 a month, right? Totally doable. Except, does the complete works of Sherlock Holmes count as one or more than one? 
7. Try a new restaurant every month. 
8. Visit at least 5 of the breweries within driving distance. Who wants to join me on this one? There are so many fun new ones. I think my first one will be Schoolhouse because Jennifer always posts the coolest pictures from there... 
9. Take at least one picture per day. Okay, so I don't know if I'm ready to commit to like a #kaseydoes2015 type thing + post one per day on Instagram, but I want to have a blog post at the end of the year with 365 pictures. A collage for each month. That sounds really cool. 
10. Send thank you notes. Or just little note cards. I want to express my gratitude more, also I love thank you notes. So two birds, right? 
11. Improve my handwriting, learn calligraphy. 
12. Cook Sunday night dinners every week. Or at least one, nice, fun, sit down dinner a week. Not in front of the TV. At the dinner table. 
13. Accomplish a DIY project each month. OH GUYS I HAVEN'T SHOWED YOU HOW AWESOME MY BAR LOOKS! I'm so proud of it. 
14. Make it to the beach more than once. I have a wedding to be in in Wilmington, so that's a trip to the beach, but I also want to make sure to get at least two more in there! 
15. Find + commit to a workout plan. Right now, it might just be barre class. We'll see what my Classpass adventure turns up though..

There you have it! The fifteen things I want to accomplish this year. Not flimsy New Year's resolutions, but attainable goals for the year! What are you going to accomplish in 2015?