Team DEW takes on 2014!

On Christmas Eve a friend asked me if I had any resolutions for the new year. I was stumped. I did not have any resolutions, but my mind began to churn. Throughout the last week I began talking with Dan about what we should tackle for the new year as a TEAM.

Last night on the way home from a wedding we set out our resolutions. We decided to have a tangible goal for different areas of our life and to set the goal for only a month. We will then revisit and adjust what we do at the end of the month and make different goals for the next month.

Eating Habits:
Over the summer as we began our running program, I came across an article that talked about how what you eat can help you overcome the "wall" many people hit while running. The article talked about an eating program called  Whole 30. After doing some research on the program we did a "Whole 30." This was 30 days of essentially eating whole foods. Meats and vegetables made up most of the diet, then some fruits, certain nuts (did you know peanuts are legume, not a nut?), and good fats (avocados, coconut oil, ghee). So there is no eating grains in any form, no sugar (you can't even have sausage that has sugar added (that is really hard to find; we did not find any), no beans, no dairy, no alcohol, no processed or packaged food. You can't even make treats that use all "approved" foods.

We did the program at the end of the summer/start of the school year and felt great by the end of it. But then our 30 days was done. For the most part during the week we ate this way, but the weekends we started to bring in non-compliant foods. Then the weekend started stretching out to multiple days during the week. Then the holidays hit. Oh my, last night after over a week of eating tons of processed sugar filled food we both felt as if we were going to pop.

So for January 2014 we are going to do a Whole 31! After 31 days we will decide what food we still won't eat and what foods we may add back in for February, but for now we are doing a Whole 31.

Physical Activity:
This past semester has been our best with regards to working out when compared to other school years. Clearly during the summer is always our best, but what we were able to do during last semester was good for us, going forward we want to keep up the momentum we have built.

So for January 2014 we want to exercise at least 4 days a week.  One day will be a training day, one day a swimming day, one day a running day (3-5 miles along the beach), and then the last day could be Pilates, a hike, or a bike ride.

Finances:
I think it was our 4th anniversary, we received the on-line class of Financial Peace from my Dad and Step-mom. We were not the most excited about it, so it took us over 6 months to do it, but we are so glad we did. Through doing the program we paid off all of our debts (our 2 cars and all of Dan's student loans), began using cash for all our groceries and restructured our budget so that we were planning ahead for things like Christmas presents, July when we do not get paid, car maintenance and other things like that. At first we were really strict with how we used our money, but soon we started to use our plastic way more than cash. We ate out a lot. We bought lots of Starbucks. By no means were we going into debt, but we were having to take money out of the accounts that we set up for things like Christmas Presents or going to the gym.

So for January 2014, aside from gas, we will pay for EVRYTHING using cash. 

Professional Growth:
Dan's ultimate goal would be to turn his temporary contract from this year into a full contract for next year. I would like to continue to grow in my leadership ability from the classroom. So how do we increase our professional presence? A year and a half ago I cam across the book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People so slowly began reading it. Last summer I made it through the introduction and thought this would be a perfect book to read and apply together. So I had Dan read the introduction as well. Then school started and that idea flew out the window.

So for January 2014 we will read the book together for an hour every Tuesday night.


Here's to a great 2014 to you all. Stayed tuned for how January went and our goals for February!

Tackling the Bucket List One Limo Ride at a Time!

Back in October when Dan was announcing the High School Football games, he texted me and asked what we were doing December 7th. "Nothing" was my response. I tried to pry out of him why he was asking about that day, but he would not give it up-that night anyways. Eventually he told me that he was planning a limo wine tour trip with some people from his work (some of them I knew from when I worked at his school, some I did not know). While Dan was the leader in planning the trip, my type-A personality helped with finding a limo company just a little over a week out from the trip. But, then all of the people he coordinated with backed out. So, there we were with a limo for wine tasting an no one to go with. We had plans to go wine tasting with my best friend, April and her husband, David while they were out visiting for a friend's wedding later in December, so we called the limo company and asked if we could move the reservation. Totally fine. So we were set to go wine tasting December 30.

We decided to keep the limo a secret until we walked outside to get into the car. I was quite surprised that neither of them asked who was going to drive despite all the talk of drinking and going to multiple places. Despite Dan's desire to keep the limo ride a secret, he blurted it out to David that we had a limo. Now three of us knew, but April still did not know. The time came to leave and we walked out to the "car" which just happened to be a limo! Pete, our driver took our picture and then we headed into the limo for our ride.

Getting ready for our ride in style!

The limo came equipped with a nice cold bottle of Wilson Creek Almond champagne, soda and water. We spent some time texting the picture of the limo to our friend who said he was too busy to go wine tasting (he was the one getting married, so maybe he was a little busy).  He was quite sad that he missed the stylish ride! We then cozied up in the limo and popped the bottle of champagne.

Pretty soon we made it to our first stop: Long Shadow winery. They have a country theme, complete with a barn and several horses. We began by petting some of the horses and then made our way into the winery.  I had been to this winery twice before and enjoyed their wines, particularly their free flowing pours and Ponderosa Port. Dan and I opted to shared one tasting, and despite that the guy kept pouring for both of us. While we probably did not have enough for two tastings, we definitely had way more than one, but the guy only charged us for a partial tasting.

After the tasting, we bought a bottle of the port and headed outside. They have some picnic tables and umbrellas and since it was a beautiful day outside we decided to have a picnic. Dan and I packed up all our leftover snacks from Christmas, so we had quite a feast: cheese, salami, crackers, veggies, and hummus. Dan also picked up some extra snacks to add: pita chips, trail mix, and everyone's favorite of chocolate covered almonds as well as chocolate covered acai berries. We definitely had a feast before us!

April and David enjoying the picnic!

Dan feasting on some chocolate covered almonds.

Dan and I enjoying some snacks.



After the champagne and free pouring wine tasting we realized we just couldn't hang for another 4 hours of wine tasting, but we still had the limo, so what to do? We talked to our driver, Pete, and asked if we could change the tour a bit and instead of doing more tasting, just drive to the beach and take a scenic tour of the coast. He checked in with the office and we were given the go ahead.

So we headed south to Oceanside to drive along the Strand (a street that you can drive on that is right next to the sand). I took pictures of us in the Limo...but didn't think to get any of our view. Despite the change in plans (no more wine tasting), the drive was so much fun. Dan and I cuddled up and watched the beautiful scenery that we drove by. We both love to look at the scenery, but usually he is driving and I don't let him look. This time he was able to look and I didn't have to worry about him swerving off the rode.

Driving to the beach. Pretty good selfie don't you think?

More in the limo on our scenic drive.
  

After our scenic ride along the Oceanside Coast we made our way to Carlsbad. We stopped and had an appetizer at Fidel's Mexican Restaurant (Fidel's is where we went and had dinner on our wedding night after all the lunchtime wedding festivities). Once we were done with our appetizer we made our way to the end of the street and watched the sunset over the coast. We weren't able to capture all its glory, but San Diego County does have some amazing sunsets.

April and David at Fidel's

Dan and I at Fidel's.

Trying to take a selfie and get the sunset in.

Just barely missed the sunset.

Once we were done with the sun set we returned to our limo ride and took an hour drive back home. This was not the wine tour limo ride that I had envisioned when we made our bucket list, but it was definitely a memorable trip. Had we stayed the course wine tasting we would have spent most of the time outside of the limo drinking the wine. While Dan and I do enjoy a good wine, it was fun to enjoy the limo that we rented and just cuddle up and then share it with our friends. Dan and I enjoyed the drive so much we talked about renting a limo again for a scenic drive for a few hours. 

The final leg of our journey.

Limo riding is tough business!

Dan asked me several times throughout the day if I was having fun. Even though it ended up not being a wine tasting tour, we were able to experience the limo ride much more than we might have had we done a wine tour. We got to be romantic with each other, and we were able to share it with our friends. So yes my Dan, I did have a great time!