it's fast approaching...

this new year i've been planning and prepping for over the last few weeks. i've already made up my mind that this will be the year that i get shit done and make shit happen. i'll be 31 in less than 2 months and although i had planned on my 30th year being THE YEAR, it didn't quite work out that way. i had a bit of a rough year and i'm finally feeling as though i have my head above water.

wait, let me revise that...

not only is my head above water, i stood up, walked out of the water and now i'm relaxing on the beach in a bikini with a mojito.

quite a few times this year i felt like i was drowning in the middle of the ocean, when in reality, i was unnecessarily struggling in only 3 feet of water. what felt like the end of my world at the time, was just a ripple in the water. the nice thing about working through all of my struggles was realizing that a lot of it was self-inflicted... i chose to be a victim and perpetuate the problems.

that realization led to the ultimate epiphany... i can choose how this life goes. i can choose my happiness as easily as i chose unhappiness. so, i've decided to reject the pain and anger, the negativity and drama and replace it with joy and positivity, self love and self worth. when you realize you're worth it - whatever "it" means for you - everything else just seems to fall into place. when you know you're worth love and deserve respect, you demand it not only from others but from yourself. when you know you deserve a vibrant and fulfilling life, you accept nothing less. what's more - you GO FOR IT! you seek it out and protect it.


i have chosen to live the life i want today. i've spent almost 31 years planning for it, but here it is and here it's been. i just needed to open my eyes and see it there, happening all around me. i needed to put down all the stressful, negative balls i had juggling in the air, take the weight off my own shoulders, and now i'm able to hold on to all of the things i want for myself.

2014 is going to be a big year for me and my family. each year before this i've set out to conquer the laundry list of things the average person hopes to accomplish: lose weight, get organized, pay off debt and save money, blah blah blah. well, my lofty plans always get the better of me and i get so caught up in the actual planning, and those plans never truly come to fruition. this year is going to be different.

• low-fat plain yogurt
• cheese cloth (get it at the grocery store, where they sell utensils and such)
• a sieve or strainer (i bought a sieve for this and used my strainer=))
• a bowl/container large enough to rest sieve or strainer on top of