Update

Vex & Azura
We'll start off with the little furries! Here's an updated list of what I know:

• Vex LOVES the wheel & eating lettuce
• They prefer the newer ferret hammock bed over their plastic igloo
• They turned the bottom bedding of said hammock into a roof
• They do not care for the wooden chew logs, need to find another option
• Azura scared us and got really sick, we thought she wasn't going to make it
• Azura is still sick, but we took her to the vet 
• Azura hates medicine {who doesn't?}
• Azura finally showed the slightest improvement today
• Vex is a maniac who always want to get out of the cage
• They are both little hoodrats, by that I mean they love to chill in my hoodie as I walk around
• Neither are completely fond of being picked up
• They like cran/raz juice

Fitness

Next on the update list is my fitness adventures! I've been maintaining a nice level of activity. Some things thrown back into the mix: Stadiums, Running, & Jump Rope!

Jump rope is absolute killer, so I definitely need to work on it more! Running is going pretty well, getting back into the groove. Stadiums. Enough said. To give you an idea of what a set of stadiums means, I made this absolutely beautiful example on an image from google ;)

To explain: start with a walk around the track. Then go up the large seating steps, not the little baby ones, you want to be lunging! Lunge up fast and controlled to the top, cross over to the baby stairs and go down. Go up again on big steps, then down, then up once more, then down, you end up on the other side of the stadiums. Then once around the track. These are killer. Sometimes we can only manage one set, other times we can go for several. There were days I felt like passing out and days I was so pumped I ran around the track a few times instead of walked... this is a core, lower body, cardio workout. 

Continuing the fitness update...I am always pumped to be on my community page called Whole Body on G+

Why G+ instead of Facebook? Because I like the organization & layout of the G+ page waaaay better than Facebook's groups. Originally, the group was designed for me and some select family members. However, to increase the energy and motivation of the group, we decided to open it up a little more. Hoping we get some positive energy and participation flowing through there. I often will post workouts I want everyone to try, but that doesn't mean you have to stop what you're doing and do them. If you're involved in another workout routine, we still would love to have you! Keep us updated on your progress in the "report in" section and share what workouts you're doing/programs/your diet and so on. It helps us all out to share. Gives good inspiration. 

It's a place to motivate and be motivated, we want to basically create a super fun support group for our whole body health & wellness journeys 

Last thing I want to share on the topic of fitness updates would be my continued desire to become a certified fitness trainer. I've wanted this for a long time, still do. If you keep coming back to something, you might as well get it, right? Well I'm doing my research to find which program would be the best for me based on accreditation, cost, coursework, and lesson plans. 

If ANYONE has any tips & advice on the topic, please comment!

Career

I was tossing the decision back and forth, the decision to apply for the full time position at the place I currently work at. Well, I applied for it and have my interview on Tuesday, January 28th at 10am. Send me your best luck! I'm actually worried I'll get it and worried I won't. I'm still hugging the fence, even if I've chosen a side. 

WELL THERE YOU HAVE IT!! Those are my updates that I wanted to share with you all! Now, for my featured blog/shop person of the moment, check out Emma Elizabeth {blog}! 

Copied links from her blog:

Etsy Shop:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/EmmaElizabethArtwork

Sign up for mailing list:
http://emmaelizabethartwork.com/

Like her Facebook Page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Emma-Elizabeth-Artwork/501294183325528?ref=tn_tnmn

Follow her on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/EmmaElizabethAr

See what inspires her by following Emma on Pinterest:
http://www.pinterest.com/emmaelizabethme/

And if you feel so inclined, you can shop these items available at auction on ebay:
http://www.ebay.com/usr/motorfan998qdr

or shop her Storenvy shop:
http://www.storenvy.com/stores/247351-emma-elizabeth
or
http://emmaelizabethartwork.storenvy.com/

Until Next Time!

Our New Family Members

"Vex bit my finger, then looked guilty and backed off"

"Did it break your skin?"

"haha no, it was a little nibble really. Harmless."

So starts the new adventures with Vex and Azura, our new pet rats. Here's what I can tell you so far:

• Vex is slightly older than Azura

• Azura is jumpy and very adventurous and curious. 

• They don't trust me yet

• They're both females

• I honestly don't think Vex knows where the food and water is.

• Azura drinks all the time

• They absolutely love cheerios

Trust training is going to be harder than I thought. Or at least will take longer than I thought. I'm estimating a week or two until they're comfortable enough to come into my hand. Currently, they will take cheerios from me, outside and inside the cage. I talk to them a lot, hoping they'll be more comfortable with my voice. They are in the highest populated place in our house and a welcomed site. 

Time to show off my geek/nerd/fan girl side of me. The names. I'm a crazy-obsessed fan of Elder Scrolls. The name Azura is from my favorite Daedric prince of Dusk and Dawn. Then Vex is from the Thieves guild of Skyrim. I prefer the character of Karliah, but Vex seemed more...ratty. Oh and since Azura is the Daedric prince of dusk and dawn, she is the light & dark one. Vex works in the shadows, so she's the brown/black one. 

I'm sure I'll have a video up soon including these little skeevers. Keep subscribed to my Youtube channel so you don't miss it!

Also, I'm more than open to any and all advice and comments regarding your first experiences with pet rats and how you trust trained them.

Busy Lazy Bookclub

The votes are in and our first of four books we'll be reading together will be......

Divergent

I'm happy about this because the movie is going to come out in March. Great timing. However I am also planning on reading some others before then if the time allows.

I hope you'll join in on the fun. Never too late to join our little bookclub!
Here's a quick overview. We have just 11 members at this time. We our reading four books together. On my own time, I'm planning on a total of 20 for the year. Anyway, we have three months to buy, rent, borrow, get our hands on the book and then read it. For those of you that are super busy or binge readers like myself, this is perfect!
Or if you read a TON and just like bookclubs ♥

Never too late to join in. Even when we're half way through the year. The more the merrier! 

Goals for 2014 & How I'm Going to Keep Them

New year, new set of goals {or the same set over and over}. Here's the deal. I have things I want to accomplish like anyone else. However, I'm going to take my own advice and break them down and keep them interesting! HOW?
First, here's my set of goals for the year 2014:

• Keep better records {financial, fitness, food, business}
• Improve running
• Increase push ups
• More visible abs {Oh yea!}
• Get my photog business off the ground
• Read 20 Books!

I also have a phrase I want to follow this year:

Take Risks. Put yourself out there and don't look back. 

 If I make mistakes...GOOD. If I learn from them...even better! I need to stop being scared, stop stalling, and just DO SOMETHING. I have a habit of wanting to do things the right way or wanting it to be good enough before I show people. I have a habit of letting that stall me so much that I don't do whatever it is at all. 

Now, how am I going to keep these goals the whole year?!? 

Easy.

Each month I'm going to have a fresh set of smaller goals, things I can accomplish in one month. These goals will be new and exciting enough for me to keep going. They will also all help me towards my bigger picture... my goals for the whole year. 

Also, I will need to keep things even more interesting and new to help me with the day-to-day. In this cozy little chat video, I talk about keeping things interesting. How you can get excited over and over again so that your goals don't drift away due to boredom.

SO, what are my smaller goals for the month of January?

• Research systems for better record keeping in all areas of life
• Figure out what exactly I want to improve in my running {time/speed/endurance/pace}
• find my starting number of push ups
• try to practice push ups every week
• Aim for two more push ups by the end of the month
• Do the math! Find my numbers in business.
• Start reading Divergent 

Some of this might make sense to you, some might not. I'm the only person who needs to understand them anyway. BUT each month need not pertain to every single goal for the year. They just need to help you in the direction of your goals overall. 

These January goals are small enough that I can measure them and work on them easily in a month. 

What are your resolutions goals for 2014? Are you going to keep things interesting? Break things down into monthly chunks? KEEP YOUR GOALS!?

Share your post, video, whatever. I'd love to see/read/hear what you're planning for this year!!