This month’s list of goals is so encouraging and inspiring to me. 2012 is going to be a big year for the Ray household! I am jumping in the deep-end of a complete lifestyle change : becoming an athlete (distance runner) + changing our eating habits. Look out world – I am going to be grumpy! Ha! Really though, it’s not going to be easy. But it always feels good to do the right thing. To do the hard thing.

The biggest thing that’s happening this month? I am proudly, enthusiastically, and tearfully welcoming my best best friend into our family. Forever. Sam, my closest friend since middle school, is marrying Will’s brother. How fantastic is that? We were best friends in youth group, in high school, and then roommates together in college. The dynamic duo of Samantha Crowder and Nancy Miller are now both going to be Rays for the rest of our lives. I love that. And words can’t even begin to describe how much I love and admire Will’s brother, John. You can bet that I will be a teary mess the weekend of April 21st!

Finally, another exciting change this month is that we will be officially welcoming a Studio Assistant onto our NRP team. I cannot wait to work in tandem with someone in the studio during the week, knocking out the daily tasks that can be overwhelming. We will be a coffee-drinking, music-listening, productive team! And Winston will be there to cheer us along.

So yes, this is a big month. A wonderful month. And I’m ready to watch it all unfold!

April Goals

• Take a load of stuff to the consignment store [Spring Cleaning!]

• Run my first 5K

• Begin my nutritional lifestyle change with a 2-week sugar fast [yikes!]

• Complete our 2nd time facilitating FPU

• Hire and begin training my Studio Assistant

• Continue my half-marathon training

• Patio makeover! Clean + find patio furniture on Craigslist

• Celebrate Sam (my bff) and John’s (Will’s brother) wedding!

• Begin planning our September vacation to NYC + Boston + New London

Well March, here you are! Before I could catch my breath, you arrived. I’m honestly excited to see you. You mark the beginning of wedding season, and I am so grateful. I begin to get a little antsy, excited, impatient when it’s been a few months since I’ve photographed a wedding. It’s what fires me up, you know? It’s what I was made to do. So now I am focusing on rest, relaxation, and preparation – doing everything I should do in my business and my body to prepare for what’s to come. I’m filing taxes, organizing and backing up hard-drives; I’m cleaning out my studio and sending off my equipment for cleaning, I’m meeting with vendors, taking my vitamins, running… a lot; I’m preparing for my new studio assistant, and I’m ready. I’m ready for what’s ahead : acting like a lady, thinking like a boss. That’s what you’re for, March, you’re here to prepare me. You are the launching pad for my 2012 wedding season! You give me the final days of preparation and rest, and then you reward me with beautiful couples in love. Yep, I like you a lot.

March Goals

• 12 in 12 : The Hunger Games [Trilogy]

• Clean out the Garage*

• Clean out my closet / get rid of old clothes that are taking up space

• Take big trip to the consignment store

• See The Hunger Games in the theater (!)

• Continue to wake up at 6:30am Sundays – Thursdays

• Run 3 miles with no walking; continue 1/2 marathon training

• Have 1 big pre-wedding-season day of rest, just for me. Sleeping, reading, watching movies, relaxing

• Send off all tax documents to my accountant

Okay, it’s time to get real with you. The Hunger Games Trilogy has gotten the best of me.

If you follow me on Instagram, then you already know. I have a problem. A friend decided to “loan me the Hunger Games” on Kindle, which means I can access the entire book for 14 days on my Kindle iPad App. 14 days? Yeah right. No way I can finish a book in two weeks!

Well, before I knew it, 3 days had passed and I finished all 400 pages. Then I was off to the store, and I finished Catching Fire in 5 days. Now, I’m trying to pace myself with Mockingjay, but that’s tough. It is seriously that good! So if you haven’t yet, go read them. They are fascinating, can’t-put-it-down kind of novels. I cannot wait for the movie!

Who else has been caught up into the world of Panem?  Which book is your favorite of the three?

My dad always told me growing up,

Five years from now, you’re the same person except for the people you’ve met and the books you’ve read.

He got that quote from John Wooden, and to be honest, I never thought it was true.

Really? The books I read will change me that much?

Really, they will.

Last year, I took the challenge of reading 12 books in 12 months. I ended up reading more than that, and I am a completely different person because of it. If I do this 12 in 12 for the next 5 years, I am incredibly excited to see how my life will change! Dave Ramsey always says, “He with the most information and the most patience wins.” Usually he is referring to getting the best deal on an item you want to purchase, but I think it applies to reading books as well.

He with the most information and most patience really does win.

This February, I want to focus my free time on reading. It’s a small goal, but a step in the right direction to set the tone for this year. Will and I both have some substantial goals regarding books in 2012, so my hope is to read a little every morning, a little every night, and to fill my free time with reading a few pages as well. If I take Winston to the vet? I bring a book. If I take a road trip? Bring a book. If I run errands? Maybe even listen to an audio book. Hopefully lots of little time reading will result in much accomplishment!

I’d like to share one of my favorite Pinterest Boards I’ve created : Books Worth Reading. These are books that I have read and highly recommend.  In one way or another, they changed me, my habits, or one important area of my life. I don’t post every single book that I read onto this Board – only the ones that have had an impact on my life. Or maybe I really enjoyed a good novel, and I feel you would enjoy it too.

Since I never officially gave a recap of my 2011 Books, here is a summary of the books I read : 15 Total

The Mesh
The Forbidden
The Parting
The Longing
The E-Myth
Be the Pack Leader
Heavenly Man
Love and Respect
Saving CeCe Honeycutt
Stuff Christians Like
Thou Shall Prosper
Good to Great
Boundaries
The 4 Hour Workweek
The Bible

Out of that list, I would say my top 5 include : The E-Myth, Boundaries, Thou Shall Prosper, Heavenly Man, and The 4 Hour Workweek. (Obviously the Bible is #1!) I hope that my 2011 reading list, as well as my Books Worth Reading Pinterest Board, will inspire and motivate you to become a reader. Or perhaps, just become more of a reader than you already are.

•••

February Goals

• Spend more of my free time reading

• 12 in 12 : Read Kisses from Katie

• Meet with my health coach to layout a plan for my 1/2 marathon training

• Continue to wake up at 6:30am each workday + add Sundays to that routine

• Clean out the Garage

• Design + Order the last wedding albums from 2011

What are some of your favorite books?