2016 Goals

I sometimes make New Year's resolutions and sometimes don't.  I am one who is adamant about sticking to my resolutions, so if I make one it needs to be accomplishable.  Last year I decided to do monthly goals, as I thought it would give me fodder for the blog.  But that fizzled out quickly once I realized I was waaaay too busy to blog anyway.  So this year instead of doing resolutions or monthly updates, I'm just going to give myself some general goals.

Get my health in order!

I've had so many symptoms and nothing has been diagnosed yet.  I have decided to take control of the situation and be adamant that the doctors find out what's wrong with me!  Whether that means I need to insist upon being referred to specialists, find another primary care physician, or something else entirely, I need to make this happen.  I'm sick and tired of being exhausted all the time and gaining so much weight (20 pounds in 2.5 years...).  Also, I need to go to the dentist!

Create a capsule wardrobe.  

This is something I've been slowly trying to do over the past year or so.  But I want to invest in high-quality pieces that I can have for a long time.  I haven't done this yet because whatever is wrong with my health has been causing me to continuously gain weight and/or be bloated.  So I don't want to invest in expensive clothes until I'm at a size that I can stay at for awhile (hopefully 15-20 pounds lighter!).

Do more yoga.

I'd like to do yoga a couple of times per week.  It is such a great stress-reliever for me.

More local tourism. 

We have explored our local historical park and we made one trip down to the beach last year.  I'd like to do both a few more times this year, as well as explore other local things - be it nature or historical.  There are a couple of museums in Montgomery and Birmingham that we could visit.  We could go to the botanical gardens.  We could explore Atlanta (only a 3 hour drive).  Part of the reason why we haven't done much is because we're trying to be really tight with our money so that we can pay off some debt... which leads me to my next goal...

Pay off some debt.

When we moved to Alabama we had nothing.  Literally.  So we had to buy a bed, all our furniture, a washer and dryer, a car... I know I won't be able to pay it all off in just one year, but I'd like to pay off a few things and make a dent in some of the other bigger balances.

Make time for things that make me happy.

Art journal.  Art in general.  Making music.  Hanging out with friends.  Writing.  Blogging.  Drinking tea.  Playing piano (would help if I owned one... maybe my final goal should be, "Get a piano.").

What are your 2016 resolutions and/or goals?
XO,
Julie

Free Fun || Public Library

Free Fun || Public Libraries

Anyone who loves books must surely love libraries, right?  The library in my hometown wasn't the greatest.  It always smelled musty and dusty, and it wasn't very big.  But, as a kid, I loved checking out the Boxcar Children Series, The Hardy Boys, and the "Eddie" books (my favorites).  Free books!  What's not to love?

I didn't know what to expect from the Dothan public library.  Dothan isn't a "small" town, but it isn't a big city, either.  I don't know what happened to the original library building, but apparently it has recently been rebuilt.

It's pretty large and new looking.  I love the wide open space and large windows.  They had a very good selection of books and I ended up checking out 5 books!  They had a separate room for children's books and a play area.  And there were many computers, desks, and comfy reading-chairs.  I look forward to going back!

I tried to take some sneaky pictures without anyone noticing.

I added a pirate book, "for Peter," but we all know I'm going to love it. lol

I've already read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and highly recommend it.  I haven't heard of City of Glory or City of Promise before, and I'm not sure if they're a series and which comes first, or if it really matters.  The Last Runaway looks pretty good - Civil War meets Quaker woman... Would you like me to post reviews of these books when I'm done?

Do you ever go to your city's public library?

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Out and About || Our Neighborhood

We live in a small neighborhood.  Our street is right off a main road, but it feels secluded.  There is a housing development right next to us, but I hardly notice it because we have two very large lots in between.  The man who developed our area (duplexes) had planned to build on the entire road, but something came up and he left it only halfway done.  So now there are 5 houses on our side of the street and 6 houses across from us, and two large empty lots next door. We also have a pool house and a pool for the neighbors to share.  

We like to take evening walks down our road.  It dead-ends at a cotton field, and the sunsets are very beautiful.  They recently came and mowed the lots, but before they did, it was overrun with beautiful weeds and flowers.  I just thought I'd share some photos that I've taken.  Sorry they're not the greatest quality... all I have is my iphone right now.  A DSLR camera is on the list right after paying off our debts and getting a nice keyboard.

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Local Tourism - Seaside, FL

You may be familiar with Seaside, Florida, if you've ever seen the movie The Truman Show.  They used the unique architecture of the town as the set for the movie, though in real life it looks completely different.

We had heard rave reviews about Seaside, and we've been meaning to go for awhile.  Spring break seemed like a great time.  We were pretty dumb, though, because we went when I had just caught a nasty cold, and Peter was fighting off a bug as well.  So we didn't enjoy it as much as we would have.  It's a two hour drive from Dothan, and when we started out I felt fine, but once we got there, the body aches and fever really hit me.  So we didn't stay for very long.

Overall I was somewhat disappointed with the town.  There are a ton of homes and condos, but not much in the way of shopping.  I was expecting more of a Laguna Beach (CA) type of feeling, but it was more of a residential place.  Also, every building is solid white or very pale pastel colors... which got a little tiring on the eyes.  I actually didn't get many pictures of the town itself because I didn't find it to be very inspiring.  The few shops that are there are very expensive.  There are some good places to eat, but again, very expensive, and only one restaurant has an ocean view, due to the high dunes that are covered with bushes.

HOWEVER, the beach is gorgeous.  The water is crystal clear, the sand is white and smooth, and the sky is vivid blue.

All photos are taken with my iphone and most are not edited because I don't have any fancy technology.  :(

Smiling through the body aches and fevers

The dunes that are covered with shrubbery

Pathway to/from the beach

We did find one small park area that was super cute.  Sadly, it was a Sunday, and most of the stores in this area were closed.

View from the second story of a book shop, overlooking the amphitheater which is a popular picnic spot

Peter's shoes make for a great hands-free beverage transporter

Crystal clear water

We went in March and it was still pretty chilly.  The highs were in the mid-60s, which is too cold to swim, in my opinion.

Even though we didn't fall in love with the town, we will probably go back once summer hits and it starts to get really hot in Dothan.  A 2 hour drive isn't bad, although we do miss the days of living a 10 minute walk from the beach!

Thanks for reading!  Sorry the posts have been so sporadic lately.  I've been super busy with work.  I am also working on a new website that I hope to launch once school is out for the summer.  The plan is to change the name of this blog (to better reflect the travel and lifestyle aspect of it) and transition the "alone with my tea" brand into something else... I've been mulling it over for a few years and have finally decided to do it... more details to come soon, I hope!

XO,
Julie

Local Tourism - Landmark Park, Part 2

Continuing with pictures from our time at Landmark Park.  After we browsed the historical buildings, we went in search of nature.  We wandered around and saw a beautiful gazebo, a sun dial, and then finally asked a worker about where to find the trail that goes around what looked like a lake on the map.  It's actually more of a swampy area.  The worker told us that the trail was "very adventurous" and we should be very careful... (she obviously hasn't been to the Amazon, hiked Wayna Picchu, or lived in Rio.)  But we assured her we would be very careful.

I really love trees, so I took lots of pictures of trees!

The very adventurous trail

After a long meander through the woods, we ended the day back in the drugstore where we ordered a root beer float, and the lady gave us change out of this vintage machine.  So fun!

Stay tuned for some pictures from a day trip we took to Seaside, Florida.

XO,

Julie