So, as my first real entry, I will tell you a little about myself.  It's harder to do than you think, especially when there are complete strangers that could be reading about your life.  Here it goes!

I was raised by my wonderful parents, Gwen and John, in the Houston area during the 80s.  I instantly took to animals, especially cats and horses.  Though my family didn't have any connections to horses, except for in their own childhoods, I tried everything possible to get them more into my life.  We did have our own herd or cats, no dogs and the occasional fish, but I didn't get a horse until I was 14.

I was involved in sports for about 7 years; mostly basketball and volleyball.  But I was always a chunky kid growing up, though I've always been very active and love the outdoors.  I went to college in Alpine, TX from 2005-2008, graduated in the top 10% of my class, received honors and met my best friend at that school.  Those were the best years of my life, riding in the mountains, hiking Big Bend, drinking sangria till I dropped, studying into the wee hours of the night and living the simple life that I could not replicate by living in Houston.

Post graduation, I had a slump of depression where I could not find a job, and I lived like a bump on a log for two years wondering what my purpose was in life.  I went to school for animal science-- surely I could find something since I decided to not apply for vet school?  And eventually I did.  I moved to Fredericksburg, TX with two jobs and a wonderful sense of: I was going somewhere.  But that all fell apart within 7 weeks of relocating.  So, I picked up a so-called temporary job in the restaurant business, waited tables for over a year to mostly drunk and angry tourists, but somehow survived.  I met the love of my life there and that would be Travis.  And Travis is the man I want to marry, and spend my happy years of life with. 

Now, I work for a specialty foods company, and I do like my job.  But, I really would still like to work with animals, and be mostly outdoors.  Here, I'm occasionally stuffing my face, learning new games to play on my iPhone, or writing in this blog.  But I also do a lot of thinking.... thinking about what I want to eventually have and do, and what kind of time frame I'm looking at.  I feel like I need to get moving with that part of my life.

Eventually, Travis and I would like to get married, have kids, own a little piece of property for our spirits to run wild with our 3 ponies (or 20?), and have that place to call our own.  We all know that that takes money, and money we do not have.  I'm talking about maybe a few 100 dollars in our savings, and we live paycheck to paycheck, mostly.  I'm learning more and more on how to save, and I do look for that new awesome-paying and keep-me-happy job that I know is out there for me. 

At some point, sooner than later, I'd like to drop the 25 pounds that I picked up working at the restaurant (and from my snacking at my current job).  That probably needs to start today because I always worry about my health.  I would like to live a long, full and mostly pain free life.  I worry about the cancers, the diabetes, hypertension and stroke risk factors.  I do not smoke, I do indulge in some wine or handcrafted beer now and then, and I try to exercise regularly (riding horses counts!) when I can drag my lazy butt into the gym. 

It was recently that I looked at my life and wondered when I would get my chance to perk things up in my life?  Then I realized that only I can accept that responsibility, and take control of the things that I want to do.  I cannot wait for God or fate to put it in my hands and just give me it all, one by one.  I need to get PROACTIVE because I have decided that I need change.  And change for the better, too. 

So, for next time, I will construct a sort of bucket list- wish list- goal setting feature that I can share with you.  Now, some goals will be rather puny, and some will be on the opposite side of the spectrum, but with each little check mark on that list, I can feel better about myself.  I can say that I KNOW that I am doing things to make my life richer, fuller and better.  Maybe, I can inspire you to set some goals for yourself!

Until next time....

-Jules