Drink. More. Water.

One of my goals on my last birthday, when I made a huge list of goals (you can read that post here) that I have completely failed miserably at accomplishing (so far!), was to drink more water.  Sounds easy enough, right?!  Well, I guess...if you LIKE WATER.  I have always struggled with drinking more water...until now.  I have found the solution...thanks, Pinterest!

Here it is, the solution you have all been waiting for...

Cucumber, Lemon, Mint Water...DELISH.  I have never really been a fan of cucumber OR lemon water OR really water in general, however the combination of the 4 together tastes so fresh and clean. 

Here's what I do...

Slice a cucumber, slice some lemon, and pluck off some mint leaves.  Add it to your bottle or pitcher, fill with water and viola!  You have a delicious glass of cucumber, lemon, mint water.

*Sidebar:  You want to prepare the water and let it set overnight in the fridge.  You also want to drink it while it is cold.  I learned from experience on this one...don't let it get room temperature...cold is best.

Today we paid off our first house.

David and I started looking at houses for fun back in August of 2009.  We loved the thought of being able to purchase our own home while we were still RDs of the dorm so we would be able to pay extra on it for a bit.  In November, we decided to take the leap and actually try to get a loan and buy our first house!  If you have never bought a house before, it is definitely a time filled with many emotions.  On December 11, we actually closed on our very first house.  We hated the thought of paying an extra $9-something a day EXTRA on our loan just because of interest.  So we decided, we would try to pay off the loan as soon as we could.  Our goal was to pay it off in 5 years.

Many people along the way told us we were crazy to think about paying off a house in such a short amount of time.  I guess that is understandable considering most people end up paying on their homes for many, many years...some even their whole lives...but we were determined to not be those people who pay thousands of dollars in interest over those years.

So, here we are three years and ten months ago as homeowners.  Actual homeowners...like, we owe nothing on our mortgage!!!

And now, here we are...

Can you read that?!?...It says mortgage PAYOFF!!

Writing our final check to the bank!!

WE OWN A HOUSE.  Unreal.

27 things to do at 27.

Spend 1 half hour in prayer each week.

Go to Zumba class at least 2 times a month.

Do not drink soda for 3 full days each week.

Take 4 naps each month.

Learn 5 new songs to sing at church.

Complete 6 Pinterest projects.

Do 7 creative/crafty "I care for you" things for David! (Things like I used to do.)

Put together 8 girls nights.

Feed our RAs 9 times.

Finish reading 10 books.

Visit my niece 11 times.

Do 12 Random Acts of Kindness.

Do something special for someone on the 13th of each month. (my birthday date)

Go to the movie theater 14 times.

Invite friends over to our apartment 15 times.

Go 16 days without cheese.

Go to 17 new places.

Invite 18 people to come to church with me.

Donate 19 items.

Watch 20 movies that we own that I have never watched.

Lose 21 pounds.

Straighten my hair 22 days for work.

Prepare and cook 23 new recipes for David.

Go on 24 dates with my husband...just the two of us.

Handwrite letters & mail them to 25 people that I love.

Write 26 new blog posts.

Read through the 27 books in the New Testament.