New Year, The Usual Resolutions

You are not going to be shocked by anything on this list.  It is my usual list that I obtain some degree of success on every year.  The more I do actual New years resolutions the more I see why we do this as a culture.  While most of the time I keep my resolutions far past the January joiner stage, something about the onset of fall always results in a dropping off the rest of the years habits.  Then it's holidays and it's cold and we are busy and I don't care anymore..... and then TA DA its a NEW YEAR.  Time to get back on the horse again.  All of the horses.  In their various manifestations.  I am much less organized this year, but here is the list and my plans.

* Specific exercise goals like I covered last year will be a different, more motivated post.  One step at a time.*

1.  Read at least 26 books.

I am a reader.  Always have been.  This year was pretty pathetic on the reading side of things.  I think TV watching and staring at my blank computer screen filled in the time gaps.  My husband has 1000 hobbies and is always at work on one of them.  I have reading, video games, and working out.  I've mostly just been doing the gaming and staring at my computer screen.  No more!  2 books a month or bust!  I also already have the 26 books picked out, but I am open to changes.

2. Bible Study.

I was doing really well with this for a month...maybe two.  Then I just stopped.  No particular reason.  I was really enjoying my daily Bible readings and going over passages I particularly enjoyed to help set up prayer times.  To keep me on task this time I have set up a reminder on my phone ( Using the Life Reminders App) to go off every day at 8 pm.  This will hopefully remind me to go get my study Bible and go through the reading for the day.

I am also adding to this goal to meditate at least 2x a week.  I need to get some more tools in my meditations tool box and I can't do that unless I am practicing regularly.  I realize two times a week is not regularly, but you have to start somewhere.

3.  Masters

I really need to stop being a cry baby whiner and just start a masters program.  This is getting ridiculous.

4.  Stretch every morning and 5.  Lay out Clothes every morning. 11. Budget

On every goal list I've ever had since the beginning of time.  Ever.

6.  Cleaning.

When I was little my mother use to try to shame me into cleaning my room by saying something about how horrible my house was going to look when I grew up.  I am not a cleaner.  Never have been never will be.  On top of that I am  a serious clutter bug.  So this goal is two fold.  Clean AND declutter.  I set up my schedule on life reminders for the cleaning and my husband and I will work on the decluttering together.

7.  Call my brother more - Self explanatory

8.  Work out three days a week  10 Track calories

I've been really really terrible at working out.  Other times when I said I was doing terrible I was still in Spin class or taking weekend rides.  I've been doing NOTHING for MONTHS.  I had some medical problems and was not able to ride my bike or take spin class.  Once that habit was gone it was really really gone.  I need to get back into a routine and get some muscle back.

9.  Take more pictures

I got the super awesome camera that I wanted for Christmas.  I've been able to play with it a bit but I am really looking forward to taking more and better pictures this year.

12.  Eat at home more

My brother and sister in law gave me two eat healthy cook books for Christmas.   I am hoping it helps with the eating at home thing.

13.  I am really over the ridiculousness of Facebook.  Again.  Starting January 1 I am going to follow last January's plan again.  I can only get on FB or read blogs 1 day a week.  Saturday or Sunday.  I am realllllly looking forward to the self imposed ban.  I do not need to limit news this year.  Unlike social media which slowly crept back into constant use after last years January avoidance, I still avoid most of the news like it's the black plague.

Do you have any goals for the new year?

If this post didn't bore you to tears and you want read last years resolutions that I keep referring to you can see my fitness goals here, my internet goals here and a follow up to the internet goals here.

 I leave you with a couple of my first pictures on my new camera.  They are not anything amazing but they were some of my very first attempts so I like them.

My Thoughts on the Vilifying of Christmas

***I originally posted this on facebook.  A few words have been changed but the content is the same***

The vilifying of Christmas this year saddens me. Anything in life, from exercise to video games to aspects of Christmas can be taken to far. It is not the holiday’s fault one might feel pressured to spend beyond ones budget. It’s not the holiday’s fault that children feel entitled. All of the articles and Facebook posts all month that insinuate that Christmas is to blame are missing the mark. These issues are about personal responsibility not Christmas.

I love giving presents. I love giving presents that people need, and can’t afford on their own. I love giving presents that people want but would never buy for themselves. I love buying my nieces that year’s hot toy if I know they will enjoy it. I don’t take personal offense to what anyone asks for at Christmas. Be it a child asking for everything on the tv or an adult who says they don’t want anything while they have holes in their shoes. If you listen carefully, you can see the presents between their words that will light their eyes up.

This year, like most others, I exercised personal responsibility. I saved, I budgeted and I listened. I have a room full of toys, clothes and surprises that I cannot wait to hand out in a few days. There are two times a year when a person can ask or hope for things to make their life a little easier; Christmas and birthdays. Every article and Facebook post in the world condemning presents and Christmas for allowing presents cannot make me feel guilty about helping with the wants and needs of the people in my life.

We are allowed one time a year as adults to enjoy the magic and wonder of childhood. I choose to embrace it with my adult sense of personal responsibility and not vilify it for existing.

Thinking, Feeling, And The Little Things Grab Bag

Did anyone else eat themselves into 5 lbs over Thanksgiving?  I did.  That's a bid deal for me.  It takes me at least 2 months to lose 5lbs, and apparently only a couple days at my parents for a holiday to gain it back.

Besides the Jaba the Hutness going on I am feeling the need to move.  I am missing muscle and endorphins.  Everyone is doing 30 day challenges to the end of the new year, I think I might start one 10 days late.  Most of them have planks.   I have no idea how to plank, so I looked it up.   Plank + Eye Candy



I have an appointment with the Dr. tomorrow will I will probably be scolded for my weight gain and not allowed to continue on my current treatment.  Which is okay with me I think.  There are no easy fixes, and that one really helped me think about food differently which was what I needed.  I need to stop putting things in my mouth because that's what I always do.  Huge lesson for me to learn.

Speaking of my food issues, I am finding myself super obsessed with baking cake.  Kind of like my bread baking spree.  I even asked for these for Christmas so I can bake flat cakes.  Because my current dream is to make a lemon layer cake for me and a chocolate layer cake for my niece. Why?  No idea.

The big ticket item on my Christmas list this year?  A new camera.  Camera reviews are  really hard to interpret.  Are they saying that just because they are a camera snob who carries around a $3,000 camera?   Would I even notice their complaints?  After reading articles and review after review after review I settled on this one.  Better than my Sony Cyber shot point and shoot, but still with in my technical capabilities.  I hope.  If I get it I'll let you know.

More  food related I am totally digging these Bob Evans South West Breakfast Bakes.  Less than 150 calories and very very yummy.  You heat each side for 1:30 on each side the voila!  Hashbrowny goodness.  And we all know how I feel about potatoes.

Let's see what else am I loving that's not food related.....

Suave Dry Shampoo.  There are two different kinds, right now this is the only kind I can find at my store.  Both are awesome and spare my hair and my scalp daily shampooing.   One of these day's I'll be brave and go No Poo, but for now, this is making my life.

As previously discussed here I supinate.  Badly.  I recently had a test done on my feet and I was 99% severe.  Duh.  I have to go back to see if they think they can do anything for me.  In the mean time I bought my second set of these, since I wore the last ones out.  I also got a pair for my brother for Christmas who walks exactly the way I do.   It may not sound like an exciting gift, but when you aren't breaking your shoes every 2 weeks and you can walk like a half way normal human being it means a lot.  I hope he likes them.

You would also find this on last Nov or Dec's post but it is WoW season again.  If you need me, start playing World of Warcraft and we can chat.  My character is almost a level 80!  So.... close.....

What are you up to?

The ride that wasn't and the rain that was

Marion's forecast showed no rain until the afternoon.

The forecast said that while we were standing soaked, in the rain at 9:30 am. 

The main attraction of this event was a new bike for my mom.  She didn't know that she was getting one.  A lot of us went in to buy her a road bike as an early Christmas present.  My mom does not believe that she deserves nice things, so I did not think that she would take it well.

The bike came out of the van and she commented about how pretty and nice it was.  She said things like " There is no grease on it, why would someone let me borrow a brand new bike?"

My aunt Sue finally said something like " It's your bike"  My mom, still not getting it, said "yeah it's the bike I get to ride today isn't awesome?"

"No, literally it's your bike."

She then flipped out and ran over to my aunt Tersea and tackled her with a hug.  She did that like three more times.  She was so excited.  he asked if she really got to take it home, and then promptly told us that she had the prettiest bike there.

(She has a grey water bottle holder and a bike bag too)

It is  a newer version of my bike.  But she is right, it is a lot prettier. and she loves yellow.  She loved the bike so much that she took it much, much better than I anticipated.  It was really awesome.

So after the big reveal we got rained on some more and we decided to give up on the ride.  

We loaded the bikes back into the vehicles and took off for Mansfield.  My uncle mike did a check up on everyone's bike, which I always appreciate.   My bike actually stops when I tell it to now, go figure. 

Eventually the rain finally stopped so we all decided to ride to and on the Mansfield trail.  So we all got to go on a little 14 mile ride together and my mom got to try out her new bike.  We used the local bike shop as a turn around point, which is where the first picture was taken.

Bonuses for the day:  

1.  I got to spend time with my baby niece, which I never get to do.  She even tried to say my name, which was awesome.

2.  My bike fits in the back of the new car without having to do anything.  If I need to put in my aunts and mine then the front tires need to come off, but they fit!  With gear!

In spite of the rain it was a good day.

Mom, Sue, Teresa, Me

Thinking about:  

Feeling:  Stressed!  Stressed is definitely the word.  Worried about work and car payments and health and yada yada yada.

Watching: Greys Anatomy.  With Sandra Oh and probably the rest of the original cast members leaving this season, this might be my last.  They are trying to sell us on the new interns, but I just don't care.  I am also trying to watch this season of Glee, but it is really horrible and they are asking it really hard.  I am going to watch the third episode, the one that deals with Cory Montieths death.  After that though, I think I am done.

Reading: W is for Wasted by Sue Grafton.  It's nice to be back in Kinsey's world again.  I am going to try to finish this weekend and will try to get a review up.  

Looking forward to:  World of Warcraft season.  When it cools down and we are spending less time outside, World of Warcraft comes back.  I could use some mindless wandering in a different world.  One where I carry a sword and can kill random things.

Making me happy:  The new car! 2013 Honda Fit .  It hasn't been long but so far we love it.  I am looking forward to seeing if I can get my bike in it with out to much trouble.  Bike racks are a crappy option when you have a teeny tiny bike frame.