2011 - The Year for Doing

Family Photo 2010

Wow, another year is over. I feel like I’m leaving 2010 a brand new woman. I started the year at 239 pounds and leaving it at 209. Good riddance to those 30 pounds! I also, started the year as a nightly couch potato and now I’m happily occupied with derby. I’d really like to keep the momentum going with the positive changes in my life so here is a new list of goals for me to work on in 2011.

#1 Weight – Of course, there’s weight. Who can really leave off that one on their list? My goal is to lose another 30 pounds in 2011. This should be pretty easy. First off, my previous 30 pounds were really lost in the second half of 2010, so this goal should be more than obtainable. Plus, I’ve blogged previously that when I reach 180 pounds I can get my Desmond tattoo…well losing 30 pounds would get me there and I really want that tattoo!

#2 Food – It’s no secret I HATE to cook. But this goal really benefits me and my family. I am committing to cooking two meals a week. Now two meals a week might not sound like a lot but for me, it is. I average one meal a week if I remember to purchase stuff to make spaghetti. My kid eats way too much processed food. And if I eat correct proportions (and I will, I’m watching that waistline) I should have enough leftovers to carry over for me and Des for a few days. And for those of you that read my blog and love to cook, send me your easy to make recipes. Or if you know of a cookbook that has lots of kid friendly meals, give me the name of it. I’m not afraid to ask for help. I would also be interested in a cooking party that you prepare meals for the week and freeze them. I literally just need someone to show me the way.

#3 Blog – Blogging makes me happy. But sometimes I get lazy and don’t feel like doing it. On those lazy days that I make myself write, I always thank myself for pushing. So my goal is to write once a week or have 52 total at the end of the year. That’s guaranteeing me that I’ll feel a sense of accomplishment each week.

#4 Dance Central –I want to beat Dance Central before the end of the year. Now, I want to say I’ll beat it on hard but I have never in my entire life beat a game that wasn’t on easy. SO, I’ll go as far as saying I’ll beat the entire game on medium before the end of the year.

#5 Running – Last year I took a zero to 5k class. I never reached the point that I could run the entire 5k but I definitely saw an improvement. I want to complete at least one 5K. AND on top of that…I want to get in enough shape to compete in the Muddy Buddy Race. The Muddy Buddy Race is a running/biking race with obstacle courses that end in a mud crawl. I almost signed up this past year with my friend Dayna but I just didn’t feel ready to compete in it. Not only will training for these races help my weight loss but it’ll help me build endurance that will benefit roller derby. It’s a win-win situation.

#6 Finances – We started 2010 with seven credit cards. Yes, seven! We like many Americans have our fair share of debt and have wanted to work out a plan to pay them off. Well, we got as far as one card.

So as we enter 2011 with six credit cards to pay off, my goal is to pay off at least two more cards. That’s one more than this year and that much closer to being out of debt.

So that’s what I’m starting with in 2011. If I think of more, then I guess I’ll just have to blog about it later. I’m always heard that if you write your goals down then you are more likely to accomplish them. Take a moment and write a few things down for yourself. You never know what can happen. I blogged in July that I wanted to check out derby and by August I did and now I’m still doing it. I might have never taken the initiative had I not written it down. Happy New Year’s everyone!!!

Book Review: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Why oh why did I wait this long to read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson??? I’ve been in some sort of reading funk lately. I’ve picked up perfectly good books and within the first few chapters I put it down permanently. It’s like my love of reading had vanished for a few months. Well, it’s been revived. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was one of those books for me that I just couldn’t put down. It reminds me of how The Time Traveler's Wife made me feel. I wanted to read it at red lights, before bed and at lunch. I swallowed the whole book in two days. And the best part about this book…was that every recommendation I received and even the back of the book didn’t even come close to describing what is in this book. As I write this blog, I can’t even clearly sum up all parts of this wonderful piece of literature.

Ok, in very, very short form, it’s a mystery. But it’s so much more than that. The two main characters don’t even meet until well into the second half of the book. This gives Steig Larsson the time to really build the characters personal storylines. It also gives him time to lay the foundation of the mystery. The book doesn’t feel rushed and there’s a natural build up to the conclusion, which if it isn’t a bit shocking to you, then I think you’re lying. It’s one thing if you suspect them as a murderer but if you suspect them for their actual crimes, you should get your head examined because you’re sick.

Now, my favorite part of the story…Lisbeth. She’s only half of the main characters but for me, she’s the better half; the more interesting half. The story can’t be told without Mikael and it’s not like I don’t like him; He’s pretty average. Therefore he gets average attention from me. I liked reading his parts of the book because you learn about the mystery and follow the way to solving it through mostly him but Lisbeth definitely had character strength in spades. Not only does Lisbeth help solve the mystery but you’re completely entwined and sucked into her personal life. You like reading about the slivers of information given on her past that have molded into who she is today. You like reading the crazy shit that goes through her head and you want to know where her character is going, which is excellent for Steigh Larrson because it means people will read sequels. (Which there are two and I’m dying to read them!!!) She’s just full of surprises. One minute your feeling sick to your stomach of the things done to her and then the next minute you’re cheering her on for being a complete badass. She is completely socially awkward and 100% lovable. I encourage you to read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I give it two thumbs way up!

I Got me a Soldier

On Facebook I’m always seeing “Repost this comment if you support our troops.” But how does this really support our troops? Is someone showing soldiers these comments? Is it just something a soldier will see in passing if he’s lucky enough to be able to login to Facebook overseas? Is it really that heart felt when it’s just a simple copy and paste? I don’t know. And for a long while I never did more than see them myself on facebook.

Well, yesterday I did something that is making me nervous. I adopted a soldier. Why would this make me nervous? Well, I committed to writing him a letter once a week. I’ve committed to sending him a care package each month. It won’t cost me much and that’s not really an issue. For me, I’ve always been shy when first meeting someone. Granted I won’t ever get to meet my soldier, but I’ll be writing and starting dialogue with a complete stranger. In fact, I’m not guaranteed he’ll even write back so I might just be having a one sided conversation. That terrifies me. What if he finds my letters unentertaining and boring? What if my care packages suck? But I’m just going to grab the bull’s balls and do it anyways because if it does bring cheer, then I’m happy to provide that.

Now, you might be thinking…what promoted this adoption? It wasn’t Facebook. Believe it or not it was fanfiction. I’m currently reading a story about a military family and authors will commonly add footnotes at the end of their chapters. The author mentioned being a soldier’s angel and listed the website where one could look and find out how to help the cause; I looked and I wanted to be a part of it. (Check out www.soldiersangels.org) I can’t help but think this is what should be posted on facebook. I didn’t even think about adopting a soldier until I read it somewhere. Posting “Support our troops by adopting a soldier at soldiersangels.org” is so more proactive than “Repost this comment if you support our troops.” So thank you LadyExcalibur2010! You’re not only helping your adoptees but you helped another soldier get an angel by putting the word out there.

This might be something your interested in doing but don’t feel like you can commit to the time it takes to send a letter each week and a care package each month. And that’s ok. If you wanted, you could help me support my troop. His estimated date to return home is October 2011. So I have 11 months of showing my support. If at any time between now and then you’d like to donate to my troop, just send me an email or give me a ring and I’ll run over and pick it up. It could be a letter, a card, or items for his care package. I have included a list below of items commonly sent to our troops. Also, it doesn’t cost a thing to sign up. I did however opt to donate $1 so I could automatically verify my identity and get a soldiers name right away.

Today I’m sending my first letter to Michael (that’s his name) and I’m going to put together a care package this weekend in hopes he will receive it by Christmas. I hope he finds the time to reply and I hope he doesn’t find me too annoying. I’m excited to be doing this for him and I hope I might just pay it forward by inspiring someone else to adopt a soldier or by getting help from friends and family to support mine.

For more information check out: http://www.soldiersangels.org/

The following are used in care packages. Please note that items must be new and unopened:

Food
Powdered Drink Mixes (individual packets are best), Cookies, crackers, pretzels (in snack sizes), tuna in a pouch, Beef/chicken/or turkey jerky, Cheese spread (no aerosol cans!), Ramen noodles, Snack cakes, Gum, Nuts, Granola bars, Pop Tarts, Dried fruit, Trail mix, Pistachios, raisins, Red licorice twists, Tootsie Rolls (both candy and lollipops), Peanut butter Triscuits, wheat Thins, Canned meats (no pork products), Hard candy (individually-wrapped)

Sports Equipment
Baseballs, Baseball gloves, Soccer balls, Basketballs, Volleyballs, Squirt guns, Frisbees

Entertainment
AA & AAA batteries, Books (mysteries, action, drama, science fiction), Magazines – new or nearly new (sports, news, entertainment, travel, nature), Playing cards, Small hand-held games, Crossword puzzles, CD's\DVD's

Hygiene Supplies
Facial cleansing pads, Moisturizing lotion, Wet Wipes, Eye drops, Lip balm, Toothpaste, toothbrushes, Soap, Body wash, Shampoo and conditioner, Deodorant, Sunblock, Foot powder

Miscellaneous
Blank cards, Stationary, paper, Pens, Letters, Ziploc bags (sandwich, qt., gal. sizes)

• Please keep in mind that all food items must be in the manufacturer’s original packaging.
• NO chocolate - 110 degree heat and chocolate do not mix well, though M&M’s are fine.

Jolly to be Happy

Did you ever just stop what you’re doing and think “I’m happy”? …I did. This past Sunday I was out shopping with the husband and child and as we were leaving the store I became very aware of the smile on my face. I could feel the joy in my heart. I felt loved. I felt good. And I looked to my husband and said “I’m happy.” And then I felt happy that I was happy. It felt like I’d never spoken those words aloud before. How often do we acknowledge the ones we love that we are happy with our lives? That we are happy they are our spouses? (Honey you getting the message here, you’re a catch!) It just felt like a shocking revolution because I don’t physically say out loud enough how happy things make me. And when I do say things make me happy I also tend to throw in buts…I love this restaurant but…I had a great night but…you get my drift. So to keep the positive flow going, here is a whole list of things that make me happy….and no buts about it.

I’m happy with my family life. Heck, I should really say overjoyed with my family life. I have the CUTEST son ever, who is ever amazing me. I have a husband that works hard for the money and keeps love and laughs in our marriage. I’m happy about my job. I love my co-workers and I’m glad that I don’t wake up everyday and have to dread coming to work. I’m happy to have discovered derby. It gives me something to strive for and is changing my body is so many amazing ways. I’m happy with my friends. They rock! I’m happy with my family. Every minute I get to spend with them is treasured. I’m happy I found a good at home day care. I’m happy I can pay my bills. I’m happy to have a car that works. I’m happy to still have cable. I am happy.

You try writing your happy list. It just makes you realize how much you have to be happy about.

Ok, don’t cheat…how many times is the word happy repeated above? If you guessed thirty three you’d be wrong, it’s only twenty one!

And now a quick update on my weight loss. I wrote a blog about 7 weeks ago hoping to lose 18 lbs before my high school reunion. It didn’t happen BUT I’m happy to say I did lose 9.2 lbs in six weeks! So now it’s time to set another goal. I’ve found that since Thanksgiving I’m having a hard time watching what I’m eating, so a weekly check in to keep me accountable needs to stay in place. In approximately 7 weeks is my 29th birthday. My new goal is to be under 200 lbs by January 19th!