Welcome, 2011!

We had a very low-key NYE. I don't think it gets any more low-key than what we did. I fell asleep on the couch around 9.

Josh fell asleep on the big chair in the library watching TV and woke up right before the ball dropped. Right AFTER the ball dropped, someone in our neighborhood set off fireworks and it started storming, as well. I woke up with a start, yelled for Josh, and in my confusion, yelled "Tornado siren!" Yeah. We know how to party.

New Year's day, I did the last of my Christmas baking and we headed to Josh's Brother and sister-in-law's house to celebrate Christmas once again - This time with the Bipster's dad. I was so tired (I had been up since 3 a.m. - it just wasn't a good sleep weekend for me) that I completely forgot to take pictures. I only took one (with the Bip's phone - I didn't even take mine out of my purse!), and it was of Moonpie, Kristen and Donald's dog.



How cute is she? She's such a good girl, too!

I welcome 2011 with open arms... I have a lot of things I want to do/change, starting with Weight Watchers. I plan to start that as soon as we get to the grocery store and load up on food. Of course, most people resolve to lose weight at the beginning of the year, but there is truly no better time to do it! My body just feels so sluggish and icky after all the butter and sugar and heavy foods I've been eating over the Holidays. It's crying out for vegetables and fish and chicken... I have several recipes picked out and ready to go for this week, and many more to choose from. I'm very lucky that I haven't gained any over the Holidays, but that doesn't change the fact that I still need to lose at LEAST the 15 or so pounds I've packed on since I met Josh. I am still down 4 lbs from last year's high at this time (I seriously gained about 20 lbs 5 months after I met him!), and I am glad I have kept that off, but I still have a ways to go.

Other things I want to accomplish in the New Year:
1. Cook more - I love to cook, but usually by the time I get home, I'm so damn tired I don't even want to think about it. Which is where #2 comes in:
2. Meal Planning - every week I will make a plan of meals for the next week and then....
3. Go to the grocery store every weekend - often times we buy/spend too much and try to stretch it out for as long as we can, but we end up running out of key ingredients. I think shopping weekly is going to be much better for us. As long as we...
4. Keep it at or under $75/week. This is totally doable. I don't want to disclose exactly how much we spend per month on groceries right now, but it's way more than we should. Which means I also need to get better at...
5. Clipping coupons!

Other things I want to do:
6. Hit the gym more, even if it's after work, and find what works best for me. I like doing weights, I see a difference in my body when I do them, but Josh is very big into cardio and kind of pushes that on me. Both are needed, but his body is completely different from mine and I need to listen to my own body and see what it responds to best.
7. Spend more time doing things with my husband - he gets lost in studying and I tend to get lost in my own world, so we need to make a bigger effort to have some adventures together. I see more picnics in our future.
8. Expand my garden and landscape in the spring.
9. Watch 1.5 movies a month, or one movie every 3 weeks. The Bipster looooooves to watch movies. I don't. It's hard for me to focus on any one thing that long (and movies just seem to be longer and longer these days), and if I'm going to waste two or more hours of my life, I'd rather read a book or take a nap. But this is important to him, so I am going to make the effort.
10. Pick two house projects at the beginning of every month and complete them. They don't have to be big, complicated tasks. For instance, in January I want to clean out all of our closets and rearrange our bedroom furniture. Upcoming projects will include adding more shelving in the library and getting some prints framed and on the walls.
11. Host a "Mad Men"-inspired cocktail party before spring. I think it will be just the thing to snap everyone out of their winter doldrums. Plus, who doesn't love finger foods and drinks??
12. Go to the Farmer's Market at least 2x a month and be more creative with cooking local, seasonal ingredients.
13. Get a haircut and color ASAP!!
14. Buy a camera and a new iphone!
15. Grow spiritually. I am not an organized-religion person, but whether you are or not we all have improvements to make to better us as people. I think that all starts with your spirituality, but that's just my opinion. YMMV. I need to work on not letting the mistakes I've made define who I am. I know my heart and my true intentions. So does God. I know who I am, and I am not a bad person - not by a long shot. I've done some stupid things, but I truly have learned from my mistakes, and I've been making good decisions much longer than I've ever made bad ones. If anyone else wants to define me by my imperfections, perhaps they should take a look at their own first. But I'm going to stop beating myself up. This is going to be a hard one, but I know I can do it.

And I still have my goals from 2010 to improve on. They were:
1. Bringing reusable bags everywhere when I shop/buy groceries
2. Learn to accessorize, while still managing to look like myself and not like a jewelry party threw up on me. It's a really fine line and I'm not sure how to walk it.


Wishing everyone a blessed 2011!