Friday, February 18, 2011
I've moved!
Please come follow me in my new and improved location. http://www.reflectionsofdomestication.com
Monday, February 14, 2011
Our Own Romantic Comedy
While I'm not typically a fan of Valentine's Day, I do find myself thinking about The Hunk even more than usual today, especially since it reminds me of a funny story.
Three Valentine's Days ago, The Hunk and I were just a few months into our relationship. He was out of town at a client visit, but he was coming back later that night. Since I knew he'd be tired, I offered to cook him dinner, and I even went so far as to say he could bring some laundry over and I'd wash it for him. (I know, right?! I was definitely in the mood to impress.) He thought that was pretty silly of me to offer.
Anyway, we had a nice dinner at my place, and I'd gotten flowers at work earlier in the day.
But this post doesn't even really have anything to do with Valentine's Day. Really, it's more about clothing and laundry and the lengths that some will go to prove a point.
I've posted before about how my husband's wardrobe far surpasses that of my own. I may have even mentioned the fact that he doesn't even wear at least 2/3 of what is hanging in the closet. His excuse when we first moved in together back in the summer of 2008 was that the shirts needed to be ironed. I said I'd do it, but he protested.
Fast forward to this past fall. I FINALLY got sick of looking at his side of the closet and took down all of those shirts. I washed, dried, and ironed all of them. I counted 20-something. (I can't remember the exact number.) Since then, my friends, he has worn maybe 4 of them. That leaves at least 20 shirts that he STILL hasn't worn since I've known him.
It's funny, this little story. Why? Because either way, we both win. Now that he hasn't worn them, I can say "I told you so." But he wins, too, because I did all that work for nothing and he can laugh about it. Had he been wearing the shirts, I still would have won because all that work would have been worth something instead of being an almost-waste of time. And he'd be winning still because he'd have tripled the number of shirts he wears regularly.
The reason I share this anecdote is to illustrate how funny our life together can be sometimes. I normally despise romantic comedies and refuse to watch them, unless it is "Serendipity", "The Notebook", or "Elizabethtown" (Heath Ledger looked darn hot in that movie, don't you think? May he RIP....), but I really love being right along side him, laughing at every turn we take. From the day we drunkenly said "I love you" on New Year's (I still don't know who said it first, though I suppose that doesn't matter) to the day I rode to my wedding ceremony running 15 minutes late while listening to "Eye of the Tiger", we find humor in our every day situations.
Oh, and let us not forget him backing into the neigbor's trailer on our way out to our anniversary date.... (Man, that makes me snort every time I think about it.)
How's THAT for romantic comedy?
Happy Valentine's Day, everyone.
Until next time,
MFW
Three Valentine's Days ago, The Hunk and I were just a few months into our relationship. He was out of town at a client visit, but he was coming back later that night. Since I knew he'd be tired, I offered to cook him dinner, and I even went so far as to say he could bring some laundry over and I'd wash it for him. (I know, right?! I was definitely in the mood to impress.) He thought that was pretty silly of me to offer.
Anyway, we had a nice dinner at my place, and I'd gotten flowers at work earlier in the day.
But this post doesn't even really have anything to do with Valentine's Day. Really, it's more about clothing and laundry and the lengths that some will go to prove a point.
I've posted before about how my husband's wardrobe far surpasses that of my own. I may have even mentioned the fact that he doesn't even wear at least 2/3 of what is hanging in the closet. His excuse when we first moved in together back in the summer of 2008 was that the shirts needed to be ironed. I said I'd do it, but he protested.
Fast forward to this past fall. I FINALLY got sick of looking at his side of the closet and took down all of those shirts. I washed, dried, and ironed all of them. I counted 20-something. (I can't remember the exact number.) Since then, my friends, he has worn maybe 4 of them. That leaves at least 20 shirts that he STILL hasn't worn since I've known him.
It's funny, this little story. Why? Because either way, we both win. Now that he hasn't worn them, I can say "I told you so." But he wins, too, because I did all that work for nothing and he can laugh about it. Had he been wearing the shirts, I still would have won because all that work would have been worth something instead of being an almost-waste of time. And he'd be winning still because he'd have tripled the number of shirts he wears regularly.
The reason I share this anecdote is to illustrate how funny our life together can be sometimes. I normally despise romantic comedies and refuse to watch them, unless it is "Serendipity", "The Notebook", or "Elizabethtown" (Heath Ledger looked darn hot in that movie, don't you think? May he RIP....), but I really love being right along side him, laughing at every turn we take. From the day we drunkenly said "I love you" on New Year's (I still don't know who said it first, though I suppose that doesn't matter) to the day I rode to my wedding ceremony running 15 minutes late while listening to "Eye of the Tiger", we find humor in our every day situations.
Oh, and let us not forget him backing into the neigbor's trailer on our way out to our anniversary date.... (Man, that makes me snort every time I think about it.)
How's THAT for romantic comedy?
Happy Valentine's Day, everyone.
Until next time,
MFW
Friday, February 4, 2011
February Resolution Check
We're just over halfway into the first week of a new month! How's everyone coming on their 2011 Goals/Resolutions? I, for one, have some work to do.
Here's an update on my progress (or lack thereof in some cases) thus far.
HEALTH
1. Drop BMI by 3%.
I haven't been doing well with working out over the last month. However, I've fnished up some very large projects at work and have re-committed myself to this goal. I started up P90X again last Friday and made it through week 1 with a smile on my face (and a groan as my muscles ache while I try to walk up and down stairs).
2. Run a 5k.
I haven't been keeping up with the Couch to 5k program after the second week. I may need to start bringing workout clothes to work and doing these three workouts during the week on my lunch break. That's a lot of working out if you add in the P90X workouts! Whew, I'm tired just thinking about it!!
3. Maintain a consistently healthy diet
HAHAHAHA! I am doing better at this, but I'm still a work in progress by far in this area. We just went to Five Guys on Wednesday...whoops. However, I did turn down Chipotle Friday today. I'm ok with one terrible meal per week, although with the Superbowl coming up, Sunday has been dubbed Fry Fest II....ugh....
4. Eat lunch brought from home four days per week. Eat dinner at home 6 nights per week.
We've actually been doing pretty well at this! Score 1 for MFW!
MONEY
1. Pay off credit card.
I'm sticking to the monthly goal I've set to get this paid off on time. Score 2!
2. Stick to a budget
Still room for improvement here, too, but I did learn a lot in the month of January on different things I can do to save more money. The amount I spent on eating out in January was quite a bit less than December, so yay me!
3. Open a college savings account for 'Lil Bit and contribute $100 every month.
Contributions are automatic, so this one is super easy!
EDUCATION
1. Obtain Cisco Certified Networking Associate certification. Deadline - 1/19/11.
FAILURE. I haven't done it yet. I could whine about how crazy work has been, but I won't. New deadline - 3/15.
2. Finish my Associate's degree.
On track!
3. Obtain VMware Certified Professional certificate. Deadline - 12/31/11
Need to find a training course and get it scheduled.
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
1. Write more.
Considering I haven't posted here for three weeks, it's just not a good sign. It's hard to find time to write. Sad panda.
2. Find a reliable babysitter!
The Hunk and I had our first date for the year on 1/29, which just happened to be for our first anniversary! YAY!
Checking up on these goals every month is going to be a great way to hold myself accountable. I'd love to hear about your progress, too!
Here's an update on my progress (or lack thereof in some cases) thus far.
HEALTH
1. Drop BMI by 3%.
I haven't been doing well with working out over the last month. However, I've fnished up some very large projects at work and have re-committed myself to this goal. I started up P90X again last Friday and made it through week 1 with a smile on my face (and a groan as my muscles ache while I try to walk up and down stairs).
2. Run a 5k.
I haven't been keeping up with the Couch to 5k program after the second week. I may need to start bringing workout clothes to work and doing these three workouts during the week on my lunch break. That's a lot of working out if you add in the P90X workouts! Whew, I'm tired just thinking about it!!
3. Maintain a consistently healthy diet
HAHAHAHA! I am doing better at this, but I'm still a work in progress by far in this area. We just went to Five Guys on Wednesday...whoops. However, I did turn down Chipotle Friday today. I'm ok with one terrible meal per week, although with the Superbowl coming up, Sunday has been dubbed Fry Fest II....ugh....
4. Eat lunch brought from home four days per week. Eat dinner at home 6 nights per week.
We've actually been doing pretty well at this! Score 1 for MFW!
MONEY
1. Pay off credit card.
I'm sticking to the monthly goal I've set to get this paid off on time. Score 2!
2. Stick to a budget
Still room for improvement here, too, but I did learn a lot in the month of January on different things I can do to save more money. The amount I spent on eating out in January was quite a bit less than December, so yay me!
3. Open a college savings account for 'Lil Bit and contribute $100 every month.
Contributions are automatic, so this one is super easy!
EDUCATION
1. Obtain Cisco Certified Networking Associate certification. Deadline - 1/19/11.
FAILURE. I haven't done it yet. I could whine about how crazy work has been, but I won't. New deadline - 3/15.
2. Finish my Associate's degree.
On track!
3. Obtain VMware Certified Professional certificate. Deadline - 12/31/11
Need to find a training course and get it scheduled.
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
1. Write more.
Considering I haven't posted here for three weeks, it's just not a good sign. It's hard to find time to write. Sad panda.
2. Find a reliable babysitter!
The Hunk and I had our first date for the year on 1/29, which just happened to be for our first anniversary! YAY!
Checking up on these goals every month is going to be a great way to hold myself accountable. I'd love to hear about your progress, too!
Monday, January 10, 2011
The Bakon Taste Test and Deep Fried Fest
Last night, CAG came over to watch some football. It's the first time he's been over since giving us the bacon-themed Christmas presents, so last night was THE night. That's right, we tried the Bakon.
The Hunk was just about giddy as he poured our samplings into three shot glasses. It was adorable. What's the first thing you do when you try a new beverage, food, perfume, or, well, almost anything? You smell it. Imagine the normal fiery vodka smell mixed with that of dog treats and you've got Bakon. At that point, I figured this was not going to be a totally pleasant experience. Still... bottoms up!
At first, it wasn't bad. You just got the taste of vodka. Then, as it settled on your taste buds, you got a one, two punch in the face of something reminiscent of what you'd imagine Beggin' Strips to taste like. I was right, less than pleasant. Luckily, I had a Diet Coke with Lime on standby (which, btw, if you haven't tried it, it's tasty, much better than Bakon).
Do you think this stopped The Hunk? Nope. He concocted a Bakon Bloody Mary of sorts. Gross. He tried to get me to taste it. He even went so far as to say that I could not legitimately blog about the experience without tasting his application of the Bakon vodka. PSHAW!
Later that night, The Hunk and CAG broke out the Butterball Indoor Electric Turkey Fryer. They fried everything they could pillage out of the freezer - chicken nuggets, tater tots, shrimp, taquitos, flautas, and egg rolls. I think there was more but that's all I can remember. I'm surprised they didn't manage to find a way to fry up some Bakon. Or bacon. Oh, no....I should not have said that. Now, The Hunk is going to read this and come home only to demand that we fry some bacon. What have I done?!
At any rate, the tots were delicious. If I ever end up in a situation where I need to declare a last meal, that's what I want. Tater tots. And tacos. And a margarita, NOT made with Bakon.
While the Bakon may have been a flop and I may have ended up with a stomach ache from consuming so much grease in a short amount of time, it sure is nice to have people to experience these things with.
Until next time,
MFW
The Hunk was just about giddy as he poured our samplings into three shot glasses. It was adorable. What's the first thing you do when you try a new beverage, food, perfume, or, well, almost anything? You smell it. Imagine the normal fiery vodka smell mixed with that of dog treats and you've got Bakon. At that point, I figured this was not going to be a totally pleasant experience. Still... bottoms up!
At first, it wasn't bad. You just got the taste of vodka. Then, as it settled on your taste buds, you got a one, two punch in the face of something reminiscent of what you'd imagine Beggin' Strips to taste like. I was right, less than pleasant. Luckily, I had a Diet Coke with Lime on standby (which, btw, if you haven't tried it, it's tasty, much better than Bakon).
Do you think this stopped The Hunk? Nope. He concocted a Bakon Bloody Mary of sorts. Gross. He tried to get me to taste it. He even went so far as to say that I could not legitimately blog about the experience without tasting his application of the Bakon vodka. PSHAW!
Later that night, The Hunk and CAG broke out the Butterball Indoor Electric Turkey Fryer. They fried everything they could pillage out of the freezer - chicken nuggets, tater tots, shrimp, taquitos, flautas, and egg rolls. I think there was more but that's all I can remember. I'm surprised they didn't manage to find a way to fry up some Bakon. Or bacon. Oh, no....I should not have said that. Now, The Hunk is going to read this and come home only to demand that we fry some bacon. What have I done?!
At any rate, the tots were delicious. If I ever end up in a situation where I need to declare a last meal, that's what I want. Tater tots. And tacos. And a margarita, NOT made with Bakon.
While the Bakon may have been a flop and I may have ended up with a stomach ache from consuming so much grease in a short amount of time, it sure is nice to have people to experience these things with.
Until next time,
MFW
Friday, December 31, 2010
2011 - The Year of Reinvention
I've been mulling around my post from a couple of days ago, thinking and analyzing possible strategies to make 2011 a great year full of accomplishment. I've determined that the four areas of my life I'd like to focus on are Health, Money, Education, and Personal Development. Those are broad areas, and we've all heard that goals should be SMART - specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound, so here is a breakdown of goals within each area.
HEALTH
1. Drop BMI by 3%.
I'm right on the cusp of the "marginally overweight" category on BMI charts. It's so depressing and discouraging to know that I've let my health get this bad. BUT it's reversible. If I drop my BMI by 3% that will put me mid-range in the acceptable BMI category. I will attain this goal by exercising 5 days a week, at least 30 minutes each session. This goal should be complete by 3/31/11.
2. Run a 5k.
The company I work for participates in corporate challenge each year. One of the events is the 5k. I've never been a runner, but one of the things I've always wanted to do is to be healthy enough to run a 5k without stopping. The event is normally sometime in May I think, so I'm going to set my deadline for 5/31/10. Luckily, this will also help out with goal number 1. In order to help me train, I've started the Couch-to-5k Program. http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml
3. Maintain a consistently healthy diet
There will be days when I want to enjoy Burger Thursday or when I need a piece of cake, but I'd really like to focus on eating more fruits and vegetables and less processed junk. To do this, I'm going to visit a dietitian a few times per year, depending on what is covered by our health insurance plan. There really isn't a deadline for this since it's something I need to maintain all the time, not just for a few months or even years. Crucial to the success of this is another goal...
4. Eat lunch brought from home four days per week. Eat dinner at home 6 nights per week.
MONEY
1. Pay off credit card.
I don't have much credit card debt, but the APR is high on what I do have. There's no reason why I cannot pay this off completely in 2011. Deadline - 12/31/11.
2. Stick to a budget
At the suggestion of a blog I follow, I spent last night checking out http://www.mint.comand have really started scrutinizing where my spending is going. I want to spend less of my money eating out and more of my money on important financial goals, like retirement, or a vacation, or financing 'Lil Bit's college education. I plan on going over my budget on a bi-weekly basis when I get paid.
3. Open a college savings account for 'Lil Bit and contribute $100 every month. This one has already been set up! YAY! The reason it's not more money is that I've got to continue to pay my own tuition costs while paying off that pesky credit card. Therefore, I'm going to start small for this year, but hey, by 12/31/11, there should be at least $1200 in her account.
EDUCATION
1. Obtain Cisco Certified Networking Associate certification. Deadline - 1/19/11. This one is coming up quickly! I'd like to finish it before I start classes in the spring semester.
2. Finish my Associate's degree. By taking three classes in the spring, one in the summer, and three again in the fall, I will be able to complete my Associate's degree in 2011. Is it going to be hard? Heck yes. But it's going to be so worth it, and I really feel it will renew my motivation to keep going for my Bachelor's degree. Deadline - 12/22/11
3. Obtain VMware Certified Professional certificate. Deadline - 12/31/11
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
1. Write more. I've got this blog right here at my fingertips that I really enjoy posting in but haven't done consistently for quite some time. My goal for 2011 is to post weekly. As a result of this, you'll be seeing a lot of changes coming up, including some themed weekly posts and such. Stay tuned!
2. Find a reliable babysitter! The Hunk and I rarely spend time together without 'Lil Bit in tow. While we love our family time, we need time together as a couple as well. Babysitter location deadline - 2/28/11. After that, we'd better be going out once a month!!
So there you have it! In order to keep tabs on these goals, I'll be checking in on the last day of each month.
Until next time,
MFW
HEALTH
1. Drop BMI by 3%.
I'm right on the cusp of the "marginally overweight" category on BMI charts. It's so depressing and discouraging to know that I've let my health get this bad. BUT it's reversible. If I drop my BMI by 3% that will put me mid-range in the acceptable BMI category. I will attain this goal by exercising 5 days a week, at least 30 minutes each session. This goal should be complete by 3/31/11.
2. Run a 5k.
The company I work for participates in corporate challenge each year. One of the events is the 5k. I've never been a runner, but one of the things I've always wanted to do is to be healthy enough to run a 5k without stopping. The event is normally sometime in May I think, so I'm going to set my deadline for 5/31/10. Luckily, this will also help out with goal number 1. In order to help me train, I've started the Couch-to-5k Program. http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml
3. Maintain a consistently healthy diet
There will be days when I want to enjoy Burger Thursday or when I need a piece of cake, but I'd really like to focus on eating more fruits and vegetables and less processed junk. To do this, I'm going to visit a dietitian a few times per year, depending on what is covered by our health insurance plan. There really isn't a deadline for this since it's something I need to maintain all the time, not just for a few months or even years. Crucial to the success of this is another goal...
4. Eat lunch brought from home four days per week. Eat dinner at home 6 nights per week.
MONEY
1. Pay off credit card.
I don't have much credit card debt, but the APR is high on what I do have. There's no reason why I cannot pay this off completely in 2011. Deadline - 12/31/11.
2. Stick to a budget
At the suggestion of a blog I follow, I spent last night checking out http://www.mint.comand have really started scrutinizing where my spending is going. I want to spend less of my money eating out and more of my money on important financial goals, like retirement, or a vacation, or financing 'Lil Bit's college education. I plan on going over my budget on a bi-weekly basis when I get paid.
3. Open a college savings account for 'Lil Bit and contribute $100 every month. This one has already been set up! YAY! The reason it's not more money is that I've got to continue to pay my own tuition costs while paying off that pesky credit card. Therefore, I'm going to start small for this year, but hey, by 12/31/11, there should be at least $1200 in her account.
EDUCATION
1. Obtain Cisco Certified Networking Associate certification. Deadline - 1/19/11. This one is coming up quickly! I'd like to finish it before I start classes in the spring semester.
2. Finish my Associate's degree. By taking three classes in the spring, one in the summer, and three again in the fall, I will be able to complete my Associate's degree in 2011. Is it going to be hard? Heck yes. But it's going to be so worth it, and I really feel it will renew my motivation to keep going for my Bachelor's degree. Deadline - 12/22/11
3. Obtain VMware Certified Professional certificate. Deadline - 12/31/11
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
1. Write more. I've got this blog right here at my fingertips that I really enjoy posting in but haven't done consistently for quite some time. My goal for 2011 is to post weekly. As a result of this, you'll be seeing a lot of changes coming up, including some themed weekly posts and such. Stay tuned!
2. Find a reliable babysitter! The Hunk and I rarely spend time together without 'Lil Bit in tow. While we love our family time, we need time together as a couple as well. Babysitter location deadline - 2/28/11. After that, we'd better be going out once a month!!
So there you have it! In order to keep tabs on these goals, I'll be checking in on the last day of each month.
Until next time,
MFW
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Who says you can't have bacon for Christmas?
We had such an awesome Christmas! Everyone got great gifts, and we got to spend lots of time together as a family.
You might remember that CAG (Cool Asian Guy) and The Hunk have this endearing fascination with all things bacon. Might I remind you about the Bacon Explosion?
And the red velvet bacon cupcakes?
CAG and The Hunk also went to Bacon Fest this summer, but they were silly and didn't take any photos. At any rate, the point has been made - we love bacon.
Therefore, it was only fitting that CAG give the three of us bacon-themed Christmas gifts!
Be jealous.
That's right, Bakon - "a premium bacon infused vodka" - for The Hunk, a delicious-looking chocolate pig (I wonder if it's bacon flavored?) for me, and a "My First Bacon" for 'Lil Bit.
Have you ever seen such a perfectly themed set of gifts?
We have yet to taste the Bakon; we're waiting until CAG gets back from visiting his family. I really should search for cocktail recipes featuring this so we stand a chance of enjoying it, although The Hunk says we are required to try it straight out of the bottle. Yum....???
I haven't eaten my pig yet either...it's kind of cute! I should try it soon.
And 'Lil Bit...precious little girl... she's terrified of "My First Bacon." It has a button you press to get it to say, "I am bacon!" The voice is somewhat menacing. She won't go near it and says, "Bacon scared me, Mama!" LOL
Thanks, CAG for the ultra-cool gifts. We hope you will come enjoy some the Bakon with us soon!
Until next time,
MFW
You might remember that CAG (Cool Asian Guy) and The Hunk have this endearing fascination with all things bacon. Might I remind you about the Bacon Explosion?
And the red velvet bacon cupcakes?
CAG and The Hunk also went to Bacon Fest this summer, but they were silly and didn't take any photos. At any rate, the point has been made - we love bacon.
Therefore, it was only fitting that CAG give the three of us bacon-themed Christmas gifts!
Be jealous.
That's right, Bakon - "a premium bacon infused vodka" - for The Hunk, a delicious-looking chocolate pig (I wonder if it's bacon flavored?) for me, and a "My First Bacon" for 'Lil Bit.
Have you ever seen such a perfectly themed set of gifts?
We have yet to taste the Bakon; we're waiting until CAG gets back from visiting his family. I really should search for cocktail recipes featuring this so we stand a chance of enjoying it, although The Hunk says we are required to try it straight out of the bottle. Yum....???
I haven't eaten my pig yet either...it's kind of cute! I should try it soon.
And 'Lil Bit...precious little girl... she's terrified of "My First Bacon." It has a button you press to get it to say, "I am bacon!" The voice is somewhat menacing. She won't go near it and says, "Bacon scared me, Mama!" LOL
Thanks, CAG for the ultra-cool gifts. We hope you will come enjoy some the Bakon with us soon!
Until next time,
MFW
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
In the Spirit of All Things End-of-Year
Like most people, I find myself reflecting on the past year as the year 2010 draws to a close. I marvel at how much shit I've managed to accomplish, and then without skipping a beat, I chastize myself about all the shit I feel I should have accomplished. Do you find yourself doing the same? I'll bet that most of you do! It's human nature, after all.
Before I go into any specific whiny tangents about how things could have, would have, should have done, I'm going to take a little while to toot my own horn.
Did you know I finished FOUR classes in 2010? I didn't realize it either! That's 15 credit hours completed towards my degree. And I did them while managing a household (with the support of The Hunk) and while being a career woman (with the support of Bossman).
In addition to checking the requirements off of my degree program, I used that coursework to develop my skillset that I use day to day at work. This makes me a better employee and more marketable down the road should I want to or need to move on. How empowering is that?! It's such an awesome feeling to be able to really understand advanced networking concepts and how they relate specifically to the architecture at my current job. (And dammit, I feel SUPER smart!)
I almost completed the P90X program on two different occasions. Okay, okay, it's cheating to list that as an accomplishment since I didn't actually finish it either time I set out to, but trust me, if you've ever tried it, you know that it's only cheating a tiny, tiny bit. However.....well, we'll get to the however statements later....
My daughter is amazing. No, I didn't make that happen by myself either; it also goes down in The Hunk's list of 2010 Greatest Acheivements. Still, I'm claiming half of it. Being a parent is really, really hard work no matter how you spin it. Is it worth it? Hell yes. It's so awesome to watch her run around, singing songs, pointing out shapes, reciting her ABC's, and being a joyful little girl (for the most part).
I learned the value of a hobby and decorated some cute cakes along the way. When I'm tapped out from working and going to school, it's nice to have something to do for sheer pleasure. The Hunk will tell you that my hobby also tends to stress me out, but at least it's to a lesser degree! LOL
I began learning how to save money. This is something that I plan on capitalizing on in 2011 to pay down some debt. It's so crazy to think of how much money I blew paying full price for everything for so long. I still have a lot to learn, as well as some other things I can do to cut my spending, like eating lunch in the office instead of going out, but I made a lot of great progress in this area! Our grocery and household goods bills are cut in half!
While that's all fine and dandy, I still find myself feeling like I fell short for the year. Maybe it's my endless quest for self-improvement. Maybe it's that I'm overly critical of myself and normally fail to give credit where credit is due. Who knows? At any rate, there are so many things that I find myself wishing I'd have done. Some of you are nodding your heads and thinking, "Amen, sista, I'm SO THERE!"
ALL HAIL THE NEW YEAR, right? I mean, isn't this a "fresh, new start"? Don't we get a do-over on all the crap we didn't accomplish? Isn't that what all this New Year's Resolution hocus pocus is all about every year? Don't worry about eating those extra three Christmas cookies because you can just start over on January 1st. Don't worry about spending that money on that extra pair of boots - you'll work on saving money NEXT year. Come on, you know you've rationalized something to that effect this week! (Or is it really just me?)
So that brings me to the concept of the New Year's Resolution. For the most part, I think people make them with the purest, best intentions. I want to lose weight. I want to learn to budget. I want to be nicer to people. Whatever the case may be, it's all great stuff to work on, but the question is two fold - WHAT do we need to do in order to be the person we want to be and HOW are we going to do it? For me, it's going to require a complete overhaul. I know, it's completely unrealistic to think that I can reinvent myself in a year, and truthfully, I don't think that. I think I can, however, make a good bit of progress.
The thing I'm most in need of is to be able to wake up in the morning and feel GOOD. The Hunk pokes fun at me because I normally have some sort of ailment on an almost daily basis. I'm either tired, have a headache, have sore knees, have heartburn, or a host of other things. The truth is, I'm terrible to my body. I fill it full of junk and don't take care of it consistently. Remember my ALMOST completed attempts at P90X? Yeah....see? I suck at consistency. And I tell you this while putting away a few Reece's Pieces because I'm "getting rid of them before the new year hits."
I also don't get enough sleep. My mind is always working, even when I'm trying to sleep in order to be ready for the next day. I often wonder just how much better I'd feel if I could regulate my sleeping habits. Those headaches I get? Almost always in the morning or a couple of days after a stretch of poor sleep. I spent most of 2010 blaming my husband's snoring for my craptastic sleep habits. He got a C-PAP a few weeks ago, and while he's waking up feeling more refreshed than he has in years, or maybe even ever, I'm still waking up exhausted, wishing I could go back to bed. Maybe it's a matter of habit; maybe I'm just used to waking up so often from the past snoring that my body just thinks it's ok to wake up every hour. Or maybe I'm just stressed out from taking on so much and not making it a priority to spend some time decompressing and taking care of ME.
I KNOW the things I need to change. I know I need to eat healthier. To put it plainly, I SHOULD BE EATING HOW I WANT MY DAUGHTER TO EAT. I know I should exercise REGULARLY. I don't want my daughter spending her waking moments in front of the tv, so why do I do it? I know I should sleep more. I know I should learn to maintain patience with my daughter, especially at a time when she's really starting test boundaries. I know I could spend less money on frivolous things and more money on getting rid of my car loan and student loans in addition to saving for retirement and my kid(s) college expensive. But how? HOW?!
This is the part I'm still working on....
Until next time,
MFW
Before I go into any specific whiny tangents about how things could have, would have, should have done, I'm going to take a little while to toot my own horn.
Did you know I finished FOUR classes in 2010? I didn't realize it either! That's 15 credit hours completed towards my degree. And I did them while managing a household (with the support of The Hunk) and while being a career woman (with the support of Bossman).
In addition to checking the requirements off of my degree program, I used that coursework to develop my skillset that I use day to day at work. This makes me a better employee and more marketable down the road should I want to or need to move on. How empowering is that?! It's such an awesome feeling to be able to really understand advanced networking concepts and how they relate specifically to the architecture at my current job. (And dammit, I feel SUPER smart!)
I almost completed the P90X program on two different occasions. Okay, okay, it's cheating to list that as an accomplishment since I didn't actually finish it either time I set out to, but trust me, if you've ever tried it, you know that it's only cheating a tiny, tiny bit. However.....well, we'll get to the however statements later....
My daughter is amazing. No, I didn't make that happen by myself either; it also goes down in The Hunk's list of 2010 Greatest Acheivements. Still, I'm claiming half of it. Being a parent is really, really hard work no matter how you spin it. Is it worth it? Hell yes. It's so awesome to watch her run around, singing songs, pointing out shapes, reciting her ABC's, and being a joyful little girl (for the most part).
I learned the value of a hobby and decorated some cute cakes along the way. When I'm tapped out from working and going to school, it's nice to have something to do for sheer pleasure. The Hunk will tell you that my hobby also tends to stress me out, but at least it's to a lesser degree! LOL
I began learning how to save money. This is something that I plan on capitalizing on in 2011 to pay down some debt. It's so crazy to think of how much money I blew paying full price for everything for so long. I still have a lot to learn, as well as some other things I can do to cut my spending, like eating lunch in the office instead of going out, but I made a lot of great progress in this area! Our grocery and household goods bills are cut in half!
While that's all fine and dandy, I still find myself feeling like I fell short for the year. Maybe it's my endless quest for self-improvement. Maybe it's that I'm overly critical of myself and normally fail to give credit where credit is due. Who knows? At any rate, there are so many things that I find myself wishing I'd have done. Some of you are nodding your heads and thinking, "Amen, sista, I'm SO THERE!"
ALL HAIL THE NEW YEAR, right? I mean, isn't this a "fresh, new start"? Don't we get a do-over on all the crap we didn't accomplish? Isn't that what all this New Year's Resolution hocus pocus is all about every year? Don't worry about eating those extra three Christmas cookies because you can just start over on January 1st. Don't worry about spending that money on that extra pair of boots - you'll work on saving money NEXT year. Come on, you know you've rationalized something to that effect this week! (Or is it really just me?)
So that brings me to the concept of the New Year's Resolution. For the most part, I think people make them with the purest, best intentions. I want to lose weight. I want to learn to budget. I want to be nicer to people. Whatever the case may be, it's all great stuff to work on, but the question is two fold - WHAT do we need to do in order to be the person we want to be and HOW are we going to do it? For me, it's going to require a complete overhaul. I know, it's completely unrealistic to think that I can reinvent myself in a year, and truthfully, I don't think that. I think I can, however, make a good bit of progress.
The thing I'm most in need of is to be able to wake up in the morning and feel GOOD. The Hunk pokes fun at me because I normally have some sort of ailment on an almost daily basis. I'm either tired, have a headache, have sore knees, have heartburn, or a host of other things. The truth is, I'm terrible to my body. I fill it full of junk and don't take care of it consistently. Remember my ALMOST completed attempts at P90X? Yeah....see? I suck at consistency. And I tell you this while putting away a few Reece's Pieces because I'm "getting rid of them before the new year hits."
I also don't get enough sleep. My mind is always working, even when I'm trying to sleep in order to be ready for the next day. I often wonder just how much better I'd feel if I could regulate my sleeping habits. Those headaches I get? Almost always in the morning or a couple of days after a stretch of poor sleep. I spent most of 2010 blaming my husband's snoring for my craptastic sleep habits. He got a C-PAP a few weeks ago, and while he's waking up feeling more refreshed than he has in years, or maybe even ever, I'm still waking up exhausted, wishing I could go back to bed. Maybe it's a matter of habit; maybe I'm just used to waking up so often from the past snoring that my body just thinks it's ok to wake up every hour. Or maybe I'm just stressed out from taking on so much and not making it a priority to spend some time decompressing and taking care of ME.
I KNOW the things I need to change. I know I need to eat healthier. To put it plainly, I SHOULD BE EATING HOW I WANT MY DAUGHTER TO EAT. I know I should exercise REGULARLY. I don't want my daughter spending her waking moments in front of the tv, so why do I do it? I know I should sleep more. I know I should learn to maintain patience with my daughter, especially at a time when she's really starting test boundaries. I know I could spend less money on frivolous things and more money on getting rid of my car loan and student loans in addition to saving for retirement and my kid(s) college expensive. But how? HOW?!
This is the part I'm still working on....
Until next time,
MFW
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