What?! It's the last day of the year?!

In honor of tomorrow being the first day of the rest of my life...wait, I think that's another speech....

Anyway, in honor of the new year that is only 6.5 hrs away, I am officially posting my New Year's Resolution....

Come on, at least try to be excited....

This is major gossip worthy resolution stuff I am prepping to dish....

I like ellipses....

ALOT....

Ok, ok, enough with the nonsense.

On to the resolutions!

1. Lose 17 lbs by March 1.

Note: this would have been 12 lbs, but for the 5 lbs I have put on in the past week of Christmas/birthday/weddingness...

Yes, I have failed.

Fallen off of my own pedestal.

Let me tell you, that's not easy, but I managed to do it.

2. Run a 10k.

Preferably within the same time frame.

Preferably one without hills.

Preferably not alone.

Preferably with an average 10 min. Mile or less....

Lots of training to do....

(did I mention that I really like ellipses?)

3. Sell our land in Virginia.

Because my parents bought bigger land.

And want to give me some.

Also known as, free land is better than land I am paying for.

Which leads me to number 4....

4. Start working on baby #2.

Because we can't afford baby #2, without selling our land....

Because baby number 1 is going to be severely spoiled if we don't add another one to the mix SOON.

Because I have SO much free time that obviously needs to be eaten up with another baby.

Because a dear friend warned me that if I don't add in another baby, my child will continually complain to me about having no one to play with.

And because if I have 2 kids I stand a better chance of having one of them love me enough take care of me when I am old.

So yeah, that pretty much sums it up my New Year's Resolution in a nut shell.

Stay tuned...I am hoping to post my 2010 recap along with a wedding/Christmas/birthday recap post soon.

I know, don't you hate cliff hangers?

1 Year Ago Today

One year ago today our life changed forever.

I became a Mommy....

Techy became the proudest Daddy ever....

And Little Man....

Ah, Little Man....

My beautiful, sweet, hilarious baby boy.

It is so difficult to believe!

Especially when it feels like just yesterday that we were enjoying midnight feedings and endless hours of Game Show Network.

And now...

Here we are...

You make our life so much more fun...

Happy Birthday, Sweet Baby Boy!

Just in the Nick of Time

For all those loyal followers out there, who have been patiently waiting for an update to my "Busy Life, Busy Wife" Christmas saga, you will be relieved to know we pulled out of our driveway on Friday at 4:30 in the morning, and arrived in VA at 11 am.

No Traffic.

No Drama.

No Mess.

With just enough time for Techy to finish his last minute shopping and Little Man to get a quick nap before our Christmas Eve Candlelight service.

During which I wish to goodness I could have taken a video of Little Man.

He danced to every Christmas Carol, clapped at every opportunity given, and loudly cried, "YAY" during every single would-be silent moment and prayer.

Christmas morning was filled with the excitement of a first-time Christmaser, who yet again, danced and clapped at every opportunity given.

The rest of the weekend was filled with eating, cooking, baby-watching, opening gifts, and general merriment.

Oh wait.

Did I mention the snow?!

That's right.

Along with a nice chunk of the East Coast, we got snow on Christmas.

It started snowing on Christmas Eve and didn't let up until yesterday (Sunday) afternoon.

When the wind started blowing.

Strong winds.

Almost everytime they get a road open, it blows shut within the hour.

We haven't left the house since Saturday.

Which sounds wonderful.

Until you account for the fact that 4 grandchildren, 3 years old and under have been in one house for more than 2 days with no escape possible.

My mother has been in heaven.

We parents have been losing our minds.

And in the words of my mother, the kids have been great, it's the adults who are the cranky ones!

Weight Update #11

With 5 days left before Little Man's first birthday, I am proud to say I am only 5.4 lbs.away from my pre-pregnancy weight.

And considering that last week's weigh in was somewhat of a bust at only 1.2 lbs.

This week's 3.2 lbs. is a significant pick-me-up.

Just enough for me to blow over this holiday weekend!

As if that weren't enough excitement for one day, last night I ran my longest run to date - 3.9 miles with my awesome friend Carrie. 

Here's the funny thing - my goal was 3, but when we rounded 2.6, Carrie said, "One more loop would put us at 3.9, you ready to try it?"

I totally wasn't, but she insisted we could slow down if we needed to....

So off we went.

And I felt fine the entire time.

I was expecting our time to slow down alot with that last mile, but we managed to maintain the exact pace I was keeping with my other runs - 10:06. (It helps that we ran our first mile at 9:30!  HOLLA!!!)

And my legs feel great today! 

This is why running partners are so awesome.  I totally would have let myself quit at 3.

One more thing just to get everyone inspired this holiday-eating-weekend....

I officially donned my first pair of size 8 PANTS yesterday. 

No-give-pants, too.

They fit!

No wiggling,

No squirming.

No jumping.

No tying-hair-loops-through-the-buttonholes-to-make-them-work necessary. (Don't pretend like you've never done it!)

It's a good feeling.

Tonight's the debut of the size 8 dress! 

And I can't wait!

Santa Claus - Myth or Legend

This week, everyone all over blog-land is posting about favorite Christmas memories. 

Usually, unless I am trying to win something, I don't like to be a copycat.

But since I have the most ultimate Christmas memory of all time, I figured I just had to share it with you.

Hopefully I haven't already spoiled it and talked about it on here.

If I have, and you have already read about my most magical Christmas ever, please overlook me. 

My memory isn't what it used to be....

Apparently, the pre-preggo brain isn't coming back any time soon.

Yes.  Yet another of the side effects that no one tells you about when you get pregnant.

It is my firm opinion that during your first maternity visit your doctor should sit you down and tell you everything to expect while you are pregnant, including but not limited to:

Giant, flabby arms.
Hips the size of Gulliver's.
An insatiable craving for all things carbs.
More puking than you ever saw on "You can't do that on Television"
More slime - I WILL NOT explain this to you.  If you have been pregnant, you know. - than you ever saw on "You can't do that on Television" possibly even more than an episode of "Double Dare"
Amazing (man-like) hanky panky.  (Yes, I said it.)
A post-pregnancy body that looks something like a beached walrus, whiskers and all.

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But anyway, back to the topic at hand...

The Big Guy...

The Festive one...
This one...

Not to be confused with this one...

So yeah.

At the time, my sister and I were probably 8 and 9.

We were right at that age when you start to wonder if there really is a Santa. 

Very few of our friends believed in Santa anymore and we were about to jump ship with them.

And then my parents came up with the craziest scheme ever.

On Christmas eve, when we were all tucked in our bed - we still shared a bed - go figure, and our parents were reading us "The Night Before Christmas" when we heard a noise. 

A magical noise.

The tinkling of jingle bells outside our window.

Within minutes, our front door opened, and Santa was standing in our living room, which was a straight shot from our bedroom. 

We could actually lay in bed and see him.

Which is exactly what we didn't do!

Instead of the amazing response my parents were expecting, my sister and I both jerked our heads under the covers and burst into tears! 

Something about the children being "nestled all snug in their beds...".

We were both convinced that if we weren't asleep, Santa wouldn't leave us any gifts.

So we were attempted to pretend to sleep.

Only our parents had the crazy notion we should get up and SEE Santa.

Um, NO.THANK.YOU.   I want Gifts, Mom and Dad!

So what did they do, but pick us up and carry us over to our doorway to try to convince us to go see Santa.

Well, make that one of us. 

They picked one of us up and carried us over to the doorway....

The other one, who shall remain nameless, *ahem*Sarah*ahem*, proceeded to wrap her arms and legs around the banisters of our canopy bed.

Ensue Sobbing. 

Ensue Screaming.

Ensue Nashing of Teeth.

Finally, Mom put me down long enough to run out and smooth things over with jolly ole St. Nick.

And apparently to tell him to get the heck outta there before we brought down the rafters around us.

She came back to assure us that he had left our gifts.

And he left quicker than he came.

And mom let us come out long enough to see that our gifts were indeed there. 

The only thing to make the night that much better was that my uncle contracted Santa to come surprise our cousin as well.

Only, when he arrived at her house, instead of Jingle Bells, he shone a red light in her window.

I.e., Rudolph's nose.

And she proceeded to puke.

Not once, but twice.

Nice, huh?

Thanks Parents, for scarring us for life.

I still have eye twitches when I see someone in a red suit.

Jay to the Kay!

Contrary to what you may believe, we all went on to love and believe in Kris Kringle's antics for many years to come.

Which may or may not have been a surprising shock to my driver's ed teacher when he tried to convince me that Santa wasn't real.

So yeah, as far as Christmas memories go, this one definitely takes the cake.

Or tosses the cookies.

Whatever.

My point is that this memory will forever be engrained on my memory and will forever bring a smile to my face.

Now, I know your question for me is will I choose to torment my child in the same manner.

And my answer for you is, HECK YEAH!

Don't worry, I promise pay for any therapy Little Man finds necessary after the fact.

Car Seated

On Friday, while the rest of you are probably "safe and warm inside of the farmhouse" (20 points if you can name that movie), Techy and I will be braving the annual parking lot that we like to call Christmas Traffic Lane.

That's right, bright and early on Friday, December 24, also known as Christmas Eve, also known as the driving day - after having danced the night away at our friends' wedding - Techy and I, along with the entire rest of America will be loading up our gifts and pets and kids and sitting in traffic for hours on end while attempting to reach our destination before Christmas Day.

And my major concern for the trip?

It's a car seat one.

As in, with only 4 days remaining until Little Man turns 1, do we keep him rear facing and endure the endless annoyance of having an almost-toddler that you can't reach or see behind you, or do we brave the endless danger of turning him front facing?

See how happy this child is rear facing?

Um, yeah.

This picture is a lie.

Driving with my almost-toddler 6 minutes away is a pain right now.

Much less, 6 HOURS away. 

The convenience side of me says travelling with a forward facing baby would be so much easier on all of our nerves and ensure a higher probability of a safe and easy drive.

The mommy side of me says that if anything were to happen I would never forgive myself for not waiting the 4 days to turn him around.

The realistic side of me says that we will probably spend alot the day going so slow it won't matter whether we are rear facing or not.

Any and all comments will be greatly appreciated.

And on Friday, while you are relaxing with your family, you can just think of Techy and I screaming at one another over the sound of a crying baby and a howling dog and smile.  Because it isn't you, you lucky thing!

2 Holes

When I was a Junior in college, I decided to be a rebel.

Keep in mind, I went to a private, CHRISTIAN college with very strict rules.

Being a rebel didn't take much.

I was just coming out of a difficult breakup and trying to move on.  I.e., CHANGE.  In any and all ways possible. 

I started hanging out with different people, changed the way I dressed, and dated any male that moved (let's just say I was desperate for attention.)

I would say it was a fun year, but definitely not my best.

My parents (read: protective Daddy) had taken us as little girls to get our ears pierced.

When we were in high school, my sister begged for 2nd holes, the resounding answer was a firm no. 

But I never asked.

And my junior year, I came home at Christmas time with this.

(Pardon the fuzzy cell pic.  Do you know how hard it is to take a pic of your own ear?!)

And to my extreme disappointment, no one even noticed.

Except for my mom.  Who told me she loved the look.

??

But to be honest, I guess it didn't really matter.

Because I noticed.

As silly as it seems, the decision that I made that day to get my ears pierced a second time started something.

Something that I had never experienced before.

It started a little fire I like to call confidence.

Confidence to make a small decision as a grown woman.

Confidence to change my style.

Confidence to be the person I wanted to be without being afraid of what someone might think.

And confidence to move on.

The irony of it all is that for the last several years, I have hardly ever worn anything in those second holes. 

Call it life.

Call it laziness.

But part of me wonders if it isn't confidence without reinforcements.

Nowadays, if you catch me wearing anything in those second holes, it's more a fashion statement than a personality statement.

And I am so glad to be on this end of the 2nd hole. 

(That's what she said! - Thank you Michael Scott for forever ruining the word "hole" for me....)

The End.

Settling Down

Remember that week when I wrote not 1 but 2 frantic blog posts about how my life is spiraling out of control?

And then...

Then I opened up my Google Reader to see this.

Right after I got a text message from my friend Carrie that said something to the effect of, "I am going to have to teach you how to say 'No' to people."

Last night was a successful night in terms of marking things off of my to-do list.

Sewing was completed.

Daily workout completed.

2 gifts were decorated.

And I was asleep by 10 p.m.

I forgot to tell you that catching up on rest was on the to-do list. 

My goals for tonight consist of working out.

Decorating more gifts.

And packing at least one bag.

Wish me luck! 

Only 3 days until the big travel day and 4 days until the big day.

At least all my shopping is done! 

Merry Christmas, ya'll!!!

Just Breathe

Now that the busiest weekend of my life is over and I still have 4 days until I leave for Virginia, I almost don’t know what to do with all my free time.

*INSERT GIANT SCARY LAUGH HERE*

I finished a lot of my goals for the weekend, but I still have a giant to-do list to complete before leaving for Virginia.

Including, but not limited to

daily workouts

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sewing

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decorating more gifts

packing

Both this

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And this

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mailing out Christmas Cards

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Making a bride's day complete by doing a bad version of the electric slide at her wedding

(yes, that is my dancing face...scary, but true...)

and the list goes on and on….

I think I may be losing my mind.

Here is where I note the fact that since I am pretty darn close to my pre-pregnancy weight, Techy is starting to nag me about baby #2.

That being said, I may forego all workouts and dieting for the next 2 weeks in order to buy some time.

(Obviously, just kidding. My OCD would never let that happen.)

And here is where I make the scary admission that my OCD has me panicking about workouts while I am away.

Especially since I worked so hard last week and only lost 1 lb.

I am sure it will pick up after the holidays, but for now, I am a little crazed...just a little.

Hope your ride is a little smoother than mine!


*May it forever be noted that you will never, and I repeat, NEVER catch me running on a treadmill in anything as unsupportive as a bikini top.  Nevermind the Canary colored pants.

Weigh-in

Just to make myself feel a tad bit better, I weighed in this morning.

Looks like a 1.2 lb. week.

Which is pretty weak. 

But I will take it! 

Because it's something.

Which is better than nothing.

Postponement

Due to my lack of time to paint my toenails...

And maybe a pack of Ramen, I am postponing this week's weigh-in.

Because when I got on the scale this morning, it said, "You ate 2 buckets of salt last night, Moron!"

And kicked me off.

So, until I have a chance to flush the sodium and water weight out of my system, I refuse to acknowledge that I didn't lose any weight this week.

Which is why I am drinking a ton of water, and running tonight.

Maybe I'll post tomorrow, maybe I won't, but I will be weighing in tomorrow.

And your curiosity can be relieved.

Thanks for your understanding....

Sound the Alarm!!!

Did you know that today is December 17th?!?!

Did you know that a week from today is December 24th?!?!?!

I.e., the day we will be travelling to Virginia for Christmas?

Furthermore, did you know that I have not watched "It's a Wonderful Life" one single time this season????

And did you know that my house is a wreck?!?!?

My gifts, of which most were purchased on Black Friday, have yet to be wrapped.

My toilets yet to be cleaned???

And this weekend, I invited our entire family over to celebrate Little Man's birthday before we go away for the holidays. 

What was I thinking?!?!

At some point, I have to order a cake.

Or make one.

Not to mention the food to feed said dear family members.

And I still have to do laundry and start packing for next week.

Did I mention that Techy has 2 photo shoots tomorrow and 1 on Sunday pre-party, and won't be home, so I will be handling Little Man all by my lonesome while trying to clean house, wrap gifts, order (or bake) a cake, doing laundry, cleaning toilets, and packing.

Somebody call 9-1-1!  I am having heart palpitations already! 

My Honest Opinion: Car Insurance - It Really Is Helpful

For those of you who have nothing better to do that Facebook stalk on me and Techy,

You probably already heard about Techy's accident last night.

If not, Techy was in a minor car accident last night.

He was the front of a 4 car "pile-up".

I really wouldn't use the word "pile-up" because no cars were really piled anywhere, just smashed into.

Or in Techy's case, skidded into.

Surprisingly, there was alot more damage to the car that hit him than there was to his car.

Thankfully.

Because the person behind him had expired insurance.

And the person who caused the accident in the first place doesn't even have insurance. 

And has expired tags.

Meaning that had there been any substantial damage, we would pretty much be out of luck.

So, my honest opinion this week is simple, for the sake of you and for the sake of the people around you on the roads this holiday season, you should really make a trip over to see Flo

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 Or the Gecko

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Or even, The General...

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If for no other reason than the fact that someone like me won't one day post a random rant about you!

And for those of you who are more interested in the damage to Techy than the damage to the car...

Here ya go:

He managed to escape with only a bloody nose.

And he, being a lover of attention, had to document the moment, then post it on facebook, then read every comment with pride when he got home last night.

And I, being a lover of Techy, managed to let him out of my sight for a whole hour last night to let him relax with Call of Duty.

We should all be as proud of the small conquests in our lives....

The Last {Outdoor} Run of the Year

That's right.

I said it.

Unless or until I can convince someone else to run with me, yesterday was my last outdoor run of the year.

And, being the nostalgic nuts we are, we decided to take a pic....

And, as Bonnie said on Facebook, "Please note the yellow caution tape fluttering in the background due to the gale-force winds."

I kid you not when I say that every single lunch run for the last 5 or 6 weeks that we have been doing it has been the windiest days of the week. 

The first mile of our run was ok yesterday.

But as soon as we hit the 1 mile marker, the wind hit you like a ton of bricks.

I seriously lost almost 50 seconds a mile for the last 1.6 of my run due to the wind.  Otherwise, this would have been my best speed ever. 

As it was, I still managed to keep pace with last week's run which was 10:06/mile.  Literally, the exact same pace.

That being said, I am really going to miss these lunch runs. 

Part of me is really scared that I will let myself slip back....

Especially since we all know the current crappy condition of my treadmill....

I wonder how much I would have to pay someone to be willing to run in the wind and cold with me for the next few weeks?

Hmmmm.

Something tells me more than I have....

Especially considering the fact that Al Roker keeps talking about this stuff....

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Santa, if you are listening, I would really appreciate a non-possessed treadmill in my stocking this year....

Look! It's a better picture of my Christmas tree!

Ha!

Made ya look!!!

Although...

You CAN see PART of my tree in this pic....

So, I was kinda telling the truth....

Kinda....

Helpful How-To: It's a Christmas Decorating Tutorial, Ya'll!!!

I don't pretend to have any amazing skills with Christmas tree decorating.

And I certainly won't be claiming any awards for amazing Christmas tree photographs.

Obviously....

But I have come a long, long way.

Our first Christmas together, our poor tree was a hodge podge of the handful of ornaments that my mom gave me 3 weeks before, when I officially moved out of her house and into our first apartment, along with a $5 bin of plastic silver ornaments we bought at Wal-Mart to make our tree look less sparse.

It was scary.

And tacky.

Very, very tacky.

And here is where I spout off the knowledge I have acquired in useable terms to you.

Because all everyone else on the internet does is show you amazing pictures of their amazing trees.

Unless you read Bower Power like I do.  Because Katie Bower gave a play - by - play this week of how she decorates her tree.

That girl likes some ribbon, let me tell ya!

And her tree is gorgeous. 

I think next year I will try her tactic.

For me, Christmas tree decorating has always been a quandary.

I know, I know.

Then why am I giving out advice?

Um, because it's always been a quandary for me, duh!

I know it won't make sense, but basically, it's like when I played high school volleyball.

I knew my legs looked different than the other girls legs, but I couldn't figure out why.

Then in college, I realized it was called CELLULITE and DIMPLES.

Sorry, rabbit trail of deep-seated insecurities, apparently....

Back to the topic at hand.

You know that feeling?

When you look at your tree and know it doesn't look as amazing as you hoped or envisioned.

But you don't know how to fix it. 

And when you try, it doesn't come out right???

So, how did I move past this and to a place where I am semi-content with even my multi-colored crazy light tree?

I had a novel idea, really.

I looked at pictures of gorgeous trees that I loved.

And then copied some of the finer points of the decorations.

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See the poinsettias randomly placed all over this tree?

Totally stole that idea.

For the last few years, poinsettias and sprigs of holly berries have been as much a part of our tree as the multi-colored, vintage star sitting atop it.

Next, I figured in my own personal style.

Our tree is a hand-me-down from my mom. 

Thus the multicolored lights.

To me, multicolored lights equal vintage.

So I rock the vintage look.

With my vintage beaded garland.

My polka dotted ball ornaments.

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And my $4 Wal-Mart ornaments that just happened to match my polka-dotted ones to a T.

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And I just start hanging and tucking and hanging and tucking.

Until either my ornaments are all used up or it looks complete.

Chances are, my ornaments will run out before I think it looks complete.

So yeah, my tree isn't perfect yet. 

But it's a heck of alot closer.

And in closing...

Since my tree pic won't do anything to inspire you

Here are some pics to help inspire you make your tree look complete.

Take away any ideas you can....

Pretty Tufted Ribbon

Loving the Champagne color

And finally, loving these giant multicolored balls

(That's what she said!)

Hope you are getting as much inspiration as I am!

Wearing Down

With the busy-ness that this season tends to induce, I am finding it difficult to fit even one hour long workout into my schedule.

So, I am back to breaking them up into smaller increments, again. 

I won't deny that my weight isn't coming off quite as quickly as I would like at this point, but there is just so little time and so much to do.

To attempt to compensate for the decreased time, I am working in what I consider more intense workouts.

Yesterday, I did a double workout with 45 minutes on the elliptical in the morning followed by a 30 minute "Explosive Cardio" workout last night.

And can I just tell you, I am really not as explosive as Explosive Cardio Guy wanted me to be, but whatever.

I started the workout thinking, "Look, girl,"  (Yes, I call myself "girl" in my "in my head" conversations - what's it to ya?)  "You can run 3 miles....  Explosive Cardio has nothing on you....  Plus, everyone says this stuff helps improve your running speed....  You CAN TOTALLY do this."

And the first 10 minutes, I totally did it. 

I stuck with him, every step.

Even when he added moves in.

But somewhere between 10 minutes and 20 minutes, my body started saying something about this being a little harder than we were thinking.

And somewhere between 20 and 30 minutes, my squat jumps turned into something barely reminiscent of even a squat hop. 

And my breathing turned into Days of our Lives panting, only with alot more sweat and absolutely no sexiness.

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Which is pretty much my way of saying that I am nowhere near being in the shape I want to be in.

But I am closer than I was.

The Haircut...No words necessary....

But I will say them anyway....

Because I like to talk...

And I like to set the scene...

And no blog post would be complete without me rambling on about something, right???

But really, let's get on with it...

Here's where I am pointing out Little Man's "Achy Breaky Heart" do to the girl.

I think my exact words were, "This Billy Ray Cyrus business back here has got to go!"

My expression really says it all....

Here's where I should apologize for the blurry cell phone pics, but in reality, the blur really just drives my point home.

This poor girl earned every cent of her tip.

 
She worked.

And worked.

And worked.

And then he would move. 

This guy couldn't get over the fact that Little Man wasn't screaming....

It's called DIVERSION, people!  Daddy's covetted cell phone does the trick every time.

(Don't mind that ridiculous double chin of mine...I love awkward angles!)

Finally. Billy Ray has left the building.

Mommy is very happy!

And for a post where no words were necessary, I managed to squeeze in enough to fill Techy's quota for the day!

(If you know, Techy, you know this is OBVIOUSLY a joke.  The man likes to talk more than anyone I know.  Including myself)

Point being, I managed to make a wordless post, extremely wordy. 

But that's me for ya!