Moving Forward

Yes, this is going to be the year when my whole life comes together in a svelte body and a perfectly organized house.  Who is with me? I just can't help myself.  Every year I feel like this will be "the" year.  I have all kinds of goals and plans crowding my brain.

First, I have to face the music.  The result of the past couple months is a 19.8 pound gain.  Yikes!  I would like to take this opportunity to say again for all of us..."it is just not fair how easy it is to put on weight and how hard it is to take off!!!"  <<insert whine and foot stomp>>  It is an ugly step backwards, but I am determined to move forward.

In the meantime, we have decided to make one more attempt at having a baby.  I know it is a long shot and I am super nervous given what we have just been through.  But we both feel like we would rather try one more time than give up. I wish there were more time for us to recover emotionally, but physically we can't afford to wait.  My age combined with the need to get back on my MS meds certainly increases the urgency.  We have a set amount of time to work on this project. Hopefully, I can get pregnant again and we will have a much more positive outcome.

Because of this project I will be approaching the weight loss and fitness aspect a little differently.  I will concentrate on a healthy diet first and foremost. I will continue (start again) with regular walking, but I will be watching the intensity. We also plan to spend some time in the pool.  Okay, maybe that isn't much different.  If I don't get pregnant, I will be increasing the intensity and start working on my running dream.  If I do become pregnant I will be doing something I can continue throughout the pregnancy without worrying that I am risking the baby.

Of course, it is not New Year's without a plan to become more organized.  I am still working out the details of our plans, but my husband and I have discussed a "room of the month" strategy.  Each month we will focus on one room - deep cleaning, general maintenance, decorating, etc. Our house doesn't have 12 rooms, but we can include yard and shed so it will be close. I would actually like October to be our last month - November and December are always busy enough. A couple of the rooms will take more (read - time and money) to resolve.  I am working on a detailed list for each room (including necessity and wishes

How do you celebrate New Year's Eve?  We hang out with friends and family at my sister's house. Each year my husband and I make bags for the kids to open on the hour starting at 8 p.m.  I started the tradition before we were married.  I would fill the bags with little toys/games and candy, but over the years we have made it into Minute to Win It games.  It is fun to see the kids open the bags and wonder how the items will be used. The final bag is opened just before midnight and has a bunch of noise makers, poppers, etc.  It is hard to tell who has more fun - the kids or adults.

Penny Hose - retrieve a penny from each of the toes of a pair of panty hose. You can't tough your hands to anything to help you maneuver. This game turned out not to be as challenging as I had hoped.

Caddy Stack - stack three golf balls.  No one completed this one during the minute. 

Go the Distance - roll a ping pong ball along an extended measuring tape and land it in a small glass.  You had to get one in all three glasses within the minute...a couple of people got two in.

Sticky Situation - bounce a ping pong ball in front of a platform and land it on a piece of peanut buttered bread. We had a few winners and a bunch of laughs.  One person did it on the first bounce!

Nose Dive - move cotton balls from one dish to another using your Vaseline covered nose. Ridiculous!

If you are looking for something new to do on New Year's Eve I highly recommend Minute to Win It games.  You can find tons of them online and most use household items you already having making it inexpensive fun.

While we were all watching the clock my nephew's cat was watching my niece's guinea pig and fish.

So ends the holiday season.  Time to recommit and get busy making our goals become reality :)