New Year...New Memories

I took a few weeks off from my blog to enjoy the holidays and time with friends and family. Christmas is my favorite holiday and I build it up so much that when it's over I'm exhausted. In a matter of 72 hours I went from Columbus to BG,KY to Wisconsin and back to Columbus...Shew it was a lot of time in the car, but all worth it. Then after a couple days it was back to BG,KY for a week. It was so nice to have the week off. It was great to see my friends/family at home and to spend some extended time with Todd. Ries even got to see her best friend, Murphy, while at home. They had a big time. Santa brought me a D-SLR camera for chistmas and I'm soooo excited (even though there are far too many buttons for me to know what to do). I bought a book on it so hopefully that will help. Maybe by this time next year I will have some cool pics to put up :)

For New Years Todd and I came back to Columbus and went to dinner with my cousin and her fiance then just hung out and sang some American Idol for Wii (champagne included of course). Speaking of New Years I guess it's time to reflect on 2009 and "prepare" for 2010. I was reading an article in a magazine that said to-do lists should never include more than seven items or it will create mental overload. So i decided seven is seen as a lucky number so I will reflect on 7 things from 2009 and create a "resolution" list of 7 things for 2010.

2009

1) The saying "let it go and if it comes back it's true love" is true. It wasn't the easiest of years but looking back the bumps in the road only made us stronger. I will never take for granted what I have.

2) Cancer sucks: I have watched my aunt go through the fight of her life (literally) and she is such a strong and inspirational person. I have never met someone who has been through what she has yet still has such a positive attitude. Throughout this whole process I have realized really what family is all about. When life gets hard they are always there for support and encouragement. I would love to join a Team in Training in support of the Lymphoma Society in honor of my aunt. (read goals for 2010, haha) Literally every person has been impacted by cancer in some way and I challenge everyone to support the American Cancer Society in some way.

3) Kids really do say the darndest things. I have realized this everyday I go to work. It never fails that one of my kiddos says something that makes me laugh out loud, just another reason why I love my job. You can never predict what they are going to say and it's AWESOME (and sometimes embarassing).

4) I really do have too much "stuff". Moving apartments made me realize all the junk I have and how spoiled and privileged I am. I am thankful for all I have and desperately need to clean and donate (see goals for 2010, i am seeing a trend here)

5) Seeing my best friends get married and my baby brother graduate from college really does make me feel old. I'm so happy/proud for them all and thankful they are in my life!!!

6) If you don't work out/eat right you really do gain weight...not rocket science but very evident in my life!!! (again see 2010 resolutions)

7) After seeing my dad retire it made me realize how hard work does pay off!!! He is such an inspirational person and has taught me so much about life. Now that he has all this "free time" I can create a "to do/make" list for me :) (see goals for 2010, haha only kidding).

Goals/Resolutions for 2010 (In no particular order)

1) The Obvious: Eat better/exercise more in hopes of losing weight. I have already rsvp'd to a Team in Training orientation meeting this month so hopefully I'm on the right track. I've always been a very active person (never really been a "healthy eater") and I hope to get back to that point where I run because I enjoy it. My excuse is that it's hard when I'm by myself. If I had someone to work out/run with I believe it would be much easier. I'm hoping TNT (Team in Training) will be that motivation. I know I can do it...I know I can :) This blog will hopefully keep me somewhat accountable!!!

2) Blow dry my hair/put on make-up more frequently. I have never been a "girly girl" and dressed up everday, however, i probably wear my hair in a ponytail more than 90% of the time. I do wear foundation to work everyday and try to always wear mascara but that's about it. I really want to work on my "presentation" so I don't look so sloppy.

3) Strengthen my relationship with Christ. I would love to find a church here that I love going to and could become involved with. I pray every night, but I would like to grow my relationship with Christ.

4) Be more on top of my paperwork at work....Once a procrastinator always a procrastinator but I'm hoping to change that. I would love to have all my daily notes before I go home.

5) Be more on top of sending cards/gifts/etc. I love to send "just because" cards and have all the intentions, however, don't always have the follow through. It's amazing how many cards i have laying around that are written and never sent. I'm also the worst at belated presents. In fact I'm sure I still owe some of you a present (or two)...I'm working on it :)

6) Be more organized/clean. Anyone who personally knows me knows I am not a neat and tidy person. I need to clean up/out my apartment and donate all my extra "stuff". I don't like being "messy" but I also don't like cleaning...hmmm something's going to have to give here!!!

7) Be a better daughter/sister/girlfriend/friend. There is always room for improvement. I know I am bad about taking out my stress on those closest to me. I want to stress less myself and be more positive about myself which in turn will help me not take things out on those I love. I want to do a better job of keeping in touch with friends.

I'm so excited for another year and hope to reach my goals. (I don't want to call them resolutions because I feel that resolutions are always broken). I hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas and start to the New Year!!! Hopefully you can all keep me motivated this year!!!