Happy New Year!

Welcome to 2013!

A lot has been happening in my life since I mysteriously stopped blogging in November last year. A whole lot, but we will catch up on that later in a 2012 review post.  I'm planning on getting back into blogging, archival of milestones and as a motivator to keep me going in the new year.

As for goals, I have a few broad ideas that I'll be refining in the next few day or weeks. I want to concentrate on being a better ME. I want to get into better shape, eat healthier, have more mental focus, and improve my confidence. The reason I don't want to get into specifics is because 2013 will be a year of discovery for myself. I don't want to have unattainable goals such as, I will do yoga 3 days a week. What if I decide I don't like yoga all that much? Instead my goals will be as such.

• Discover ways to become more physically active on a regular basis
• Discover eating more fruits and vegetables (ie one per meal), and be open to trying new foods
• reDiscover the joy of drinking water (reduce refined sugar consumption)
• Discover strengths and weaknesses in my skills and talents (what do I do best? What keeps me happy?)
• Discover and refine better coping skills
• Discover expressing gratitude
• Discover the world in the eyes of a child
• Discover the joy of organizing (and being organized)

In addition, there's the budget review and forecast of the next year. If you aren't creating financial goals along with your other resolutions, I strongly encourage you to do so. This week, I discovered that somehow the weekly savings we'd set up for BG was cancelled in June. Looks like we have 6 months of savings to catch up for her. Were it not for the review, I'm not sure when I would have discovered the error. Along with the above goals, the family is focusing on reducing and/or eliminating revolving debt. We are still working on the unexpected furnace and heat pump replacement costs, but also some other stupid debt that we've accumulated from a lack of financial diligence on my part. (It's so much easier to grab fast food meals when you're too busy or tired to cook.)

I'll touch base on these a bit more in the near future, on how and what I am doing to accomplish them.

Cheers! 

Happy New Year!

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

If I...

I'm 'borrowing' a post from a few other bloggers. Fill in the blanks...

If I were to get pregnant again I would be...excited.

 If I could have any job in the world I'd be...SAHM

If I had a day to myself I would...sleep in and maybe watch a few movies that I want to watch.

If I could get married all over again I would...not change anything but maybe prevent some of the stresses that occurred that day. (Ahem, missing wedding flowers)

If I could live anywhere in the US I would stay... somewhere it is hilly and wooded. I'd love to live in the mountains of Tennessee but would hate to be away from family.

If BG were a boy he would have been named...a name that has family meaning, but not sharing it yet.

If I could have any talent in the world I would...like to be better at editing photos

If you met me in real life you would probably say I was...quiet

If I could go back to school and get a different degree I would...go for nursing

If money were not an object I'd...quit my job to spend more quality time raising my daughter

If I could meet one celebrity hmmm...Ricki Lake to thank her for her passion for natural birthing and her work to bring it into a more mainstream practice.

If I could only shop at one store for the rest of my life it'd be...Target

If we get another pet I would want...either a mini husky (if money were no object and I were home more), or more likely another Egyptian Mau

If I could go on a trip, RIGHT NOW, I'd want to go to...Australia to see the Barrier Reef

If I had to chose between a house cleaner and a personal chef, I'd pick...a house cleaner.

If I had the option of plastic surgery I'd get...not plastic surgery, but I want to get lasik or some sort of vision correction done.

Wordless Wednesday

Am I Just Lucky?

Occasionally I'll mention on Twitter just how lucky I feel to have such a great baby. World, you have no idea, really. We have a routine that really suits BG, mostly because it is decided by her. She sleeps well, she eats well, she plays well, she laughs often and is generally in a good mood 95% of the time she's awake and she's not been sick yet. She's thriving and seems to be early on almost all of her milestones. Every so often I have people suggest that perhaps we are to take credit for it .

Afterall, I gave her a good start with being extra diligent while I was pregnant. We are good at picking up her cues and not letting her get overtired. We keep the atmosphere here calm and try not to overstimulate her. We anticipate when she will be hungry or when she will need a diaper change. We are almost always upbeat and happy around her (and how could we not, we love to make her smile and laugh). We are quick to comfort when needed and getting pretty good at redirecting attention when her temper does flare.

So the question is, are we just all really in tune with each other? Are we really just lucky in the good baby department? Could our demenure be reflected on our child? Just how much can we take credit for as parents?

I'm more likely to feel like we are just lucky, but I also tend to undersell my own achievements. Either way, I'll give myself a small pat on the back and thank my lucky stars that she is in our lives.


Fist bump mom, 'cuz you're worth it.

Working Mommy Bloggers

If you are a mommy that works full time outside the home, and blogs, kudos to you. I don't know how you do it. You must either not get ANY sleep, or you're bionic.

I am lucky enough to have a flexible schedule at work which allows me to be home 3 days a week. However those 4 other days I am usually away from my Baby Girl for 11.5 to 12 hours. The last thing I want to do when I come home is get online. I want to cuddle and play with my sweetie pie. I get an hour or so of play time before we get her ready for bed. And then I miss her all over again.

I had a little freak out this evening with blogger. I thought I had lost several months worth of draft posts. It got me thinking....how can I find or make the time to get them cleaned up and sent out? I need to get them published or else I might lose them, for real.  I beg of you, mommy bloggers, how do you do it all? Please share your secrets.

So kudos to you, bionic, zombie full time working mama bloggers.