Starting to crawl out of the hole

So we reentered the land of the living a week ago and have spent the last week trying to crawl out of the pile of rubble and backed upwork that piled up while we were down. I firmly believe that if people are sick, dishes should clean themselves, the laundry should wash itself, the house should pick itself up. You can't do that while you are sick, especially when you are so dizzy you can't stand and it's completely unfair that those things continue to pile up and just sit there and wait for you to feel better and attend to them. What is up with that? It's not like even more of that doesn't show up when we are well and I have to deal with it all then so why can't I catch a break for a few days when I'm sick? *sigh* I think if we want to fix the economy, they should hire everyone to go around and take care of those things for ill people or to deisgn the new model of house that does it all. THAT would be a good use of my tax dollars, thank you very much.

104:12 The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan

The 4th book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. It was okay but while I read it quickly, I wasn't really into it. It moved the basic story line along but again, the characters didn't really develop in this one. The war is moving along towards it's climax in the next book and I'm not entirely sure I care much. This series just hasn't gripped me a whole lot. Again, not bad, just not really grabbing hold of me and keeping me wanting more.

Page count: 361p/3,539p ytd

104:11 The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan

The 3rd book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. We get to meet Artemis, Apollo, and Aphrodite in person and the others briefly at the end. Things are definitely moving towards the climax and it will be interesting to see who ends up on which side. The series has grown on me a bit. I still find it a bit simplistic and typical but maybe that's part of it's charm. It's really a simpler version of the Harry Potter tales. You even have your antagonist directing things while trying to come back from the beyond. I wouldn't recommend this as a straight read for adults but I would recommend it for those with late elementary to middle school kids as a fun read for them to share. It won't make the parents groan too much, the kids will enjoy it, and you can then discuss the original Greek legends that they come from together for an impromptu history lesson.

Page count: 312p/3,178p ytd

104:10 The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan

The 2nd in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians. I found that I liked this one better than the first. Percy wasn't so whiny and bratty so I didn't spend half the book wanting to slap him. I liked that his character grew and evolved a bit, especially in regards to his brother Tyson. I liked getting a bit more background on Annabeth but still really feel that her character needs to get some real depth rather than just being the brains. Grover wasn't as major of a character this time which was a shame as I still like him. In all, a fun little read. I do like the entwining the author is doing of the Greek myths, I just wish that on the whole it wasn't so predictable.

Page count: 279p/2,866p ytd

104:9 Carrie by Stephen King

The story of a troubled teen with telekinetic powers and an overbearing, religious fanatic of a mother. My understanding is that this was his first novel and you can see his talent clearly in it but it also shows through as raw and rough around the edges. The tale has his famous elements of everything being utterly believable except for that one twist (in this case, the telekinesis). We've all seen from some angle the girl who is constantly tormented and who in that case wouldn't long for revenge. I think it loses some of it's power towards the later part when he is trying to describe all the horror that she is wrecking but it comes back at the very end in the scene between Sue and Carrie as Carrie lays dying. Not a bad book, but really, if you've seen the movie you can actually skip reading this one (and I don't often say that). The ending is more powerful in the book but there isn't enough difference and it's not that great a book to make it worth it.

Page count: 245p/2,587p ytd

Return to the land of the living

Well, we are starting to get there any way. This last week we had some sort of weird virus running through the house. I dropped on Friday night when I woke up on the couch and was totally dizzy. I remained that way through most of Saturday, adding in a headache and spending most of the day laying in bed because even sitting upright would make my head spin. No fun to say the least.

Like a moron when I started feeling better on Sunday tho, I resumed normal activity. We went and hung out at a friend's house that night, I took the kids to their activities on Monday. Tuesday we did swim class and bowling and then I got hit with the headache and dizzy spells again. The kids have been complaining about the same things on different days all week. Add in the wonderful storms we've been having and Mark out in UT, and well, we didn't leave the house again until Friday.

We are now slowly returning to normal activities but still taking lots of rest times. My headaches are coming and going, as are Christopher's. I figure as long as I'm still dealing with those, which usually worsen with prolonged standing, I'm going to try and not overdo it. Easier said than done, I know, but hey, if I do too much my body puts me down despite my wishes so I'm trying to work with it.

So I have a small todo list for the weekend. I've done all the running around that was needed so the majority of my weekend is going to be spent on catching up paperwork stuff and hopefully getting the fridge and freezer cleaned and organized. Other than laundry tho, that's all the physical exertion I'm planning on. I'm really hoping to be up to getting back to KSW this coming week. I've barely made any classes this month and I'm really missing them.

104:8 The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

So I told Christopher that this year I would make it a point to catch up on all of the series he loves and has been wanting to read. I did make the stipulation that I would put some of my books in between his series as I want to read something besides kids text books and his fantasy series. My brain would become so much mush otherwise. But now when you see the long lists of YA Fantasy in my read pile, you know why. The things we do for our kids. *long sigh*

Now, onto this book. This is the first book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. As the title suggests, the Greek gods are definitely in play throughout. Percy is the son of Poseidon, albeit after Poseidon, Zeus, and Hades made a pact not to father any more children so it's kind of a touchy subject. He has been discovered to be a half-god and ends up in a camp with others like himself but someone has stolen Zeus's main lightning bolt and the family is at each others throats. Percy must go on a quest to find the lightning bolt and restore peace before the gods start WWIII.

It's a pretty standard fantasy adventure with a misunderstood and messed up protagonist. Rather than one you feel sorry for (like HP), this one has an attitude and tends to get himself into as much trouble as his blood does. Grover performs the role of sidekick nicely and of course, Annabeth (Athena's daughter) provides the token female/bookworm. Honestly, it's very typecast. There are a few twists and turns so things aren't totally anticipated and it's not badly done, it's just not spectacular. I'll read the rest of the series and hope that it gets better but if I didn't have a reason to (aka Chris), I probably wouldn't have picked it up to start with let alone continue. Just not that gripping for me.

Page count: 375p/2,342p ytd

104:7 Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Second time reading this one, first time with the boys. They seemed to really enjoy it, especially hearing about Pa building the house by himself and all the goings on with the Indians. The fire scared them and started a discussion on how and why that happened and what would happen around here in case of a fire (always a good discussion to have). We studied more about malaria, blood cells, infections, and sprains. We learned about what kind of animals, plants, and trees grew on the prairie. We are now using this as a jumping point to learn more about Indians and the Osage in particular.

Page count: 309p/1,967p ytd

104:6 Dorothy and Wizard in Oz by L. Frank Baum

The 4th book in the Oz series. My kids really love these books. They love the whimsy of them and how nothing makes sense but that it's okay that none of it makes any sense at all. The history in them changes to make them convenient but the kids don't seem to notice that much either. They are fanciful and fun and that seems to be what matters most to them. I enjoy them as what they are, an escape from this world to the world of the fairy where anything can, and likely will, happen.

Page count: 256p/1,658p ytd

104:5 Bone Magic by Yasmine Galenorn

The 7th in the Otherworld novels by Yasmine Galenorn, this one is told by Camille. At the start of the novel, she is looking forward to being reunited with her alpha lover, Trillian even though she is unsure how he will take the news that she is wed to Smoky and Morio. By the end of the book, she has gone through heartache and loss as well as great joy. She has found that sometimes what you want most comes at a great price. She has started to pay some of those prices but some of them are still to be paid. There are many different forces and factions all at work and most at cross purposes. Camille's fate has been determined and while she may not like it, sometimes you are bound to things larger than your desires.

Absolutely gripping book. I really like this series and this book took it up a few notches. I was worried after how "easy" things were in the first couple of books that this series wouldn't have any staying power but now a lot more threads are being woven in: no one is ever exactly what they seem, fate has it's own ideas about what your path is, and don't take anything for granted in this series. If you like urban fantasy (LKH, Keri Arthur, Kim Harrison, Patricia Briggs, etc) you are going to LOVE this series!

Page count: 281p/1,402p ytd

104:4 Detectives in Togas by Henry Winterfeld

One of Matthew's book club books. I found the first half to be on the slow side with the boys running around clueless as they figured out their next move to exonerate their friend from the heinous crime of desecrating a temple dedicated to the Emperor. Once their teacher gets involved and gets them using their heads, things start shaping up and they are able to discover the true villain and get their friend freed. The villain tries to escape and ends up killing himself by accident. Personally, I would have preferred a different ending where he was caught and made to deal with the consequences of his actions since the whole reason he acted as he did was fear of facing his own failures. I think that poetic justice would have been much more appropriate and lent a slightly better moral tone to the piece. Of course, having the teacher admit that one of his students is a "dumbell" at the end in front of the class is not something I was particularly happy with either. It wasn't a bad book all told, just not one that I would highly recommend and that's not simply because it's YA.

Page count: 249p/1,121p ytd

The Countdown has begun!

Well, in actuality, it began before Christmas. Nicholas has been figuring out the concepts of time and how calendars work (see, all that preschool calendar stuff we've been doing is working LOL). He's also gotten really into the whole concept of birthdays and has been asking since before Christmas when his birthday is. Before Christmas we would say in about 2mos and then try to focus him on the coming holidays. Now, the next big thing IS his birthday and he's ALL about that. All the time. When we told him on Monday that his birthday was one month away, he did his major happy dance including the booty butt wiggle. Now, he's working on understanding that his actual birthday and his birthday party will be on separate days and he's asking for countdowns for each. Right now, he wants to know how many weeks but once we hit February, I'm sure the daily countdown will start.

I have to say, it's so funny how excited he is by it and I'm eagerly awaiting the days too, just because he is finding such joy in it this year.

104:3 The Key to Midnight by Dean Koontz

Pretty typical Koontz read. A few extra little twists that were not immediately apparent which was nice for a change but he tends to tip his hand and show just about everything. I would really prefer not to have so many dream sequences that telegraph the twists. I did enjoy that part of this took place in Japan and other places instead of the usual California geography.

Page count: 419p/872p ytd

Thank goodness for short lived illness

Matthew woke up this morning running 96.8 and freezing under multiple blankets. By mid-day, Jonathan was in the same boat, Christopher's stomach was feeling icky, and I was dead tired with a headache. We all rested and while there are still cold symptoms floating around no one is feeling nearly as nasty as earlier today. I have no idea why everyone dropped like flies today but I'm so thankful that we are back to just coughs and mild congestion.

104:2 The Story of O by Pauline Reage

I admit, I read it mostly because everyone talks about it in hushed voices and then I saw it on the 1001 Books To Read Before You Die list so I figured I needed to see for myself what all the fuss was about. Trying to sum it up in one word....meh. I can see why it was shocking at the time it was written and I can't say I was comfortable reading about everything that was done but it's not a brilliant piece of literature. The characters were fairly shallow with almost zero growth and I never cared about any of them but there were pages and pages of descriptions of floors and walls and clothes and...you get the point. I didn't get the feeling that the author cared much about the characters or the subject matter either and upon researching it further, you find this to be the truth. She wrote it as a series of letters to her lover who said a woman couldn't write an erotic story. Honestly, I don't consider this very erotic. Shocking to most, yes, but not really erotic in the way I think of it. It's not sensual. It's consensual rape, debasement, and mutilation. That she is proud of what is done to her and then discarded because she is exactly what they wanted her turned into seems about right. The novel leaves off abruptly but I honestly don't know how else you would have ended it.

In short, I'm not sorry I read it and I do understand why it has the reputation it does but I don't need to read it again nor do I care about any sequels or movie versions. It just didn't strike any chords with me.

Page count: 199p/453p ytd

Not home all day, it must be Friday!

Well, that or a Tuesday. It seems time at home on those two days is definitely at a premium. Today we started out with our ES meeting at the house which was nice since everyone was moving slow this morning. I raced out of the house with Nico 15min for his zoo class only to encounter a fallen tree being removed from the Pacifica end of Hwy1. I'm thankful tho because I got there when there were one way traffic controls and it was being dealt with. Much better than getting there 5min after it's happened and everything is a mess and you are stuck for hours.

Zoo class was fun. Nico still refuses to participate in the animal pretending part which I find hilarious since he spends half his time as my kitty, Monday. He wouldn't even pretend to be a monkey today which really surprised me. When he sees his teacher hand out the cards for the parents to hide while they pretend to be animals, he runs to the same corner of the room and stays there until they all turn human again. I'm sure there is some deep Freudian thing going on in his id that causes this but I have no clue what it is.

He did decide that he really likes the new twins that just started this session so that was nice. They ran around after class over to the ARC and then Nico insisted we follow them to the petting zoo. I told him we only had a couple of minutes but he was happy for whatever time he could get out of me and even did well when I told him his time was up and we had to go. I plan on making sure that next week we don't have to run errands afterward so he can have more zoo playtime.

We did a return at Kohls and then I did a little shopping there. Some nice sales going on a few items that I have been looking for so I was happy to grab those, including a black dry-weave workout shirt for use at KSW. I dislike having my clothes sticking to me when we've been working hard and I'm hoping this helps that. Then we did a quick Costco run, and I do mean quick. I was in and out in less than an hour and spent just over $100. I stuck to my list except for two items that Nico reminded me we needed and he stayed in the cart so all was good. We even arrived 5min early to pick up Matthew & Jonathan from art class.

Grabbed a bit to eat and then it was off again. This time I was dropping the three oldest off at Black Belt Club. Usually I take that hour to go veg at Starbucks but this time I had been invited over to a new friend's house to help teach her cross-stitch. We ended up talking about all sorts of things (including a little cross-stitch) and talked so long that I was 30min late picking up the boys. It was a great time tho and totally worth it (even if I did have to put up with their razzing on the way home). We have a trip to Michael's planned for tomorrow. *happy dance*

Could it maybe, possibly be happening?!

Something weird has been happening the last couple of weeks and I've been afraid to post about it in case it jinxs me but here goes.

I think....*looking around to make sure I'm not overheard*....

Maybe....

Nico is turning *gasp* civilized.

Now don't quote me on this as he's had a lifetime of being quite the monster and we've only seen this new version for a couple of weeks now but I'm starting to have a glimmer of hope that not all is lost with him. He has recently started saying a very nice "Dank you" when he gets what he has asked nicely for. He is not running all over the grocery store like a maniac but staying basically with me and listening to gentle reminders when he does wander. Today at KSW, he went and worked with our head instructor while I did techniques and had a good time with him instead of clinging to me the whole time and when he finished before me, sat quietly and waited for the next part of class he could participate in. He's not having nearly as many temper tantrums about things and is starting to listen to reason more often. And tonight at game night, I didn't have to chase after him at all. He stayed with the brother assigned to watch him or stayed close by playing a game or playing on his DS.

I'm not saying he's turned into a perfect gentleman or anything. He still has his moments where he wont' listen and then the tantrums ensue. He still hits at least one of his brothers in the nuts at least once a day. He still threatens to kill or maim someone at least once every other day. Of course, that seems to be pretty constant with all of them so I'm sort of despairing over that one changing. BUT still, there is vast improvements being made and I'm really glad that he seems to be on the upturn from 3½ because as much as I love him, I really needed that stuff to stop.

So for now, I'm hopeful that the spawn of Cthulu maybe settling to sleep and a new slightly more civilized child is growing in his place. I can hope right?!

I'm raising gamer dorks

Yeah, I know, this isn't exactly the shock of the century but some days, it really hits just HOW dorky my kids are. Okay, we have a gazillion games in the house. If the kids can't play video games, the concept of going outside does not occur to them at all. They just grab a game, and another game, and another game, and another game. Don't like that mommy wants to watch the hockey game? Go play a game on the other table. Mommy and daddy just got a new game? What are the rules?

Seriously. It's insane.

Today, Nicholas has decided that he wants to play games all day. I convinced him between games to do some "school work" but really, it was game day. All day long. I can't tell you how many different games were played or how many times. We all had to take turns playing with him. The favorites of the day were Trouble (Stitch version, go figure), Don't Wake Daddy, and Panda Bear/Brown Bear...What do you see?

During dinner, I was playing Don't Wake Dinner with Nicholas and Jonathan and that's when Jonathan took it upon himself to make sure I knew just how dorky we really were. Apparently we were going to the kitchen to get a banana because "I like bananas. Bananas are good." (cue horrid northern English accent) and if we got caught daddy would tell us "Go to your room! I'm very, very cross with you. Go to your room!" (again with the northern English accent) For those of you with a dork factor less than a google (which obviously isn't me), those are both quotes from the Doctor Who episode "The Empty Child" with the 9th Dr. played by Christopher Eccleston. No, I didn't just look any of that up. I knew it by heart. Yes, I am that dork.

But you know, I'm okay with it. I've embraced my dorkiness. I wasn't exactly fighting it but I knew it was totally hopeless when I recognized the weird noise coming from Mark's phone as the comm signal from Star Trek.

So yes, my name is Jenevieve and I'm a dork and I'm turning my kids into dorks too. Christopher is the funniest in that he is the dorkiest when it comes to the weird crap he can pull out about his favorite subjects (anime, manga, video games, zombies) but then gets indignant when called on being a dork. Sorry kiddo, it runs in the family. Embrace it and find others who appreciate it cause you are stuck with it.

'Raine, 'Raine go away

Migraine that is. It hit about 10am today, not huge but definitely had me feeling at way less than 100%. I got home from the kids swim class and tried getting some more caffeine and protein into me to see if that did it since I actually worked out this morning. No dice. I tried drinking lots of water and having some vegetable soup in case I was dehydrated. Still no luck. Ate some yogurt and took some Excedrin. Nada. Had to take kids to KSW and YAW and do the grocery shopping with Nicholas in tow. Thankfully he was really good and I was able to move slowly and he stayed with me. Of course, that good behavior is now being paid for in spades as it's bedtime and he's running around like a maniac and yelling. Oh, god, the yelling.

I have no idea what triggered the migraine, whether it was just working out again after a few weeks of basic inactivity although I took that under consideration and didn't too a really streneous workout and I kept an eye on my HR with my monitor and while it got higher than usual, I would then pause and get some water to bring it down. Maybe it was the fact that I took my vitamins and supplements today for the first time in a few weeks? The stress of trying to get back into the swing of things? I just don't know. Hopefully a good night's sleep will see it gone tho because I wasn't able to get things done today and I am too far behind to be able to take days off.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Dinner -
Bird's Eye SteamFresh Grilled Chicken in Creamy Alfredo with Vegetables (plus added fresh peas)

Update on Zadra

From Kathy's updates on FB:

Update on Zadra: Bone loss was total
for that section, but infection DID NOT spread to her brain. Could not
put tubes in her ears. Left ear drum so damaged, part no longer exists.
Doc says lost bone will regrow, but left ear drum is 50/50 chance of
hearing loss, possibly correc...table wit...h surgery. Even one day later could've had disastrous consequences for her brain

And later:

Zadra update: she will be on vancomycian and cefr??? one every 6hrs and the other once every 12hrs. infectious diseases is part of the team and immunologists will be added as well. right now it is day to day. don't know when she will be discharged. looking at antibiotics for a month possibly with a PIC line at home


Please keep the prayers coming for this little girl!

104:1 Robinson Crusoe by Daniel DeFoe

Matthew read a very abridged version back in 4th grade and loved it but got very indignant when he discovered that it was not the full story so I bought him a real copy. We finally started it during our story time last year but the language was so dense that it took us quite a while to get through it. The descriptions of how he managed to survive were wonderfully detailed and complete. There was a lot more religion in it than I thought but thinking it through further, that was definitely to be expected and it wasn't over done.

We all enjoyed the tale immensely but it was not an easy read aloud book. For the first 100 pages or so, I would have to stop after every paragraph and make sure Jonathan understood what was going on as the language didn't flow the way we tend to speak today. After that point tho, he seemed to generally be able to follow along with it fine with only the occasional question. I'm not sure I would do this as a read aloud again for someone so young and I definitely don't think I would do it with someone younger as I'm not sure it would keep their attention until the part when it becomes easier to understand. Nicholas did sit with us at times to listen in but never for the whole time and never consistently as he would with the Oz and Pan books.

Page count: 254p/254p ytd

First book done, only 103 more to go! LOL

Asking for Prayers

I just found out that my friend Katherine's baby girl Zadra is currently in surgery. She had an ear infection go undiagnosed for too long and by the time they caught it, conventional antibiotics didn't do the trick and the infection has spread into the bone. They are unsure how far it has spread but have a pediatric neurologist scrubbed and ready in the OR. Zadra just turned one a week ago and we were able to visit them on the 26th (they live in San Diego, not far from Mark's grandparents). Please keep Zadra in your thoughts and prayers that there is no lasting damage from this.

Getting back into the swing of things

That's always the fun part after a long time off, trying to get the kids (and *ahem* myself *cough cough*) back onto any kind of schedule. Late nights have led to late mornings and it's impossible to get everyone back on track without me losing my sh*t multiple times. So I opted to do things a little differently this time. I KNEW that we hadn't even had a day in advance of being on schedule and since technically Matthew and Jonathan don't start back to school until Wedn, I scheduled more like a 1/2 days worth of work and just concentrated on getting things moving in the right direction. I did one big thing for myself and that was get Matthew's guitar lesson rescheduled so it's right after Jonathan's therapy so we just have a crazy morning but then don't have to leave the house the rest of the day. Hopefully that will make our Monday's a bit more productive. We'll see but my fingers are crossed.

Right now I'm sitting in a fairly clean home with no kids asleep although they are all in bed. I have a gazillion things to do that didn't get done over the 2wk break so I need to work on that (little things like lesson plans, grading papers, you know nothing super important J/K).

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Quote for the day:
You get credit for what you finish, not for what you start. ~unkown

Dinner:
Crockpot Apricot Chicken (new recipe, well received)
Rice, Steamed Broccoli and Carrots

RIP Louise & Ticia

We've had a lot of sadness in the house in the last week. We came home from our trip to San Diego to find Padme in the heater vents. It took us 20min to coax her out all while Wednesday and Leia were trying to eat the canned food we were trying to coax her out with. We hadn't seen Ticia but since she comes and goes, we weren't terribly surprised and figured we'd see her the next day. We did but not as we had expected. Jonathan came into my bedroom telling me he had seen Lizzy (our cat that ran away at 4th of July). I asked where and he told me under his bed. I told him that wasn't possible but it was probably Ticia. He said she wasn't moving. Uh-oh. I sent Mark and he reported back that she had obviously died in her sleep a day or two previously. For those reading this who don't know, Ticia was Christopher's cat. She joined our family when he was 6mos old and they instantly bonded. She curled up on his lap when he ate and then licked the formula off his face when he was done. She slept next to him in his playpen for naps during the day. We had to constantly shoo her off the high chair when he was eating. She wouldn't eat his food while he was eating, but just wrap herself around him. Most of my pictures of him during his first couple of years include her. To the end, even when she was gross and drooling constantly, they remained close and Christopher was one of the few who would voluntarily touch her. She was 14½ when she passed. She was a wonderful friend and will be missed.

This was a week ago.

Today, I noticed that Jonathan's 2nd rat (Ruby died a few months ago) was showing labored breathing and looked sweaty. She has been slowing down a lot the last couple of days so I was worried about her but also knew, there wasn't a lot that I could do for her. He made sure she had food and water and gave her a treat before we left to take him to therapy. When we got back, I asked Matthew to take her some cheese that had gotten a little dry around the edges and he came back with that look in his eyes and said it was too late. Thankfully Jonathan was busy and I was able to put her in a nice box and dig her grave before I had to tell him. We had been telling him that she was getting old and showing signs that she wouldn't be with us much longer. He had been very attentive of her, giving her apple cores, giving her lots of attention. We reminded him that her original lot in life was to be snake food so she had had a much better life with him than that. She was almost 2 years old and was a very sweet rat.

The holiday season is finally over

We had our last holiday celebration tonight up at my dad's. I love seeing everyone during the holiday season but I'm also glad that it's come to a close. It was really nice going to my dad's tonight tho as it had given us a couple of days out of the Christmas stuff and with our tree being down, it was nice to see theirs up and have a nice family dinner there. We stayed a bit later than usual and after all our company and sleep-overs the last couple of days, I'm really tired but in a happy way if that makes sense.

This winter break has been less than productive for me in terms of getting any of my work done to catch up on stuff but it was very mentally relaxing and really good for destressing which is definitely a big plus. I'm hoping to get some sleep and wake-up ready to get a bunch of stuff done around the house. Chris starts back to school on Monday and I'll start easing the others boys back into it while I try to get a schedule together since I still haven't had one written down this year.

Happy New Decade!

Wow, I'm really not sure what happened to this year. When I was living parts of it, I was amazed at how slow the time was going so it feels really weird that all of a sudden it's over. Apparently I missed the last couple of months because they just flew by without my noticing but with the new year here, I want to do a quick review of my goals for last year and set some for this year.


2009 Goals
* To find an exercise routine that I can stick with. The goal is to find some way to actually be physically active in a meaningful way, 5 days a week. Happily, I met this one. On average I workout 30min 4-5 days a week in the morning and now I've added in 2-4 KSW classes a week as well.

* Get out of debt except for the house payment. This one needs a little bit of outside luck and a whole lot of discipline but it's doable and I hope to be starting next year with the start of a downpayment for a bigger house under way. Unfortunately we didn't succeed on this one for a couple of reasons. Our debt is down by about 1/2 tho!

* Get our routines in place. This is one place where I really fall down. It's that whole self-disipline thing. I would much rather kick back and read a book than exercise, get after the kids to do their chores, or do the housework. I know that sleep deprivation has had a lot to do with it and there too is a place where I need to be more disciplined. Making that schedule which gives me enough opportunity for sleep and sticking with it for all our sakes. Unfortunately this one fell apart when we brought in Jason and my lack of self-disipline hasn't gotten over it. :(

* Lose 10% of my weight. Yes, the obligatory weight-loss one. I didn't make one for last year thinking that would be better to just say I'd make smarter eating choices but you know what, I'm up 2lbs from a year ago. I yo-yo'd big time and I'm really miserable about it. I know I feel better when I weigh less but again, that self-discipline. I've got a couple of books on weight-loss that I'm going to be reading soon and then using those in conjunction with the new WW plan. I can see what I've been doing wrong even when I was sticking to WW so I'm working on formulating a plan that addresses that specifically. I'm also looking into trying to find a group, either WW or with some local friends, to get that necessary support on this journey. I'm very happy to say that I made this one as well! I lost it in late spring and summer and while I haven't been able to fully get back on track and lose more, I have kept it off the whole time with only minimal fluctuations.

* Find some ways to get myself and the kids more involved in volunteering and community service. We are so very blessed in all that we have and I want to give back and teach the kids that there are more important things in life than the next time they get to play video games. I found a couple of places where we were able to start volunteering and things that they cared enough about to donate to. I hope to continue building upon it.

* Stay in touch with those important to me. I keep getting so caught up in the kids activities and trying to do too much in other areas that I let slide the important relationships in my life with family and friends. I worked on this a bit last year and it's something that I want to continue to work on. I've gotten a little bit better about this with the help of Facebook but I need to remember that not all my friends are there and I need to be more proactive about those that don't remind me to contact them by updating their status messages.

* Take a few minutes each day to stop and smell the flowers. I tend to be in a frenzied rush of always going, going, going and even when I read, it's an escape. I want to take a few minutes to stop and count my blessings. I keep trying to do this but it's not as consistent as I would like to.

* Continue to blog often. I like the journaling and it's neat to go back and see what the kids and I have been up to. The big thing is I really want to work on blogging more often on the homeschooling blog as well. I've been really lax about that one. Um, well, I did for a bit and then got caught up with the craziness of life. *sigh*

* Continue to be more conscience of my choices and try to make the best ones I can, in parenting, eating, consumerism, life, and taking care of the Earth. I always try but I will be continuing to educate myself to do even better. Yep, it's a cut and paste of last year's but it's a good one and something to continue to strive to be better at. Again, I think I've done better this year than last but I still have a long way to go.


So now for this years goals:

• Continue with my exercise routine.
• Get out of debt except for the house payment. Going to need some luck with that (no major car repairs or appliance purchases) but it's possible.
• Get our routines in place.
• Work on decluttering our house and lives of unnecessary STUFF.
• Lose another 10% of my weight.
• Continue finding ways for us to volunteer and causes that the kids can get behind saving and donating to.
• Stay in touch with those important to me.
• Take a few minutes each day to count my blessings.
• Blog more often on both blogs.
• Read 104 books (again *big grin*)
  
• Continue to be more conscience of my choices and try to make the best ones I can, in parenting, eating, consumerism, life, and taking care of the Earth.

Yep, I know they look a lot like last years but that's okay. I made good progress in a lot of these areas but I want to continue to work on them as they are what is important to me.