Bedside Manner

A while ago, I realized that we had this great plant that needed sunlight. The problem was that we didn't have a stand to put the plant on, so I moved what I was using as a night stand into the front room so that we could use it as a plant stand. I realized quickly that I was going to run into an "Ernie Breaks the Cookie Jar" problem if I wasn't careful.



Classic.

Anyways... so for a while rather than moving everything around and running into that dilemma, I just left the space empty. This meant that my current book(s) and my box of tissues were permanently on the floor, and if I had my phone or glasses with me at bedtime those ended up on the floor as well.

 

Today I went to the Christmas Tree Shop on the hunt for something to put on my side of the bed that would be a bit better and neater than just throwing things on the floor. I will say - the Christmas Tree Shop never lets me down. For $12.99, I got a 4-shelf bookcase, and for $6.99 I got a cute small lamp. Not only did I solve the problem of the floor clutter, I also found a way to not have to have Steve get out of bed and turn the light off every time I'm reading and he's not.

I haven't even taken advantage of this before-sleep convenience, and I'm slightly more content already. Not only did I get these things, I scored 6 skeins of Lion Brand Suede yarn for $1.29/each and 4 different sets of notecards for $1.00 or under. Don't you just love a bargain?

Physical Challenge!

So with all the sinus issues I've had over the last few weeks that are finally starting to settle out, getting to the gym has been the last thing on my mind. This of course means I am not working on my goal of competing in a 5K this year... which is really annoying and frustrating. One of the blogs I follow - Fit This Girl - is offering a "Legs Do It" challenge for the month of February... and I'm signing up!

The basic premise of the challenge is simple - to take care of your legs! Here are the areas that are to be focused on at least 4x/week:

• Strengthen: using weights with my legs: lunges, squats, dead lifts etc!
• Sculpt: Step, lunge, & lift my way to sculpted legs
• Stretch: Yoga, or stretching at home to help build lean muscles and reduce injury!

I need some motivation these days, and I am excited about this challenge! Not only will it help me to get back into a routine, it will help get my legs ready for more running.

Anyone else in?? Head on over to Fit This Girl's post to find out more.

Adventures at the ENT - Part 1

For about 8 years or so now, I have struggled with chronic sinus issues. If I cry - I get congested for a day. If I stir up too much dust - sinus headache. 2 glasses of wine? Dry sinuses and discomfort (if I don't have enough water afterwards). Change in weather? Pain and congestion. Pollen time? Ouchies. If it's not one thing wreaking havoc on my sinuses, it's another. 

In December 2009, I had a bout of really annoying sinus problems that wouldn't quit. I went to my doctor and she advised that it was not an infections, she renewed my script for Flonase, and sent me on my way with instructions to call back if (this is gross) the color of my snot changed. It did, so I called back and went in. She looked again, and $20.00 later she advised that I had no infection. This time though she gave me another tool to tackle the old sinus issue and advised I continue to take decongestants and Advil to reduce the swelling in my sinuses (which theoretically would relieve pressure). It all began to work right around Christmas.

About a week ago, they started up again in full force. Yicky snot, etc. So I started up my routine again of the Sinus Rinse, Flonase, Sudafed PE Non-Drying Sinus, Advil, and a humidifier at night. Three days later I had a sinus headache that hurt so badly that I had a hard time getting out of bed. Clearly, the myriad of things that I am taking to treat the symptoms are not doing their job to the best of their capacity.

Two days after that I had a persistent enough sinus headache that I decided it was time to call an ENT (ears, nose, throat) specialist, or an otorhinolaryngologist. A doctor who dedicates their entire life to relieving the pain and suffering of those whose upper respiratory system gives them nothing but trouble. I got a couple of recommendations on Facebook, and set up an appointment with Dr. William Postal at Andover Ear, Nose, and Throat Center.

Here's where I have to make the confession that I went into the appointment nervous to begin with. I had heard enough about sinus surgeries, polyps, and deviated septum surgery to legitimately shake me up a bit before I made the appointment. I've never had any sort of surgery done EVER - not a tooth extraction. The closest I've ever had to surgery was stitches in my knee after a car accident I was passenger in. So yes - I was nervous while I sat in the waiting room.

The very friendly Russian nurse/secretary woman brought me into the examination room and advised that I should sit in the chair. I waited, and Dr. Postal came in, introduced himself, and asked me a few questions about the issues I have. He took a look in my ears with some contraption that puffed air into them, opened my nasal cavities up with what I can only describe as mini-forceps to take a peek, and looked down my throat with a popsicle stick.

First look diagnosis: Chunky tonsils (whatever that means, he didn't seem too concerned) and a deviated septum. On a deviated septum 0-4 scale of severity, I'm at about a 2. Again - he didn't seem too concerned.

He then shakes up a nasal spray container and informs me he's going to shoot NOVOCAINE up my nose. Yes. NOVOCAINE. Why? So that he could numb it up and take a look with a scope.

I got a little bit nervous.

Then the very sweet Russian nurse knocked on the door, said "Oh yes! You're by yourself!", exited the room, and returned with this:

THAT is a flexible fiberoptic nasal scope. THAT is what the nice doctor intended to shove up my nose to "take a look".

As I felt the back of my throat and back of my nose go numb, the good doctor came back in the room and proceeded to unceremoniously shove said scope up my nose. Talk about an eye-watering experience. It didn't hurt, but it wasn't comfortable whatever he was touching was making my eyes water something fierce.

I didn't care. I want to know why the heck I keep getting sinus headaches.

Scope and Novocaine Diagnosis: No signs of polyps (yay!), no immediate signs of infection.

Next steps: CT Scan to see if I have signs of chronic low-grade infections or other signs of inflammation that he couldn't see with the crazy nasal scope. Depending on how that goes, probably a meeting with an allergist to see what I'm allergic to. He seems to think that it's related to some sort of dust or mold or other allergies. I've never had a CT scan and from what I understand the allergy test is a bajillion little needles with allergens in them.

I look at it this way: It's a way for me to get over my fears. I'm afraid of medical proceedings in general and especially of needles. And hopefully at the end of it, I'll have a bit more insight into whatever is going on with my sinuses all the time.

GODLUVSU

Every so often when I'm floating along in the world, I notice things that give me a small chuckle about God's love for all of His children.

I was driving home from work last week when I saw a small, black, Hyundai Accent hatchback. It was just plodding along through the traffic in the left hand lane minding its own business when I noticed that the headlights from the car behind it were shining right on the bumper sticker on the back of the car. It read: ATHEIST.

Since I was not in the left lane and therefore not going as quickly as the folks in that lane were going, not long after I saw the light from the car behind the Atheist shining directly on that bumper sticker - I saw that car coming into view. It was a light blue-green Hyundai Venture (an SUV considerably larger than the Accent) and as it came more and more into view I noticed that the license plate read "GODLVSU".

Before I get into this further - does anyone see the appropriateness of the headlight of a large car with the license plate "GODLVSU" shining directly onto the "ATHEIST" bumper sticker of another smaller car? Because I certainly did.

The two cars stayed in my view for a while because we were in a stretch that gets pretty clogged up during rush hour on a daily basis, which meant we weren't going anywhere any time soon. It was just long enough to get me thinking about how God must feel about Atheists. He's bigger than all of us, and He shines His light on us when we need it most, and He loves each and every one of us - even if we don't love Him back. The latter is clearly a category that Atheists fall into, since they don't even believe God exists.

Yet there He is. Right behind them the whole time, shining His light on them and saying "Hey! You! I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you."

And like a car sitting in traffic, they don't even notice or pay attention to the light behind them. The lack of attention doesn't make the light go away though, and His love is still right there behind us. His love is persistent, His love is consistent, and He pursues us to love Him back.

**Side note - when I was looking for an image of an Atheist bumper sticker I found this one as well. I think that this would have gone well on the GODLVSU car.

What's for Lunch on a Snow Day?

Today we experienced a bit of a snow storm - 7.5 inches of the heavy, wet stuff - so rather than risk my neck on the roads I opened my laptop and worked from home.

Generally speaking, I dislike working from home. I don't get as motivated to be productive (especially when my husband has the day off completely and is in the other room playing video games... lucky...). I don't have all of my files. I don't have unlimited printing access. It's just not conducive - at least in my current job - for me to be productive AND work at home.

There is one good thing about working from home though - I don't have to pack my lunch, I can just get up and get it or make it. This usually allows me to be a bit creative. Today I made a super yummy lunch using just 4 of my usual "on-hand" ingredients.

I used these in the following proportions and in the following manner:

• 2 oz. Ronzoni Smart Taste (cooked to al dente)
  
• 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp Classico Tomato & Basil Sauce (stirred in to drained pasta and brought to temperature)
  
• 1 tbsp Hormel Real Bacon pieces (stirred in with sauce & pasta and warmed up)
• 2 tbsp 4C Parmesan Cheese (1 tbsp stirred in with pasta, 1 tbsp sprinkled on top)

This provided me with the perfect tasty little lunch. I highly recommend it to you the next time you're snowed in and working from home!

Win a Cookbook!

This is just a quick post to let you all know about a giveaway over at "Bye Bye Fat Pants".

Crystal is a 28-year old woman who is documenting her journey through her weight loss. As someone who has lost 62 pounds with 23-28 more to go, I love that there are folks out there who are willing to share their journey. It's inspiring and encouraging; in her first 11 weeks she's lost 9 pounds (she has a sidebar that tracks her weight loss), and talks about her reactions after her weigh-ins. She also shares the things that encourage her and make her happy, as well as some food ideas that she's discovered along the way.

She is giving away a copy of the book "Cook Yourself Thin Faster" to one lucky winner - and it could be you! Just head on over to her blog to check out how you can enter her contest. I checked out the book on Amazon to see about any reviews, and it has 2 reviews for 5 stars each. If you'd like to read up on the book before entering the contest, check it out here.

So head on over, enter the contest, and GOOD LUCK!

Prayer for Haiti

In my little bubble, the biggest challenge I have today is whether or not I will complete all the work I have to get done before 5:30 when it's quitting time while sitting in my climate-controlled office in a relatively comfy chair. My biggest worry is the health of my father and father-in-law, who both have access to some of the best medical care in the world. The only little details I had to think about this morning were driving safely on relatively decent roadways, packing a healthy lunch with food I bought at a supermarket, and pouring clean water into a clean water bottle after I showered with clean water using "fancy" soaps and shampoos.

I did not wake up this morning wondering if my relatives were crushed under the weight of a poorly constructed building destroyed by an earthquake, nor did I wake up in a pile of rubble wondering if anyone would be able to find me.

I am not going through my day wondering when the airport will open so that foreign aid and medical assitance can arrive quicker to help me, my friends, my family, my neighbors.

My face did not appear on the front page of CNN covered in ash, tears rolling down my cheeks, crying out for help.

My voice did not echo in the streets of Port-au-Prince in prayer, asking God for help in one of many, many different ways as the aftershocks of a destructive earthquake shivered beneath my feet.

I have found myself in an ordinary American day, while the ordinary days of hundreds in Haiti have drastically changed. My heart is full of concern for the people of Haiti, for their loved ones in the United States, for those trying to find out how their loved ones are and if they survived. All I can do is pray, encourage others to help where they can, and help where God has equipped me to help.

Please pray for those who are affected by this disaster, and if you are able to help please do whatever you can.

Heavenly Father - please help the people of Haiti receive the help, food, water, and assistance they need as they face the struggles of recovery ahead. Please let the aftershocks be minimal and not cause any further damage. Please let the souls of those lost into the gates of Heaven, and please comfort the hearts of those surviving family and friends through the losses of their loved ones. Please move in the hearts of those who have the ability and means to help to do so. Please hear the cries of those in Haiti, hear the hearts and prayers of those not there who are crying out to you. Let the world rise into action for this poor country, and let the hearts and bodies of those affected by this quake be healed.

God - Please help those of us who think we live "regular, ordinary, mundane lives" to realize how blessed we truly are, and help us to use our blessings to help others in need both around us and on a more global level. Help us to see that we should not take a single moment for granted.

In Jesus' name - Amen.

Psalm 147:3: He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

Resources:
CNN's Coverage of the Earthquake in Haiti
CNN - Impact Your World - How you can help
World Vision - Online Donations for Haiti Relief
The Livesay Haiti Weblog

Caved and Splurged

After years of making dumb comments* about how I could never ever justify such a purchase... I broke down and did it.

My in-laws gave me some money for Christmas, and so with that money I went ahead and bought a Vera Bradley bag... and a matching wallet. And I hate to admit - I love them both, can see where they can be addictive (if you're into purses/purse accessories, which I am), and still stand behind my previous statements that they are way overpriced. I can honestly say I never would have bought them if I did not receive the money as a gift... but yes, I love them.

After months (okay... years) of watching the Vera Bradley patterns and not liking at least 50% of them, I realized there were a few that I really liked in their latest line-up: Raspberry Fizz, Java Blue, Cupcakes Pink, and Carnaby. While we were at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center yesterday waiting for Steve's dad to get out of surgery, I went into their gift-shop and noticed that the prices on the bag and wallet I liked were not any different than the local Hallmark store. In addition to that, part of the proceeds go back to the hospital funds which means you're supporting a great research & teaching hospital. This meant that I could feel somewhat better about purchasing a Vera Bradley product.

When the jury in my head deliberated and looked around, I decided on the Betsy purse and the zip-around wallet in Java Blue. The wallet is one of the best I've ever owned, and the bag is very roomy without being too bulky. I can easily fit my wallet, coupons, and a book along with all the other junk I carry around on a regular basis.

Here they are in all of their glory:

Like I said - I love them and would definitely get them again, though, I think next time I would look for a good deal on Craigslist, eBay, or a local consignment shop.

*To those who I have made dumb comments about Vera Bradley to in the past, I hear-by officially publicly apologize. You were right. These are great products. It's just the price tag I have a hard time getting past.

It's NOT a Beer...

I always feel more comfortable at a wake if I have something that I can drink. I don't know why this is. Sometimes I think it's a little bit bizarre, but if I have something that I can just drink it does something to ease my nervousness.

When I walked into the funeral home last night for my aunt Gail's wake... I realized I didn't have a drink with me. I thought that I would be OK, that I wouldn't need it, that I'd just get one later. Then I went and paid my respects, said good-bye to the aunt who gave me possibly one of the greatest pieces of advice I was ever given, and knew. I would need a drink or I would just pace, fidget, and feel uneasy. Since my husband is amazing, when I asked if he had any money on him he immediately headed out to the store and came back with two options for me - a diet Pepsi and a diet A&W root beer.

I took the root beer.

A few minutes later while I was chatting with someone, my stepsister Michelle came over to me and looked at my drink. "Oh man! I looked over here quick and thought you were drinking a beer! It wasn't until I saw that price sticker that I realized it wasn't." We laughed about it - because it would be pretty funny to have someone at a wake openly drinking a beer.

Not long after that my uncle came in, looked at me, and started laughing. "Oh man! I thought that was a Bud bottle you were holding. I was going to ask you for some." Michelle laughed and said, "I JUST said the same thing!"

Steve took this opportunity to make a joke of the situation. He took out his keys, put one of them to the label, pulled off the label and took the price sticker off the bottle. "There! And don't give me a hard time about it (after I started to protest) - you KNOW for a fact that Gail would be getting a huge kick out of this. IN FACT - she probably would have been the one to take the label off in the first place!"

And - it's true. Gail knew how to laugh at a good joke, and usually had one ready with perfect timing. She saw the humor in just about every situation. It was weird to be at her wake and funeral and not have her nearby to make a wisecrack about something going on; she loved to lighten the mood.

When I heard that she died, I knew it was time to take her advice and not be angry forever. God had been working on the things that she and I talked about a few years ago ever since our talk, and the words that she spoke to me that night were at the front of my mind this week as I let go of the anger on my heart. Steve told me she would be glad for this, and I know that wherever she is now that she probably is. She was an amazing aunt, a wise woman who knew how to talk from her heart and give advice from her own experiences.

I also know that she would have laughed and egged Steve on as he tore that label off my bottle last night...  then made fun of me when I protested about it... and then she would have told everyone I was drinking a beer, I'm sure.

Gail - I toasted you with that root beer last night, and while I wish we could have spent more time together I cherish dearly the times that we could spend. May you rest in peace, and know that you were loved by a lot of people. I'll miss you.

A Handbook for 2010

This is making its rounds as an email forward, but since I think that this is a great list of things for all of us to think about at the start of a new year - I am sharing it with all of you. Here's to 2010 being a great year - let's celebrate the ups, encourage each other in the downs, and enjoy every moment and blessing God sends our way.

HANDBOOK 2010

Health:
1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants..
4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy
5. Make time to pray.
6. Play more games
7. Read more books than you did in 2009
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day
9. Sleep for 7 hours.
10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk daily. And while you walk, smile.

Personality:
11. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13. Don't over do. Keep your limits.
14. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need..
18. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with His/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
20. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and laugh more.
24. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree...

Society:
25. Call your family often.
26. Each day give something good to others.
27. Forgive everyone for everything.
28. Spend time w/ people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

Life:
32. Do the right thing!
33. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
34. GOD heals everything.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change..
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
37. The best is yet to come..
38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.

Why the Road Rage?

You rush out the door with exactly the amount of time it will take you to get to work without being late remaining on the clock. You get into your car, put the key in the ignition, pop the shift into gear and head off to the office. Things seem to be going along smoothly until you hit a wall of traffic. Thinking you're very intelligent, you turn off the highway and head towards "backroads" in order to avoid the jam only to be met with - another wall of traffic, made up (of course) of all of the other smart people who are avoiding the interstate.

You are now officially running late for work. You feel your blood start to boil. You become frustrated, nervous, agitated, bored, and all sorts of other toxic emotions that you can't seem to control. You muster up all the patience in your body to not drive (illegally) in the breakdown lane and lose your cool with the people around you who are in the same exact predicament you are in.

When you eventually do make it to work, usually you run (or powerwalk) into your work area. You commisserate with the other people who were stuck in the traffic with you about how awful your commute was, swapping stories of what ways you went to avoid the mess (only to find another mess), and inevitably discuss how incredibly inconvenienced you were by the traffic jam. Someone might ask what happened to cause it all, only to be given a mumbling response about some accident on the traffic report.

Most of us have found ourselves in this situation at some point in our lives. I found myself in it this morning at about 8:54 when I called my co-worker to inform him that after 25 minutes (my normal commute time) of being on the road and only progressing 3 of the 18 miles it takes to get to work - I would, indeed, be late. An hour and a half later when I arrived at work, the talk of the department was about the traffic and what in the world caused it... something about an accident on the traffic report. I think maybe once on the phone at 8:54 when I called in did I give the people in the accident a second thought when I said "I heard something about an accident... I just hope that whoever that was is OK."

Other than that - I was frustrated. I was late. I was inconvenienced.

Sometime right around 2:00 PM, I began to wonder what in the world happened to cause all the traffic this morning. My trusty friend Google led me to this article about an accident on 93 South that took the life of a 29 year old woman and sent two other people to the hospital. It was at that point that my conscience sarcastically said to my selfish self (after my heart sunk directly to my stomach): "I know - how dare you get to work safely while others were injured or killed? What an awful blessing!" If my conscience could roll its eyes, I think it would have at that point.

I realized in that moment that by getting frustrated and angry at the situation, I was not acting as Christ has called us to act. By reacting to the traffic the way that I had, I was forgetting that people could have been seriously injured and the suffering that would cause to their family and friends. I was not loving the people in the cars involved in the crash, I was not loving my own loved ones by being grateful I arrived safely - I was only concerned with my own ride to work and the inconvenience of arriving late.

This kind of reaction to traffic is very common in our culture, but we are called to live and be someone better that what society has trained us to be. Paul tells us in Romans 12:1-2 "So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you." (The Message).

I don't want to be the person who gets angry in traffic and only cares about her own little world. I want to be the person that Christ has called us to be, to act that way in the world, and to be counter to the culture of the traffic jam.

Jesus, please help me to be the person that Paul describes to us in Romans 12:1-2. I want to be changed, I want to be more like you in every aspect of my life. Please be with the families of those killed or injured in today's accident, and let them find comfort in your love. Thank you for your words, thank you for calling us to be something more. I pray this in your holy name - Amen

Keeping His Place

Steve is a Stephen King fan, so when I found out that he had a new novel out I made sure that I got it for him for Christmas. It turns out that Under the Dome is over 1,000 pages long - which, of course, makes it harder for a guy who doesn't usually use a bookmark to keep his place to in fact - keep track of where he is in the book.

Steve's new book next to his iPhone - for perspective purposes

The realization of the need for a bookmark came the first night that Steve was reading the book. Knowing that I have quite the collection of bookmarks, I headed out to my desk to find one he could use. As I was looking through them, I hear him ask "Do you have any that aren't too girly?" and of course being a girl - all of my bookmarks are pretty darn girly.

Today I had a bit of inspiration while taking down all of our Christmas cards and wondering what in the world people do with all of these cards after the season is over. I went to put the cards away with all of the other cards we have accumulated, and decided that I would make Steve a bookmark out of one of our old cards we had received. A quick search through the pile found a Simpsons card he received for his birthday - PERFECT! I went to work and cut out Homer eating pancakes in the shape of a bookmark, which left a rectangular hole in the card.

I mounted the cut-out to a sheet of card stock, held it in place and smoothed over it with some Mod Podge, and VOILA! Steve is now the proud owner of a Homer Simpson bookmark.

So now Steve has a bookmark for his ginormous book (and future reads as well), and I have come up with a fabulous new idea for all of those old cards I have stored up. Everybody wins!

I Don't Believe in Resolutions

Most people don't keep most - if any - of their New Year's resolutions. A Google search run by yours truly found a few statistics saying that somewhere in the neighborhood of 75%-97% of resolutions made at the start of a new year are not kept. That means that most of us start the year with all sorts of good intentions to better ourselves, but for some reason - probably that we are all creatures of habit - we do not complete what we set out to do.

As such - I do not believe in New Year's resolutions. I do, however, believe that setting goals for ourselves is a good idea. These goals should be SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-Bound); if you do not create a goal that fits into most or all of those categories, it is destined for failure. For example: the number one New Year's resolution is to lose weight. A lot of people will start the year and say "I am going to lose weight this year!". That is not a good enough goal; a better goal would be "I am going to lose 30 pounds by Thanksgiving". Do you see the difference?

So - for 2010 I have set out a few goals I am going to do. Nothing too crazy, and definitely things that are doable.

1. In 2010, I am going to read through the entire Bible. I have never read the whole Bible before and there are several plans out there to do so. I have a journal that details out a plan to read over the course of the year beginning in January. This makes it easy to start at the beginning of the year rather than somewhere in the middle. I am very excited about diving into God's word and getting closer to Him just at a time in my faith journey that I am starting to feel His presence more.

2. In 2010, I am going to complete more crochet projects. There are a few hobbies that I really enjoy that had fallen by the wayside during 2009 - crocheting was one of them. Considering that this year I think all I accomplished was maybe a few dishcloths, this should NOT be difficult to measure. This is attainable by using my time at home better and making sure that I do take time for myself to do these hobbies.

3. I will read and complete more books during 2010. Again - this one should not be a difficult one to attain and is another hobby that has been neglected. I am a bookworm at heart, and this year I only completed 4 books according to my GoodReads page, where I track what I read. Seriously? I miss reading. I need to get on top of this - I have some to finish and start!

4. I would like to be able to run in and complete a 5K road race. This is a big one for me and probably the only "Shoot for the Moon" goal I have. There's a local road race that is held every year on Thanksgiving Day called the Feaster Five. I've never been much of a runner, and I don't need to place in the top 10 - but I would like to be able to at least run in the race once and complete it. I've been trying to start running more and it's been much easier since I've lost weight; I actually enjoy my time on the treadmill at the gym. I can't wait for the weather to start getting nicer and start running outside.

There you have it. My goals for 2010 laid out and written down (which "they" say is a step in the right direction for accomplishment). I hope to be able to come back here on December 31 with some good news.