Resolution update

Something I love about blogging is that I can quickly look back at what we were up to last year, assuming that I blogged.    So as we approach the end of the year I find myself wondering how we did on resolutions.....usually a mix of good and bad.  How did we do with the 2012 resolutions? 
           
2012 resolutions

Stick with our budget - we did pretty well, I'll admit I feel more secure being on two incomes again and want to really buckle down and work on saving in 2013.

Travel somewhere neither of us have ever been – we did it!  Neither of us had ever been to Tahoe, in fact K had never been to Nevada so we did great on this one and had a memorable birthday for K while we were on our trip.

find quick, easy, healthy meals to cook and get a good group of 'go to' meals we can rotate to have a good mix of meals  fail, we did try some new recipes but we still struggle with what to make each day.  I need to find a better way to approach looking for new meals to try (NOT when I’m trying to make the grocery list).  Something to keep working on in 2013.

Make fitness a regular part of our day – we’re making improvements, as always something to continue to work on.

2012 has been really good to us, K finished grad school and started in his new career.  I’ve continued to grow in my career and we’ve grown as a couple.  We even welcomed a new member of the family – a fish!   I hope that 2013 has just as many good times waiting for us!



I’m becoming more and more of a believer that I should make a change when I want to and not wait for the beginning of a new year. I like the idea of short and long term goals and hope to make an effort to make both types of goals and accomplish them, but still find myself feeling like I should make New Year’s resolutions- if nothing else that dates sticks in your head as a starting point.  I will use some apps because I like to track my progress and they'll keep me honest, also help make it measurable

2013 Resolutions

1) Make fitness a regular part of our days -- we both need to get back into a routine and I need weights as well as cardio in my routine

 - track my workouts and my food on myfitnesspal in an effort to help me finally lose the weight I’ve been wanting to lose for years --- let me know if you're on this service, I need pals to keep me honest!

2) Instead of the vague 'save money', we will set up automatic savings to pull money into savings each month, as an easy start we'll use the money we had been allocating to the car payment since we'll have it PAID OFF next month!  
 - I also plan to set up our finances through an online system to be able to track it more consistently.  I already track with Excel, but want to see what tools these online (free) programs have


3) meal planning - find a different time during the week to look at meal possibilities and:

-          Try one new main dish each month

-          Try a new vegetable (or way to fix it) each month - if we succeed that'd be 12 new ways/dishes

-  find a better way to track meals we like...right now its all paper and excel  

4) Read more, watch less TV - I almost reached the 20 book goal this year (on goodreads), so I’ll use that same goal for 2013 - find me on goodreads!   I picked up a bunch of books on hold at the library today, cannot wait to get into them....I need to stagger them as there is no way I will read 5 books by the time they are due, but I put in a bunch of requests at the same time, if you haven't used your hold system at the library I highly recommend it!
  - K also plans to start his reading plan with the books he already has.

5) Organize one area of the house each month.  We are staying put in this house and so I want to make the best use of the space we have.   I've already started this one over the holiday, and will continue in small chunks - that is how I work best.   I already love the small changes made - a storage unit we had upstairs has been rearranged and is being put to better use in our bedroom closet.

The to do list will get much longer, but for now I have a few items on it:

- call our cable company to reduce our bill – called in Dec but they mentioned a better deal starting in January and gave me a $15 discount per month to hold me over
 - select and start to use an online financial system
- organize (may mean toss and start over) our tupperware collection

 HAPPY 2013!!!

Segways

We’ve have a great break.  We both had the whole week off and just took it easy and spent a lot of time together.  As part of our break we took a quick trip to Galveston.  The primary reason for the trip was to do a Segway tour we’d purchased a while back.    K had mentioned he wanted to ride them (neither of us had) and so when living social had a deal it was an easy decision to buy them.

We drove down in the morning and had time to do a little shopping before the tour.   We had a pretty large group (12 people) and it was intimidating at first – we watched a video that kept showing how easy it would be to tumble off and hit your head, and we’d signed a waiver that we knew the risks and saw the prices we’d have to pay if we damaged them.  After that we each had to get on, with everyone watching, and learn to ride it.  It was strange at first, but you really do get the hang of it after a few minutes -  it’s all about how you lean your weight (after you accept that this thing really can hold you up with 2 wheels) .   After we practiced in the parking lot we all got the hang of it and we were off!   The weather was cold and very windy, so we didn’t go on the seawall as the tour said we would, but instead we went through the neighborhood, which was better I think – we were able to see a lot of houses and scenery and we had no worries about driving off the edge!    Although it was called a tour it was really mostly just the experience of riding the Segways, just what we wanted!   We really did zip along on them.   I am glad we did a short tour as my feet and lower legs were hurting by the end of it, and we should’ve worn gloves.  I also should've thought to zip up my jacket BEFORE getting on, once I was on I couldn't figure a way to stay on and zip it, so unzipped I rode.  We’ll do it again, and I think we’d be ready for a true tour that many cities offer.

That afternoon we were able to meet up with a childhood friend of K’s that he hadn’t seen in about 20 years.  They’d reconnected on facebook and he and his wife came down to meet us.  It was a great afternoon with them and we hope to meet up with them again soon. 

We spent the night at the Hotel Galvez and before heading back home the next day we went to Seawolf Park, surprisingly it was my idea and not my historian’s idea to go there.  We were able to tour a WW II submarine and destroyer.    The submarine especially gave me a greater appreciation for those who served on them, they truly are tight spaces.

As a bonus, I get to play a lot with my new camera - I'm still learning how to use it and what the various settings do.

Christmastime

Our Christmas celebrations continue!    We celebrated with my side of the family this weekend.  It was quite a treat to have someone else hosting :).   We all went to my parents' house, the house where I grew up.

For dinner we have a meal very similar to what we have at Thanksgiving - smoked turkey, rice dressing, cranberries, rolls, 5 cup salad, and sweet potatoes.

This was the most people we've ever had at the table - its really intended for 6 people, we really filled up the table with 8 of us!    During dinner I realized this was the first time all 8 of us have ever been in the same place!  I hope its the first of MANY gatherings of the group - I'd meant to get a photo of all of us, and of course I forgot.....

After dinner and cleaning up we had dessert (pies and a delicious cheesecake) and exchanged gifts.  We have such a variety of interests and gifts, its fun to see what everyone gets and how many gifts have to be explained.   We also have a fair amount of rehashing of prior years gifts and holidays  - my parents are still haunted by having to assemble a Barbie McDonald's (for me) and a He-Man castle (for my brother) in the middle of the night.  So many pieces and stickers, we did each love those toys....I know that is my favorite time of the day, the gifts are open and we can just visit.


Too soon, K had to head back home, he had the Texans game on Sunday and we had a hungry dog at home.    I was able to spend the night and enjoy more time with my family since my sister had offered to drive me home Sunday - Thanks Laura and Chris!  From the way the game went today, I definitely had the better end of the deal and attended the better game.
  
Unfortunately, Chris wasn't feeling well so he spent part of the evening napping.  I really hope this isn't a trend that someone is sick each time we get together - last time it was my hubby, this time it was sis' boyfriend.     

Since he wasn't feeling well, I went with my sister to her friend's party, her stand-in 'date'.    I knew a few people at the party, though I hadn't seen them in many years.  It was a fun, fairly small gathering and they did a white elephant, I played using Chris' gift.    I've found how to get a great white elephant gift, when I am playing with someone else's gift and I know I won't keep what I get - enjoy your pottery barn gift card Laura!   I am so glad we'd eaten before we got there, I nibbled a little bit but did a fairly good job of staying out of the food and I had some punch but quickly switched to water -- trying to keep my holiday calories in check.   I did get to taste the funfetti dip that I've read about on my sis's blog, and tasted (just 1 bite) a jalapeno poppers dip (think of the cheesy inside of a popper).



The extra time with my family was just what I needed. No one knows me like my family and we don't get to spend enough time together.  A favorite image of this year's holidays will be Mache walking around singing Christmas carols, she has a wonderful singing voice...

Chris fits right in and shows us some new ways to spend time together.  I've always thought a 'gamer' meant a videogamer, which he is, but he is also a big boardgamer and has already introduced me to several new games -- and I foresee some of them being purchased so we have them to play all the time.  This weekend we played King of Tokyo and Wits and Wagers.

I keep forgetting its Sunday night since I don't have work tomorrow.   gotta love working at a university that closes this time of year :)   We have some plans for the week - including Christmas with the Tuckers! - and will enjoy the time off together.

wow, busy weekend.....I am nowhere near ready to head back to work tomorrow and yet I wouldn't trade this weekend for anything.

On Saturday, we hosted all of Kevin's side of the family (15 adults + 6 kids) for our Christmas gathering and had such a great time!!!   I loved getting to visit with everyone, and since everyone brought different dishes to share it wasn't too much work for anyone.  We ended up with more desserts than anything else!  Only 2 members of the family weren't able to make it -one cousin was in Washington state with Sam Houston State for their playoff game (we had it on tv and they won!).   I was really happy to meet the newest member of the family, baby Caroline... she is so cute, and our niece was in awe of her -- a living version of her baby dolls!

The kids (ages 3 to 13) even had their own space and spent most of it playing Rockband -- next time we need to teach them how to change songs.  they probably know how to...and yet we kept hearing the same song (The Killers when we were young) over and over and over.  We love that our house is large enough to host everyone, and hope to have many more gatherings - its actually our second time to host Christmas.

We cleaned up a bit last night, including fixing a chair that the rung had come out -- picnic table makes a great work bench!   After that we watched part of "Office Space"  - K can quote nearly all of it, and yet we still love to watch it, and then crashed -- its a busy day being host/hostess!


Today (Sunday) I went to the Texans game with Kevin. Thanks to my mother-in-law for letting me use her ticket!  It was a rainy day when we headed down there (perfect weather to wake up early and read my book, yes I'm a nerd).  We played the Colts, great to win and with that win we are once again AFC SOUTH Champs!

We wrapped up our day with takeout deep dish pizza from a great local place.   We were planning to eat there but they let us know they were only doing take out, actually worked out better - we could spend a little time at home with Smokey (he spent Saturday at my in-laws).

12/12/12

Its the last repeating number date of our lifetimes, 12/12/12. Odd to realize it since we've had one every year since 2001....which means, the whole time K and I have known each other we've had one...its the end of an era...not really.


On the news, the date has been made a big deal by many people - weddings, casino openings, even lottery numbers (a lady at work bought her tickets!).

I've never been one to make a big deal about the date, though I do love my birthday :)  The one repeating date we did like was 7/7/07 and we thought about getting married that day, though we thought of it about a YEAR later than anyone who did get married that day.

We didn't do anything really memorable for the day, but did have a great dinner out, which always makes for a fun Wednesday.

It will be memorable for Kevin that he finished grading his finals today, a great accomplishment!

Happy happy birthday to my big brother!

I'm so glad I'm finished Christmas shopping and can really enjoy the season.  One day I will learn to start earlier,  who are we kidding -no I won't!  I think we did pretty good on selecting gifts and even had some new people to buy for this year.   Online shopping is a godsend, and I even got Kevin to help me in picking out a few gifts.

We have get-togethers planned with both sides of the family that I am very excited for, and are even planning to meet up with a childhood friend of K's over the holiday.

Tonight I'm off to a gathering of my bookclub, so glad we don't do a book in December!  I'm STILL trying to finish my Game of Thrones book - lost where I was and turns out I was even further than I thought I was...i WILL finish it by the end of the year.

I found a new discovery on youtube today -- there are videos on how to pronounce certain words, very helpful so I can learn to pronounce a name I've seen in print but never known how to say!  Always good to do your homework :)

Christmas randomness and a few tips

Its no fun being sick....I definitely got the cold that Kevin had over Thanksgiving.   So this weekend consisted of a lot of time sitting in my chair, sneezing and dosing up with meds.   I am so happy we live in an area where we can get food delivered and that I have a sweet hubby who will pick up food.  We had to delay seeing "Lincoln" another week, hopefully we can get there next weekend and it'll still be in the theaters.  

I have a lot of Christmas shopping I need to do, but it'll just have to wait until I feel better.....more time to get ideas, right?!?!?  I'm so glad I already decided not to do Christmas cards this year, that is already making this busy season less stressful.

We did get out the Christmas decorations and put up the tree, and for the first time have some outdoor lights (we actually did the lights over Thanksgiving).   I'm slowly learning how to pack the decorations up to make the following year easier, things I did last year that helped us out:

• packed the tree skirt with the tree
• labeled the boxes containing the lights - meant we didn't have to open the rest of the boxes to find them
• have the lights rolled up with both ends sticking out to easily be able to plug them in and make sure they work before putting them on the tree

Improvements to make for next year:

• pack the wreath hanger with the wreath
• make sure all rolls of lights have the correct end on the outside
• label the rest of the boxes 
• pack like things together - I'm getting better at that but still have instances of ' put it wherever it fits'

I always mean to buy an ornament when we travel and nearly always forget...I really wish we'd bought one in Tahoe, but I never seem to think of it when we're ON the trip...oh well, something to strive for on our next trip.   I do find some random ones at the store, I love my new Homer ornament.

Its hard to believe that is the LAST week of classes for the fall semester!