10 in 2010 Challenge - Resulution #1

I am officially launching my "10 In 2010 Challenge!"

For those of you who remember this post, I'm big on the resolutions, and have challenged all of you to join in.

Throughout the month of December I will be posting all ten of my resolutions - I haven't thought of them all, but I WILL have ten by the time 2010 rolls around.

Without further ado....

Resolution #1:

I am somewhat cheating on resolution #1 because it's a resolution that I've had in the past. I enjoyed it so much that I'm bringing it back for 2010. I will read 1 book each month for a total of 12 books for the year 2010. My first book:



Yup, that's right - I'm jumping on the bandwagon.

So who wants to join my "10 in 2010 Challenge?"

Post your Resolution #1 in my comments section - that way we can share ideas in case anyone gets stuck coming up with 10.

Remember to challenge yourself to make your resolutions action oriented, and specific....it's more fun that way!

Let the games begin!!!

Bring On The Christmas

No denying it now.

Christmas is right around the corner. 25 days around the corner.

I was trying to ignore all of the Christmas decorations that had exploded everywhere before Thanksgiving because COME ON can we just enjoy Thanksgiving and THEN deal with Christmas??? Geesh.

And the carols? Already? Seriously? I was standing in line to get a coffee last week trying very hard to ignore:

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh the weather outside is frightful....."

Nope, no frightful weather. Crisp. Fall. Colored leaves. Thanksgiving.

"But the fiiiiiiiiire is soooooooooo delightful!"

Ahhhh nope. No fire. Pilgrims. Apple Pie. Turkey. Stuffing......

"And since we've no where to goooooooooooooo...."

Hmmm. I have somewhere to go. And if this putz in front of me didn't order enough coffee to caffeinate a small South American village, I'D BE THERE BY NOW!!!

"LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOWWWWWWWW!"

No, no, no. No snow. Please, no f-ing snow. Not yet. Just Thanksgiving. Please. For the love of God.

On a positive note, I once again completed a road race on Thanksgiving morning. Not only did I complete 5 miles without stopping, I beat my time from last year. I managed to shave a whole 12 seconds off my time.

What? 12 seconds is good right?

Battling On.....

I so rock.

Yup, patting my own back here....pat, pat, pat.

I've been really watching what enters my mouth (get your minds out of the gutter)- and have been hitting the gym pretty hard.

In two weeks I've lost a total of 4.2 lbs. I am almost and I stress almost, out of the 150s.

Bring on Thanksgiving because I'm still going to lose this week!!!

Ouchy

Last week I was in the supermarket purchasing items for a client luncheon I was about to host.

I zipped through the self checkout and headed towards the door. With my purse in my left hand, and a bag with two 2-liter bottles of soda in my right, I was quickly heading to the exit as the heel of my shoe slid on the shiny linoleum floor.

I teetered left....I teetered right......left.....right.....

Next thing I knew, I was on the ground. My sunglasses had flown off my head, and slid about 6 feet in front of me. I looked up in complete embarrassment as I witnessed the bottles of soda start to slowly roll in the direction of my sunglasses. At this point I'm realizing that not only did I just completely wipe out, I had wiped out AND created a scene.

Within seconds patrons were surrounding me talking very, very loudly:

"MA'AM - ARE YOU OKAY - CAN YOU GET UP - MA'AM? MA'AMMMM?"

Did they think I went deaf on my down to the ground?

So here I am, sprawled on the supermarket floor, surrounded by market shoppers, my belongings strewn EVERYWHERE, when I realize......ohhhhhh no.....I'm about to cry.....

I swallowed my tears as the bagger boy grabbed my arm and helped me to my feet. The other patrons gathered my belongings and handed them to me.

"Do you want us to call the manager? We can call the manager. You should sit down for a minute. Ma'am, please sit down. Ma'am?"

I thanked everyone for helping me, and bolted out the door before I broke down in complete and utter hysterics - half crying because I managed to twist my ankle and it was throbbing, and half laughing because OMIGOD I just totally wiped out in front of about 20 people.

Turns out - the ankle is sprained.

That's what I've been up to. How about yourself?

Following Directions.

The "12 items or less" aisle at the supermarket is for shoppers who are planning to purchase 12 items. Or less.

14 is not 12.

18 is not 12.

13 is not 12, but I'll let it pass since it's pretty darn close.

The other lanes are for shoppers that have more than 12 items.

Yeah, that's right Mr. Can't Follow Directions. The patrons behind you noticed that you had 18 items in the "12 items or less" lane.

Douche.

Already?

Last week I was shopping at the local drugstore for a birthday card when I noticed something horrific: Christmas cards are ALREADY gracing the shelves.
**SIGH**

It's here already???

There are approximately 6 weeks left in 2009. 2010 is peaking out at us from around the corner, and I'm a huge believer in New Years resolutions. WAIT - don't shoot - let me explain!!!

In 2006 I made some really hard core resolutions for 2007:
1) Become a certified SPIN instructor
2) Volunteer
3) Read one book a month
4) Take piano lessons

These are things that I always wanted to do and never had the time, the money, the drive or the guts. In 2007 I made the time, had the money, and mustered up the courage and the motivation. At the end of 2007, I had completed each one of these resolutions. Now, I teach my own SPIN class on Monday nights, and I volunteer every other Saturday at an animal sheltering organization. I kept up the piano lessons for a year and half but unfortunately had to shelve them for now (to save money) but plan on taking them up again someday. The reading has also taken a back seat, but I did complete the twelve books for 2007.

I got lazy for 2008 and 2009 and didn't make any resolutions, however, 2009 has been my biggest year yet: bought my first home, moved in with Brian, got ENGAGED to Brian, and I'll be obtaining my graduate degree next month. It's probably a good thing I didn't make any resolutions, since I really don't think I had any room for them this year.

2010 is coming up, and I'm starting to think of some new resolutions. I'm putting out a challenge. A New Years resolution challenge. I challenge each of you to come up with 10 (YES 10) action-oriented resolutions. What do I mean by action oriented? Here is an example: "I want to lose weight in 2010." That resolution is too vague, and chances are, you'll have given up by mid-January. Instead, try something like: "I'm going to take that Zumba class/rock climb/run a race" whatever. Another example: "I want to be a better person in 2010." What does that mean? How are you going to be a better person? So instead, "I will become a big sister/serve meals at homeless shelters/walk dogs for a shelter/participate in fundraisers...etc."

Resolutions can be as simple as: "I want to FINALLY clean out my bedroom closet."

Get creative, have fun with it. It's not meant to be about stress or anxiety, and it doesn't have to cost a dime. It's about finally doing something you've always wanted to do, and just haven't. So start thinking about it. 2010 is going to be a great year!

Let's Play!!

Tricking & Treating

In honor of our pending nuptials, Brian decided to dress up as his favorite Spartan Warrior......

....and I got to be his Spartan Queen.....Obviously.

I figured if Brian got to sport a fake chest, then I should too - I stuffed enough toilet paper in my bra to start a small fire. His chest still managed to be bigger than mine. Lucky.

Some of my faves:

I usually hate spiders, but I had a change of heart after meeting this one:


What do you get when you mix together a spartan, a cowboy, a hippie, and a race car driver? Grown men looking absolutely ridiculous!


They were just so big and juicy. I just couldn't resist.....


.....realllllll classy Grecian Queen....real classy!




See you next year!