Thanks to Elastigirl...

for nominating me for this award. She is truly one of my closest friends, and I miss her a little bit most days and a whole lot on others. Our time together IRL is precious, but the blog she writes allows me to be with her off and on throughout the week. Thank goodness for the internet.

Here's the explanation and the silly rules that go with it:"These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."

As for the bloggers that are important friends to me, many have already gotten the award, but I will still list them here:

• Curly Girl: More than just a friend, she is my wonderful sister and inspires me to be more like her every day.
• Jennie: More family, and one of the funniest writers I have ever known.
• Mrs. Swizzle: One of the best all time blog tag lines: Do you ever feel like someone has put a swizzle stick into the top of your head and just stirred things around a little? I do, and I am glad to know there are other people like that in the world.
• Mary Beth: My first blog friend that I met after I read her blog. It was quite exhilarating. Thank goodness she is the least anonymous blogger in the whole world :)
• Princess Mindy: So interesting, and so creative. I look forward to meeting her IRL someday.
• Perplexity Project: More family, and really smart and insightful. Makes me think, which is always good.

So, looking here, I realize I need to make more blog friends. But I love the ones I have. Thanks to you all for brightening my life.

Looking Back at 2008

Reflecting on the last year, I was trying to decide what I had learned from 2008. There are so many things, but here are just a few, in no particular order:

• I am happier today than I was 5 years ago. I am focused on a goal, and working toward doing something I love instead of just existing. It really does matter.
• "You set your own price in this world" - this is a quote from my friend J, an economist. He told me that it was something his mama always told him. I repeat that to myself a lot these days.
• Things don’t get easier when you put them off. Procrastinating is never the right answer.
• Once it gets above 110 degrees outside, it really doesn’t matter if it is a dry heat or not. Really. It doesn’t.
• facebook. Enough said.
• I can be a skinny person. I can lose the weight that I want to lose, and keep it off. I just don’t know exactly how I will accomplish it.
• You don’t have to see your friends everyday for them to be really good friends.
• I have a lot to learn, even now.
  

What did you learn?

Wonderful Christmas

I had a wonderful Christmas this year. Surrounded by family, watching The Present open presents ALL DAY LONG (Christmas in the morning and birthday at night) and being delighted that he wanted to try and read every book that he got (he probably got about 15 books - the kid loves to read) and then sitting down on his own to try to read a book we got for Dimples when everyone else was busy.

Dimples was a force to be reckoned with, and no matter how many girly toys I got her (a baby doll and a pink boat) she just wanted to play with The Present's new cars. That one might be a tomboy, we'll see. She did give the baby a kiss, I think, but maybe she was just trying to put the baby's head in her mouth - she's been doing a lot of that since she started getting teeth.

For the first time in a long time, Curly Girl and I surprised our parents with their big gift. An electric smoker. Dad had been talking about it with her back in October, and she filed that info away and we did some research. Plus we got to benefit the next day when he smoked some ribs. Fantastic, his first try. YUM! In a world where we want to be sure that we get the right thing, our family has gotten in the habit of talking through what we want, and there aren't many surprises on Christmas morning. It was fun.

All in all, it was a wonderful holiday, filled with family and happiness. Hope that yours was amazing too.

Holiday Blogging

Well, I have to say I've missed a lot of my favorite bloggers over the last week or two. All of us seem to be busy, busy, busy. So I think I'll just make a post to give you all something to read, and maybe you'll take pity on me a post a blog about something for me.

I told a good friend about my blog the other day (he actually knew about it, but just never had signed on before) and he said it was interesting how all my blogging friends seemed to know each other. I thought how funny that was, because there are people that only know each other through the blog, like Elastigirl and Jennie, and while they are both important to me, they have never met IRL.

And so I explained to him that blogging is just like that, we find out about others thoughts and lives and learn from each of the blogs we read. I love clicking through the blogs that are interesting to my blogging friends and learn something new or laugh or look at things differently with each click.

So Merry Christmas to all who read this blog. And thanks to all of you who have enlightened me in one way or another during the last year.

Never Go to the Grocery Store Hungry!

One of my key rules to weight loss, but I broke it tonight. I am often weak once the food makes it into my apartment, so I just do not bring it home. Makes the decision what to eat much easier. Not sure why I broke the rule tonight, except I didn't really think I was hungry.

I went to one of my favorite new grocery stores here in the desert, called Fresh & Easy. They are a grocery store that operates on a smaller scale than most of their competitors, so it is eashy to run in and get out usually. The best part about them is that they have amazing store brands. Not only do they cost less most of the time, but they also use only natural ingredients. No artificial flavors or colors, no hormones in their meats, nothing with 16 syllables on the ingredient list. No high fructose corn syrup in their ketchup. Really good products. And they taste great too. The first part of tonight's breakdown. And when they want to get rid of stuff (if it going to expire soon, or if they are overstocked on it) the sell it at HALF price. AWESOME (and part two of tonight's breakdown).

So I went in to look for one thing - I wanted some blue cheese for salad - and came out with a ton of half price stuff that I did not intend to buy. Corn bread, frozen empenadas, green beans and much more. And almost none of it is on the Weight Watchers Core program. So at 35 points a week, it will take a while to consume. My only ray of sunshine is that this week Weight Watchers is unveiling a new program (called Momentum) so maybe I'll be able to have some of it sooner. Yum.

"Christmas is Coming"

Today was the first Sunday in Advent, tomorrow is December 1st, and its beginning to feel like Christmas. Not weatherwise, of course, because when you live in a desert, winter is mostly 75 degrees and sunny, which is not very traditional Christmas weather to me.

So I've been listening to Christmas music in the car (there is a radio station that has been playing it since early November, but I have not listened mostly on principle - there is something wrong with Christmas carols before Thanksgiving!) which always helps me get in the mood. I tend to sing out loud whenever I hear any Christmas music (which was kind of embarrassing at the big orange box today, when I was singing Feliz Navidad - "I want to wish you a Merry Christmas" - when I walked up to one of the cashiers I work with). Ah well.

Anyway, I'm getting in the mood. And I am wondering what Christmas music really makes it feel like Christmas for everyone else. Mine is all of the album from "To Wish You a Merry Christmas" by Harry Belefonte. My mom loves this album, and I associate it with the Christmas season - playing it on the day after Thanksgiving, and then again when we were decorating the Christmas Tree, and again on Christmas Day.

So what about you? Which song do you have to hear in order to be ready to celebrate Christmas?

I'm Thankful

I really don't understand where we got the tradition of calling Thanksgiving "Turkey Day" - I know I do it, and I know lots of others do it without any desire to demean the Thanksgiving holiday, but in preparation for this years Thanksgiving holiday, here are the top 5 things I am thankful for.

• I am learning something new, so that I can do something I love for the rest of my life.
• I have a family who loves and supports me in everything (OK, most everything) I do.
• I am healthier this year than I have been in years, and I am on the way to being the healthiest that I have been in my life.
• I still have friends who can make me laugh so hard it makes my stomach hurt.
• I have a roof over my head and a place to call my own.

So, I am starting a meme. My first ever. I tag Elastigirl, Curly Girl, Mrs. Swizzle, Jennie and Princess Mindy. What are you thankful for this year? Give me a Top 5 List.