Resolutions: Week 2 of the New Year…

In keeping w/our Family Resolutions,we played “Chutes and Ladders” last night. Of course, we had to wait until Shrimp took one of her quick naps because she was ALL over the board and game pieces. 4 year old Razz has been great w/helping w/the laundry by pairing socks!

Now, I didn’t add “more home cooked meals and NEW recipes” onto our Family Resolutions, but we are trying to do that as well. Last night’s dinner was slow cooked Ropa Vieja. It didn’t look as pretty as the picture from the recipe, but it wasn’t bad at all. It was a bit bland…definitely adding a little bit more salt next time.

As for MY resolutions, I have been more patient w/my girls, though I could be even more so I’m working on that still. I have been good w/my skincare routine and also looking more put together when heading out. As for exercise, that’s a negative, but it’s also because I’ve been fighting bad acid reflux lately so I spend a lot of time being all miserable and heart-burny. Then, we got SNOW yesterday – our 1st real snow of the season! That made jogging outdoors impossible and forget trying to get to the gym.

I still need to work on the letting go of the past thing, but all others are pretty much lining up nicely. Look, 3 blog entries in 1 week! WOOT! I even took pics while cooking yesterday! Unfortunately, no nice pics of snow…it was BITTER cold and windy. We only left the house to pick up the big girl from school. It’s also hard when I have my 15 month old to carry around b/c she can’t figure out how to walk on the snow yet and I wouldn’t let her anyway. The wind was blowing snow everywhere so the grounds were very uneven – one spot had barely a dusting…the next step had snow up half my leg! Hard to see from that pic, but at least you can see some spots where the grass is popping out and then you see the girls with their feet / ankles buried a few feet later!

So, how are you doing with your resolutions or were you one of those that “resolved not to make resolutions” (I’ve done that as well…hehehe).

Family Resolutions

So, it’s a New Year and if you’re like most of the rest of the world, you’ve made resolutions (as have I…see previous post). I actually broke some already, but not intentionally…but that’s another story.

Anywho, Angie over at sevenclowncircus and ebates tweeted about family goals and I thought it was a splendid idea! So, for us, nothing major…taking baby steps.

So here they are…Family Resolutions 2012:

Girls (6 and 4 year old) will help me more w/laundry by pairing socks. Going to make it fun like playing Memory! Also, they like to fold pants, so they can do that as well.

We will also incorporate Family BOARD Game Nights. Sure, we all play Just Dance (1, 2, 3 and Summer Party) on the Wii and other VIDEO games, but I want to bring back the BOARD games. We tried doing this a couple of years ago w/Beans and we kept it for a few weeks, but not consistently. pDaddy used the time to nap or play Modern Warfare (totally negating the whole premise of it! lol). So, now, we will designate WEDNESDAYS as game night b/c there’s something going on other nights (basketball, dance, etc.). We will play board games as a family starting this week and, hopefully, until a LONG, LONG time from now 🙂 So, this week’s game? CHUTES and LADDERS 🙂

Did you make any Family Resolutions?

HAPPY NEW YEAR! NEW YOU! NEW ME!

OK, I’m back and I hope to be back for more than just a post here and there. It’s been crazy around my neck of the woods…First of all, we moved from NJ to Illinois! After 27 years on the fast-paced East Coast, we are now in the Heartland…the Land of Lincoln. I’ll get into more details in the future, I hope, but I just wanted to drop in and dust off some cobwebs first.

It’s a NEW YEAR and, like everyone else it seems, it’s a new year for a new me. Not only am I talking in a weight-loss sense, but just being more put together. On that note, here are my resolutions this year:

1 – Be more patient…especially w/my 3 daughters.

2 – Follow through w/skincare routine – I’m amazed at how often I have gone w/o washing my face at night / morning. My HUGE pores are a testament to that.

3 – Take care of myself more / be more “put together” before heading out – I work from home so it’s easy for me to stay in PJs all day. If I have to run out to pick up the big girl or to run a quick errand, I usually just throw on a sweatshirt and, depending on the season, wear my boots, sneakers or flip-flops. I need to take the time to put on a little make-up – even just eyeliner, mascara & lip whatever makes a difference! I need to put an outfit together and look put together. I need to do this, it actually makes me feel good when I look good (well, not to sound conceited, but you know…not like I just rolled out of bed kind of thing).

In 2011, I discovered youtube sensation Michelle Phan and OMG…she has inspired to put on my best face…or any face except the one that is drab. I know, she’s been around, but hey, I don’t know why I never took advantage of all the web had to offer (tutorials and such). I found her when searching youtube on how to do a “smokey eye“.

I also discovered some style bloggers and my fave is Tanesha. She is just amazing! This girl can put together any outfit AND isn’t a stick… The girl has curves and she loves them! She puts classic pieces together w/the latest trends and can mix and match high-end designers w/some affordable brands too! Besides all that, I think she loves peep-toe heels as much as I do! Enough exclamation points there?

Her fame has blown up in 2011 and she has her own billboard out in Times Square, but you know what? She STILL takes time to reply to the “little people” via her blog and/twitter! She just gained even more respect by doing that.

4 – Exercise at least 2-3x / wk for at least half an hour at a time. I need to get this “baby weight” off already! Shrimp was born in September of 2010. I weighed the most while pregnant with her and actually got stretch marks that I never got w/the other 2. She was a big baby, born at 9lbs 12.3oz so yeah, I was house while pregnant w/her. I cannot count the amount of times people would ask me if I had twins in there. In 2011, I lost weight and I gained some back. I cannot seem to keep the weight off, but I know what I need to do. I need to exercise more, practice healthier eating and portion control. I need to do all that and keep at it. I have been on and off w/twitter and blogging, but I’m trying to come back. I used to keep tabs on Zoot & Laura, but again, have been off the blogosphere. Well, I’m going to follow misszoot and laura closely since they are motivating me to get out there and move!

5 – Eat healthier and give up soda. Goes w/the exercise and weight loss. What I want is to gain a sense of pride, confidence, self esteem. I think all of that can be achieved once I get to a healthier me. I looked at myself in the mirror and almost don’t know who that girl is.

6 – Be more confident in myself, life and work. Again, this ties in w/exercise and weight loss for gaining confidence in myself. I need to also be more confident in my decisions in life as a woman, a wife and a mother. Sometimes, I find myself questioning things when I know I shouldn’t. I need to be more confident at work as well. Working from home for the past 6 years has taken it’s toll on me. I used to be aggressive, a “go-getter”, “on the ball”, etc. I don’t find myself there anymore. It’s hard when you are not surrounded by your peers and can’t lean on each other for things. However, I know what I know and shouldn’t question that. I do need to work on knowing more.

7- Focus more and not get easily distracted. With everything going on around me, this is going to be challenging. I work from home…I also take care of the 4 year old and 15 1/2 month old. I also have mommy-duties and chores and then wanting to do so much w/such little time. I have found myself, on more than one occassion, starting something and then going to do something else…like this blog entry. I started this, but then go back and forth between my girls and work. But, hey…that’s life. Life Happens. I just need to make sure I don’t get distracted w/menial things.

8 – Blog again…this poor home of mine on the interwebs has been left “undone” too long…

9 – Pay off my credit cards. I make this sound worse than it really is. I am actually at a decent place in my life when it comes to credit card debt. The crazy, college shopper has learned her lesson. I just don’t like having ANY balances on my cards, but know that, in order to build and get better credit, you need to use the cards and show that you can pay them off. There was actually a couple of years where I didn’t have anything on my cards and a couple of the lenders actually closed them due to inactivity! I had no idea they could that 😦

10 – Pray more…I may not be all that religious (No, I don’t go to Mass every Sunday), but I still have my faith…I just need to get in touch w/that side more. I actually found a Bible at TJMaxx the other day. I think I may go back for it, though I think I want the one that has explanations in it…kind of like “Cliffs Notes” or something.

11 – Take more pictures! I have TOTALLY slacked in this area. pDaddy has gotten into photography more than I have in the past few years so I’ve become dependent on him to take the photos. I need to do this more though…especially since I’m the one home w/the girls more. He can play w/his 5D and I’ll take the good ol’ Rebel…If you know of any photo sites or weekly photo challenges, please let me know.

12 – Let go of the past…no holding grudges even after forgiving. For me, it’s always been easy to forgive, but I have a hard time forgetting.

Well, I think that’s it. What do you want to accomplish in 2012? Are you out there? If you are, HELLO! Welcome aboard or Welcome back 🙂 Do share your goals in the comments, please 🙂

Hope that you and yours had a fantabulous holiday season!

2008 Resolutions

2008 Resolutions

• Lose Weight – I need to lose 25-30 pounds by the end of June.  I lost all of the weight I gained during my pregnancy with Razz.  Problem is, I never lost all of my weight from my 1st pregnancy (Beans).  My sister is getting married at the end of June and then pDaddy, the girls and I are off on a family vacation in July.  I’d like to be in some sort of shape by then or at least close to what I weighed BEFORE Beans was born 2 years ago.  I need to find time to workout so that brings me to…
• Manage Time Better – I need to really balance work, life and time for myself.  I work from home so that gets me to spend time with the girls and am always home by the time pDaddy gets home from work.  I like to eat dinner together since that is the only meal where we can do that except on weekends – it’s too crazy in the mornings to eat breakfast together.  So, I guess I balance work and family life ok, but I don’t really take time for myself – even if it is just blogging or getting a facial or massage or something.  Currently, the only time for myself doesn’t even amount to 2 hours per day.  Most of it is just when I shower and, gross as it sounds, I don’t even shower daily.  Plus, now, Beans jumps in the shower w/me to save time.  The other time for myself is spent surfing the web and attempting to blog, then discarding it… reading other people’s blogs and pondering their thoughts and checking out flickr.
• Take the World in More – Appreciate the little things in life.  Stop and smell the roses.  Take more pictures of everyday things.
• Blog More – Self explanatory, but I’ll explain anyway 🙂  I have been gone for pretty much a year and am still having a hard time catching up / getting back into the swing of blogging.  Part of me doesn’t really want to blog anymore, but I really want to be able to look back at something to remember were we were during these times in our lives; I want to be able to capture milestones in Beans’ and Razz’ lives – not to mention mine and pDaddy’s on something concrete and not in a planner I’ll most likely throw away.  Now, I just have to hope that the internet will still be around when my grandchildren are born.
• Post Old Drafts  🙂  I have a few drafts sitting around and I really should just post them already.  Well, I finally posted this one – so I’m sorta on my way there.
• Post Pictures – We take a lot of pictures.  It takes time to go through them all and pick the best ones.  So, we fall behind here and there…like now.  I have yet to go through pictures 2 months worth of pictures.  I just finally sent out our Thanksgiving to family and friends last week, but I haven’t gotten them up on Flickr yet.  Ayy…I’ll get there.
• Breathe – Just breathe.  Especially when the stress hits.  Or the Terrible/Terrific Two Toddler.  Or Work.  Or Family.  Or whatever.  Breathe.  Just breathe.  In.  Out.  In.  Out.

Here’s to a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year 🙂