(via: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-D9aOPgN63LA/TdhxciZxP5I/AAAAAAAABQM/OC9kG0Uz8iw/s1600/2012+wallpapers+pics.jpg)

 **I actually wrote this post yesterday, but wordpress decided to be a jerk and delete half of it when I tried to submit it. I just didn’t have it in me to write it all out again last night, so you’ll get double the post love from me today! :)

Happy New Year!

I hope you all had a fabulous evening celebrating the end of 2011 last night, and that you’re all enjoying the first bit of 2012 so far. The Hubster and I actually did make it to midnight (much to my own surprise) and spent a perfectly lovely evening ringing in the new year with Hockey Night in Canada… even though the Leafs lost.

*sigh*

As has been tradition for the last several years, I love to begin each new year by reviewing my goals for the previous ones, and setting new goals for the year to come. So, let’s have a look at my plan for 2011:

1) Run. (As often as I can. I’d like to try for 3 times a week.)
Well, I had such good intentions for this one–I ran sporadically through March and April and was ready to hit the pavement hard in May / June as the weather got a little nicer. Annnnd then I found out that I was pregnant. I know that it can be safe to run during pregnancy if you’re already an experienced runner, but as I didn’t feel I fit into that category and I already had so many anxieties about the pregnancy I decided to forgo my running season this year.

2) Eat well.
I actually have done considerably well with this, and knowing that someone else is depending on me to eat well has helped me a lot. I couldn’t even look at sweets for the first trimester, so my diet adapted to include many lovely fruits and vegetables that I would normally avoid due to laziness. As a result I feel great, and I’ve only gained 23 pounds through my pregnancy so far (I lost a pound this week… I’ll find it again. haha).

3) Finish writing my book.
Yeaaah… no. This didn’t happen. With everything that happened this year I just couldn’t commit myself to the project. It’s something I hope to keep picking at though!

4) Revive my blog. (Write every day until the end of January… then try for Feb!)
I DID do this… for a while. I was so proud of myself for writing every day for months… then the house and pregnancy happened and it all went to pot. It’s so hard to balance everything, but I miss writing so much when I let it slip.

5) Have at least one girl’s night a month.
Success! Our lovely book club meets every month, and when we can we’ll meet up in between for dinners or hangouts. In fact, I think we’re well overdue for another…

6) Have a date night with my Hubster every week.
I wouldn’t say that we have had official “date nights” each week, but we do try to set aside time to spend together when we can. For a while we declared Home Depot our date night store, as every spare penny we had was poured into improving our home. In any case, we always find time to be together. :)

7) Run a 5km or 10km race. (Anyone want to do this with me????)
Ugh. No. I had my race picked out but couldn’t do it. Next year!

8) Feel good in my clothes (aka– drop a few.)
…I DO feel good in my clothes, but only because I heart my baby bump! haha!

9) Be brave.
Yes and no. There were certain things I had in mind when I chose this as a goal, and in some respects I feel it was successful, but there is still definitely room for improvement.

10) Find a full-time teaching job. (or at least an LTO)
WIN! It didn’t happen in the way I expected, or when I thought it would, but I found my job at my favorite school. Life is good.

11) Take at least one more AQ course.
Done! I took a course about teaching students with communication needs (focusing on Autism) from January – May of this year, and while the timing of the course was terrible for me, I loved the material. It was just hard trying to balance school, work and moving all at once!

12) Be grateful.
For a while I was writing out lists of what I was grateful for each week, and it definitely helped me keep things in perspective. I am definitely grateful for everything I have in my life, and I continue to work hard at making sure I am expressing that!

13) Travel somewhere.
Well, traveling didn’t happen this year… hopefully we’ll be able to take the wee-bean on her first family vacation some time in the next 12 months!

14) Watch less TV. (Get rid of at least two TV shows)
DONE! By March of last year I had cut out nearly half of the TV shows I was watching. Now I’m down to roughly 5 or 6 shows that I follow each week, which works out to maybe an hour a day. I can live with that.

15) Read 100 books.
Fail. Again, I just didn’t have the time. I set this goal before my course, the move, the pregnancy and then work and I just couldn’t keep up the rigorous reading schedule it would have required. I made it to 45, which I am still proud of!

So, I didn’t complete all my goals for 2011, but overall I’m quite happy with what I did accomplish, considering the year I had.

Sometimes you just can’t predict what life will throw your way.

That being said, I still love making goals, and wanted to set some new ones for 2012. Here we go!

1) Take care of myself. (If I learned anything from the last year, it’s that I tend to take on WAY too much, stress out and overwhelm myself, then forget to find the balance I need to be healthy and happy. With the wee-bean’s imminent arrival, I need to take care of myself in order to properly take care of her and the Hubster and enjoy the life I want. I know this will mean learning how to say “no” in certain situations, something I’ve never been good at.)
2) Express Gratitude.
3) Eat well.
4) Exercise regularly & feel good in my clothes.
5) Run a race.
6) Read often.
7) Write often.
8) Set aside time to spend with my Hubster, that doesn’t involve working on our house.
9) Read the Book of Mormon.
10) Be a good mom.

I have a billion other goals that tie into some of these, but this is what I’d  like to focus on for 2010. I know that our lives are about to change completely (for the better) and I want the focus for this year to be on the happiness and health of my family. I know deep down that that begins with me–so my goal for this year is to become a more balanced, healthier version of my past self.

I don’t really know that this next year holds for me, but if contains even a smidgen of the awesomeness that was 2011, bring it on.

I realize that that probably makes me sound incredibly shallow, but I can’t help it. I always hit a point where my hair has been in a similarish style for several months and I start thinking about ways I can change it up to make it more exciting.

I went to Btown last weekend to see my family while the Hubster went camping. Spart had a hair appointment on Saturday, and since we have the same stylist, I decided to go with her to see if I could get my bangs trimmed at the same time. As the stylist started working with her hair, I felt old, familiar pangs of jealousy that I’ve been dealing with my whole life.

You see, I’ve always felt like I got the short end of the stick when it comes to hair in my family. Both my sisters have amazing, red, curly hair–like stop in the street to stare amazing red hair.

We a little bit like a Brady Bunch family in that we have an even split with the children in our family–three boys and three girls. Doodle is the oldest, then all three of us girls followed in succession. Peeah  is the oldest girl, and she ended up with huge, dark red curls:

Next was Spart, and she too ended up with red curls:

And then I came along, and I got neither the red hair or the big curls like my sisters. My hair is much more of a brownish auburn color, and while my hair is wavy, it doesn’t do nearly what both Peeah’s and Spart’s does.

So, I’ve always been a little bit jealous. You always want what you don’t have, right?

With some effort, I used to be able to scrunch it up and get some fun curly waves. I didn’t even own a straightener in the days before I met the Hubster when I lived on my own in The City. And while they aren’t the same big curls like my sisters, I used to love when I could get my hair to do this:

And yes, I used to be a blonde:

I was barely 19 – 20 in those photos, and that’s really the last time that I remember having really good curly hair. Not long after I got married I bought my first hair straightener and I’ve had one ever since. It didn’t even occur to me that straightening my hair every day could make me lose what little curl I did have. As time as passed I’ve noticed that when I did want to leave my hair curly, it just didn’t seem to have the same… oomph that it used to.

So, as I was sitting in the salon with Spart this weekend the  stylist laughed as she noticed that her bangs don’t even curl anymore as she straightens them every day.

And it hit me: have I killed my curls?

I’ve been thinking about it since Saturday and the idea of it has made me quite sad. Then almost like she knew what I was thinking about, my friend Steph posted the most amazing curly hair tutorial on her blog last night.

While my hair is currently much longer than what is shown in the tutorial, the way in which hers curls is very similar to mine–or at least the way it used to.If you’ve been following all my weekly belly photos, you’ll see my hair is straight in almost all of them. I’ve gotten in this habit of straightening my hair every day, even though it takes more time and effort than leaving it curly.

So, I made a decision: for the next seven days I’m not going to straighten my hair.

If that goes well, I’m not going to straighten it until Christmas.

I started this morning. While I didn’t have the exact products she used, I had similar ones and followed through with what she said. I ended up with big, loose waves that I am actually loving.

They’re not the curls I used to have, but I’m intrigued to see if I can make them come back. I did have to straighten my bangs a bit as they are so short right now, but as they grow a little longer I’ll stop that as well.

I’m going out today to pick up the hair products she recommends in her post, and I’ll take regular photos to see if my hair changes at all over the next few days / weeks.

Bring on the lion hair!

I continually go through these different phases  trying to “find myself” as a writer in this little happy place.

There are days when I’m so full of ideas that writing seems effortless and everything just flows from my fingertips. Then there are days when even rehashing the events of the previous few hours seems impossible.

And then I have days where I sit and think about what I’m writing, and while it takes me a little longer, I end up with a post like this one–something that I am immensely proud of, even with its imperfections.

And then I think, that’s who I want to be. It wasn’t the just topic, or the words that I want–it’s the connection. The passion.

The response I received from my post about teaching was entirely unexpected, and I thank you all from the bottom of my heart. People I never expected to read my little blog came out of the woodwork and told me how much they enjoyed reading it.

So I got to thinking–what was so different about that post from all the others?

For me, a comment from the lovely Miss Gentle Nudge summed it up nicely:

Absolutely LOVED this post!!! While I like all your updates about anything really…because really I’m your biggest fan haha, I love that you opened up. I know it’s kind of hard for you to do sometimes, but when you do it’s amazing and knowing you outside of this blog, it makes those who don’t, better understand you.

I spend so much of my life being afraid. Seriously. I am constantly aware of how people are perceiving me and want to be liked by everyone.

Yup. I’m one of those people. I shy away from conflict  or controversy if I even think I might be involved with something that could hurt or offend someone else, and that includes my writing.

Even with my last post, I felt the twinges of concern that maybe I could offend someone with what I wrote.

Heaven forbid, what if someone doesn’t think or feel the same way I do?!

(I mean seriously, could I be more self-involved? sheesh.)

I need to learn to let go a little. I need to open up. There’s so much swirling around in my brain that I would love to write about, but I always hold myself back. I tend to shy away from topics that are really personal to me, because I know that not everyone will feel the same way I do and I’m afraid that a conflicting opinion could shake my own convictions.

But here’s the thing: I know I’ll never become a really great writer unless I test the waters a little.

Rather, unless I let you test me a little.

So, I’m going to try and be a little more honest. I’m going to try to let you in a little more, beyond the surface updates.

Don’t worry–I’m not about to go all deep, dark and twisty on you, but I do think I need to challenge myself a little more as a writer than I have been of late.

So. I’m not exactly sure what’s going to come in the next few posts, but I’m excited.

And nervous.

Here we go!

(Is there anything you’d like to hear more about?)

(Sick of me yet? ha).

It’s been a marvelous journey and little bit of a comeback for me. I made a goal to post every day for a year two years ago, but I had failed miserably by February and gave up. Somehow, this time feels different. Tackling each month as I go seems so much more manageable… and every day that I post my drive to keep writing only increases.

So, in case you were wondering–I’ve decided to keep going and give March a go!  It’s only another 31 days, and that’s not so long. March also marks the beginning of my quest to find Six Dresses in Six Months… I’ve already found my first dress and I’m really excited to show you! It’s completely different from anything I own, and I feel like it has a bit of a 1960′s vibe to it.

In case you’ve forgotten, I also made another goal for February: to be sugar & yeast free. Well, I didn’t make it all the way through, but I did make it 16 days before I found it too difficult to keep up. I feel great, and it helped kick start me into thinking about food differently, and has helped me want to take the time to prepare food that is good for me. So, while I didn’t make it as long as I wanted to, I’m proud of what I did do.

And on a similar note, I’ve decided to make a goal for March. Now that the weather is beginning to get nicer and the snow is melting, I’m running out of excuses not to exercise. Amber’s goal January Yoga challenge really inspired me, and I’m going to take on a similar one:

I want to run 6 days a week for the entire month of March.

When I stopped running last fall, I was comfortable running 6km in under an hour. It’s only been 6 months, but I know that I’m terribly out of shape and I need a bit of a boot camp. I plan to get out and run Monday – Saturday for the next four weeks.

Now then–I’m no inexperienced runner, and I know it’s not necessarily a good thing to run hard every day. I plan to alternate the intensity and lengths, but I want to get out every day. Sundays will be my day of rest, but beginning tomorrow I’m going to don my woolies and hit the pavement. Wish me luck and please send me lots of encouragement… I’m the best at making excuses not to do things that are hard. haha

So, there you have it. I feel like March is going to be a very exciting month, and I can’t wait to share it with you!

On December 29th, I finally got my act together and wrote my first blog post in over a month. I made a goal to write every day from then on until the end of January… and I’m almost there. Tomorrow is January 31st, and barring the loss of my fingers in the next 24 hours, I will have written every single day since I set this goal for myself.

I’ll be completely honest: I really didn’t think I could do it. My blogging record for 2010 was less than impressive, and while I’m wonderful at setting goals for myself…

…I’m terrible at following through. (for reals.)

But I really, really missed writing, I just couldn’t find the motivation to do so, and this little challenge really helped me push myself. I went from staring at a blank screen wondering what to write about, to having to keep a list of post titles near my laptop as I keep thinking of more things I can’t wait to tell you. I already have enough post ideas to get me most of the way through February… and you should probably be excited.

I may or may not tell you about the time I may or may not have cried at a Rob Zombie concert.

Yeah, that might have happened. (Shh.)

Anyway, the point is–blogging has found its sneaky way back into my heart. Sitting down to write has become one of my favourite parts of my day.

Writing = love.

Thanks for being here while I’ve tried to bring this baby back to life. According to Google analytics, in the past month my readership has tripled (and is still growing) and I’m even getting a comment or two on my posts again.

So, I’ve decided to keep going. I’m going to try and write every day in February and see if I can keep doing this. It feels so good to have completed a goal I set for myself.

I’m also going to set another one. Remember that time last spring when I tried the sugar-free, yeast-free diet? I made it for about two weeks before I gave in… I started supply teaching in the middle of it and found it too difficult to maintain while I was working two jobs.

…but I felt awesome while I was doing it, and I lost 4 pounds in 3 days just by changing my eating habits. So I’m going to try it again. I’m going to start small, and take it a week at a time. So, my goal is to be sugar and yeast free for the first week of February. This is what I’ll be doing:

**Week One:

-No Processed Sugar. I realize that sugar is in almost everything, so this week I’m focusing on cutting out the crap. No baked goods, no chocolate, no sugary drinks, no candy, etc.
-No Yeast. I’m saying goodbye to bread and anything else made with white flours and yeast. If I’m dying I’ll eat whole grain products.
-No Starchy foods. This one breaks my heart, but it includes saying goodbye to potatoes and corn, two of my favourite foods.
-Limited Dairy products (no cheese)

Oh, and before I go, I absolutely have to say a huge HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Miss Gentle Nudge. She is a friend and has been a long-time reader, and she often pushes me to write when it’s been a while. (that’s how she got her blog name… haha) Even when I thought that absolutely no one still read my blog, she convinced me otherwise. THANK YOU, and I hope you have had the most wonderful birthday. xo

I know I’m technically a few days late with this post, but I knew it would take me a while to get through and I didn’t want to write it in pieces, so, here I am… three days late. I figure that as long it’s still the first week of January it’s still fair game! haha

Oh 2009… where to begin. In January I “finished” school. By the end of the month I had completed the in-class portion of teacher’s college and only three placements stood between me and graduation. Completing my last university exam was such a surreal feeling, but dang it felt good!

February and March were spent teaching grade 7 and 8 in Senior’s City. After the first two weeks of placement I was positive that I hated teaching at the intermediate level and that it was going to be a miserable two months. Ha. I’m not really sure when things changed, but somewhere between chaperoning a school dance and becoming a “booze buster” I knew that I could have a very fulfilling, happy career teaching grade 7 or 8 by the time that placement ended. Except for the math part. I could live without that.

In March we also found out that Peeah was having a baby girl and managed to get away for an eventful week in Florida with my family.

I left grade 7 and spent most of April teaching a Grade 12 University level English course. The students were wonderful, but I found that what I once thought was my dream course was actually kind of… boring. Aside from trying to make Hamlet interesting, it wasn’t terribly challenging. As I continued toward the end of my year, the Hubster finished his and completed his degree in Computer Science and Business. After weeks of applications and interviews he was offered two jobs and we faced one of the biggest decisions we’ve ever had in our marriage to date. After careful thought and consideration we decided to go for the “riskier” of the two jobs–it began only as a 4 month contract–that also held the most potential. It involved moving to a city we had never considered in our previous conversations but we decided to bite the bullet and go for it.

May was one of the best and hardest months of 2009 for me. The Hubster and I spent three weeks living apart as I finished my last placement in The City, and he began preparations for us to move at home in Senior’s City. My mother kindly gave up her car for the duration and my lovely cousin invited me into her home to live with her while I finished school. Getting to know her and her family better during that time was one of the highlights of my whole year.

May was also when I fell in love with Special Education. To be honest, I had never seriously considered it–Peeah is a Spec Ed teacher and had always encouraged me to go that route, but it never held any interest for me. I took the placement because I thought it would look good on my resume. As much as I hate to admit that, it got me in the door and it’s now what I want to do most.

While my weekdays were spent in the classroom, my weekends were spent apartment hunting in our new city. After viewing several apartments that were either too pricey or too dusgusting we found a cute little 2-bedroom apartment in a fabulous location for a great price. However, there were other people viewing it at the same time we were and we had only minutes to discuss it as a possibility or else we’d lose it. Without knowing what the other tenants were like, or getting to know the neighbourhood we decided to take a chance and took it. After six months I can honestly say I couldn’t be happier… we love our new place!

June… oh June. It was full of graduations, unpacking and the beginning of the job hunt. June was full of such promise. I was turning 24, held two degrees and a professional designation and I felt confident that I’d find a teaching job in no time.

By July I realized that things are never that simple. While I continued to apply for posting after posting I tried to remain hopeful.

And then it was August and I was still out of work. I stopped counting the number of postings I had applied for over the summer, and was more than a little discouraged that I hadn’t even been able to find a part-time job in retail. The two bright spots of that month were our 4th wedding anniversary and the arrival of my beautiful niece, Princess Pea. I was at the hospital only hours after she was born and holding her for the first time was an experience I’ll treasure for the rest of my life.

In September things began to look up a bit. I finally found a part-time job, and while it isn’t glamorous, the people I work with are wonderful and it’s an income… and I’m grateful for that. I also began my French course and began volunteering at a local high school. My days went from being empty to being so full I needed an agenda just to keep track of where I was supposed to be and when. We also bought our first car and I began eating chocolate again after a full year of living without.

October and November were much of the same… my hours at work increased and I continued with my volunteering hopeful that it will one day lead to something permanent (and paid!). If nothing else, it’s been wonderful to be back in a classroom and I’ve met some fabulous people.

And then it was December… December was so full I don’t even know where to begin. I worked too much, stopped eating chocolate again, didn’t sleep enough and didn’t leave enough time to really enjoy the season I love most. That’s really another post all itself… the one thing I will say is that this past week and a half has been wonderful. I worked psycho hours until December 23rd–I often just felt like the Hubster and I were like ships passing in the night. He left for work before I was fully awake, and by the time I got home from my job it was almost time for bed. But by some miracle I’ve had 8 of the last 10 days off work and they were spent with family, friends and most importantly, spending time with my Hubster. We spent lazy days where we didn’t even leave the apartment to busy days full of shopping and outings and quietly rang in 2010 in our little home with movies and popcorn, just enjoying being together. While 2009 was certainly no walk in the park for him or I in many aspects of our lives, I am very excited for 2010. I’ll be turning 25. We’ll be celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary. I don’t know what it holds for me career-wise, but I know it holds something. I just have to be patient and work hard.

Whoa. The turned out to be so much longer than I ever expected! haha Oh 2009, you were busy! I also made a few goals for myself, let’s see how I did!

1. 2009: Get my but to the gym at least twice a week, three times if I can manage it. Reach weight goal–7 lbs to go. Also, have a flatter stomach by Florida (March break).
I actually did hold a gym membership for the majority of 2009, and aside from the summer when I didn’t have one, I made fairly good use of it. Unfortunately I also put all the weight I had lost for Peeah’s wedding back on with a few extra pounds for good measure. *sigh* I’ve realized that chocolate is my nemesis, and if I want to be fit, it’s gotta go. Since I stopped eating it again in late November I’ve lost 8 pounds and am just 10 pound shy of my goal.

2010: Get my but to the gym 3 -4 times a week, no exceptions. Reach weight goal–10 lbs to go. This year my focus is my big thunders–I want runner thighs!

2. 2009: Continue replacing “bad” foods with better choices. Stop eating fast food where I can, and cut back on eating chips (my guilty pleasure…).
I actually spent most of 2009 off chocolate and I felt great. I was doing really well with the healthy eating for a while but fell off the wagon. I’m back on track again now and feel better than ever.

2010: Continue eating healthily and be aware of calorie intake.

3. 2009: Write in my blog every day, and finish Our Story.
Haha… well, I wrote in my blog every day for the first two months of 2009, then life happened and I just couldn’t do it. I also haven’t finished Our Story yet, even though it’s been nearly two years since I began!

2010: Write as often as I can, but focus on writing great posts instead of quick thoughtless ones.

I also had these on my list:

–Run a 5km race (Not yet, maybe for 2010!)
–Be able to comfortably run 7 – 8km (I’m up to 4 – 5km again, I’ll get there this year!!)
–Graduate teacher’s college and find a job (I managed the graduating part, now I just need a job!)
–Read books that are not school books (I read a LOT this year, and I LOVED it. This year I want to keep a list of all the books I read!)
–Bake a pie from scratch (I tried this. Filling was fabulous! Pastry, not so much. 2010: get lessons from Mom. haha)
–Stop keeping things just to keep them. Clean up and clean out. (Done! The move forced us to downsize in many, many ways and it feels great!)

To that list I want to add:

–Find a teaching position. (My goal is to do this before February 1st… wish me luck!)
–Finish writing my book.
–Try at least one new recipe every month.
–Take more photos.

Well my loves, that was my 2009. It was an interesting year, though I’m not terribly sad to see it go. There was one very bright spot throughout the year though: YOU. Over the past 12 months I’ve had the opportunity to get to know so many of you through your writing, through Twitter or 20SB and I have loved every moment of it! You’ve supported me through the hard times, cheered me through the good and stayed even when I didn’t write for weeks a time. Thank you. Thank you for being here–for always making me feel like what I write is important. I can’t begin to tell you how much it encouraged me when times were tough. I promise to be a better writer and reader in 2010–thank you for bearing with me.

Thanks for just being you. xo

Let me just begin by saying thank you for the absolute outpouring of love and support I’ve received over the past 24 hours (re: last post). I had no idea so many people felt the same way I do, and it’s kinda nice to know that. :)

Anyway, enough of the sap. I Fail Blog’ed after writing that and life was good again. haha!

Yesterday I started running again, but this time I ran with a plan. I don’t know about you, but I always find it easy to work out when I am working towards something. Last year I wanted to be a hot bridesmaid for Peeah’s wedding and I managed to shed over 10lbs and several inches for my dress. Once the wedding was over and my 10-week placement teaching grade 7 began I found it immensely difficult to continue working out and put some of the weight back on.

Well, enough is enough. I want to be in shape again. I decided to start small and make a goal I could manage… so, there are six weeks left until the end of August, and I intend to lose 1 pound a week until that time. Yesterday I extended my running route and today I walked nearly 8 kilometers. I am making better food choices and am trying to drink more water. I’ll weigh in every Tuesday and track my progress. If you’re interested in doing this with me, let me know! I think it’s totally doable with healthy eating habits and a bit of exercise. Wouldn’t it feel great to be at least 6lbs lighter by the end of the summer? I think YES.

In the spirit of my rekindled desire for in-shape-ness I wanted to repost something I wrote last year that kind of outlines my approach to staying healthy:

Seven Steps to Healthier Living & Staying in Shape*

1. Inspiration.
Before I could really make a commitment to exercise I needed a good kick in the pants. When I went home in the spring I realized that I was the only member of my family that didn’t exercise on a regular basis. The Hubster is constantly active–he bikes, walks to and from work, loves squash and even plays pick-up floor hockey every week. Big Dad is an avid tennis player and hits the gym almost even morning. My Mom loves walks and goes for a brisk walk several days a week. Doodle is big time into triathlons. Peeah is a hardcore runner. Spart has been going to the gym on a regular basis after work. Teep is exercising to prepare for his police foundations course this fall, and even Choppy hits the gym from time to time. So they inspired me to want to get back into (at least) semi-shape.

I know not everyone has a huge family like mine with 8 examples of regular exercisers. So look at your friends, heroes, celebrity figures you admire–someone that will inspire you to get in shape. That was my first step.

2. Motivation.
This was / is reeeeeeeally hard for me. In the past I have often had the desire to exercise, but lacked the motivation to actually go out and do it. And unfortunately, desire to exercise and actually exercising are not the same thing. haha! So, I try and pick something that I wanted to work towards. Having a deadline and something to work towards motivates me to kick my butt out the door for a run.

3. Have Realistic Goals
This kind of ties in with my last point. Big Dad has always been a huge advocate for making goals and taking steps to achieve them. He used to sit me down and help me make a list of things I wanted to accomplish and then would help me figure out how I could do it. So, for me, my goal is not so much to become super skinny, but to feel good. I know I’ll never be 115 lbs–it’s just not my body type and it’s not really what I want. I’d like to tone my body a bit, increase my endurance and make exercise a habit so lack of motivation would no longer be a problem! Once you make a goal for yourself, write it down. Once it’s on paper it makes it real. Put it somewhere that you can see it and remind yourself of it often.

4. Form Good Habits
I have a lot of lazy habits I’m trying to kick. A lot of people do. I like to stay in my pajamas late into the morning if I don’t have a busy day. I like to sit on the couch and watch movies. I like junk food. So it’s easy for me to slip into a habit of doing more of these things and less of the healthier alternatives. But now I’ve started forming a new habit of making sure that I go for a run before I let myself shower in the morning. If I have a lot to do it means that I go out earlier, or if it rains like this morning, than I put other things on hold until I can get out and run.

I’m also slowly learning to reach for a piece of fruit instead of some chocolate. I’m replacing sugary drinks with water and watching my calorie intake. It all really comes down to consciously making good choices and adjusting my body and routine to include healthier habits.

5. Choose an Area You’d Like to Work On
I’m one of those people who usually finds it easier to find fault with my body rather than positives. So, I made a decision to pick one area of my body that I’d like to work on and actually do it so that I can’t complain about it anymore. I’m starting with my legs. I used to have good athlete legs from my ringette / basketball playing days. I now have “I-just-graduated-from-university-where-I-sat-on-my-bum-and-did-nothing-but-write-papers-for-4-years” legs and what I like to call my “Big Thunders” (thighs). So, I started running and am already seeing results. I can already fit into a pair of pants that I haven’t seen outside of my drawer in 2 years. Once I’m on my way with that target area, I’ll include another one. I don’t need to overhaul my whole body at once! :)

6. Start Small
You don’t have to become a marathon runner immediately. Actually, you don’t have to run at all… find something that works for you. I enjoy the feeling of freedom and clarity I find when I’m running. For you it might be the gym, or a team sport.

I started by walking. I was pretty out of shape in April, so I spent the spring strengthening my legs a bit by walking everywhere. I started walking instead of taking the bus as much as I possibly could. I would make excuses to get out and walk somewhere. So, by the time I was ready to commit myself to running in June / early July it wasn’t such a shock to my legs. I can already notice a difference. The thing is not to put it off. Start now.

7. Make Good Choices
Lastly, if you really want to see results it’s best to combine exercise with healthy eating. I’ve been trying to reduce the amount of junk food I eat because it’s not healthy for me, and really, it doesn’t do me a whole lot of good. Don’t buy unhealthy food because it’s “easy” to make. Try eating out less. Eat more fruit and vegetables. Drink more water. It gets easier when you start making it a habit to choose a healthier option.

Anyway, that’s what I’ve been trying to do / follow. Just find whatever works for you… :)

Well, it’s January 31st, and this is my 34th post for the month! This is the first time in my 3 years of blogging that I have written every day… and I actually really really enjoyed it. The number of people visiting my blog each day rose exponentially compared to last month, and I went from having three blog followers to 11! (Thank you!!!!!!) So, onto month #2!

Also, I have a confession… remember that shoe sale I told you about? And how I bought some teacher shoes?

Wellllll…..

I BOUGHT MORE. :) Okay, seriously… how could I not? Some of the shoes were marked down 50 – 75% off, and shipping is FREE until February 1st. I bought two more pairs of teacher shoes (very practical, I promise) and some oh-so-fun knee high black boots that I have been looking for forever!! (Ask the Hubs, he’s been dragged into many a shoe store over the past few months…) And the best part? I got all four pairs for less than the original price of the boots.

*Insert excited shoe dance here!*

Anyway, if you haven’t looked yet you totally should… CLICK HERE! I’ve actually had several people tell me they went on and bought shoes because the deals were so ridiculous… so, tell me! Did you buy any?? If so, what did you buy?? I also created a lil poll over there on the sidebar out of curiosity. After the 5th person approached me at school to tell me they bought shoes I got curious. :)

Tomorrow is February. That is INSANE. I swear yesterday was August and I was starting teacher’s college, and here I am, three quarters of the way through. I hope to spend tonight getting prepared (aka: trying to find ways to keep the Grade 7′s I’ll be teaching from eating me alive). I can’t believe it’s finally here… Shop Girl the student is no more–I’ll be Teacher Shop Girl from now until mid-May! WOOOO!!!!

1. Started your own blog

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to Disneyland (Does Disney World Count?)

8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14.Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a Marathon (This is my goal for next summer!)

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community (Does Mennonite count?)

36. Taught yourself a new language (I taught myself sign language when I was younger… unfortunately I’ve forgotten most of it now.)

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (Hahaha… well, do our generous student loans count?

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock (wall) climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David

41. Sung Karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie (I was in a taping of a show at Disney World though!)

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia (I am dying to go!!)

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies

62. Gone whale watching

63. Got flowers for no reason

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp (My first trip to Europe will be to Poland and Germany.)

67. Bounced a check

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten Caviar

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car (soon!!!!!!!)

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chickenpox

89. Saved someone’s life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous (I met the actor that played C3P0)

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one

94. Had a baby

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a law suit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee

Well, I’ve only managed a 39 / 99 on this list. *sigh* Many of these things are on my own personal list of things to do with my life, so hopefully I’ll be able to check off a few more soon!

Shop Girl*

Last year I wrote 192 posts (up from my 151 posts in 2007), but I want to have at least 365 for 2009 by December 31st. I haven’t missed a day yet, so at least I’m off to a good start!

Wish me luck!!

Shop Girl*