Friend Making Monday -- 2012

Twelve in 2012

1. What was your greatest personal accomplishment in 2012?  I would have to say my biggest accomplishment of the year was completing my first 1/2 marathon. I did it just the other day and I couldn't be prouder of myself!

2. What’s the best thing your did for your health? I gave up soda in February for Lent and I haven't gone back. I think that is definitely pretty important for my health. I also started going to Weight Watchers again in September and I'm more determined than ever!

3. Share one thing that caused a significant change in your life this year.  I think realizing what I really want in life has caused me to make some big changes. I no longer want to be poor and overweight.

4. List a few things that you experienced for the first time at some point over the last twelve months.  

- I went to Europe (best thing ever!)

- I did my first half-marathon

- I did my first mud run

- I sent my baby off to kindergarten 

5. What was the coolest place you visited? I absolutely fell in love with Paris! I loved the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre. I also really loved being in Vatican City. It was such a religious experience for me and something I will never forget.

6. If you could change one thing about the last year what would it be?  I would spend more time organizing my life at home. I feel like it is often times such a mess (physically and in my head). 

7. What is the best meal you ate this year? Honestly? The first night in Europe we went to dinner and had this pizza-like dinner that had cream cheese and sour cream -- NOT MY THING! Jami and I went around the corner from our hotel and got a kebob and fries and it was the most delicious thing every! 

8. Tell us about a new friend you made.  Because our sons were in the same preschool class, I became really good friends with a woman I've named C. She is super sweet and we can just sit and talk with each other. It is always nice to add someone new to your life! And our boys love playing together! 

9. What did you hope to accomplish this year that you did not?  I wanted to shed a lot more weight than I did. I'm not going to dwell too much on it though because I have lost 10 pounds and I am on my way to a healthier me.

10. Share something you learned in 2012.  I learned that I really can do anything I set my mind to.

11. Share an odd and unexpected thing that you experienced this year. I'm not really sure. I tried to think and I really can't come up with anything off the top of my head.

12. How do you think 2013 will differ from 2012?  I think I will be more organized in 2013 and that will help me achieve my financial and physical goals.

I absolutely LOVE FMM -- if you haven't done it go check out All the Weigh!!!

12 Days of Christmas -- DAY TWO

When DC received his card the first night he was excited and surprised about my little treat I was leaving him. But then he kind of made fun of me saying something about how I was going to be done on the 23rd. I was frustrated at first that he pointed that out, but then I decided to skip a day and then get on track to finish at the correct time.

Ironically, Friday was the day I was suppose to start again and I had already planned to print out a couple of photos of our cute kids. I think it meant even more in light of the elementary school shooting in Connecticut. It was such a difficult day and just being able to hold our children meant the world to us.

12 Days of Christmas -- for my hubby -- DAY ONE

So DC doesn't read our family blog so I think I am safe posting this and not spoiling anything. 

DC is VERY hard to shop for. He doesn't want to much and usually when he does want something it is so obscure or expensive I'm likely not to get it. 

I did buy him one thing for Christmas, but I wanted to do a little something else to make him feel special. I had pinned a couple of 12 Days of Christmas things and decided to go through them last night. I really liked this one and the ease of it, but also how I was able to customize it for DC.

I printed the template out on cardstock and then matted it on some really cute Echo Park scrapbook paper I had from last holiday season. 

So here is day one. We had an argument the other day about how I had taken the kids to work with me taking money at the school basketball game to give DC some alone time. Somehow in my mind I kind of expected him to do some things around the house, but he really did take it as time to do what he wanted. I was upset because I feel like I spend all of my time doing other stuff and I never do stuff for myself (like scrapbook -- when was the last time I did a page?!) Anyway, I thought this was appropriate and something I could follow through on doing.

Hopefully I can keep up on this and post each of the days (in a timely fashion). I plan on leaving them out on the counter for DC so he has something to look forward to when he comes home from work. Some are material and some are donations of my time or "talents."

What I Wore Wednesday

When I recently cleaned my closet I came across this cardigan that I hadn't worn in a while. It's a little big on me width wise so I thought adding a belt would help and I think it did.

The best compliment of the day was when one of my students blurted out in the middle of class that she thought I looked great in yellow! I guess I might need to add more of it to my wardrobe.

My shoes are Foxy and I've had them forever! They are comfy and go with pretty much everything. My jeans are from Deb and the black undershirt is the wonder tee from DownEast Outfitters. The yellow cardigan is from Target last spring and the belt is from Maurices.

I have my rosary bracelet on from the Vatican and my earrings are just little studs from Old Navy. 

Friend Making Monday -- Christmas Questions

1. How will you celebrate the holidays this year?  We will be staying home. It is suppose to be our year to go to Southern California, but because we went there last week we decided that it was best to save some money and celebrate at home. With that being said, DC's mom is coming up to visit and possibly his brother and our sister-in-law. I'm looking forward to the break and some time with family.

2. What’s the weather currently like where you live? It's recently taken a colder turn. Just last week we were in the 70s, but now it's in the 50s. It's still not awful, but a lot colder than it was.

3. Do you decorate your home for the holidays? If so, share a picture please!  We finally got our decorations out. It's not all up yet, but it's definitely looking more festive at home. I don't really have a picture of many of the decorations, but I did snap this one of EM the other day after we decorated our tree.

4. What is your favorite Christmas movie? I'm not sure. I'm not one to really have a favorite holiday movie. I guess I enjoy watching National Lampoons Christmas Vacation because DC finds it so funny and I enjoy spending the time with him to watch it.

5. What is your favorite Christmas songs? Again, I don't have a favorite song, but I do like the style of Michael Buble.

6. Do you have an advent calendar?  Yes, we do! And it is actually on the right date right now. 

7. Do you prefer color lights or white lights?  I thought I liked white lights and we put them on our house one year and I just didn't really LOVE it. So I guess I prefer colored lights. I can definitely tell you I don't like the icicle lights! We call them pizzerias.

8. What is your favorite food to eat over the holidays?  I really love those little melt-a-way mints that they sell at the booth in the mall.

9. Do you display a live tree, or do you prefer fake trees?  We have a fake one. It's not the most beautiful thing in the world, but it does the job. I can't imagine spending a ton of money on something that we only keep up for a month at the most.

10. What would you need to make your holiday perfect this year?  I think just surviving will be enough. I have everything I need so I just want to sit back and relax and enjoy the spirit of the holiday season.

FRUSTRATION!!!

I think nothing gets a momma more upset and frustrated than something dealing with her children! I was messing around at work and finally decided to look at the proposed boundary changes for next school year for LD's elementary school. I figured nothing would change, but I was wrong.

Instead of going to the school he is currently at, the boundaries propose that he goes to another neighborhood school.

I'm not having that!

I understand about numbers and all, I do, but he absolutely loves his current school. He knows the school motto, wears his school shirt with pride every Friday and I want him to be part of the dual immersion program next year.

I'm sure the other school is fine (although I've seen some of the data and it's not all that positive), but I really want LD to finish at the school he started at. I love everything about the school is is currently at and we will do everything we have to do to keep him going there, including driving his butt to school every day.

Am I being crazy and getting upset or nothing? I'm in near tears and I want nothing but what is the best for him.

What I Wore Wednesday

I've missed a few weeks because of things here and there, but I'm determined to get back on track. I thought I would show off a couple of different outfits I have worn recently, starting with some very casual school attire.

These are some jeans I got from Deb right before I went to Europe in March. They are skinnier at the bottom, but I think they were probably too big for the boots from Old Navy I tried to tuck them into. The shirt is just a school shirt from last year and the sweater I believe is from Old Navy or Target. Nothing too exciting, but I thought I looked kinda cute on this day.

We recently had to head south for the funeral of DC's grandmother. It was definitely a sad trip and we miss her dearly. I didn't really have any funeral appropriate clothing, but I happened to spot this dress at Target right before we left and I couldn't pass it up. I absolutely love the look for this dress and how I felt in it. I added some red earrings from Old Navy as an homage to grandma because she was buried in a beautiful red dress. They tights are from Target and the shoes are from Express. I'm definitely getting better at walking in the shoes, but they are still a little out of my comfort zone.