Good thing this isn't my job!

I was reading my cousin's blog posts and she was posting about how pathetic she was for still having Christmas decorations up in her house! She was doing us a favor just in case anyone was feeling bad about themselves that day. After looking at her post, I realized I still had stupid Christmas decor on my blog... then I felt a bit sheepish!

I'm just glad my livelihood doesn't rely on how well or often I blog... things have been pretty busy these last couple of weeks. You know... stuff, stuff, and more stuff... but not very much blog-worthy stuff, I guess. Anyway, just thought I'd change the wallpaper around here.

We may actually finally get around to painting the walls in our house soon too! Just thought I'd share.

Bringing my work home with me.

Today when I got home, Paul told me a great story about Charlie that I had to document before it was lost forever in our memories.

As a speech therapist mommy, I've been encouraging Charlie to say some of his words better. He can almost always say the word correctly when I have him repeat me.

When Paul was getting him ready for the day, Charlie wanted his jacket, so Paul said, 'here's your jacket, Charlie.'

C: no, dad, it's jacket, say jacket.
P: jacket?
C: no, 'jacket'.
P: jacket.
C: good job, dadda

Funny what kids pick up from their parents!

Monkeys off my back!!!

I DID IT!!!! Hooray!!!!! I finally finished A Tale of Two Cities, by Dickens! This book has been a little monkey on my back for a good year & a half... ever since my friend Rachelle (a woman with a degree in English Lit) said it was her favorite book. I started this book 4 times before I was able to break through the first 60 pages and actually finish the dang thing. One of those times was even a book on tape... I even struggled with that!

Truth is, Dickens is just dang tough stuff to read. So captivating, but very difficult to trudge through. At one point, I ventured to look up a bunch of the impressive vocabulary words in the dictionary, but the frequent interruption of flow got old quickly! But, I gotta say, I LOVED the book. I love how he tied everything together so well with so many characters. Even though I was completely confused through several scenes in the book, at least at the end, you understand what was happening after the fact and see how it ties in. Ahhhh. It was very refreshing to have it end so beautifully. Thanks for the recommendation, Rachelle. Wouldn't have done it without ya!


Another monkey I got off my back was the John Adams biography by David McCullough. What a great man Adams was (and his sweet wife) and what a wonderful writer McCullough is! This was another book that took me literally months and months to read. But reading it taught me just how little attention I paid in my American and World History classes in high school. Back then, dates were pretty irrelevant to me... leaving me with NO CLUE that the French Revolution happened just after the American Revolution. I'm glad I was able to finish the Adams biography before fully reading 'Two Cities'. I'm sure the timeline would have still been lost on me without that frame of reference and my somewhat increased knowledge on what was happening in America at the time. Shameful how all that good history education was wasted on my teenage mind!

So now that I've finished these, I'm fascinated by the whole thing and it's pushed a bunch of other books to the top of my 'to read' list. I'm excited to get my hands on the Scarlet Pimpernel, and especially the unabridged Les Miserables. I have read an abridged version, but I think I've matured to the point where I could handle the big cahuna now! Anyway... just thought I'd share my triumph!!

According to plan?

Last year in January, instead of choosing any resolutions to break, I decided to just list the plans I had for 2009. I went back to read that post today to see how I did on those plans and thought I would return and report.

Here's the list, followed by how that all worked out for me:
1. I fully intend to reach my Weight Watchers goal and perhaps even go beyond, but not too far. CHECK! I did reach my weight watchers goal and became a lifetime member! In total, I lost just over 40 lbs. I did NOT go beyond that goal because I was pretty burned out. I will admit to having gained a fluctuating 4-6 lbs from my lowest weight of last year. The holiday season spanning from Halloween to Christmas has been very delicious this year. So, I have a little backtracking to do to continue the maintenance.

2. I'm going to grow my hair long again. CHECK! I know this one was stupid, but I did grow out my hair and it's taken all year! Here's a current shot of me taken today... I look old.


3. I'm going to do this triathlon in April, and I'll be ready for it. CHECK! In case you missed it (hahaha!), click here to read all the deets. Getting into triathlon and racing was a very empowering thing for me this year. I ended up doing 2 sprint triathlons, 1 5k, 1 10K, and the Red Rock Relay. I intend to do all this and more in 2010 (except trade in Red Rock for the Wasatch back relay! No more Red Rock for me!)

4. I'm going to keep reading good literature. CHECK! I have read a lot of good books this year, though I got a bit tangled up in a few. The John Adams biography took me FOREVER to read and I've started A Tale of Two Cities 3 times and continue to get stuck in the first 70 pages. It's gonna happen soon, though. I know I can do it!

5. We're going to finish paying off our debt and achieve a fully funded emergency fund. Boooo! Unfortunately, we did not accomplish this plan. We haven't necessarily been STUPID with our money this year... we just haven't been SMART. I'm carrying this plan into 2010.

6. Charlie will be potty trained before 2010. Boooo! This one didn't happen either... YET! We're getting closer. But we (as parents) haven't fully committed to this one YET! Soon, very soon!

7. Because of #6, we will be putting in the bathroom downstairs this year. Boooooooooooooooooo! Didn't do this one yet either... BUT, we have gotten one bid on it, and since that one won't work, we're pursuing other options. We have the money put aside and I'm hoping to get this one done by the end of this month... we're getting desperate for another toilet around this place!

8. I'm going to get contacts this year. Boo! See above picture and yesterdays post about getting new glasses! The eye doctor basically told me that he didn't think I would actually wear the contacts if he prescribed them for me. People who don't REALLY need to wear glasses are very unlikely to stick things in their eyes. He convinced me to just get the glasses for now since the only time I've been missing them is at night while driving. So though I didn't follow through with this plan, I don't feel like this one reflects a character flaw! I'm actually pleased to have some glasses to throw on when they're handy.

There's my report. I accomplished 50% of them and we're close on some of the ones that weren't accomplished. So, I'm feeling pretty good about that.

I haven't yet taken the time to plan out 2010. I think one thing 2009 taught me is that no matter your intentions, life never goes completely according to plan. A year ago, we spent some time after Christmas with my brother Spencer and his family. Never in a million years could anyone have guessed how much their world would be rocked this year. A year later, I still consider our family extremely blessed to still have him around and thriving. Trial followed by huge blessings.

Also a year ago, my two sisters were pregnant with their first babies. Alisha's came 6 weeks early, freaking us all out... but thankfully, Marcus is a happy and healthy baby and now Alisha's expecting a new baby girl this April. We're counting on her showing up in April! Megan's baby, Lily, came a week late in June and ended up spending over a month in the NICU with no diagnosis. Sweet Lily is a little fighter and is making progress all the time, but every little gain she makes will be a victory since 'typical' development has been slower. She's an absolute angel and one of the prettiest babies I've ever seen. Both Marcus & Lily's births were big trials, but followed with significant blessings.

So, who knows what 2010 will bring. I have lots of hope for great things, and faith to know that whatever comes, we'll be supported through it all.