Happy New Year!

I am not and never was a person big on resolutions. I never saw the point. Why put off doing what you can start doing now? I found that putting it off made it a lot less likely to happen. With that in mind, there are many things I wish for the new year.

The first is to lose the infertility weight that has been plaguing me since 2006. Granted, I got a 9 month break in 2008, but that break was up 11 months ago. My work has put a few things in place to help me with this goal. The first is that they are bringing We.ight Wa.tchers to my office. When I first read the email asking if anyone was interested, I immediately hit the 'Yes!' button. The next thing they are doing to assist me on my journey is to bring in a yoga instructor for 6 weeks every Wednesday at lunch time for $30. I'm all over that! On top of those goodies, I finally got a Wi.i for Christmas this year, and went and bought myself the Wi.i fit two days ago. Now I just need to rid my house of chocolate! We have chocolate coming out our ears over here. Maybe I'll take a picture so you can gape at how much chocolate is in my house right now.

The next and biggest goal for 2010 is to get pregnant again! I am down to just over a month before my IUD removal, and believe me, I am gearing up! I got 7 free OPKs and 3 free PG tests from that Sac.red He.art deal a while back, I got 5 pg tests from the dollar store, I have a tube of OPKs just itching to be used, and I bought some fertility vitamins that came with 3 free pg tests and 10 free OPKs. I am ready to go to battle!

Other than that, I just want this new year to be a good one. I am looking forward to everything the next 365 days has to offer. I hope to be able to look back at 2010 next year and think to myself what a wonderful year it has been.

I pray that 2010 treats all of you well. That this is your year to shine, and the year that God shines down on you. Here's to a new year!

Goodbye 2009

As this year comes to a close, one can't help but reminisce and look back at the past 365 days. This year was an incredible one for our household, filled with joy and laughter, tears and upset, but an overall sense of happiness and contentment.

Who would have thought a few years ago that this is how our life would be in 2009? Certainly not us. 2009 was a great year for our family as we finally added a daughter to our little family, and our lives took a turn for the better. Our marriage was strengthened even further, and our families all came closer together.

Not only did my immediate family grow, but my family of friends grew as well. Last year at this time I had a couple of good friends and two best friends. At the close of this year, I have four best friends and a bunch of good friends. Friends I know I can call and count on at a moment's notice. The beauty of that is I have the opportunity to be there for them on a moment's notice too.

This year I learned and grew a lot.

• I learned what it means to be a mother.
• I learned what it means to realize you don't always have the strength inside of you to conquer your battles by yourself. Sometimes you have to let others help you, and sometimes it is hard to see when that is necessary.
• I learned that letting others help you carry your burden makes it easier to carry. Sometimes we are too deep in our own muck to realize we need help.
• I experienced what a true best friend is like. The kind I always dreamed about, but never had until now.
• I learned that I cannot help those who do not want assistance, no matter how much it pains to me to sit on the sidelines and watch the people I care about battle their Goliath's alone.
• I learned what it really means to wish that time would slow down.

For the first time in a long time, I didn't go on a vacation this year, but I am okay with that. I didn't even notice until the end of the year when my paid time off was higher than I have ever seen it in my life. I really didn't mind when it came to being able to take the last two weeks off to spend with my daughter. That was more rejuvenating and fun than any vacation I've ever been on.

The absolute best part of this year was watching my daughter grow from a newborn to the cusp of toddlerhood. Watching her learn about and explore the world around her. Share in each and every one of her firsts. Feel my heart grow so much that at times it feels like it will burst from my chest just by looking at her.

I was very blessed in 2009. While it had is low moments, it also had its high moments, and they far outweighed the bad. If I could change only one thing, it would be the stupid traffic tickets, and that's it. :p

I hope and pray that 2010 is as blessed for our family as it was in 2009.

I wish you all the very best in 2010. I pray that it brings you all what your heart's desire.

New Year's Resolutions

One look at the title and I know what you're thinking, "Oh, she is going to make some lame new year's resolutions that she isn't going to keep, and they are going to be stupid things like lose weight and clean the house once a week." Well, you would be wrong.

When I began my adult life, I began a lot of new personal traditions; I began with a new perspective on life; and I left behind all of the things from my youth that seemed just plain stupid to me. I can't exactly say when my adult life began, and I don't know that it was an overnight as opposed to over many years thing, but there was definitely a point where I shed the last of my ignorant youth.

Personal traditions I began included really taking care of myself, and taking time out of life to really focus on me. This included doing things for myself that I enjoyed for no other reason that I enjoyed them. Indulging on the occasional completely selfish purchase, such as a box of chocolates, new CD, or movie, or even going on vacations because I just plain wanted to. Aside from the worldly possessions, sometimes taking time out of life meant I enrolled in meditation classes to get in touch with myself during a self-definition phase. These moments not only profited me, but everyone I came in contact with because I was a better person after having taken care of myself.

The self-definition phases ultimately led to the new perspective on life. My dad always taught me to be open minded, and I prided myself on my ability to be so. I thrive on never shutting my mind to anything or anyone. Of course, that doesn't mean I don't follow my instincts when they kick in. I don't throw all caution to the wind, but I am open to possibilities.

One of the things I left behind was the idea of a new year's resolution. I never really understood the idea behind them. If you want to change something about your life, why wait until a specific date on the calendar to do so? Why not start changing it right away? The chances of you accomplishing it if you put it off for a special date decrease the further away the date is. I admit, I snickered internally when people honestly said they were making new year's resolutions. I would think to myself, "I bet you work on it all the way until January 2nd." I know, not nice, but that is what I thought and still think.

For 2009 I will do the same thing I have done at the beginning of every new year that I have done for as long as I can remember: I will be the best person I can be and will give all I can to every situation. If I have done my best, I will recognize I did my best and be happy in that knowledge. I will continue to be who I am, and change anything about me that I don't like the moment I realize I don't like it. I will continue to strive to be the best wife, mother, daughter, sister, auntie, and friend that I can be. In 2009, I will be me. That is all anyone, including myself, can ask of me.

I wish you all the best for 2009. May it be your banner year, full of hope and promise.

Belated Happy New Year!

I can see now by everyone else's posts that my own Happy New Year blog is a little belated. I do have some really good reasons why it wasn't up yesterday, but I won't write about them now.

I just want to say thank you again to all of my blog friends. I wish you all the very best for the new year and hope that it provides you with everything you desire. I have sincerely appreciated each friendship I have made over the last month. I am a firm believer that God knows what he's doing when he puts people in our paths. I think everything happens for a reason, and I feel I found all of you (or you found me) for a reason. You have all been a bit of sun on a cloudy day.

I especially want to thank Kami because she was my inspiration for blogging on this site. If it hadn't been for her, I wouldn't be here. Her blog inspired me in so many ways. Kami, I sincerely hope that your one true desire is fulfilled this year. You are a truly deserving individual full of love and strength.

All my love to all of my friends and best wishes. Here's to a new year!

What I Learned This Year

As 2007 comes to a close, its time to take a moment to do a year in review. I decided the best way to do this is with a bulleted list or two. The past year has been full of ups and downs, some even to the extremes (including a false positive pregnancy test after undergoing artifical insemination). Below is my year in review:

Things I did:

• Helped my husband landscape our backyard by ourselves
• Planted my own first garden
• Published my first user manual and admin guide
• Published my first company newsletter
• Started blogging
• Came out of my introvert shell
• Made wonderful new friends
• Chose to use my blog to educate
• Was artificially inseminated
• Had a moderate endometrial resection, ovarian drilling, and lost my appendix
• Bought a new couch
• Ate lots of chocolate

Where I went:

• Dublin
• Edinburgh
• Bath
• London
• New Orleans
• Houston (a couple of times)
• A reinaissance festival dressed as a saucy wench

Things I learned:

• Outlook and attitude are absolutely everything 100% of the time
• Its okay to be sad and cry sometimes--I don't always have to be strong
• I love plants (went from a couple houseplants to many)
• How to be a gardner
• I have a green thumb
• Sometimes its better to just let old friends go
• Infertility and surgery are for the birds
• Cheese is a cure for PMS (I'm NOT kidding!)
• Fish ponds are a lot of work (and expensive)

Things that happened:

• My grandma passed away (my last grandparent)
• My love for my husband grew exponentially

This past year has been good and bad, and I look forward whole-heartedly to the next year.

I wish everyone the best in 2008!