2013: New Year Resolutions

As much as I hate winter and the post-holiday lull, I tend to get a little excited about starting a new year. A fresh start. It’s a cleansing feeling, even though I’m still holed up in my house, hiding under a blanket until some time in April. For the last couple of years, I’ve been a little bah-humbug about New Years. Probably because I usually fail at whatever resolutions I set for myself.

But this year will be different!! ::fist in the air::

My main resolution? Lose weight.

How’s that for different?

Ok, so it’s not different at all. But you know what? Everyone else is coming up with unique resolutions or non-resolutions in an effort to be different, so maybe losing weight is actually the most different resolution right now. It’s so popular that it’s not popular anymore and therefore, I win. Or something like that.

Anyway, I don’t really care. I NEED to lose weight. For one, I don’t want to buy any more new clothes. I have lots of perfectly good clothes that I haven’t worn in almost 2 years. At this rate, my main reason for needing to replace my clothes will be because they’re out-of-style. Not that I’ve really ever been “in style” to begin with. Secondly, I want to be healthy. Now that I’m 30, it’s only a matter of time before I start feeling the creaks and cracks of experienced adulthood. I’m already one geriatric step away from wearing orthopedic shoes. No doubt this extra weight I’m hauling around isn’t doing any favors for my impending arthritis.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that nothing takes away your feeling of invincibility like becoming a parent. My baby is a daily reminder that I need to take care of myself so that I’m around long enough to take care of him. And with any luck, meet my grandkids.

So I rejoined Weight Watchers and so far, so good. Granted, it’s only been a couple of days, but I’m not going to be too hard on myself. No crazy restrictions like no caffeine or carbs. No “I’m going to work out 5 days a week” mandates or anything like that. Just sensible food tracking with a goal to lose weight. I also picked up a Yoga DVD so that I can try to incorporate some fitness too. If I do it 5 days a week? Fantastic! Only 2? That’s good too. Something is better than nothing and nothing is what I’ve been doing since I found out I was pregnant back in 2011.

So weight loss is my #1 goal for 2012. If I can lose weight the healthy way on Weight Watchers, then I should be able to hit my goal (losing 2 lbs a week) by baby D’s first birthday.

Now I do have a few other goals in mind, but they’re more just for fun. For example, I’d like to do more Pinterest-inspired projects. I haven’t spent a ton of time on there in recent months, but I have a nice collection of boards and pins, just sitting there looking pretty. I’d like to actually do something with them – try new recipes, make a crafty project, try some of the tips & tricks. If I could do one Pinterest-inspired thing a month, that would be great.

I’d also like to take more photos. I take tons of weekly and monthly photos of baby D – most of which I don’t end up posting here. But I’d like to do some sort of 365 photo-a-day challenge that I could later turn into a collage or book. Babies change so much during these early months/years, that even though I find myself taking tons of photos and a few videos here and there, it still doesn’t seem like I’m capturing it all. Still, I need to make sure I don’t go overboard to where I have to force myself to put down the phone/camera.

Next, I’d like to take an awesome vacation with my little family. A lot of folks would choose to leave their baby behind with a grandparent or aunt/uncle, but we don’t really want to do that. We’re a tad obsessed with him and would rather have him with us wherever we go. Now where to go? We’d love to do a beach destination, but the logistics of getting there are enough to make me give up on that dream. Hopefully we figure something out.

Suggestions for baby-friendly destinations or tips for traveling with a baby? We’ve done 9+ hour car rides, but have yet to attempt a plane ride.

Lastly, I’d like to plan a kick-ass first birthday party for baby D. His birthday isn’t for another almost 5 months, but my inlaws have already asked us about it. They really want us to have it at their house, which, as you all know, is a VERY long drive for us. But, we’ve already done it 3 times now since he’s been born so we sort of know what we’re doing. And part of me feels like that may be the best option. If we host it in STL, my inlaws might come – if my MIL is doing alright – but I doubt any of hubby’s siblings or nieces/nephews would make the trip. It’s just hard to make an argument for 14 people to come to St. Louis, when the three of us could get in the car and go there instead. And it’s about the same distance for my parents either way, so it doesn’t matter much to them. Decisions, decisions. In the meantime, I’ll peruse all the super awesome birthday party themes over on Pinterest. My personal faves so far:

Baseball themed? It will be during baseball season…

Beach themed? We are beach fanatics, after all…

Or little man themed? But with different colors.

(Photo sources on my Pinterest page.)