Monday, December 31, 2012

Final countdown

Here I am, on the last day of 2012 with a final entry (hopefully).  I wish that I could say that my life was simply too busy to write, but the truth is that every time I sit down to do it, nothing comes out.

Before you start to worry, it is not because I am in a bad place with my life or have suffered some major setback.  True, my house sale is still in what feels like a perpetual "pending" status, but hopefully that period is soon to come to a conclusion.  Due to a stipulation of the short sale, I had to wait another month before getting a final answer from the lender, so with any luck within a week I should be able to have a closing date.  Of course, nothing is ever really a sure thing in life, so I say that with slight hesitation.

After much back and forth by way of housing, it sounds like the plan will be for me to remain at my parents' house until such time as I am either able to purchase a house of my own or come up with a new plan.  At this point, I am happy to stay put in this location and to enjoy the freedom of not being tied to a mortgage for the first time in more than eight years.

While many people wait until the New Year period to set resolutions for life and health, I opted to do this a little early.  In October, I joined Weight Watchers.  If you are just a casual passerby reader, you would not know that I had gotten to a point that was unhealthy with my weight and health.  I could blame it on many things, but mostly I just did not care to think about it.  With so many other things in my life that took up my time, emotion and attention, I simply could not be bothered to worry about things like exercise and healthier eating habits.

As of today, I am proud to say that I have lost over 20 pounds and am on track to lose even more.  It may sound cheesy, but it really does make a difference in how I feel about life.  Not to say that I have become Susie Sunshine overnight, but I think that momentum in the right direction is a really great motivator.


So this may not be a very long, informative or even entertaining entry, but getting something in before 2013 starts is important to me.  I hope that everyone who reads this has a fun, safe and enjoyable New Year celebration tonight. 

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Of all the times to write!

Just a quick little December morning blog entry.  I broke with my newly established routine and did not work out on the elliptical this morning, but I have a good semi-decent lame excuse.  The dogs. 

My parents are out at the farm working on some updates for a couple of days.  If it were for a longer stint, my mom would have taken her dogs because she gets a little lonesome for them, but for such a short trip, it was easier on all that they stay at home.

This means, as you may have guessed, that they all sleep with me.  With a few years experience in this department, it actually goes off just fine.  Everyone settles into their usual comfortable spot and waits until the alarm goes off to start jumping around.  They even seem to have mastered the idea of a snooze button in that the temporary sound of the alarm rouses them but they will resume their positions when I hit the button.

These mornings require a little more attention from me, but they are quite simple.  Actually, it is sort of fun for the dogs (I think) because with only one human in the house, they can bark as loud as they want as early as they see fit without consideration for those who may still be sleeping.  Not that they care either way.

Last night I went over to a friend's house for dinner and to hang out with her and her new baby girl.  It was fun and helpful as I am quite skittish with small babies and it is nice to be around a mom who can calmly offer advice as to how to hold them.  I think it comes from the fact that I was quite young when my brothers were born.  Adults must be quite firm with children when it comes to handling babies for obvious reasons.  I distinctly remember being told to be very careful of the heads of babies.

You know, the "soft spot" issue.  Oh, and the floppy neck thing.  Oddly enough, these are two of my biggest worries when I hold small babies.  It should therefore come as no surprise that I claim to "prefer" to hold babies when they are at least a few months old.  Three to six months, actually.  This may be about the time they start to really "see" things and can interact on a personal level by laughing at or imitating adults. 

The good news is that all the babies of my friends are growing and will soon be in that phase.  From that point onwards, I think I have it covered.  I am great at reading books and singing songs.  I am also pretty awesome at playing dolls and dress-up.  If necessary, I can even play with trains, cars and action figures. 

Anyway, enough morning chit-chat; I have to finish getting ready for work.  Have a great day!

-Megan and the Party Animals