Michael & Liz are Bloggable

Cole got a walker for Christmas. Up until today he hasn't really shown any interest in it. But today he crawled over to the walker, stood up and took off. Our mouths dropped to the floor. His first go at it, wasn't anywhere near the definition of walking, he was practically running. He's just trying to keep up with it! I grabbed the camera and over and over again he kept running with the thing. Check out how awesome it is:




We're just wondering how long it will be until he drops the walker and keeps going!

I'm beginning to think blogging is not the best use of my internet time. There are some people who read it, which is nice and I appreciate it. But I feel like most of our family (with a few obvious exceptions) I intend to blog for don't even read it or pay attention to it. So I'm contemplating retiring the blog, but we'll see.

 I knocked last year's resolutions out of the park. They were to "Go Vegan" for 6 weeks and to run an ultra marathon. I think I ended up doing 8 or 9 weeks on a strict vegan diet and I ran 62.5 miles in the Lake Hinson Ultra. Mission accomplished.

 Here are my New Year's Resolutions for 2013:

1. Negative Split Weight. For running, when you negative split, it means every interval, whether that be mile or lap, is faster than the previous interval. Every interval is incrementally faster. I want to do that with my weight this year. Every year is the same story. At one point or another I lose a little or a lot of weight and then pat myself on the back with 78 zebra cakes. I inevitably put the weight back on. So this year I am challenging myself to not gain whatever weight I lose. Obviously I am going to make an effort to lose weight, but the real challenge will be to maintain and not gain it back. So from the first of the month to the next, I have to be within 2 pounds or less than the month before. The lowest weight also carries over, so if I weigh 180, then 181.5, I can't go up to 183. I am giving myself that 2 pound buffer just so I don't drive myself crazy near the end of the month. So I am going to try for 12 straight weigh-ins to always weigh within 2 pounds or less than my lowest weight total. Hopefully this gives me some "maintenance" training.
   
   
2. No Soda. Moderation is not in my vocabulary. When I say no soda, I don't drink soda. When I allow myself a soda, I drink it every meal, take baths in it, and brush my teeth in it. It's awful. So for the fourth time in my life, a no soda resolution. Even as I write this post, I am enjoying one of my last Coca-Colas.
   
   
3. 6 Perfect Budgets. This one involves Liz a little bit but she's more than on board. 2012 has been awful for our family budget. We've messed up somewhere every single month. November and December have been especially TERRIBLE. It's a combination of bad planning and unexpected expenses. I decided, since I am a very serious resolution maker, to make it a goal to hit our budget on the nose 6 out of the 12 months. I even thought 4 was a good goal, but Liz responded "seriously? not even half the year?". Very good point. So I refuse to lose this year, we have far too many financial goals to be so whimsical about dipping into savings when we spend more than we make. 

I have not blogged very much this Fall, mainly because I have been extremely busy. More on that... maybe after the new year.