A Reflection of 2011

For the next 6 hours, a lot of people, myself included will be thinking about what they learned from 2011. This was a year of a lot of ups and downs. At the beginning of the year, Bobby was offered a job, which had taken a ton of stress off of my shoulders. Near the end of the year, he had to leave that job, therefore the stress was put back on. Thankfully, this year ended with another job offer and he starts on Tuesday. I was fortunate to bypass the layoffs that happened at SPPS in the spring because if that had happened to us, I don't know how we would have handled it. Although, that did happen in 2010 and we were fine.

This year, my 4 best friends all reached major milestones in their lives. One started a new relationship in February, one had a baby in March, one got married in April and one got engaged in December. I have never felt so much love and appreciation for my friends than I have this year. I had a lot of personal stuff going on and I've been so thankful that these 4 amazing women have been there for me.

Another awesome thing that happened is that my nephew, Xavier, was born on March 24. I admit, this was hard for me because of my strong desire to have my own child but knowing that we couldn't financially handle it. However, whenever I see him, my world is happier. He's the best thing that happened this year and I LOVE being an auntie!

In the spring, I decided to go on a quest to lose weight and get pregnant. That didn't work so well. I have the tools and I've been using them moderately, but not intensely, which is why I haven't seen much progress. We bought a new weight scale today because I've been using one that was my grandmother's and apparently it was off by about 15 pounds. I had a feeling that was the case, which means that I have to get intense now. Not because it's 2012, but because I finally feel like I can really do this.

In 2012, I really hope we can get back on our feet financially, and I can get going with my weight loss. I also hope to get pregnant, I don't know when and I'm not going to stress about it. Over the last 2 years, I've realized that everything really does happen for a reason. When it's the right time for us to get pregnant, we'll get pregnant. And when we do, it'll be wonderful.

I hope you all take the time to look back on the blessings you had in 2011 and look forward to new possibilities in 2012! Happy New Year to you all!

Let's Make a Deal

First of all, I'd like to wish you all a very Happy Holiday! I hope you all enjoyed your Christmas and got to spend it with loved ones.

Now that 2011 is winding down, I feel like I'm finally getting ahold of this whole fitness/eating right thing. It only took me 8 months!

That leads me to my blog title. As some of you know, I hate, HATE my husband's goatee. Yes, he had one when we met and I didn't like it then. I've been trying to get him to shave it off, but he keeps saying he wants something in return. Last night we were out for our 4th anniversary and I brought it up again. First I offered a baby in exchange for the shaving, but then I realized that I wouldn't get what I wanted for at least 9 months, and that wasn't good enough. Although he was willing to accept that deal and allow me to bring the razor to the hospital and he would do it right after the baby is born. Then I decided that I needed a little more motivation to keep working out and eating right. I said "If I lose one pant size, you shave the goatee." He said "Make it 2 sizes and you have a deal."

Now, my husband has NEVER asked me to lose weight for him, EVER. However, he has been a huge support to me and just wants me to be completely satisfied with myself. He knows that this deal pretty much just benefits me, but of course it means I'll be comfortable in my clothes and maybe will be wearing more of the stuff I used to wear in college.

So, it's on! When I officially lose 2 pant sizes, Bobby will shave off his goatee. I know there are several of you out there who want him to shave just as much as I do, so I need your support to keep up the Zumba workouts so I can make this happen sooner rather than later.

Brown Christmas

Usually when I think of Christmas, I think of lit up trees, ornaments, candles, delicious cookies, presents, lots of food, celebrating with family and friends, going to church, and of course....snow. Well, this year it looks like we won't be having snow in Minnesota on Christmas. It's a strange occurrence and I honestly can't remember the last time this happened. When we were getting married in 2007, I remember hoping we'd get some snow in time for our wedding because there wasn't enough snow on the ground at Christmas. But a totally BROWN Christmas? That just isn't right. I have to admit it's been difficult to get into the holiday spirit when it looks like it's still Thanksgiving. I have also found myself to be quite busy this holiday season at work so I've been doing a lot of online shopping. My mom and I skipped shopping on Black Friday because things have been tight financially for our whole family this year. That usually helps me get into the holiday spirit.

Now that Christmas Eve is 2 days away, I'm finding myself getting more into the spirit. I'm excited to spend time with my family and to be off work for 12 days. I try to turn all of my lights on in the evening to keep up the spirit, and light a few candles. I only get one day off before Christmas this year, and I fully intend on using that day to spend time with my husband, visit the mall, bake cookies and watch some Christmas movies.

Of course, I won't lose sight of what Christmas is all about. It's about the birth of Jesus and all of the wonderful things he's done for us and will continue to do for us. No matter what troubles you're going through this season, remember to show a little extra love to those around you and appreciate what you DO have.