Goals…

I have a new-found goal. I’m going to this formal event the first week of March. I went out with some friends dress-shopping on Saturday and fell in love with a dress. Unfortunately it calls just a little too much attention to my flaws (my flabby belly).

close up of detail on my dress – I took a pic of the whole thing, but you can’t tell what it looks like. I need a new battery for my camera remote  so I can’t get my whole body in the dress right now

So I’ve decided to step up my workouts. My goal is to workout every day, rather than every other day. Since I’ve been the same weight (plus or minus 5 pounds) for six months, this might be the push I need to hit my goal weight.

I want to weigh what I did on my wedding day by my 35th birthday. I only have 12-15 pounds to go (depending on the day). But I just can’t get past this point. Until now. So I say. It’s been two weeks of healthy eating and working out daily and no change.

I have several other 35th birthday goals. Something about that age is freaking me out. I have no logical explanation for it. But I’ve decided to make it a positive milestone rather than a negative.

I want to finally finish writing a book. I don’t care which one, just any of the myriad of books I’ve started over the years. I love to write and I’m pretty good and constructing scenes. I just suck at working those scenes into a larger cohesive plot structure.

I want to make it to the blue level on Nike Plus (this is actually a 2011 goal, not just by July 30). I think this means I need to run 500 miles this year. I have no idea if this can happen. Last year I did about 150 from Mother’s Day to the end of the year, but I had a lot of building up, sickness, etc. in there.

Beliefs…

Day 12-What you believe

I’m not a super religious person. I believe in God, though not necessarily every little detail in the Bible. I met someone who had attended Catholic school her entire life. She told me that in her more advanced Theology classes, the nuns taught them the Bible stories aren’t necessarily literal interpretations, but more symbolic. That made so much more sense to me.

I was raised Catholic, but a couple of weird experiences (all related to music, actually – they were trying some weird stuff to get people interested when all it did was turn me completely off) led me to stop attending church altogether. We moved to the town DH grew up in and his mother began taking our children to their church for Sunday school and services. I had no problem with and went in on special occasions, but wrangling a very active 2 year old in a tiny church that isn’t meant for children is not my idea of a peaceful communion with God.

My grandfather died in November. He was a devout Catholic and his funeral was a full mass. I couldn’t believe how utterly at peace I felt during that service. It was a complete epiphany. The reason I’ve never felt comfortable at my husband’s Methodist church is that I’m not Methodist. I am well and truly Catholic.

Now I’m on a mission to find a Catholic church that I like and isn’t too far away. There are none within 15 miles of my house, so it’s a matter of how far do I want to go? I would go farther for a church I liked, since once you’ve gone 20 minutes, another five isn’t that big a deal. That actually sums up life in this little town.

TV Time…

Day 11-Favorite TV shows

I was going to say that I’m a TV addict, but that’s not really true anymore. I watch a certain collection of shows faithfully, but I don’t just watch crap to watch TV.

• Big Bang Theory
• How I Met Your Mother
• Glee

Those are the only three shows I regularly watch on network television. The rest of the time our television is tuned to kid's’ shows, Food Network and its new sister channel Cooking, History, Discovery or similar channels. We like How It’s Made and shows like that.

I used to be an American Idol fanatic, but I haven’t even been tempted to watch this season – it was bad enough last year without Paula, but without Simon? I can’t imagine it. I might give it a try if I get bored one Wednesday night.

Fear factor…

Day 10-Something you're afraid of

I have one major phobia (well, two if you count heights, but that’s more just an avoidance or dislike – not necessarily a fear). It’s so specific that I’m not even sure there could possible be a word for it.

Insects/creepy crawlies en masse. Any group of insects freaks me the hell out. See one, two, half  a dozen ants around? No big. A pile of uncountable ants? FREAK! It’s not just limited to ants – I use them as an example because they’re fairly benign. I mean, who’s afraid of a single ant? Probably no one. Put ‘em in a big old pile and AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!! That was me running away for a can of bug spray.

It’s not just ants, though. Spiders, natch. Ladybugs, even. Pretty, innocent little ladybugs. A whole corner of our back porch was covered in them and I flipped.

So note to insects and arachnids worldwide – there is NOT safety in numbers at my house. Fastest way to get yourself on the business end of a can of Raid is to stick with a whole bunch of your buddies.

My friends…

Day 9 – A picture of your friends

Is it horribly sad that my closest friends are related to me? I think it says something about what a wonderful family I have. You could also make the argument that I don’t make friends easily. You’d be right. I have more friends where we live now than I ever did in our old town. But none that I would call a close friend who I could call for a favor and know she’d do it.

There’s this guy:

Fabulous father, wonderful husband, best friend.

And then this chicky:

Amazing aunt, great sister, best friend (yes, it’s a tie). 

Oh, the places I go…

Day 8-A place you've traveled to

I’m not much of a traveler. I’m afraid to fly. And this isn’t a post 9/11 fear. This fear has always been there. Tom and I flew to our honeymoon in St. Thomas. We flew to my brother’s wedding in Maine and then again for his second marriage to the Dominican Republic. Add in a flight to Orlando as a child and that’s the sum total of my plane-riding career. We even drove four kids (the oldest was 7 and the youngest was 7 months) to Disney World.

My favorite movies…

Day 7-Favorite movies

In the campy comedy category, we have

Clue

Clueless

Groundhog Day (planning to watch tomorrow, cause we’re dorks like that)

 

In the romantic comedy category, the nominees are:

The Holiday

Love, Actually

(leaving room because I know I’ve forgotten lots here)

 

For the nostalgia factor:

Grease

Grease 2 (yes, I know it’s awful)

The Parent Trap (Hayley Mills version only, please) – this is also my sick movie.

Pollyanna

The Trouble with Angels (we were big Hayley Mills fans)

 

Favorite Classics:

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (which I think should be required watching in every civics/government lesson)

It’s a Wonderful Life (which, btw, is what I name when forced to pick just one favorite – I have a thing for Jimmy Stewart – let’s not talk about how he’s dead and even if he weren’t, he’d be a mummy)

The Wizard of Oz

Gone with the Wind