Changes...

There is nothing quite like ruminating on changing your life at 8AM on a Thursday morning.

My thought process:

I'm looking out at a gray sky and wishing that if it was going to look so cold and dark that it would at least give us a little more snow...

Snow would mean its cold, however, and I can't go running if its that cold cuz I can't breathe.

Which reminded me of how hard it was to breathe in general when I first started.

And that took me to lifestyle changes and what I'm going to do in the New Year...

So, in an effort of looking back...In the past year, I've accomplished the following:

1. Worked a lot
2. Stayed married (harder sometimes than I thought...hahaha)
3. Dejunked my house and junked up the garage
4. Finished all house projects (getting ready to sell)
5. Found two potential renters that are waiting on me
6. Lost 37 pounds and went down 6 BMI points
7. Lost custody of the kids to Cruella Deville
8. Travelled all over Oregon
9. Took up geocaching
10. Started running

Not that those are the top 10 necessarily...but those are the ones I want to spend a little time on in this blog.

1. I'm now working from home. Very convenient as I sit in my pj's typing this, BUT...I miss the water cooler. I miss being interrupted every few minutes with a question...all I do these days is put the nose to the grindstone and actually work work work. I'm at least 10% more productive at home with noone to talk to than I was at work with quick trips to the coffee shop or just hangin' out with my coworkers chatting about the weekend or the evening or details about a project or two.

2. I stayed married. I laugh, but I consider that a real accomplishment this year. This is actually all part of numbers 2, 3, 4, and 7....so, I stayed married, dejunked my house, finished all house projects and we lost the kids in the custody battle. Those last three really put a huge strain on my marriage to MC. We were both so stressed out....trying to get the house ready to sell...trying to figure out the whole custody thing...trying to understand why the law automatically thinks a woman is a better parent...just because she is a woman. (especially since Cruella Deville can be evil, mean, and just plain psycho...)

5. In the absence of selling we have two renters on the hook right now...actually one that is willing to look at a lease option to buy. We're just waiting on MC's call to duty....please let it come soon...please!

6. Ahhhh...the great weight loss saga. Those 37 pounds actually have only been gone since starting this process in July. Prior to that I probably gained 37 pounds. :) But, for the purposes of this blog...in looking back, I've made some big lifestyle changes for MC and I to help us reduce our waist sizes. I've been reading up on cholesterol and blood sugar and crying into my water jug that I'm at an age where those words are realities in my life. *sigh* You can't be young forever, I suppose. and with adding number 10 to this one...much of that loss and increase in stamina has come from running. I'm down to a 12 minute mile. Ha! Thats way better than I was when I started (17 min/mile) and I run about 6-8 miles a week...

8. Traveling...I love it. It makes me happy to jump from location to location and see cool things. I've been to every corner of Oregon this year and most of the places in between. I saw the Oregon caves, I went to the beach, I camped in the mountains, I crawled through the Crack in the Ground, I drove so far and long that my alternator gave out in LaGrande...Gaaah. Now that was an adventure. And now adding number 9 to the mix...I geocached in the high desert, through streams and marsh, in parking lots, on the side of the freeway, up in trees and behind rocks. Its been a great adventure that I will continue for many years...

So....now what do I do with this information? New Years is only a few days away and it will soon be time for me to put on paper my goals...what will I put on my list next year? What will I be striving to accomplish? How will I continue to better myself, my marriage, my life in general.

Its almost too much for 8AM on a Thursday morning.