I don't like to make resolutions for the new year because they seemed doomed to failure just by nature. Everyone makes resolutions and nearly everyone fails to keep them. So instead, I've set a few goals for myself and our family this year. I'm really trying to be realistic with these goals, in hopes that I will actually come close to achieving them.
1) Bring my lunch to work more and eat fewer meals out. After seeing how much money we spend eating out, I am going to work harder to bring my lunch with me to work. I've also got so many added responsibilities at work that it makes sense to bring my lunch and get work done over the lunch hour. So far, I'm doing well and I've been please with how much I get accomplished during my lunch hour. I'm not banning dining out, but I'm trying to cut back a little. Both Steve and I are working on this. We're also trying to eat more vegetables. I do pretty well with fruit, but I never get enough vegetables. Anyone with good ideas for preparing veggies should send them my way -- I'm on the lookout for new ideas.
2) Get back to exercising. It's hard to squeeze in time for exercise when we've got so many other things going on. But we've already come up with a plan (tenatively) to get us both back to working out on a regular basis.
3) Steve and I are going to run a marathon this year to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. This is through their program, Team in Training. We are going to the kick off meeting for our group on Tuesday night, so we'll meet the other folks we're training with. We are going to run a marathon in San Diego in June. I've heard that only about 1 percent of the population will ever run a marathon, so that pretty much confirms it's a daunting task. But when I think about all the people who couldn't run a marathon if they wanted to, I remember why we are really doing this. We will each raise money for leukemia research (we have to raise about $3,900 each) and we'll train together for the race. I'm sure you'll hear more about this from us soon because we'll be making our plea for donations.
We've had a much quieter week and I'm thankful for that. Cate is learning new words every day. Our favorite this week is "please." She doesn't pronounce the "l" so it sounds more like peeez. It's really cute. She's also learning when to say it so she's saying things like "milk please" and "help please." It seems like just yesterday she was born and now she's saying two word phrases. I can't believe it.
Beginning last Thursday, things have been perfectly crazy around our house. Of course if it wasn't crazy, it would be boring so I can't complain too much.
After struggling with a cough for a few weeks, Cate was sent home from day care last Thursday with a fever. We took her to the doctor who quickly determined she had a virus called Fifth's Disease. It's nothing serious, but it takes several days to recover. I'm pretty sure she also had the flu because she threw up too and that's not a common symptom of Fifth's Disease. We spent most of the day Thursday and all day Friday, Saturday and Sunday cooped up at home. I think all three of us were ready to get out on Monday morning.
The Kansas Legislature has begun the annual legislative session, so both Steve and I are now swamped at work. Both our jobs involve a fair amount of contact with the Legislature. As a result, workloads multiply in January and don't get back to normal until the summer. One big issue this year, both at the federal and state level, is the minimum wage. I talked to a reporter this week from the Washington Post and got a small quote in the story. Steve also had some press this week after his legislative testimony.
By Wednesday evening, we discovered a leak under the kitchen sink. I think our garbage disposal is being replaced as I type this post.
To wrap up our exciting week, we thought it might be a good weekend to go to Wichita. Steve needs to visit the Wichita Greyhound Park for work and we can combine some other errands with the trip. Unfortunately, most of the state is under a winter weather advisory as snow and ice come down from Colorado to Missouri. We decided last night to cancel our plans to go to Wichita (Cate had her swimsuit all packed for the hotel pool) and stay close to home.
| Cate is learning the sounds that all the animals make. She's happy to demonstrate all the new sounds she's learned. | |
| Cate played Jingle Bells this year. She made up her own dance moves to go along with the song. | |
We had a great holiday season with Cate this year. She was an angel at her day care Christmas program.
