First of all, Hector is still alive, we think.  Matt came over on Friday and got down to business.  Best news, we don’t have a mouse infestation.  There are no signs that mice have been in our house for very long, also, Hector & Victoria were the only mice here so far…  Poison has been inserted into the cinder block foundation and Hector will be seeing his way out of the house shortly in search of water.  Traps are still set up in the basement and they will remain there forever now.  Happy New Year to Hector.  I’m so glad you could be a part of our life.  No video was taken on Friday, but there may be a picture of my husband with Victoria.

Also, side note, one of my best friends got engaged last night.  There was lots of screaming and shrieking with excitement while I congratulated them in Hebrew multiple times.  Yay for Anna & Aaron.  Tonight, we are celebrating.  The best part about our text conversation last night was that after being engaged for two hours, she was already facing an anxiety attack.  I totally understand that.  I carry a worry stone in my purse at all times. 

So, that brings me to my resolutions for the year.  I took the top 10 resolutions across the country and will make it specifically relate to my life and then I will work my ass off to follow through.  Or, I will laugh when I realize that it’s absolutely not possible and I look like a fool for trying it:

1. Spend more time with family & friends – Over 50% of Americans have this as one of their resolutions.  Isn’t that a little sad?  More than half of Americans admit that they do not spend as much time as they should with family & friends.  Who are they spending time with then?  Strangers? 

My version:  Helping Anna with her wedding planning and helping her not get overwhelmed by the whole ordeal. Also, do something with my mom or dad once a month that they want to do, even if I don’t want to do it. 

2. Fit in Fitness – Speaks for itself

My version: Sorry, nothing creative.  The Tracy Anderson Method will be arriving in my mailbox within the next week so I can avoid the gym during these crazy busy days after the New Year.  This is the number 2 resolution and everyone signs up at my gym.  Also, I will ride my bike at least once a week anytime the weather is warmer than 60 degrees.  Where am I going on my bicycle?  I guess we’ll find out when it warms up a little.

3. Tame the bulge – Over 66% of adult Americans are considered overweight.  Shouldn’t this be the number one resolution?  I think this is the easiest one to give up on. 

My version:  I cannot give up on this one this year since I will be wearing a short strapless bridesmaid dress sometime in July or August for my sister-in-law’s wedding.  I will be taking some “before” pictures this week.  I call them before pictures because it’s the first time I will actually be taking conscious efforts to “tame” my muffin top. 

4.  Quit smoking – On average, it takes smokers 4 attempts at quitting before they actually quit.  Interesting.  I don’t know how many attempts I made, but I found the last one successful.

My version:  I still sneak cigs when I’ve had a drink or two.  When I wake up the next morning, I feel like I ate poop.  I would like to stop enjoying a cigarette after a drink.  AHAHAHAHA.  Good luck with this one, right?

5.  Enjoy Life More – WTF? 

6.  Quit drinking – There are a lot of heavy drinkers that use New Years to quit drinking.  I don’t really have that as part of my plan for right now.

7.  Get out of Debt – Americans spend a lot of time stressing about their finances.  The majority of people in this country are in some sort of debt.  Whether it’s a house or a car that you owe some money on, you have debt.

My version:  I am going to work on the snowball principle to pay off some old debts.  Starting with our smallest monthly payments, we will pay a little extra on that each month until it’s completely paid off.  Then the amount I used to apply to that will be applied to my next lowest on top of the monthly payments, and on and on.

8.  Learn something new – Some examples here are learning a new language, practicing a new hobby or picking up a new musical instrument.  One of the keys to staying mentally fit is to keep your brain working.

My version:  I am going to make an attempt at returning to school.  I will be starting small at first and working my way up to grad school.  Also, I plan to continue to read the news every day and play words with friends (that’s like “word of the day” right?)

9.  Help others – Volunteer or Donate money.  If everyone would take two or three days a year and do one of those things, think of all the things we could accomplish. 

My version:  Donate to the same organizations we have always donated to and discover 3 new ones to be a part of and support.  Also, I would like to do some community development volunteering.  I love St. Paul and my neighbors a ton and since Mighty Kids was cancelled, I don’t have a community program that I’m heavily involved in.  That is definitely something I would like to do.

10.  Get organized – No description needed.

My version:  I kind of started this in about September when I kept getting super frustrated at my house all the time and wasn’t sure why.  Home is supposed to be a place that is calming, comfortable and relaxing.  I realized that we just had too much stuff.  Our house was constantly cluttered because there wasn’t a place for all the things we had.  Slowly, we have been cleaning out each closet and each packed box and donating items as we go.  It definitely has come a long way.  It helped me so much that I made a promise to myself to keep my work life as organized as possible and that has been a little more of a struggle, but I will use this resolution to continue working on both of those things.  Also, less clutter means a possibility of less Hector, right?  Less places for that little shit to hide.

So that’s my year, sounds exciting? 

Oh yeah, I also want to travel to at least 4 new places.  Visit friends we haven’t seen in a long time.  Make it to New York City.  See at least 5 baseball games and have the Twin’s win the World Series… possible right?  End of 2012, let the Vikings be at least 12-3 too.  Let this year bring awesome weddings with awesome dance parties, dance parties for no reason (I tweeted today that my only resolution was to dance every day… done), maybe some babies (Taylor’s take note), at least one awesome road trip, new friends, new opportunities and maybe even a new kitchen. 

Also, let it be known that I am so grateful for the people in my life, my dogs, my home and the happiness that I get to experience every day.  Peace and love everyone.  I’ll drink to that.