Happy New Year!

I have been thinking of several things to post. Now to sit down and post a few! :)

I hope your 2011 has started off well! Mine started off with a nice family get together at my brother in law's with his wife, their four kids, his in laws and my in laws. :) It was full of fun, games and good food. There was the toast at midnight, too. I decided on our short drive home that we should start a new tradition as a family of four. We should go on a walk when we got home... start the new year with fresh air, togetherness... family and fitness. :) As we walked, I realized that, although it was an unusually balmy 60 degrees this year... it very likely could be below freezing for our next walk. Hmmm, a good "new tradition" idea? ;)

I have started (yet again) a journal. I have written in it two days in a row. :) Hoping to keep that up. This will help me keep track of my thoughts, and hopes for 2011, which reminds me of my "resolutions, goals, plans, or procedures" that I'd like to start in 2011. I always thought of them as resolutions, but have read this blog post, this one and this post, too, and thought I liked these better. :)

A few plans I have for myself/procedures I'd like to start are as follows:

1. I had been thinking about my goals since around Thanksgiving (leading up to my one little word) and thought I'd like to work on my weight/fitness this year. I thought one habit I needed to break was Starbucks coffee-in fact, a grande, nonfat, vanilla latte with half the normal pumps of vanilla in it... EVERY DAY. So, not only was I drinking 200 calories per day but spending quite a bit as well (their prices went up around Thanksgiving, too.) So, I broke the habit. I quit cold turkey on Dec 4. I had one on our way to visit my family (New Year's Day, early...) and one on the way back. I didn't sleep well either night thanks to all the caffeine! :) I make coffee each day at home, and drink probably about 8 ounces.

2. I also looked at my garmin calendar which tracks each of the days/times/distances I run. I looked at 2010 and saw (after my run on New Year's eve...) that I had ran 596 miles in 2010. So, I set a goal to run 1000 miles in 2011. I will run the half marathon this spring and a full in the fall, hopefully (after stress fractures, we know nothing is set in stone!) I planned out my goal-52 weeks, about 20 miles per week. I have run 3.25 miles on the two days since I wrote out this plan.

3. I have been keeping track of my calories on www.thedailyplate.com and keeping the total low enough to (hopefully, eventually) lose some of the chubbiness my legs have acquired-the pants that don't fit can attest. I just want to be fit again and fit into the clothes I like. These three plans will help with that! :)

4. I'd like to take more photos-not an abundance at special family activities, but some of each day, of our daily lives. I am sad to think that our oldest is almost midway through her sophomore year and will be headed to college in a few short years-she turns 16 this month!! Even our youngest will be out on her own in 6 years or so.

5. I mentioned that I was contemplating my one little word being "Read" and I'm sticking with that, thus far. Since I posted, I have read my Bible, and read a book (got the new Laura Childs scrapbooking mystery, even though I like her tea books far better, these are good reads, too) and I'm halfway through that.

I think that's all for now. Don't want the post to be too disjointed! :) I hope you all are well on this 4th day of January, 2011.