2009 is already a success

It’s a great start to 2009 already. I tell you what… We are 23 days into the year 2009 and I am already confident this is going to be a great year for me. At this point in the year I usually start dreading the inevitable of my life getting in my way. It hasn’t happened yet and I don’t believe it will any time soon. That being said I know it will happen but I figure I’ll be in a much better place that I can deal with it and nothing will be permanent. I have already done some great things this year and am working towards only doing more. Here are some things I have gotten started on….

~ It has officially been 14 days I have gone with out Soda and Coffee. I never in a million years thought I could or would go with out either. It was nowhere near as agonizing as I thought it would be. I will have soda and coffee again but only on occasion not as a necessity.
~I also saved double the amount of money I have saved every other month. Something that is nearly impossible for the high-end shopper I am.
~I lost 4 more lbs. I have accepted I am not 20 anymore and I can’t eat whatever I want with out it finding its way to my hips. I have changed my eating habits tremendously. I count calories, fats, proteins, sugars, and fiber. I know I can’t live like this forever but I figure if I learn what foods I can and shouldn’t eat I won’t have to do that for long. I am already on a good start. I upped my work out routines by 10 minutes a session and am going to add 5 more minutes every week.
~I have made a huge dent in my credit cards and should have them paid off in a matter of a month or two.
~I have started to be a little more selfish and put myself first. I know that sounds wrong but anyone that knows me knows I usually put everyone but me first. This is a HUGE accomplishment for me. I am finally focusing on me and my happiness.

Now, I haven’t learned a new hobby, or told that special guy just exactly how I feel, I haven’t quit smoking and I haven’t had a vacation yet but it’s only January. I hope everyone’s 2009 is starting off as good as mine!

Love,

A

Baby It's Cold Outside

I can sum up my latest adventure in one word…. Detroit! Yes I am really in Detroit during the middle of winter and there is something to be said about snow here, like I have not seen the roads at all in 5 days. There is so much snow it’s unreal. Everyday I step outside the hotel into the morning air and think I am becoming hypothermic. That morning air is -5 degrees and full of snow. Once I cross the threshold into what seems like hell frozen over, I clumsily fight the frozen car door open and dig for the snow brush, I slam the door shut hoping it will knock off a majority of the snow so the 10 minutes I would have to spend cleaning it all off is cut down to maybe 5. I get in the car and sit and wait patiently for about 10 minutes until a little bit of heat starts to seep out. Now, you would think putting on a jacket and gloves would be enough to suffice but it is not and I discovered this today when the tips of my fingers starting stinging and then I lost feeling in my hands. Just so we are clear, I had on polar fleece gloves. Fleece is supposedly one of the warmest materials there is. Once, I see the engine has stopped shaking and is starting to warm up, I am off and heading to work. I take about 3 city roads to get the highway and all are packed with snow so I guess where the lanes are because I cannot see the lines. I enter the highway and immediately see accidents and traffic, yet somehow I have been in DETROIT for 5 days and have only seen one police officer. Now, incase Detroit, Michigan has not been your choice for vacation spots, the highways are grated for snow. They look like someone plowed them. I make it to my exit safely after 5 miles of interstate and about 20 minutes. I take my last side road and start yet again guessing where the lane is marked on the road. I drive slow and safe and literally slide into a parking spot. I work all day only to attempt this dangerous feat again at 4:30 only difference is that the temperature has risen from -5 to an actual 7 degrees. I get home and I am locked away to watch American Idol tryouts and laugh my ass off. Hope everyone is warm or at least warmer than me.

A friend not so much!

Recently, my frustrations with a certain friend have grown. Maybe it’s because I getting older or maybe I am just tried of it, but I have had enough. I am not in any form of competition between our lives. I am happy with mine, be happy with yours. Our lives are not meant to compete. I have been happy for you, just be happy for me too. All the negative comments and the joy you show on your face and in the tone of your voice by my misfortunes is recognized. I am tired of it. Let me teach you a valuable lesson. My misfortunes are very small and I know I am very blessed. Whether I gained a few pounds or am not having such good luck in the boyfriend department, I know everything happens for a reason and I am strong enough to overcome the negatives and fix what I don’t like about my life. Let me clear something up, despite what you may want to think, I love my life…. Yes I do. I have many great friends, a wonderful family, a great job, excellent pay, I am beautiful inside and out and I have a huge heart filled with faith and love from God. I know what a friend means. You however seem to be lost. A friend is uplifting, supportive… you have not been. I hear the joy in your voice and see the immediate gratification on your face as if you have won something. Why? Well, news for you. I am well on my way to that skinny girl again and you may have settled on a man, but I’m not in any hurry, I will wait till the time is right for me. I have thought about writing you out of my life but I decided not to. Why, because despite all of this, I know there is something you are not happy about in your life that makes you think this is OK. It’s not OK. So I have made the decision not to speak to you for a while so that I don’t say anything hurtful and mean as well as allow you the opportunity to deal with what you need to so that this doesn’t continue. Now I know I have never talked to you about this, but you should know whom you are and this is the last time. What we have been through is no longer relevant, I need a friend who is going to be there for me the way I am there for them, someone who will not try and put me down to make themselves feel better or more accomplished. You figure out whether you can be that kind of friend.

You don't get smarter with age....

Now, when I was a kid, even now, my momma raised me thinking the older you get the smarter you get. She lied to me. If your parents told you that too, they lied as well. No, I am not mean, I am honest, that’s all. Old people have absolutely no filter. I get that you are old and sick but damn. Seriously, think about what you are saying and how it can make people feel. I know they don’t set out to hurt people but sometimes it really does. Remember that show, Kids say the Darndest things? They need a show Old people say the meanest things. Ok, moral of the story, the older you get, the meaner you get… and you don’t get smarter! I am bitter and tired of being surrounded by old people, thank goodness tomorrow I am heading home.

Annoyed Aunt Speaks Out..

Ok, seriously people, I know babies are cute but if you see one in line at the grocery store, walking through the mall or where ever you may be, do not I repeat DO NOT ask to hold a strangers baby. It is fine to make some contact; you can smile, wave, even compliment the child but please no lingering. One you have no idea what you are keeping the parent from getting done and they DO NOT KNOW YOU. It’s weird and a little too much. I have been more irritated with people the past couple of days in a way I had never been before. When I am holding my nephew and someone says he’s cute…. Fine, I don’t know you but I will smile politely and say thank you (Because, he is the most adorable thing) But on more than one occasion this week people have tried to get him to hold their finger, poke at him, and get very close to his face. I know that I am in North Carolina and in a town of only old people, but all I can think is, I don’t know where your hands have been so keep your dirty paws away from my nephew, I don’t know if you are a pedophile so don’t touch him or I may break your hand, and yeah he has pneumonia…. Get any closer and he coughs on you… you deserve it! I know this is terrible but think about this… he is tired and ready for a nap and we just got him calmed down and you just got him all riled up…. There goes naptime. Now if you haven’t been around a baby who misses a nap, you should try it. The whole day is full of fussy fits and sad tired eyes. I know you may think well if a baby is tired they will sleep. NOT TRUE! Some babies fight sleep and the more tired they are the harder it is to get them to sleep. He also may have the dirtiest diaper in the world or it’s time for a bottle…. There was just enough time to make it to the bathroom to either change him or feed him before he started wailing… now you added 5 minutes maybe 10 if your really annoying and he starts screaming before we get there…. Also don’t offer parental advice. This works better or you should do this. When I hear something like that I have one question… Have you spent 24 hours with this child? Well believe me you haven’t the parents know what works for that child. What worked for yours may not work for theirs. If they want your opinion they will ask for it. They make websites and blogs where moms and dad’s can read tips & tricks for raising a baby. If you have something to tell parents by all means join the websites or start a blog. This experience of spending allllllll day for a couple of days with my sister, brother-in-law and nephew has been an eye opening experience. I asked my sister if this happens a lot and she laughed and said all the time. Now, it bothers her just as much as it bothers me, so please don’t do it!