She Likes Purple

My Favorite To-Do List To Date

In case you're into looking back on (many) failed tasks and (also many) tasks with lines drawn through them, here are my 2010, 2011, and 2012 to-do lists.

2013 is below.

I tried hard to create tangible goals that weren't intimidating. Sure, I have some bigger, abstract goals that are hard to put on a list because you can't really cross them off, such as complain less, accept help more, be far less lazy, etc., but I think this list may be my best list yet. We'll see, of course. But I like it a lot.

1. Earn a 100-class yoga bracelet
2. Go on an overnight trip with Kristie and our families (possibly to Jellystone Park)
3. Visit a new state
4. Cook one dish a week from the cookbooks I own (52 delicious recipes!) 
5. Don't purchase a new cookbook the entire year
6. Finish Couch to 5K
7. Finish Couch to 10K
8. Make an eye appointment and buy new glasses (It's TIME. I've had my current ones as long as I've had Kyle.)
9. Finish a month of (the basic bones of) Whole30 (as a mostly vegetarian who eats a little fish)
10. Host a Friendsgiving
11. Read every book on Elizabeth's best of 2012 list
12. Read every book selected by my (awesome) book club (I've already read January and February's picks. Score!)
13. Run a 5K and a 10K (try to PR)
14. Take a stab at one Pinterest-inspired project a month. A new recipe, a craft, etc. (I'll call it "Pin of the Month," or something dorky like that.)
15. Finish Kyle's book of letters (This has been on my list for a while, I know, but it's a big project. I just need to make the time for it this year.)
16. Create our second family yearbook
17. Email Kyle every day of the year (365 Days of Emails)
18. Read 25 books throughout the year
19. Throw a champagne-inspired dinner party for my ladies
20. Seriously, get that third tattoo (I think I finally know what I want it to be)
21. Go horseback riding
22. Get my passport updated; get Kyle a passport (I wanted to do this in 2012 but, sheesh, you have to pay to update your name if the passport is over 5 years old. Uncool!)
23. Go a month without dairy
24. As much as possible, no eating after 9PM (obviously this can't always be helped and this is all about curbing the mindless snacking, not about skipping a late dinner)
25. Read the Bible (some of it, all of it, we'll see)
26. Learn a little web design and create one sidebar badge or Facebook cover or SOMETHING web-related
27. Pay off Mike's student loans (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) (this deserves that many exclamation points, trust me)
28. Buy a living room rug
29. Hang travel photos above our couch
30. Menu plan each (and every) month
31. Figure out a shoe storage solution for my teeny, tiny closet
32. Don't buy a single new pair of shoes all of 2013
33. Take more neighborhood walks
34. Spraypaint something
35. Take a picture of what I'm wearing every Friday (or at least once a week), so I can pretend I'm as stylish as Elizabeth and also so I can be motivated to dress better
36. Make lasagna for a neighbor
37. Get a new pet
38. Take a family photo shoot (why do my favorite photographers have to live so far away!?)
39. Take Kyle to an Aggie football game
40. Make no-sew curtains
41. Clean out and organize all my kitchen drawers
42. Buy new hardware for my kitchen drawers/cabinets
43. Go on a weekend trip with Natalie, to celebrate being friends for 20 years
44. Paint our living room
45. Wear skinny jeans.
46. Buy/Make a personalized viewfinder for Kyle
47. Write an article/post about parenting an only child
48. Make Mike baked ziti again, the right way
49. Start Justified
50. Throw Kyle an awesome fourth birthday party
51. Re-read The Great Gatsby, in anticipation of seeing the movie
52. Take Kyle to a Rangers game
53. Run a race in Austin
54. Stay the night in Denton
55. Volunteer again with Meals On Wheels
56. Feel better about my physical health at the end of the year than at the start of it
57. Buy new champagne flutes
58. Eat a Butter Lane cupcake
59. Dance with my husband on our 6th anniversary
60. Pay off one credit card
61. Get my car detailed (and then try to keep that bad boy clean)
63. Do a full month (30 straight days!) of the 30-Day Shred
64. Set up a monthly Skype date with my sister and nephew
65. Be happy

I reserve the right to change, edit, and add to this list because that's the awesome thing about creating lists. I just want this year to be good, to be peaceful, to be full. Oh, I hope it can be all that.

My Somewhat Neglected Year To-Do List

I love my year to-do list, but sheesh it's a little dusty, is it not?

There are still some things I hope to cross off before the ball drops -- create Kyle's book of letters, write and submit a piece on parenting -- and I have roughly two weeks to do it, so I better get cracking. But, there are many things I plan to carry over into my 2012 to-do list because I know I am happier and better when I go after my goals (even if I don't happen to check them off in a timely fashion).

2012 is a big year. I turn 30 in January, Kyle turns three (!!!!!) in February, Mike and I celebrate five years of marriage in May. Big stuff, grand stuff, happy stuff.

I know a new year isn't a quick fix or really any more of a fresh start than your average Tuesday, but it sure feels different. Especially this year. So, I'm putting together a new list, thinking about some big-time changes, and, yeah, happy for what's ahead.

(I have a good feeling about 30, my friends.)

In 2012, I definitely want to write more here, specifically. Working and half-marathon training and other-site managing and freelancing and toddler wrangling and just being plain addicted to my DVR turns out to be distractingly time-consuming stuff. I also second guess my posts way more than I used to and I want to quit that (tell me to quit that) because I like writing here. It makes me happy, no matter what I'm really writing about. So, 2012 is the year I get back to clogging your feed readers. You're welcome! 

Part of writing more means flat-out planning my posts in advance and that means writing more for my Real Marraiges series (I need to get an in-laws post up, but I just can't be the one to write it) and maybe starting a Working Moms series. (Totally and admittedly inspired by Ginger.) It also means just posting way more pictures of shoes I'm coveting. Good times, yes, I know.

Before I talk any more about my 2012 list (it's coming soon) and my plans, what do you have planned for 2012? Maybe your goals will inspire new ones for me, and, even if not, I'd love to hear what you're excited about. Houses, babies, trips, businesses, big ideas that are going to change the world, or, hey, cute shoes you want to buy? One thing you should know about this blog: there's always time for cute shoes.

Rock N Roll Half-Marathon Recap

So, yeah, this is overdue (and it's just a small part of my Vegas recap, too), and we may all be past the half-marathon chit-chat 'round these parts anyway, but it would be a very anti-climactic half-marathon training recap without the half-marathon race recap, I think. So, sit down, make yourselves comfortable, this may take a while.

First, Vegas is and will probably always be a favorite place of mine. I simply love a place that is all "hey, I am ugly and crowded and blinding and very, very drunk, and, FUCK IT, TAKE ME OR LEAVE ME. Also, here is an escort card while you drink your champagne from the bottle on the street." It's just so unapologetically itself, and I love it.

So, when I saw the chance to combine a favorite city and a huge life goal -- run a half-marathon -- and I wanted to go to Vegas to celebrate my 30th birthday anyway, it all seemed very perfect, and in many ways, it was. It was perfect that I got to run this race, after all this time, with so many people I love.

But, okay, let me back up a bit. The day after we got to Vegas, we headed to the race expo, to get our bibs and race bags. It was an incredible expo (best I've been to, honestly), and if we didn't have a show to see that night, I would have stayed until it closed.

Then came Sunday, and, OH BOY, was I nervous. I was nervous that it would be tough, that it wouldn't be fun, that it would be really cold or that I'd hurt myself mid-race or something else sucky-yet-predictable, but I wasn't expecting what happened.

First, we had to gather at our assigned corrals (of which there were 40-or-so, total) and we probably stood around for over an hour waiting for the race to start, maybe longer. I turned on "The Cave," right before we started inching toward the starting line, and I felt good. I teared up in anticipation of doing it and I felt, right then, that I was ready.

We finally got to the starting line and took off. Kristie and I had talked about walking every two miles starting at mile three, but we both felt great at mile three and kept going. The first 4-5 miles were on the strip, and it was incredible to see all the lights around us and hear the spectators cheering. I felt great, other than a slightly annoying foot cramp (maybe because of the cold?), but it wasn't anything impossible to deal with.

Once we got off the strip, the race started to feel less organized. The bathrooms seemed to disappear, the lights were sporadic, the water stations became more insane, and we decided to stop around mile 8 (still feeling good) to use the bathroom at a Burger King. Unfortunately, the lines weren't budging, at all, and we probably waited a good ten minutes and, shit, I just got stiff. When we started running after that, it was pretty painful. Miles 8-9 were just hard, but not impossible, and then we hit mile 10.

I've run 10 miles, I've even felt good running 10 miles, but miles 10-13 of this race were excruciating. What was so frustrating was that, mentally, I was there. I was repeating every mantra I've ever used, I was looking at this beautifully lit-up strip and trying to channel all the energy of it, I was reading every handmade sign I passed, and I was thinking of every single person I loved, but I felt my body begin to shut down. I've honestly never felt like that during any run. It wasn't exhaustion or being mentally beat down, I just felt sick and it was very strange for me because, well, I so rarely get sick.

I will never know how I made it across that finish line. It wasn't sheer determination or strength or willpower, it was just autopilot, and I think that's why I feel so crappy about it. I didn't feel anything but pain when I finished.

Once we finished, everything got blurry. I couldn't think of eating or drinking anything, but I knew I needed something. I tried a bite of (green, under-ripe) banana, and wanted to throw that up. I tried an energy drink and wanted to throw that up. I couldn't really speak, which felt weird, but I finally saw Mike and kind of lost it for a bit. I finally felt a little relief after seeing him, and I knew that no matter what, thank goodness, I'd at least have him. From there, we went inside Mandalay Bay, the hotel where the race ended and tried to work our way back to our own hotel.

{I did not want to take this photo, but I'm so glad I did. Thank you Kristie for making me!}

Oh, guys, inside the hotel is when things really got awful. I don't know if the race organizers didn't communicate well with the hotel staff, but they somehow let thousands of runners (there were 44,000 total runners) walk through a somewhat small corridor of the hotel when a show was also letting out (and foot traffic was allowed the opposite way). I don't know why so many runners felt like I felt -- very, very sick -- even though there's speculation on the race's Facebook page and in articles around the web that there was contaminated water at one of the water stations, although who knows if that's true -- but it just got nightmarish in Mandalay Bay. Runners were fainting and vomiting but medics couldn't get to them through the wall-to-wall crowd. I was getting panicky because I'm short and in claustrophobic situations, I feel, well, claustrophobic, but I also felt really sick, and it was bad. Just bad bad bad.

It took about an hour to get through the crowd and when we finally did (oh, thank goodness), I finally got sick in a Luxor trashcan (and felt much better) and then had to walk another half mile or so to our hotel. I kept saying to Mike, "I honestly don't think I can do this. I don't think I can keep walking." And he kept saying, "I know you can, I know you can, I know you can." And that's all that got me through it. Oh, shit, it sounds so dramatic, I know, but it was hard and I've never been so happy to see a hotel room in all of my life. I collapsed into bed and slept until the next morning and it might have been the best night's sleep of my life.

I kind of hate that it all ended with a tough last four miles and a really tough trip back to the hotel, but I like to think any race I run from here on will be better. This is a race that took in nearly SIX MILLION DOLLARS and while a big chunk of that, presumably, went to charity, it just seemed that for the sheer SIZE of the race, it would be meticulously organized. It actually fueled my desire to organize a race one day because so many of the issues seemed preventable. (So many aren't worth getting into, either, but OH THERE WERE A FEW.)

Putting all that aside, can I just say, I am so glad to have had Kristie running with me and Mike waiting for me at the end. Shit, for a solitary sport, I sure do require a helluva support system to do it, don't I? (And I have one HELL of a good support system, too.)

All that really matters is that I finished the half-marathon. I somehow dug deep enough to do it, even though every part of me screamed to stop. I kept beating myself up because it wasn't fast enough or I didn't feel strong enough but screw that, right? I did it. I crossed the finish line (in 2:47:44) and I know that every half-marathon from here on will be better because of this first one. And, yeah, I can actually think of running more now, even though if you had asked me right afterward, I would have said NO NO NO NO NO NO, NOOOOOO, HAAAAA, NO.

Good thing, too. I run another in six weeks.

Race Recap: Rahr & Sons Oktoberfest 5K

Last year, the Rahr & Sons Oktoberfest 5K was only my second 5K to finish, so it felt good to return to the course this past weekend and see if I could smoke my time. Last year, it rained the entire race (which I actually didn't mind) but this year it was the exact opposite: really sunny and really warm.

I've been training for my half-marathon with Kristie, but we're lucky to have other friends who run, too, and this group of ladies has dubbed itself the Running to Drink Team (fitting, right?). We run, we brunch, we laugh, we high-five. They're fantastic.

We even have our own signs bedazzled for us.

We all run at slightly different speeds, but Kristie and I took off at the start together. Pretty soon after that, though, she pulled ahead. It was hot, and I didn't want to force myself to go any faster than I could, especially not at first. I knew the run was going to end on a tough hill, so I tried to focus on that as I slowed down a little.

My initial goal was to finish under 33 minutes but not even a half-mile in, I didn't think that was going to happen. The sun! Oof, it was a bitch.

I somehow caught back up with Kristie around mile two, and that re-energized me to push on. On that last, horrible hill, I saw my friend's husband, holding the sign above, and it was then that Mumford & Son's "The Cave" came on, which pushed me over that hill, feeling pretty good.

Then, right at the finish, I saw Mike. All it took, and we finished strong!

Last year's time: 45:38 (a 14:41 mile)
This year's time: 31:17 (a 10:04 mile)

I shaved over 14 minutes off my time and over 4 minutes off my mile pace. I'm running another 5K this weekend (in addition to a five-miler) and I'm hoping to finish under 30 minutes, if the weather cooperates and everything else falls into place. Cross your fingers!

It was a hard but good run with an incredibly supportive group of friends around me. We headed to The Pour House afterward for oh-my-goodness-so-good food and cheap brunch-y drinks.

It was such a nice day.

(Well, until kick-off of the second half of the A&M game. Ouch.)

Girl's Weekend in Santa Fe

After we stayed (quickly) in Santa Fe this summer, I knew I wanted to go back. But, Mike is strange about visiting a place we've already been, even a place he likes. He thinks there are so many NEW AND AWESOME places in the world, there's no reason to ever visit the same place twice (except for Vegas, we are tried-and-true Vegas loyalists). Finally, a quirk that will make you think he's the crazy one! It's exhausting being the only one in a relationship to get strange looks.

But, we were in Santa Fe for a whopping 12 hours and did approximately ZERO sight-seeing unless the must-see sights in Northern New Mexico are the discounted rooms at the Econo Lodge.

When we got back, I couldn't stop raving about the little we had seen and I was itching to return. It just so happened Kristie's birthday was a couple months away, so we set about planning a girl's weekend.

A wild and crazy people-packed weekend turned into a weekend with just Kristie, my mom, and myself, which seems a bit of an odd group, but it turned out really quite perfect.

Friday Night

We drove and drove and drove into Santa Fe (stopping in Amarillo for a tasty lunch at BL Bistro), and I quickly realized drives go by much slower when you don't nap through them (as I did the first time around). We checked into our hotel (The Lodge at Santa Fe, which had delicious margaritas, a very nice, if frightened-by-us staff, and slow-as-molasses wifi; eh, two out of three ain't bad), and headed down to the Plaza where we ate at The Shed. We were warned the wait would be horrible, but we waited no longer than a half hour and shopped in the nearby stores during that wait.

{The taco plate that I ordered.}

{Tasty but super overpriced 'rita}

{Pre-dinner photo ops}

We turned in early Friday night because we had a big half-marathon training run planned for the morning.

Saturday

We got up, got dressed, and took to the local neighborhood streets to tackle 3 miles and ... my lungs jumped out of my chest about a half mile into it. They were like, "We do not agree with this plan, we'll wait right here." Basically, the (much) higher altitude did a number on us. I finally managed to run a total of 2.5 miles and I didn't regain my breath until about five minutes ago.

We treated ourselves post-run with a belly-busting but OMG AMAZING brunch at Chocolate Maven Bakery. I got the Eggs Madison (smoked salmon Benedict-type dish) but the real star of the table was my mom's Almond Raspberry French Toast. People. This was a life-changing dish and if you ever make it to Santa Fe, you have to immediately go to Chocolate Maven and order it. (With a side of mimosa because why not, you're on vacation.)

{Pastries!}

{I weirdly love milk mixing into iced coffee}

(We even stopped back the next day to get some pastries.)

After brunch, we headed back to the Plaza to peruse an arts festival that was happening the same weekend and a few of the local shops and churches.

{Here is a picture of pretty Santa Fe! And ... a trash can.}

For dinner Saturday night, we tried Rooftop Pizzeria, which was good, but not great.

Sunday

We got up early and headed down south about a half hour to Tent Rocks Park. I wasn't feeling the hiking vibe, but it was Kristie's birthday and she was most defnitely feeling the hiking vibe. I tried to perk up, for her, but I imagined I'd get about a hundred feet and opt to wait on a rock instead.

"You hike! I'll ... sit near hiking!"

For whatever reason, though, the hike turned increidble rather quickly. We had great conversation, lots of water and, once we asended high enough, the most amazing views I've seen since being at the Arches this summer. Oh Texas. Where are your pretty views, I ask?

Anyway, it was incredible, and I'm so glad we took the time to do this. (It took about two hours, total, from start to finish.) A special shout out to my mom, who rocked the hike. I hope I'm as active as she proved to be when I'm her age.

After the hike, we stopped at Trader Joe's because THAT IS WHAT YOU DO WHEN YOU ARE NEAR A TRADER JOE'S AND DO NOT HAVE ONE AT HOME. Can I just say take a moment to say that TJ's dark chooclate peanut butter cups are made of evil and addiction because they are just about the most delicious things on this planet. Do not buy any if you like your waistline. Trust me on this one, my friends.

We took mid-afternoon naps and while there is no way we needed more sleep after 10 hours the night before, we indulged anyway. Lots of sleep at night + naps during the day = why vacations ARE SO AWESOME, am I right?

Sunday evening, we walked around and shopped a little (there was a pretty fantastic bookstore we popped in and browsed) before searching for a dinner spot. Oh man, this is why I like to thoroughly plan out my vacation meals in advance with spreadsheets and everything because we ended up walking around for an hour, browsing menus and prices, trying to find the perfect place with nothing more than our eyes. Most places were all wrong. Either there were no vegetarian options or the prices made our stomachs turn and we nearly fell over from exhaustion and hunger and sheer annoyance by the end of the hour. We finally settled on the Rooftop Cantina, which ended up being a great pick. I got the tastiest drink ever made and it came out purple, which, come on, forced me to have two. A purple cocktail that was delicious. MUST HAVE MANY.

Then it started to rain (cool storm-coming-in photo immediately above), so we rushed to the adjoining (pretty fancy) restaurant and decided to have dessert there.

Oh guys.

I wish I could tell the story and do it any kind of justice but it was a hilarious hour. We were clearly not fancy enough to be in this place and the staff clearly knew this. I said it was "Pretty Woman: Fancy Restaurant Edition" and it really was other than the part where we weren't dressed like hookers. The staff didn't actually ask us to leave mid-meal, but I know it crossed their minds. For instance, the hostess listened to us talk about having dessert there, even peruse the dessert menu right in front of her, and when we asked for a table, she said, "Well, I'll have to see. If we can find one. For you."

We headed back to the lodge after stuffing ourselves with dessert and champagne and paying. Our credit cards work just like the rich! Just not as often as the rich.

(After we got back to the lodge, we drank a little more, and I prefer not to talk about that. Poor decision the night before a ten-hour roadtrip, I KNOW THIS NOW.)

Monday

We got coffee at Burger King, a fine Santa Fe estalishment, if you didn't know and headed out of town. We got home hours upon hours upon hours upon HOURS OMG WILL THIS ROADTRIP EVER END later. (Shout out to Kristie who did most of the driving while I did most of the not driving.)

***

It was a lovely weekend, and I'm so glad I got the chance to go, both because of the company and the scenery. If you ever get the chance to visit Santa Fe with a couple of your favorite people, do it do it do it.

Half-Marathon Training: Week 1

On my training program last week were four short runs (1.5 + 1 + 1.5 + 1.5 = 5.5 miles) and 30 min of cross-training. I checked off each run but (hangs head) didn't do the cross. I can tell it's going to be a struggle when the activity is left entirely up to me and isn't as specific as "run one mile."

Let's talk about my runs though.

Run 1: 1.5 mile

I ran at 6 am last Monday morning, with Kristie. We ran in my neighborhood and even though it wasn't easy -- oh, it's hot even at 6 am -- it was nice to get the run out of the way early in the day. I also can't speak highly enough for running with a friend. It's such great moviation for getting out of bed. 

Run 2: 1 mile

I ran this on Tuesday, on the treadmill, and it was just plain tough, start to finish. One mile! So measly! So ass-kicking!

Run 3: 1.5 mile

Another on the treadmill, but not tough at all. This is the hilariousness of running: one mile is horrible one day and a breeze the very next.

Run 4: 1.5 mile

I did this on a (kind of hilly-ish) trail, and it was pretty tough. I couldn't get in stride, I was sweating after a minute (again, hot hot hot, even at 6:30 am).

All in all, kind of tough runs, even though they were all short, and no cross training at all. An okay first week, but I hope the hot weather is the culprit for zapping my energy and drive, and as it gradually cools, I'll stop hating life and exercise.

A couple questions for you, though. Any cross-training activities you enjoy while race training? Also, any songs you're loving right now while you kick ass at something?

Half-Marathon Training

I'm training for a half-marathon that I'll run in Las Vegas (the Strip at Night). Mike promises to wait at the finish line with gallons of champagne for me. (Or, fine, a glass, but my mind is totally going to visualize gallons as I run.)

The training program I found and really liked was a 12-week program for beginners, but since I want to feel ridiculously confident about this race (and because I needed a plan to stick to now) I modified that plan and stretched it out to cover 18 weeks.

For those who want to follow along, I have my training mapped out in Google doc form (if you're training/running too, and want an invite to the doc, let me know!):

{Click on the image to enlarge!}

One of my crazy sidebar list items is to run 11 miles on 11/11/11, so that's worked in there, through two runs that day. We'll see how that goes down!

I'm just two runs in, so I shouldn't be all Braggy McGee, but I am happy with the plan. It feels more "doable" than "holy shit balls." And I credit adding a few extra weeks of padding to the Couch to 5K for my success with that program.

I'm trying to get my runs in outside, at the crack of dawn, before the heat really gets impossible to deal with, but I'll be on a treadmill for some of these (esp the Tuesday runs, due to scheduling). At least until the weather gets nicer. (WHEN WILL THE WEATHER GET NICER OMG?)

I may try to do some sort of weekly update as I train -- I'm not sure if that's something anyone would even want to read -- but it might be fun to look back on. (I had a Tumblr account for these-types of posts, but I abandoned it because one more site to manage turned out to be a straight-up awful idea.)

So, yeah, 13.1 miles. Soon-ish.

Roadtrip Details!

Blue was the drive there. Red was the drive home.

There being Gateway, Colorado, where we stayed for two nights to celebrate Mike's cousin getting married. All about the resort and what we did while there for another post. But, today, THE ROADTRIP!

Day 1

We stopped in Amarillo for lunch (we got burgers to-go from Coyote Bluff), made a quick stop at Cadillac Ranch and then got to Santa Fe around 6 pm or so. Each time we'd stop for gas or a bathroom break or at a rest stop to let Molly stretch her legs, Kyle would clap his hands and say, "WE MADE IT! WE'RE HERE!" Oh, sweet sweet boy, if we ever take you on vacation to a Texaco in far West Texas, go ahead and retract our Parents of the Year award.

Also, upon spotting mountains in New Mexico, Kyle said, "What IS that, Mommy?" with wide eyes. "Oh nothing, just beautiful landscape you'll rarely get to see because we're raising you a Texan, but our housing costs are really reasonable!"

Day 2

We got an early start (and a lot of coffee) and drove up through Colorado. Durango was beautiful, the mountains were spectacular, and the roads ... curvy. We all got a little queasy. Kyle got a lot queasy and puked all over himself and then needed a quick cuddle in the back seat before we continued on.

Poor guy.

We got to Gateway about 4 pm, after driving up through the beautiful canyons of Western Colorado.

Day 4

After breakfast in Gateway, we drove up and into Utah where there were no public bathrooms for many, many miles. MANY MILES IN ALL CAPS EVEN. I was reaching the point of having to either pee my own pants or pee on the side of the road. The GPS/Smart Phone wasn't being very helpful, either, to tell us where the next restroom might be, so it was getting pretty bad. (And I have an impressive bladder, you should know! I can hold it for Olympic-like times.) Finally, I made Mike pull over and I pulled my pants down on the side of the highway (on the other side of the car, of course), ass out for all of Utah to see. Desperate times and all. I got back in the car and Kyle said, "Daddy saw your butt, Mommy." Not the first time, son. Not even the first time in public.

We spent most of the afternoon in Arches National Park and, wow, if you ever doubt America is spectacularly beautiful country, go there immediately. It'll leave you speechless. Mike and I talked about  one day returning to camp overnight, when Kyle's older. It was my favorite part of the trip, I think. Just looking out on this vast world, where everywhere you turn is another postcard view. I loved it.

We left and drove through Moab and into New Mexico, to try and make it to the Four Corners before sunset. A storm and curvy roads slowed us down, so we missed it by five minutes and hadn't planned anywhere to stay. (Yeah. That caused the first and only fight of the trip, I can't lie.)

We ended up in Farmington, N.M., at a random Best Western. I fell asleep within five minutes of laying down.

Day 5

We got up and backtracked to the Four Corners where I kept yelling, "KYLE'S IN UTAH! WE'RE IN COLORADO! OH NO!" He looked at me, at one point, and said, "Mommy, no yelling." Oh, he's in for a world of disappointment if that's how he prefers it.

We then drove to Shiprock ... Rock? I don't even know what it's called! It was a sight Mike really wanted to see, and it was pretty cool, admittedly, this jutting rock in an otherwise flat land. Molly got to run around as far as she wanted, and she was fairly pleased. See:

From there we drove to Albuquerque through Gallup and then drove and drove and drove to Roswell, convinced it would be a funky little town with quirky people and places. No offense to anyone who lives or loves Roswell, but it was the most ordinary town I've ever set foot in. A local suggested we eat at Golden Corral when I asked where a tourist should stop to eat. Yelp! suggested Denny's.

We left, skipping dinner and not looking back, and we drove and drove and drove some more. The drive out of dodge (Roswell) and into Texas was actually kind of wonderful. Just today I read a piece in Grantland, an oral history of Friday Night Lights (and you know how much I love this show by now), and in it Sarah Aubrey, an executive producer of the show, spoke about one of the final scenes they filmed: "The sky is that only-in-Texas pink sky as the sun is starting to set." I choked up because, well, yes. I know that sky. It sounds funny, to say the sky is different in Texas, but it's just about my favorite part of the entire state. The sky alone has kept me here, at times, I think, and it welcomed us back home after days away. We grumble about the weather and a million other things but when we crossed that state line, we both smiled, we couldn't hide it.

We got home, late late late, and I thought Kyle would refuse his bed, pitch a fit and demand to sleep with us, after so many nights of sharing a room in multiple hotels. But, I laid him down, he looked at me and said, "Turn off the lights, Mommy."

So, I did.

One family vacation behind us. Many more ahead, I hope.

What Would We Do?

Wow, thank you to each and every one of you for your comments and emails about my crazy idea. I've been thinking a lot more on this and also talking to a lot of smart people and making Google spreadsheets so, yeah, it's early and this could be a 2013-kind-of event, but I still have a good feeling about it. A scary, what-the-hell, am-I-crazy? good feeling, but a good feeling all the same.

I have added all of you who offered up your help to one of those aforementioned spreadsheets, so you'll likely regret your (too kind) offer soon enough, but I shall make it worth your while with ... gratitude? Cupcakes? Champagne? Something, for sure.

There's a semi-famous question I hear often, that goes, if you knew you couldn't fail, what would you do? I'd do a lot, truth be told, and one thing would be to do this, to figure out and fine-tune this cause and then throw a big, fun event to celerbate that cause. Maybe I'll fail anyway, we'll see, but you don't have to be good at everything right? (Oh man, I hope not.) You just have to be willing to find out, I think.

So, tell me, what would you do? If you knew you could do it?

So, I Have This Idea

Since Kyle turned 8 weeks old and my own clouds lifted, I've felt a need to do something for new moms, especially for those moms who are feeling crazed, anxious, and exhausted with the beautiful (but oh-so overwhelming) responsibility of being a parent. Kyle had colic, and that contributed to those first two months being so hard, and I also had anxiety-induced insomnia, so he screamed during the day and I was awake all night, and I felt like I lost my mind a little bit.

What was harder than all that, though, was the feeling that no one really understood. No one looked at me and said, "I get it, and you're doing great," and when I sum up that time I can think of only one word: lonely. I'd walk around my house, even when it was filled with people, and I'd just feel alone. I'd look at Mike from across the room and ache. I'd scream and cry and break down and instead of feeling cared for, I'd feel judged.

Because of those two, hard months, my advice to any parent would be to find a community, find a group of people you click and connect with and trust and just talk to them, often and honestly. Find a church, a mom's group, a book club filled with other parents, a blog community that you can take offline, anything at all that will let you feel part of a group. And to the women out there whose friends are having babies, take them food, a bottle of wine, a DVD, look them in the eyes and tell them they are rockstars and that if it sucks, you get it, and it won't suck forever.

With all that said, I've still felt this need to do something to help new moms. I feel it's my cause, as kind of cheesy as that sounds, but beyond that feeling, I've been completely at a loss as to what to do.

I wanted to raise money for new moms for my upcoming half-marathon, but how? Who do I decide to give the money to? Do I just take donations and then choose where it goes? That felt shady.

I've thought about organizing a site of resources for friends and family of new moms to more easily provide food and house cleaning and restaurant gift cards for the new moms in their lives, but that felt vague and weird and who do you specifically market to? And it's not brand new information, it'd just be consolidating information already out there, so that's not exactly a new service.

Then, over the weekend, I was reading a running magazine and there was an article on starting your own race. I thought, okay, yeah, this could be awesome. Picking a cause (post-partum depression, single mothers, or something like that), and then trying to organize a race to raise money for that cause.

That sounds like kind of an insane amount of work, yes it does, and I do have a job and a family and a very full DVR queue, but how incredible would it be to pull off? It combines something I've had a longing to do (provide support for new moms) and something I credit with helping me become the mother I am today (running) into one cool event.

Still, this could takes years and years and then not happen anyway. This could be a really stupid undertaking, in hindsight. But, if someone told me today that it would happen one day, I'd start working, so I figure that's a sign to start working anyway.

My dad was a race director for years, so I'll be picking his brain when he comes to town for a visit this week, but you're the smartest people on the internet, so I'd love to know what you think. Do you have any thoughts or advice or resources you could share? People you know who I could talk with? Maybe you could pass this link around to other smart people? I wouldn't ask if I didn't think we could make a really cool thing happen here. So thank you.

I truly believe it takes a village to raise a happy child, but more than that, it takes the right village. I want to organize the right group and the right event for the moms out there who don't yet have that village.

I hope you'll help me.

To Catch You Up

(In list form, to give you the foolish impression this post is cohesive, when it totally isn't.)

1. So, I caved and flipped on the tv this week. IT WAS GLORIOUS, BY THE WAY. Apparently my breaking point is sacrificing The Bachelorette because going without tv was harder than all the days without meat or cheese or chocolate or booze combined. My whole idea behind doing away with my DVR queue was to read more, to meet that goal of reading 25 books this year, and I realized quickly I just need to turn off the tv more often, instead of never turning it on. Never turning it on is depressing, and no one should voluntarily be depressed.

2. Kyle's officially in a full-size bed. I'd be sobbing over my baby no longer being a baby if it weren't kind of nice to read bedtime stories while laying in a new bed instead of uncomfortably sitting cross-legged on the floor. He'll also occasionally request for Molly to sleep with him, until about a half-hour later when he screams for me to come take her away, she won't stop moving, "GET OFF MOLLY." Oh that poor, poor dog.

3. Hey, speaking of Molly's endless supply of patience, we've given Kyle his first chores around the house, aside from picking up after himself and helping me with the dishes (which he loves, don't feel badly for him). Every day he has to put up his shoes and feed Molly, and he takes a lot of pride in these tasks while also taking his sweet, toddler-loving time with them. So, Molly just sits there, waiting for him to scoop up enough food for her before dropping it into her dish, which could take entire minutes. She just sits there, staring at me like, "HAVE YOU NOT TORTURED ME ENOUGH, WOMAN." I swear, it's shocking that dog doesn't constantly chew my good shoes or pee all over my pillow.

4. I recently found Barnivore, a great site for vegan-friendly booze. You are welcome, if you ever find yourself in a similar Crazy Vegan Situation.

5. The Dallas Mavericks won the NBA Championship, I'm sure you heard. I want to be really thrilled about this because it's exciting! Go Mavs! We were the underdogs and Dirk seems like a really decent (albeit unattractive) man! But. Yeah. I'm just not a basketball fan. I was happy to see them win, sure, although by "see them win" you do realize I mean "realize they won when my Facebook feed erupted in exclamation points"?

6. I re-discovered Kelly Willis the other night, a Texas country artist I used to listen to a lot in high school and college. One of her songs, "Not Forgotten You," was perhaps THE song I got over my first love to, and as I stumbled upon it in a random way, I couldn't believe it had been over ten years since I wore out my CD playing this song on repeat. It took me right back. What break-up/moving-on song is like that for you?

7. My son is cute, let me show you.

8. It is so hot in Texas. I complain my way through every summer (and, admittedly, every winter), and I know it's annoying, but it's also just so miserable. The other day I picked Kyle up from school, and we had to run to the store. As we got out of the car, I said, "Ugh, it's hot," and Kyle said, "GO AWAY SUN! IT'S TOO HOT!" I was proud, I can't lie. 

9. I've signed up for the Rock N Roll Las Vegas half-marathon, this December, so we'll be traveling to Vegas for that. It falls a month before my 30th birthday, so we're combining the two celebration-worthy events and while I'm really excited (I'm one of those people who falls very much into the I Love Vegas camp), I also think it'll be quite the interesting trip. The first two days will be all run, run, run, sleep, sleep, sleep and the last two days will be all I AM GOING TO BE THIRTY HAND ME THAT BOTTLE OF CHAMPAGNE. My body is going to be drastically flip-flopping between "I am so proud of you!" and "YOU ARE FIRED!" But, hey, if you are looking to run a half-marathon down a neon-lit strip at night and then celebrate with lots of bubbles, come join me!

10. Kyle calls umbrellas "kites" and, yes, I did die of the cuteness the first time he did this, if you're wondering.

What To Do In Fort Worth: Two-Step At Billy Bob's

I grew up in San Francisco and have a definite liberal leaning, so it might surprise you to know that one of my absolute favorite things to do is go to a dusty, old, hole-in-the-wall bar, order an ice-cold bottle of Bud Light, and either two-step with someone who knows what they're doing (because I most certainly do not), or listen to a country music concert.

I got to do all these things last weekend.

We went to the pretty famous -- at least locally -- Billy Bob's, which is called the largest honky tonk in the world. Admittedly, I'm not even sure what that means, but the place was enormous, so I'm going to go ahead and believe them.

I even dressed like a hussy for the occassion.

That is an awfully short skirt for a nearly-30-year-old mother, I know, and I was more than a little self-conscious, but when we stepped inside the place, there were quite a few (dozens, really) of women much older than me wearing much less, and by much older I mean much older and by much I less I mean nearly illegal.

Honky tonk might just be a euphemism for something else entirely.

(Not that two short skirts make an appropriate wardrobe decision, but I felt better about pushing the dress-for-your-age envelope when I was around people who tore that envelope right up and then gave it the finger.)

Anyway, we were there to see Pat Green, who I was a big fan of back in college and whose music takes me right back to being 19 in that tiny little Texas town, and it was a lot of fun to be swept up in nostalgia for a night.

(If you want to take a listen, my favorite songs of Pat's are: "Nightmare," "Ruby's Two Sad Daughters," "#2," "Here We Go," "Threadbare Gypsy Soul," and "Galleywinter.")

It was a really fun night, and I kind of hope we'll go back, although Mike (not really the country music or two-stepping kind) would like to remind me that my year list made no mention of going twice, so we'll have to wait until 2012.

Summer Experiment

I am about to take off for the rest of the month. I know, that's insane, right? I'm a little tightly wound over it, too, truth be told. Now, I like traveling, a lot, and if a few months go by and I haven't taken a trip -- near or far -- I start to twitch. That's not even an exaggeration for blogging effect, I really do get restless and cranky when there's not an out-of-town overnight adventure to look forward to.

So, a trip to NYC for work (but also for fun) and then a cross-country flight to the Bay Area to see my brother graduate high school is exciting and I am looking forward to nearly everything that's going to happen over the next (gulp) nine days, but my chest tightens at the thought of being gone that long.

It's the longest I've been away from either of my guys.

(Mike has very strict instructions to take no fewer than five pictures a day and to mention me endlessly to Kyle, so he doesn't forget me.)

(I know he won't actually forget me.)

(RIGHT?)

I'm going to try and schedule a few posts to go live next week while I'm gone, so my site doesn't collect too much dust, but no promises. I haven't started my laundry yet and I leave bright and early on Sunday morning.

When I get back, though, I've decided to give up tv for the month of June (except Friday Night Lights, which I live-tweet for work) and I'm also kicking off a 12-week Vegan Experiment.

I plan to visit a doctor at the beginning of my Vegan Summer, to see what all my numbers are and then again afterward to check again. I think that makes the experiment a little more credible and interesting.

(Although come to find out, a lot of champagne isn't vegan. So. Yeah. That's not good news at all.)

You know, after wrapping the Biggest Blogging Loser, I was kind of emotionally drained, and I took a mini-break from challenging myself so I could recover a little bit. (Well, unless you define "challenging yourself" to include a lot of chocolate. If you do, you're my kind of person.) I really do like challenging myself, I like seeing what I'm capable of doing when I put my mind to something, so after an April and May mini-break, I'm ready for a new challenge. 

I also start my half-marathon training in full-force this summer. 

It's so easy to get complacent, and really all these wacky ideas of mine are just ways for me to prevent complacency. To have new adventures and new stories and new experiences, and I think that makes me happier, in the long run.

In the short run, I'm off to research the hell out of "vegan champagne options."

Oh, and hold my kid for a lot longer than he'd prefer because, my oh my, am I going to miss the hell out of him.

Cherie's Too-Quick Visit and Small-Town Sushi

Cherie came to town for what felt like five minutes. I had to work (and so did she) so we really only had two nights to hang out. Two nights is not enough nights but we made the best of it. Both nights we walked from my house to my (small) town's Main Street and ate dinner.

This is us walking. You know, in case you couldn't visualize that yourself.

The first night, we had delicious pizza at Brix. The second ... sushi.

I know what you're thinking, "Why yes, small-town Texas is totally known for its delicious sushi!" Or maybe you're not thinking that at all. Hard to tell. Cherie was feeling brave, though, so sushi it was!

We were basically the only ones in the restaurant all night. That was the first sign.

Then, it took an hour to get our food. (Second sign.)

We had a sake bomb while we waited.

(I used to love these in college and having my college friend in town inspired me. I forgot you are supposed to chug them, though, so Cherie and I became the first people in the history of the world to order sake bombs and then sip them for the next half hour. Mom version of sake bombs!)

The third sign was our waiter, our crazy crazy waiter who's shirt read:

 

Clearly the dress code for this restaurant falls under the headline KLASSY.

So, the food and service was not top-notch.

But the company was.

(We convinced Kristie to tag along with us.)

Cherie's gone again, damn distance and geography. I hope to see her again soon. Until then, I'll go pout for a little while and then remind myself it's just a good thing I have these kinds of friends at all. Even if they live all the way over in TOO-FAR-FROM-ME-VILLE.

My Advice to You: Start A Book Club

Kyle is sick again.

(Sick toddlers don't need pants!)

It sucks as much ass you'd imagine.

But, we're not dwelling on that. (At least not here, you can bet your sweet selves I'm dwelling on that in my living room and to my husband and in my head.) We're going to instead talk about the silver lining that was my book club while Kyle was sick because my book club is just so awesome.

I know, Book Club by itself sounds not-so awesome. Much less awesome than, say, Wine Club or Gossip Girl Club or Nap Club.

(OMG, HOW AWESOME WOULD NAP CLUB BE?)

But, my Book Club kind of kicks serious ass.

(I don't actually think it should be capitalized but I insist that it will be because it is the first and only Book Club of its kind.)

See, a few months back, inspired by Book Lushes, Kristie, Natalie, and I organized a little in-person book club. I don't think any of us were particularly optimistic about how it would turn out. I think we imagined the three of us would get together for dinner once a month and maybe say a few words on the book we decided to read. I thought my words would most often be: didn't read it.

But, Book Club has turned into this incredible girl's gathering of laughter and intelligent conversation and meeting new friends while appreciating old friends and also there's usually good eating, which is what every club -- book, napping, WHATEVER -- should include, am I right?

In January we read The Giver. In Feburary, Room. And in March, The Book Thief. (April is The Help.)

I keep thinking I'll write a post per book, a mini-review, but I also keep thinking I'll win the lottery. Meaning, my thoughts are .... cute.

So, I'll just say that I love my Book Club not just because it inspires me to read more and ask better questions about what I'm reading but because I feel I'm part of a group of smart women celebrating our own time and friendship and good pastries, too. I swear I leave that group each month thinking, OMG I LOVE BOOK CLUB.

My 21-year-old self just rolled her eyes, took a tequila shot, and flipped me off behind my back.

***

Also, it wasn't just Book Club that provided me solace during Fever Watch April 2011. There was also a girl's night prior to Book Club night (these lovely ladies are all in Book Club, fyi) and a baking night with a friend, too. In fact for a weekend that was FILLED with Fever Worry, I did an awful lot of socializing. (Don't feel too badly for Mike, I did an awful lot of Waking Mid-Night and he, god love that man, did not.)

Burger Day!

All Friday, Mike and I texted and emailed back and forth with things like It's Burger Day! WHO'S EXCITED ABOUT BURGERS! Although he wasn't nearly as excited as I was, he pretended well.

I kicked off our burger dinner with champagne as everyone should kick off burger dinners.

I only had half a glass but that's because we were on a schedule not because I couldn't have inhaled the whole bottle.

This is the diablo burger from Fred's. It's spicy but not too spicy. You should try it if you're ever in town. I could be biased because I went without meat for 12 (long) weeks but this was so damn delicious.

I only ate (about) half, which might have been more of an accomplishment than the previous 12 weeks.

It was a fun, fun night.

Biggest Blogging Loser Roster!

The idea to organize a Biggest Loser-type competition with some friends came to me in my sleep. I woke up, turned to Mike, and said, "I should organize a weight-loss thing, but it should include an entry fee, so someone can make like $100 for losing a little weight."

The final jackpot is $2180.

I didn't expect this idea to gain so much support after I announced it, but let me tell you one reason I'm glad it did: I encouraged all the participants to use the hashtag #biggestbloggingloser on Twitter, for support and community and to get to know each other, too, and now whenever I crave something sweet or something bubbly or something greasy and fatty, I click on that hashtag and am instantly inspired. Instantly re-motivated.

Strength in numbers. Oh yes.

It's not really about the money (okay, sure, it's a little bit about the money) but as my wise sister said: if you stop drinking a bottle of wine a week, if you stop eating out so often, if you stop mindlessly snacking on food you aren't hungry for, at the end of 12 weeks, you very well could save the amount of the jackpot.

I am proud to be a part of this group, and this group includes:

Caitlin (@HBapothecary)
Tammi (@tammimarie)
Kendall (@kngibbard03)
Alison (@rambocandy)
Kristie (@kristie999)
Lori (@Lori_V_F)
Kerri Anne (@kerrianne)
Anne (@annabellespeaks)
Katie (@kbaxterk)
Kate (@kategiovinco)
Heather (@heather_24)
Alicia (@JustVos)
Jenny (@JennyCook)
Moira (@themoira)
Maggie (@andtheducksaid)
Heather
Kristen
Ginger (@rambleginger)
Jen (@onenjen)
Zach
Kimberly (@kimberly_bilder)
Laurie
Tara (@taralynn404)
Emily (@EmilysHollow)
Amy (@justatitch)
Tara (@MrsDangelo)
Theresa (@bubbletearesa)
Nanette (@Nanette)
Nora (@hopeitkeepsup)
Danielle (@ant_danielle)
Jennifer (@jayesel)
Ashley (@akaleiart)
Carla (@CharlieSue)
April
Jennifer  (@jigglefreejenn)
Dianna (@adoseoffabulous)
Whitney (@barbetti)
Karen (@karensugarpants)
Amy
Ali (@alimartell)
Gav (@gavmartell)
Jen (@jenbernardi)
Ashley (@ashleyb1182)
Katherine
Jessica (@jayjaysaidso)
Alexa (@alexaflotsam)
Laurie (@lauriewrites)
Kristin (@kristabella)
Carrisa (@andsosheblogs)
Jerilyn (@Serendipity75)
Erica (@alldressedup)
Melissa (@misplacedtexan)
Nicole (@notperfect)
Beth
Annie (@anneoftroy)
Amie (@Amie31)
Keri
Mia
Linda (@Sundry)
Crash Test Mommy (@crashtestmommy)
April (@jadetomato)
Michelle (@michelle12344)
Casey
Erin
Nichole
Victoria (@dinsdaleatlarge)
Elsha
Kristin (@OTOP)
Brandi (@brandi_b)
Caitlin
Michael (@phenom1984)
Parking at Home (@parkingathome)
Mona (@kirida)
Stephanie (@stefcia)
Lara (@purplelara)
Ann (@glamgranola)
TJ (@tjlafave)
Rachel
Saly (@saly)
Mary (@mimiallme)
Monkey 
Kim
Cindy (@CASundberg)
Lisa (@heylardass)
Elizabeth
Diane (@gingermaxim)
Eilis (@TheWeazie)
Bob
Shari
Kelly (@kellylou)
Angela (@Aferg22)
Elizabeth
Wendy (@wAthleticMonkey)
Kate (@KateThorne)
Kelly (@craftyb)
Holly (@hollyburns)
Alice
Andrea (@alphamommy)
McFatPants (@mcfatpants)
AndreAnna (@modernmatriarch)
Jen
Micah (@micahkemp)
Megan (@mamabub)
Elizabeth (@ebj123)
Florencia
Heather (@sggonechubby)
Manda (@insidedog)

(Phew, that was a task!)

You know, donuts are delicious and the couch is way more comfortable than the treadmill, and it really should be commended when 100+ people band together and decide to do away with the tasty and the comfy and decide to change their lives and their waistlines instead.

Happy losing everyone!

@purplelara

Perfect 29

Hey, it's my birthday for another 34 more minutes!

(Actually, no, it's no longer my birthday because I got distracted after writing that one sentence and it's now 30 minutes past midnight, but yesterday was totally my birthday, friends!)

And I took the day off.

I'm sure there are roughly a million people out there who wished their birthday was January 3rd right around 10 p.m. on January 2nd, so they could have a reason to take off work the First Monday of the year. And it was probably the first time those same million people wished for such a horribly timed birthday, but I embraced the timing of my day this year and embraced the fact that Mike always has Mondays off, and I spent the day lounging on my couch, being doted on, hanging with my boys, and it was just so nice.

January is going to be batshit crazy for me, and when I get uber-stressed over a very long to-do list or uber-annoyed that I gave up alcohol and meat and sweets all at the same time that I decided to hit the gym hard, I'll look back on my birthday and exhale.

Because it was lovely. Lovely lovely lovely.

In addition to a day off, I celebrated my day in various different ways over the weekend, one of those ways being a fancy, girl's night out dinner.

It's been a dream of mine for years to go to a nice dinner, wearing a nice dress, with all my nice friends and just eat and drink and laugh and then maybe blow out a candle.

I got to do all these things at Brownstone (Top Chef restaurant, holla!) last night, and it was even better than I thought it would be.

Mike doesn't really like birthdays, which may surprise a few of you who watch me throw him elaborate parties every year, but he knows I love birthdays -- like probably more than anyone else you've ever known -- and even though I suspect he'd drop to his knees in gratitude if I woke up one day and said, "eh, birthdays don't really do it for me any longer," he still makes homemade frosting for my birthday cupcakes, lets me sleep in for days before and after it, makes me dinner, takes me wherever I want to go, and takes Kyle outside to play in the freezing cold so mama could have some alone time with her cooking magazines and her monthly menu.

To him and to all my friends who helped me celebrate and to my mom especially for various birthday-related items including THE GIFT OF LIFE, thank you for a perfect 29.

It's hard to hate aging when you get to celebrate it so well.

Your Wishes

The other night, as I finished my list, I asked my Twitter family what they wanted to do in 2011, specific things that they were striving for.

Here are some of their answers:

I loved each and every answer.

What do you want to do in 2011?

The Hardest Goals of 2011

A lot of my goals for this coming year are perfectly reasonable and I feel good about tackling them, finishing them, and crossing those suckers off, but there are some that will be pretty damn tough, that I'll really have to buckle down and become dedicated and smart and focused to accomplish.

Like:

#50: No frozen lunches for the entire year. I eat far too many Lean Cuisine and Smart Ones meals. They're easy, they're cheapish, they're relatively tasty. I mean, for the ease and calorie count, they're exactly what someone losing weight and working full-time could want. But low-calorie doesn't mean healthy and a frozen meal is not a whole meal. Hard to grasp, at least for me, but it's time I start eating healthy, delicious, whole-food-filled lunches. (I'll be taking a lot of these great tips and suggestions into consideration.)

#2: Run a half-marathon. Training is going to pick up next week, and that's not just a physical commitment, but a time commitment, as well. I'll have to complete more morning and weekend runs and I'll have to run more in the blistery, yes-it-gets-cold-in-Texas weather. Running has always been equal parts joy and pain for me, and I think training is about to teeter into the MORE PAIN! zone.

It'll make that finish line fucking fabulous, though.

#30: Go wtihout meat, alcohol, and sweets for longer than I did last year (meaning 2010). I'm giving up all three for the entire Biggest Blogging Loser challenge, and while I'm not too worried -- I mean, it's not forever, and there's still plenty I can enjoy like CHEESE -- I still know it'll take some serious self-discipline to get through.

#31: Go without tv for a month. This is the hardest thing on the list, hands down. I watch a lot of tv and while I don't feel even remotely guilty/lazy/silly about it, I still know this is going to be tough, tough, tough. It's something I enjoy quite a lot and something that seeps into my day job, although not as much as it used to.

Now, we limit the amount of tv Kyle watches -- which means we usually flip on our brain-sucking programming after his bedtime -- and I don't think it hinders us from doing a ton of other things (exercising, cooking, quality time as a couple, socializing with other people we like), I do wonder how ridiculously clean my house is going to be during this month.

I bet you're wondering WHY I'm doing this, then. Well, just like a dozen or so things I've tried over the last year: I just want to see if I can.

We'll see!

AHHH!

#49: Dress up more for work. I work in a very casual office, but I'm almost thirty, and I should really dress like a put-together adult more consistently. It'll be tough -- my wardrobe doesn't scream put-together adult -- but I can do it. (I hope!)

#65: Keep the house cleaner than years past. This may mean: HIRING A HOUSEKEEPER but, more likely, it'll mean: GROW UP, JENNIE.