Hello 2009!

Well, now that it's been over a month since the last post, I guess I'll revive my blogging hobby. A few updates are in order...

I spent a wonderful week-long Christmas holiday in good ol' Green River, Wyoming. There really is no other place I would rather be for the holidays than home with my family. We had such a great time - as always! It was incredibly relaxing (perhaps a bit too much) and I think I left the house a total of 3 times the entire week: once for church, once to look at the luminaries on Christmas Eve, and once to go to Taco Time (which exists only in two locations very far from me in Las Vegas). My activities consisted of these:

- watching movies
- eating Christmas goodies
- playing Rock Band 2
- watching my brother play a crazy Japanese game on his PS 2
- crocheting
- eating Christmas goodies
- playing games including Yahtzee, pinochle, The Farming Game, ratscrew, Disney Scene-It, golf (with cards), and Whoonu.
- reading a book
- eating Christmas goodies
- playing (sort of) the guitar
- a short (too short) spurt of Mario Cart on the 64
- eating home-cooked meals

So, as you can see, it was a very relaxing, sugar-filled holiday. Which brings me to my next subject - New Year's Resolutions! No, really, I probably gained 5 pounds in that one week. Oh well, it was worth every sugary, chocolatey, ice creamy bite!

In all seriousness though, I am making a few small changes that I think will help with the extra insulation I gained this winter. I've started planning my meals every week and it's actually been a cool experience. I make sure to plan things in there that I actually eat, like cold cereal... :) It's cool to know exactly what to shop for and have a plan set up. I'm such a plan-oriented person that I'm surprised it's taken me this long to get going on the meal-planning thing, but better late than never, I guess.

Another cool thing I've discovered is SparkPeople.com. It's a free site designed to help you change bad habits to good ones. My favorite tools on it are the Nutrition Tracker and the Fitness Tracker. Plus there's tons of good articles, blogs, forums, and other materials to keep you motivated. It will even design a menu and fitness plan for you based on whatever information you enter. It's an all-in-one health plan! (Wow, this is pretty good - I really should be in Marketing or something... Oh wait... I am... yay golf...)

I've also started getting lots more sleep and resumed my morning walk/jog. It's amazing how much better I feel when I exercise! I highly recommend it to anyone who wants more energy, not to mention stronger muscles and added flexibility. Even in one week I've seen improvements! I'll be doing the splits before you know it! Watch out Kerri Struggs!

Of course, the true test of making resolutions is in the keeping of them. I have the best of intentions, as do we all, and then Easter comes around... Those little Cadbury Mini-Eggs get the best of me every year - not to mention those delectable Peeps! But I say "bring it on!" Me and my action plan will be waiting.