You Wanna Know What Makes Me Mad??

Photo by muffet

Military discounts...that's what.

No seriously. Wait. Let me explain.

Oh. And I should probably warn you that this is going to be a "rant post" so if you don't want to read one of those...I would advise you to walk away. ;-)

I'm not against military discounts...don't get me wrong.

I actually think they are pretty groovy.

What makes me angry is when the discount is solely for the active duty member.

Let me back up a little bit. 

On Sunday, The Hubble, Little Butt and I went out for brunch with some friends. We had a lovely time. The food was pretty good. The serving staff was phenomenal (if not a little too friendly). 

When the server was ready to ring up our tickets, she came and asked if my friend and I were military or just the men. See...they give a 15% discount at this restaurant to active duty personnel only. 

That's totally awesome!

But why wouldn't it extend to the spouse who is sitting right next to the active duty member? Especially if the active duty member is the one paying for everyone who is with him??

For the longest time, this didn't bother me at all. 

Until 2009 when The Hubble went to hang out in Afghanistan for the year. 

My stepmother and I went to a movie theater who offered military discounts. When I showed them my ID card they told me that the discount was for active duty military only. My response?? Well...he's away at war right now so he can't be here to pay for this movie ticket.

Now, again, don't get me wrong. I'm not looking for a handout. I rarely even think to ask if there is a military discount available. 

What makes me mad is when an establishment offers a military discount but does not extend it to family members. 

When we spouses are left home to take care of the children, the households, the finances and the well being of everyone who is not deployed with the soldier...it feels like a slap in the face to be told "sorry, but you don't do enough to warrant this discount. We only give it to the ones who do the actual work." 

That's all. Thanks for listening. Rant over.

Sleep, Interrupted

I have never been one for the co-sleeping thing.

You know...where the whole family sleeps in the same bed.

When I was pregnant with Little Butt, I was adamant that we would never let her sleep with us.

Well, we always say things without really knowing exactly what we would do when put in that situation right??

Right.

When Little Butt was an itty bitty baby and she would wake up at 4am, I caved and would pull her up from her bassinet and have her sleep on my chest. We usually were able to get a few more hours of sleep that way.

Sleep = important!

When we moved here, Little Butt was 3 (still is for now). We put her toddler bed together and she was able to get up and down whenever she wanted.

Well, my kid is freaking good when is comes to sleep. I put her down, and except for less than a handful of times...kind of like 2 times, she stays where we put her. She doesn't try to get up after she is put to bed.

A few months after living here, you can imagine how shocked I was when she came to my room in the middle of the night. I didn't know what to do!

So I pulled her in bed with us.

The Hubble and I talked about it the next day. He said I should have taken her back to bed. I said as long as it's a rare occurance I'm cool with it.

I actually find it kind of cute. Every other week or so, Little Butt will come to our room and sleep with us.

She never starts out with us...it's usually sometime between 3am-5am.

No big deal right??

Well, for some reason, this past week she has decided she's "scared."

She has come to our room almost every night over the past week.

The first night I thought it was no big deal. I mean, this is what she does right??

Well, when she came in the next night...sorry kid. Time to go back to your room.

I took her potty, got her a drink and put her back to bed.

Now, yesterday morning at about 5am she came into the room. The sun was already up and I was terrified she was going to try to convince me it was "morning time" and that I would need to get up.

So I pulled her in bed with me, expecting the worst, but she fell back asleep. Sweet!

However, this morning at about 5am, she came in again.

Sorry kid. Potty, water, back to bed.

Maybe she is just trying to readjust to being back home after 3 weeks away.

I don't know where this "scared" stuff is coming from though.

I mean, this is the kid that says she so brave she kills dragons. Since when is she scared of the dark??

And shouldn't she be scared at 8:30pm when she goes to bed and not just in the wee hours of the morning when she wants to sleep with us??

I do hope this is just a phase though.

2010 Goals Final Recap

Why hello there!

It's been a while hasn't it???

I seriously cannot believe how long it has been since I've written on this thing.

I hope your holidays went well. How were they?? Anything cool happen?? If you have an awesome blog post I should see, please let me know!

Now that the new year is well under way...I figured I should own up to my goals from this past year.

It's totally okay if you don't read through this entire post. These goals were mine and I'm using this to hold myself accountable.

Are you setting goals for 2011?? What are they? How did your goals/resolutions for 2010 fare??

Anyway. Here are mine:

- Make my own sushi (INCOMPLETE)
March: Waiting until I have my own kitchen. Already making sushi plans for MO.
April: Still inspired and ready. Need a kitchen but that should happen soon. Have found several recipes
May: I'm finally in MO and have my own kitchen. I think I need to choose a month to get it done. Need to look around grocery stores in the area and find out my seafood options.
June/July/August: Still have not made sushi. Realized the other day I'm running out of time and need to step it up. Have talked about having a sushi night with the girls. I WILL get this done this year.
Final: I had every intention of completing this goal this year. Unfortunately, I never made it a real priority. The fish options are pretty nil here. Too bad.

- Lose the rest of my weight and maintain (INCOMPLETE)
March: Currently a work in progress.
April: Am 3 pounds away from original final goal. Will reassess when goal is met. 
May: Well, I was a little over 1 pound away from my goal and now I'm like 9 pounds away. Oops! LOL!!
June/July/August: Well. I'm a definite fail here. I am back up to 155-157 and it's annoying. I was at 141 back around April but being here has definitely changed that. I've even been talking about buying bigger jeans. Boo!
Final: If anything, I've just gained weight...and am continuing to do so. But I'm happy and have been having a great time gaining weight so whatever. I'm comfortable with who I am and how I look.

- Run a 5K (INCOMPLETE)
March: I did not run one but I did walk/run one. Race for the cure on 2/21/2010. Still working up to the 5k.
April: Still working on building up to running a 5k but running has been sporadic.
May: Running has ceased for the moment but I'm glad I walk/ran that one 5k in February.
June/July/August: I've been walking again lately. Running isn't really happening but it needs to. I did the Run for the Fallen last weekend (walked most of it, ran a bit) so that's another 5k but still didn't run the whole thing like I want to.
Final: I was doing fantastic!!! I got up to running a little over 2 miles straight (25 minutes straight running) but then we went on vacation for 3 weeks and I got lazy. But I did complete a couple 5k's throughout the year so I'm happy with that.

- Cook (cook more healthy foods and experiment with new recipes) (COMPLETE)
March: Doing fairly well considering I don't have my own kitchen. Doing what I can.
April: Recently made a delicious and healthy meal for my in-laws (All recipes from this episode). Tried quinoa for the first time: delicious!! Also made lower fat cupcakes for Easter by using applesauce instead of oil.
May: I finally unpacked my cookbooks and magazines and have a grocery list going. I made my first meal in my new home tonight. Penne with Italian sausage and marinara sauce. Yum! (I somehow burned the toast though. :-/ )
June/July/August: I've definitely been cooking a lot more. My food blog is up and running and I'm loving it. However, I could probably make the meals healthier and or stop eating so dang much of it! 
Final: This was one of my favorite goals. I've loved finding new cookbooks/magazines/food blogs to find new recipes. I've done absolutely great with this goal!

- Bake (try new recipes and baked goods, do not eat though, send with O to work/school) (COMPLETE)
March: I baked a yummy cake recently. 
April: Made cake balls, tried a new cake decorating technique, and made cupcakes for Easter.
May: Working on putting together a distance type baking club with some friends. Tres leches cake is on my agenda this month. Also made Little Butt's third birthday cake and a cookie cake. 
June/July/August: I've been really good at this! Though I've kind of fallen off a bit lately but I have plans for something soon. I'm thinking this is complete. Will cross off the list.
Final: I joined baking groups and even created my own. I've loved being able to bake and try new techniques and recipes. This month I'm even going to make my own soft pretzels!

- Take more cake decorating classes and work on the skill (COMPLETE)
March: Super proud of my most recent cake but have to wait until I'm settled somewhere long enough to take a class.
April: Bought the Wilton Course 2 kit and booklet. Haven't started on it but have plans!
May: Hoping I will be able to take some more courses here. The nearest store is an hour to an hour and a half away but it is only once a week.
June/July/August: I did it! I've taken the courses! However, the first and second courses have been revamped so I'd like to take them again. But I'm considering this goal completed!
Final: I absolutely loved taking the cake classes. Unfortunately, I haven't made too many cakes since then (a couple). But that will be changing this next year since I'll be closer to family and be able to make cakes for birthdays and such. Should be fun!

- Do more yoga/pilates and possibly take classes  (COMPLETE)
March: Definitely haven't worked on this at all. I did look for JM's new Yoga Meltdown DVD that came out today but it wasn't at Target. Planning on doing some yoga this week. It's a JM challenge for the week.
April: Ordered JM's Yoga Meltdown DVD from Netflix and tried it. Really enjoyed it! Need to buy it. Had planned to do Pilates today but did other things.
May: Haven't done any since the Netflixed DVD. Was thinking today that I really want to buy that Yoga Meltdown DVD.
June/July/August: Another fail. A friend sent me the Yoga Meltdown DVD but do you think I've done it more than a couple times?? No. Man I suck.
Final: You know...I almost said incomplete on this one. I didn't do yoga/pilates in the traditional sense with an instructor or a video. But I definitely worked in some yoga on my run days. It really helped loosen up my muscles and help me relax after a run. I feel I worked it in to the best of my abilities and needs. Therefore, I reached this goal!

- CONTINUE WORKING OUT (COMPLETE)
March: Has been sporadic but I haven't stopped completely. Getting back into it.
April: Been using my HRM to track calories burned. Going to focus this week on burning 3500 extra calories each week.
May: Definitely stopped for a bit but started up the 30 Day Shred Challenge today.
June/July/August: I did the 30 Day Shred for 30 days straight and felt awesome. Then I pretty much stopped. I've been going to the track 3 times a week but that isn't enough. 
Final: Though I've taken some time off here and there, I have been really good at continuing to work out. Back in the old days I would have quit completely after so much time. But I'll take a little time off due to vacation or something, then get back to it. I'm pretty proud of myself actually.

- Define arms (INCOMPLETE)
March: Did 800 tricep exercises in one week. Still working on it.
April: Did 100 push ups today. Going to do 100 tricep dips tomorrow. Need to focus on this area still.
May: Haven't worked toward this but hoping the 30 Day Shred Challenge will help.
June/July/August: I'm noticing a theme here because this is another fail. I was doing great when we first got here but have lost it.
Final: Yeah...no. This didn't happen.

- Get swimsuit ready (INCOMPLETE)
March: Again...still working on it. 
April: Feel back on track. Have lost 5 pounds in the last 2 weeks. 
May: Took a hiatus but is hoping the 30 Day Shred will help!
June/July/August: Fail. Fail. Fail. I'm worse off now than before.
Final: Hahahahahaha!!!! Not at all. But who needs a swimsuit in the middle of nowhere anyway??

- Lose baby belly (flat abs??) (INCOMPLETE)
March: Have been trying to run more since that's supposed to be the best for belly fat.
April: Have regained my focus and am working on this. Need to do tons of cardio and ab work. Pilates would be good!
May: Haven't been working on this just yet but I will probably add some more ab work to the 30 Day Shred Challenge because I don't think it offers enough.
June/July/August: Though I probably won't lose the full on baby belly without surgery, it was better. I was excited that I fit nicely into my size 6 jeans with no sucking in or spanx and I felt awesome. Now talking about getting a size 8. Blah.
Final: I probably could have done more for this but I didn't (other than running). I'm thinking there are no flat abs or getting rid of my baby belly without a tummy tuck though. This is definitely not happening right now.

- Read 60 books (or at least 50 that I've never read before) (COMPLETE...KINDA)
March: Have pretty much changed this goal. Not going to focus so much on the quantity, rather the quality of the book.
April: Have now read 8 books so far this year. No longer going to focus on this goal. 
Final: I gave up on this goal early in the year. I didn't feel that it was realistic with me moving and trying to figure things out in a new state...again. I moved for the first quarter of the year and it just wasn't possible to focus on reading 60 books. I ended the year with 25. That's good enough for me.

- Eat healthier (snacks and meals, more fruits, MORE VEGGIES) (COMPLETE)
March: Have been incorporating spinach in a ton of food and have definitely been eating more veggies than I usually do. 
April: Loving more fruits and vegetables. Have been counting calories and am feeling much better. Even munched on some delicious watermelon with Lilz earlier today.
May: I was doing great and then I took a break. I ate healthy today though and it felt good to be back to it.
June/July/August: Again, was doing great when we first got here but lately it's been nothing but Taco Bell, McDonald's, KFC, etc. Gross!
Final: Here's another one of those things where I do fall off the wagon from time to time but I get back on. My eating habits have definitely gotten much healthier than they used to be. Instead of chips, I'll reach for celery and ranch. And though the cookies do call to me, I often choose a yogurt parfait or a bowl of fruit. I think this goal has been accomplished!

- Eat "clean" foods (INCOMPLETE)
March: Have been cooking more and trying to do less processed foods. Have bought more organic than usual.
April: Still working on this. Need my own kitchen. Would like to grow my own herbs. 
May: Fighting The Hubble on this issue currently. Need to change his way of thinking. ;-)
June/July/August: See this update for the above goal. Enough said.
Final: I don't buy organic. I don't really see the point in it. I eat better foods than I used to. I prefer fresh over processed. But I definitely don't go for the clean/organic stuff. And I'm okay with that.

- Take more pictures (COMPLETE)
March: Pulled out the camera and started taking more pictures.
April: Doing all right here. Not as good as it could be but better. Even took Lily for her very first Easter Bunny picture. 
May: The Hubble has taken over the pix taking recently. I'm okay with that though. As long as we have pix I'm happy!
June/July/August: I've taken some pictures. Not as much as I'd like. I take a lot of pictures of food for my food blog. Does that count?? 
Final: I've taken a bunch of pictures of food. And before we went on vacation I'd gotten pretty good at taking more pictures of our lives and stuff. I'm satisfied with this one for sure.

- Blog more (INCOMPLETE)
March: Doing good so far I think. 
April: I have some things I've been meaning to post but I've done a lot better this year than in previous years.
May: Need to get better at updating my baking/cooking stuff. Should get better once we get the house situated.
June/July/August: Moved from LJ to blogspot. Doing pretty good. Picked up my paper journal the other night too. It felt good to just write.
Final: Judging from the fact that I haven't been on here in about a month I would say I am not doing so good with this goal. I am planning on changing that though. I think I set my sights too high when I started this blog. I want to bring it back...back to me. I don't want it to be all about pictures and cute stories. I want it to be raw. Real. Me. My space. That's what it will become soon. 

- Read more self improvement personal development books (COMPLETE)
March: My next book I have lined up is The Happiness Project by Gretchin Rubin.
April: Read The Happiness Project, read The Last Lecture, ordered and received a couple parenting books. Making good progress.
May: Have been reading the same book for a few weeks now. I am working on the personal development books. I'm even considering working through (and blogging about) The Artist's Way.
June/July/August: Haven't read any recently. Would like to get back to it.
Final: If we are comparing this year to past years, I would say I did fairly well with this one. I did read a few personal development books throughout the year. I started the year feeling a bit lost and I ended on a very strong, confident note. The personal development books were to help me feel good about me...and I do. So I would say mission accomplished!

- Run!! (COMPLETE)
March: Ran today actually.
April: I run whenever I have a sitter for Lily. Even when I think I'm just going to walk, I end up running instead.
May: Nope. Been sitting instead.
June/July/August: I've been walking. Was trying to do intervals. If I ever get Little Butt into daycare it is on!
Final: The couch to 5k program is amazing! I made it to having 2 weeks left. I was running 25 minutes straight. Then we went on vacation and I got lazy. But I'm okay with that. I'm proud of what I was able to accomplish and I know I'll jump right back in as soon as we get back into the routine of being home.

- Conquer the push-up (final goal: 100 consecutive push-ups) (INCOMPLETE)
March: Need to get back to this. 
April: Haven't worked on this yet.
May: For some reason I keep forgetting about this!
June/July/August: Yeah...not so much. 
Final: I'm thinking that in order to conquer a push-up one has to actually do a push-up.

- Embrace Missouri (COMPLETE)
March: I'm ready. Let's go!
April: Almost there. Talked to a realtor and may have a place set up. If everything goes well, O should be here next week and we will be there by the end of the month.
May: I'm finally here and so far I'm pretty happy. I need to give it more than just a couple days though I'm sure. We'll see. But I'm pretty excited to be here. 
June/July/August: I am having a blast! I've met some of the best people ever here. It kind of makes me sad that this is only temporary. Everything is what you make of it. I'm going to say I have conquered this goal!
Final: This was accomplished a long time ago. I've had a grand time here...though I'm still glad it's temporary and we'll be moving again in a few months.

- Acquire more patience (basically have none so any would be more than I have now) (COMPLETE...though always a work in progress)
March: Work in progress.
April: Kind of have to have patience with this "hurry up and wait" game we like to play so much.
May: I think I'm doing okay so far. Give me a little more time with The Hubble and we'll see how it lasts.
June/July/August: Still working on this one. Kind of mandatory given our situation. I get frustrated at times but I'm doing all right I guess. Let's just not ask The Hubble his opinion.
Final: The Hubble would say I have not reached this goal. But since I'm just trying to acquire some patience...I would say I'm doing pretty good. I've accepted that I need to wait for certain things and I'm okay with that. I'll keep at it though.

- Acquire running shoes for me (COMPLETE)
March: Done! Went to a technical store and got my foot fitted for the perfect shoe!
April: No longer a goal since it was completed. Need to make sure I replace my shoes regularly though.
Final: This was completed early in the year. One of the best purchases I've ever made for myself. Shoes are essential to exercise. Without good shoes, you won't get very far.

- Acquire new work out clothes (COMPLETE)
March: Done! I have 2 pants, 3 shirts, 2 sports bras, 2 special socks, and new shoes.
April: Another completed goal. My MIL even gave me some capri workout pants for the warmer weather. 
Final: This was accomplished early in the year as well. The workout clothes I purchased then have been awesome!

- Do not let fear of the unknown beat me (INCOMPLETE)
March: Haven't so far! Even forced myself to go for a walk/run in a new neighborhood because it scared me. 
April: This isn't really a goal but I'll leave it as a reminder. 
May: I'm here aren't I?? I think I'm doing pretty good with this one!
June/July/August: This is still an awesome reminder. I still have to tell myself this every day. 
Final: I'm still working on this one. I have trouble with this. This fear is the reason we haven't visited Chicago yet. I'll get there...

- Be kind to my body and my self (COMPLETE)
March: I'm doing pretty good here too. 
April: I've refocused on me and what makes me happy. I'm watching my food intake and working out again. Need to get more sleep though.
May: I definitely need to take care of myself again. It started again today. Just a minor blip in the road.
June/July/August: I'm hoping that talking about all my failures of these goals will be my wake up call. What am I doing. Did I feel great after KFC last night? No. I felt disgusting. Get it together woman!
Final: I think one of the kindest things I could do for my body and myself is to love me...no matter what. I am who I am. I am what I am. If I don't like certain things...I have the power to change them. If you expect other people to love and accept you, you need to do it first.

- Play it smart (COMPLETE)
March: Shins!!! I've definitely been taking care and making sure I do this.
April: Shins have been great! I know better than to screw up now. So I'm going to call this done!
Final: I've become extremely good at listening to my body and knowing when I need to take it easy. Those shin splints taught me my lesson man!

- Continue reading "word a day" calendar (INCOMPLETE)
March: Fail. It's in the car and has been since we left NY. I should probably find it and start again.
April: Pulled it out of my car and have been working on it but it's sporadic at best. Getting better though.
May: Hahahaha! Where is that thing anyway??
June/July/August: Again, Hahahahahahahahahaha!!!!! Let me go see what day it's on....I'll be right back....it's on June 26th. I am AWESOME at this!
Final: I buy these things all the time...I never get through them. I should stop buying them.

- Write book reviews!!! (INCOMPLETE)
March: Fail! I've thought about it...does that count???
April: Haven't written any reviews that are "publishable" but I wrote a little blurb on the last book I read. I think that's decent.
May: Nope. I've thought about it though, does that count??
June/July/August: Yay! Finally something I can say I've been doing! I've done a couple lately and I do love it so. I don't know why I stop.

Final: This is another one of those off and on things. I'll do them for a while...then stop. I should definitely get back to them. 


Final tally:


28 goals total


16 goals completed


12 goals incomplete


That is a 57% success rate. 


Though it is not amazing...it's not too shabby either. At least I was more successful than not. And for my first year setting any kind of goals for myself? I'll take it!!!