A New Year

My New Year's resolution. I've actually thought about it a lot. Mine is more like a Korea resolution. It's all the things that I want to have done or do by the time we leave for Korea - somewhere around September. On this list are many goals, but the biggest three are as follows:

1. Weigh between 145-150 lbs and be a small size 10.

While the weight is a good goal, I have like 10-15 pounds to go, it is more of a pant size thing. I want to be close to what I was when Matt first met me. Although, I KNOW my body has changed a lot since then, that kind of happens when you have two children, and I also know that I won't look exactly like I did back then, proportions and what not, I am determined to get back to that size. I was at my very smallest when I met my husband, I'm not sure what weight it was but I was just squeezing comfortably into a size 8 my freshman year of college. I know for a fact that I won't ever get back to that small, I've got some hips on me, but I want to get down to at that least the same fitness level I was. Back then, I walked EVERYWHERE, you had to at MSU. I was in the best shape I've ever been in. And I want that back. After Zander was born and last summer/fall, I was able to take off all the baby weight and an additional 15 lbs. I was a little nervous about this winter, I remember last winter, being cooped up in the apartment and not being able to walk anywhere or get outside very much, so I was a little nervous about gaining the weight back, but I made it my goal to just maintain. When the weather clears up, I'll start walking and running again. My biggest challenge is going to be toning up.

2. Run a 5K on base.

Along with getting in shape last summer/fall, I developed a taste for running. I've never been a good runner. I always forget to even out my breathing, remind myself that I can still breathe and that I'm not dying. It's not the actual act or physical activity that does me in, it's remembering to breathe. Eh, breathing... thought it was supposed to come naturally ;) At the end of last summer/fall, I was running 2 miles about 2 times a week and walking constantly. I made it my goal then to practice and run a 5K before we leave here. Our base does 5K's like it's going out of style. There's always a bajillion during the spring/summer/fall. My goal is not really a time issue, but more like a finish issue. I just want to finish. And I want to finish running, no walking. I'm really getting nervous just thinking about it. It's a long ways. And then I watch shows like Biggest Loser and see them walking/running 5K's and marathon's and I think, "What the heck are you worried about?" We'll see, but I WILL run one before I leave this base.

3. Save money!!!

I have this problem, I know a lot of other people do too. It's a wants vs. needs problem. I tend to confuse my wants with my needs. It's easy to do. Especially when you troll the Target ads longingly and you're on basically every email list known to man and you hear how great every single product you've ever wanted, and some you didn't even know you wanted, is. I wouldn't say it's bad, but I would say that it needs control. But I am in the "save money" mode. "Do I need that? Well, no... but" no longer. I have a figure in my head of how much I'd like to have saved by the time we leave Korea, and I'm not sure if we'll make it, but we're going to get as close as possible.

We've recently had some unexpected costs and it's thrown a wrench in our "save" mode.
A couple days before Christmas, our Xbox displayed the ring of death (four little lights come on in the front and it means that your Xbox is fried). While most people back in the states probably think an Xbox is a "want" and not a "need" (and I would have probably agreed with you at one point), it is a "need" here because that's how we watch all our American TV. And also, I got Matt all video games for Christmas, it would have sucked if I got him the games and no system to play them on.

And most recently, we had to buy a new webcam. Our old webcam was just fine, but had no microphone. Our microphone was fine until Zander chewed on the cord and now it doesn't work. And again, to people back in the states, it might seems like a "want", but a fully functional webcam and microphone is definitely a "need", it's our only way of communication back to the states.

It's hard not to fall off the "save" wagon when you have to make unexpected splurges. My brain automatically says, "Oh, well if you're already spending 'x' amount, what will it hurt to throw in 'y' and 'z'?" Boo brain! And so I'm resisting the urge to buy the other things that have made my permanent wish-list. I am also reminding myself that we ARE in Korea. And everything we have here WILL have to be boxed and shipped. We have a SET amount of weight we can ship and I'm sure between our newest family member, it'll be getting pretty close to maxing out. Let's not tempt fate by adding un"need"ed extra weight. And also, I don't want things to get broken.

One of my "want"s is either a new espresso machine or a milk frother. I have an espresso machine, and it was perfect before we got here, but the movers did something to it and now the steam pump that steams the milk no longer steams. Boo. I am heating milk up in a pot on the stove, adding syrup and then adding it to my espresso to make my lattes at home. This is a "want" because I don't really "need" a new one, but it would be more convenient. But I am afraid that if I get a new one here, or a Keurig coffee maker like my heart yearns for, that the movers will not pack it good enough or something will get broken in transit = more money that I'll have to spend to fix it. I trust the Army to replace/refund me as far as I can throw them. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the Army, I LOVE everything it does for us, I LOVE that they even pay for our stuff to get moved, but I don't LOVE paperwork.

This is a tangent.

Anyway, these are my Korea resolutions. Once we get back to the states, who knows what'll happen.