Long time no see

Good morning Lovelies,

I'm sorry I have been missing for the last few weeks. December was extremely busy and I barely had time to myself. D and I had decided that we would host Christmas at our place so we began to prepare for that. Between planning and working we had little time for much else. My work schedule got fussed with because of all the people who booked vacation during the holidays, I spent whatever time I could get sleeping trying to make up for my wonky schedule. I managed to buy everyone exactly what they wanted for Christmas and I received a few cool gifts myself as well. I didn't receive anything that I really wanted, it was mostly stuff for the house but they were still really nice.

New Year's didn't go as I had planned. Just after Christmas, I found out through Facebook (hate that site) that T was going to Montreal to a party our friends there were planning. She hadn't told me, nor had she let me know she was even thinking of going. I only checked the event page to let them know to not expect me. So that week I was pretty pissed that she would do something like that. If I hadn't found out until too late, there would have been a $50 fee/person for any no shows or late cancellations. Ultimately, D and I didn't even go ourselves that night, because our breaks failed earlier in the week. So $1200 later, we had our breaks (rotors and pads), calipers (which had seized) and our entire break line (ours had burst earlier that day) completely replaced. Needless to say, dinner out became not an option. We ended up just going over to my parents, they ordered Chinese and we watched the local hockey game and the Canada vs US game in the World Juniors.

That has been my life in the last few weeks in a nut shell.

I have been thinking really hard about my New Year's resolutions for this year. With looking back on 2011 and how I got the short end of the stick all year round, I have decided that this will be the year of ME. This year I will better myself and my situation to achieve exactly where and who I have wanted to be my whole life. I have started to break this resolution into some smaller more achievable goals.

1. Finally leave Costco for a job I will love.

2. Get my Bilingual certification.

3. Keep a strict beauty/health regimen every day. This means:
                        Wash my face twice a day with the proper morning and night time treatments.
                               (might see a dermatologist to see what would be best for me)
                         Do my hair every morning (no lazy ponytails and headbands).
                         Do my makeup every day (no matter how little, just enough to look fresh faced)
                         Whiten my teeth and maintain healthy teeth

4. Adopt a clean eating diet and slowly overcome my insane cravings. (I'm thinking of seeing a dietitian)

5. Put my gym membership to good use and save up for a personal trainer. Until about mid-February,         I'm doing home workouts since I can't stand the crowds at the gym.

6. Run 5k in June with my friends.

7. Cut my debt (minus my mortgage) in half and have money put aside for emergencies and at least one vacation.

8. Spend more time out of the house and expand my social circle.

I think those are all pretty solid goals and I think this can all be done within the year. There is always the one about losing weight, but I think with training for a 5k run plus regular gym visits I should be able to move on with that goal. Number 4 is because I have been doing a lot of reading that you can train your brain to not crave junk by slowly making healthier substitutions. My cravings (especially during my period) really stop any progress I try to achieve.

If I manage to think of how to make these goals any more specific I will update you all, and I will keep you updated on my progress.

Happy New Year to you all!