Coming up in 2011

In just under 3 hours, we'll be starting a new year.

New year? Wasn't Thanksgiving just yesterday? Sure seems that way. I feel like December was lost.

The last few years haven't turned out the way I might have pictured them. But our life is perfect. During 2009, I never stopped believing that things would happen to us when and how they were supposed to. It was really a challenge in 2009 because that was the longest I've had to wait.

And even though my life isn't how I might have pictured it two years go, my life is how its supposed to be. 2009 was rough and it will always stick with me. But 2010 was a great year and in 2011 I know things can only keep getting better.

I don't really consider my goals for the near year as resolutions. Resolutions just seem so easily forgotten. So to me they're just goals. And I have a lot of them for 2011, lofty ones. But I know I can achieve some of them, maybe all of them!

So here's my official list of new years goals:
1.) Run a half marathon. My goal is the Cellcom Green Bay Half Marathon May 15. If for some reason I can't run a half in spring, I'll run one in fall. But I totally know I will run a half this year.

2.) Run 600 miles. This year I'm ending with 355.3. In November I thought I might finish the year with 400 miles, but then my shin splints came back into the picture. In light of my shin splints I have worried a bit that 600 is too much. Its 50 miles per month. But its only 11.5 per week, which is a lot less intimidating. I can do it.

3.) Lose the baby weight. If I hadn't been injured before pregnancy and if I'd been working, I know I wouldn't have gained 65 pounds. But I did. And those pounds have overstayed their welcome. Right now I have about 37 pounds to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight. I'm going to cross train and incorporate strength training and hopefully some yoga. And we're going to overhaul our diet. Doug and I are joining weight watchers to help with the diet. One of the reasons I was successful in losing weight back in 2007 is because I was seeing the nutritionist, so there was the element of accountability. So weight watchers will help us figure out how to eat right (because while I used to know how, I don't anymore) and give us the accountability.

4.) Figure out what I want to do with the rest of my life. I feel silly writing that, considering I just turned 30. But thats what happens when you get kicked out of your chosen career at age 28. I have a year left on my job. In this year my goal is to figure out what I want to do and how to make it happen. Right now I'd like to get back into some kind of writing capacity, so I'm going to work on getting into freelancing and maybe take a class or two to get skills to get a job.

5.) Getting our lives organized in order to enjoy ourselves. Doug and I carpool for work and we get home usually around 5:45. Then we have to feed Allie and also feed ourselves and put Allie to bed. By the time we accomplish all those tasks its time to go to bed. I want to enjoy my family this year, every day and not just on the weekends. So I want us to organize the kitchen, all our stuff, streamline the process of dinner. Its been really hard for us. But I'm already making progress on this task.

So thats it.

What a way to ring in the new year

Allie is sick :-(

We went out to do a little shopping and then have dinner this evening. We went to Kohl's, Best Buy, Barnes & Noble and then we went to have dinner at Spartan Pizza in McFarland because I won a gift certficate from there in September.

But when we got to Spartan Pizza, we could tell Allie wasn't feeling well. Doug said she threw up a little when I went to the bathroom. She didn't seem like she felt well, but we could tell she was trying to be happy. She didn't want to eat. Doug wanted to just have them box up our pizza and go home, but I insisted on staying and eating. So we got our pizza and started eating and then she threw up for real.

Oh my gosh, I felt awful. Poor baby! I feel terrible that we took her out when she was getting sick!

Looking back at how Allie was today, I see the signs that she wasn't feeling well. She slept in and then she was ready for a nap earlier than usual, though I kept her up. I gave her a snack before putting her down and she didn't eat very much of it. Then she only slept about an hour and a half and she woke up cranky. Doug gave her lunch and said she didn't eat much of that food either. She was acting really tired. The whole time she seemed to be in a good mood. So we went out and even though she fell asleep in the car a few times we didn't think anything of it.

At dinner she seemed so uncomfortable in the high chair. She would eat anything or drink her milk. She actually put her head down on the table!

Needless to say after she threw up, we got our pizza boxed up and went home. Allie was out the minute we got her in the car. We got home and changed her clothes and put her to bed and she didn't make a sound.

She really didn't eat much today so I don't think its something she ate. I think she must have caught some kind of bug. I suppose I'm not surprised with how crazy things have been with the holidays. This poor kid can't seem to stay well for the holidays. She was sick on Halloween and now again on New Years.

Doug and I were going to have a few drinks to ring in the new year, but that was canceled when our baby got sick. What a way to ring in the new year, with a puking baby. At least we've been lucky. Aside from two colds and the virus that gave her diarrhea, Allie hasn't been sick at all. How many other parents have made it past the first year before dealing with puke?

2009 to 2010: Compare and contrast

-In 2010, I took on a totally new lifestyle: Working the day shift, becoming a mom.
-In 2009, I had also taken on a new lifestyle: Unemployment.

-In 2009, we were broke. We had a few weeks where we weren't sure how we could feed ourselves or pay some of our bills.
-In 2010, Doug and I were able to work through our money issues and even save a few bucks. It helped that I got a job!

-In 2010, I returned to running, and though I had to scale my goals back considerably, I am now running even better than I did before.
-In 2009, I started the year injured and not running, then I started running again but was unable to gain any consistency because of pregnancy.

-In 2010, I made strides in figuring out how to handle to responsibility of another human life. I watched my baby grow and change.
-In 2009, I had my greatest accomplishment in giving birth to my beautiful daughter.

Aside from giving birth, 2009 was not good. This year was way better than 2009, hands down. And I have complete confidence that in 2011, life will just keep getting better!

Overstimulation

  Allie got some noisy toys for Christmas. She loves them, but they make Monk a little nervous.

Especially when they also move, light up and play music.

I must confess: Seeing Monk's reaction is quite entertaining.

From one Christmas to another

December 2009:



December 2010:

12 months ago, Allie wasn't terribly mobile.

We wanted her to become mobile, but I kind of miss that time when she wasn't because now we have to spend a lot of time getting her out of places where she doesn't belong, like behind the chair

And just look at that hair!

She sure does make life fun though. Happy 14 months Allie!

Meet and greet

On Christmas Day Allie got reacquainted with her cousins Cole (in the Orlando jersey) and Carson (showing Packers love!). They live in Troy, Mo. We all got up early Christmas morning to go see them and Aunt Julie.

Those boys are full of energy. Allie is full of energy. It was a good matchup.

It was hard to get a good picture of the three of them though!

They're a fun bunch. I wish we lived closer to them.

I finally managed to get a good picture of them...

And then they were all on the move again!

Southern Illinois Christmas

We had a nice Christmas. It was a quick trip, way to quick really. But it was nice to be there. We didn't get to go last year because of my continuing unemployment and also because Allie was so little.

We drove down to Bloomington Wednesday night and spent the night in a hotel. We drove the rest of the way on Thursday morning, though we didn't make it as early as we wanted because of a few stops we had to make on the way. We hung out Thursday night and Allie went to bed early.

I think walking at the mall may have been the highlight of Allie's Christmas. She was so shy when she first got to Grandma and Grandpa Durso's house, but she just ran ahead without fear when we went to the mall on Christmas Eve morning.

Allie got an umbrella stroller and we got to test it out, also at the mall. Allie liked asserting her independence, but she also liked hopping in the stroller and taking a ride.

Back at Grandma and Grandpa's house, we had a great turkey dinner. The turkey took a really long time to cook for some reason and to try and divert Allie's attention from the Christmas tree and presents beneath it, she got to open one of hers. This Redskins dinosaur was for Dada too. The dinosaur plays music and lights up and rolls all over the place. I have some fun pictures of Monk's reaction the the dinosaur. Anyway, the dinosaur held her attention for awhile, but then she was back to her favorite spot:

She did manage to rip a few presents that were not hers, but all in all, most of the presents escaped her grab.

She enjoyed opening presents, but was really more interested in opening the presents that belonged to others.

She knew what to do with her new sippy cup.

Another unexpected highlight was this green long sleeve shirt. It said "My first football and puppy," but it was a Rams theme... Grandma and Grandpa are Rams fans. Nobody's perfect. :-)

Christmas morning we got up early and drove to Doug's sister's house outside St. Louis. It snowed most of the day on Friday so it was a white Christmas even in southern Illinois.

A surprise at Julie's house was the fact that Allie sat and watched Grandpa and cousin Cole playing chess for quite awhile, at least a half hour.

But then she got crazy. It was a lot of fun watching the cousins play together. The boys are big sports nuts. Cole is in the Orlando jersey and Carson is wearing the Aaron Rodgers jersey. I wish we lived closer to them.

The drive home on Saturday night was long, but Allie did great. She was fussy off and on from being stuck in the car seat, and she got really cranky just before dinner time. But after a big dinner and a change into pajamas she was great and slept the rest of the way home. We were so glad to be sleeping in our own beds again. Christmas continued at Grandma and Grandpa Swanson's house Sunday night and our Durso pack celebration is TBA.

Week 01/11

Even though its still 2010, its the new year in the unemployment calendar. The weeks are numbered and since Jan. 1 is on Saturday, that makes it week 1 of 2011! And also since Jan. 1 is on Saturday, there are 53 weeks this year!

New Years always comes up so fast after Christmas. Imagine that, its a week after Christmas and it comes up fast? I've been thinking a lot this month about how different 2010 was from 2009 and knowing that with 2011, life can just keep getting better! I've got a lot of reflections on this year and what I want from the next, hopefully I can find the time to write it all down.

Naughty or nice?

She's been pretty naughty lately, its that darn independent streak. But overall Allie's been nice, and she got the presents to prove it. She met with Santa on Christmas Eve to confirm.

Miss Independent

 We are back from our Christmas travels, though some of us (Allie, aka "Sleeping Beauty") are still deep in Christmas slumber.

We made the trip down to southern Illinois and it went really well. While traveling, Allie discovered her love of independence, as evidenced by her willingness to walk off through unknown places without caring if anyone was with her. Contrasted with her shyness when she got to Grandma and Grandpa Durso's house, we were quite amused.

It was a fun trip full of new experiences. And now that the craziness of the holiday is over, Mama might actually be able to chronicle what happened in the eventful month of December.

The last month

Allie has a new Colts sleeper thanks to Uncle Jon, Aunt Julie and their family!

Look! We're twins!

I swear that wasn't planned. Allie is wearing her Alcatraz t-shirt here. And Mama tends to just wear race shirts during the weekend and just like that we're dressed alike. Allie is going to be embarrassed to be around me when she gets older.

While we were in San Francisco the snow fell. We got home and it continued to fall. So we got Allie's snow boots out.

Unfortunately I couldn't get the boot over her broad foot :-( I've been meaning to try again, these boots are so cute!

I'm surprised at how little I've been posting lately. I still haven't started any of my installments from vacation... I fear by the time I get to it, I will have forgotten everything.

The hustle and bustle of Christmas has taken us by surprise this year. I loved going to California in December but it really caused a time crunch for us. Cramming two long trips within two weeks was harder than we expected! We're headed out Wednesday night for our Christmas journey. December has been a wash for running, and I think its a wash for blogging too. I'll start fresh in 2011.

Christmas?

When we were in San Francisco, we had to keep reminding ourselves that it was December. There were plenty of decorations and even an ice skating rink, but I will admit its not the same without snow.

The huge Christmas tree at Fisherman's Wharf.

Fish statues ourside our hotel decorated with garland.

The huge Macy's at Union Square. This store had 9 floors and the top was "Holiday Lane," all the Christmas items. Santa was there too.

We bought Allie a Christmas ornament. We had to!

There's an ice skating rink in the middle of Union Square. I kind of wanted to try it, but all the people skating were really good and I havn't tried on ice skates since about third grade.

We went in some of the grand hotels around Union Square too. Inside the Westin St. Francis hotel was a huge castle. If I remember correctly what we read, this started out as a small gingerbread-type castle several years ago, and look at it now. It was on a rotating base with a train traveling around in the opposite direction.

More decorations at the Westin.

When we got home, there was plenty of snow! While snow doesn't make Mama and Dada happy, Allie seems to enjoy it.

I got this picture of one of the first times she saw snow. Precious.

Of course, the snow didn't really help us get ready for Christmas last weekend! The month has gone by so fast. I've run 9 miles this month and its already half over. We haven't done any Christmas shopping because of last weekend's blizzard.

Sunday morning we were snowed in, so we just lounged in our pajamas. It was fun, but not productive. We haven't put up the Christmas tree and probably won't because its so late. Kinda bums me out though because we won't be able to hang up the ornament we bought Allie in San Francisco.

This is the only thing I've done so far for Christmas. Three kinds of Christmas cookies that we've been eating all week. The sugar cookies didn't turn out, but everything else did and boy is it good.

So we're hoping to get the rest of our Christmas stuff done this weekend. We have our shopping plan and we're also hoping to do something fun. And there's also my Christmas concert on Sunday. 'Tis the season, even if we got into it late!

Let it snow

When Allie looked out the window this morning...

 This is what she saw:

Uggggh, welcome back to winter in Wisconsin. I'd much rather be here:

The weather here is so cold and snowy and gross, can I have a do-over on vacation and go to California this week instead?

I have uploaded many pictures to my computer this week and need to upload them now to this site. I have many blog posts to write. I plan to post in installments, and I'm hoping for one each day. But for now, just enjoy this picture. I know I am.

We're home!

It was a great vacation, but its always nice to get home. We're driving our car on our roads and got home to our house with our bathroom and our bed. And now we're getting ready to drive down to Rockford and pick up Allie. We miss her like crazy. My mom said she had a good week. She attached herself to Johanna and was much more relaxed when Johanna was around. I hope she remembers us!

I'll be uploading pictures and writing about the trip hopefully today or tomorrow. There's a bunch to write about so it may take awhile. I'm glad to be home, but even more glad that we still have four more days of vacation.

Am I really leaving my baby for six days?

Back in July when we were hatching this vacation idea, I was totally fine with going away for a week and leaving Allie with Grandma and Grandpa Swanson. A getaway without a little one? Sure! But now that I'm faced with taking Allie to my parents' house tomorrow afternoon and then, gulp, leaving without her, I'm getting really sad. This is way different than the first time I dropped her off at daycare. We're not going to see her for six days! We've been together every night since she was born!

I'm told this feeling will pass. I just hope it doesn't last too long.

Allie's new friend

I don't think I ever posted that we did finally give Allie the rest of her birthday presents, two weeks later!

Everything she got was a big hit, including her new friend...

Elmo Live Encore! Or is it Elmo Encore Live? Allie actually got this from Grandma and Grandpa Durso via giftcard. We just had to get it for her after seeing the smile on her face while trying Elmo out in the store.

Unfortunately it seems I didn't take any pictures of that smile. But I got pictures of them playing together! It was funny to see how Monk reacted to Elmo. She was definitely confused by this big red creature.

Allie also dances when Elmo sings. Its the cutest thing you've ever seen. But I do write that a lot... I'll have to get the camcorder out and take some video to prove it.