2010 Resolution Check-In

(c) 2010 Ms. Huis Herself at musenmutter.blogspot.com

Since we're now about 2 1/2 months into 2010, I thought I'd do a brief check-in as to how my 2010 resolutions are going. Gotta keep myself honest, you know!?

I have 6 goals - 3 health/weight and 3 organization/decluttering/tidying:

1. Exercise most nights of the week: Doing pretty great with this one! It's becoming habit to exercise (most) evenings once the girls have been put to bed. It's the Shred or belly dance practice or now running! Not that I'm usually very gung-ho to get started, but once I do begin, I'm fine & finish it out & then am glad I did.
   
2. Do the Couch-to-5K Program...and run in a 5K race: Last Saturday I went to our local Fleet Feet & got fitted with shoes (very impressed with them, the time they took, their expertise!). Also, bought a treadmill from one of the moms in Pumpkin's dance class, who'd mentioned in passing on the previous Thursday that she had one to sell and did anybody know anybody who was looking? Hauled it home last Sunday, managed between Mr. Kluges and I to wrestle it down to the basement & it's all set up! I've started the Couch-to-5K program & have done all three of the first week's workouts. So, it's begun!
3. Reduce/avoid empty calories: Still a struggle. They're just so tasty! But I decided to give up alcohol for Lent, except for 6 days of my choosing (like St. Patrick's Day! Gotta have a Guinness then!). 'Cuz technically Lent is the 40 days before Easter but starts 46 days before because the 6 Sundays don't count because they're mini-Easters/celebrations of Christ's victory over death. So far, so good, but I think I'll run out of optional-drinking days before Easter comes. :)
4. Keep following the Flylady: Oh, yes, I am! I find her routines and encouragement and 15-minutes very inspiring and motivating.
5. Spend 30 minutes per weekend on the attic room: Doing well with this. Skipped 2 weeks so far, but those were because we had people over and/or I'd gotten 4 boxes of hand-me-downs from the neighbor, so I sorted those instead. Still need to do it this weekend, but I've gotten a lot of papers filed/sorted and every week a tiny little bit more gets done.
6. Paint the small area behind the radiator in our room (in the summer): Still in the works! :)

So, in general, progress in most areas, even though there's still plenty to do in each of them. Yay for moving forward!

WW - Have I mentioned she REALLY likes that bunny suit?

(c) 2010 Ms. Huis Herself at musenmutter.blogspot.com

Someday... it won't be winter anymore.

(c) 2010 Ms. Huis Herself at musenmutter.blogspot.com

Someday it won't be winter anymore...

and I won't have flannel sheets & three blankets on my bed & be wearing fleece pajamas when I sleep.

Someday it won't be winter anymore...

and the girls won't be able to make pretty patterns in the frost on the window in our room just like Laura does in Little House in the Big Woods.

Someday it won't be winter anymore...

and I'll stop bugging my husband about making the storm window for our room and start bugging him about making some of the many, many screens our house needs.

Someday it won't be winter anymore...

and I won't be able to keep milk in the unheated back hallway when I don't have enough room in the frig.

Someday it won't be winter anymore...

and I won't have to worry about the milk in the back hallway freezing overnight.

Someday it won't be winter anymore...

and I won't want my microwavable booties, microwavable scarf,and fingerless gloves when I'm playing on the computer in the evening.

Someday it won't be winter anymore...

and I won't have to put on a coat to go out and get the mail.

Someday it won't be winter anymore...

and we'll be able to use our fully-enclosed sun porch AND our open front porch again.

Someday it won't be winter anymore...

and we'll start complaining about how hot is it and how at least in winter you can put on another layer. :)

(Happy Month of the Spring Equinox, everyone!)

WW - Thanks to hand-me-downs, the Easter Bunny came early

(c) 2010 Ms. Huis Herself at musenmutter.blogspot.com

WW - Any guesses what's on our attic ceiling?

(c) 2010 Ms. Huis Herself at musenmutter.blogspot.com

Baking with Daddy

(c) 2010 Ms. Huis Herself at musenmutter.blogspot.com

Scene: Dining room table. Mr. Kluges is perusing recipe book while Pumpkin is drawing nearby. After some debate he finally says...

Mr. Kluges: Ok, how about Chocolate-Laced Pudding with Cinnamon?

Pumpkin: (absent-mindedly) Um-hmm.

K: You're not listening. What did I say we were going to make?

P: (glancing quickly at the page as Mr. K almost as quickly tries to cover the title of the recipe) Puhdd-ing.

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Scene: Dining room table. Mr. Kluges & Pumpkin have chosen a recipe & are now working as a team to assemble the ingredients.

Mr. Kluges: Ok, we're going to need a pinch of salt. Can you reach the salt?

Pumpkin: (striding purposefully toward kitchen) Yes! I can! I'll go pinch it!

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Pumpkin: (retrieving the eggs in their carton) I didn't even drop it once. Or even a teeny bit!

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WW - Pumpkin the Baker

(c) 2010 Ms. Huis Herself at musenmutter.blogspot.com

Some clever title with belly dancing, tv, and swords in it. *grin*

(c) 2010 Ms. Huis Herself at musenmutter.blogspot.com

Last Saturday, my belly dance troupe was invited to perform at a local arts festival. We were also supposed to do a tv spot at 8ish that morning, but it was canceled thanks to some chemical spill up in Michigan.

(It reminded us a lot of when we'd been performing at a similar (but outdoors) arts festival last summer when our 6am tv spot had been usurped by a big union to-do with a major local manufacturer. I found out at 5:30am when my phone rang as I walked up to the dark, vacant stage area where it was supposed to be.)


As consolation we were offered the next morning's 6:30am spot with a different channel. Fortunately for us, this one actually happened.



(Ok, if that embedding doesn't work, here's a link to their page... about halfway down is a player & you'll want "Belly dancers shake at Arti Gras.")

CBA vs. JHA

(c) 2010 Ms. Huis Herself at musenmutter.blogspot.com

In economics, there's a concept called "cost-benefit analysis." Basically, it compares how much something's going to cost, with the potential benefits/return from said cost.

In parenting, I think sometimes it's more of a "joy-hassle analysis*." How much joy/pleasure are your offspring going to get out of something vs. how much of a hassle is it for you. Getting to use a crazy straw? High joy/low hassle. Painting? Might be high joy, but it's also high hassle. Bringing your non-napped, overtired, teething small fry to a fancy restaurant? Yeah, that's just a lose-lose, low joy/high hassle situation, most likely.



And all this is just a fancy way of saying we're letting the girls wear their swimsuits in the bathtub tonight.



*My idea, all mine, so poopyheads, hands-off. Nice friends, go ahead and use. :)

Wordless (and Evil-less) Wednesday

(c) 2010 Ms. Huis Herself at musenmutter.blogspot.com