HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!

So after taking a few days off...I am back due to popular demand. Well, maybe not popular, but I have had a few comments asking me when I will resume my blog. So here I am!

2008 was good to us, and I have dreams that 2009 will be even better. I have set a few goals for myself, and here they are:

1. Become more organized...it is hard living in a 1100 square foot home with a family of 5 and a dog. But I know I can do it. I have to do it. I am very anal retentive about things, and I am miserable with everything is out of order, like NOW!

2. Be a better Mom and Wife. These are things I think we all work on. We can always be a better mother, wife, friend, daughter, sister, whatever. Hopefully my organizational skills will assist in this!

3. De-clutter. This has been something I have been working on for the past year. I have a tendency to hold on to things...crap actually. I need to be better at looking at things and deciding if I really need it. My organizational skills (which I really do have) will come in handy here too!

4. Stop Shopping. I admit it. I LOVE retail therapy. I love to recieve packages. I love to spend money. Generally it is the thrill of finding a 'good deal', as I am just not one to pay full retail price for anything, but it has to stop. I am challenging myself not to purchase anything but groceries and gasoline. No more trips to Target or the mall.

5. Lose 20 lbs. I look good. I am back to my pre-Victoria weight. But I do the Wii Fit, and it states that I am overweight. Which I am...there are a few pounds in the middle that could go. I took 20 lbs off my Mii, and it put me at a really healthy BMI, so off the weight will come. Hopefully with that I will also get to rid myself of my blood pressure medication. Or at least cut further back on it.

6. Eat better. I have a sugar problem. I CRAVE sugar. Part of it is because of my restricted diet due to Victorias food sensitivities, the other part is that I just love sweets. I need to detox a bit I think, and give up the sugar...or most of it. Like the 3 lb bag of Sweedish Fish that only takes me 3 days to eat...yuck!

That is it for now...what are your New Years Resolutions? The above are not just resolutions for me, it is a total new way of life. These are the nagging things that drive me mental (I know, short trip) and that I have total control over changing.

Does anyone have an organizational skills to share? Please do! I need them desperately! Tasty recipes? Please share! Anyone want to join in my crusade and be held accountable? PLEASE join me...I promise to post pictures of my slimming down, my clean house, my cute and happy kids, and maybe the occasional hubby pic.

Also, please forward to me any blogs or websites that you think might help me with my list!

WAHOO! HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Someone help me stop shopping!

I love shopping. Any kind of shopping. Especially hunting for deals. It is a rarity if I buy something for full price...besides food. I like my food, and I refuse to skimp on it. I would rather spend the money and enjoy what I am eating than buy what is on sale and loathe even cooking it. Anyway, 'tis the season for shopping and finding deals. Victoria and I went out on Black Friday, at 3:30 in the morning. Oh what fun! I was there when a few stores opened but hung back and let the crowds pass so we didn't get trampled like that poor guy in New York. I looked at all the ads on Thanksgiving day, and wrote up my list of what to get at what store, what time the store opened, and I even wrote down the price. I spent a few hours creating my list, researching other stores for better prices, checking the internet for deals, and finally perfecting it and putting everything in order according to when the stores open. I totally realize, I am nuts. But I love it. I love the thrill of finding an actual deal. You see, most stores say they are offering a deal, but really it isn't much of one. I have found that there is generally a price mark-up before the holidays, and then the stores will slash prices and put large percentage off signs to make you feel like you have found a bargain. Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha...little do they know there are those of us like myself that research the prices to see if it is an actual bargain!

So I did it. And I am continuing to do it. I can't stop shopping. Now it is just deals that I find on the internet, and I think I have about 15 packages on their way to the house with my name on them. Granted they are xmas gifts, but still. Tony and I agreed that this year we were going to tone things down a bit since we were going forward to build our new house. I am not sure how toned down things will actually be. We have the problem that we can never go shopping together. Either he is working, or we have the kids. I say that like they are visitors...we just can't get Grandma or Nana to take them when it is convenient for us. Forget a babysitter...we just can't bring ourselves to hire one. So I do my shopping and get the kids some things, and then Tony goes and gets the kids some things. The only problem is we don't realize how much we are buying until we are sitting there xmas eve wrapping.

Oh well, it looks like we are in for a very full xmas again this year. How about you? How do you set limits on what Santa leaves under the tree?