Do you have any goals/resolutions for 2013? As I mentioned in my last post, I am trying to practice more gratitude. That means not complaining and being more patient. Like, I need to not be pissed off when the seat warmers in my car are TOO HOT and BURNING my butt. I also need to maybe take a chill pill when I get mad because my online banking website needs me to change the date fields so I can see more than a week at a time. You know, the website where you can view any of my accounts and transfer funds, day or night, while sitting in my pj’s on my couch… So there’s the gratitude thing

Runnng-wise, I have a four mile race coming up in a couple of weeks. The unfortunate part of the race is that it’s not really serving the purpose of keeping me motivated to run. The half marathon lit a fire under my butt because I had a major PR as a goal. The 5k kept me accountable because I was hell bent on finally beating Dan. This four miler… well, it’s right near my house, so close, in fact, that I can walk to the start, and it’s something to do, which is why I put it on the calendar. But it’s not really making me scared, which means I haven’t been so enthused about running. That and probably the fact that it’s dark most of the day, which makes me want to eat chocolate and watch Netflix. I’m still working on Mad Men, but I also just discovered United States of Tara, which is my new obsession. And Portlandia, that’s a good one, too.  Lest you think I am a lazy slob, I pretty much only watch Netflix while I’m exercising.

Other plans for this year include celebrating Sweet Pea’s first birthday. How did a year go by so fast? The birthday party will feature food, cake, friends, and family, but there will be neither a theme nor favors. Pinterest will not be part of the occasion, and neither will any effort to make this into more than it actually is: A celebration of the birthday of someone who will never have any recollection of the day. It will also be the birthday girl’s introduction to cake, which is HUGE, and perhaps even huger (though it is debatable whether there is anything more huge than one’s first ever taste of cake), it will serve as an acknowledgement that Dan and I survived our first year as parents.

I will have to check with Dan about what this all means to him, but to me it means: I have taken on the biggest project of my life and winged the whole thing for an entire 12 months on limited sleep. My body birthed a (big) baby, my stretch marks faded (though some new silver hairs grew in with a vengeance), I am wearing my pre-pregnancy clothes again, and I am running faster than I ever have. And some other stuff which I can’t really put into words here, mainly because I would like to hit publish sometime today and my blog time expires when Sweet Pea wakes up from her nap. But it’s all good. It’s the mushy gushy stuff that would sound like a lame Hallmark card if I tried to scribble it in out in this blog post. Not sure if you can scribble on a laptop, but whatevs.

Projects for 2013 also include going to Hawaii with our baby, rocking a bikini in Hawaii and acting like I haven’t given the One-piece versus Tankini versus Bikini Issue serious consideration- after all I have a girl and it’s never too early to start showing her what a positive body image looks like (I’m going with the Fake It Till You Make It strategy, I will let you know how it works. Bookmark this blog and check back around the year 2024). 

I *might* attend the Blogher conference this summer. Has anyone been? Thoughts? It would be several nights away from Sweet Pea which sounds to me like both the best and worst thing ever.  How is that even possible, right?

Speaking of things that make no sense before you have a baby- Before Sweet Pea was born, I thought the Height of Ridiculous was dressing yourself and your baby in matching outfits. Now, I’m not rushing out to order Lilly Pulitzer dresses in size 4 and 12 mo (though I’ve poked around on the website and I’m not ashamed to say, that stuff is cute even if the prints do look a little like unicorn vomit). But when you are dressing a baby, you can’t ask the baby, “What mood are you in today? What side of yourself would you like to show the world?” You do know how you feel that day, however. And the weather is the weather, no matter your mood.  So, if you feel like it’s a jeggings day, you’re wearing jeggings. And if your baby has a clean pair, your baby is wearing- you guessed it- jeggings. If you feel like it’s time for her to wear a sweater dress with leggings… That reminds you, it’s been a while since you rocked your sweater dress and a pair of leggings. If the cool winter’s day calls for the baby’s Patagonia vest (I found one for $6 at a consignment store. Holla!), then you’re reaching for your Patagonia vest, too. So, about the people who dress their kids like them- Don’t hate.  (I’m trying to judge less in 2013).

In 2013 I intend to read more. I already read a lot but I love to read so much, I just want to do it more. I need another book on my “To Read” list like I need a hole in the head, but here goes- Do you have any recommendations?

I just started The Gargoyle, which is not what I would normally choose, but it was recommended by a friend whose taste I like, and it’s AWESOME so far.

I recently finished The Paperboy, by Pete Dexter, which is apparently a movie I now can’t wait to see. And if you’re like “No duh that’s a movie, do you live under a rock?” Well yes, yes I do. We don’t have a tv and we stopped getting The New York Sunday Times (which I miss!) so I don’t know a lot about pop culture. I get some info from Facebook.  Anyway, I tore through The Paperboy. It was disturbing but amazing. It was one of those books that I thought about even when I wasn’t reading it, and after I read the last page.  I wish I had read it in an English class so I could participate in a discussion about all the symbolism and meaning. Yeah, I’m that dorky.

Over Christmas, I read Chrissie Wellington’s memoir of her life as an Ironman World Champ and how she got there. While it was no literary masterpiece, it was interesting and entertaining. I love her positive attitude the way she discovered her unbelievable talent rather late in life. 

So… that’s the gist of where I’ve been (at least reading-wise) and some of where I want to go in 2013. Also, I’ve been a busy bee planning Listen To Your Mother and if you don’t know what that’s all about, click on the link. This show is going to be awesome. I am throwing myself into it like a maniac, soliciting local businesses for sponsorships between Sweet Pea’s naps, and emailing, reviewing contracts, and organizing during her naps.

Happy New Year!