Happy "twenty-oh-ten"!

LOL.

I listen to Mike & Mike almost every morning, and this morning they were discussing the difference between saying "twenty-oh-ten" and "twenty-ten." Sometimes I listen to them more for the entertainment value (ie, Mike Golic promising to leave the show forever if Greenie got something right; Greenie responded it would take two people to fill Golic's chair) than the sports value, but nevertheless, I get a kick out of them everyday.

Anyway. Happy 2010! Happy new decade! Like a lot of people, I get a little (overly?) nostalgic right around New Year's....thinking a lot about the past year - the mistakes, the triumphs, the lessons learned (some harder than others), and looking forward to the new year. This year wasn't much different, but life moves on after January 1.

We had a great New Year's Eve. The last 2 years, we've spent in other cities, dressing up, spending way too much money....having a good time, but still....too much it felt like sometimes. This year, 4 of Chris' fraternity brothers (3 of which were in our wedding; the other one probably would've been too had he not been overseas in the Army) and their wives (and, well, one girlfriend) came to Columbus, and we had a great, laid-back, HILARIOUS night. We went to a Columbus hockey game, had an informal dinner at Boston's, and then we all went back to Drury Inn (all 3 places within walking distance in downtown Cbus) where we rang in the New Year with some champagne in our pj's and Apples to Apples. It was a great time.

This is us @ Boston's - being good Buckeyes and sporting our OSU hoodies in honor of their Rose Bowl appearance on New Year's Day. They won!

NYE 2010 also marked our 7th "anniversary." We started dating on NYE 2003, so we've definitely come a long way since then :) We don't celebrate the day anymore, but it's cool to think about where we started and where we are now :)

As a rule, I don't make resolutions. Or goals, or promises to myself. Never really have. I usually take time to reflect on myself and what I would like to accomplish, but in general, I get fairly annoyed with people who announce these huge, great, wonderful goals and then 2 weeks in, are out of it (99% of them weight-loss related). So, I don't make announcements. I've seen firsthand that if you put your mind to something, you'll do it anytime of year (like my mom, who started Weight Watchers in September of '07 and has lost over 70 pounds to date!). But, for posterity's sake (I think that's the right word), here are some of my thoughts for the upcoming year.

1. Improve my relationship with God. And that means going back to church on a regular basis. Sleeping in and lazing around the house always sounds better than spending an hour in church, but I always feel....whole....after leaving church. Like I've just been home. It's definitely a part of me that needs awakened, and I'm anxious to get back to it.

2. Say "no" more often. This applies mostly to work, but to wherever it applies. I tend to wear myself out trying to make everyone happy, and that's never going to be possible. In fact, I put this into practice yesterday when someone at work asked me to put on a pot of coffee (what do I look like, your maid?), and I politely said, "Well, I have some here, but the coffee is in the cabinet if YOU'D like to make some!" Small example, but a lot of little things like that add up!

3. Live my life for me. Again, this has to do with the above - trying to make too many people happy. I'm still growing, I'm still learning, I'm still making mistakes. But I'm tired of losing sleep over the small, insignificant things that people might be thinking or saying about me and making decisions based on what people think. Chris and my marriage matter, my family matters, friends matter - but at the end of the day, it's me that has to live with my decisions.

4. Run a mini-marathon. This is one of those big "annoucement" type goals, but it's one I've been trying to get working towards for awhile now. I just got the Nike + iPod kits, and I'm obsessed with it. It tracks exactly what I'm doing online, and I LOVE seeing numbers and my progress. I believe the Cbus mini is in October, and I think it's a cool goal to work towards. I actually have run outside the last couple of days, and I kind of like it.

5. This last one is a little cheesy....but, it needs to be said. I tend to have a "guilty until proven innocent" personality, and that leaks over to the rest of my life.....only looking at and looking for the negative. While that may never change, I'm going to make an effort to, everyday, write down one GOOD thing that happened to me, or that I saw, or whatever. There are too many ugly and nasty things going on in this world, and I have so much to be thankful for.

So. Those are the big 5. Who knows what 2010 will bring? Or where I'll be this time in another 10 years? This time 10 years ago, I was 16 and a sophomore in high school. This last decade was sure full of a bunch of changes, and I'm excited to see where I'll be at (gulp) age 36. Kids....different job? New house? New hometown, different experiences?

Sit back and enjoy the ride, everyone :)