First Post of 2011

2011. I've now been alive to see the start of my 4th decade (80s, 90s, 00s and now the 10s). Crazy!

New Years Eve was pretty uneventful for us. We actually started dating on New Years Eve of 2002-2003, so we've now passed 8 years together. We had fun at dinner trying to think back all of our NYE's together:

02/03 - Days Inn in Terre Haute - ended up being me, Chris & his best friend (and best man in our wedding) Bill - pretty uneventful!
03/04 - a double date party with one of Chris' former friends, Joe, and his girlfriend....can't remember her name and Chris hasn't spoken to him in years due to a fairly major fallout some years back....
04/05 - if memory serves, there was a party at Sigma Chi that turned out to be pretty lame, so we came back to Bethel and hung out by ourselves.
05/06 - party at Chris' house on North Street + party at the AOII Calvert House
06/07 - another party at Chris' house on North Street....I think....
07/ 08 - Jazz Kitchen in Indy with Chris' Sigma Chi friends and their g/fs and wives
08/09 - our first married NYE, in Cincinnati.....dinner at the top of the rotating restaurant with the same group from 07-08
09/10 - NYE in Columbus! Sigma Chi group convened here for a Blue Jackets game, dinner @ Boston's and some minor hoopla in a downtown hotel

This year was a little different - we had friends with a 4-week old baby, so they were out - another couple due in 3 months, so they were out - which left 3 (couples) of us. Plans went back and forth for weeks, but Chris had to work until 1 on Friday and it just wasn't going to be conducive for us to go anywhere. So, we got dressed up and braved Cheesecake at 7pm....I was fully expecting to have to wait for 2 hours, but we were in within 45 minutes. We enjoyed a yummy dinner and then tagged along with some friends to a party. We ended up leaving at 11 to come home, watched the ball drop with some champagne drank from our wedding flutes and being in bed shortly after. It was kind of nice to ring in the new year, just the two of us.

I've had 3 pretty "easy" weeks at work, as far as actual working days go - a 4 day week, then a 2.5 day week, and a 3-day week last week......so a full 5-day week this week is going to be killer.....not to mention that it's my end of month/ end of year, so it's going to be a busy one.

I did get back on track today with my mini training - 2.25 miles, outside - in about 22 minutes. It was COLD and WINDY today, so it was a hard run, and my new running gloves basically left me with frostbitten fingertips, but I got through it. Come February I'll be on an actual mini-training schedule, but until then I'm giving myself a little flexibility with distances and days ran to get myself back into it. I'm giving myself a goal of 10 miles/ week between now and 1/31, which I think is very doable.

Besides getting into a concrete schedule for the mini, the only other real goal I've made for myself is to cut out the gossip. At work, with people I know, with friends. I recently read an article in Cosmo....Glamour, maybe? talking about gossip, how easily it spreads, how nasty it can get - and an easy way to stop yourself from being a target (outside of not doing anything "gossip-worthy") is to not be a hub for gossip yourself. It's a hard goal, and I know it. But there's a quote out there..........another one to live by besides my one yesterday:

"Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people."

I also think this will help me with last year's goal of not living my life for other people....maybe if I quit being so concerned about everyone else, everyone else won't be so concerned about me and what I'm doing in MY life. It's an egocentric thought, I know - no one's world revolves around me. But the more I can just go about my business, with my loved ones, without the drama - the better.

Oh, and the Cowboys finished their dismal season at 6-10 with a just barely win over Philly today (their 2nd stringers, nonetheless), which is their worst in over 5 years....I'm already itching for next season....if there is one.

Happy 2011!!!!