High Hopes for 2013

Happy New Year Everyone!

I have high hopes for 2013. That's pretty easy though because 2012 was crap! No seriously.... it was. My normally optimistic, it could be worse, attitude faced a particularly tough time in 2012. THIS will be the very last time I harp on 2012. In order, 2012 brought me -  Asthma, a broken Foot, a month of a mystery illness not cured by antibiotics, a congenital heart disorder, the death of both grandmothers and a bad attitude. By December the only thing I could do was muster up the strength to "reply with a smile", I was mad at everyone and everything. Even well purposed encouragement was displaced by my bad attitude - someone said to me, "you are the strongest person I know" (clearly they did not mean physically - ha). I smiled and said "Thanks". I really wanted to say, "Really, I would like to stop having to be that person for a little bit" - I decided it was best to keep that to myself.

I took a couple of weeks off at the end of the year and tried to regroup. I came back to Cincinnati renewed and optimistic. 2013 is going to bring positive changes into my life. That is the mantra I try to say to myself when I am having a bad day. Goal 1: Be Positive

                                                             

Being physically fit is also important, not just so I don't have to sit through another speech form my cardiologist, but because of the benefits that it can have to my attitude and outlook. I decided not to train for the Flying Pig Half Marathon (the goal I set for myself last year). My hesitation has to do with my foot and my heart. I don't feel comfortable pushing myself in unknown territory. Currently, I am counting Calories using the MyFitnessPal App - this App is the best of all the calorie counting apps i have tried, I highly recommend it and I do Vinyasa Yoga once a week with my yoga buddy Kate. This weekend I am touring the YMCA, I am contemplating taking up swimming too. Goal 2: Be Physically Fit

Skinny Katie circa 2006 .. .In costume, it was Halloween, I was a geisha...sort of

The end of 2012  brought the end of  my cable TV promotion package. When I received my bill this month for $120 I flipped! One person - $120! For TV, seriously... seriously?? So, Cable TV is gone. I bought a Roku box (streaming video box) today, and I am going to read more. I am going back and reading the classic books I "skimmed" in high school and college or never read at all. I started with The Great Gatsby, at least I can prepare for when the movie comes out, plus one of the main characters is from Louisville, immediately garnering my attention.

I am also reading The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. I started reading this the first time last year, but I clearly was not in the right place to finish it. She takes you through 12 months of changes you can make to find a better place of happiness in your life. The first month, January, takes you through organizing your life and space. This is something I find interesting because I have always felt that a cluttered spaces = a cluttered mind.

The third book I am reading is Skinny Chicks Don't Eat Salads by Christine Avanti. I like this book a lot! It teaches you the correct way to eat, what portion sizes are appropriate, the right mix of carbs and proteins and has great recipes and sound advice that a normal person - wishing not to starve herself whowould rather live on mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, cupcakes and derby pie, than see world peace - can follow!

Goal 3: Read More Quality Material 



Lastly, I need to Blog more in 2013. I enjoy doing this, and I have many insights that I KNOW the world is waiting to hear :)

Goal 4: Blooooooog (you have to say it with a low deep oooooog)