Happy 2009!

Like most things in my life these days, I am a bit late on this post. But I do have a reasonable excuse this year. We have been busy. First, we hosted Dean's folks for Christmas, which was wonderful and so exciting as Natalie really "got" the whole Santa factor this year.

Then, a few days after they left, our good friends Kim & Ron came out with their daughter and spent an evening with us. Now, you think a one night stay wouldn't take up that much time. Except that I haven't seen Kim and Ron in a long time. We had to make the most of it which meant consuming three bottles of wine between the four of us. We might have stopped at two, but being the Floridians that Dean and I are becoming, when your midwest friends visit, it is obligatory to get them in the hot tub so they can visualize the great FL winters when they go back to the subzero temps. And of course, if you're going into the hot tub, wine is a must! Hence the opening of bottle #3. We stayed up until 12:30, which in my San Francisco days would have meant the evening was just getting fun. But in my mother to an infant days means that while I have been up at 12:30 many times, I haven't stayed up that late in awhile. So the next morning, I was a little tired and surprisingly, not too hungover. But unfortunately, it was also NYE day. We bid farewell to our friends and then...

That night we went over to our neighbors to celebrate. The girls had a pajama party with tv, popcorn and candy. And some very cute party hats.



Bliss to the under five crowd. We had some great appetizers, pomegranite martinis, good wine, champagne and wii fun. We left about 10:30 when the meltdowns were about to ensue, then Dean and I stayed up and watched the NYE shows. I'm showing my age here but am I the only one who LOVES watching Anderson Cooper with Kathy Griffin? She is perfect for that venue! I love her humor and how she seems to make Anderson nervous and giddy like a schoolboy. Anyway, Dean and I outdid ourselves and ended up staying up until 2:30. Yeah, we had our groove on until the next day. Ugh. Natalie "slept in" until 7:30, for which I should have been grateful. But let's just say it was a painful day.

And then yesterday, my darling hubby turned 40!!! So while we didn't go big, we enjoyed some good food, drink and presents at home. Today we are heading to Siesta Key for some beach time and then to his folks for another celebration.

So, with all this celebrating I'm looking forward to getting back to our routine and achieving a major resolution this year. I am going to lose weight and get active again. I have a few things going for me this year. 1)Today we join the local YMCA that is just up the road and has great childcare. 2)I got Dean the Wii Fit for his bday and we set ourselves up with is last night. Let's just say when it does your fitness evaluation, it is painfully honest. Ugh. And 3) I am motivated. I'm tired of feeling frumpy and looking at a closet full of clothes from before my pregnancy with Katherine that I want to wear again. OK, in full disclosure, there is also a stack of clothes from before Natalie was born that I want to wear again. So I've given myself until Katherine's 1 year bday. Whatever doesn't fit by then is getting donated.

I'll keep you posted on my progress. I have lots of other resolutions I'd like to tackle, but am focusing on only one this year. I'm hoping that will help me achieve success. Stay tuned!

And here is to a healthy, wise and prosperous 2009 for all.