Well, hello there!

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season!

Mine was busy and went by a bit too fast.

We hosted Thanksgiving.  It was probably one of the better Thanksgivings we've had in a number of years.  I have a long-time online friend who moved here from across the "pond" over the summer. I offered to host her and her family;  we throughly enjoyed sharing our American traditions with our Scottish friends.

I did some Black Friday shopping. A new(er) tradition I've formed with a friend.  We had a blast and am already looking forward to doing it again next year.   It's fun to people watch.  We haven't encountered the craziness that you see on the news.  In fact, this year things were really, really tame. We were quite shocked with how slow the stores were.

The rest of the holiday season was quite busy.  I chair a table at my son's school during their holiday shop.  I have to make sure there is enough gifts to choose from for the kids to purchase for their father, uncle, grandfather, etc.   It's a stressful project but it's also very rewarding.  I still have a tote of stuff I need to get back into storage in my living room.

Christmas was a lot of fun.  I love that my kids still believe.  Although, I suspect that my eldest is questioning some things so this may have been the last year for that. I hate that they are getting older. Trying to enjoy every last moment that I can!   The rumor is that the silly Elf on the Shelf has kept the spirit alive for kids.  A psychiatrist friend told me that she is seeing kids get another year or two out of the Santa thing. Love it.

Speaking of Christmas, what did the big man bring you?
If you remember my last post, I said I really wanted a MacBook. Apparently the big man reads my blog, who knew?  I am currently writing from my new MacBook Pro.  I LOVE it!  

I am trying to return the other gift the big guy left for me...it's right on my thighs and butt...I hate to admit it but I'm up nearly 20 pounds!  My goal was to maintain through the holiday season.  I guess 20 does not equal 0?  Although, with this new common core crap, maybe 20 = 0?  I will have to ask my son to draw me a diagram.  Sorry, off topic.

I've gone through the self-loathing and the beating myself up phase and now I am back on track.  Last week I worked on portion control.  I didn't calorie count or eat perfectly, I just did my thing and kept it within reason.  I'm happy to report that I was able to return 4 of those pounds!

This may sound strange but gaining weight was probably a good thing for me.  I was in a maintenance mode for so long that I was getting a bit to comfortable there. Gaining a bit of weight reminded me of how uncomfortable I am in my skin.  I haven't felt this low in a very long time.  I'm hoping it was the best thing to happen.

It's time to see what 2014 has in store.