Two-Thousand Thirteen

So here we are. A new year with new possibilities. Let's hope 2013 rocks as much as 2012 did. Or at the very least, doesn't suck as much as 2010 did. There's my eternal optimism kicking in again. Perhaps I should resolve to work on that first? Ha.

We kicked off the new year by playing a little Super Mario Bros. on the couch while B napped, followed by a full on gutting of our upstairs catch-all closet that housed memories of days past. In numbers... a little fun to begin the new year:

100 - approximate feet of TV cable found in our closet
4 - keyboards and computer mice found
8 - random, empty notebooks filled with empty lined paper
7 - beach towels
7 - sets of earphones
25 - approximate number of USB cords found
2 - Ethernet cords
1 - printer we planned to recycle until we found 3 unused printer ink cartridges for said printer
15 - rough number of electronics boxes of various cameras, GPS devices and the like
5 - approximate pounds of papers shredded after cleaning out our files
5 - approximate pounds of papers from the NICU and both boys' births
6 - books recycled
4 - more books placed in the pile for consignment donating
5 - flash drives probably full of random data
4 - number of hours spent de-cluttering yesterday
25 - approximate weight of the bag of electronics we're recycling this month

Our goal is to go through our basement storage in the coming month as well. I imagine my teaching supplies need to be sifted through and purged a bit. I do plan to teach again eventually, but I don't imagine I'll need the 10-15 boxes of random stuff I schlepped all the way from my classroom in So. Cal.

I'm not a regular resolution setter, but because it's all about a new year and I'm hoping for new results, I guess I have to make some changes. Without futher adieu:

• Complete Jillian's 30-Day Shred at least once. I just bought it this morning on Amazon. No joke. I'm obviously behind the times. Anyone successfully completed it?
• Run a 5k as a family. It's not a huge feat to run that distance for us, but we don't usually run them because they cost a ton! However, I really want Benjamin to be brought up in an active family and see others enjoying an active lifestyle. We want to do the Arboretum run this fall, but whether we do that or not, it will have to be non-traditional.
• Cook one new recipe from my Pinterest account a week. That's not really all that big of a deal... as you all know I love to cook. But man! Somehow I've ended up with about 100 recipes I have yet to try and only 50 on my list of complete (and liked. Some were deleted after unimpressive results).
• Cut out sugar for another 2-3 months. I really feel good when I do this. I can't cut it out forever and I'm obviously horrible at pacing myself throughout the day, so it's all or nothing. Maybe this should be in conjunction with the Shred?
• Once the weather is 50 degrees and higher, I want to get out and run/walk at least 3x/week with Benjamin in the jogger. My husband needs to hold me accountable for this.
• Meet friends. We've lived here 3 years in March and met all of the friends we have now within the first 3 months of moving here. It's time we add to that number. I'm hoping this can be accomplished through Benjamin's swim lessons (start next week!) & our weekly trips to the pool/water park this summer. Hopefully they won't have a 2-3 year old. Might be an automatic deal breaker if it's a boy. If blond? #forgetaboutit
• Plan a ski trip for winter 2013-2014. Aside from our honeymoon in New Zealand and a really lame attempt at a ski hill just down the road, we haven't been skiing in 5 years. Our wedding was 4.5 years ago, so that's really the last official time of skiing at a place with an actual chair lift and not a tow rope. Did I mention my amazing husband loves to ski? 

That's it. That's all I'm committing to accomplishing. Anyone have any of my above items on their list? Maybe we can be accountability partners. Any recommendations on how to deal with the Shred and not die in the process?