The Cliche New Years Resolution Post

I know it's cliche to do a post on New Year's resolutions, and worse to post about it a week after the New Year BUT I have a three month old. So sue me. ;)

In thinking about what I want to commit to for 2012 I've considered; what I regret about 2011, what I appreciated and am proud of from 2011, what I want for my family and my daughter, who I aspire to become and what it will take to become that woman.

So, my New Years Resolutions are as follows:

1. Live everyday consciously, choosing to be the heroine of my own story and living to be an example for my daughter. As Adam says, "if you're not living, you're dying."

2. Become connected with a volunteer organization such as Junior Women's Club, Volunteer America, etc. I'm not setting any amount of goal hours just yet because Maeve is still small and our schedule can be pretty unpredictable. I feel like it's important for me to infuse myself in our community and find a way to give back. Loving the world is being a part of the kingdom, and I don't feel like I'm very good at this. The last time I was really involved with volunteerism was high school through the symphony, ballet and nursing homes. I grew up watching my mother and her friends give back to our community through Junior League on a weekly basis and I aspire to follow her example.

3. Run a Half-Marathon! This was a goal of mine last year that was pushed aside due to doctor's orders with my pregnancy. I'm giving myself all the way until next December to meet this goal, and until the end of May to pick my half-marathon. Running for me has been a new and fun outlet over the last year, as well as great exercise. Considering I still have a third of my baby weight to lose, I feel like I have even greater motivation to meet this goal. So far I've done several 5ks and two 10ks, and I'm due to run my first race (a 5k) in a year next month.

There.

There are other goals I have lingering in the back of my mind, other things I feel half-committed to, but for now I think this is a good stopping point. An achievable, do-able list of goals for this year.

2012

Can you believe it?

Cowtown 10k 9wks Pregnant

Last weekend we sped up to Fort Worth to spend the weekend with some of our dear friends and to make it to my second 10k, the Cowtown. Being 9wks pregnant, I was a little less then thrilled at the idea of running, but have really wanted to stick to my pre-pregnancy goals. Adam has been awesome, offering to go running with me, and cheering me on at the races. After this last race, he even flattered me, telling me how much he enjoyed going to my races and seeing me so focused. (his words, not mine!) Well, if I was looking for extra motivation this last race (I have been feeling less then stellar) I got it through my good friends who made matching race shirts & hats. My nickname back in DFW is PK (for Princess Kaitlin), there are people who don't even know my real name I'm introduced that way so often! (again, they gave me the nickname, I didn't create it!) The shirts and hats had a tiara and ivy surrounding PK and on the back of the shirts it read "Cowtown 2011" with the longhorn. :) It made my weekend and I was so so so excited to race in it! My time wasn't stellar, but not too bad either, 80min to go 6.4mi. My time was better in January, but given how little I ran since then due to snow and general yuck, and being pregnant I gave myself a gold star! The pictures aren't too flattering, and my weight gain is very apparent, but I'll share them anyhow! Happy Running!!

Thanksgiving 2010

Continuing our "Cousins Thanksgiving" tradition, we celebrated our holiday of thanks with our cousins Shannon & Kyle for the third year in a row. Last year was the first in Oklahoma, with the addition of a baby Meg. This year it was even more exciting with Meg at an active 15 months and our first races on Thanksgiving day! Next year should prove to be even more interesting since the VanHeests will be up to a family of 4! Thanksgiving started very early for us all this year.

Edmond had its first ever Turkey Trot, where you could either do the 1 mile family "wobble", like Shannon, Kyle & Meg did, or you could participate in the 5k race as Adam & I did!

This was my first race of the year, with my goal being the OKC Half-Marathon in May, and Adam participated for support. It was 28* and we were running into a 15mph N wind half the race, but it was TOTALLY worth it! I was nearly in tears when we finished. Partially because of my hip, ha, and partially because I couldn't believe I'd just run a race, and I loved it! We headed home together, full of smiles and encouragement, ready to start the rest of our day together--which mainly consisted of Shannon & me in the kitchen, although Adam did make our fabulous main dish. We changed up the traditional meal this year, since Adam and I are eating fish, but no longer meat, and it was all wonderful.

We had artichoke dip, stuffed mushrooms, and cheese to snack on through the day, and dinner was full of salmon, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn pudding, mushroom stuffing, and wild rice! For dessert there was pumpkin cheesecake, buttermilk pie, and a wonderful apple cobbler. YUM! We spent our time talking, chasing Meg, watching the dogs play, puzzling, and watching Jim Carrey's "How the Grinch Stole Christmas". We had hobo dinners with Thanksgiving dinners, listened to Kyle play carols on his guitar, skyped all of our parents, and laughed.


It was lovely. The weekend went by incredibly fast, but it was a great one. We all thought, and spoke, on what we had to be grateful, and there was a lot to say. The one repeated was, family.

Happy Thanksgiving.