Welcome back!

Well, hello, there! I cannot believe it has been 7 months since my last post! I am such a bad blogger!! Please don't take my absence personally. I think about blogging all of the time...I even have a list of things to blog about; I just haven't actually sat down and written anything.

I still put too much pressure on myself about writing rather than just DOING it but I hope to change all of that starting today! Yipee!! In fact, I have so much to write about, you may be bombarded with a few updates today. I'll try to pace myself, though. I'll also try not to write a post that is the size of a novel but we all know how I like to ramble....

With all of that being said, I'll give you a quick update on my life from the past 7 months:

1. Christmas was great because, well, Christmas always is great. It was different because we celebrated it at home by ourselves for the first time. It was nice in many ways; lonely in other ways.

2. We experienced our first blizzard! And then the next week, we experienced it again! The second week of snow wasn't technically called a "blizzard" because there wasn't enough wind along with the snow but we received about 20 inches of snow both weeks, which is more than this small family from Louisiana has ever experienced at home! We loved it! School was cancelled, as well as, Scott's work for a few days, so we just stayed home, played in the snow, read by the fire, and drank coffee all day....bliss....

3. Now that we are out of April, everyone in my family is another year older. I was not really looking forward to admitting that I am now 36 years old but, for some reason, whenever people ask me my age, I have to stop myself from saying I'm 37! I am not 37 but that is the number that pops into my head when I am asked. Just the other day Mackenzie corrected me about that. I said something about being 37 and she said, "Uh, Mom? I thought you are 36?" I have no idea why this keeps happening. Maybe it is a sign of old age.... :-)

4. I still want to be Ree Drummond's, a.k.a. The Pioneer Woman, best friend. There, I still admit it. I just want to cook with her and hang out at the ranch. Heck, I'll even help homeschool her kids!

5. I still can't run more than 12 minutes straight but I am trying! I made it through week 7 of my Couch 2 5K app for the second time but then went back to earlier weeks that have more intervals because that is what I prefer. I still want to be able to truly run a 5K but it will just take more time for me to get there. Also, for those of you keeping count, I have officially lost 30 pounds! Before my vacation last week, I'd lost 32 pounds but then I went on vacation and, well, you know..... Any way, it is still a wonderful accomplishment. I'd like to lose about 20-30 more but I'd like to see if I can do it without Jenny Craig's help. There is nothing wrong with JC. I am just tired of relying on her food so much and also paying for it. So, this week, I'll be doing it "alone" and, hopefully, I'll be closer to that 32 pound loss again. I'll keep you posted.

Oh, well, so much for this post not turning into a novel....talk to ya again soon!