1-1-11: Happy New Year!

So what will 2011 hold? Hopefully lots of positive changes! This is the year that Tim & I both lose weight for good, we're already down so much - almost 50 pounds between the 2 of us! It's also going to be a good year for Adam, since he just got a job. He'll have money to get a license, put gas in the jeep, and find some new freedom. No more complaining about being stuck in the house. I think this year will be one filled with new career opportunities for us, while really taking off in our Monavie business. The new weight management system is proven now, we personally know it works, and we're looking forward to helping lots of our friends and family get healthier! School is going smoothly, so I'm not worried about finishing up the second half of this year, but next year will be sad. Adam will be in his senior year. I'd like to be able to hang onto him for another few years, but I know things happen the way they should. He needs to grow up, go to college, get out on his own, make some mistakes, learn from them, and figure out who and what he's really all about. 2010 was so bad that I have nothing but high hopes for 2011.

Not how you picture Arizona?

What a different winter this has been for us. Although we lived in NH til 2003, the kids were so small, that all they remember really is the Phoenix area's warm winters. It's when we get out and do things. It's the best weather of the year! They don't remember staying in 7 to 8 months out of the year because of cold, snow and days of downpouring rain.

This winter, we're in Concho in the White Mountains. It's cold here! Granted, it's not like NH with a "high for the day" of zero degrees with a -10 wind chill, but it's cold here right now. If we're lucky, the high for the day will reach the low 20s. The house is 60 degrees with a good fire in the fireplace and the blower on. There's 4 to 6 inches of snow on the ground (hard to say since it's SOOO windy that it blows and creates uneven drifts everywhere). Yesterday we drove Adam into work, only his 2nd day on the job. We live 30 miles away and he was there 10 min. before he was supposed to be there, even though we got stuck going 20 mph behind a snowplow, and drove through literally white-out conditions, and had to travel through some unplowed areas. His boss who lives just 3 miles down the road? She was 2 hours late! Had I not sat in that parking lot for the whole 2 hours, another employee who walked to work would've been outside the whole time, at about 30 degrees! Anyway, don't get me started on my responsibility soap box. I'm just glad we're teaching Adam that he's responsible to do his work no matter what. You don't slack off because it snows, with a 2 day warning, and then use weather as an excuse.

My point is, I bet this kind of winter isn't how you picture Arizona. I know I didn't when I learned about it in school. They show you pictures of a cactus, a rattlesnake, a desert in full bloom (which I still haven't seen no matter how hard I tried), and lots of rocky mountains. They don't show you white-out snowy winters in the single-digits, do they? Fortunately the air is so dry and the sun is warm, so our accumulated snow should be gone in just a few days. If we get an inch or two, it's gone that same afternoon. This may take 2 or 3 days, but it'll be great walking weather with cleared gravel roads soon enough. Anyway, here's a picture I took while Tim was driving Adam into work - and right before another white-out, and one from the KFC parking lot while we waited for Adam to be done working.

Christmas 2010

Christmas turned out pretty good this year. We definitely didn't do anything in excess! We all started December thinking that we'd have no gifts for the kids, none for each other, and none for the adults to exchange. Somehow, God managed to provide enough money and creativity and talent to make it a good Christmas.

Adam got money from his 2 aunts, and a 3 month subscription to Xbox live (his only way of talking to friends long-distance during the day). His was about to expire in 4 days so this was good timing. I got him Axe body stuff and hair stuff. Those are his favorites. Tim's parents got him all kinds of edible goodies - also good for a boy struggling to hang onto 120 pounds on a 6'1" body!

Logan got the pair of jeans, ping pong paddle and new bass guitar strings. That's everything he asked for. Tim's father also got him all kinds of cowboy gear: spurs, chaps, and a vest. You should see him when they go riding together in the afternoons. I hear Logan's doing so well, he's actually making Dynamite a better horse. Tim's mother crocheted Logan a hat & scarf set in his favorite colors, black & blue with white trim - he loves them!

Jordan got the Webkinz toys she wanted, a replacement pink set of headphones for her broken ones, and thanks to Debbie, a new, pretty tea cup, and her favorite Vanilla Mint tea.

Tim got sweaters from his parents and I got him a larger, flat spatula like he wanted to use on the griddle side of our industrial kitchen stove.

I got a crocheted pillow in black & pink from Tim's mom, and he surprised me with a silver Monavie bracelet. I also got a diffuser, some Christmas socks and a couple of (baking) edible gift sets.

I got Tim's mother a pretty, delicate tea cup and some decaf vanilla black tea. Tim's father likes work gloves and to make soup. I got him leather gloves to replace a pair with holes in it, and a Soup Bible cookbook. Now he can make soups using stuff from the garden as different vegetables become available.

All in all, it was a good Christmas. We ate together, did gifts together, then Tim and I spent most of the day just being together, playing cribbage, watching Law & Order episodes (on DVD, no TV to the house), and playing Zuma Blitz on Facebook.

It was hard work, I walked 20 miles in 3 days and lost 6 pounds while waitressing for Debbie the weekend before Xmas, but it was enough, and I'm very thankful she gave me the opportunity, or the kids would've gotten absolutely nothing from us.

God is good, I'm blessed with good friends, and I love my family. That's all that matters.