Happy February!

Gerbera daisies aren't your traditional Valentine's Day flower, but I don't like roses and I do like Gerbera daisies,  so there you go.   I did search for pink ones to stay with the Valentine's Day theme.   I aim to please.

2013 is one month down!  I'm not wishing time away because every day that passes is one less day of my Little Man being a cuddly baby.   I'll blink and he'll be a smelly teenager that does not want to cuddle and does annoying teenage boy things.  I want to keep him tiny forever.  It doesn't hurt that I'm his favorite person in the world.  I don't know how long that will last,  I assume at some point his father will become cooler than I am.   I'm already pretty far down on my Baby Girl's list, and she's not even 4 yet.  I have hope that I'll get bumped up a few notches in about 16 years.   I started to like my mother once I went away to college (though clearly I have never recovered from the canned green beans)

On the plus side,  it's now February which means the cold weather will be gone in about 6 weeks!!  I know I can make it.   Spring in New England sucks - there is no real spring, it goes from frigid to cold to chilly to rainy.   Then it's summer.   I'll take what I can get;  we're getting so sick of being at home.  I can't wait to hit up the park again! 

I'm also looking forward to running outside again.  I hate the treadmill and have actually given up on it.  I do a mix of cardio equipment to keep it from getting boring, but I just don't burn the same calories that I do when I'm running.   I do hate every single second of running, but I haven't found anything that burns quite as much calories so I'll stick with it. 

Speaking of burning calories,  I've been counting calories and boosting up the exercise since January 1 (I know, lame.  Who starts a healthy living journey on New Years Day?  Lame-o over here does).  I lost 11.2 pounds this month and a half inch on my neck, a half inch on my waist, and 2.5 inches on my hips.   I didn't even know I had weight to lose on my neck, but my calorie counting app told me to measure my neck so I did.    I don't think I'll be able to lose another 11.2 pounds in February since a lot of that was bloating/water weight from the holidays,  but I'm hoping for an additional 7/8 pounds this month..  It's going to get harder and harder,  but I don't want to be the fat old lady on the beach this summer.   I want to be the slightly chubby suburban mom in her early 30's.   That sounds WAY cooler.   My bathing suit fell apart at the end of last summer and I need a new one.  Baby Girl takes swimming lessons at the beach in the summer so I have to go and I have to wear a bathing suit.   I'd really like it if I could wear one that won't scare small children.   I finally threw away the bikini that I wore on my honeymoon - let's face it.  I was 25 and had never been pregnant.   Two pregnancies later, having nursed two babies and HOLY HELL THE STRETCH MARKS I can admit a bikini will never happen again without major surgery.   But a cute tankini?  That could feasibly happen.   And that's also why my wine intake has been cut by....  well.... a lot.  In fact I've only bought 1 bottle since New Years and that was because we were going to my in-laws for the weekend and they have a real fireplace and I think it might be illegal to sit by a roaring fire on a cold winter's night and NOT have a glass of red.   Seriously.  It's a law.  Look it up. 

All this to not be the fat old lady at the beach.    Let's hope it's worth it!