I will Persist!

And succeed I will... 

Things continue to look up for me... and I am so grateful to God and the path that HE has put me on this year.

And this being the last day of the month... how more wonderful can it end than with the wonderful news that I can start taking the medication that my fertility doctor prescribed to me over a year ago!
I am so happy that things are starting to turn around for my body... not only internally but physically and mentality. 

I said that this was going to be my year and so far things are looking up for me... and I am so thrilled about the way that things are shaping up. 
A girl can't be happier when things are finally coming into view and looking great!

I am working on my body physically and now my internal body is helping along - DAMN that feels GREAT!

Last night was a great workout... worked on my core and my legs! OMG... I can't believe that I have turned my whole thought process about working out around! It's amazing!!!! 

Here is Liz and I from last night's workout!

And then it time with the princess in bed while the hubby read her a story from her princess storybook. I think that the story that he was telling her finally put me to sleep, which I didn't mind at all. 

This morning started off early for me since I had to be at the fertility clinic at 6:30am for my appointment... and I couldn't believe that I made it to work only 5 minutes late. I was like a bat out of hell, driving down the expressway from the suburbs into the city to park the car back at my house and then get to the train. But I did it! :-)

Now it's time to end this entry here... the last one of the month.
A new month will be upon us in less than 8 hours... so going to enjoy this evening with my loves as much as possible.

New month comes new goals and dreams... so looking forward to the month of February!

Have a wonderful evening... hasta la proxima.

When you feel like quitting...

And the goals that  you have set for yourself... you have to do it for yourself!

Yes... things will look bleak especially on those days when the weather is cold, when the weather is hot, when you can catch your favorite show on the television or just sitting on the couch sounds so much better than getting into your car.

Just head outside - go for a run or head off to the gym, but get yourself off that couch, get your clothes on and march yourself out the door and into that new lifestyle that you want to have. This is the life that you have chosen for yourself so go out there and grab it.

That is the way that I want to live my life... continuing to move forward, towards the dreams, goals and aspirations that I have set for myself this year (and for future years). I can't dwell on the bad things that might possibly go wrong or steer me into the wrong direction. I just can't - not physically or mentality. 
I've noticed that when I am stressing, I am suffering from my migraines and they have been getting worse and worse.

And my happiness is going to the gym and hanging with my two loves.
Making our dreams come true... working towards pure happiness!

Tuesday night...
After spending a little time with the princess, I headed to the gym with Liz and we worked on the treadmill.

Getting our sweat on!

And we are headed back today for some squats and core training! It's going to be a hard workout!
With that, I am going to end this entry here... 

Wishing everyone a wonderful life... hasta la proxima!

I am my problem...

So the solution is that I must crack the whip on my own a$$ now... the migraine that I had last night really put things in perspective for me. Maybe my body was telling me that I needed to muscle through the pain but I tried doing that before and it didn't work.
But I have to do this for myself... I made a promise to myself that I have to do this for my greater good.
So tonight, without fail, I will be headed to the gym... especially since I have a race that I train for in March and June.


On another note...
This past weekend was great!

Friday was a wonderful day with the hubby and princess.
We went on a ride, took the princess to McDonald's to give her some play time and then it was time to get home so that the hubby could get ready for our date night.

We had tickets to see a play at the Greenhouse Theater called Side Effects may Include...
It was a very powerful yet funny play about a family that finds out that the wife has Parkinson's Disease and all the side effects that the medication that she takes gives her and how the side effects affect the husband. 
It was a one-man show and it put in perspective a lot of what is going on with me and my hubby. It was such a wonderful bonding experience for he and I.
Then it was back home to get the princess and see a late night movie with her.

Saturday...
Went to see Grissell and the kids... it had been a while since I've seen her.
After hanging out there for a while, we went to the mall to pick up a couple of things that I needed for me and for the princess.
Then getting home, I got ready for a birthday party that the hubby and I were invited to; and also invited Grissell and her hubby to join us.
We all met up my cousin and his lovely lady at a cigar shop in Berwyn called Cigar and Stripes. And we had a fabulous time!

The hubby and I

Lisa and I

Grissell and I

Sunday...
FUNDAY!!! 
We went to the museum to spend some much quality time with the princess and we had a fabulous time! It was such an amazing time while there with my two loves!

My princess and I

My hubby and princess

The princess and hubby having a sciency time!

Afterwards, we had the pleasure of heading to my cousins' house for some time with them and their little one.
Then leaving, we headed out with the streets and sidewalks iced over. YIKES!!!
But thankfully we had the strong muscles of my hubby to help us to the car safely.

Monday...
Back to the grind...
And it was a long day that ended with me having a one the most TERRIBLE migraines that I have had in a long time. There went my plans of going to the gym because even walking home was hard on my head.
In bed before 7pm... but in and out of sleep until about 11pm when I finally got the guts to take the needle-less medication that I didn't want to take but so desperately needed to. Thankfully the hubby was there to give it to me because I tried plenty of times to give it to myself and it didn't work! Pain, blood and blood pressure spiked later, I was back in bed and asleep.
I felt terrible that the little one had to go to bed early but she didn't have a nap during the day so her little butt had to go to bed.

Well, it's time for me to go... hasta la proxima!

Constantly Challenge Yourself

And going to the gym last night was important to me. 

Even though I was suffering through a migraine, I got myself off the couch, got dressed and headed out to the gym with the hubby.
It was hard but I made myself a promise that I was going to get myself in better shape this year and even though my head felt like it was about to fall off my neck, I had to do it for myself.
Thankfully it was a cardio night and I didn't do anything too hectic.

I was so happy that I was off on Monday. I was able to hang out at home during the day with my two loves. 
But on Monday night was a totally different story though! LOL!!

Liz, the hubby and I went to the gym and really killed it! We worked on our legs and did our squats!

Check out the way that we did our squats:

Me with the weight bar doing squats

We went to Target and Mariano's afterwards to introduce Liz to the store - which she loved it - and then went home. I was exhausted when we got home but I helped the hubby put together breakfast and lunch for us and finally got to bed around midnight.

Sunday was a night day... I was able to spend the WHOLE day with my two loves. It was so lovely.
Watching movies and hanging out. I was able to take a nap with the munchkin even! Something that I usually don't get to do at all. LOL!

The hubby cooked a fantastic dinner and we hung out a little with my dad while he watched a couple of football games with us.

Saturday was just a day of running some errands during the day and hanging out at home with the hubby and princess. We ordered in food and just watched movies... it was a great evening with them both.

Friday night was a total loss for me. These damn migraines are really killing my goal of hitting the gym and getting fit. This migraine on Friday really killed me. I had to go to sleep after I got home from work, after I shot myself up with some migraine medication that my wonderful sister-in-law gave me to try out for my migraines.

Okay... let me start with this: not only was I suffering from a migraine, I tried out this medication to only make it worse at the beginning.
The medication that I got was a sample... and it was a needle-less medication. So I didn't know how the medication was going to get into my system.
So when I finally got it working, it was TERRIBLE!!!! Not only was the initial shock of the blast of air coming out of the container LOUD, it broke open my skin, made me bleed and even made my migraine worse! OMG! I thought that I was going to just pass out because of the adrenaline rush that came straight to my head and made it pound harder than I ever thought possible. 

Thankfully the hubby was home and I was able to get in a nap - but unfortunately I wasn't able to make it to the gym with Liz and the trainer that was going to help us out.

I've made a commitment that this is going to be my year to get fit and no matter what, I have to do this for myself.

And not only did I make this commitment, I made a few more commitments for myself to lead a better life for not only myself but for my family. I have to do everything possible in order to accomplish those goals for myself.

I can't back down now because I am on a roll! 

A fair bit closer is better than not being close at all.
And as I was once told, starting is better than being on the couch doing nothing at all.

Choices, Chances, Changes

Yup... the three C's of Life: choices, chances and changes.
It takes great thought to know that you want to make these choices towards change.
I know that it takes a lot to take that step towards change.

Change it isn't something that most people want to pursue because most people are afraid of change.  They also frown upon the people that embrace it. 
Change is great!
Change allows you to take a chance that you might have not even thought about. Sometimes in life, there are things that are just not going right in your life and in order to see something happen, you must make a choice to take a change to make a change.

It's a circle of life... change is something that is done every single day of our life.
And when you see something in your life that you aren't happy with, make the choice to do something about it. Take a chance to do something different in life. And you will notice that a great change in your life.

And onto another subject.

I haven't mentioned my little situation with perimenopause in a while.
Things haven't changed for me... my attitude towards the way that things are progressing has definitely changed (see, change is GOOD!) and I'm not feeling so overwhelmed with my feelings.
Even though I do have my doubts, I do want to stay positive about the way things are going. You never know what the world has in store for you until you open your arms and heart to change and chances.

But I can't let this get me down... there are so many things that I am looking forward to this year, and even though I am so excited about the prospect of getting pregnant, I can't let this whole situation get me down.

And that is what I am doing for myself... clearing my mind, body and soul of the word CAN'T because there is really no reason why I should limit myself on the things that I want to have most in this world.
I will not allow my worst enemy be the space between my ears... because I know that there are times when it isn't the outside world telling us that we can't/shouldn't do something, but ourselves telling us that we shouldn't.

But onward and upward... I leave it all in the hands of the Lord. He knows what He is planning for my life. All I can do is just enjoy the moments that He has given me to enjoy and make sure that I continue on my journey.

Well, I don't have much more to write since I am suffering from a terrible migraine and I can't concentrate on anything right now.

Have a wonderful weekend - it's a 3-day weekend for me! - and hasta la proxima!

Life, Purpose and Difference

Ahh... how wonderful was last night!!!

After picking up the little princess, I had dinner with my parents and then was picked up by my running partner Liz and we headed over to the gym for a much needed workout.

I started my week 1 day 1 of the Couch-to-5K app... even though I've already done two of them, I decided to do the training since I want to get better at the actual running part.
It was a great workout! I only did a little under 2 miles but it was still a good pace that I was going at.
I couldn't believe that I had the treadmill going at 5 miles an hour while jogging and 3 miles an hour while walking! I couldn't do that before when I was working out with my trainer! 
I would freak out when he would have me WALK on the treadmill at over 5 miles at hour... and here I am RUNNING at 5 miles an hour! What a difference it makes when you have finally found something that makes you happy to do.

I don't know if running changed my life or if I changed my life for running, but who cares really?
My feet keep moving, my arms keep pumping - my mantra: Be patient. You got this!

Liz and I workin' it!

We were at the gym for quite some time! We even made friends with a trainer who we will be seeing on Friday night! YIPPEE!!! Hopefully he will be able to help us out because the both of us are on a mission! 2013 is going to be our year to not only run our races but to do so with a better sense of who we are and a rockin' body if all possible. LOL! - per Liz' words at the end of that sentence. 

When I told her that I am hoping to get pregnant this year, she tells me - you can be cutsy pregnant and still have a rockin' body, Meli! 
OMG... this chick is way too much!

And we will continue to strive forward to get in as many runs together as we can!

When I got home from the gym, I hung out with my parents for a little while and then it was downstairs to take a shower - I was sweaty! - and get ready for bed.

The hubby came home and we were able to talk about quite a few things since the princess was already asleep... and we even watched a little bit of television together. 
I went to sleep around midnight - which is SUPER late for me - and now I am here... looking forward to the days ahead and jotting down my dreams for the future.

I have my spreadsheet of all the different races that I am interested in doing.
I really would like to run the Chicago Women's Half Marathon but I don't think that I am ready for that. I decided not to do the 10-miler in Soldier Field because I don't think that I could do it but why is my gut nagging me about this particular race? UGH! I don't know.
There is a medal for the half marathon at the Chicago Women's but there was a medal for the 10-miler at Soldier Field and you get to finish on the 50-yard line inside of the actual field.
But then again, this is only the 2nd annual Chicago Women's Half Marathon... so it hasn't been around for a long time, so I know that not a lot of women have this particular medal.
UGH!!!!!!!!! I don't know!!!
A half marathon is 13.1 miles... and I can barely do 3.1 miles.
But there are training's for half marathons that take 12 weeks... do I have that amount of time before the race? OMG... I just counted and I have over 12 weeks to train for this race! I actually have TWENTY WEEKS to train for this race, and that's me counting starting from the second week of February! 

Okay Meli... calm down...
I need to figure this out before the end of this month...
Maybe if Liz trains and runs it with me, I can do it... HMMM... seeing her tomorrow... maybe I can convince her?

AHHHHH.... I don't know!!! 

The hubby, Liz and I have come to a conclusion about runners... they are just all around nice people. LOL!
Just something that we have come across...  especially while running these races.
They see you slowing down and some will just pass you up but those real nice ones will pass by and look at you and just say some words of encouragement. That is just priceless! Sometimes you can't even get a friend or family member to do that for you but a total stranger will give you that little boost to get you through a race.

And that is what I plan on doing every single day... push myself a little bit harder. Only then will I know my limits and how much further I need to go to attain my goals. And I am so goal oriented this year.
I've never been one to have like a "New Years Resolution" because most of the time you don't stick to it. But I have decided to make this year a year of goals... things that I am going to attain and make sure that I work on whatever it is to make those goals reality.

I am already seeing a change within myself and to myself... I see things so differently now and have been making changes in my life to make sure that I am on the right path too my own greatness.


A quote by the famous Dear Abby, who just happened to have passed today (RIP kind lady!)...
The purpose of life is to amount to something and have it make some difference that you lived at all.

It makes so much sense to me... I have to have a purpose in order to see that I have to do something.
My main purpose... my family.
My underlying purpose... myself.
The outer purpose... the difference that I will make in my life.

So no matter how you say or what you say... life, purpose and difference go hand-in-hand.

So with that,I will end this entry here... wishing you all wonderful day.
Hasta la proxima!

I am rockin'!

It's been a great couple of days!

And it all started on Friday night...
I had dinner with the hubby AND my boss at Father & Son Pizza... it was so yummy!
After dinner, the three of us headed over to Logan Theater to see a sing-along of my favorite movie of all time... GREASE!!!

OMG... it was such a great time! I sang my little heart out every time there was an opportunity to sing. LOL! Might even take in the South Park one with the hubby.... it should be a great one too.

Then it was race day on Saturday morning! I couldn't believe that even though we got home late from the movie, the both of us got up and made it early to our race.

Here was the gear that we got for starting the race:

And here we are before the race began:

It was such a beautiful morning when we arrived at the park by the museums to have a race! I couldn't have asked for a more perfect day for a race! The weather was just perfect for our first run of the new year and our second run ever.

So a couple of friends arrived after we were there.

Nina is a friend of the hubby's... they used to work together. And she is an avid runner in her own right.

And then my friend Liz showed up. We are in the same running group, Latinas Run It!

And then we all took off together to run this thing... and enjoy the lakefront views that we had while running. I would have liked to take pictures while running, but I was too busy running and concentrating (LOL!) to even stop to take pictures. Maybe another time!

And here we are at the end of our race!

Runners with their medals!

Me with my medal

The hubby and I with our finishers medal!

OMG.... it was a great run! And I cannot wait for the next one in March!

This one is going to be more than 3.1 miles... it will be 7k which equals to 4.35 miles. So I will be training on this one a little harder since it is a 1.25 more miles than a regular 5k. I am really looking forward to this one too... another MEDAL!!! LOL!!

After the race, we went out to get some lunch and then came home to the princess since she is still sick. She was at home with my mom. They were still sleeping by the time I called AFTER the race to check in on her. LOL! It was hilarious!

We stayed home that night with the princess and just ordered in food and watched movies together. It was such a wonderful Saturday!

Sunday was good too. I woke up a little late... 8:30am... and made breakfast for the hubby and princess. We watched a little television and then headed out to the store and then my mother-in-law's house to see her. It was her birthday on Saturday but we didn't get to see her. And then it was back home to relax for Monday morning.

Unfortunately, I ended up taking my mother to the emergency room on Sunday (really Monday morning) night around 12:30am. I got home a little after 2am and she got home with my dad around 3am.
She hasn't been feeling well lately and it was getting hard for her to breathe... so she called me on Sunday night and was "trying" to tell me that she couldn't breathe. So since my father was up, I told him to meet me at the hospital in his car since I had to get to work in the morning, just in case they kept her overnight.
Thankfully they didn't... and it turned out to be bronchitis. So they gave her a breathing treatment while I was there and some medication after I left.

Working on 3 hours of sleep, the hubby brought me into work on Monday morning and I was here all day working on all sorts of things with barely any sleep and a fried brain. LOL! But I got through the day at work and even cleaned up and mopped at home after getting out of work. Got the princess into the shower, dressed her and did the same for myself... all before 9pm!
By the time I got to bed last night, I spent! But I needed to spend time with the hubby and I did... I love it!

Things are starting to look really good for my family and I am blessed to be on the right path towards the things that I want for them.
The fight is all worth-while... and I can't wait until things are finally all in order for us.

Now I am here... with a boatload of things to do! UGH! The party is never going to end here! LOL!

And I have to admit to something... some people might be completely surprised that I will be putting it on here first... but I am proud to say that I am totally addicted to running! LOL!!
I might even get my daughter addicted to it too! LOL!
This one in at the end of March has a 100-yard dash for kids between 2 and 8 years old... so why not?! LOL!

Okay... since I have been working on this, I think that I should get back to work now.
I have a spreadsheet of races that I want to get together since there are a few races that I want to participate in. ;-)

Oh... did I mention that I have been doing 100 squats daily on TOP of a squat challenge? LOL! So today either at the gym tonight or at home when I get home from the gym, I will be doing my daily squats and my challenge for today of 90! WHOOHOO!!! I can't wait!
According to hubby, my tushie is getting much firmer since I started doing my daily 100... LOL! I can't wait until the month is up so I can see if there is a change in my firmness. LOL!

I'm telling you... this is my year! I am making progress in the way that I want things done for myself and I will continue to move forward on all the dreams and aspirations that I have for both myself and my family.

Have a great day and hasta la proxima!

WOW!!

I can't believe that I haven't blogged in a week!

Things have been a little nutty for me... like the princess has been sick all week and I've gone home to take care of her. She has had a fever, running nose, sore throat and a cough! UGH! How I feel bad for my little princess! I hate when she is sick... she doesn't sleep and I don't sleep.

This weekend is going to be wonderful especially because of the weather!

The Chicago Polar Dash is tomorrow morning.
The hubby and I will be running it together and one of my running partners will also be running it with us. This is just wonderful. This is my second 5k - the first one for this year - and I have to say that the weather for the first 5k was nice but tomorrow's weather is going to be REALLY nice! LOL! I've lucked out on the weather being so wonderful for my runs.
The run that I wanted to do on the first of year, that I know some people did, was super cold out that morning but I have give props to those people that did run that cold morning.

I have been doing daily squats - 100 - plus an additional for squat challenge that I currently in. So for the last couple of nights, I have been doing over 100 squats because of the challenge.
I am looking forward to the results that these squats will be doing for my butt but also for my weight loss too. The squats will help me with the much dreaded thigh problem that I have been having for YEARS! And getting in those daily 100 squats will show me discipline that I am surely lacking for not working out.
When I am done with my squats, my legs and thighs are surely yelling at me. LOL!

Well, going to end it here... even though I am sure that I can type out more, I am just too fried to even think about what to write about this afternoon.

Thanks for reading... have a great weekend... and hasta la proxima!

First Friday of the New Year!

And what a wonderful day it has been!
I have accomplished so much at work and I am looking forward to the weekend ahead of me.

I had a fantastic time at the gym last night! I took the Zumba class at 7pm and boy-o-boy did I get home dripping in sweat! I am hoping to make it to the next class on Tuesday night at 8pm and then to the class again on Thursday night. This is a great way for me to get my cardio on! :-)

Headed to the gym again tonight with the hubby! It should be a good workout as this is my strength training day and I know that a group of planks will be making their appearance at the end of the workout. Those should be painful but I need to work on my inner core muscles and this is the best way to do so. So I am looking forward to getting in shape with the hubby.

I am on a mission... and I am so glad that I have many people that are coming along for the ride. I really need to focus on myself and finally get this done! No more bullshit! No more excuses! Because...

And I have taken too long to get to where I need to be... and there is no more room in my life for excuses!

I have another goal that I have semi-completed... running another 5k.
I signed up myself and the hubby for our next 5k... the Chicago Polar Dash!
I am so excited! The dash is only 8 days away - January 12th - and I am so looking forward to it.
This race is downtown and at the end of the race, we will receive a finishers medal! YIPEE!!! That is why I am doing this race. LOL! Not only for the goal of completing another 5k but to get a medal to show myself that I can complete a race.
But when I added that complete more 5k's for this year, it should have said instead to complete more 5k's by running them not walking/running them. 
I know that I am at the beginning stages of completing these races and I can't expect myself to automatically run these 3.1 mile races from the word "GO" but I know that I have to commit to myself that I will run one completely.

My finishers time will hopefully be under the first one that I did back in December, which was 44 minutes. Hopefully I can do 40 minutes or less so that I can always look at a number and know that I can always do better.

I don't want to be a failure in my eyes even though it's shows that you are actually TRYING to do something and perfect it. I want to be my own biggest loser! I want to lose big and have results in the end for trying and accomplishing.

But at the end of the day... no matter how many times I say that for the new year I need to take control of my weight: 

And that is what I have decided to do... just start doing it. I have no excuses! There are women out there that have children and have better bodies than I do! What's up with that?!? There is no reason that I can't have a banging body and still be a wife and mother! NONE AT ALL!

So I am glad that I am headed to the gym tonight!
The old me would have complained that I didn't want to go to the gym on a FRIDAY night after work! But I welcome it and know that with slow progress there are even better results!

And with that, I will leave you with.... Today's word of the day! :-)

Word of the day:doctrine of signatures
Meaning:
a theory in old natural philosophy: the outward appearance of a body signals its special properties (as of magic or healing virtue) and there is a relationship between the outward qualities of a medicinal object and the diseases against which it is effective
Example: 
Among the documents are the notes of a 17th-century physician, who discusses his use of the doctrine of signatures to determine which medicinal plants to use for which ailments.


So I am looking forward to what the weekend has in store for me... and wish you a wonderful first weekend of the new year!
Thanks for reading! Hasta la proxima!

Another day...

And another day to head to the gym... how exciting!
I was there last night... migraine and all... and had a very good workout.
I can tell that I had a good workout when I wake up rested in the morning. Tonight's workout of Zumba should be a good one. I am looking forward to it.

And as I wrote all the goals for this new year, I found myself thinking of even more! LOL! How strange the human mind works when you start something and believe that you have completed the task at hand. I am amazed how much that I can learn about myself when I just sit down and begin to ponder about things.

Like my expanding my vocabulary.... I decided to Google "word of the day" and came upon the Merriam-Webster Online dictionary and they actually have a word of the day.

Today's word, ladies and gentlemen, is festoon (fess-TOON), a noun meaning a decorative chain or strip hanging between two points. 

Example: Festoons of colored paper were draped along the classroom's walls.

So now I will need to figure out how to use that word in the next couple of days... I will have another word for you tomorrow. :-)

As the day progresses, I realize more and more that just because some people have a higher education, does not make them smarter.
Case in point, this person that I have been emailing from work back and forth... instead of just calling me and walking me through the steps that I need to make, it (cause I can't tell by the name if it's a he or she) continues to email me and it thinks that this situation is the only one that I am dealing with today. Well IT, I have other work that is more important and if you need to have me do the steps correctly, why don't you call me after all the different times that I have asked you to call me for assistance?!?!? UGH! So annoying!

And why I don't call this person myself, you may ask? Because IT is new to the agency and IT's name doesn't come up in the directory that is only printed up every couple of months. I started here in August and my name finally showed up in the directory in NOVEMBER! And don't get me started on the fact that I do not have voicemail on my work phone.

For being an educational entity, they are so behind on the times!
Other than that, I am completely happy here than at my last job! LOL! Thank goodness for that because I was miserable at my last job.

Well, I guess that is enough for today. Almost time to go and I need to finish up some things around here before I get out of here. My boss will be gone tomorrow, so I am hoping that I get a lot of work done and now worry about the things that I need to get done over the weekend.

Have a great evening! :-)
Hasta la proxima!

Happy New Year!

And the new year has just begun!
How wonderful is this? A new year to focus on the things that matter the most to you and make those dreams/goals/aspirations finally come true.
And making my dreams come true is my motto for this year... I want to make sure that those goals that I can achieve for this year do become reality because I deserve to have things go my way for once. :-)

Other than that, it was a very special New Years Eve spent with a lot of family and friends. A lot of good food, drinks, dancing and chatting with everyone that surrounded me happened. I couldn't have asked for a better way to end the night. I'm already thinking about my plans for this upcoming New Years Eve 2013. HMMMM... the wheels are in motion in my head and hopefully what I have in mind to do can be done.

Then New Years Day was a lazy day in my house... waking up late, taking a nap and not getting up until late again. It was something that I so needed to do and was long overdue for me.

And today I had the liberty to be at work... how much fun is that?! LOL! But I made it... not happy about it but I have to be positive about everything in my life, no matter how much I might despise it. 
One of the many "goals" for this year... my 36 to 36 is in effect. A list of 36 items that I would like to accomplish on/before my 36th birthday or even by New Years Eve of 2013.

Of course there are certain things that I can list out and there are others that I would like to keep private, just for my own personal goal... but here are the ones that I have decided to make public and in no particular order, just as they came to me:

1. Run more 5k's
2. Drop weight - for good!
3. Attend more plays/theater/concerts
4. Try out at least 10 new restaurants
5. Make going to the gym a priority
6. Read more
7. Learn more
8. Potty train Mayalis before her birthday!!!!
9. Change - and I will leave this one a broad stroke as there is a lot to be changed
10. Travel more
11. Plan things a little better for myself
12. **** this one is a personal one. ;-)
13. Work on being more positive about things in my life
14. Either submit my blog as my book or start a whole new book to submit for publishing (must be decided on before the end of this month!)
15. Continue taking Mayalis to her swimming lessons
16. Teach Mayalis how to write her name
17. Finally understand that things might not always be rosy but they need to be done
18. Write my blog more often and find meaningful and mindful topics
19. Expand my knowledge at work
20. Cut down on pop and concentrate on drinking more water
21. Eat healthier
22. Increase my vocabulary
23. Save more/Spend less
24. Pay off my debits - all of them!
25. Grow my hair out
26. Get better at fixing my own nails
27. Floss my teeth more! LOL!
28. Take more pictures with a camera more... than with my phone!
29. **** another personal one
30. **** one more personal one
31. Find myself - very broad for me
32. Accept myself
33. **** change it up
34. Make life fun!
35. Accept those that are different than me... and know that they are just as special as I am
36. Keep a smile on my face!

And there it is... my list of 36. 

I don't know what to say about it except WOW! This list really made me envision all of the things that are rolling around in my head. 

Thankfully I was able to put together this list early enough in the year so that I can concentrate on the items that I need to do in order to make my life as joyous as I want it to be. And my goals have become clearer to me so much more now.

So with that, I bid you adu and hope that you have a wonderful evening!

Hasta la proxima!