Winter Weekend 2012

This year's winter weekend included cutting down a dying tree. We picked what should have been the coldest weekend of the year so that we could use the ice to assist in tree cutting. Unfortunately the mild winter thwarted that plan and we still had to do all the cutting while suspending in the tree. Jason went in up to his waist, but that was the extent of the damage.

We didn't take care of the whole tree, but cut out a lot of branches and made a big bonfire.

Photo Stats 2011

Organization is one of my strong suits. Photography is one of Erin's. So I take the responsibility for organizing and maintaining our many family/vacation/random pictures. I use Picasa and am a big fan, particularly because it is so easy to organize and categorize. Via Picasa, here are our family photography stats for the year.

• Stored photos since 2004: 27,019
• Total photos saved 2011: 4,405
• Photos tagged "favorites" 2011: 654
• "Favorites" with Evelyn in them: 296
• "Favorites" with William in them: 309
• "Favorites" with Jack in them: 299
• "Favorites" with Randy in them: 129
• "Favorites" with Erin in them: 87

We must be very fair parents! Each child was in almost the exact same number of favorite pictures.

2011 Results and 2012 Goals

Annual review time.

2011 Results

1. Lift weights consistently - I don't consider chronic cardio to be healthy anymore but do consider weight training healthy. To be successful, I need to do at least one weight lifting workout during 50 of the 52 calendar weeks this year. SUCCESS! I lifted exactly 1 time a week for 50 of the 52 weeks. My lifting sessions were short and sweet but I definitely gained/maintained strength while remaining injury free and didn't have to invest much time.
2. Complete a long run barefoot - By long run I mean 10+ miles. Right now I'm planning on the riverbank. If my feet can't handle that distance my back-up goal will be doing a long run with my five-finger Vibrams. SUCCESS! I completed the riverbank in my five-finger Vibrams. I did very light training and the Vibrams definitely were harder, but it was a good experience. I also did a 5k completely barefoot, with a reasonable time of about 29:00.
3. Maintain sanity with 3 kids under 3. SUCCESS! Wow, what a tough year. The 3 kids have been far more work than I could have imagined. William in particular pushed us to our limits but thankfully we always held it together.

2012 Goals: OK, 2011 was a weak year in terms of goals. I am challenging myself this year.

1. Lift weights consistently - repeat of last year because this goal was very good for me. This year I want to pick up the intensity somewhat, but I won't quantify it.
2. Floss at least once a week all year.
3. Weigh less than 190 lbs by 2/20/12 (currently 198). It is always hard to lose weight, but I've achieved 190 several times in the last few years.
4. Weigh less than 180 lbs by 5/12/12. This will be very tough. I haven't been this low since 5th grade.
5. Give up pop for the entire year - this may be the hardest goal. I love diet pop and drink it often. For clarification, by "pop" I mean non-alcoholic carbonated beverages.