Changing Directions

Whew! What a busy couple of months it has been at our house. Bruce started his new job teaching in August. We didn't close on our new house until mid October. It made us a commuter family for several months. It was so nice when we were finally all under the same roof again. It was a blessing in disguise as it made both of us realize how much we truly do depend on each other.

In July, shortly after my last post, our daughter had surgery for a condition called Craniosynostosis. Basically this is a condition where a baby is born without a soft spot. It affects roughly one in a thousand births. Supposedly, this is just a fluke thing, but I don't buy it, since Daddy also has the same condition. It generally requires surgery on her skull to create a soft spot so the baby can grow at a normal rate and brain pressure will stay in the safe zone. It was a pretty scary day for us. But our girlie did great with the surgery and we are five months past the surgery. She is now eight months old, rockin' her helmet, and the happiest little girl in the world.

Now, onto our move to catch everyone up. We moved from a suburb of Salt Lake City into a very rural area two to three hours away. It was a terrifying thing for me as I have always lived in a more metropolitan area. Yet, I've fallen in love. I love waking up each morning and looking out the window. I see rolling hills covered in snow and horses. I know when the diapers are being delivered because no one else drives down our little road during that time of day. I can't go to the grocery store because that is an hour round trip, so we eat a lot more homemade things. This is also a problem because I currently have a half pan of cinnamon rolls sitting on my counter, calling my name. I went from never eating carbs to having them be the center of my menu because that is what homemade treats consist of. We have to plan our trips into town and spend Saturdays going grocery shopping for the perishable items and visiting the library and any other errands we need. We have to drive twenty minutes to go to church. It is such a change of pace. The rural lifestyle suits me. I am now planning my large garden and trying to talk my husband into getting some hens.

I also now plan out my menu for the whole month at one time. It makes grocery shopping a lot easier since we have to travel to Salt Lake to go to the big stores. But it also insures that my budget is more strictly enforced. I will post my January menu in the next couple of days. A little late is always better than never!

I am working on my own personal goals as well. I have decided that the big goals seem so overwhelming. I had to break them down a little. My first big goal is to lose ten pounds in the next three months. It is a small amount, less than a pound a week, but will bring me back to my pre-pregnancy weight. From there we will have to work on the next ten. This is a New Years goal, but only because I wanted to enjoy my holidays with homemade fudge, caramels, and all the other good Christmas traditions. I'm a foodie at heart and that particular obsession won out for a couple of months. Next check in on the diet will be on February 1st.