Close to home

In light on the recent economic downturn in the US, I really felt that living in Alberta was a safe haven. While the economy here is slowing slightly, it is still pretty good in comparison. However, last night I was given some news that shook my foundation a little. Yesterday, hubby's company laid off 600 people corporate wide. Hubby prints the newspaper and thankfully, no one in production was affected by these layoffs, however, there were 20 people from the office that were. To add to that, the new CEO of the company is pushing for the paper to have a larger online presence. Apparently many newspapers in the US have already shut the doors to their production plants and are focusing on the internet as their main media source. While hubby's job seems secure at this time, we would be foolish to think that this is the worst it will get. They have already announced there will no longer be any profit sharing and this year will be the last year for Christmas bonuses. We have been in the process of planning some major renos to our house, however, with the recent events those plans may need to be put on hold. I think that as long as we can hang on for the next 5 years, we should be able to make it through this recession fairly unscathed.

So, onto happier news.... Christmas is a week away!! I am very excited. My daughter is 4 and this Christmas should be fun. She asks me almost everyday when Santa in coming. When I was young, I would get so excited for Christmas I would actually get hives. My daughter and I are so much the same, I am curious to see if someday she will have the same reaction. I love Christmas. I love baking, I love decorating, I love wrapping presents (no gift bags here!). In an attempt to cut down on my spending, I had wanted to make as many gifts as possible. I am giving baking to some friends and co-workers and I was going to make Christmas ornaments for my mom. Last night was trying to finish up the Christmas ornaments and unfortunately I kind of wrecked one of them. Seeing that it is so close to Christmas, I was unable to find the stuff I need to fix it. So, now I am scrambling to put something else together.

For as much as I love Christmas, I will be happy when it is over. Will all the events and parties over the next week, getting to the gym is just not possible. I went on Sunday and had a great workout, still sore actully. But, I am not sure when I will get a chance to go again. Not likely until after Christmas. And I am SO not looking forward to the New Years rush at the gym. I have to say, that is one of my pet peeves. January and February, the gym is full of resolutioners who hog all the equipement. By March, more then half of those newbies are gone and by April the gym is pretty much back to its regulars.

I do not believe in New Years resolutions. I do not know many people, if anyone, who have actually stuck to their resolutions. As such, I prefer to think of goals that I would like to focus on. This year, my main goal is to work on paying down some debt and sticking to a budget. I also want to clean up my eating habits too. I am fairly consistent with the gym and weight training, but I need to work on eating more protein, drinking more water, and eating less sugar. I am also looking to start a cardio program. I am not a fan of cardio and I rarely do it, but I think it is still an important part of a healthy lifestyle. I would also like to be able to do 5x5 unassisted pull-ups and get my bench press up to 115lbs by the end of 2009.