Happy New Year

Well here we are in the first week of 2011 and I am so excited to see what this year holds for me.
This year has already started off so much different then 2010.  This time last year I remember thinking "ok this is a new yr and it is going to be better then the last" after all 2009 was probably the worst year I had ever had.  We live in Michigan and like many others here. our lives were dependant on the automotive business.  Although my husbands job was spared we took a huge hit and it was a very very rough year.  I vowed that 2010 would be better and fortunately it was.  So starting off this year already on a good note is a great feeling. 
I always make New Years resolutions although I do not know why because I do not think I have ever kept one.  One year it was to not cuss so much but that shit never lasted.  (ha ha although since I am around so many children I am much much better then I used to be)  Another year was to quit smoking (which I have since done but I quit about 5 years after I made that New Years resolution)  then last yr I said that I was going to do a chin up.  I know this is a strange resolution but the mentality behind it was that I would have to get in shape and lose weight to be able to do that.  I of course could have just said my new years resolution was to get in shape and lose weight... but that would not have been very original now would it?  (besides I am sure I have used those resolutions in past years as well with no luck)  Whats funny is that I never even tried to do a chin up last year. Typical!  Even though I never tried to do a chin up I did get a membership to the YMCA and I went 4 days a week for a whole 5 months.  After I lost only 4 lbs in those 5 months I was discouraged to say the least!  I did not give up though I just switched it up a bit and started running.  I do not go to the YMCA half as often as I should now because you do not need a membership to run but I am in significantly better shape then when I stopped going 4 times a week.  So even though last years resolution was a fail, I don't really care because good still came out of it.
Looking back at 2010 I am very proud of myself.  I wanted to get in shape and although I am far from being in shape I have made huge strides in that area.  I exercise at least 4 days a week, when I run a mile takes very little effort and now I run 5k's for fun.  I have not felt so happy and healthy in a long time.  Lets remember here I have three kids, I have spent about 6 years of the last 8 either pregnant or nursing.  It feels so good to be able to take back my body.  Not just physically but mentally too, it is amazing how a good work out can change your mood.  I find it so interesting that when I get a little down or stressed out I will start to crave a work out almost like a craving for chips.  I am just very happy with the changes I made in 2010. 
I started 2011 off right I ran a 5k, just because a could and while I ran I was able to reflect on how far I had come in just 6 months.  I also though about a resolution for this year, and whether or not to even make one since they have been kinda pointless for me.  I was about 2 miles into the 5k when I started to get bad pain in my hip and that is when I decided for sure to make a resolution.  Sure I still have weight to lose, would like to get into better physical shape and still do not know if I can do a chin up but in that moment of running with pain just a mile short of finishing my 5k I said to myself "don't give up just don't give up"  I think those three little words are all I need to get me though this year feeling good about myself. 
I have walked into 2011 with some disk issues in my back, and what I suspect is a hip flexors strain (I hope to find out more at the dr. this week) but I will not give up.  This is one New Years Resolution that I am sure I can keep this year and every year after.