Gifts

Today, I have thought a lot about gifts. First, it was such a gift to be able to spend Thanksgiving with my family having fun. It was so nice to be away from any of our homes, away from work, away from everything typical in our lives and to just be together. I truly think I have the best family in the world. Second, the gift I gave myself by stopping smoking is huge. I am coming up on my 6th month of not smoking. I never thought I would ever quit for real. It is truly the hardest thing in the world to stop. It seems crazy to me now, but I never thought I would make it. Third, I have lost 20 pounds. Of course, I gained 30 during my smoking cessation...:) So, I am still in the red by 10 pounds. However, I am actually jogging. Who would have ever thought. Me! Today, I did the week 5 #3 run which is 5 minutes walking, 20 minutes jogging (without walking), and 5 minutes cool down walking. In case you misse that, it was 20 minutes jogging with NO walking!!!!!!! What a gift I gave myself by starting this program. I actually can do it without feeling like I am going to die. Of course, I also keep thinking about actually winning money in Vegas. :) All of these are amazing gifts.

On a different front, I have also been thinking about Christmas. I would love to do something with our family for Christmas and not provide many presents. I think the memories of trips or time together are much greater than a toy or a thing. For example, for some of the presents the kids want, you have to hunt long and hard for these items. There are even comlete websites that are set up to help you find them. How crazy is THAT??