I've been busy since I posted last month - really busy! But we're all doing relatively well, so no complaints.

My MIL was in the hospital because she had a nerve block in her neck and it paralyzed her (temporarily, but still!) and now she has to have surgery to make more space in her very degenerated disks for her spinal cord. As neck surgery goes, we're told that this surgery is about as routine as it gets. Even so, it is neck surgery, we are dealing with the spinal cord, and she may never be the active, energetic woman we all know and love. She got out of the hospital on Christmas Day. It is my fervent hope that she does really well and is just as active and vibrant as ever.

We all got colds just before Christmas, so I still haven't seen my MIL. Nate was snorting, snuffling, and coughing his way through Christmas, and as cute sounding as he was, I felt so bad for the kid! He is still stuffy, but is much less congested now.

The day after Christmas, I found out that my great-aunt died Christmas night. Grace was 94, embodied the definition of her name, and although the whole family was sad to see her go, we have no complaints about how long she was with us or how she died. She spent the week of Christmas playing bridge, going to parties, enjoying a few adult beverages, and had a lovely Christmas day. She said goodnight to her daughter, and the last words they spoke to each other were "I love you". She passed away in her sleep on the 26th. I found out about her passing on the 26th and did not plan to go to the funeral, and then on the 27th I suddenly wanted to go very badly. After some discussion and negotiation with Gordon, I booked a very reasonably priced last-minute flight for Sunday noon, and Nate and I flew to Texas. I'm so incredibly glad we went! It was a beautiful service, it was wonderful to see the family, and my mom even drove 7 hours round-trip just to have dinner with me and Nate because that was all I had time for. Even though the reason for the trip was not the greatest, it was a wonderful visit with everyone.

The bad part about the trip was that I came down with my second cold while I was there. Sunday night I had a fever and a sore throat. By Tuesday night I was losing my voice, and by Wednesday morning it was gone completely and has not returned. Nate and I flew home with him talking more than me. We had a layover in Denver, and he was such an ANGEL flying that I even volunteered to get bumped. We did get bumped, got a free roundtrip ticket to anywhere in the lower 48, and were home a mere 3 hours later than originally booked. And Nate never fussed on the planes. It was a GREAT trip all the way around, and now we are planning to go back to NYC in March or so to see a friend's baby (due on the 7th, possibly here already since I didn't get a text back from her today!) I felt so crappy when I got home on New Year's Eve that I was asleep by 9:30 pm.

We've also been dealing with thrush for the third time in Nate's 6.5 months of life, so now I'm researching candidiasis to see how to eradicate this crud from my body. I've figured out how to keep a bit of a handle on it for as long as I continue nursing, but a restricted diet and who knows what else seems to be in order.

In all of this, a few goals for 2009 came forth....

My intentions for 2009 are to:

1. Optimize my health with the following:
Be gluten-free for the rest of the year (decided this on the 2nd, AFTER having eaten a regular wheat-flour cookie on the first!)
Begin and maintain an exercise program
follow a nutritional/supplement program to clear out the candida

2. Find something fulfilling to do for extra income:

This is not fleshed out yet, but may include photography, starting (yet another!) cooking show (on the web for starters, and there isn't one like this out there!), doing some artwork, etc. I have several ideas, some of which require more time than others, and some of which could generate considerable income if I want them to.

3. Become more financially stable

For the first time in quite a while, we have CC debt. My goal this year is to pay with cash, eliminate the CC debt, and increase savings, preferably to at least 2 months worth of living expenses, with an ultimate goal of 8-12 months of expenses in savings.

I hope everyone has a fantastic 2009!