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2011 Reflections and Anti-Resolutions for 2012

January 3, 2012 By Lisa Leave a Comment

n. res·o·lu·tion

1. The state or quality of being resolute; firm determination.

2. A resolving to do something.

3. A course of action determined or decided on.

Last year, I wrote about my New Years anti-resolutions plans on Momicillin, how I didn’t feel people should make lists of resolutions of “improvements” they won’t keep, and that we should, however, reflect on our previous year of accomplishments with attainable goals to match or improve, coupled with experiencing new things or places. That’s my continued goal, anyway. Here’s what I originally wrote:

You know, maybe, just maybe, instead of “resolutions” we should have “reflections” – why don’t we look back on the previous year with fondness for what we’ve achieved instead of what we’ve failed?

Here’s mine:

In 2010, with six kids and a jam-packed minivan, we successfully traveled thirteen states for our summer trip, and attended a blogging conference while having one awesomesauce vacation.

In 2010, my children played a myriad of sports, and my oldest son had a perfect football season – they were undefeated. It was his first tackle football season ever.

In 2010, my middle son and I were cleared health-wise for not having cancer. (Talk about something to celebrate!)

In 2010, I survived many times flying parentally solo while my husband had to travel away for Army business.

In 2009, I successfully lost 30 lbs. In 2010, I lost 10 more, taking my total lost to 40lbs. I took my fitness and health by the balls and wrangled that sucker in a full-nelson to the ground. 2011 will be a year I will be in the best health/fitness-level of my life.

In 2010, I was more successful in writing/blogging than any previous year.

In 2010, I was asked to join Momicillin. It’s been happily ever after ever since.

As for 2011 and my anti-resolutions? It’s pretty simple – love my children, love my husband, my family and friends, and to not take anyone or anything for granted. It’s always worked for me, why change it now?

For 2012 I am going to do the same thing; celebrate what we accomplished in 2011 while looking forward to more life experiences and growth in 2012. Here’s my list of 2011 reflections and my “anti-resolutions” for 2012.

In 2011, I wrote this post about a dear friend deploying that ended up being honored for the 2011 BlogHer Voices of the Year. It meant a great deal to me to be recognized.
In 2011, I wrote my 1000th post. Here’s to one-thousand more!
In 2011, our family went to DisneyWorld, again, for the DisneySMMoms Conference. In 2012, we’re hoping to do the same! Also, in 2011, I was a traveling fool, to Nintendo Headquarters in Seattle, to the Mom 2.0 Conference in New Orleans, to BlogHer in San Diego, to Gatorade HQ in Chicago, and much, much more. (Hoping this birth is easy, and I have a good traveling baby like I have had with Baby Dude, so that I can continue this trend!)
In 2011, we bought our first house and moved to San Antonio. (We don’t hope to buy again for 2012. Or, y’know, a loooong time after this crazy experience.)
In 2011, we announced baby number seven is on it’s way. (Other than this one’s arrival in late February/early March, we don’t hope to duplicate this for 2012. Or 2013. This is our last baby.)
In 2011, I, again, had a more successful year blogging than I did last year, and did my first TV segment. Woohoo! (And this growth is something I most DEFINITELY hope to smash this again in 2012!)
And, lastly, near the end of 2011, I hired a blog designer to revamp this site. Expect to see major changes this month that I’m really, really excited about.

More “anti-resolutions” for 2012?

Start a couple fun new series on my soon-to-be newly redesigned blog, such as “How Do They Do That?” where we’ll detail how we do what we do with so many kids, to include humor-filled posts like, “Out of the Mouth of Husbands” and continue developing “Things That Make Mom Go Batshit”
Continue putting myself out there, blog-wise. I want to grow as a person as well as a writer.
I also want to (finally) learn my camera. 2012 will be the year I will learn all the fancy settings, dangit!
Stay as active as I can through the last weeks of my pregnancy;
Give birth to a beautiful baby boy or girl to complete our family, hopefully having a dream-like birth;
Bounce back as soon as I can after I give birth and get back to kick ass fitness once more, blogging my process along the way for moral support;
Travel more, especially with the family (we’re planning an even bigger family road trip this summer);
Continue loving my family like there’s no tomorrow, never taking any person or opportunity for granted.

What do you think about New Year’s Resolutions? Do they motivate or intimidate you?

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Mom 2.0 Summit and The Traveling Mom Conundrum – Keeping it Real

April 14, 2011 By Lisa Leave a Comment

450 of you will see me this weekend at Mom 2.0 in New Orleans, and I’m gonna have on all kinds-of cute things from my wardrobe that NEVER get to see the light of day, except for occasions like this. I’m going to wear actual big-girl makeup, have the ability to leisurely slurp coffee without losing balance with small people tugging at my legs, and eat a whole meal without rushing and getting up forty-two kajillion times to fetch drinks or another fork when a child’s mysteriously makes it to the floor.

I will be wearing something probably closely resembling this (okay, so maybe I’ll be wearing exactly this):

Note: Hair done, make-up on, but still super-cheesy grin

But, in actuality, my day-to-day, mom-to-six fashion consists of this:

(Don’t judge, yo.)

I think we all struggle with some semblance of trying to maintain a balance in-between these two extremes, yes? I know I certainly do. (Isn’t it evident above?)

I will stuff my suitcase filled with way-too-many outfits and shoes, brimming with uncertainty about whether to wear any of it, to venture to New Orleans to play parental hookie with other bloggers to network, connect, and breathe.

(Unbelievably enough, for the three years we’ve lived in this state, this will be my first trip to New Orleans!)

In the interest of keeping it real (or, even MORE real): I will admit, I have pre-conference butterflies.

It’s always tough in these travel situations, peeling myself away from the kids, my husband, and the confines of my oh-so-cozy home. It’s odd how I simultaneously have this travel bug, eager to see new places and friend’s faces, yet, I am pulled towards the comforts of my home, my things, and familiarity. Such a conundrum, no?

My bags are half-packed as we speak, phone and iPod charging, laundry’s tumbling, coffee is being consumed with not-so-subtle slurping, and yet, I’m half-paralyzed, semi-procrastinating, dreading the last hugs from little arms I’ll get before I close the car door and leave to drive four hours for my NOLA adventure, despite how much-needed the alone time and dressing up is.

But then, I’ll arrive, find my first familiar face, “squee!” with delight while we hug and super-fast catch-up while muscling my ridiculous luggage to my room, and that exhale will occur, the one which announces “I have arrived!” And for three days, I’ll have time to myself, I can work without constant interruption, breathe without changing numerous diapers and the constant nagging of laundry-and-dishes-deadlines looming. I’ll get to “be pretty” while taking time to do my hair without smallish Mini-Me’s tugging at my legs, and I’ll remember what it’s like to just think for myself, about myself, and do things just for me. Even if it’s for work, time away like this feels like a semi-vacation for most of us, a return to a once-pre-kid kind-of normal, a desperately-needed self-balance that recharges you, even if there’s underlying mom-type guilt involved.

Such is the traveling mom conundrum. Do you suffer from it, too?

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Nintendo 3DS Summit of Awesome #NintendoEnthused

April 4, 2011 By Lisa Leave a Comment

Returning home from my whirlwind adventure in Seattle was bittersweet, as always. Coming home to the loving arms of my family, whom I missed dearly, is always the sweetest of the sweet part. Especially when they missed me enough to surprise me with this:

Talk about sweet! My husband watched all six kids and baked me a cake. Dude, he is freakin’ AWESOME!

Some friends I miss already!

Unfortunately, by coming home to my very-much-missed family means I’m leaving my friends (new and old) behind, which is the bitter part. It’s always difficult, since we’re so scattered all over the country. Only seeing each other once (if we’re lucky, more) a year is tough, friends. Real tough.

But this incredible Nintendo 3DS event was pretty much the coolest fricken way to hang out with my fellow-gaming friends, learn all about this new system, as well as get an inside look into Nintendo and their facilities in a fun and inviting way, and I could not be more thankful to Brand About Town and to all the Nintendo folks that made this magnificent weekend happen.

I have long loved the Nintendo gaming systems, reminiscing my days as a child playing Donkey Kong and Mario Brothers alongside my pre-pubescent friends, dueling each other on Zelda with game cartridge after game cartridge. Folks, it has been my pleasure to watch and experience Nintendo flex it’s gaming muscles into the sophisticated gaming systems they are today, and share them with my children, as well as all of you, too. Becoming a Nintendo Brand Ambassador was pretty much the awesomest thing to ever be offered, ever, and such a natural fit for me and my family. As if being an Ambassador or Enthusiast wasn’t already spectacular enough, then they invite me on this trip, to see where the magic happens and be formally introduced to their newest system. Won.der.ful.

During this action-packed Nintendo 3DS-based trip, we got the unique opportunity to tour the Nintendo Headquarters, too. Unique, as in, you can’t even ask for a tour, or buy one, they are only available to Make-A-Wish or via raffle for charity – that’s it! So special! And while touring the facility, we were not allowed under any circumstances to capture any pictures. As aesthetically beautiful as the building was, with all the wonderful Nintendo paraphernalia around, I couldn’t capture a single Mario, a single Luigi to share with you the extent of the beauty within their offices. I understand why, but as a writer/blogger/natural-sharer? That part was way tough! Their offices are as green as possible, with bamboo floors, a “green” roof with plants and shrubs, lights on motion sensors and heat coming from the floors. It meant a great deal to see how they were striving for green perfection in their headquarters and being so very eco-minded. I truly wish I could have shared some images with you.

During the actual summit part on Friday, during which we had extensive playing time with the Nintendo 3DS, I asked each Nintendo employee I came across how they liked working for Nintendo. Each person unequivocally answered, without a stammer – “I love this job!” I was bitten by their enthusiasm. As I ate lunch in their healthy-living cafe that day, I kept pointing out to other ambassadors how even the employees on their lunch-breaks were playing hand-held gaming devices while they ate. Talk about passion! It was contagious. They were so inspired, so enthusiastic about what they were doing, the real definition of “enthused” – which I suppose is the reason why they consider us “enthusiasts” or #NintendoEnthused on Twitter.

What’s my take on the Nintendo 3DS? Amazing. Game-changing. If you have the opportunity to try one, do it! Try it! Because anything I say to you here will pale in comparison to trying one for yourself. I am wholly impressed by their technology, by the parental controls that give YOU piece of mind while you’re children play, and wholeheartedly blown away by how different and cutting edge these units are, like nothing you have ever seen. Turning yourself to steer your ship in Steel Diver? Bringing your surroundings to life and having your table come alive with a dragon attacking you with the AR Games? Creating a Mii using Mii Maker and trade Miis with others using StreetPass? Take 3D pictures of yourself, and then fight yourself in Face Raiders? Seriously. Try it. And if you live near me, ask me. I’ll show you. Unreal stuff here, folks.

Here are some pictures from my whirlwind weekend. My neck is still recuperating from hauling my DSLR around, but I had to. I couldn’t not capture everyone and everything.

Snow-capped mountains on my flight to Seattle – gorgeous!

Nintendo cocktail party sign in Hyatt lobby

My gorgeous hotel room at the Hyatt Bellevue. *swoon*

Logo on all the flat-screen TVs in the conference room.

Nintendo President and COO Reggie Fils-Aime

Reggie Fils-Aime, President and COO of Nintendo, taking time out of his busy day to speak to us!

Game time, yo!

We visited different gaming stations to try each game by group.

I may not have been able to take pictures of their offices, but I got an outdoor shot!

Sign for cocktail party before dinner at Hyatt Bellevue

Cocktails before dinner! (I had to take this picture, too. It seems the other event had their choice of meeting OR coffee break. Ha!)

The view from Anthony’s Pier 66 on the water – breathtaking!

Delicious food served at Nintendo Summit

The gorgeous, delicious, mind-boggling food we enjoyed!

Even at breakfast, we were gaming-it-up!

Mount Rainier on the flight back – isn’t it beautiful?

Words cannot express the wonderful time I had. Many thanks to the courteous and professional staff at Hyatt Bellevue, including the electrician with a kind-smile who visited my room when my TV wasn’t working properly (the cable plug wasn’t inserted all the way, it was not operator error. Ahem.), as well as the deliciously entertaining waitstaff/bartenders who smiled and thoroughly entertained us at each cocktail party.

The attention to detail was incredible, and so very thoroughly appreciated. Thanks to all, again, who made this weekend an experience I’ll never ever forget.

*Disclosure: As a Nintendo Ambassador, I am sent Nintendo items/games/devices from time to time to play with and enjoy, as well as access to exclusive events and parties. This trip was paid for in full, and I was given a Nintendo 3DS for attending. My affiliation with Nintendo does not sway my opinion of them at all, as I have long-loved their company before becoming an ambassador.

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