Happy New Year!

A bit belated, but just as sincere. I hope everyone has a happy and healthy 2007.

2002 was the start of a small family. 2003 was the year of getting adjusted to a new city. 2004 was the year of many visitors (10 from out of town). 2005 was the year of homeownership. And 2006 was the year of an expanded family. 2007 will be about achieving balance between work, family, and pleasure with two working parents and two kids at daycare.

One thing I thought about during our 20 hour-3 day return to Montreal is that 2006 is only the second year in the last 15 that I did not board a plane. On the flip side, I logged over 7000 miles of car travel between trips to Boston, Chicago, and Naples. I LOVE driving, but I can hold off from taking any long trips in the next few months.

As far as resolutions, I don't have many. Searching for balance and working harder at being a better parent are a couple. I do have a weight resolution. Ever since I was in high school, I had a nasty habit of gaining ten pounds between October and January, then losing five of those pounds over the rest of the year. When my wife gained weight during her first pregnancy, I gained alongside her. She lost the weight, but I did not. Granted, I have kept my weight steady since moving to Montreal, but it would be nice to get back down to the weight I was when we got married over five years ago (185lbs). To be blunt, I'm tired of being this heavy. I'm more subconscience of my looks and I'd like for that to end.

I made the same resolution to lose weight last year, but this year I have a goal, a set time limit, and a diet plan. The goal is to be able to fit into my wedding suit for my father's upcoming wedding this summer. He also is dieting and showed me the "Wet's Do Munch" diet and I really like and agree with the principles of the diet. It is based on fruits, vegetables, and good quality meats. I had much success with the Atkins diet which helped me shed pounds for my wedding, but I'm a bit leary of the long term effects. I don't have an exercise plan laid out, but I do hope to get some in along with many stretching exercises. I've been getting alarmed at how inflexible I have become. So I'll break out my weight loss spreadsheet (to keep track) and give it a try.

My blogging endeavors will become much more random and less frequent. I'll probably blog in between the cracks instead of forcing it into a schedule. Life looks to become much more busy both at work and at home. The vacation was a real vacation and I had no time to write. And our internet access was a limited 26kbps. So I was only able to do some cursory checking up on goings on. That said, I hope to keep actively blogging and keeping up with all of you.

Best Regards, Frank.