IT'S CHRISTMAS TODAY!!!!

Christmas is here! Yay!!!!

Today is my family Christmas. As the family has grown, we have reached a stage where even the nieces and nephews have their own kids and their own in-laws to split Christmas with. It has become too hard for everyone to get together on Christmas Day.

We made a decision a few years ago that it was better to hold our Christmas on a different day and have as many of us present as possible, then it is to hold it on the actual day with half the people missing.

The weekend right before Christmas tends to be "panic shop" weekend for everyone, so that weekend doesn't work either. Two weekends before seems to make the most sense for our big family day.

That my friends, means that for me, Christmas is today...so........MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

I am particularly excited today because I am going to meet my new Grandnephew Carter for the first time. I will also get to see how big Charlie and Bobbie have grown....they are such adorable kids. I am afraid I don't see me family enough. Life just seems to slip by. I am sure before I even know it I will be at Carter's wedding saying "what happened?!". Where did the time go?!

Today is also the day I promised to take my baseline picture and post it on tomorrow's blog. I am afraid the baseline picture is going to be a little sad. There will be no way to conceal the tummy.

As I have mentioned, my goal it to focus on my health and my physique for 2011. So I vowed to post the baseline picture of me in just shorts tomorrow, and then a new picture showing the change (please universe...let there be a change) every other month on the 12th of the month after that. It will work or I will be embarrassed....so it will work.

At 4:30 Toronto time (9:30 Scotland time) I have promised to have my family, who will be gathered around the dinner table, raise a glass to my Mom's relatives in Scotland. They know this will be happening and cousin Lorraine and hopefully others will raise a glass back to us at the same time. Kinda cool I think.

I want to be good food-wise today. I am really hoping I will be but I also know I always fail at Christmas. I don't care so much about the actual dinner. I intend to enjoy that. It is the candies and chocolates around before and after that I want to avoid. I always end up say in "it's Christmas" when I get there and digging in.

I pretty much believe that the key to eating successfully is skill power and not will power. When everything is right in front of your face, however, I think it boils down to sheer willpower.  Please universe...give me the strength!

If any of my relatives read this you have my permission to slap me across the head if you see me eating anything bad when I am not actually AT the dinner table.

I know you have wanted to slap me across the head for years so today you finally get your chance.

Be healthy!

Alan