Top Ten New Year's Resolutions

This list, posted on About.com, shows the typical top ten New Year's Resolutions. Many of these are on my list for this new year, see if any of your own affirmations made the list!


1) Spend More Time with Family & Friends
Recent polls conducted by General Nutrition Centers, Quicken, and others shows that more than 50% of Americans vow to appreciate loved ones and spend more time with family and friends this year.

2) Fit in Fitness
The evidence is in for fitness. Regular exercise has been associated with more health benefits than anything else known to man. Studies show that it reduces the risk of some cancers, increases longevity, helps achieve and maintain weight loss, enhances mood, lowers blood pressure, and even improves arthritis. In short, exercise keeps you healthy and makes you look and feel better.

3) Tame the Bulge
Fifty-five percent of adults in America are overweight, so it is not surprising to find that weight loss is one of the most popular New Year's resolutions. Setting reasonable goals and staying focused are the two most important factors in sticking with a weight loss program, and the key to success for those millions of Americans who made a New Year's commitment to shed extra pounds.

4) Quit Smoking
If you have resolved to make this the year that you stamp out your smoking habit, over-the-counter availability of nicotine replacement therapy now provides easier access to proven quit-smoking aids. Even if you've tried to quit before and failed, don't let it get you down. On average, smokers try about four times before they quit for good. Start enjoying the rest of your smoke-free life!

5) Enjoy Life More
Given the hectic, stressful lifestyles of millions of Americans, it is no wonder that "enjoying life more" has become a popular resolution in recent years.

6) Quit Drinking
While many people use the New Year as an incentive to finally stop drinking, most are not equipped to make such a drastic lifestyle change all at once. Many heavy drinkers fail to quit cold turkey but do much better when they taper gradually, or even learn to moderate their drinking.

7) Get Out of Debt
Was money a big source of stress in your life last year? Join the millions of Americans who have resolved to spend this year getting a handle on their finances. It's a promise that will repay itself many times over in the year ahead.

8) Learn Something New
Have you vowed to make this year the year to learn something new? Perhaps you are considering a career change, want to learn a new language, or just how to fix your computer? Whether you take a course or read a book, you'll find education to be one of the easiest, most motivating New Year's resolutions to keep. Challenge your mind in the coming year, and your horizons will expand.

9) Help Others
A popular, non-selfish New Year's resolution, volunteerism can take many forms. Whether you choose to spend time helping out at your local library, mentoring a child, or building a house, these nonprofit volunteer organizations could really use your help.

10) Get Organized
On just about every New Year resolution top ten list, organization can be a very reasonable goal. Whether you want your home organized enough that you can invite someone over on a whim, or your office organized enough that you can find the stapler when you need it, these tips and links should get you started on the way to a more organized life.

End of the Year's Quote of the Day- “Another fresh new year is here . . .Another year to live! To banish worry, doubt, and fear, To love and laugh and give! This bright new year is given me To live each day with zest . . .To daily grow and try to be My highest and my best! I have the opportunity Once more to right some wrongs, To pray for peace, to plant a tree, And sing more joyful songs!”-William Arthur Ward

Letters from Home Update

Below is a thank you letter received by one of the platoons to receive the December packages from the Letters from Home program. Sometimes when you participate in these types of mailings, you don't really know who receives them or if it made a difference. I think this letter (one of among many!!) helps describe what it really meant to the soldiers. The Letters from Home program sent a record number of letters and packages this holiday season. They will embark on another letter campaign within the next couple months so if you didn't get a chance to participate in this mailing, click on the link to the right for more information!


Dear All:
We of the 890th Trans Co. would like to send you our most heartfelt thanks for your support.
It means a lot to all of the Soldiers here to know that our fellow countrymen and women think of us and wish us well. Mail Call has always been a great time for most Soldiers, but it
is through organizations like the "Letters from Home Program", that everyone is included and grateful. We appreciate everything you send, from the letters and cards to personal items, to our favorite foods, and all kinds of wonderful items Soldiers can't get themselves overseas. Before every mission that we go on, our platoon takes the time to pray for our friends, family, fellow Soldiers, and those of you back in the states as well as the Iraqi's we are trying to help. The 890th TC is a transportation company, which means that we haul supplies between the different bases throughout the Sunni Triangle in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom III. The vehicles that we use are similar to our Freightliner semi tractor trucks, but they are equipped with the armor plating of a military tank. The unit is from Green Bay, Wisconsin, however our Soldiers hail from all over the United States, We value your support , and thank you for taking the time to write to us. May you and yours have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Best Wishes, 890th TC, 1st Platoon

Merry Christmas to all and to
all a good night!

Quote of the Day- "The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree is the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other" --Burton Hills

My very best wishes to all of my friends and family for a joyous holiday. Be safe!! Love, Mindy

It's All Relative...

It's amazing what the simple passage of time can do to our thought process. I just got back from driving my kids to school and as I passed the full length mirror (that blasted traitor!!) I looked at myself and wondered when did what I thought as "presentable dress" change so drastically? Mind you, I'm not talking about work dress or evening dress, I'm talking about "errand dress"-running to the store, running to the bank, or as I mentioned, running the kids to school. But there was a day (back when I was very young!) when the thought of stepping out the front door, even for a second, without a presentable outfit, a stitch of make-up or perfectly styled hair made my skin crawl.

This changes for some of us, though not all at once. It happens in stages, slowly and without much awareness you begin to refrain from the cute outfits to more casual things like sweats and comfortable shoes. Then one day you don't fix your hair, you simply throw it in a ponytail and you're off. Soon, putting on make-up is just a time killer so you give up on that as well. I mean really, who are you going to see anyway, right? (of course, inevitably that is the time that you run into the hot guy who changes the oil in your car every 3000 miles...or every 1000 miles if he's really hot, but.........okay, I'm really off topic here.)

I think how and why it happens is relative to the lives we lead. Fifteen years ago I didn't have a husband or a home of my own or kids (with homework!) or school functions or bills galore or mountains of paperwork or juice stains on the carpet or....well, I think you get the picture. Other things seem to take on importance and one day it doesn't seem to matter what you are wearing to drop off packages at the post office. Maybe it shows that our lives are too busy and hectic and we don't take care of ourselves as we should, or maybe it just means that our priorities are different than they used to be and we can live with it. I guess it just depends on the individual.


When I ran the kids to school this morning I left the house without brushing my hair (or my teeth), wearing my pajamas and birkenstocks in 26 degree weather. But hey, it's all relative, right?

Quote of the Day_ "Everything is funny as long as it is happening to someone else." -Will Rogers

Happy December!