Thoughts on Entering 2012- Carter, Weight Loss, and Books

37.5 weeks- Carter will be here soon! At first the doctor thought he’d be here right around his due date. But after our last visit he expected me to be progressing and possibly delivering in the next week and half or so. That’s good news for me because my plan was to go back to school until I had him. It gives me a chance to get to know my new classes and students and to prepare them (and myself) for the substitutes. I am growing more uncomfortable by the day and am eager to meet my little boy. Shelby made fun of me last night for tearing up as we welcomed 2012. You don’t normally know what huge, exciting things life has in store for the upcoming year. But this year, even though I understand that I can in no way be completely prepared for what’s coming my way, I can’t help but already feeling like 2012 is blessed. It’s the year of my son’s birth and getting to witness all of his firsts. I just don’t know what could be better than that!!

I had two big resolutions in 2011. One was to lose weight; the other was to read at least 50 books. I know I had a few others but those were the big ones. And for the first time in my life I actually met my resolutions.

Weight Loss

I already talked a little bit about my weight loss journey in my first blog (http://www.lizshelbywilson.blogspot.com/2011/07/and-baby-makes-three.html) but I was really proud of myself for setting a goal and reaching it. I hadn’t hit my goal weight when I found out I was pregnant and obviously I wasn’t going to reach it in 2011. At my last doctor’s appointment I finally topped 200lbs., which I’m pretty sure I was at this time last year. While the additional weight hasn’t been comfortable, at least it wasn’t another 30 lbs. on top of what I already weighed. The plan now is to rejoin Weight Watchers and breastfeed to lose the baby weight after Carter’s arrival. I’ve missed exercising and look forward to heading back into the gym, but I’m not sure when that will happen. So in the meantime Carter and I will take walks around the block and I will scour Netflix for workout videos I can do at home. I’m so glad I got healthy before I got pregnant. I really think it helped make the pregnancy as uneventful and easy on me as possible. Plus, I still have the drive and desire to get healthy after this is over which is half the battle.

Books

I love to read and upon receiving my Kindle last Christmas, I set the goal to read 50 books in 2011.I downloaded several from Amazon and also found an online book club that allowed me to download lots of books. I also spent time at our public library checking out books during the summer. I asked several friends for recommendations and was pointed in the direction of goodreads.com. This is how I kept track of what I read and what I wanted to read. For time and space sake I won’t tell you every book but I thought I’d include some of my favorites from the year.

Non-fiction and Biography- I really wanted to read more non-fiction and biographies this year and I made some good progress on that front. Here are a few of my favorites.

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption- Lauren Hillenbrand- This is the story of Louis Zamperini, a pilot and prisoner of war. It’s one of the most engaging exciting stories I’ve ever read. Could not stop reading it and would recommend it to anyone.

Lucky Man- Michael J. Fox- I have always loved Alex P. Keaton and really enjoyed MJF’s writing style. There are places that get political when discussing his Parkinson’s but I didn’t mind.

Kabul Beauty School- Deborah Rodriguez- Loved this view of the life of women in Afghanistan. Very engaging and interesting.

Blue Like Jazz- Donald Miller- I know, I know. I came to the party late on this one. Miller’s point of view allowed me to examine my own beliefs and really challenged me spiritually.

Other notable mentions- Me- Katherine Hepburn, Unbearable Lightness- Portia deRossi, and Lost Voices from the Titanic- Nick Barrat.

Fiction- Lots of YA on this list but still good reads!

Divergent series- Veronica Roth- Only the first book Divergent is out. Second book comes out in May. Set in dystopian Chicago, the community is divided into 5 factions-Candor, Abnegation, Dauntless, Amity, and Erudite- each with different strengths and beliefs. Tris, the main character, breaks from tradition and chooses a different faction than her family, which means she can never see them again. Moves fast and is interesting. Really great read, probably my favorite of the ones I read this summer.

The Mockingbirds- Daisy Whitney- After a student at Themis Academy is date raped, she can't rely on the school to take action. So she goes to the school's secret society that helps when students wrong their peers. This is also a series with the 2nd book out in February. It was good-held my attention, but didn't necessarily capture my imagination. Still planning on reading the second book.

Wither-Lauren DeStefano- Genetic mutations have caused women to begin dying at the age of 25. In order to prevent the extinction of humans, young girls are often kidnapped. After she's kidnapped, Rhine, is taken to a mansion and wed to a man with several other brides. This was a good read, quick and different. I liked the characters and was invested in what happens to them in the next book in the series, Fever (out in February).

Across the Universe- Beth Revis- Amy joins her family on a ship that is set to cross the universe in order to settle a colony 300 years in the future. Amy is prematurely unfrozen and discovers their mission is not as it seems. Really great book-great twist on the dystopian civilization since its set in space. The second book is out January 10, A Million Suns.

Delirium- Lauren Oliver- Love is seen as a disease that people must be inoculated against. Lena looks forward to her inoculation until she falls in love 95 days until her treatment. The consequences of her actions take her in a whole new direction. It's good and worth reading but similar to a lot of other stuff out there. The second book is out in March called Pandemonium.

Paper Town- John Green- This one is not in a series!! I liked the protagonist but ended up not loving the outcome of the plot. Definitely worth reading--has a similar feel in places to 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher.

The Forgotten Garden- Kate Morton- not a YA book but I loved how the story was constructed. It moves back and forth through different time periods but with a common thread running through the times. I loved it!

The Distant Hours- Kate Morton- Another really good read!!

Room- Emma Donoghue- I loved the voice of the narrator in this book. The story is told from the perspective of a 5 year old boy and the plot takes some unexpected twists and turns. I was so invested in the story I had to go online and find a plot synopsis because I had to go to bed but I had to know that the characters were going to be okay. Really great.

Agatha Christie- I really got into Agatha Christie this year and was able to pick up several copies of out of print books at our library book sales. My favorite so far has to be Murder on the Orient Express. It’s also spurred me on to find episodes of Poirot and Miss Marple on Netflix watch instantly. So clever and as good and twisted as anything anyone writes now. I picked up her autobiography at one of the book sales and plan to read it this year.