Seeing as it’s already New Year’s Eve *gulp*, I thought I may share the two biggest things I learned this year :

The power of work hours. This isn’t something we have the luxury of always being able to make happen, but when we do, what a difference a “clock-out time” makes!  I’m a natural work horse, and it’s my every instinct to continue working until my job’s done. (Or I’m falling asleep at my desk.) The past few years our lives at home consisted of waking up and working until we went to bed that night (about 9am-11pm). I had a mini breakdown this time last year feeling like I lost a year of my life. What’s the benefit of working for yourself when you don’t ever get to enjoy it?

I knew 2012 had to be different. Since 80% of our weddings were out of state for us this year, I made it my goal to get as much work done on the road as I could. I’d much rather be culling our images in a hotel room or at the airport than home! This has reduced my home work hours just enough that I can turn the computer off around 7, giving us enough time to have dinner and enjoy the evening. While it’s added a week or so on to our couples average return time for photos, I’m not lying on the bed sobbing twice a year anymore. So I chalk that one up to a big fat win. :)

How one cup can change your life. You may have heard me mention on Facebook that this year, I gradually lost a significant amount of weight. I’m gonna keep saying 40 pounds, even though Christmas cookies may have set me back a couple. ;) Like most women, I’ve started every New Years’ wanting to drop a few (or more than a few), but last year was different. I didn’t set out wanting to lose a set amount of weight, just do better than the year before. Try to pick veggies every now and then over fries, or not eat the whole cheeseburger in front of me.

What really set my weight loss train in motion wasn’t any life changing moment- It was going to Disneyland with Nate and me falling in love with this Little Mermaid cup & straw. I couldn’t justify the purchase but I waaaaaaanted it, so I told Nate that my Mermaid cup would only be used for water. Nate laughed that laugh he does when he’s sensing a future “I-told-you-so” moment. It didn’t matter that I never ever ever ever drank water and was averaging 2-3 Diet Cokes a day! So once we went home and I pulled it out, I used it every day and only drank water. I started weighing myself daily and started noticing pounds disappearing without much effort at all.

A month later I was only drinking water. No soda at all. I only have soda now if I’m in dire need of caffeine, which was easily less than 10 times between May and today. Once I realized how simple it was to swap water for soda, I started making more substitutions- oatmeal for Pop Tarts, unsalted peanuts for chips, salads for cheeseburgers, veggies for fries. I don’t keep anything off limits- I just try to eat a couple Oreos instead of the whole bag. You get the picture.

The moral of the story here : Never underestimate the power of a Little Mermaid cup.