One year ago, I posted a photo of Aric and I on a ride at the Mall of America. In short, that photo sparked a desire in me to get act together and star CARING about myself. Here is that photo again:

That was New Year’s Day 2011.

This was yesterday:

 I’ll be honest. I didn’t want to post this photo. I didn’t like the giant blob of a stomach hanging out. But then I looked at the photo taken a year ago. I’m 20 pounds lighter. Aric and I actually fit comfortably in that little car despite him being much bigger than last year. And my gut doesn’t spill over the lap bar. I actually put a teeny bit of thought into my outfit. I showered and did my hair. I took PRIDE in the way I looked. And you know what? I even look happier.

I feel happier.

I didn’t make huge changes over this past year. I did some dieting, yes. I chopped my hair off. Twice. But overall, all I did was take an extra 5-10 minutes a day to put some thought and care into how I looked overall. Even on lazy days I still threw on some make-up or some necklaces or something.

 I learned a lot about myself over the last year. I stepped outside of my comfort zone, tried new things, embraced my curves.

(On me: Kohl’s head to toe. On Aric: Target)

This journey has taught me a lot about fashion, taking care of myself, and learning how to feel good about myself. A year ago, I could not have seen myself where I’m at right now. I didn’t even know what I thought I would accomplish by doing this “Hot Momma Monday.” But now, a year later, I’m so, SO happy I did this.

So now the question is: What now? Where do I go with this? I don’t want to lose more weight. Not right now, anyway. I’m just not ready for that. How do I continue to better myself?

While I was pondering these questions the last couple weeks, the light bulb clicked on. This whole year, I’ve been focusing on me. Me. Me, me, me, me, me. And while it is healthy to think about yourself once in a while, I have to remember that I also have a wonderful husband and a pretty cute toddler. So instead of working hard to become a Hot Momma (which, let’s face it, I think I’m close ), I’m going to change my focus just a little bit.

I’m going to work towards being a better wife and mother.

I used to be a pretty good wife. I did laundry. I helped with dishes. I even helped clean out the litter box! But then I got pregnant and tired. Tim offered to do the dishes every night so I could go to bed early or rest after a long day of work. He took over litter box duty. Eventually, he started doing laundry since I could no longer reach inside the wash machine.

Then I had Aric. And he kept doing these things while I was sleep deprived and depressed. Then I got better. But by that point, the damage was done. I was pretty lazy around the house. Sure I helped with the bigger things, but the day to day? Nope.

So this year I’m working towards taking back those chores. At least on the nights I don’t have class I don’t know if I’ll keep up the weekly Hot Momma updates. Maybe once in a while to showcase a new outfit or something. The only thing I know for sure is that it’s time to move on from bettering ME, and move on to making life better for my family.

So, are you doing anything this year to better yourself? Any suggestions for where I can go next with Hot Momma Monday?