So I went a little cuckoo with the cream cheese over the holidays.

Which is no big surprise because I’ve gone a little cuckoo with food in general for the last, oh, two and a half years. I mean, what’s a few blocks of cream cheese in the grand scheme of homemade macaroni and cheese, homemade chocolate pudding, homemade chicken spaghetti, and homemade everything else that I’ve been whipping up in the kitchen (with real butter, real mayonnaise and real sour cream, thankyouverymuch) day after day after day.

But as the mama of a very active three year-old, it’s become increasingly clear to me – especially over the last two or three months – that I have to be in better shape if I’m going to keep up with the little whippersnapper. As a result, ever since we bought this house I’ve been walking (not just up and down the grocery aisles – for exercise, silly) about five times a week. Alex and the dogs go with me, so it’s not necessarily a relaxing time, but it gets us outside. And it gets us moving.

Truth be told, Alex runs almost the whole time that I’m walking. And while saying that makes me feel like I’m one of those high-pressure mamas who’s already pushing her child to EXCEL, DADGUMMIT, the fact of the matter is that he loves it. He loves being outside, being with the dogs, being with me, and being able to run up and down all the grassy hills while I stay on the walking path. It’s been good. More than that, it’s been necessary.

I’ve actually thought about going to get one of those little pedometer thingys to measure my distance (we walk on a golf course so I can’t exactly drive the route to check our mileage) because I really do like pushing myself to go a little farther or a little faster every week. Then I saw this post about Nancy’s walking challenge, and I knew I’d found just the thing to keep me moving. That’s my goal for this new year…not to lose 40 pounds, not to avoid sugar completely, not to drink eight glasses of fresh organic vegetable juice by nine o’clock every morning (hey. I’ve tried stranger weight-loss methods), but to keep moving. That’s it.

Nancy has set up a Mr. Linky where you can join her challenge. All the instructions are in her post – and it really couldn’t be any simpler. She’s set up a target distance – and every Friday we’ll check in and tell her how many miles we’ve walked that week. It’s so easy – but it’s also provides some accountability. I like that.

If you think you’re going to participate, leave me a comment and let me know. In the meantime, I’ll be heading to Walmart and picking up one of those pedometer thingys. And not going anywhere near the cream cheese while I’m there.