Friend Makin' Mondays: New Year's Resolutions

It's Monday again which means it's time to answer this week's FMM question. And this week, the topic is New Year's resolutions. I love this topic because my biggest resolution would be to lose weight, but I'm already doing it. I'm so thrilled to be going into the new year at least 70 pounds lighter than last year. I am going to keep working at losing weight, continue exercising and eating healthy foods because it has already changed my life so much!


And while I'm already going into the year doing what is most important for myself, I would like to do a few new things this year. So here's my list:

• Learn to knit

My wonderful friend, Goldie, has agreed to teach me, but life gets so busy during the holidays! I'll start my new hobby after the new year.

• Take the subway more often, at least when it's more convenient. ;)
  

Driving in NYC is almost always out of the question. Traffic and parking fees are ridiculous so you'll never see me driving my car into Midtown for work. My office is only a few blocks from Grand Central Station so most days I walk to work from there.

• Find new, healthy and satisfying recipes

Over the last several months, I have discovered a world of healthy and satisfying recipes, and I'm looking forward to discovering many more. During the holidays I purchased the gigantic Weight Watchers Momentum Cookbook and the new Hungry Girl Card set, Chew The Right Thing. I also have a couple of WW recipe books that I bought at meetings so it should not be difficult to come up with some new, fab recipes.

I like resolutions because it's always a great idea to better yourself. But I also dislike them because when you have a year to change something, it's easy to put it off until 'tomorrow.' Time moves quickly so it's best, at least in my opinion, to get started early.

What do you plan to learn or change in the new year? Do you make resolutions every year? And do you follow through with them?

Santa Baby

My beautiful sister sent me this picture of my beautiful, loving and adorable niece this morning. And it warms my heart. I miss her so much, but I'm so thankful that I'll get to see her soon. And I'm thankful to have Dad here to spend Christmas with my boyfriend, his family and me.

It has already been a good day....and it's just getting started! I wish you all -- my friends, a very happy holiday!

I Believe....

I saw a post written by my blog friend, New England Girl, and it inspired me to post a few things that I believe.

I believe that life is as good as you make it.

I believe that losing weight is worth the struggle.

I believe in the spirit of Christmas.

I believe in giving to others as you would have them give unto you.

I believe that everyone has a positive attribute.

I believe that friendship is a beautiful necessity.

I believe in living out my dreams.

I believe in sharing your talents.

I believe that each of us should befriend an elderly person because a smile and a hug can make everything brighter.

I believe that an education is the most priceless 'possession' that we can own.

I believe in monogamy.

I believe that family is more important than I realized growing up.

I believe in forgiving and forgetting.

I believe that shopping is good for the soul and the psyche.

I believe in music as a powerful source of healing, happiness and release.

I believe that everyone should have a friend who likes to accompany them to the movies.

I believe that we should experience the world outside of our regular routine.

I believe in myself.

What do you believe?

Friend Making Mondays: Christmas

It's the last Monday before Christmas, and I'm excited that this week's topic is about Christmas. If you want to join the fun, head over to Amber's blog for details. :)


I can't really think of anything in particular that I must have for Christmas. I've already been given so much this year. I received my Christmas gifts from my boyfriend early because I wanted time to use them before Winter set in. He bought me a beautiful Raleigh bicycle that I had planned to buy around Christmas, but I've been able to ride it for a couple of months which has been so much fun! I've also had some great weight losses since riding it.



He also gave me a pair of Ugg slippers that I tried buying for myself, and I've been wearing them because the wood floors are already freezing. I'm so happy to have a boyfriend who loves me even though I lack patience in some areas. ;)



But who am I kidding? I ALWAYS want things. :) And I am reminded of my favorite quotes:

"The best things in life are free...the second best are expensive."

Even though I'm not big on talking about Jesus or going to church, I want a new Bible - a Thomspon Chain NIV Reference Bible to be exact. And I'm pretty sure that it's under my tree from my mom. ;) And I'd also love a Pandora bracelet. to fill with charms that mean something special to me. I wish I had known about them sooner because I would have asked for it for Christmas. I'll just have to find an excuse to get one soon. ;)

I'm most excited about Dad coming for Christmas though. I can't wait to see him and do fun things with him like taking him to see the Rockettes at Radio City, the tree at Rockefeller Center and a lot of other awesome things, but I'm looking forward to just hanging out with him most of all.


What makes you happy during this season? What do you want for Christmas?!

Let It Snow...?

As a child, I would always dream of falling snow during the Christmas season. And while snow is beautiful, I was pretty nervous because it was starting only hours before my Christmas party. I was worried that friends would cancel after hearing that we were supposed to get over a foot of snow during the party, but most of them braved the weather -- and we had a fantastic time.

Here are some photos of friends who won't mind appearing on my blog. I wasn't sure if the others would mind so I'm just posting a few of my favorite people. My amazingly wonderful and totally helpful peeps, Char and E, helped so much, making sure that the food was hot and plentiful and arranged beautifully.

What would a party be without funny and pointless pics? We are a fun group. ;)

These girls are just awesome...and I'm so happy to have them as friends...Seriously..:) "See no evil. Hear no evil. Speak no evil." We are all very innocent..

Do you know how hard it is to hold a guy who is 6 and a half feet tall? It takes team work. ;)

The festivities ended with breakfast this morning...:) I woke up to the smell of bacon, as E prepared a meal of homemade french toast, bacon, fresh bagels and custom omelets.

I'm so thankful for good friends who have already made this a great holiday season for me. And I'm looking forward to Dad's arrival this week which will make the holidays even sweeter. Have I ever mentioned how lucky I am?

Did you attend holiday parties over the weekend? I hope you all enjoy the holiday season as much as I have so far!

Weighing In

I lost another pound this week. And while I had hoped to hit 70 pounds last night, I'm pretty thrilled about hitting 69.8, especially considering the lack of cardio I've done in the last few weeks. But my bronchitis finally seems to be subsiding, and I'm in full planning gear for my Christmas party tomorrow.

We are expecting about 40 people tomorrow evening, and I'm so thankful to have so many friends who look forward to spending the evening with us. It's no surprise that many of them have loved my boyfriend for years. He's a native New Yorker, and he makes the lives of people around him better. But I'm still fairly new to New York. I've lived here for just over two years, and I feel so fortunate to have met so many awesome friends on my own too.

Life is good...Weight loss is good...and my hair will be good in a few hours after my salon appointment. ;)

What are you looking forward to this weekend?

My Way

Last night, I went out to pick up a few groceries, mostly ingredients for the homemade fudge, cookies and candy that I enjoy making during the holiday season. And a woman in the super market (who has noticed my weight loss before) said that if she were in my shoes, she would continue trying to lose weight after the holidays. Thankfully, she is not in my shoes...just saying.

I also post status updates on Facebook almost religiously. (Yes...I am that person. hehe) And over the the last week or so, I've posted messages about standing over the stove preparing this stuff, and I've heard the same question from several people, including the woman at the market:

"How do you make that stuff and still lose weight?"

My answer is pretty simple...I don't eat much of it. I have a piece here and there, but I plan for it first. When I make any dish (dessert, dinner, hot chocolate) I use the recipe builder on WW e-tools to figure out point values of each piece. And believe me, when a tiny piece of peanut butter fudge is valued at 3 points, it's much easier to say no. I also store the goodies in air tight containers rather than leaving them on platters because it takes more effort to nibble. ;)

When I get the urge, I remind myself that I already know how it tastes. I picture it then I picture how I'll feel when I step of the scale showing a loss, and that seals it for me. I would rather lose weight than eat junk -- even if it is quality junk food. ;)

This thought process has worked well so far, and taking it one day at a time, I think I can continue down this path because I love the holidays! I love Christmas lights, the smell of trees, the music, the Rockettes, spending time with friends and family, hosting parties and watching my favorite Christmas movies over and over and over...

There is so much more to the holidays that rich foods and decadent treats. And while it's absolutely okay to indulge in a bit of that, I choose to indulge in the fun and excitement that surrounds this holiday. It worked at Thanksgiving, and it will work again.

What works for you? How do you cope with the holiday foods that seem to be available for an entire month?

Good Friends. Good Times.

Tonight was opening for Hansel and Gretel at the Metropolitan Opera, and I went with some of my lovely friends. We had a fantastic evening, and I know next time will be even better (because I'll go when I don't cough so much that I fear I'll go into convulsions.) Note to self: do not go to the opera when you can't stop coughing for more than 45 seconds.

I went out during the second act to have a cup of hot tea so I was able to make it through the third act without much trouble. Char offered to sit out with me (because she's awesome like that,) but it worked out nicely. And I didn't have to miss very much.

Nights like tonight are the reason I moved to New York. An evening with friends in the greatest city on earth still makes me feel like the luckiest person in the world, sick or not...

And I'm thrilled to say that I was comfortable in the small seats. I am positive that I would have been extremely self conscious/uncomfortable prior to my weight loss. And I'm looking forward to the future when I can sit in those chairs while they feel roomy. ;)

I am blessed. I am happy. I am going to the doctor again tomorrow morning. I need to feel fantastic by no later than Friday because we're hosting our second annual Christmas party then preparing for a Christmas visit from my dad. :) Yay!

I'm really looking forward to the next few weeks. What are you looking forward to most in the coming days?

Friend Makin' Monday: Holiday Home Tour

It's Friend Makin' Monday again, and this week Amber wants to see our Christmas decorations. So as soon as I saw this post, I went around snapping pics of my limited decor. Over the years, I am sure I will accumulate a lot of decorations, but I'm just starting so I'll share what I have...Of you want to join the fun, just head to Amber's blog for details.

(It's hard to take a nice pic of my tree with my iPhone, but you get the idea...right?)

(The stockings are hung with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas will fill mine with awesome prezzies!)

(I'm going to add some bulbs to the railing though I'm not sure which ones yet.)

(Every oven needs some kind of Christmas bling, right? I like my snowflake towels.)

(My rustic looking kitchen Christmas tree...)

(I have not created a centerpiece for my table yet, but I'll try to do that today or tomorrow. It was just too cold and icy to go out yesterday.)

(And, of course, I cannot forget to mention my 'Countdown To Christmas' Calendar -- again. It was so much fun to make, and each day brings an opportunity to eat a Heavenly Pretzel.)

(And here's the dinosaur santa that Mom bought me when she visited New York last year.)

(And one of the cypress knees painted by my 'neighbor.' She's really my mom's neighbor, but she's the most crafty person I know.)

Do you decorate for the holidays? If so, do you keep it low key or do you get crazy decking the halls?

A Good Life Is A Diet-Free Life

I have not eaten very well this weekend. I knew I'd be attending a party Saturday evening so I started the weekend right by eating a lot of vegetables and a little protein. I snacked on unhealthy foods at the party, but I ate veggies there as well. I ate reasonable portions, but I'm still not exercising as much as usual so I felt kind of gross.

Today was not much better. I knew I'd be eating unhealthy foods today. Every now and then I make that choice. Eating junk food from time to time is part of life (at least part of my life,) and I'm sure I'll do it again at some point. But I don't eat pizza everyday. Overall, I make healthier choices.

I think that's the 'secret behind my success' so far. I eat healthy things most of the time, but I don't ban any foods. I'm not interested in living the lifestyle of a roller coaster dieter. I'm interested in living the life I want to live, enjoying every part of it. And for me, that means not dieting. I believe that the only way to have long-term success while maintaining a happy lifestyle is to make changes.

I eat what I want everyday, but what I want has changed a lot over the last several months. I like chicken breast with mixed vegetables and brown rice as much (if not more on most days) than I like pizza. And I still like the peanut butter fudge, cookies and pecan pralines that are currently on my counter. But I eat one piece, write it down and remind myself that the next piece would taste exactly the same as the last.

This is what works for me. And I know that I could have made better choices this weekend, but I also know that I'll continue to make healthy choices in the coming weeks. And that will make me successful in the long run. I'm down almost 69 pounds (68.8 to be exact.) And I'm ready to face the challenges of the next 69 pounds because I love the person I am -- and the person I'm becoming.