It's been awhile since I've updated you all on my WW progress- partially because it's been a busy past few weeks and partially because I gained some weight during them. Frustrating, I know.
I had been doing really well but the temptation of the holidays and all the treats they bring with them got the best of me. I'm not as upset as I thought I would be, especially after weighing in today and having it mark week number two that I gained! Total, I put 2.5 pounds back on. The one thing that keeps running through my mind is if I tried to exercise some self-control this holiday and put on a couple pounds, how much have I been gaining in past years when I was completely oblivious? That's a scary thought... but it might explain small contributions here and there to my overall "growth" (that's a nice way to put it) since college.
The only thing I can do about it now is put my WW hat back on and make sure I'm thinking about what I eat before it hits my mouth. It probably wouldn't hurt to throw in a little more exercise into the mix, but I like running and it's gotten pretty cold here (finally!) so we'll see.
I asked for a digital food scale for Christmas this year and Jake got me one (don't judge me, it's hard to track points for certain foods if you don't know their weight). I've already used it a few times and so far really like it. It doesn't hurt that it's cute and thus stays out on the counter reminding me to use it (yes, there is such a thing as cute and not cute digital food scales).
Mine looks a lot like this one but is by Cuisinart and a bit brighter shade of orange.
I've never really been making "into" New Year's resolutions, but this year I think I'm bringing em back. Starting in 2012 I plan to take more pictures.
I think is reasonable to task myself with, especially considering I've noticed that Jake and I rarely take them and even more rarely are in captured in one together. The photos from our anniversary trip in Maine were some of the only pictures I have of the two of us since before we got married (where we actually asked a friend/stranger to take one on our own camera). That's pathetic.
Thie picture below is one of the only photos I have from earlier this holiday... and I stole it from my mom's facebook wall. More pathetic. Same goes for photos from my birthday, Jake's Birthday, etc. It's borderline ridiculous.
So here's to 2012, may it be a blessed year full of family, friends, and great memories... most of which I can catch on camera!
I came across this holiday pretzels recipe on Pinterest and they are the perfect combination of salty and sweet. We like them so much that I've already made them for both of our work Christmas parties... and with any luck I'll find some festive containers and give them out as gifts.
Here is everything you need to know to make them yourself, enjoy!
what you need:
-bag of M&Ms
-bag of square pretzels
-hershey kisses (2 bags)
-parchment paper
instructions:
-Heat oven to 170°
-line cookie sheet with parchment paper
-line pretzels along cookie sheet and center a hershey kiss on each
-bake for approximately 6 minutes
-remove from oven and press down each kiss with a M&M
-let cool then place in fridge
lessons learned:
-the white chocolate kisses melt faster (6 min is plenty) so if you're going to mix them with the regular hershey kisses then try putting them on separate cookie sheets and add another 1-2 minutes for the milk chocolate kisses
-once out of the oven test if they are ready by pressing one down with an M&M to make sure they flatten; you do not want them to look like Rolos (they'll break off too easily)
-keep them refrigerated until serving (they just take better)
I just finished the first book in The Hunger Games series and really enjoyed it (I can already hear my sister Dani's 'I told you so'). The best part of finishing it was that the interest driving me to start the second book was easily met by a quick download to my nook. This officially marks the first novel I've started reading on my nook and so far, so good. I have to admit I was a little worried I wouldn't like reading from it it as a paperback book (and I don't completely) but I know I'll appreciate it the next time I'm traveling and can bring as many books with me on it as I'd like. More than once, I've finished a book sooner than planned and had no other options OR I haven't already started a book prior to leaving and have to pack several to provide options (I never know what I'll be in the mood for!). Overall, I'm glad Jake bought me one for my birthday and I'm sure he's glad to see me finally using it.
On a separate note (although it's not too much of a stretch to jump from something hunger related to talk about weight), I've lost almost 7 pounds so far on Weight Watchers and I'm really excited about it. It was really nice to step on the scale at the end of a holiday weekend and have still lost over a pound that week. I'm starting to see my clothes fitting better and the chub in my cheeks has definitely lessened (or so people say). I know seeing more weight come off will be a slow progression, but the little bit so far as been a big motivator. Hopefully my weigh in this Sunday will mark another pound down. My goal was to see 1-2 pounds each week, which considering I'll be on this plan during Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's it'll be nice to potentially be losing weight during the holiday season compared to gaining it.
Thanks for all the encouragement you've been sending my way, it's been nice to read/hear it!
Today has been a great day, actually the past few weeks have been great, and honestly, I can't say that any one thing in particular has been responsible for it... its just the little things.
1. I moved my desk which was/is an adjustment and I really like the people I'm sitting with. They say that where a person sits directly influences the friendships they make and its true. I've started having conversations with people I hadn't had much interaction with before and I really like them! This came at the perfect time as well, because the person I'd sat beside since I started over three and a half years ago, Meredith, left the company in December and her absence made me sad, it just wasn't the same.
2. I am making friends with the people in our community group. I already knew some of them, but I feel like I'm making the effort to invest in getting to know them better and it's been great. Jake says that sometimes I can be anti-social, which is partially true, so its been something I've tried to be conscious of. For whatever reason, I can honestly say that I like each personality in our Wednesday night group and its been great getting to hang out with them more and see those friendships develop.
3. Tank knows how to jump through hoops... and by hoops I mean circles you make with your arms- its A W E S O M E! Jake spent a lot of time teaching him this and it was well worth it! We show every one his new trick and when he is focused, he gets really into it. He'll jump back and forth, putting on quite the show for our guests.
4. My old roommates and good friends, Meredith and Stacy, both traveled into Va Beach unexpectedly over the holidays! I only got to have lunch with Meredith, who now lives in St. Louis, but it was nice to even get an hour with her now that shes so far away! Stacy and I on the other hand had a few hours to spend time together and it too didn't seem long enough! I just love those girls and how we always manage to pick up right where we left off! I almost forgot that Katie and Jill traveled in for the holidays as well, but I sort of expected to see them since their families live here! Regardless, they are 10+ hours away, so any and all opportunities to see them I'll take!
5. I saw The Lion King on New Year's day with Jake and it was unbelievable. Did I mention Jake went with me? Also unbelievable. It wasn't like other musicals I've seen, but it was just as good. The cast and their costumes created the entire scene on stage; props were minimal. I've never seen anything like it.
6. I'm half way through Little Bee and am starting to really get into it. Thank goodness too, I'm supposed to average reading a book a month per my 30 before 30!
7. The company I work for announced today that they are allowing us to wear jeans at work every day!!! Let me say that again, I'm allowed to wear jeans, starting tomorrow, to work EVERY DAY!!! After that memo came out you couldn't have gotten the smile off my face! We used to not be allowed to wear them at all, then we could for one day if we participated in different charity drives, next it moved to every Friday, then we got to wear them for two weeks straight starting after Christmas until the New Year, and now... well, you can read!
8. My friend Josh introduced me to this video. Enjoy!
There have got to be more little things that have happened lately, but these are what are coming straight to mind! Watch me have forgotten something huge and obvious... which sounds just like me! If that's the case you'll be hearing from me. Actually, hopefully you'll be hearing from me more regardless.
Virginia Beach saw around 14" of snow over the holiday weekend, which is crazy if your familiar with the area. I've lived here my whole life and can honestly say I've never seen it snow that much. The best part was how it stayed white. Most of the time when it snows in VB it quickly gets dirty from traffic, etc. but this time since it fell on the Sunday following Christmas no one was working to clear the roads and no one was really driving... people were just outside enjoying the snow!
We (more like Jake) tried to play with Tank in the snow, but he wasn't interested at all. As a matter of fact, he took the initiative to walk himself back to our front door and when I let him in ran right upstairs, jumped on our bed, and nestled himself under the covers. Usually he has to be wherever Jake or I am and he especially loves to be outside, but snow and rain are his exceptions, so we've learned.
On another note, while we enjoyed the blizzard outside, we weathered the wintery season inside our apartment as well. Yes, thats right, we had NO heat. About a week ago we noticed our old school heater wasn't working very well, which isn't surprising really. After I heard some interesting and new whistling sounds come from it multiple times I decided to actually call our complex to have it checked. On the 22nd I called and that day they came out to take a look. The guy told Jake everything looked fine, but when he went to show Jake how to properly use the thermostat he couldn't get the heat to turn on at all. I think Jake got a bit of satisfaction out of this, seeing as how the guy was basically suggesting we didn't know how to work the thermostat. Anyway, he said there was in fact something wrong with it so he'd have to tell the complex. The next day we got a call that they'd be replacing our heater entirely and would install it on the 24th. We hung around the apartment all day only to have no one show up and received word that this was in fact the case at 7pm; they rescheduled for Monday. Keep in mind that this was an exceptionally cold weekend... the same weekend we got 14" of snow! Monday comes around and there is no word from the installer, our complex calls to say that they won't be doing any jobs because of the weather. At this point I'm pretty mad and so is Jake. We've spent our entire vacation dressed in layers, wearing socks at all times, and with multiple blankets on the couches and our bed. The complex sends over their main maintenance guy who after a few minutes reports that our heater isn't broken it just need to be cleaned so it can run smoothly. No joke, thats what he said. As happy as I was to hear it wasn't going to be another day without heat, I was mad about needlessly going without heat for days. Time that wouldn't have been wasted if the first service guy knew a thing about heaters. And that isn't an assumption I'm making, its a fact! This guy told us that the other maintenance guy who answered our initial call wasn't good with these issues, more specifically saying, "Eddie doesn't know anything about heaters, it just isn't his thing." Isn't his thing? Then why did they send him to answer the call about our heater? I don't think I'll ever be able to answer that seeing how sending him defies logic.
Nevertheless, we had a lovely Christmas and even enjoyed an extra day off because of the snow! I watched some movies I got for Christmas, baked and ate cookies, and cuddled on the couch with Tank. Vacation days don't get much better than that.
So, we just recently told our apartment community that we have Tank... and by "told" I mean admitted it, after being confronted with a notice on our door. Don't judge me.
I don't know why I let this tiny lie omission of the truth perpetuate to this point, but I did, and I'm embarrassed. In case you haven't already figured it out, Jake is what some might call, frugal. And I use that term lightly, because Jake doesn't mind spending money on things he understands or values, its anything that doesn't fall into those categories that he has huge issues with. So as you can imagine, Jake was not excited about the non-refundable pet deposit and monthly fee; thus why we waited to say something. But that is neither here nor there, because its out in the open now and the fee is non-negotiable. Period.
Jake’s way of coping with this fact is to send me the following text message:
"Merry xmas. I’m returning your presents and putting tank in a box"
Please excuse any errors in the above, I wanted to keep it authentic.
This is life though; you win some, you lose some, and you spend too much money on unavoidable things. And I don't want to hear this could have been avoided if we didn't get a puppy in the first place. Number one, that is just a ridiculous thing to say and number two, owning a puppy was on my 30 Before 30... which you know isn't optional.
Could you walk away from this face? If you say yes, you're a liar and no friend of mine... or Tank's.
Don’t worry it’s a loveless affair, but I have to admit… I’ve been spending time writing on another blog. I’m awful. I meant what I said in my last post about trying to get back into the groove, but with having to write for my company’s blog a lot lately, I’m drained. By the time I get home, the creativity is gone and I definitely don’t want to sit in front of a computer.
Do you forgive me? I hope so.
A few things have happened since Thanksgiving. There was of course the whole Black Friday experience, Tech won the ACC Championship, I made cookies and an apple crisp from scratch, we decorated our apartment for Christmas, and Jake started wearing his “Believe” t-shirt every day since December 1st.
In other news, I’m almost finished Christmas shopping & bought the most recent Twilight movie, Eclipse, but haven’t found time to watch it. Life’s tough.
Jake declared that he officially finished all of his shopping today, which has me intrigued. I sent him some ideas for gifts, but they were all niceties and not necessities, and if you know Jake then you know that if it isn’t practical he isn’t buying it. So I’m not sure what Santa is bringing this year. Here are some things from my wish list (of course, I don’t expect to get a single thing, let alone multiple things from it):
1. a new raincoat 2. the first Harry Potter book (I’m behind) 3. a scarf- I can’t get enough of them 4. one of those tervis tumblers with a lid for my sweet tea 5. bananagrams (fingers crossed Alison and Will pull through) 6. a framed picture of Tank for my desk (Jake has 3 pictures of Tank up at his work) 7. a shelf with hooks and baskets for our entryway, although I hate asking for house things for xmas 8. a few seasons of my newest obsession, Bones, on DVD (that actually wasn’t on a list before this one) 9. the Twilight ornament (of course!) 10. a Starbucks gift card to feed my chai tea addiction, with 2 pumps of Pumpkin Spice (I’m sort of hoping my mom gets a bunch of these from her students though, because she doesn’t go there and probably would share them with me instead)
Is it weird that I just shared things from my list? I thought it could make for a nice post Christmas blog. This way if I posted a picture from Christmas day holding my new Twilight ornament and tumbler up close with a huge smile you’d really appreciate it. Can you picture it? I can.
I apologize that I am just now blogging about the past two weeks of my life.
Let’s catch you up by hitting the highlights:
1. I visited my friend, Katie, in Atlanta… and it was awesome! I flew out on Thursday and came home on Sunday. We did all sorts of fun things like paint, shop, paint some more, eat at Zaxby’s (the South’s competition for Chick-fil-a), and hang out with her boyfriend, Nathan (if you know Katie, then you know I don’t use that term lightly). I honestly wish I could have stayed longer, but it just gives me an excuse to visit again.
2. I lost at Bunco. I haven’t talked about it in awhile, but the Bunco game I attend with my mom and sister is still happening every month. As a matter of fact, I think this fall marked our second year of playing together. I love the group and really look forward to playing each month… except when I go home empty handed! December’s game is being hosted at my Mom’s house, so I’ll have to help her set up and cook- maybe even take some pictures. Of course, now the pressure is on to have all the Christmas decorations up and in order in time!
3. Tank is learning to stay and to shake. Jake is pretty awesome when it comes to training Tank, but my claim to fame is definitely teaching him to shake. I’d like to think I’m primarily responsible for housebreaking him as well, but I hate to take all of the credit.
4. Some friends of ours recently bought a house (my dream house) which has made me uber focused on when we will be in a position to buy a home. I am not trying to compete with them or take away at all from this milestone in their lives; it’s just made me more aware of that Jake and I haven’t really given this much thought. It’s really not a big deal, except for the hours I spend online obsessively searching homes for sale. I’m so over the top in fact, that I’ve searched for them in every city we’ve ever considered living in, just for comparison’s sake. I’m a-ridiculous.
5. Our friend, Scott (aka Homo 3) got Lasik eye surgery. Everything went well, he can see… better now than before and without glasses or contacts. However, it is sort of weird to see him without his glasses; it’s definitely going to take some time to adjust. Also in regards to Scott, you may have read about him on E, Myself, and I’s Bachelor of the Week post awhile back but I am proud to say he is no longer a bachelor. I should have reported on this sooner, but time has escaped me. He is dating Hannah, the sweetest girl ever and I love their relationship. Period.
6. I’ve started running again and it’s painful, literally. I am so out of shape, but I told myself that before I spend $100 to register for the Shamrock half marathon I need to be able to follow the training program. Well, I’ve started it… and I’m dying. I suppose each run gets easier but I am terrified to train in the cold and I absolutely hate running on the treadmill. Sure, a couple miles on the treadmill isn't awful, but in a few weeks the program will require 5 to 6 miles and I can’t imagine it. Eck. For now, I’ve been running outside after work, but I’ve got to admit that sometimes I get a little scurred. I stick to well lit areas and keep telling myself that its just too many Criminal Minds episodes getting in my head. Another option would be to wake up early and run in the morning, but who wants to lose sleep if they don’t have to?
So, as you can see so much and so little has been going on in my life. I am hoping with the holiday and time off of work that I won't keep you waiting so long before my next post. Thanks for being a faithful "follower" and Happy Thanksgiving!
If you know me, you know I L O V E giveaways! Today I was stalking my friend Meredith on her blog and came across this giveaway from Shutterfly for 50 free photo Christmas cards! It seems simple enough to enter and I'm pretty pumped to finish the steps to get my gift. Being the planner that I am, I went ahead and started getting ideas from their website. I figured if we do get to make a card it'd be nice to narrow down the 700+ options quickly. It all depends on what photos we use, but I liked the following styles at first glance.
Ok, ok so this Valentine's Day was not too shabby. I know my previous posts might lead you to believe that Valentine's Day is my least favorite holiday, but it has never been awful. Jake is always great to me, I just don't love the created pressure it brings about.
Anyway, Jake and I celebrated this past weekend in our usual fashion and it was nice. I can never wait to give Jake his presents til the day of- never...I just get so excited that I always give him at least part of his present early. So this year's V Day was no exception and come Saturday I gave Jake a big bag of cliff bars (2 of every flavor except for mint). I know it doesn't sound romantic, but food is the way to Jake's heart and cliff bars are something he considers a "splurge" so I'm safe to assume he won't have bought himself any recently. Plus, this was a compromise since he asked me not to spend any money. I did at least save the card for Sunday to shake things up, but all in all I was glad I gave my gift early...as Jake's plans for the holiday unraveled on Saturday as well.
He started the evening off with a much appreciated gift card and bottle of wine I mentioned wanting to try and then started cooking what became one of my favorite shrimp dinners thus far. I actually tried to take a picture of the beautiful meal and table, but as usual, our camera battery was dead and it took too long to find the charger (story of my life). After dinner, we watched the Olympics and had some good conversation about the crazy athleticism...it was perfect.
Well, well, well it's that time again when I start racking my brain in preparation for the upcoming holiday. I've barely recovered from Christmas and Valentine's Day is already creeping around the corner!
Let me start by saying, I am NOT a fan of this annual Hallmark holiday. Honestly, I feel like it creates an unnecessary pressure to appease your counterpart...make them feel special so to speak. But the truth is, that if Jake were to do something sweet or romantic for me out of the blue, it would be much more meaningful. We should be striving to make our partner feel loved year round because we know it's important and not because we have the world as an audience. So does that mean he is off the hook come February 14??? Of course not! I know it is shallow, but the fact that everyone will be getting a lil extra attention this upcoming weekend creates a need for me to get some myself.
It's like when you tell your person not to bother sending flowers because they are too expensive, yatta, yatta, yatta. Well do you or do you not spend the day counting how many other women around you get them? I mean honestly, last year I walked by the reception desk and each time I saw a bouquet, paused and quickly wished it was for me. Awful, I know...but someone out there has to know exactly what I'm talking about! Deep down I know (and keep telling myself) that if flowers came on a random day I'd feel so much more appreciated and loved than on Feb. 14th- but that doesn't drown the hope. I don't even like red roses! What is wrong with me???
I'm sure Jake is reading this feeling utterly confused about the upcoming weekend. After all, he is a practical guy and Valentine's Day isn't a practical celebration- this weekend probably appears nightmarish to him. And now on top of that, I've subtly hinted at my minor expectation for the day and as a result also placed pressure on myself. I'm starting to regret this post already- EEK!
In case you didn't get it from the title, this is my first blog and officially my first post. I'd been going back and forth for a few months about starting a blog and to be honest, coming up with a title was the only hold up. So after some encouraging words and a little extra time on my hands I finally committed!
I promise that my future posts will have purpose and a point (hopefully shorter as well), but for now I just want to get something on the board. Let's start with a holiday recap...
This year, Jake and I celebrated our first Christmas as newlyweds! I was excited about the holidays but like every year, the closer we got to the 25th stress ensued! I'm not going to try and claim to be a stress-free, Type B, relaxed sort of person...that just isn't me. I have however, tried to embrace a more laid back lifestyle (i.e. Jake is rubbing off on me). Regardless, there was some stress that may have resulted in random tears this holiday season like when...
1. We put our tree up and realized I had only bought enough lights to cover 1/3 of it. This may not seem like a big deal to some people, but to me after an 8 hour drive home from a 2 day trip, it was HUGE! No worries, Jake spent the next afternoon searching for more matching lights (without any luck) and had the whole tree covered in lights of some sort by the time I got home from work! Really sweet, I know!
2. I realized that there wasn't really anything I could buy for Jake based on his hints that fit within our spending limit. Just as a disclaimer, I go through this with Jake EVERY year. I like spoiling people on Christmas with something they want but don't necessarily "need"; however, Jake only appreciates practical gifts. So, each year on Dec. 26th we end up going to a lot of different stores returning the majority of what he received! It is just upsetting and gets to me at least once a year as I struggle to find something satisfactory other than a Cervelo!
3. I came home to see Jake had helped himself to one of the 3 gifts I bought him for Christmas...on Dec. 21st! Yes, he knew it was coming but that still isn't right! One night, I came home and was looking around for the package so that I could open it up, check things over, and get it wrapped (I knew it had been delivered because I'd been tracking it all day). Well low and behold, when I couldn't find the box I asked Jake if we had received any packages- I even said one of his gifts was supposed to be arriving that morning so not to get into anything. He preceded to open up his bag, pulled out the new, wet swimsuit (that's right he not only opened them, but went for a swim) and actually said..."These?"- I could have died!!! Of course, I went into this whole ordeal (while tearing up) about how that was a gift and I would never do anything like that to him. I ended up finishing my soap box with something along the lines of he "takes the joy out of Christmas"!
Other than that, we had a really nice Christmas surrounded by family and friends! It was nice to start our traditions as our own family and we both feel so blessed for what we have and for what is in store for the upcoming year!
