12 Resolutions for 2012

I figured in spirit of 2012 I would make 12 resolutions to follow throughout the year:

1. Let go of fears and start doing things that force me to break out of my shell


2. Remember that mistakes are ok, don't sweat the small stuff, enjoy the moment instead of trying to make sure everything is perfect


3. Remember my roots of religion.  Get back in touch with my faith and religious beliefs


4.  Forgive those who have hurt me in the past and move on


5.  Get to a place where I feel comfortable in my own skin


6.  Find a new hobby and learn how to enjoy it


7. Finish projects I have started and not completed


8. Read 12 books


9. Lose ATLEAST 4 dress sizes by Dec 31, 2012


10. Go from happy to happier


11. Run 3 miles (outside or on the treadmill) without dying


12. Learn how to let go of being in control (once in a while)

What are your resolutions? 

Have you set them yet? 

Don't limit yourself to set them by midnight, feel free to set resolutions throughout the year for yourself to stick by for life not just in 2012. 

Get ready for tonight folks...let the countdown begin..

10....

9....

8...

7....

Cheating on my book club

A few years ago, I joined a book club.  However, as you all know we get busy in life and lately I have been really behind on my reading.  I have had One Day and Sarah's Key sitting on my night stand for more months than I can count and I hate to walk into another book club without knowing what happens.  

This week I decided to rent the movies for those books and finish reading later.  

Ssshh..don't tell anyone how I cheated!

 

Reviving my Happiness Project

Its no surprise to all of you that I tried starting my happiness project back in the summer and sadly failed a few months in.  In order to make sure I finish something I started, I decided to restart the project Jan. 1.  


This year is all about taking new leaps and making sure I finish what I start.  And to make sure I do that, I have decided to start planning out my year of goals, projects and deadlines.  


This year my happiness project will follow accordingly:

January  - Health/Energy

February - Keeping the Faith

March - Reviving my bank account

April - Lightening Up

May - Aim Higher

June - Remembering Love

July - Make time for Friends

August - Pay Attention

September - Keep a Contended Heart

October - Pursue a Passion

November - Remembering Me

December - Boot Camp Perfect

Preparing for christmas

If you ask any of my family members, i get way to excited if i have a gift for someone.




If i go home to early I will find any reason for us to exchange a few gifts before christmas morning.





Last night after playing a family board game, i convinced everyone to let us give the parents our gift to them!





My mother tore open the envelope and notice two tickets to see the new Michael Jackson cirque show in april.

I am so glad they enjoyed the gift.

Merry christmas eve!!

Ten on Tuesday

Ten on Tuesday

Is been a while since I have participated, but I am back!

1. What is your Favorite online-only Store?


Amazon.com for sure!


2. Do you enjoy wrapping gifts?


Its one of my favorite things to do all year.  I think because I can't wait to watch my friends and family unwrap the gifts I have chosen for them 


3. What is the temperature in your city today?


A chilly 42 degrees


4. What time do you eat dinner?


Typically I eat at 6:00 p.m. every night.  For some reason I am starving and need to eat at that time.


5. Will you be making New Years Resolutions? 


I feel like I am breaking all world laws if I don't...


6. How old is your oldest pair of shoes that you still wear?


I sadly always toss shoes when they get too old and I wear them out so quickly.

7. Do you have any restaurant phone numbers saved in your phone?

No, but that is a good idea!! I need to eat out more..

8. What is your favorite and least favorite letter to write in cursive?

Favorite: i   Least Favorite: Z

9. Do you know any good riddles?

Sadly, no...I am really bad at knock knock jokes and riddles.

10. How do you feel about snow?

LOOOOVE It.  Snows days are the best, but my favorite thing is watching snow fall in the late hours when it hasn't been touched by cars or plows. 

Microwave Pasta

Its amazing what you can do with a few ingredients and my magic stoneware pot from Pampered Chef.

With just a little white wine, chicken broth, garlic, pasta and tomatoes I was able to make a delicious quick meal...IN THE MICROWAVE!!

Delicious!

Craft Night

SO with my new computer, I decided it would be good to give my blog a new look.  I am still feeling it out, and might change it one 2012 hits but for now, it works. 

My goal this year was to complete all holiday shopping by Dec 10.  I have to admit I was pretty far along when my internal deadline hit, however, there were still a few things that I had to finish up last night.  

One of them was making a few homemade coasters as gifts.  

I couldn't remember which Mod Podge to get.  Matte or Gloss...so now, I am loaded up on both kinds!

How do you like my funky paper?

Have to make sure all of the bubbles are out of the paper...that was my BIGGEST CHALLENGE

VOILA!

I learned the trick on Pinterest (my obsession), and although I am still working out the kinks of getting them right, they didn't come out too bad! I am excited to give these out as gifts for Christmas.  Two lucky ladies are getting a set.

Preparing for the Holidays

I love the holidays.

I love shopping and wrapping gifts. 

I love to gift gifts and watch the reaction on people's faces when they tear open the semi-perfectly wrapped packages

I love shopping for christmas trees.

I love get togethers with friends and family 

I love taking off of work and having a mini-vacation.

Have you finished your shopping yet?

Only 5 more days left...

New Computer

It arrived! I finally, have a new computer! 

It took me a while to get one, but the computer is up and running.

 Immediately after opening the box, I ran to Best Buy, purchased Microsoft Office and have been working on my "out dated" files since. 

Now, that I am up and running.  I took the afternoon off of work, popped in Water for Elephants and decided to get back to blogging.  

Welcome back world....now where was I with those blog posts....

Beer and Board Games

One of my favorite things about the winter is discovering creative ways of still getting together with friends.  Thankfully living in a busy city, we around surrounded by endless options.  

Recently we decided to head to Continental, a bar in Virginia that stocks up on board games.  

After a few rounds of beers, the board games became a little more entertaining than usual.  As you can see we noticed the board game didn't have all of the pieces so we improvised with items from my purse.  Eye drops, chap stick, etc.

It was a great way to spend time with friends as we prepare for hopefully a mild winter.

Wait, who had a straw in their beer??

Cold, cold, cold

Goodbye 60 and 70 degree weather... As I woke up this morning I realized the winter had finaled rolled in on this cold December 1.

Unfortunately, I am still without a computer, and trying to keep my frustration at a minimum. Friday, I am going to go look at Mac computers....thats right, I am going to make the switch from a PC to a Mac. Its all so Carrie Bradshaw of me!!

The Holiday Crush

I dont know what it is about the Holidays that gets everyone in the spirit, and maybe its because I watch too many Lifetime and ABC Family movies but lately i have been more and more in the spirit for love.

Since March I started having feelings for a close friend of mine. I can remember exactly when my feelings crossed over from just a friend to more than a friend. He had gone away for his grandfathers funeral and I remember missing him so much that the moment he returned I jumped in a cab over to meet up with our friends at the bar.


I was so happy he was back jn town and just being around him brought me happiness. In reality we are just friends. To him, i am one of the guys, someone he can talk to about music, movies, sports and sadly even women.

We have had a few late night bar chats just the two if us, catching up and even have dabbled in the occasional flirting but everything is pretty harmless.

Recently, he had the chance to meet my parents. It was one of the best moments in our friendship thus far. He was everything I had hoped for when introducing a guy to my parents. Kind, respectful, funny, and grateful for the meal they provided for us.

It seems like more and more each day I think about him. Whether I am waiting on the edge of my seat for him to send me a text or secretly hoping he asks to meet up for drinks, I am always thinking about him.

Like i said, maybe its the Lifetime movies that have rotted my brain but deep down, even if I dont always admit it, I am hoping for a christmas miracle.

A Mini Hiatus

I am not sure how many people even noticed I was gone.  

Have you noticed its been almost a month and a half since I have written.  

Things have been crazy in my life lately and to top it all off I traveled home for the Thanksgiving Holiday and then had my computer completely crash.

I was devastated to see 5 years of my life crumble as the blue screen of death appeared on my computer.

 After a minor panic attack and yes, I will admit, a major meltdown I went to Best Buy, purchased a new hard drive and have begged my brother to ask his co-worker to attempt a recovery of all lost data. 

Its not a few days later and I still haven't accessed my files and my computer has crashed two more times...
I am keeping my fingers crossed that is all works out soon. 

In the meantime many great things have happened to me in the last month.  

Although i would love to write a novel about everything, here is a short synopsis of my life in the last 30 days.

Work has been crazy and after working many late nights during October  I can finally relax a little during our slower weeks.

The second week of November during the Penn State Crisis that has literally shaken the country, 10 guys and myself (yes I was the only female) traveled to Pennsylvania to attend the Penn State vs. Nebraska game.

It was a very emotional weekend for my family (die hard Penn Staters) after the scandal broke on the news.  However, it was very touching and moving to be at this game.  

I also now know what it is like to travel and shack up with all men.

Thank goodness Virgos are planners and "mothers".

Prior to traveling home for the holidays I decided to host my annual Thanksgiving dinner for friends in the area.  This year we beat our attendance with a total of 36 guests.  It was such a great evening of friends, food and board games! I was exhausted the next day and couldn't wait to sleep off all of my hard work. 

For those of you who don't know, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.  I love driving back to PA to get the very last taste of Fall weather before the snow hits.  I love my mother's cooking, board games with the family, visiting friends from home and relaxing. 

I love pulling up to my parents house.  Immediately I get a wave of emotions and memories.

My parents bough a new scrabble board which was a hit over Thanksgiving

Rifle practice was definitely the most exciting thing we did, however it was also the most hick thing we did

This Thanksgiving, I got to meet Landon, one of my best friends from high school's new baby boy!! It was so exciting to see the new addition to our group! He is going to be a heartbreaker.

After returning back to the hustle and bustle of Washington, DC. I decided to spend my Sunday decorating for Christmas.  I love the holiday season!

Phew....well, that caught you up on the last 30 days of my life.  

Thankfully despite the computer crashing, I am hoping to get back into blogging each day. 

Oh, the places you will go

Oh, the places you will go...
This semi-wordless Wednesday includes beautiful places where I have been and where I hope to go. 

The Skinny on being Fat

Today was a big eye opener at how I am not only letting myself down with weight loss but others as well.  I have always struggled with my weight.  Since I can remember my parents were always questioning how many pieces of bread I had when we were out to eat.  I remember my high school friends looking cute in their short shorts and tiny tops, but I was hiding behind jeans and t-shirts.  


15 years later, nothing much has changed in m life.  I am still eating more than I should.  I am not working out at all and I am more upset with my size than I have ever been before.  


At the beginning of October, I signed up for a boot camp class hoping it would be the best way to kick my butt into gear with weight loss.  I had told a bunch of people about my goal and they promised to check up on me to make sure I was progressing.  What I didn't expect was to leave the first class, more upset with my self than when I started.  Its hard for people to understand what it is like to be overweight unless you have been there before.  Its not only an embarrassment but its disappointing... disappointment in yourself.  I only made it to one boot camp class.  It was hard for me to see myself struggling being surrounded by 14 barbie dolls.  I was embarrassed for how I looked, angry that I was struggling, and frustrated that once again I was going to fail.  


This morning I woke up disappointed that I had failed.  I failed at going to work out this entire year with a year membership, I failed at thinking I could lose weight and get in shape, and I failed at one month of boot camp.  



While reading Facebook today I found an article about a fit man who is going fat to get fit again.  He wants to know what it is like to struggle as an obese person in losing weight.  


http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/health/why-a-personal-trainer-is-making-himself-obese-on-purpose-2583990



Two of my good friends kept their end of the deal.  They checked in with me today on my progress and I was ashamed to admit I had was not successful.  Although I want to lose the weight something inside of me is holding back on getting out and going to the gym and pushing through the embarrassment.  

Chicago, colds, and cocktails

I apologize for the week delay in posting.  Two weeks ago, I got a horrible cold which left me struggling to make it through the work week.  After that a trip to Chicago and a packed schedule at work kept me extremely busy.  So, I am slightly behind on posting, even more behind on posting these photos.  

My trip to Chicago...

Celebration

Last month was a very exciting month for me career wise, not only was I honored and given an award for the Most Outstanding Event Planner of the Year but I also was given a promotion at work.

Today, I left work with every intention to grab a glass of wine and dinner with friends to celebrate.






I also rewarded myself by signing up for a boot camp in the mornings to attempt my kick start to weight loss







Not looking forward to getting up early, but hopefully when the pounds start to shed I will be happy I signed up.

P.s. Aunt flo came this weekend and I cheated on my no chocolate. Big time fail. I will have to restart it tomorrow.

P.P.S I decided right after typing this that I might as well have a soda if I already cheated with the chocolate. Ok very strict tomorrow!!!

Month #4: My Happiness Project

My September Happiness Project didn't go as perfectly as planned.  I started out strong until my two pair of flat shoes completely wore through and I was left shoe-less.  I ended up stalking up on flats and spending a lot more than planned.  After that shopping spree it was all down hill.  Long work nights forced me to spend money on breakfasts and lunches since I was short on time.


I was upset with myself for failing at last month's happiness project, and in turn found myself not happy at all with my increasing debt.  With that I must focus on a new month and something new to work on, I will just return to the debt issues again on another month. 
  

Month #4

October

Equality amongst friends

I have noticed that as of recently treating others differently. I find myself treating two different people differently even if they have just done the same action.  I want to take this month to try and treat everyone equally. To not hold grudges against people for things I can't control.   As well as to limit gossiping and talking bad about others. 

• Think before talking bad about others
• If I don't have anything nice to say, don't say it at all
• Limit gossiping
• Think before I judge
• Smile more

Another reason I love Fall is Farmers Markets





While on my way home the other day i stopped by to taste some fresh pears and apples!! Delicious. Have any great farmers markets in your area?