Happy Birthday Mom!!!

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!

Blast from the Past!

 
Look at this old school little house picture! That's Aunt Carol and notice... no trees! no bushes! AND it's pink! I can't believe how much it has changed!

Merry Christmas!

Ironman

WATCH THIS MOVIE!!! It's so frickin' good!!! TWO THUMBS UP!!!!

Christmas Cards!

 

No, I haven't forgotten! Everyone will be getting their Christmas cards this week. It has taken me awhile to get mine out this year because I ended up making my own! I just finished tonight. Which one is yours, I don't know! You'll have to wait and see! ;o)

The Melting Pot

Tonight was my first experience at the famous Melting Pot Restaurant! For those of you who haven't had the experience, let me tell you it quite interesting to have a whole fondue meal! We only tried the cheese & chocolate fondues, but what I sampled was excellent and FUN! Not only was it great to catch up with my friend Tera White, but an interactive way to have dinner with someone! Very cool! Two Thumbs UP!!
 
 

P.S. - I was even able to zip home afterwards because I knew exactly where I was and have become familiar with a quicker way home by taking 33W to 198W. It was so much easier and I felt so city-ish to be able to take different highways here and there! :o)

Our Christmas Tree!

 

Merry Christmas!

Our work Christmas party was last night and tons of fun! We actually had a DJ this year instead of a laptop playing music! WOOHOO!!

In this pic is my boss Tina (middle) and her other assistant Bridget. We're a good team and work hard! And laugh hard too!
 

Ugly Christmas Sweater Contest!

Supplemental always lets us do fun things like this at work! We all wore the most hideous, outrageous christmas attire we could find! It was a fun day with lots of laughs! Our winner was Mike in his blue belly sweater with the snowmen puff balls! LOL
 
 
 
 

New Year, New You

Something to start thinking about...

Five reasons to throw on a paper gown in 2009
1. Pelvic exam and pap smear.
2. Breast exam.
3. Blood pressure check.
4. Weight check.
5. Skin-cancer screening.

Five things to learn in 2009
1. How to read nutrition labels.
2. How to do a pull-up – even a single pull-up.
3. How to eat mindfully.
4. How to say “no” sometimes.
5. How to stand tall.

Five new ways to save money on health and fitness in 2009
1. Pre-pay for an annual gym membership; it’s usually less expensive than a month-to-
month renewal or daily pass.
2. Bike to work.
3. Hang out your gym socks, shorts and sports bra to dry; you’ll pay less on your electric bill and help the environment.
4. Refill a BPA-free water bottle at the fountain instead of buying a new plastic water bottle every time you go the gym.
5. Never grocery shop when you’ve got the munchies.

Five new places to try a workout in 2009
1. The local park – especially if it has retro fitness trails.
2. The swimming pool.
3. The bedroom (best with a partner).
4. The stairs up to your office – skip the elevator.
5. The airport: Walk laps to kill time during your next delay.

Five new old-school songs to add to your workout playlist in 2009
1. “Mama Said Knock You Out,” L.L. Cool J.
2. “The Seed,” The Roots.
3. “She Sells Sanctuary,” The Cult.
4. “It Takes Two,” Rob Base and D.J. EZ Rock.
5. “Ray of Light,” Madonna.

Five new foods to incorporate into your diet
1. Pistachios – They lower cholesterol and contain heart healthy fats.
2. Pomegranates – They’re packed with antioxidants and a 2008 animal study found they could help with inflammation.
3. Salmon – In addition to heart-healthy omega-3s, it contains bone-strengthening vitamin D.
4. Chamomile tea – A daily cup could help reduce your chances of diabetes.
5. Basil – Researchers are now finding that the yummy herb has anti-aging properties.

Five bullet-points to cross off your to-do list
1. Find a family doctor. Check out familydoctor.org/cgi-bin/memdir.pl for some help.
2. Schedule an annual physical and pap test.
3. Clean out your medicine cabinet, tossing all expired items.
4. Find a workout buddy in your city.
5. Get your flu shot.

Five healthy items to invest in
1. Pedometer.
2. BPA-free water bottle.
3. Well-fitting sports bra.
4. Workout journal.
5. Small, portable cooler.

Five words to incorporate into your every day
1. “No” (as in, you’re not going to have that second slice of chocolate cake).
2. “Natural” (as in, peanut butter and sweetener).
3. “Brown” (as in rice, cereal, bread and any other whole-grain item).
4. “Mindful” (as in eating and living).
5. “Healthy” (as opposed to skinny or fat).

Five ways to stay motivated right through to 2010
1. Learn at least one exercise you find intimidating each month.
2. Sign up for a weekly group exercise class.
3. Load your iPod with new, upbeat tracks.
4. Ditch the people and situations that get you off your fitness track.
5. Find at least one restaurant near your home or work that serves a clean meal you can eat on days when you don’t have time to cook.

Five things to put off until 2010
1. Organizing your gym-clothes drawer by color.
2. Topping your salads with radishes cut to resemble roses.
3. Perfecting every yoga pose.
4. Skydiving.
5. Doing your own taxes.

Oxygen Article #114 By Sarah Tuff and Kasia Kurek

Thailand Koh Phi Phi

The most beautiful place on earth! I want to go on my honeymoon here!!

Is this not the CUTEST?

Holiday Decorations for Less!

I got the idea from Better Home & Gardens. All I did was buy two packages of candy cane and break them into smaller pieces! A $4 decoration that looks fantastic! ;o)
 
 

Pajama Party!

Today we had a pajama party at work! We were allowed to wear our pajamas, slippers, and bathrobes all day plus have a pot luck lunch!! I made a low-cal pudding dessert (Laura made us FBD chili so we could be good on our diets)and cookies for a new recipe I'm trying. It was a fun day, but with being sick I opted to dress warm & cute!

 

 

 

Flat Belly Diet FUN!

This post is a little late but definitely worth it! Wednesday night Laura, Heather & I got together to make another FBD recipe! This is Spinach-Stuffed Chicken Roulade! It was really fun to make, especially rolling raw chicken! hahaha But the meals was soooo good and delicious! And the roasted pine nuts on top were the perfect finished! We served with an orange and Sassy Water! Then Laura and I settled in to watch a movie, share a blank and knit!! Her a scarf and me... a special surprise!

 

 

 

Christmas Fun!

It's the time of year to start getting excited for Christmas festivities!!! Better Homes & Gardens has the best website for Christmas Cookie recipes that I need to share! They are all such good ideas that venture out of the box, not just for eating, but gifting giving as well! You can even decorate a virtual Christmas cookie and email it to a loved one! Make sure you check it out when you can!

http://www.Bhg.com/christmascookies

Shango

Yes I know I am on a diet, but I had a dinner-date I couldn’t resist last night! We went to a little bistro close to my house called Shango, and it was soooo good!! I got the Blackened Ahi Tuna with green beans and sweet potatoes! The meal ended up being not only fantastic and satisfying, but very portion controlled and without temptation… until the dessert menu was laid on the table! And readers, I faltered!! There was no way I could pass up the Molten Chocolate "Cup Cake" with fresh berry sauce!!! The best part was waiting 20 minutes for them to make it fresh!! It was still warm and gooey when I got it!! Delicious!!
I highly recommend this place!! Two thumbs up!
http://www.shangobistro.com/index.html

Bills Game!

We had a blast! It was cold and rainy, but we were prepared!