12/30/2011

2012 Goals

I really believe that 2012 is going to be a phenomenal year in my life.  To help insure that happens Joe & I have decided to make goals again this year.

My personal goals:

1. Run 300 miles.  I was going to set a number of races but I think mileage is fine.  They say it takes 300 miles to wear out a pair of sneakers so that seems like a good total.


2. Bike 300 miles.  I'm trying to become more diverse in my workouts and between Thea, my dad and my fancy new shoes, biking seems like the way to go.


3. Comment on 15 blog posts a week.  I know it make me feel better when I get comments so I'm going to spread the wealth.


4. Be successful in my Thirty-One Gifts business.  I'm really hoping that this business is going to help me pay off some credit card debt so that when Joe & I get married he won't inherit much from me.


5. Make more grad school plans.  I need to figure out if I'm doing it or not.


6. Spend more quality time alone with Joe.


7. Get to 130 and stay there.  For some reason I've decided that 130 is my goal weight even though the quizzes all say 118.  So I'm going to get there & I'm going to hang out there, or lower, for as much as 2012 as possible.


8. Run a sub 30 minute 5K.  I'm averaging about 31:17 right now so how hard can it be to knock a minute & a half off?


Our goals as a couple:

1. De-clutter our lives.  Start an ebay site to sell off all the crap we can't bring ourselves to throw away.  We'll also have 2 yard sales, one in the spring and one in the fall.


2. Visit 3 new places.


3. Do at least one outdoor activity together a month.


4. One date night a month.


5. Go camping at least once this year.


6. One new recipe a month.


7. Spend more time with family, I'm shooting for at least one family once a month.


8. Finish 1 major project.  My picks are to get a shed or install built in bookcases in the living room.

2011 Goal Review

I have been reviewing my 2011 goals and I think I did pretty well!
My personal goals - 
1. Complete the Broad St run - complete 1:48:44
2. Complete some part of the 38th Annual American Cancer Society Bike-a-thon - I nixed this one and did a ride for my college's alumni fund instead, 32 miles complete
3. Lose final 20 lbs - no go, I got close at 134 in July but have steadily been going up and now today I am 142.  I'm hoping to get there by the end of January though.
4. Pay off 1 major credit card - I paid off my Visa on 2/26/11 and then I bought stuff on it again...
5. Make grad school plans - I took the GMAT but then changed my plans, now I'm looking into getting a masters degree in Marketing.
6. Spend more quality time alone with Joe - I think we did a decent job of making time for each other this year.
7. Wear a bikini in public - complete 7/4/11
8. Use my sewing machine - I didn't technically use it but we did get it out of the box so my mom could make my sister's Halloween costume...


Our goals as a couple - So here's the thing, I stopped keeping track of these after March...we're going to try again this year though.

1. We will set a timer and both spend 15 minutes doing nothing but cleaning at least 3x a week. 
2. De-clutter our lives, spend at least 2 hours each week deep cleaning/organizing.
3. Visit 3 new places.
4. Do at least one outdoor activity together a month.
5. One date night a month.
6. Go camping at least once this year.
7. One new recipe a month.
8. Go on a big vacation together.
9. Spend more time with family.
10. Finish 1 major project.

So I fell off a treadmill...

On Wednesday afternoon I met Joe at my gym for a workout.  Our game plan was to run 3 miles on the treadmills and then move on to some lifting.  I set my machine at 6.0 and ran a mile but I was really out of breath after that first 10 minutes so I decided to walk on an incline for a little while.  After about a 1/2 mile of walking I was ready to run again.  I adjusted the settings until I was running at a 6.0 on flat ground.  After a few minutes of running I somehow lost my footing and fell down!  Although unlike the contestants on The Biggest Loser that fall and slide of the back I decided to grab onto the handles and try to pull myself back up onto the side rails.  That obviously didn't work and only resulted in my repeating slamming my knees onto the moving belt.  After what seemed like an eternity but was probably only seconds Joe noticed me fumbling and pulled the magnet so the belt stopped.  The woman next to me asked if I was ok and I assured her I was before hobbling over to the bathroom to survey the damage.  I took a few deep breaths and gulps of water to help pull myself together and the next thing I knew Joe was there asking if I was alright.  I assured him I was and we wandered over to start lifting.  Luckily no one else seemed to have noticed so I wasn't horribly embarrassed.  When I was sure the coast was clear I pulled up my pant leg and found these:

We wrapped up the rest of our workout pretty, obviously it was all upper body, and headed home to clean me up.


Needless to say I did not go to step class on Thursday night and Joe's been calling me limpy for two days now.  However I somehow still managed to lose 1 pound!  Obviously I would have liked it to have been more but a loss is a loss


Wednesday - 1417 calories eaten, 2244 calories burned = 827 total burn.
Thursday - 1182 calories eaten, 1979 calories burned = 797 total burn

Style Saturday

 ~ Sunday ~
pearl necklace - Honora
tan sequined sweater - New York & Company
cream corduroy pants - Victoria's Secret
brown boots - Nordstrom 

~ Tuesday ~ 
pearl necklace - Honora
teal sweater - Ann Taylor Loft
black pants - The Limited
black & white heels - Naturalizer
~ Wednesday ~
 "pearl" necklace - The Limited
purple sweater - Ann Taylor Loft
grey pants - The Limited
black heels - Naturalizer
~ Thursday ~
pink sweater - Kohls
white cami - New York & Company
brown pants - The Limited
metallic loafers - Naturalizer

~ Friday ~

grey long sleeve t-shirt & purple sweater - Delia's
grey pants - Gap
black booties - Naturalizer

Five for Friday ~ 12/30/11

1.  You tell me you're proud of me.

2.  You blamed my Christmas lingerie on Santa.

3.  You took me to lunch on your day off.

4.  You "saved my life" when I fell off the treadmill.

5.  You're trying really hard to get us the best possible deal on our vacation.
December 2011

12/28/2011

Three Things Thursday

1.  While perusing the day after Christmas sales at K-Mart with Nicole I came across this guy.  That's right, a 5' long lighted stegosaurus wearing a santa hat!  How freaking cute is he?!?  He was originally $120 on sale for $60 and I totally would have taken him home if Joe hadn't just said that $40 was too much for a holiday hippo lawn ornament...  I made up for it by picking up a pair of cookie monster pajamas though, they were on sale for $13.  I may rock them on NYE...
2.  Nicole picked up this delicious little treat and I just had to try some.  Big mistake...  It's so tasty that I now want to put it on pretty much everything I eat.  Luckily it's at her house so I haven't been able to get my hands on it.



3.  Joe got me this handy dandy dishwasher magnet for Christmas.  It's great, now we're no longer asking each other whether the dishwasher is clean or dirty.  It's the little things...

12/27/2011

And so it begins...

I really need to buckle down and write up my posts about the holidays but it just seems so overwhelming.  I already have the pictures loaded and everything, I just need to type it out.  Hopefully by the end of the week.


So, day 1 of 130 by 1/30 did not go so well.  I am proud to say that I got up and went to the gym though!  In fact, I took an hour and a half long aerobics class, the joys of not having to work on a weekday!  I was doing really well all day, oatmeal for breakfast, a turkey sandwich for lunch but then it all went downhill from there.  I would grab a couple of cookies on the way through the kitchen or a mint truffle Hershey kiss on my way out the door.  By the way, have you had them?  They are so delicious!  Plus Joe & I went to The Library for Monday Nitro with Tim...I tried to behave and only ordered a salad and baked potato.  But then I had a chicken finger, a mozzarella stick & a scallop wrapped in bacon from the boys appetizers, when I added it all up I was shocked by the totals.  Total burn for the day = 458 calories.  Not terrible but also not going to get me in a bathing suit in 5 weeks.


Tuesday was much better.  I know that being on a schedule works for me but it's so much for fun to have days off.  Joe made me eggs for breakfast and I had my standard yogurt/fruit lunch at work, I was excited for spin class that night!  Joe got me spin shoes that lock into the bike and my sister got me a heart rate monitor that syncs with the bike for xmas so I was like a pro-spinner!  It really did make a difference, I burned more calories then the week before and it was easier to "run" locked in.  After class I went home and made myself a turkey sandwich for dinner, I was so hungry and Joe was working late so there wasn't any reason to cook anything major.  I spent some time on Facebook and snacked on caramel corn and candy while waiting for Joe to get home from work.  I really need to cut that out but I swear it's like my body is addicted, I think the only way to break the habit is to go cold turkey but that's close to impossible because we're hanging on to some treats for NYE, bah!  A little while later I got a text from Joe that he was going to a friend's house to watch the Flyers game after work.  I was exhausted from spin and could barely keep my eyes open so I took advantage of his late night and went to bed at 9pm.  Total burn for the day = 1025.  Much better!

12/23/2011

The good, the bad and the ugly...

Here's the deal...I weighed myself this morning and I'm at 143 lbs.  That means I have 5 weeks to lose 13 lbs and hit my goal of 130 by 1/30 for our vacation.  I am a little bit confused by this gradual weight gain though.  I have slowly been going up since August.  
I don't think I'm really not behaving that badly though...take this week for example.
Monday - I ate 1821 calories, I went to the gym and took a cardio class plus I got all my steps so my burn was 2348.  2348-1821 = 527 total burn.
Tuesday - I ate 1104 calories, I went to the gym and took spin plus I got all my steps again so my burn was 2468.  2468-1104 = 1364 total burn.
Wednesday - I ate 1919 calories but I didn't work out or get my steps so my burn was 1924.  1924-119 = 5 total burn.
Thursday - I ate 1356 calories, I went to the gym and took a step class but didn't get my steps so my burn was 2241.  2241-1356 = 885 total burn.

Those numbers aren't THAT bad.  

I think the problem is that I've started fooling myself into thinking a 500ish burn is ok when obviously it's not working, what I'm doing can barely be called maintaining.  One day with a huge burn and the next with almost nothing.  When I was steadily losing I was around a 1000 calorie burn every day so I guess that's where I need to get back to.  Plus I'd like to start lifting a little more, I used to lift at least 2 days a week and at this new gym there just aren't classes like group power, everything is step aerobics.  I need a new plan but I'm not kidding myself here, I know it's a holiday weekend and trying to start some huge change isn't going to stick, so...Monday 12/26...

1000 calorie burn or 1200 calories eaten whichever is higher.
I really think this is all I need.  Because the only way to get a 1000 calorie burn and eat more then 1200 calories is the work out.  So my butt will be at the gym as often as possible, plus I have my training plan for the 11K starting up in mid January so I should be running more.  Oh god I hope this works...

12/22/2011

Style Saturday

 ~ Monday ~ 

sweater, cardigan & necklace - The Limited
charcoal pants - The Gap
 gray heels - Piperlime

~ Tuesday ~
cardigan - Express
striped tank & tan pants - The Limited
brown heels - Piperlime
 ~ Wednesday ~
red sweater dress - The Limited
plaid heels - Naturalizer
~ Thursday ~
cream sweater & black pants - The Limited
maroon heels - Naturalizer
~ Friday ~
white sweater & red pants - New York & Company
glittery flats - Marshall's

Work Holiday Celebrations

We had the finance department holiday party at The Carriage House in Galloway.  It's a pretty popular wedding venue in our area and we were all very impressed that we were moving over there from the less fancy shmancy Renault Winery.  I was a little bummed at first because I found out that we were going to have to pay more money then usual for our guests, normally $20 now $40.  And there was no longer complimentary beer and wine.  But I decided to stay positive and see how things went.  We had a lovely time at cocktail hour.  I've somehow become the department photographer so no one else brings their cameras anymore, lol.
I even got to see my friend's from other departments.  Meaghan's husband is the AVP of finance so they were there and I was excited to see her!  Beth works for finance like me but is in another building most of the time so it was nice to catch up.
After a little while we were ushered into the main ballroom for dinner.  Each year the R&R committee does a great job of raising money so that the employees can attend the party free of charge and there's usually a little left over so that we are all given gifts as well.  In past years there have been a few big gifts drawn at random and a lot of gift cards.  This year they changed things up and everyone selected a wrapped package.  I'm hoping they go back to gift cards next year as the gifts weren't very exciting.  I received a cake stand with a dome, it's a nice item, but I already have the same exact one.  Something tells me it might turn up at our unwanted gift exchange next month...
After a mediocre dinner of chicken marsala, baked salmon, steak fries and sauteed squash the dancing begun.  I am really disappointed in the food.  I've heard such great things about this place and after that meal I don't have much desire to go back.
Our crowd doesn't contain a lot of dancers so we took some group pictures, enjoyed a few cocktails and mostly goofed around for the camera.

After a couple of hours Joe & I decided to call it a night.  We weren't ready to go home yet though so we drove around town looking at xmas lights for a while.  We tossed around the idea of going out somewhere since we were dressed up but in the end nothing really sounded appealing so we just went home.


The Monday after our finance party we had a luncheon in our building.  Everyone made something to share and we ended up with a lot of food!  I made buffalo chicken dip and it was big hit.
Early in the month we all voted on what type of gift giving we should do and we decided on a secret santa with a $15 limit and a white elephant ornament exchange with a $5 limit.  Once everyone had finished eating I explained the rules of the exchange and everyone really enjoyed checking out the ornaments and "stealing" them from one another.


Once the ornaments had all been chosen we moved on to secret santa.  It was fun to see everyone find out who had them and check to see how creative people were with the $15 limit.  I received a DVD of the movie Friends With Benefits and some popcorn & candy to enjoy while watching it.




Five for Friday ~ 12/23/11

1. You always answer everyone's phone questions even though it's the last thing you want to do after working all day.

2. You keep finding me xmas presents even though you said you were done.

3. You dropped my phone off at work when I accidentally left it at home.

4. You went to the store to get me nyquil and ice cream when my throat was sore.

5. You helped me pick which pair of shoes to wear...then I got compliments on them all day!
 December 2011

Happy Hanukkah

Even though Hanukkah is supposed to last 8 nights we usually condense it into 1. It's really hard to find one night that 6 people can get together around the holidays much less 8.  This year we set aside Saturday 12/17 to celebrate.  My dad even invited Joe's parents and Bill's parents to join in.  
My dad's girlfriend Judy brought her adorable dogs along and I threatened to steal little Max.  He's so friendly and hypoallergenic so I can put him that close to my face without swelling up like a balloon.  Shana made sure we took some family photos.  For some reason she decided we should pose in front of the fireplace, like it's our normal hangout.
Unfortunately some of the gifts my father ordered weren't delivered in time for Saturday so our Hanukkah celebration turned into more of a dinner party and we made plans to come back the following Wednesday to exchange gifts.
We ordered takeout Chinese for dinner and enjoyed lo mien, sesame chicken and spare ribs like good Jews.  After dinner the boys went into the garage to work on Bill's new car and my sister and I watched a few episodes of Big Bang Theory.  I am now obsessed with that show and spend all my spare time watching reruns on the DVR, I blame Shana.  After a while the boys finished up and came back inside for presents!
I got my dad the Nintendo Wii he had asked for and he was super excited to give it a try.  After 5 minutes of Mario Kart he was a pro and I was extremely jealous since I'm about the worst video game player on the planet.  My dad got Shana a bunch of new running gear that I suggested and she seemed pretty excited.  We gave Shana & Bill a framed monogram.  We've given these to a lot of our friends this year and sometimes in takes a little explanation.  For example, the one we gave Bill & Shana has a 5x7 of a W for William then an 8x10 of a K for their last name then a 5x7 of an S for Shana.
My dad got me the new Kindle Keyboard I asked for.  It's so much lighter then my old 2nd generation model.  My purse is still heavy but not nearly as bad as before!
My dad gave the boys each a fancy new saw.  A miter saw for Joe and a wet saw for Bill.  The boxes were so big  he didn't bother wrapping them and just threw blankets over instead.  It was funny to watch the boys pull the blanket away like a magician revealing a trick.
We had a nice night and stayed out a little later then I would have liked but it was fun to spend time hanging out with everyone.