Back on the bandwagon

I haven’t been very successful with New Year’s resolutions in the past and so I didn’t really bother to make any this year. I figure that if I want to change something or improve how I do things I can do it anytime of the year. Right? Historically I have had a love/hate relationship with weight loss and this year I didn’t want to make it another resolution that fizzled out in a few weeks. I found that right now I don’t have the time or money (gym membership, home equipment, more fresh fruits & veggies, etc.) to truly give it all I’ve got and drop this extra weight. But something changed.

My future sister-in-law asked me and my sisters to be bridesmaids in her wedding in April! While she was in town this past weekend we all went bridesmaid dress shopping. My sisters are much smaller than I am, which I’m used to. My future sister-in-law is also tiny, and there was much discussion of the other two bridesmaids and their dress sizes (which were also tiny). I am the only bridesmaid who is nearly 5’ 10'” tall and has a dress size in the double digits. So needless to say I will stand out in a tall and wide kind of way. Yikes! Time to take action, and fast.

This past Monday I started Weight Watchers Online. In these first five days I’ve been doing well sticking to the plan, tracking the food I eat and staying within my points range - even though I am slightly horrified that I haven’t already dropped two dress sizes. Ha! Seriously though, I don’t have high expectations, I just hope to trim down a little and feel better about myself by the wedding, and hopefully, beyond.

I am so lucky to have such a supportive husband and supportive co-workers! Dave is so open to trying new Weight Watchers recipes and has also been helpful at eating all of the unhealthy food in the house so I’m not tempted to eat it. And my co-workers have offered to walk with me at lunch and bring healthier snack foods. I feel like I’m in a good place.

So, I’m committed for the next three months to stick to the Weight Watchers plan. Here’s to a healthier, happier (and better-looking bridesmaid) me!

Christmas Vacation

Sorry for the lack of updates during the holidays, but I was busy having a good time with Dave, friends and my extended family! So, here’s the holiday catch-up:

For the very first time, Dave and I decided to spend Christmas Eve and morning together with no other family or friends. We have spent the last three years going between my parents’ house and his parents’ house and there was barely any time for us to spend as a family starting new traditions together. This year it was very important to us to spend time together as a couple, deciding what is important to us and starting new traditions for our family. Besides, who knows how long it will be until our focus for Christmas will shift to kids!

We took a short day trip to Estes Park do to some last minute shopping and drive through Rocky Mountain National Park (to see some snow since it hadn’t snowed where we live). It was a lot of fun and a was also a nice little getaway for us!

That night we went to church, went out to dinner and then went to look at Christmas lights all over the city. We came home, lit a fire and watched a movie and went to bed (after we filled each other’s stockings!). It was a great, relaxing evening and Dave and I were so glad that we got to spend that time together!

Christmas morning we slept in (hooray!), looked in our stockings and opened gifts from one another. We cooked breakfast together and enjoyed hanging out doing nothing for a while. It was a great morning!

We spent the rest of the weekend celebrating Christmas with Dave’s parents. After that we headed to the mountains with my family to celebrate the holiday, spend time with my parents, siblings, aunt and uncle and especially to spend some time with my brother, Curtis, before his wedding in April. We went tubing and skiing, all hung out together in the hotel getting to know each other batter and had a great time!

All in all it was a great vacation for us and we really enjoyed being able to spend some quality time together and with our extended families. I hope you all had a great holiday season as well!

Happy New Year!

Happy 2011! I hope you all had a great time ringing in the new year with friends and family!

We had a really fun night celebrating with my siblings and their significant others (minus Kelly who went to a wedding - we sure missed her!). Me, Dave, Curtis, Daché, Erin and Zach headed to downtown Denver to spend some quality time together and ring in the New Year!

We started out by having dinner at P.F. Chang - which turns out to be a favorite for all of us! We enjoyed being able to chat and to get to know one another better.

After dinner we headed to the Cheesecake Factory to pick up some yummy cheesecake to take home. We then headed outside to catch the 9:00 downtown fireworks in the -5 degree cold. Yes, -5 degrees. It was COLD! But worth it for the fireworks! I tried to take a few pictures of the fireworks but since it was so cold my hands were shaking and the pictures aren’t that great. Sorry!

After the trek to the Light rail station and the ride home we got into our pajamas and watched Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve until after midnight. Did you see New Kids On The Block perform? Ah! It brought back so many memories! It was definitely my favorite performance of the night. My family thinks I’m crazy since I sang along with all of the words, but that’s ok with me.

We rang in 2011 with champagne and sparkling white grape juice and festive party hats and leis and noisemakers. Some people fell asleep before midnight... eh hem, Curt and Daché… but that’s ok, we forgive them because they live in Texas.

I hope you had a great New Year’s Eve and I hope that God blesses you all in 2011. Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas Eve Day!

To continue on the video theme...

This may be one of the cutest and most creative things I've seen retelling the Christmas Story. So on this Christmas Eve day enjoy this video and remember why we are celebrating this week. Merry Christmas!

Digital Christmas

I saw this fun video on You Tube telling the Christmas Story in a fun and social 21st century way. Enjoy!