A day in pictures!

We had a GREAT, AMAZING, BEAUTIFUL, WONDERFUL DAY! Full of healthy hiking, lunch with an old friend, a visit with Lely's AWESOME Aunt & Uncle and it will end with a relaxing evening on the couch with great friends! I can't think of a better way to start what is going to be a GREAT, AMAZING, BEAUTIFUL, WONDERFUL YEAR!

Happy New Year to you and yours!

Enchanted Rock

Janna not there

Now I am

At the top

Giving Anika a boost, after we stopped laughing hysterically!

We might have chosen the wrong way to go down :(

Fredericksburg

Lely's Aunt & Uncle's place

The Girls

My new friend I picked up in F'Berg

A great way to spend NYE

These are DANGEROUS! Glad there is no Trader Joe's nearby!

There might have been...

It has been another great day in Jannaland! It started bright and early (at least vacation early :)) with another trip to the gym. We went to take a lift class but it was insane packed and it looked like a little more than I was willing to try today.

So we came back home, grabbed our ipods and headed out to do some cardio. First though we took a 15 minute class called Amp'd Abs...I might NOT be able to move tomorrow! When we pulled into the parking lot I told Anika I wanted Starbucks but the only way I could have it was if I hit 500 calories burned. So I had a lot of calories to take care of on that elliptical if I wanted to partake in the goodness known as Starbucks!

I sweated my rear off for 40+ minutes but I hit it! 500 calories burned, lots of sweat and a nice stretch session at the end!


When we got back to my place our friend Lely was here from Houston! YEAH! Girl time! After we spend some time catching up and showering we headed out the door and went on a touristy trip around Austin. But not before we stopped off and had lunch at Zoes Kitchen :)

Some pictures from along the way:

From the tu campus:)

Yes that is the tower on campus, yes I was there, yes it was pretty...YES I am still an Aggie!

Beautiful Flower

Cool quote from the Barbara Jordan Memorial

From underneath the Tree

The view of the tree...check out the full moon through the tree lights!

And the verdict on our first attempt with the Bullet...Chef Anika made us Tzatziki! IT WAS AWESOME and she gives the bullet two thumbs up!

The three of us jumped in and made a GREAT dinner tonight. Tons of Veggies! We got brussel sprouts and Leslie prepared them to bake. While Anika made the Tzatziki, I made turkey stir fry and then we all converged to enjoy our loot! Now we are full and happy!

The three of us are sitting on the couch watching Julie & Julia...tomorrow we are headed to Enchanted Rock! It will be SO MUCH FUN! And it is supposed to be a beautiful day tomorrow!

One more thing to note: The three of us "former fat girls" signed up to do the Resolution Run 5K on New Year's Day! WE ROCK!

Hope you had a great day!

I got my sweat on!

It has been a productive/lazy day! Is that possible? YES!

Here is how it went:

Chiropractor Appointment

First Pilates Class EVER (and I really enjoyed it)

Home to Change

2nd WW meeting of the week so that Anika and Jamie could meet :)

Grocery shopping (where lots of veggies and healthy food items were purchased!)

Turkey and Veggie "stir fry" for lunch-YUMMY!

Lounging on the couch catching up on blogs, facebook, twitter and some tv!

Spin Class (THANK YOU 566 Calories) <--This is where I got my SWEAT ON!

Home to shower and change

Found a cool restaurant to try

after dinner we are heading to an unknown movie (anika's choice!)

So this Spin Class...it was fun! AND SO VERY VERY HARD! I wanted it to be over about 8 minutes in, but I just kept giving myself goal after goal to reach and I just kept peddling my little heart out. All the while thinking about how far I have come, how far I slipped back, how far I still have to go. And it hit me...my goal for the next couple of days, before the clock strikes 12 midnight on Thursday is this...I need to LET THIS CRAP GO!

2010 is a NEW YEAR and I need to move forward and STOP looking backwards! That is a product of both WW meetings and a lot of self reflection. I need to get over it...what's done is done and the only way I can get back there is to work my tail off and just DO IT!

So there you go...spinning therapy!

Off to dinner and the movies!

Update: Dinner was a YUMMY, had a spicy thai dinner...all VERY healthy! And all washed down with about 15 glasses of iced tea! (That is one way to wash the extra sodium right out)

Tom-Yum (Chicken)- Thai spicy and tangy broth flavored with lemongrass, limejuice, Thai chilies, onions, tomatoes and fresh mushrooms. Topped with green onions and cilantro.

Som Tum (Papaya Salad)- Shredded green papaya seasoned with limejuice, fresh Thai peppers, palm sugar, fish sauce, tomatoes and garlic, topped with roasted peanuts.

Movie: It's Complicated! Two thumbs up...very funny!

Magic Bullet and Anika!

Today has been a productive and fun day! I got some errands knocked off the list and while I was at it grabbed a couple of late Christmas gifts!

First there was a trip to Bed Bath & Beyond for this:

Merry Christmas to me via a gift card and a handy 20% off coupon!

While I was out there was a trip to Kohl's, the bank, the post office and back to Bed Bath & Beyond to get credit for the coupon that I left at home!

While I was at the post office I got to pick up my gift from the giveaway that Rebecca hosted! Thanks again Rebecca!

So I headed to the Airport to pick up some precious cargo! Anika is FINALLY here! For those who don't know...Anika is my friend from Boston whom I met on the WW message boards a couple of years ago. She is also from Atlanta 3-Day fame! We are going to have SO much fun! We already have big plans for tomorrow which include:

• A 10:30 Pilates Class at my gym
• A 12:15 WW meeting (so she can meet my leader)
• Retail Therapy
• Maybe a movie (since it will be SO cold here tomorrow, winter storm warning and all :))
• Maybe a spin class at 5:45, so that we get our cardio in
• And then after that we will have to play it by ear!

Once she got off the plane we did some window shopping. We went to Starbucks to grab my weekly drink to take to my meeting. Then went to my normal WW meeting so that I could see Amy and give her her Christmas gift!

I was up 2 pounds this week and you know what? I am TOTALLY OK WITH THAT! A visit with my great friend, lots of dinners out, Christmas, family stress and all I have is a +2...I earned it and I will move on!

My leader wasn't there today which is why we are going back tomorrow :) Then we went and had dinner at Zoes Kitchen! I knocked another thing off the list...the spinach roll up. DIVINE! And of course for good measure, hummus! :) Anika got the greek salad and she seemed pleased!

Now we are at home tucked in nice and warm watching some football and catching up. Too bad we didn't get to watch my Aggies win. Instead we fast forwarded through the game to see the score run up. Oh well! Maybe next year!

Tomorrow I want to share with you what we went over in the meeting tonight! But for now I want to spend some time with my friend!

How was your day?

A new and healthy find!

Looking around for what might be an option for dinner tonight I ran across these coupons that I had sitting on the table for this new restaurant call Zoe's Kitchen that had opened up down the street. I am SO glad that we went to check it out because IT WAS PHENOMENAL!

From their website philosophy:

Recipes derived from fresh ingredients such as vegetables, chicken, olive oil and feta cheese along with moderating consumption is Zoe's philosophy on nutrition. As with all Mediterranean diets, the basic building blocks are fresh vegetables, cheeses, olive oils along with produce and fish. All of the recipes at Zoe's Kitchen start with fresh ingredients each morning and if consumed with moderation would constitute a well balanced diet. We look forward to serving you again soon!

Every thing on the menu looked so good, it was VERY hard to choose! Keeping in mind that my WI is tomorrow I decided to go light! Not that much on their menu wasn't light! I had a greek salad light on the dressing and some hummus. The hummus...they make daily! My dinner companion got the steak roll up and the basil pasta salad...AMAZING!

Because of the coupons...my dinner was $5. That is right...$5 and I got a nifty Zoe's Sports Cup that I can take back and refill with the yummy Hibiscus Green Tea!

Anika will be here tomorrow and I see some visits in our future! Our healthy eating future! :)

So I like lists...so here is a list off the menu of what I am going to try on upcoming visits:

• MEDITERRANEAN TUNA PITA
• SPINACH ROLL UPS
• CHICKEN KABOBS
• GREEK CHICKEN MA RINARA
• PASTA SALAD WITH FRESH BASIL
• THE TOSSED GREEK

So happy with our choice to go check it out! Looking forward to going back!

Did I mention that Anika will be here tomorrow and I am SO very happy! I pick her up from the airport and then we will head to my Weight Watchers meeting where I will get to see Amy! Marissa is in Houston for the holidays, so I won't get to see her...but it will be good to get back into the swing of things! That and enjoy what will probably be the last "quiet" meeting for awhile! All the folks with New Year's resolutions will be in and there will be an all new fresh exciting feel for awhile until it thins out again!

Hope your holidays were GREAT!

Jules does Austin!

I hope Jules had a great time when she came to Austin. The holidays are such a busy time and we tried to fit in as much as we could! Here are some of the picture highlights of her visit:

SUSHI!

There might have been a trip or two to Amy's Ice Cream

It might have been a wee bit cold outside!

Family Christmas # 1 (some of my favorite people all around one table)

Jules & Lely

A visit to the Capitol

Cute Cookie Jar

Mt Bonnell

Armadillo Bazaar

Trip to the Salt Lick!

We really did do a lot and I know I had a great time! It was so fun to have her here! I can't wait until the next time...maybe a trip to Cleveland is in the future??

Thanks for making it a GREAT weekend Jules! And thanks to Lely and Kathy for coming up to join us!

SHE IS HERE!

Today is a GREAT day! My friend Jules is FINALLY here! You haven't seen two girls get so excited! My heart is happy that she is here and I can't wait to show her Austin and spend some quality girl time!

It has been a great week! I have held VERY strong and not had one single bite of any of the treats that have come into the office! I am really really proud of myself! Just one more day and I know I can do it!

There are just mere hours in between me and my two weeks off! I am looking very forward to it! Tomorrow will be a fun day at work. At lunch we have a potluck and our friends and family can come up. After lunch Secret Santa's will be revealed and then our last day of the wheel and then we ARE OFF!

On top of Jules coming to town, I got the GREATEST surprise at work today. LuAnn showed up with this BEAUTIFUL tree! Isn't it the most beautiful thing? The magnolia leaves, the moss :), the ornaments...it is just breath taking! I can't believe it is for me! THANKS LU! (I will post more pictures later...you have to see it from other angles...it is AWESOME!!)

And to top off a great day...SUSHI ZUSHI! It was A M A Z I N G!

Off to sleep, must rest up for the Reindeer Games!

3.2 and other random thoughts!

I had my weigh in today...another 3.2 bites the dust! I am so glad to finally feel back in control again! We had a really small meeting this week. Only 5 of us showed up! I know it is the time of year, but I have to say I miss the meetings where more people show up! Remind me of this come January 1st! :)

As far as all the holiday gatherings, I seem to be doing just fine. I go in with a plan and execute it. My one plan for work is to not partake in any of the goodies that come in from other co-workers and vendors. It just isn't worth it! I won't skip any outings with the friends or family though, I will just be prepared ahead of time!

This week at work is our annual Secret Santa...I love this! It is fun to buy gifts for someone and get gifts from someone. I also love watching everyone get so excited about doing it...today my secret santa brought me a muffin from Starbucks and a gift card. I skipped the muffin (but appreciated it) and I can't WAIT to use the gift card :)

Did I mention that I have 4 more work days in 2009? I am looking SO forward to having the time off. Why? For sanity sake and because I have 4 maybe 5 great friends coming to visit! Can you say FUN?

More random things:

• 3 more sleeps and Jules will be here!!
• Being the single one without kids in the family stinks! Waiting around for everyone to make your plans isn't that much fun! (sorry dad)
• A few of us are going to have a Christmas Lunch on Christmas day...it will be fun to have a drama free lunch with some friends that don't have any family in town. AND my friend Sam is coming in from Houston to hang out!
• I have decided that I have to have one of these!

Lauren has one and it came in handy in Colorado to take fun group pictures! I need more group pictures!

• Tomorrow I think everyone should take a moment and think about my friend Jane and her mom while they go through a procedure that I hope will help! Many thanks in advance!
• Big shout out to my girl Anika for donating her beautiful mane to help give women with cancer hair for wigs. That is such a selfless thing to do! YOU ROCK!!
• And last random thought of the day! My girl Danielle ran her first marathon this weekend and I couldn't be more proud of her! What an amazing accomplishment! DANI...you ROCK!!

So there you have it...hope you could keep up with my crazy thoughts!

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart. Wishing you happiness.
-- Helen Keller

Comfort!

Even though I haven't been feeling all that well lately I am so glad that I pushed that aside and made the trip out to Comfort, Texas with LuAnn and Autumn!

We went out there to have a girl's Christmas lunch and to check out Autumn's wedding venue! It was such a GREAT day! First the weather was FANTASTIC, but even better was the company!

We had a great lunch out at her venue complete with yummy sweet potato fries! Thanks for sharing Lu! It was ABSOLUTELY beautiful out there!

Here are some of the pictures from the great day!

Thanks for a wonderful day ladies!! I can't wait for Autumn's big day! It is going to be AMAZING!

• Tomorrow is WI day and I am looking forward to it!
• 5 more working days in 2009.
• 4 more sleeps until Jules is here!