Goodbye 2011

This year has gone by way too quickly, just as it seems all years do. What I take with me from 2011, are such beautiful memories, ones I will always hold close to my heart.

- I was given the honor of marrying the perfect man, for me. A man that I am so fortunate to have met and get to experience all the joys and difficulties in life with. I could have not found a better match, and I am grateful for him every.single.day.of.my.life.

- With our wedding, came the wonderful opportunity of spending quality time with my loved ones. A lot of it. I can not ask for a better gift than that.

There are many things I am grateful for. Our health, our home, our dogs, our families and our dearest friends. The list could go on, but if you know me, just know that you are truly loved.

While 2011 was filled with many special moments, there are definitely things that I would like to change for 2012. So I am writing them here as my 2012 goals.

1) I want to be healthier. I want to look healthier and I want to feel healthier
2) I want to make exercise fun and something I look forward to most days of the week
3) I want to fix the husband's and my schedules so we are able to spend more time together
4) I want to spend more time with my family members
5) I want to start a family of our own
6) I want to finish the two rooms in our home that we now use as oversized closets
7) I want to take our dogs on more walks
8) I want to swim in our pool every day this summer
9) I want to figure out what I'm suppose to be doing with my nursing career
10) I want to go on a vacation for our 1st anniversary
11) I want to go out more and experience more of what is beyond our home's walls
12) I want to go to Six Flags once
13) I want to go apple picking in the Fall
14) I want to go to a Haunted House
15) I want to continue holiday traditions and start new ones
16) I want to give to a family in need during the holidays
17) I want to do a better job of keeping my house clean all the time
18) I want to plant flowers and make our house pretty from the outside
19) I want to do more with my life, and sleep less
20) I want to be happy

I hope 2011 treated you well and that 2012 treats you better!

Time to Shape it Up

After all the excitement of the wedding, life seems pretty B-O-R-I-N-G right now. There is nothing huge to plan, nothing too exciting to look forward to, and my days seem rather dull. Don't get me wrong, I am happy but life is missing something.

 Maybe it's the beautiful moment captured here.

Or the fact I miss doing this!

So I think it's time to fix that! It's time to make more special moments with the beautiful people I surround myself with. After seeing some of my favorite people all the time, the normal busy schedules of everyone really puts a cramp in my social life!

New Way of Eating 


As I mentioned yesterday, I signed up for Weight Watchers Online. I have been intermittently doing my own calorie counts on websites such as Myfitnesspal and Sparkpeople which are free (nice little perk!) but its apparently just not working for me. Something about those sites leads me to get bored very easily, very fast. Boredom is a good way to set yourself up for failure and I'm done with allowing myself to fail at becoming healthier.

As much as some like to see the different stats in front of them: Calories/Fats/Carbohydrates/ Protein/Fiber/Sugar/Sodium etc, etc. I think it is a little too overwhelming for me because I'm constantly trying to tweak the numbers. So, maybe one specific number- Points, will be a better fit. I know that the numbers shouldn't be the driving force. I want to stay within my target number of calories/points while eating good wholesome nourishing foods. Foods that will give me energy and make me feel better.

So today is a new day to start my plan!

Breakfast

1 whole grain wheat english muffin
2 eggs
1 piece of american cheese

Made into a delicious egg sandwich. I could eat these everyday for breakfast!

Enjoyed with pineapple.

Meal one down...time to conquer the day!

Life Afterwards

The chaos is over, and all things have returned to normal. The man has been spending his days working his buns off, while I've been working and making our house a home.

The summer is coming to a very fast end, the nights cooler and the days shorter. I am embracing the fall as a newly wed and hoping to get a few things crossed off my To Do List!

1. Go Apple Picking

Source

I have been wanting to go apple picking for the past 5 years with my husband before he was my husband. Every year goes by and it never fails that we don't go. For the past two years, we haven't had an excuse, we live right up the road from an apple farm!!! What?!? So, apple picking will happen this year. Baking apple pies, apple crisps, eating apples with peanut butter...those are the things I am looking forward to!

2. Go to a Haunted House

As with apple picking, I have asked to go to a haunted house before Halloween multiple times. I can not explain why we have not yet gone besides crazy different schedules between the two of us. I want to be scared to the point that I almost *ahem* myself. If there are any suggestions out there for the area of Connecticut, let me know!

3. Finish our Sunroom

We have finally changed our bare sunroom with no furniture into a work in progress! I am so excited about what the room is turning into. It will be, by far my favorite room. I love that there is natural light in that room all day long until nighttime.

4. Cook a new recipe at least once a week

As anyone that has been married knows, life gets a little crazy before a wedding, and sometimes it may take a little time to settle back into a routine. Our routine has taken some getting use to since the Mr. has just opened up a new Cheesecake Factory and he has been working nonstop since we got married. It has been mainly me by myself for the majority of the nights I'm not working, so my cooking has been lacking as of lately. I hope to get back into the swing of things and make some fabulous meals!

5. Bake, bake, and bake some more

Remember these, my mouth does!!!

Baking relaxes me, so with the stress of working in the Emergency Department and missing my husband, I think it will do me some good! Plus, who doesn't like to eat sweets once in a while?!?

6. Lose weight, get healthy

I have a habit of always wanting to be the healthiest I can be without putting in the effort. I say what I'm going to do, right down my game plan, follow it for a few days and then whoops, where did the plan go?  So on that note, I'm trying to be more accountable, I'm being open about my weight and body issues with my husband, and I've signed up for WeightWatchers Online. I want to be the person my future kids will look up to. I want to live a long life. I want to be happy.

Not too much to ask, right? I'm sure there are other things that I would add to that list, but for now that will do. I am looking forward to what the fall will bring!

Breaking Habits

Some habits die hard. But some habits need to be broken. I have a few I can think of........

Television. Sleep. Late night snacking after work.

I'm sure you can figure out why I would say television and late night snacking. What about sleeping? Well, I just happen to love it too much. I've noticed that for the past year that my sleep patterns have caused me to in fact feel more tired and have less energy.  They say most healthy adults need 7.5 to 9 hours of sleep per night to function at their best. Well I am well aware that I do indeed get the proper amount of hours needed, and yet I still feel awful. So I have narrowed it down to one BIG reason, not enough physical activity during the day. This does not mean that I sit on my butt all day but there are a ton of things I could do to improve the amount of activity I get. So I guess it is breaking the habit of being inactive more than changing my sleep patterns. They will go together to make me feel better though. So here is the plan.

1. Aim for the suggested 7.5 - 9 hours.
2. Get ready for bed and brush them teeth after getting home from work. I usually get home between 130 and 2 am. I need to learn to just go to bed because I am tired, but my mind is going going going from the night at work.

3. Eat a snack between dinner and when you get out of work. I usually have my break (if we get one) between 530 and 7. That would leave me 5 hours to eat a snack so I'm not starving by the time I get home. Lets work on this.

4. Wake up when my eyes open, not when I think the time is appropriate. My eyes open for a reason, use it. Enjoy the day and it leaves extra time for me to be active throughout the day.

5. Aim to get at least 1 hour of planned exercise on most days. 

6. Stay away from the couch/TV. (This will take some work, since I do love my shows!)

Criminal Minds...Love it!

I believe that these habits will come a little easier now that the dreaded winter is getting farther away and we are now past daylight savings.... more hours of daylight, YES! Which means waking up to sunlight shining in your face, the warmth of the sun on your skin, the budding of flowers, and all that beauty that spring has to offer. I can't wait!

Body Image Vs. Health

All of us have body image issues, whether we are overweight, underweight or in "our perfect weight range." None of us will ever look in the mirror and think that we are the best, because we are our WORST critics. If it's not our butt that looks too big, it's that our hair is too frizzy. You just can't win. But, you can learn to accept yourself the way you are, and make changes physically and psychologically that can make you feel like a BETTER you!

I am reminded every day that I go to work, how blessed I am to be alive and healthy. I may carry some extra pounds that I need to get rid of, but I have my health. If I want to keep it that way, I know I need to lose weight, and I am striving to do that.

At work, I see people in their sickest moments. Most days I am slapped with a reality check, such as the other day.  I was going in to check on my patient, when I saw his wife kissing him, her dying husband, knowing that those were his last few moments. This very emotional experience lingered in my mind for a  few days, as I thought about that person often and couldn't help but picture myself as if I was in their situation. While these experiences make it easier for me to see that I am so grateful for everything in life, some days my body image issues come creeping back in, as if they were the worst thing that could happen. I know that it is not what really matters in life and that's why I need to take a step back to really look at the bigger picture.

Because for me, this is what matters.....

and this.....

and all my family and friends.

This is my year to change how I feel towards myself. To make ME the best ME for my future. To change my negative thoughts into positive ones and to embrace both the good and bad. I will always have body image issues, everyone does. But I can control how much I let it get in the way of a fabulous life, and that's what I'm going to do. LIVE.