It's Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! I enjoyed my gifts, but am even more thankful for my supportive husband, wonderful kids and precious granddaughter! I am very blessed by a wonderful family, my health, my career and many friends. Thanks everyone for being there for me.

I started the morning off by making cinnamon rolls for the family and going to church. Sorry family, the presents will have to wait! They were patiently waiting for me when I returned. We all got gifts we wanted and everyone seems happy. I hope you enjoy my pictures...

My Keurig coffee brewer! I have been wanting one for a long time! And I've got plenty of K-cups stocked up! My favorite is pumpkin spice!

Me and my beautiful girls!

Whitney and my granddaughter, Phoenix!

We don't have a fireplace, but this made a nice substitute.

Our Christmas brunch spread....lots of goodies!

Whitney

more pictures of the baby!

Cousins....

Me and my sis!

cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning

Now that the presents are opened, we will play with our toys a while then go out to eat Chinese food.

I hope you have a very Merry Christmas and are surrounded by those you love on this special day.

Christmas Eve- Eve 2011

It's the day before Christmas Eve, so I guess I'll call it Christmas Eve Eve. My shopping is done and all I have left to do is cook for our family party tomorrow. I'm making pumpkin muffins, fudge, sausage balls, pigs in a blanket, mango salsa with pita chips and turkey roll up sandwiches. I'm currently home alone, listening to Christmas music and baking. I'm not sure why but I got a little excited about having the house to myself for a few hours. But I did!

I made it back to the gym this week and its a good thing. All the office treats and the sweets I'll be surrounded with for the next few days, will be tempting. It amazes me how GREAT I feel after working out. That alone should be enough motivation for me to stay on track. I'm looking for a way to remind myself about that! I did install an app for my phone that reminds me about my scheduled workouts. So far, its working.

The first workout was a little tough, since I've taken several weeks off. It was tough but I did it. I'm glad I'm back in the swing of things. I'm looking to make 2012 a great year!

2011 is coming to a close

It's hard to believe that the year is almost over. This time of year always has me thinking about goals for the next year. I'm proud of myself that for most of 2011, I stayed on track for my fitness and health goals. I've had a few setbacks, but overall I have continued to push myself to healthy living.

My goals for 2012 are similar to those for this year. I want to continue running and complete longer races than a 5k. I am thinking about a 10k or 15k. I've been searching my area for races and hope to sign up for one soon.

I also want to stick to my healthy eating plan for next year. I am working on eating as much unprocessed foods as possible and continue trying organic foods. I am trying to keep my cholesterol and blood pressure in the normal levels and will be mindful of these things.

Finally, I want to work on the family/work balance. Sometimes work consumes me and even though I enjoy my job, I hope to spend more time with my family.

Have a Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone!

It's a white Christmas in Tennessee. Kind of. Actually it looks like just a dusting of snow. But its the first white Christmas since 1993, so that is kind of cool. Here is a picture taken from my front door.

I got up and made my traditional cinnamon rolls and coffee before opening our gifts.

I got some new coffee mugs from my mom last night. They are really nice! They are glass mugs tinted blue.

Here are a few gifts I received:




My daughter, Jan'a got me these wine glasses but informed me if I didn't like them, she would take them back. Sorry! I love them!



My sister gave me these candleholders. Love them!

John gave me an espresso maker! Nice! Now I just have to learn how to use it.

PS3 game for me!

Another PS3 game and the PS3 Move! Alright!

Here is a great gift I got from my sister in law.

Timex training watch. I love it! Its so much more feminine than my current training watch.

Here is the note my sister in law included with my gift. She says I inspire her! What a sweet thing to say!

Now the family is having fun playing their video games while I "play" on the computer. We are planning on being lazy today and play with our toys and maybe go have chinese food later today....(remember the ending of the movie The Christmas Story...)

Here is a gift my husband seems pretty proud of...

Here is the best Christmas present of all....

Tiger

I hope you have a Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve!

Christmas is in the air! The presents have been bought and wrapped. Goodies have been made. And tonight is our family Christmas party! We get together with my parents and my sister and her family to exchange gifts and share a meal. The meal will not consist of much healthy food, unless I provide it. So, my plan today is to a) exercise this morning, b) eat healthy at home before going to the party, and c) remember to eat smaller portions at the party and to choose 1 or 2 desserts instead of sampling them all. Wish me luck!

Here are some pictures of my home with my Christmas decorations:

My Christmas card collection

Our Christmas tree

My daughter and I baked goodies last night. We made several different kinds of cookies, fudge, chess squares and chocolate nut clusters.

chess squares!

lots of sugar cookes to decorate

Its going to be hard sticking to my healthy eating the next few days! You see, I have a sweet tooth and it is very hard for me to resist all the goodies! Yesterday I did a Taebo workout. No one can work me out like Billy can. I feel so powerful after punching and kicking. So what will it be today....treadmill, 5k training, and exercise bike? That sounds good to me!

Happy Holidays to you! I hope you weren't on the naughty list!

Fun with my girls

I took my daughters out for a shopping day. We began with breakfast from IHOP. I opted for one of the healthy breakfast choices even though I am sure something else would have tasted better. It wasn't bad for around 400 calories. As you see from the picture below, Jan'a did not choose a healthy breakfast!

After breakfast, we headed to the mall for shopping. I managed to get a few Christmas gifts, in addition to some things for my kids. Whitney needed a new coat and I think she loves it!

We had fun in the mall. We even had our pictures made in one of those booths!

I was exhausted after all the shopping we did. So when I got home I decided to relax a little while before hitting the exercise room! It's been a good day! I love spending time with my girls!

Family Fun

Tonight my sister, my youngest daughter, Whitney and I took my mom out for a night of fun. This is a tradition we started a few years ago. My sister and I like to take my mom out on at least one fun activity around Christmas. She enjoys it very much. We went to the Opryland Hotel in Nashville to see the Christmas lights. It was a sight to see!

They also have a full size nativity scene by their main entrance with a narrator.
We also took a river boat ride inside the hotel. It was a lot of fun and we got our picture made.

There was also a magnificent water fountain show with lights and set to music. It was just beautiful.

After leaving the hotel, we went out to eat dinner at Longhorn for steaks. Yummy! I also had a peach sangria. For dinner, I ordered a filet stuffed with crab and spinach with a baked sweet potato and a salad. It was wonderful! But I will have a date with the treadmill in the morning.

More family plans tomorrow. I am spending the day with my beautiful daughters. Girls day out!  I love being on vacation! (have I said that already?)

Spending time with family...Priceless!

Our family had a holiday party last night at my cousin's house and it was a blast! My mom was a little shocked that I didn't bring a "healthy" dish though. She thinks I'm too obsessive over the healthy eating stuff. I made some fudge and added some store bought cookies and cupcakes to my platter. I worked out on the treadmill before the party hoping this would prevent me from overindulging in the sweets. There were a lot of sweets to choose from but also more savory items also. My favorite was the tortilla soup. That has got to be my favorite soup in the world! Yummy! I also had a few glasses of chardonnay. mmmmm! I am hoping pictures will be shared soon since I didn't take any pictures myself.

Today will be a busy day as well. Today is the day my sister and I will take our mother out for a day of fun! I will take pictures today.

I'm definitely enjoying my vacation. I love spending time with my family.