I was going to post about this on Friday, but I've started a new blog that goes along with this, so join me for a little bit of tooting my own horn.
So back in Nov. my doctor recommended that I lose some weight, and I was like, well duh. So I threw myself a pity party for 2 months, then got over it. And on Jan. 2nd I joined a group of ladies to try and lose 10lbs in 6 weeks. I got serious about exercise & eating. Started using myfitnessplan.com (thanks Jenny!) to manage what I was eating. I've started eating better & drinking loads of water (even though I hate water.)
Friday is the end of the challenge, and if you scroll down to the bottom of my blog, not only have I already lost 10lbs, I've actually lost 18lbs! Yay me! I've still got a ways to go though...
Which is why I've started a new blog 10in6.blogspot.com. My last group has kind of fizzled and nobody really participates anymore. While I'm going to try and continue over there, I'm looking for a new group to help motivate one another to live a healthier life style. Would you like to join me? I'd love to have you! We're starting Monday. Even if you're not looking to lose 10 lbs or more, but you just want to maintain, we could use your support. So come on over!
10 February 2009
09 February 2009
Photo Tag
This is the 6th photo in the 6th folder in My Pictures. Ironically, its a picture of Susan (and Sariah) who tagged me.
If you subtract the files with photos from others, then you get this picture which was taken almost a year ago (2/16/2008) of Sariah helping do the dishes. Something she still likes to do, when she's not on an eatting strike like she is now.
*ahem* TAG!!!! *runs away madly...*
08 February 2009
Snow Day
Yesterday was the warmest day its been here in a long time (45, mmm warm...) and since the snow started melting, it was the perfect consitancy for snowman snow...
I tried to get a picture of Sariah next to our snowman, but she kept running away. She wanted to play in the snow herself.
BTW, Sariah did have gloves on at the beginning, but she took them off when they got really wet. I'm a good parent, I promise!
I pulled out the snow shovels for a bit to clear off some melting ice, but Sariah's idea of helping is to put the snow from the lawn back on the driveway. Its not really that helpful.
Okay, I did get this picture, but I had to hold Sariah and the camera. Actually I think this was suppose to be a pic of all 3 of us...
I tried to get a picture of Sariah next to our snowman, but she kept running away. She wanted to play in the snow herself.
BTW, Sariah did have gloves on at the beginning, but she took them off when they got really wet. I'm a good parent, I promise!
I pulled out the snow shovels for a bit to clear off some melting ice, but Sariah's idea of helping is to put the snow from the lawn back on the driveway. Its not really that helpful.
Okay, I did get this picture, but I had to hold Sariah and the camera. Actually I think this was suppose to be a pic of all 3 of us...
After all the playing in the snow, we took a walk around the block, which turned out to be a mistake since snow melts into water & water collects at the bottom of sidewalks & driveways. Needless to say, our shoes & socks were quite wet, but we had fun (I only wore a sweatshirt & a long sleeved shirt, it was heavenly.) I'd like more of this please!
07 February 2009
My Mom & Me in NYC: Monday
Sorry for the delay, Doug and I came down with the stomach flu on Wed night, and we're just getting back on our feet. And now, our final installment...
Monday morning was basically just a get up and get to the airport kind of day. We were blessed with good weather, which was nice because they were getting a snow storm that night, and we were missing it. I had a direct flight back to Madison (awesome.) We flew right over Manhattan and even though it was kinda hazy I tried to take some pictures of where we had been. I think they came out okay.
It was a non-eventful flight, but it was a wonderful trip. I'm so glad we went, and I feel so much better now after a little break from home! 
I got Sariah these awesome wooden puzzles at FAO Schwarz.
These are my souvenirs, a blank book and pencil/marker case I got at the Disney store & a I heart NY key chain.
Just some postcards I sent Sariah and Doug while I was away.
All the different cards and things I got from the places we visited/restaurants we ate at.
Monday morning was basically just a get up and get to the airport kind of day. We were blessed with good weather, which was nice because they were getting a snow storm that night, and we were missing it. I had a direct flight back to Madison (awesome.) We flew right over Manhattan and even though it was kinda hazy I tried to take some pictures of where we had been. I think they came out okay.
It was a non-eventful flight, but it was a wonderful trip. I'm so glad we went, and I feel so much better now after a little break from home! Finally, here are some pics of the souvenirs I picked up for my family...
First, I got Doug this hat because he likes a warm head.
I got Sariah these awesome wooden puzzles at FAO Schwarz.
These are my souvenirs, a blank book and pencil/marker case I got at the Disney store & a I heart NY key chain.
Just some postcards I sent Sariah and Doug while I was away.
All the different cards and things I got from the places we visited/restaurants we ate at.
Once again I just want to say how lucky I was to go on this trip with my mom. I'm blessed with a wonderful husband that allowed me some spontaneity to take a random trip, to take my mom with me, and to stay home from work for 2 days and watch Sariah. Doug rocks. So if you ever get the urge to "get away" and head to NY, let me know, I've got some great recommendations!
04 February 2009
My Mom & Me in NYC: Sunday
Sunday morning we slept in, which was much needed after the many miles we had walked the day before. After a relaxing morning we took the subway down to the financial district. (side note: the U-bahn in Munich never really bothered me, but the subways in NYC make me claustrophobic, go figure.) We walked over to ground zero, which honestly if you were naive about what had happened on 9/11, you'd think it was just a giant construction site. There's a visitor's center across the street that does guided tours around the site, so we decided to do that.
This is a plane window they found at ground zero, I think its really chilling...
There's a firehouse directly across from ground zero, this is the memorial to the 6 firefighters that died from that house.
The lady in the white scarf & the gentleman in the baseball cap were the couple that did our tour. Tours are guided by survivors from 9/11 or people that lost love ones that day. This wonderful couple lost their son, Christopher, who was a firefighter at the house on 8th & 47th streets. At first it must seem like a really hard thing for these two to do, to re-live this tragedy, but I think they really just wanted to tell their son's story & to honor his life and what a great man he was. I know it was an honor to hear about their experiences.
This is the memorial for all the fallen firefighters on the side of the firehouse. It was donated because there was a man in one of the towers who was in one of the law offices & when it happened he rushed down to the fire house & told them he was a fire fighter from another town & offered his services. He later died that day. This memorial depicts what the firefighters saw that day & has all the names of the firefighters that died.
A picture of ground zero.
The staircase you see is called "the survivor staircase." The tower plaza was on a platform raised above street level, & the only way one could get down to the street and away from the buildings was to go down this staircase. Its now to be part of the memorial they're building there.
This is the memorial for the 11 people that worked for American Express in tower 1. When they rebuilt this building for AE, they added this memorial to remember these people. Its called the 11 tear drops because water drips from the ceiling like tears on each of the 11 sides of the pool of water.
I really appreciated the tour, it was one of the best things we did all weekend.
Mom & I on the trip there.
The Statue of Liberty
Me on the way back. When the ferry docks, you have to get off, but its pretty easy to walk around and get right back on. On the way back we went one level up and sat outside. It was only 43 degrees outside, but it still felt nice & warm (compared to here, its practically hot!)
I turned around and got this shot as the sun set, pretty sweet, huh?
After the ferry we took the subway back up to Broadway, picked up some last minute souvenirs, and took these pictures in front of the Ed Sullivan Theater. If we had been there on a weekday, we probably would've tried to get tickets to Letterman or Good Morning America...
At this point it was really only 6:30pm, but I was hobbling around like an old lady with broken ankles, so we got some take out Chinese (really good take out Chinese!) and went back to the hotel to watch the Super Bowl & get ready to leave the next day. :)
This is a plane window they found at ground zero, I think its really chilling...
There's a firehouse directly across from ground zero, this is the memorial to the 6 firefighters that died from that house.
The lady in the white scarf & the gentleman in the baseball cap were the couple that did our tour. Tours are guided by survivors from 9/11 or people that lost love ones that day. This wonderful couple lost their son, Christopher, who was a firefighter at the house on 8th & 47th streets. At first it must seem like a really hard thing for these two to do, to re-live this tragedy, but I think they really just wanted to tell their son's story & to honor his life and what a great man he was. I know it was an honor to hear about their experiences.
This is the memorial for all the fallen firefighters on the side of the firehouse. It was donated because there was a man in one of the towers who was in one of the law offices & when it happened he rushed down to the fire house & told them he was a fire fighter from another town & offered his services. He later died that day. This memorial depicts what the firefighters saw that day & has all the names of the firefighters that died.
A picture of ground zero.
The staircase you see is called "the survivor staircase." The tower plaza was on a platform raised above street level, & the only way one could get down to the street and away from the buildings was to go down this staircase. Its now to be part of the memorial they're building there.
This is the memorial for the 11 people that worked for American Express in tower 1. When they rebuilt this building for AE, they added this memorial to remember these people. Its called the 11 tear drops because water drips from the ceiling like tears on each of the 11 sides of the pool of water.
I really appreciated the tour, it was one of the best things we did all weekend. We had lunch at a place in the World Financial Buildings, then we walked outside and down Battery Park to the Statten Island Ferry. If you're in NYC and want to get on the water to see the Statue of Liberty, I highly recommend the Statten Island Ferry. First off, its free, which is a bonus. Then its a 25 min. ride across the water and it takes you right by Ellis Island & the Statue of Liberty. I took a ton of pictures off the ferry, here are just a couple.
Mom & I on the trip there.
The Statue of Liberty
Me on the way back. When the ferry docks, you have to get off, but its pretty easy to walk around and get right back on. On the way back we went one level up and sat outside. It was only 43 degrees outside, but it still felt nice & warm (compared to here, its practically hot!)
I turned around and got this shot as the sun set, pretty sweet, huh?
After the ferry we took the subway back up to Broadway, picked up some last minute souvenirs, and took these pictures in front of the Ed Sullivan Theater. If we had been there on a weekday, we probably would've tried to get tickets to Letterman or Good Morning America...
At this point it was really only 6:30pm, but I was hobbling around like an old lady with broken ankles, so we got some take out Chinese (really good take out Chinese!) and went back to the hotel to watch the Super Bowl & get ready to leave the next day. :)One more little post & that's all folks!
03 February 2009
My Mom & Me in NYC: Saturday
When your hotel is only 14 blocks away from the Manhattan Temple, it is only logical that part of an awesome NYC trip should include a temple session. So Saturday morning we woke up and walked to catch the 10:15am session. The Temple is in a really neat place. Its a crazy intersection where Broadway meets Columbus meets 64th & 65th streets. Its diagonal from the Lincoln center. Then when you go in, you can't even tell you're in the middle of the city, its so quiet. Seriously Awesome.
After the session, we walked up and ate lunch at Il Violino, a little Italian Restaurant. They had these large windows around the outside that we sat next to and watch the city pass by. The food was amazing! It was seriously the best meal we had all weekend. We highly recommend this restaurant if you're hungry after a session.
After lunch we walked back to the hotel to change clothes. There was a lady selling cookies & breads that we stopped at on the way back, and I bought a really tasty black & white cookies.
In the afternoon we took a stroll through Central Park on our way to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Central park was really cool. Sure it was January and there was snow & ice all round, but it was a really neat walk.
Here's mom outside the museum.
The Met is huge!!! We spent several hours and really only saw half of the upstairs exhibits. We didn't even see what was downstairs. We saw the Love in the Renaissance, impressionist painting (including the Van Gogh's which I was really excited about) and most of the Chinese, Korean & Japanese arts. After all that, we had done a whole lot of walking, and we were pretty sore & tired, so we went down to the cafateria and ate a not really great dinner.
After dinner we decided to head back and stop at the 3 story M&M store on broadway. The best thing there was a T-shirt that had the red M&M dressed as the Phantom "The Candy of the Opera", very cute! Then we hobbled back to the hotel.
Saturday was a great day... :) Stay tuned for our next installment!
After the session, we walked up and ate lunch at Il Violino, a little Italian Restaurant. They had these large windows around the outside that we sat next to and watch the city pass by. The food was amazing! It was seriously the best meal we had all weekend. We highly recommend this restaurant if you're hungry after a session.
After lunch we walked back to the hotel to change clothes. There was a lady selling cookies & breads that we stopped at on the way back, and I bought a really tasty black & white cookies. In the afternoon we took a stroll through Central Park on our way to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Central park was really cool. Sure it was January and there was snow & ice all round, but it was a really neat walk.
Here's mom outside the museum.
The Met is huge!!! We spent several hours and really only saw half of the upstairs exhibits. We didn't even see what was downstairs. We saw the Love in the Renaissance, impressionist painting (including the Van Gogh's which I was really excited about) and most of the Chinese, Korean & Japanese arts. After all that, we had done a whole lot of walking, and we were pretty sore & tired, so we went down to the cafateria and ate a not really great dinner. 
After dinner we decided to head back and stop at the 3 story M&M store on broadway. The best thing there was a T-shirt that had the red M&M dressed as the Phantom "The Candy of the Opera", very cute! Then we hobbled back to the hotel. 
Saturday was a great day... :) Stay tuned for our next installment!
02 February 2009
My Mom & Me in NYC: Friday
Ever ask yourself: Wanna get away? I did, about 3 weeks ago. So I started surfing around the travel sites and realized it was really reasonable to go to New York from here. So then I thought, who could I go to NY with? Thus birthing this idea: my Mom's birthday is at the end of Jan., we could go together for a girls weekend/birthday celebration. So after talking with Doug and Mom, and getting everything together, I now bring you our excellent trip to NY in 4 parts!
Friday: We had to get up before the break of dawn to get on airplanes to fly to NY. I had a nice flight, Mom was delayed at her stop over, but we were both at Laguardia airport by 1pm. We then took a taxi (scary!) to our hotel. The Washington Jefferson on 51st between 8th & 9th. I highly recommend this hotel if you decide to travel to NY. It was walking distance from practically everything we did, it was clean, we each had a twin bed, service was great, and the price is very reasonable for NY. It was truly awesome.
After we checked in we went searching for lunch and finally decided on a resturant called Pigalle, which was probably the worst food we had all trip, I don't really recommend it. After our non-appitizing lunch, we decided to walk around and were happy to find we were really close to broadway and Time Square.
Mom in front of the ABC studios.
Me in front of the abc studios.
The New Years Eve ball.
Time Square is like a big outdoor mall, with evil cars that try and run you over if you get to close. We checked out the Hershey's store & ESPNZone then we walked across 42nd past Bryant Park where we could see the Crystler building in the distance.
We walked back up 5th past Rockafeller plaza.
We stopped in the Disney store there which was neat & finally ended up at FAO Schwarz, the giant 3 story toy store. Inside I bought Sariah some new wooden puzzles. They also had these awesome create your own Muppet (think build a bear, but with muppets.) I really wanted one, but the price tag was $130, definately out of my price range...
When we were done there, it was time to head back to the hotel to change to go to our broadway show. We were going to stop for some dinner, but we weren't really hungry since we had a late lunch. Our musical of choice was of course...
What can I say about Phantom on Broadway? Only that it was seriously cool. We had seen it over 10 years ago when it came through Austin, but this was way awesome. The sets & costumes seems a little fancier, probably because they don't have to tear them down & travel with them. The performers were excellent. It was a great choice.
We stopped on the walk back to the hotel (only 7 blocks or so!) at a Rite aid for some bottled water (NY tap water is seriously nasty) and something to eat the next morning for breakfast since we were getting up early. And thus ends our Friday adventures. Tune in for out next exciting installment!
Friday: We had to get up before the break of dawn to get on airplanes to fly to NY. I had a nice flight, Mom was delayed at her stop over, but we were both at Laguardia airport by 1pm. We then took a taxi (scary!) to our hotel. The Washington Jefferson on 51st between 8th & 9th. I highly recommend this hotel if you decide to travel to NY. It was walking distance from practically everything we did, it was clean, we each had a twin bed, service was great, and the price is very reasonable for NY. It was truly awesome.
After we checked in we went searching for lunch and finally decided on a resturant called Pigalle, which was probably the worst food we had all trip, I don't really recommend it. After our non-appitizing lunch, we decided to walk around and were happy to find we were really close to broadway and Time Square.
Mom in front of the ABC studios.
Me in front of the abc studios.
The New Years Eve ball.
Time Square is like a big outdoor mall, with evil cars that try and run you over if you get to close. We checked out the Hershey's store & ESPNZone then we walked across 42nd past Bryant Park where we could see the Crystler building in the distance.
We walked back up 5th past Rockafeller plaza.
We stopped in the Disney store there which was neat & finally ended up at FAO Schwarz, the giant 3 story toy store. Inside I bought Sariah some new wooden puzzles. They also had these awesome create your own Muppet (think build a bear, but with muppets.) I really wanted one, but the price tag was $130, definately out of my price range...
When we were done there, it was time to head back to the hotel to change to go to our broadway show. We were going to stop for some dinner, but we weren't really hungry since we had a late lunch. Our musical of choice was of course...
What can I say about Phantom on Broadway? Only that it was seriously cool. We had seen it over 10 years ago when it came through Austin, but this was way awesome. The sets & costumes seems a little fancier, probably because they don't have to tear them down & travel with them. The performers were excellent. It was a great choice.We stopped on the walk back to the hotel (only 7 blocks or so!) at a Rite aid for some bottled water (NY tap water is seriously nasty) and something to eat the next morning for breakfast since we were getting up early. And thus ends our Friday adventures. Tune in for out next exciting installment!
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