Five Year Anniversary

Saturday was an exciting day. I got to see some out-of-town family for a little bit and it was my hubby's and my fifth wedding anniversary.

I'll start with the family. They live in Georgia and drove up here to see their mom and grandma (my aunt). While up here, they drove around to see some other family members. I forgot to take pictures when I was there which happens to me quite a bit, but I've been better about it since beginning this blog. Anyway, it was nice to see them and how much the kids have grown. I remember them being so much younger like in the pictures below and not as preteens.

We grilled out for lunch and had hot dogs, hamburgers, potato salad, tuna salad, watermelon, a veggie tray (brought by me to make sure to stay on plan a bit), chips/dip, apple pie, and cake. I forgot to take a picture of my lunch, but I had a small hamburger (no bun, just ketchup and mustard), some potato salad, lots of veggies, and a few bites of pie and cake. I think I did pretty well considering what I normally would have allowed myself to eat.

After lunch I went home to get ready to go out to eat with the hubs for our anniversary. We went to a nice restaurant called Tiebel's. That is where the hubs proposed to me, so I suggested we go there. We agreed to no gifts and just a nice dinner and evening together.

Us five years ago on our wedding day.

Us all dressed up to go out last night.

We both had what we usually get when we go there (which is usually only once or twice a year). He had the lake perch and I had the fried chicken dinner.

I had vegetable soup and a salad with Italian dressing.

I'm so mad at myself now... I thought I had a picture of the fried chicken dinner, but all I found was a picture of the turkey dinner! Well my chicken dinner at least came with the same mashed potatoes. As a side note, I do take the skin/breading off of my fried chicken and just the meat. I did take a couple of bites of the breading last night though...

 After dinner we went home and just relaxed and spent time together. I was half asleep by 9:00, but kinda watched/kinda dozed off through a movie. We both (especially the hubby) like Mystery Science Theater 3000 movies, so we watched one of the best worst ones called Space Mutiny. Mike and the robots have some good lines in that one.

Image Source Page: http://www.griph.net/2010/01/we-put-our-faith-in-blast-hardcheese/

New Year's Eve and My Top Ten from 2011

The one thing that we did special for New Year's was go to Tiebel's for dinner. I exercised portion control tonight, so I am proud of myself for that. Here was tonight's dinner:

I also had a half a cup of peppermint ice cream for dessert and a dinner roll and a few crackers with cheese on them. I saved half of my main dinner and took it home for another meal.

I'm not always big on New Year's resolutions, because often times people expect too much change too soon. Sometimes January isn't when people are ready to do things either. I started my weight loss journey for real this time in the middle of July. All I have to say is that when you are ready to do something, you do it on your own time and don't need a special occasion to do it.


Here's a top ten of things I've accomplished in 2011.

1. I've lost (almost) 30 pounds.
2. I've lost (almost) two pant and shirt sizes.
3. I spent a lot more of my spare time moving around (and/or exercising) instead of watching TV.
4. I've stuck with my weight loss plans, and didn't give up after 10 pounds.
5. I've learned to eat sweets in smaller portions or not at all.
6. I don't crave sweets all the time any more.
7. I can fit in regular clothing sizes again (no more plus sizes!).
8. I don't go on eating binges.
9. I don't use food for stress relief or to deal with emotions.
10. I don't stress out about work as much and let things come as they may.

For 2012 I would like to...

1. Keep working on my weight loss. I might not reach my final goal, but I hope to be halfway close.
2. Develop an exercise plan and do more intentional exercise in addition to all the things I do around the house to keep me moving (and improve the house).
3. Do my shoulder/neck stretches and exercises on a daily basis, so my hands don't hurt and I don't drop things.
4. Spend more time on things that I like such as playing the flute or piano, making jewelry, drawing, or playing video games.
5. Find a church to go to in my town and start going again. I've lived here for a few years now, so there aren't really any excuses left.
6. Spend some more time with friends and not worry about what I should be doing for work or around the house instead.
7. Spend more time on de-stressing such as doing breathing exercises, progressive muscle relaxation, or yoga.
8. Get all of my old pictures scanned, backed up, and shared with family and friends and/or posted on Facebook.
9. Keep on blogging.
10. Enjoy what life throws my way and worry less/stress out less about things.

Food:


Breakfast:

Snack: vanilla cookie stick things that were cheap and tasty


Lunch:

Snacks:

Exercise: walking, cleaning, organizing