In Memory

This past week has been very emotional for me. The world lost a wonderful teacher and mentor this past Sunday and her loss is being felt by everyone I grew up with in my hometown. She was the choir teacher at the high school for 20+ years and she was one of the most beautiful people that I have ever met.

This weekend her students will come together one last time to pay tribute to and say goodbye to this woman who taught all of us how to love music, how to try new things, and that even though we're all different we can come together to make something beautiful. I will never be able to express how much this teacher meant to me. Without her influence I would not have some of the life-long friends that I made when I was a teenager. I would not love music the way I do today. I would not have the confidence in myself that she repeatedly encouraged me to have. She was so loved by everyone that knew her and I truly believe that her death is a reminder from God that we need to cherish life while we're here. This weekend I will be traveling to my hometown to say goodbye and share some time with people that loved her as much as I did and I know that she will be smiling and watching over al of us from above. 

We will miss you Mrs G but you will always have a place in the hearts of all of "your kids"

                            

                                                    Me, Mrs G, and my sister Lauren after a show

5 Down and Vegas Bound

This week was my second weigh-in since I have restarted my Weight Watchers program and I am proud to say that I have lost my first five pounds! I've been working on incorporating more exercise into my everyday activities and I am definitely reaping the benefits. I can definitely tell a difference- I have been sleeping better, I have WAY more energy and I actually am starting to enjoy exercising. I have five more months to lose the other 25 pounds and get to my goal weight and I am excited to see even more changes in myself. I may decide later that I want to lose a little more weight, but for now my goal of thirty pounds seems so reasonable that I'm going to stick with it. Plus, this is the weight that I was when I started dating my husband so I know that it is definitely possible.

In other news, today my darling husband and I booked our trip for our first wedding anniversary. We are heading to Vegas baby! I have never been and we have been talking about going ever since we started dating so we decided that it would be the perfect getaway to celebrate our first year of marriage. The thing I'm most excited about? We are planning on renewing our wedding vows at a drive-through chapel! We decided when we were engaged that we wanted to renew our vows every year on our anniversary in a different place and it seems perfect that our first vow renewal will be in the tackiest place possible(hopefully we will be in the backseat of a cab for this). We had the big fancy wedding- now we just want to have fun and come back with some great memories. I can't wait!

Coffee Mocha Recipe

I have been doing really well with sticking to my weight loss program. I have been using my Weight Watcher points, getting regular exercise, and spending a lot less time sitting on the couch channel surfing :) This morning I really wanted one of those fancy coffee drinks that they sell at Starbucks and other coffee chains, so I made up a WW friendly recipe and it came out pretty darn good!

Coffee Mocha
2 Tbsp nonfat milk
1/2 cup brewed strong coffee
1/8 cups chocolate chips
2 Tbsp processed cocoa
handful of ice cubes
2 Tbsp Splenda

I simply put all of these ingredients into a plastic cup and used my immersion blender to mix them until the concoction was frothy and delicious. It turned out great and didn't cost the usual 4 bucks that it would at a fancy coffee shop. I calculated this recipe to be worth 4 WW PointsPlus.

My Book List

Okay, I think I've finally decided on the list of books that I will read this year! I will keep this list as a reminder, but I may end up substituting some of them for other titles during the course of the year (this is what happens when you come from a family of people who are all as obsessed with reading as you are- you get stacks of free books!).

My List (For Now)
1) "Emma" by Jane Austen (I'm currently reading this so I added it)
2) "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath
3) "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest" by Stieg Larrson
4) "Frida" by Kahlo
5) "Michael Jackson: A Life in Music" by Geoff Brown
6) "I'm Not the New Me" by Wendy McClure
7) "Eight Cousins" by Louisa May Alcott
8) "Planting Dandelions" by Kyran Pittman
9) "Love in the Time of Cholera" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
10) "Why Do Catholics Do That?" by Kevin Orlin Johnson
11) "The Miracle of Saint Anthony" by Adrian Wojnarowski
12) "Lucky Man" by Michael J Fox
13) "The Fallback Plan" by Leigh Stein
This is as far as I have gotten... if anyone has any good books I can add please let me know! :)

2012- The Year of Actually Keeping My Resolutions :)

So every year I make a New Year's resolution. Usually I try to keep them very vague so that I'm not disappointed if I end up breaking them (eat better, walk more, read more, etc.). Not this year though! I have made two resolutions this year that I plan on keeping.

1) Lose thirty pounds by June 4th. This will be my one-year wedding anniversary. I want to be more energetic, have less stress about my clothing not fitting, and just be healthier! On January 1st I joined Weight Watchers online and I am already working towards my goal. I will be weighing in every Sunday morning so I'll update on my successes(or lack thereof).
2) Read twenty-five books. I find myself spending a lot of time staring at the tv and not really getting anything productive out of it. My plan is to make a list of the twenty-five books that I have always wanted to read and then work towards accomplishing this goal. I have the time to read and I should do it now as a stress-reliever instead of wasting time watching reality tv shows. I will make my list some time in the next few days and post it here.

These are my resolutions and I am excited to say at this time next year- goals accomplished!