Week 8: Check In

Pounds Lost this Week:  -2.0

Pounds Lost to Date:  -16.5

Pounds Left to Go:  18.5

2 months.  I’ve been at this for 2 months….doesn’t seem like it. I’m very proud of myself for sticking with the program as long as I have and for my success.  I’m almost halfway to my goal and I have no plans of stopping anytime yet.  I now weigh half a pound less than I was at my 5 week prenatal appointment but not quite at the last recorded weight I have pre-baby (almost).  People at work are definitely noticing and my clothes are not fitting right.  However I don’t want to go buy anything just yet since I could still go down more. 

I don’t think I’ve mentioned this yet, but at the same time that I started WW I also joined a weight loss competition at work.  We just did the first interim weigh-in this week and so far I am in the lead - yaaay!  The winner gets bragging rights a nice fat cash prize!  That prize money would really come in handy in paying for our vacation in September.  I have the worst luck and never win anything; whether it is gambling, raffles or even bingo so I would be psyched to win this competition!  

Friday Favorites: Week 4

For this week's installment of Friday Favorites the prompts are:

• Favorite (or Dream) Job
• Favorite vacation spot
• Favorite Book

Favorite (or Dream) Job:

When I was a kid I always dreamed of being a Marine Biologist.  Every trip to the aquarium or to Sea World would get my mind thinking of how these animals could survive in just water and what exactly makes them work.  In High School I excelled in my biology classes (my dad was a science teacher so science always interested me to begin with) but at some point in high school and when I got to college I decided Marine Biology just wasn’t a feasible career and instead I settled on something more reliable – accounting.   I know, I know, apples and oranges, right?!  I jumped from a science to a math career.   In some ways I think I would have made an excellent Marine Biologist, but at the same time the road getting there would have been much different and I don’t know if I would have had the strength to stick it out...

Now when I take my son to the aquarium I still wonder about the fish and get jealous of the Marine Biologists who are feeding the sea lions.

Favorite Vacation Spot:

My husband and I love Sanibel Island, Florida.  We went there for the first time back in 2003 and we absolutely LOVED it.  For vacations we are very content to just sit on a beach, relax and maybe do a little boating/fishing and easy hiking.  Sanibel was definitely the place for us.  It’s a very small island (12 miles long) with another small island (a 4 mile long island named Captiva) connected at the north end of Sanibel.  There are cute little shops, great restaurants, bike paths, fishing, golf, a wildlife refuge and beautiful beaches.  Sanibel is known for their seashells and if you wake up early enough and stroll out onto the beach you could be lucky enough to find one of the big conch shells that has washed ashore during the night.  When we were there I did some shell picking and used the shells to decorate a picture frame to put picture of the two of us in from the trip. 

We always rent a condo on the beach which works out perfect for us.  We’ve been renting from the same woman every time we go so we know exactly which unit we’re going to be getting and it’s a very beautiful complex.   We have a private beach a few steps away, a screened in porch to relax and watch the sunsets from, a pool & jacuzzi, and our own kitchen to use for breakfast and lunch so that we’re not eating at restaurants for every meal.  It really is like a home away from home when we’re there.  We haven’t been back to Sanibel in quite a few years but we would like to plan a trip back soon with our son so that he can experience our favorite vacation spot.

Here’s a picture from our first trip to Sanibel.  It’s the only one I have scanned in…goes to show you how long ago we went.  I didn’t even have a digital camera back then!  Ahh, we were so thin back then too.  This is our dieting inspiration picture :)

Favorite Book:

I have to kind of cheat on this one.  I don’t have a favorite book at all.  I love to read but I’m horrible at keeping up at it.  I don’t have a favorite author or a favorite book, but I do have a favorite genre.  I tend to gravitate to mystery/suspense novels.  I like Stephen King and Dean Kootz but I also like to read a lot of non-fiction.

Sarcasm City: Admit One

Humor is a good thing.  I have it, use it, love it, but sometimes maybe I use a bit too much sarcasm. But who wants to be boring, right?  As you see by my post titles I like to be witty and use catchy blog titles….gets your attention doesn’t it?    

Whoever said that sarcasm is the lowest form of humor needs to have his head examined, and yes I said his.  It requires quick whit and always gets a laugh.  However, using humor and sarcasm in the written form can be extremely difficult.  Whether it is via email, blog, message board etc. it is hard to express tone and sometimes humor/sarcasm can be misinterpreted.  That’s not going to stop me though.  I like to make people laugh and I'd like to think that people find me humorous (or then again maybe they’re just laughing AT me…haha).

So maybe I use sarcasm and humor because I’m a little bitter...or maybe it’s a defense mechanism...or maybe it’s just because I’m a New Yorker.  But to know me is to love me and to love my sarcasm is to love me even more.  That’s just me :)

This week’s Working Mommy Wednesday prompt over on Work, Wife, Mom….Life! is to write about a personality trait that, for good or bad, is just a part of you.

The Leader of the Pack

For the last few years I have been very much involved in the Working Parents Network (WPN) at my job.  I have sort of unofficially taken on a leadership role so it kind of made sense for me to take over as one of the official leaders as the torch was passed on from the current leaders.  My responsibilities as being one of the co-leaders of the WPN will include attending the monthly meeting that covers all of the professional networks at my company and leading the WPN monthly meeting.  I already attend 1 of the 2 monthly meetings, so what’s one more meeting in my packed calendar, right?! 

The current problem we are facing is that we have a very small core group that attend meetings & plan all the events we run.  When I say small, I mean small…literally 4-6 people.  In total there are about 60 people who are signed up to be a part of the WPN, but none of them come to meetings or get involved.  It is extremely challenging to plan “Take Your Sons & Daughters to Work Day” for 60 children with only 6 people!!   If we don’t get more involvement soon, management could eventually kill our network.   

So one of my goals as the new ‘co-president’, so to speak, is to not drive up membership (that we have) but to drive involvement of the members we have.  I’m wracking my brain for idea on how to get people more engaged.  I realize everyone is very busy at work (I am a perfect example), but if people signed up for this network they must have on some level wanted to get involved in Working Parent Initiatives/Events.

I was thinking of doing a raffle (of what I have no idea yet) at our next WPN meeting to try and get people to show up…but would love to hear your creative ideas/gimmicks to get people more involved. 

So let’s hear ‘em!

Week 7: Check In

Pounds Lost this Week:  -2.5

Pounds Lost to Date:  -14.5

Pounds Left to Go:  20.5

I guess being sick with a stomach virus this week had its benefits…just kidding.  I would have much rather gained weight this week than have dealt with the sickness that went through my house. My appetite was very low this week due to the illness so I can’t take much credit.  My son was sadly the hardest hit (my husband somehow escaped unscathed) so I worked from home 3 days this week to take care of both myself and A. Thankfully we are all on the mend now and after the 3 day weekend it will be back to the office, and reality.

Friday Favorites: Week 3

For this week's installment of the HV Nestie Blog Challenge the prompts are:

• Favorite TV show, or one that is most like your family
• Favorite Store to Shop at
• Favorite Recipe

Favorite TV show, or one that is most like your family:

I wouldn’t say that there is a TV show out there that is most like my family so I’ll go with favorite. (ok, ok, well maybe my extended family is a bit like Everyone Loves Raymond…hehe),

My all time favorite show is LOST.  I know it’s not on the air anymore, but that wasn’t a requirement ;-)   I don’t consider myself a sci-fi person, but I loved this show.  Was it all purgatory? Was it real life? What exactly WAS the Island?    and don't forget the NUMBERS!   4 8 15 16 23 42 

I won’t subject you all to my theories, but it is this open to interpretation aspect of the series that I found most fascinating.  Not to mention there were some really hot guys on it!  One of the best scenes in the entire 6 Seasons is the one where Charlie dies.  Not Penny's Boat!!

 

Favorite Store to Shop at:

 

Well, I guess that depends what I’m shopping for.  I haven’t done much shopping for myself recently, but when I do I usually go to Ann Taylor Loft or Macy’s.  I used to shop at Zara a lot, but since I moved out of the city I haven’t been back in a while.  For my son’s clothing I love Gymboree, Gap Kids & Macy’s.  For general shopping I’m a big Target fan.  Every time I go in there I find stuff.  I also do a lot of my shopping online since it’s so much easier to shop in your pajamas than to fight with crowds & parking.

Favorite Recipe:

So many to choose from…..but I think I’ll go with my hot spinach & artichoke dip.  I make this for almost every party I host.  It’s a huge crowd pleaser and since it’s served hot you can make it the day before and then heat back up in the oven.  (This recipe will be on the recipes page that I’m building and hope to have active soon)  Sorry, no pic of this one.  I'll have to take one the next time I make it.

Spinach Artichoke Dip

Ingredients:

(2) 10 oz. boxes frozen spinach

¼ cup real butter

1 Tbs minced fresh garlic

2 Tbs minced onion

¼ cup flour

1 pint heavy cream

2 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice

½ tsp hot sauce

½ tsp salt

2/3 cup grated fresh Pecorino Romano Cheese

1/3 cup sour cream

½ cup shredded Vermont white cheddar

14 oz jar artichoke hearts – coarsely chopped

Directions:

1. Thaw and squeeze all liquid from spinach; must be very dry.  Mince and set aside.
2. In heavy saucepan, melt butter. Add garlic and onions and sauté about 3-5 minutes
3. Add flour to make a roux.  Stir and cook about 1 minute
4. Slowly add heavy cream, stirring with a whisk to prevent lumping.
5. Mixture will thicken at the boiling point.  When it thickens, add lemon juice, hot sauce, salt and Pecorino Romano cheese.  Stir until cheese is melted.
6. Remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes
7. Stir in sour cream.  Fold in dry spinach and artichoke hearts.
8. Sprinkle white cheddar on top
9. Microwave to melt cheese and serve or can put in a 350°F oven for a few minutes until cheese melts.

Note:  Serve with salsa, sour cream and tortilla chips for dipping.

Options:  you can use fresh spinach instead of frozen if you like.  You can steam the spinach, mince and add or add raw minced spinach and bake at 350°F for 20 minutes.  

My Life in Pictures

This week’s Working Mommy Wednesday prompt over on Work, Wife, Mom….Life! is to “Show us your life! (work, house, family, etc in pictures.)”  What a fun post!!  I have been taking pics over the last week to give you all a little glimpse into my life.  Hope you enjoy!

My Family:  My favorite recent picture of my husband, son and I

Our first “baby””.  We adopted Layla when she was 8 weeks old.  She turns 7 years old next month....and is officially now a "senior" :(

Our Home: It’s small for now, but it’s our little piece of heaven.

Our beautiful new bathroom that we completely renovated this past summer.  I love it!!

 One of my favorite rooms in the house.  We completely redecorated our guest room when I got pregnant.  I am thrilled with how the color block wall came out.

The downstairs playroom area.  This is where we spend most of our time.

our bar!  very useful on stressful nights after work ;-)

My Daily Commute:  I’m so lucky to pass through such a beautiful and historic building every day. Most evenings I'm sprinting across this room to make my train, but on nights like the one when I took this picture I had a few extra moments to linger in the main hall and take in the beauty of Grand Central.

 

My "mini" office where I usually work to/from the city.  a.k.a Metro-North Railroad.

My Job:  Where I spend 8+ hrs/day.  Usually with a big cup of coffee.

My View:  This is the view from my window….and yes, the brick building in the foreground is a Pub.