Whirlwind Recap

What would Christmas be without a decorated goose?

I know I keep disappearing.  Don't take it too personally.  It seems when I first started blogging I looked at any and all opportunities to find some great "story" to share and now it's about finding the time/energy to share whatever few great "stories" happen my way.  The longer I go without blogging, the more annoyed I get with the prospect of trying to catch up on my blog.  Does that make sense?

So, with that I do a quick recap of events.

Christmas
As some of you know, for 33 years, I have spent Christmas in Chicago.  With the upcoming arrival of the first grandchild to my parents, our family opted out this year because we couldn't stomach the idea of younger sister Linda having the baby without us being around and we also couldn't stomach the idea of spending Christmas sans Linda and Craig.

We all gathered to my parent's house on Christmas Eve and ate too much food and watched Christmas movies.  Older sister Cathy, brother-in-law Jay, and I all decided to stay at my parent's house for the long weekend.

We all gathered again at my parent's house on Christmas Day and ate too much food, watched Christmas movies, and opened up presents from my parents.  Normally we would have exchanged our sibling "Secret Santa" presents, but we decided to wait until New Year's Eve so that brother Eddie and sister-in-law April would be able to join us.



I lost our competition because my door knob was disproportionate to the door and house. But I'm not bitter...oh no. 



The whole line-up - Jay's, mine, my mom's, and Cathy's.  Cathy won.  Whatever.

Linda, Craig, and Coco just a few days before Ethan's arrival.

My cute mom and dad.

Nephew time
My nephew, Ethan Edward, was born on December 28th.  He was a whopping 10 lbs, 4 oz and measured 21" in length.  Linda and Ethan remained in the hospital until New Year's Eve day.  Linda started her own blog, so for more info go here.

Sweet Ethan on his birth day.

too cute for words

It's hard work being this adorable.

New Year's
What a great way to bring in the New Year!  We got to enjoy our little Ethan and we had Eddie, April, my aunt, my uncle, and my two double cousins - Nicole and Danielle all in from out of town to share in the excitement and anticipation of a brand new year filled with wonderful opportunities!  We also had our sibling "Secret Santa" gift exchange, ate too much, watched my dad play Bejeweled, and brought in the New Year in the Spa sipping on champagne.

Freebirding
While my two double cousins, Nicole and Danielle, were in town, I made sure they experienced a burrito the right way - a la Freebirds (vs. the wrong way - a la Chipotle's which they do have at home back in Chicago).  Danielle opted for the daintier "Hybird" while Nicole and I want all hungry-hungry hippos and ordered "Monsters".  The verdict:  those cRaZy girls prefer Chipotle.  Whatever.

Nicole with her spinach Monster

Danielle with her wheat Hybird

A toast to the New Year - Freebirds style!

Wedding
What does a year look like without a family wedding?  I don't remember.  We have had one every 1 to 1.5 years in our family for the past 5 years.  This year, we all gathered in Springfield, IL for my cousin Anna's wedding to her new bride, Nicol, on Jan. 14th.  I have two words for you:  Photo Booth!  Have you ever been to an event with one of these things?  OMG - soooo fun!  My cousin Rachel and I kept going in there - sometimes by ourselves and sometimes with a group and laughed the night away. 

Chicago
I was supposed to drive back with my family to St. Louis to grab our flight back to Houston, but work duties called me to Chicago instead, so I caught a ride with double cousin Nicole and her boyfriend Justin back to Chicago.  I spent the next 3 days in meetings designed to improve the operations of our company.  Have you ever spent 3 full days in meetings?  Wow - it was really hard for this girl with A.D.D. who is used to multi-tasking the days away.

Now what?
Those of you who "listen" to me FB or Twitter, know that I like My Fit Foods.  I'm just sooo not in a cooking mode right now.  I haven't been for quite a while, actually.  My Fit Foods has fresh prepared meals you can just pick-up, warm-up, and eat.  I've gained back a lot of the weight I had lost.  I'm not happy about this, but not being happy about it doesn't change the situation.  I've tried to restart South Beach time and time again and I keep failing.  My mom thinks this is because I enjoy life's challenges and I already conquered South Beach (um...before the weight gain) so now I need a new challenge.  Younger sister Linda and her hubby, Craig, have started Weight Watchers Online.  I've decided to follow in their footsteps - so basically I'm food tracking and I'm eating most of my meals via My Fit Foods.  I'm kinda squashing most of my racing for now because I've not been training and it's becoming a bit of a joke (that isn't funny).  I have plans to get back into the groove, one mile at a time.

So...please forgive me for getting behind in my blogging and blog reading.  I will make a concerted effort to stay on top of such things moving forward!

Cheers to a Happy and Healthy New Year!

M.I.A.

Apparently I went missing again.  Not from the real world, but I've been relatively quiet on the social media front.  I think, as a whole, I'm not very happy with this year.  That makes me sound like a spoiled brat when you read what I've been up to in my absence, but doing things and feeling things are sometimes two VERY different things.  Does that make sense?

October 18th was the last time I blogged.  6 weeks ago.  Bad Blogger.  Here are the highlights of things that happened during my disappearing act...

Painting Class
I bought a Groupon for one of those painting classes at Merlot to Masterpiece a while ago.  It took a bit of coordination to get some friends and fellow bloggers (Kim, Amanda, Marg, and Britt) together, but we finally managed to swing it.  Here is what the "goal" was supposed to look like:

Here was my finished (and framed) product:

The group shot:

Top Row - Amanda, Me, Kim
Bottom Row - Marg, Britt

Vacation
I headed to Chicago at the end of October to hang with family and participate in The Monster Dash.  My cousin Courtney and I walked 13.1 decked out in Angry Birds gear.  It was Courtney's first (and I'm told last) half and I promised her we would stay together.  I never left her side and we finished it.

While in Chicago, I made sure to eat all my favorite foods.  I hit up Portillo's twice - the first time for Italian beef and the second time for hot dogs.  We may or may not have managed to get the car towed while on our hot dog run during rush hour traffic downtown.  =/

I managed to pick-up some of my favorite candies from Fannie May - most notably Trinidads.

The beauty of a Trinidad lies in its decadent layers of rich, creamy real dark chocolate,
covered in a golden toasted coconut shell.

Of course, the best breakfast in the world can be found at Walker Bros. Pancake House.  Carbo-loading at its finest.

Post race, Courtney and I indulged on the BEST Chicago-style pizza EVER - Lou Malnati's.

Although it's hard to beat the BBQ of the South, Famous Dave's is quite delicious especially when hanging out with some wonderful cousins!

While downtown, I got to experience Chicago from the tourist perspective instead of my usual in and out of our designated commitments routine.  It was a nice change of pace.  I saw the famous Forever Marilyn statue (26 feet tall) and the Cloud Gate.

Management Meetings
Not even 2 weeks after my Chicago vacation, I set-off for Chicago again for my company's annual Management Meetings and Award Banquet.  Every year a book serves as the theme for the meetings and the upcoming year.  This year, Ubuntu! was the chosen one.  The basic concept is that "I am because we are" and that "we are all in this together".  In short...teamwork.  I have to say that some of my disgruntlement regarding work this past year has been as a result of a lack of teamwork, so this book and theme were much needed and appreciated (and will hopefully pay off).

After arriving in Chicago on Thursday, 11/10, all the managers (traveling from 12 Service Centers located nationwide) were whisked away to check into our hotel and then managed a caravan downtown to meet up with all the management of our headquarters to the Signature Lounge at the 96th Floor of the John Hancock building for a marvelous dinner (and an open bar).

Friday was filled with various meetings and followed-up with our Award Banquet.  Upper management has been really great about giving us monthly and quarterly statistics so most of us had a basic idea of our rankings in each category, but there is always one award whose recipient is always a mystery - the Service Center (SC) of the year award.  This award originated 8 years ago.  My SC won it for the first time in 2008.  We won it for the second time in 2009 becoming the 2nd SC to manage a repeat.  Then came 2010...we had dreamed of a 3-peat just to end up in 6th place (boo!).  I had a plan to win it back.  I can honestly say I worked the hardest I ever have in all my 12 1/2 years with this same company.  It paid off!  Now the only problem with being #1 is that there is a large target on your back!  =)

On Saturday we spent half a day finishing up our meetings and then it was off to my aunt and uncle's house to hang with family for the evening.  Wouldn't you know we managed to get our happy Lou Malnati's pizza for dinner!


Thanksgiving
Apparently I like to fly every 2 weeks.  =/  I only get sick EVERY time, but no big deal.  So we decided to resume our annual Thanksgiving trip to Vegas despite the fact that younger sister Linda and brother-in-law Craig were not going to be able to join us because of the upcoming arrival of their first child.  Older sister Cathy figured out that this was our 15th Thanksgiving in Vegas.  We spent 14 of them in a row, but detoured to Orlando last year for a fun-filled week in Disney and Universal Studios.

My parents stayed at the Venetian while the "kids" resided in my grandmother's condo located a couple of miles from The Strip.  This year was a bit different, though.  Normally we manage a movie or two walking from The Venetian all the way down to the Showcase movie theater by the MGM.  This year, we didn't see a single flick.  I also normally hang out at Casino Royale, but...not this time.  I mostly gambled away at The Venetian, the Palazzo, and the Las Vegas Hilton (because it was located across the street from our condo). 

We did swing a show - taking in Sting at Caesar's Palace.  It was in the Celine Dion theater, so a more intimate setting.  I loved listening to the background story of how his songs were conceived and I have mad appreciation for his violinist who made amazing music!

The ladies swung a spa day!  My mom treated older sister Cathy, sister-in-law April, and me to a spa treatment at the Canyon Ranch Spa located in The Venetian.  I chose a European facial and experienced rejuvenation in my skin!  I literally felt my skin glowing the rest of the day.  Upon completion of our respective services, we spent over 2 hours in the wonderment that is the spa-experience...the Hot Tub, Steam Room, Sauna, Herbal Laconium, the Igloo (yes, as cold as it sounds) Salt Grotto, and Wave Room while sipping on orange-infused water and delicious herbal teas.

Though I pretty much came home a big loser, I had some really nice hits throughout my gaming that kept the days fun and entertaining.  My favorite slot machines this year were Quick Hits and Hot Shots.  I will definitely be revisiting them next year!

And that's about it in a nutshell.  Hopefully I will be posting more frequently since it is now "the most wonderful time of the year!"  I leave you with this pretty dress displayed at The Venetian:

display dress made entirely of paper and ribbons

what's making me happy NOW

Last month I posted what was currently making me happy, so I thought I would do it again cuz....maybe these things can make you happy, too.  =)

Chobani yogurt.  

Eureeka!  I *finally* found it.  A little background story...while my family vacationed in Orlando over Thanksgiving doing the whole Disney/Universal thing, my parents requested we all make grocery lists of what we wanted them to buy for our rental home.  Older sister Cathy and perhaps a couple others put Greek yogurt on the list.  My parents bought Chobani.  Everyone raved about them, but stubborn me never tried it.  Maybe I felt guilty cuz I didn't put it on my list or maybe I was too busy getting my dairy fix with the sugar free pudding I had requested or maybe I'm just a dumb-dumb.  Who knows?  Over the past month, I've decided I want to try it.  I've checked out my H.E.B., but to no avail.  I looked at two different Krogers...still no luck.  I searched the Walmart by work on the off chance that maybe they got cool and started carrying trendy brands, but came up empty handed.  I finally found Chobani at the Kroger near my parent's house this week.  Oh wow.  I see why everyone loves this brand of yogurt.  It is creamy decadence.

source here

Lenny's Sub Shop's Chef Salad

Salads seem to cost an arm and a leg these days.  Lenny's Chef Salad is $6.77 including tax.  It is filled with lettuce, tomato, green pepper, black olives, onion, pickles, red pepper relish, banana peppers (I nix these), and then turkey, ham, and provolone cheese.  It comes with your choice of dressing - I go with the light ranch - and croutons (I nix these), sunflower seed kernals (yum), and crackers (I nix these).  Since I've decided to remove bread carbs from my diet for a yet to be determined amount of time, this is the perfect lunch for me.  Too bad there isn't a Lenny's close to the office.  =/

SoBe Lifewater 0 Calories

As with all of these kind of beverages, certain flavors are enhanced with the bonus of providing additional benefits.  C-vitamins are added to some flavors, for example, while electrolytes are added to others.  Favorite flavors include, but are not limited to:  Strawberry Dragonfruit, Mango Melon, and Strawberry Apricot.  I find these drinks to be refreshing and sweet without some weird/gross after taste.  They can get a bit pricey, but you should be able to find them for $1.00 a piece when on sale and/or at Walmart or Target.

source here

Chainlove.com

That Pink Girl knew I was considering purchasing a CamelBak for my upcoming Hottest Half race next month.  Yes, yes...you might think me the queen of the mcdorks, but this dork has had one two many incidents with dehydration cramping during races and doesn't want to take any chances.  Being the sweet friend that she is, TPG saw an awesome deal on the website above and sent me a text right away letting me know I had about 20 minutes left to purchase this 72 oz hydration pack for only $20.  What a deal!  So...if I'm to understand Chainlove.com correctly...they run short-term deals (30 minutes each) constantly throughout the day and it's a "you snooze, you lose" kinda thing.  I'm just thankful TPG wasn't snoozing!  Thanks, girl!  =)  By the way...you can download an alert for Windows and/or for Explorer or other web browsers to help you not miss out on great deals!

source here

Sleeping in my own bed. 

After having been at my parent's house for the past 6 nights, I can assure you I am WAY ready to crash in the comfort of my own lovely cushiony happiness.  My parents like firm mattresses and placed them in all the spare bedrooms of their home.  It's like sleeping on a board.  My body isn't happy....but it will be...soon....I can't wait!

RedBox

I love being able to rent a movie for $1.08.  Their website is so helpful, too.  If you want a specific movie, it will tell you which Red Box closest to you has it.  How thoughtful is that?!  You can also pick a future release you want to rent and set a reminder for Red Box to alert you when it is ready for rental.  I also love how there are so many Red Boxes located pretty much everywhere for my convenience and that I don't even have to return a movie to the same Box I rented it from.  This was an ingenious business design!

source here

The Harris County Public Library

Meliska is the one who encouraged me to start hitting up the library for books instead of spending my hard earned money.  I am forever thankful.  I have a tendency to borrow audio books above all else because there is less of a wait for the popular books in audio format AND because it helps occupy me during my commute to and from work so that I am not focusing on work 24/7 and/or road raging.  It has also provided me with a great means of "reading" more than one book at the same time since I can be listening to one while reading another.  I love how I can request a book and that the library will notify me when it is available for me.  They keep it for me for a week and they have such great hours that even a girl with cRaZy working hours like myself can find time to check-out/return books as necessary. 

The Goose.
I cannot believe I forgot to put a pic of him in his 4th of July outfit when I wrote up my 3-day weekend post.  What's wrong with me?  Of course my cute mom decked out the house in 4th of July decor - stickers on the guest bathroom mirror, table cloth on the kitchen table, the fireplace mantle, etc.  We all know the main attraction is always...The Goose.

So, tell me...what is making YOU a happy camper these days?