Thanksgiving in Boston

After a few days offline and out of town, I'm back and ready to take these next few weeks by the horns and go into Christmas a little lighter and a lot fitter! Over the long Thanksgiving weekend my husband and I took to the friendly skies and headed northbound to Boston and its surrounding areas. We enjoyed time with family, sightseeing around a few of the the beautiful and quaint towns and beaches, and a day in Boston to take in the city. The weather was great, the food was awesome, and the company was the best.

A few of our nature shots around Rockport and Manchester, Mass.

On Thanksgiving morning we hung around the house for a bit before taking a little hike out to some rocky coastline in Manchester.

As you can see, our post-hike Thanksgiving feast was amazing (thanks to my sister-in-law and mom!) and not at all in the arena of weight-loss food. I paid for it at the gym this morning..

On Friday we took the train from Beverly (where my brother and his family live) into Boston to see the sights and more accurately, enjoy the beer. We started by Fenway and had lunch and a beer at The Tasty Burger. I think it was the Doritos on the burger that sold Phil.

We made our way up through Back Bay, had a cocktail at Top of the Hub (amazing view...but of course we didn't get a picture), and walked up to the Common. In the Common we saw the absolute fattest squirrels I've ever seen. They were getting ready for some serious hibernation. Seriously. I think they may have been larger than some dogs. We took a stroll over to the original Cheers (used to be the Bull and Finch) to have another beer there. My claim to fame? I sat in Frasier's seat. Yep, I'm famous now.

So a quick taste of our fun Thanksgiving trip! Thank you to my brother and his beautiful family for entertaining us, cooking for us, hanging out with us, and having an all-around great time. We had an amazing time and we can't wait to come back.

Did I break the rules? Yes, almost every single one of them. Do I regret it? Not one bit. I had a great time, enjoyed the food, the drinks, and had lots of stress-free fun. I will not dwell on any set-back I may created from this. I've put away the turkey and the pie, corked the bottle of wine, and put my gym shoes back on. It's time to jump back on the journey toward my goals!

Don't forget, it's MUSIC MONDAY!!! Check back later on tonight for my weekly music choices!

Until next time...

I'm Thankful

It's the season of Thanksgiving which, believe it or not, is about a whole lot more than deep fried turkey (however delicious it might be), stuffing, and pie. It's a time to reflect on all that we are thankful for and maybe even share that with others. I have a tendency to go through my days in a seemingly robotic way. I come and go the same way every day and I have fleeting thoughts about all of the awesome things that I am so thankful for. I've been reflecting on and excited for this post for the last week or so and I'm finally getting to write down my reflections of thankfulness!

1. My husband. He is my support, my relief from the reality of everyday life, my best friend, and my biggest fan. He loves me unconditionally and for that, I am thankful.

2. The humor in my family. All of my grandparents were/are jokesters, my parents are jokesters, my brother and I are jokesters, we married jokesters, and my niece and nephew are the newest jokesters in the family tree. Every family has its challenges but I’m thankful that through everything, we’ve always been able to laugh together.

3. My sense of independence. Without my self-reliant attitude I never would have taken the leap to move to Raleigh all by my lonesome. That move in and of itself completely changed my life. I have gained incredible experience in an amazing organization, met some of my best friends, and married my husband.

4. My struggles with weight. This sounds ridiculous, I know. Am I thankful that I am overweight? No. But I am thankful for what my journey has taught me. Resilience, persistence, self-reflection, tenacity, and most importantly compassion and empathy for every single person out there struggling with the same thing.

5. My Friends. They are crazy, fun, sassy, hilarious, supportive, loving, and life-long. I love them. So. Much.

6. All of my work experiences. I've had some cool jobs. Period. Radio stations, broadcast centers, recreation centers, Universities, YMCA. I'm a lucky girl.

7. The Hokies. All of those Hokies out there understand. I am thankful that I have something in my life that instills such an intense sense of pride.

8. Where and how I grew up. I was surrounded by cousins, lived at the Shore, lived in a safe small town, and was able to be independent. The longer I’m away from home and the more life experience I gain, the more I realize how lucky I really am to have grown up where I did.

9. My dogs. They make me laugh every day.

10. My parents. They set me up to be successful and I took that opportunity and ran with it. I love them.

Take some time to remember what you're thankful for. Then dig in....there's a lot of eating to do :).

Happy Thanksgiving!

Surviving the office potluck

The sign-up sheet went up last week and everyone rushed to make sure they got signed up to bring their favorite holiday "specialty" to this year's office potluck. We've got the traditional turkey, ham, and mashed potatoes plus macaroni and cheese, stuffing, broccoli salad, probably 5 different kinds of pie and any other dessert you can imagine. There's plenty of food there to feed a small army and it will challenge even the strongest will.

My strategy - plenty of protein, plain veggies, no rolls, and no dessert. Let's see how this goes. I'll have an extra long/intense early workout tomorrow morning....just in case.

How will you survive the office potluck this year?