Best Haircut Ever

:)

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Morning Walk

I took the long way over to the legal department this morning and was rewarded with this flock of Canadian geese right before they flew off. Beautiful!

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Steak Night Leftovers

The best brunch that's ever been eaten by anyone. Ever.

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Another 5K! Hotcake Hustle in Addison Circle

The starting line!

This morning I walk/jogged another 5K - the Hotcake Hustle in Addison Circle - and finished! I also BEAT MY GOAL and finished under 45 minutes! My official time was 44:24 (at a pace of 14:19 per mile), compared to 49:16 in December. I was definitely worried I wasn't going to make my goal, so I'm totally stoked right now! And hungry.

Happy New Year!

Happy 2012 everyone! I spent last night stuffing my face with tortilla chips, queso, and margaritas at my favorite mexican place in Dallas, Banditos. I also saw Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol which was amazing - Tom Cruise may be completely nuts but he's still fabulous. 

This morning I woke up and after what has been a very prolonged break, I reintroduced myself to the scale. Yikes. Not unexpected, and deserved, but still. Ouch. But it's not just the weight I've put back on, it's how I've been feeling lately with all the snacks at work that suppliers are sending in for us. With the exception of some Harry and David pears, the month of December was a parade of neverending chocolate deliciousness. My pants are tight and I don't feel comfortable wearing some outfits I wore a couple of months ago. I practically lived in yoga pants while I was at home over Christmas and now I don't want to wear real pants. Yuck.

Now that it's the new year, everyone will be cracking down at work again which will be great for me. I spent today cooking my crockpot chili and some turkey sausage gnocchi to eat over the next few days. I measured everything and after I ate I tracked every calorie. I also reset my goals through May...7 pounds a month to get me to 35 pounds by May 31st. I'm already cranky from counting calories today. Here we go...

And just to cap the year off, here is a fun survey for 2011:

1. What did you do in 2011 that you’d never done before?

Ran a 5K. Went to California (3 times!). Went to the US Open. Visted Boston. Went to Kansas City. 

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I did not reach my goal for weight loss, but I did not give up and ended up smaller than I was last January...by a lot. I also ran a 5K and attended a young alumni event for the Notre Dame Club of Dallas. Woohoo! For next year I am going to continue losing weight and go to at least one (new people) event a month. 

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

Two of my coworkers had babies this year, and so did my friend from undergrad.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

Yes, my granma. It will be a year ago on January 7th. 

5. What countries did you visit?

Just the US. 

6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?

Opportunities to meet new people and more success in my weight loss efforts. Also, more dancing. 

7. What dates from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

January 7th, when granma died. December 10th, when I ran my first 5K. 

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

My weight loss and my promotion at work (whatever, I can pick two).

9. What was your biggest failure?

Probably my weightloss...I let myself get out of control in November/December so I am going to have to work really hard to form the new habits again.   

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

I hurt my back pretty badly during kickboxing class (it flared up again the week before Christmas) but I'm doing fine now. 

11. What was the best thing you bought?

A membership at 24 Hour Fitness. New clothes in smaller sizes. Gift cards to Starbucks with my credit card reward points. A last minute plane ticket to Providence to see Lady Gaga. 

12. Where did most of your money go?

STUDENT LOANS, rent, traveling, new clothes (!!). 

13. What did you get really excited about?

All my November traveling: Halloween in New Orleans, Boston, Notre Dame, and home. Football season. 

14. What song will always remind you of 2011?

Could it really be anything else?

15. Compared to this time last year, are you:

– happier or sadder? Happier!
– thinner or fatter? Thinner!
– richer or poorer? Richer! 

16. What do you wish you’d done more of?

Meeting new people, working out, saving money, and cooking. 

17. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Being lazy on the weekends. Eating. Complaining about work. 

18. How did you spend Christmas?

In Arkansas with my family. 

19. What was your favorite TV program?

It's a close call between Vampire Diaries and Revenge, but I'm going to have to go with Revenge on this one. 

20. What were your favorite books of the year?

The Gift of Fear and the Cases that Haunt Us. Also, Cold Turkey was really cute. I'm excited because I just recently got back into reading for fun in November. 

21. What was your favorite music from this year?

Adele and Gaga are my girls, and as much as I hate to admit it, LMFAO kept me working out. 

22. What were your favorite films of the year?

This is a hard one, but I'd have to say The Muppets because it made me smile the WHOLE time I was watching, and Horrible Bosses, which was underrated and made me laugh more than Bridesmaids (OMG yes I said there was a comedy better than Bridesmaids!!).

23. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I turned 26 and I went to lunch at Breadwinners, had a happy hour with people from work at Gordon Biersch and did dinner afterwards...But my big celebration was my trip to New Orleans!

24. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

I would've liked to have met my weight loss goal.  

25. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011?

More tights and dresses and belts. 

26. What kept you sane?

Going to the gym with friends, the Keurig machine at work, Starbucks, and caffeine generally, Southwest's $5 wifi on the plane, and visiting my friends spread all over the country.

27. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011.

Sometimes people aren't who you want them to be, but you have to accept it and get over it...or move on.

I Met a New Year's Resolution Today!!

So at the beginning of the year I set a few goals for myself for 2011. One of these was to finish a 5K at some point this year. I kept putting it off for whatever reason...I planned to do the St. Paddy's Day Dash on Greenville before the parade - it didn't happen. Then I was going to sign up for one in May. That didn't happen either, and then of course it was way too hot to do anything during the summer. October and November I was out of town for work or vacation, and suddenly I was facing the end of the year.

A few weeks ago while I was at home I looked up races before the end of the year and found the Frosty 5K and Fun Run in Frisco. I signed up for the 1 mile Fun Run since I hadn't trained at all for a 5K and figured at least I'd get used to a race-day atmosphere and how the whole thing works. 

This morning I woke up at 6:30AM...on a Saturday...when it was below 30 degrees outside. I got ready and drove out to Frisco. I went up to the registration booth and figured...I'm here, I might as well do the full 5K. So I paid the difference, got my tshirt and goodie bag, and went back to my car to take a nap for an hour (apparently when they say registration starts at 7, it's ok to get there at 7:55).

And...I finished!! They haven't posted official times yet, but I used my phone to unofficially track myself and I think I ended up around 48 minutes. I really wanted to finish in under 45, but I was close! I walked most of it, but I did run some, I was not last, and it was fun. Very, very cold. I did not bring gloves. Mistake. I will post my official time and pictures (?) that were taken during the race. The only picture I thought to take while I was there was this one, when I decided it was way too cold and way to early for me to process nonsense like this:

It was 30 degrees outside. As if these shorts would be ok otherwise.

I signed up for another one in Addison on January 14th - the Hotcake Hustle. I really didn't hesitate after I found out there will be free pancakes and hot chocolate at the finish line.

UPDATE: Official time was 49:16, woot! My goal for the January 5K will be to finish under 45 minutes!

Thanksgiving Break!

And my final vacation of November...a visit to Notre Dame and then back to Arkansas for Thanksgiving!

Johnny's dorm room in Carroll.

By the lake. 

Me and mom!

Notre Dame beat Boston College, which was great, and it was my first time in the stadium with the new music playing. Here's a clip from the kick-off - they gave everyone pompoms and the stadium atmosphere was awesome!

There was also an Undertones concert in the bookstore after the game, which was lovely. Too bad all their CDs were sold out...I hope my brother will remember to bring me one back for Christmas!

My mom and I came back home for Thanksgiving, and of course we can never have a relaxing week. Bear, our little dog, ended up ripping a big gash in his belly and mom and I had to take him to the vet. The poor thing had stitches and a drainage tube put in for two weeks - thank goodness he's okay, the vet said the gash missed his abdominal cavity by 1mm!

I went and saw The Muppets movie at Aaron's (Rivka's brother) birthday party, and it was the best movie I've seen in a long time. It was just so cute, my cheeks hurt afterwards from smiling the whole way through it. Now that I'm back in Dallas I'm finishing up my Christmas shopping, wrapping presents, and drinking copious amounts of cider and hot chocolate.