Christmas Dinners

A food pictorial of our many Christmas Dinner Celebrations.  Since I spent a good portion of my Christmas Vacation shoveling food in to my mouth, I figured why not devote a blog post to the most delicious meals of the vacation.

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Christmas Eve-Eve was spent at Ruth's Chris.

I dined on butternut squash soup (with fresh lump crab meat, so good!) and my favorite: ahi tuna salad. And of course, enjoyed the company of my family.

 Mom and Jonathan

Me and Dad

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Christmas Eve was spent at church, then we came home and made pizzas!

Mine is an individual on Trader Joe's whole wheat crust and fresh sauce, brick cheese, fresh Kielbasa, and green olives. So delicious!!

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Christmas Dinner was a British Feast that came from Tyler Florence and the Neely's! Prime rib with horseradish rub, yorkshire pudding, and scalloped potatoes.

 Prime Rib: Before

 Prime Rib: After

 Yorkshire Pudding

 Scalloped Potatoes

Casual Christmas Table this year - not in the dining room, but not in front of the TV :-p 

This meal qualifies as 'comfort food' but not healthy! So worth it though. Everything I have eaten this vacation has been delicious, and the treats are not yet over! Party tonight at the neighbor's house, then off to the Outer Banks tomorrow to enjoy New Year's Eve at the beach (and a yummy dinner out). While I am enjoying this period of over-indulgence, my pants certainly are not - and I am ready to get back to my usual routine on January 3rd when I get back to work (and tracking my meals and working out!). 

A Friendly Reunion

One sunny and warm afternoon in NC, four friends got together for a lovely meal. They dined at Baby Moon Cafe on delicious food, and enjoyed each other's company, conversation, and the weather. We all hadn't been together since Casey's wedding in June! It was a wonderful reunion. 

It was truly a miracle that all four of us got together a few days before Christmas. Also, the weather was just gorgeous! It was in the mid-sixties, but felt warmer than that with the beautiful sunshine. 

 Casey and Meredith studying the menu - so many good choices!

I settled on the Portabello Pesto Sandwich with a side salad and ranch. Yum! 

Casey and Meredith! 

Me and John!

We need to have more of these reunions now that I am living back in NC! This was definitely one of the highlights of my Christmas Vacation. 

New Year's Resolutions

2011 has been a busy year for me. I moved to Charlotte, I started a new job, completed grad school, and recommitted to my weight loss efforts.

I am looking forward to what 2012 has to offer. Hopefully bringing some exciting changes at work, traveling and visiting friends and family, and continuing my weight loss journey. No more moving, and no more school! Thank goodness!!

Here are some of my new year's resolutions, and I am hoping that committing to these in writing and to the blog community will help me stick to them!

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Weight Loss

• Get down to my goal weight by the end of April - after the holidays, I am sure I have at least 15 lbs to lose now. Darn Christmas cookies.  
• For the month of January: only eat out for lunch once per week and dinner twice per week. 
• Oh, and stay away from alcohol as possible. Exception for January: MLK Weekend in DC. 
• Cook more fresh and healthy foods! Invest in produce every week and get better at meal planning.
• Clean out my freezer by supplementing fresh foods with meals I have in my freezer. 

Exercise

• Train for and run at least one half marathon (hopefully 2: one in July, and one in December)
• Take a Pilates class at the gym
• Learn how to strength train at the gym and at home to supplement my running efforts
• Instead of going out to lunch, go to the gym!
• Run at least 3 times per week (once on the weekends!)
• Create a monthly workout schedule for January and stick to it! Continue this in to Feb, March, and April. 

Professional

• Become an expert in sourcing marketing and communications spend at work
• Take more training classes to complement my professional development

Blog-related

• Start a food-related blog project once I reach my goal weight
• Make something at least once a month off of Pinterest to feature on my blog

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Once I make it to my goal weight, I plan to revisit these resolutions and check on my progress. Hopefully you will be seeing these again in April, just in time for bathing suit season to begin in NC.

I will be ringing in the new year at the beach! My favorite place in the whole world to be. 

Here's to hoping 2012 is an exciting year!