Happy New Year!

It's hard to believe that it is going to be 2010 in a matter of hours! Happy New Year to all my blogging friends and to all the people who have shaped my life thus far with their love and encouragement.

I've never been one to make a big deal over New Year's Eve. I've always felt like it was safer to remain off the roads, when all the bars close down, on one of the biggest drinking nights of the year. Call me boring, if you must! I felt this way even when I was young. It's not that I'm opposed to a little bubbly, I just always been the more cautious sort. I'll have my champagne at home, thank you very much. I've had dreams of being more daring, but I'm just not.

I do remember one very memorable New Year's Eve, when I was newly married and in my twenties. My husband and I were living with my brother in-law and his wife temporarily. We had gone to bed about 11:30, (not even Dick Clark could hold my attention until midnight), when my brother in-law started beating on his drums in the room next to the one we were sleeping in. That's about as much excitement as this girl could take! L.O.L. It was memorable, you just had to be there.

As many of you know, in December I started on a healthy living kick and was being very conscientious about my diet and exercise routines. Well, I did okay for about three and half weeks and then I fell off the wagon, so to speak. That's okay, because, it's a new year starting tomorrow and I will be back at it.

I will be starting a new position on Monday for Pottery Barn. I will start training to be one of those people you call and complain to. You know, customer service. The way I figure, I'd better get in good shape to be able to handle any extra job stress. I'm excited to challenge myself to learn more and take on more responsibility. Being compensated pay wise will be a nice benefit!

I had a lot of company over Christmas and while they were all here, my sister in-law, introduced me to a new exercise DVD. It was a salsa aerobic workout. Mostly I sat on the sofa and watched, but I plan on ordering it, because of how much fun it was.



My sister in-law is the one in red leading us all and hamming it up for the camera.
The one in blue is my middle daughter who had to give us all shiatsu massage therapy after our workout.



The one nearest the Christmas stocking is my niece and she rocked it out!



You go girls! I'm totally inspired.





My biggest goal this year is to move more and eat less and to have more fun!

Holiday Fun

About a week ago the hubs and I took a trip to San Francisco to see our daughter's dance performance, Nocturnal Butterflies. The weekend began with lunch at the La Boulange. What a charming little cafe!

I think I had the best open faced tuna melt I've had in years. It warms me up just thinking about it.

Food wise, I really let myself go. The pastries were as delightful as the lunch...

We shared a few delights...

I enjoyed a wonderful latte. It was raining outside the cafe, which increased my enjoyment...

Of course our daughter's performance was superb, but in our rush to get to the theater I left my camera at the hotel.

The weekend went by much too quickly!

Another delight was driving home in the rain and being gifted a rainbow in the clean, blue, sky!

When we got back it was time to think about baking for Christmas....

My eldest and her sons who live right next door came by for a game of scrabble and to bake our traditional gigerbread house.

The finished product put smiles on all of our faces!

Nocturnal Butterflies

Tomorrow Mr. Honey and I will leave for San Francisco to visit our youngest daughter and see her in a performance called Nocturnal Butterflies.

She is a beautiful dancer and I always look forward to seeing her perform. If you ask me she lights up the stage!

This performance is dedicated to the legendary dancer and choreographer of the early 20Th century, Vaslav Nijinsky. The performance has been directed and choreographed by Erika Tsimbrovsky. With dancers Andrew Ward, Kegan Marling, Suzanne Lappas, Christine Saulut-Bonansea, Lindsay Gauthier (that would be my daughter, imagine me beaming with pride), and Rosemary Hannon, visual artist Vadim Puyandaev, London-based musicians Grundik Kasyansky and Ute Kanngiesser, video artist Ruslan Belorusets, lighting designer Kedar Lawrence and concept monger Laura Maguire.

In A Dream

Last night I had one of those powerful dreams that you cannot shake out of you. It wasn't a nightmare, it was one of those soulful dreams...one of those dreams you wake up from and say, "That meant something, I must remember that."

I had a dream about a friend that I haven't spent all that much time with over the years, but one of those people that impact your life by the way they live... one of those people whom you are always pleased to see when you run into them when you're out and about. We may not understand why we don't spend more time getting to know each other, but we do understand that they have a significant impact on our lives.

We all have impressions of people that we've either just met or even known a long time. They may or may not be correct impressions, but in some way these impressions color the way we feel about the person or the way we feel about ourselves. Does this make sense??

Anyway, I had a dream that I was baring my soul to this friend and I was making myself extremely vunerable in doing so.

I have always been an emotional person, my feelings always just underneath the surface. I cry easily and am always embarrassed by this. I seem to attract more stoic types into my life. My dream was about a friend that I have always thought to be a brave soul...I don't think I've ever seen her cry, one of my more stoic friends, who exudes strength whereever she goes.

In my dream I was explaining to this friend how much I admired her, and she was listening to me as if there was no one else in the room. However, in the dream I was at what must have been a political function and there were lots of people in the room and people were eating and celebrating, she was listening to me intently. There are just some people who know how to really focus, I'm not one of them, but I do attract such types.

I was crying in my dream and my friend was unfazed, she just kept listening. I felt safe and amazingly unashamed of my tears. I told her that all anyone really needs is to be afffirmed and to know why they are here and what their purpose is. It is so simple, but to me, this dream was sending me a message to my soul.

Preparing for Christmas

The nativity scene is in it's special place...

The stockings are hung...

I have a beautiful poinsetta...

The cloche has been properly dressed for winter...

There's a mini tree in the family room...

And...I managed to buy one of the last sleigh bell pillows at Pottery Barn for my livingroom sofa.

I spent the day cleaning and decorating and the evening playing monopoly with Mr. Honey and our grandsons.

It's been a lovely day!

Blind Side

Today I was up a 5a.m. getting ready for work. I went in at 6a.m. today because they needed more coverage on the early shift.

Surprisingly, I have had a lot of energy lately and I don't seem to need as much sleep. I ate cheerios for breakfast...the breakfast of champions, right? Oh no, I guess that would be Wheaties. Ooops!

I had my Lean Cuisine much earlier than usual at work due to the early shift. I've also been enjoying a lot of fresh pears lately and a few cashews.

Since I went in to work early, I got off early. It was the perfect opportunity for Mr. Honey and I to head out to the movie theater and see Blind Side. Fabulous movie. I highly recommend it. I love true stories and this one was both inspiring, thought provoking and entertaining.

After the show and eating a bag full of popcorn and a hot dog for dinner, I came home and worked out. Aren't you proud of me? I haven't given up. I'm still at it. Somebody at work today said they thought I was losing weight. It made me smile. My body has not yet been on a scale.
I don't want to jinx myself. I'm in it for the long haul.

Below is a photo of Quinton Aaron in Blind Side. Who ever cast this young actor was spot on! He did a great job and I think this was my favorite Sandra Bullock movie thus far. If you get a chance go and see it, you'll be glad you did!

Timeless Fashion

My daughter is modeling the dress that her grandmother wore when her grandmother became an American citizen. It is a very special dress. My mother married an American soldier in the late forties and moved to America when the war ended. She then became an American citizen in the fifties. This wonderful dress is still as beautiful today as it was in the sixties. If my mother were alive today I know she would love seeing her granddaughter fitting so beautifully into her dress.

When my daughter's friend had an opportunity to take pictures of the lovely, red, vintage airplane that you see in the background he asked my daughter to model for him. She was delighted to do it and thought it was the perfect opportunity to wear her grandmother's fabulous ice blue dress.

The funny thing is my daughter is 6ft. tall and my mother was only 5' 4". My mother had a fabulous figure. My daughter does too, only much, much, taller than her grandmother.

There was a time when I could have worn this dress myself and before I die I would love to fit into it again. Good motivation for me to stay on my diet, don't ya think?

Today I did a little more decorating. I found this lovely rosemary Christmas tree at Trader Joe's and I adorned it with little kitchen ornaments. It smells lovely and it makes me happy when I'm doing the dishes or just looking out my kitchen window.

Today was a very relaxed day. Mr. Honey took me out for breakfast, instead of our usual waffle breakfast with the kids.

When I got home I cleaned the kitchen and had my daughter and grandsons over for afternoon coffee and a game of Monopoly. The coffee for the adults, the Monopoly for the kiddos.

Later I ran to Target for a few things and when I got home Mr.Honey made dinner for us. We had fish, veggies and brown rice. I'm gearing up for a good week. The pumpkin pie is all gone. I'm planning on staying focused on my goals and making things beautiful for the holidays.

Christmas Sparkle

I no longer put up the traditional Christmas tree. I have left that for my daughter,who lives right next door. I found these little alphabet ornaments at Pottery Barn. I just love them. I bought a letter representing each family member. They have the sweetest little bells that hang at the top and are glittered all around the edges.

I have little mirrored garlands and sparkly snowflakes and icicles to add to the sparkle . I think I should have spray painted the pot in silver and black, but I kind of like a little red and green.

This year I am all about easy. Tomorrow I will do my mantle and hang the stockings.

I'm sad that this weekend is coming to a close and my youngest daughter will head back to San Francisco where she lives.

Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays.

Traditionally we always spent Thanksgiving with my mother. With mother's passing there is definitely an empty spot that could never be really filled, but I like to imagine her reunited with my sister and the rest of her family whooping it up in heaven!

I plan on being back on track with my diet on Monday, so look forward to seeing less of me, l.o.l., in the months to come!

Leapin' Lizards!

Happy Thanksgiving! What a beautiful California day we had for our Thanksgiving celebration!

I started off my day with a good work out. When I emerged from my work out, to my delight my youngest daughter was sitting in my sunroom waiting for me to finish. I had no idea she would be home to celebrate with us. We all jumped for joy that she made it home. My grandsons love both of their aunties and were over joyed that at least one of them made it home.

Let the eating begin, l.o.l. My eldest daughter who lives right next door had our Thanksgiving feast completely under control. She prepared a delicious organic turkey with all the home made fixings anyone could want.

What a lovely, relaxing day. I'm so thankful for my family!

No Need for Search and Rescue

I know I've been M.I.A. the last few days, but no need to worry. My honey was out of town and I had some computer issues and just couldn't get enough time on my sweet daughters computer.

As you might expect, I had a few things I probably shouldn't have eaten while my computer was down, but nothing too serious. Accountability goes a long way in the battle of the bulge!

I've been really tired this week. I'm probably fighting off all the gunk people have been bringing to work with them. So far, I have managed to stay healthy. I'm sure that is due to my healthy new eating habits and the exercise.

Mr. Honey is fighting the crowds at Costco so that we can have pumkin pie with our Thanksgiving dinner. I wish I had thought to send him with a camera in hand. L.O.L.

I lucked out this year because my darling eldest child is doing all the cooking. I will set a pretty table and she will bring all the food. You can't imagine how thrilled I am to pass that baton to the next generation!

Just so you know, I plan on eating everything on Thanksgiving Day, but with moderation. I feel too good to overdue it now.

A big thanks to all my loyal supporters that have been cheering me on! I hope you all have a very blessed holiday!

Who's the Turkey on this Diet?

I haven't posted in few days because my computer has been shutting down. Mr. Honey has been out of town, so without a techie around I've had no one to figure out how to get it going again. Right now I am at my daughter's house using her computer.

Actually, without my blog to keep me accountable, I fell off the wagon on Friday. It didn't help that we had a Thanksgiving pot luck at work. I brought these little beauties, in the photo above, home from work for my three grandsons. It was difficult to keep them from devouring them before I got a picture of them.

There was soooo much food, it was difficult not to try some of everything, but I did my best.

One of my co-workers put together the Oreo turkeys with peanut butter cups and candy corn. They were a big hit, even though no one wanted to eat them, because it would be like eating a piece of art. It was hard for me not to eat one on the way home from work. I just kept myself strong by reminding myself how happily my grandsons would devour them when I got home. I should have taken a picture of them stuffing their faces. L.O.L.

I'm back on track today.

Martha Stewart's Knit-Wit

This is day sixteen of my healthy living process and I am only going to say that it's been a good day. Rather than digress about what all I've eaten today, I hope you will enjoy this post about an art form that I am so happy to share with you.

Have you ever heard of a knit-wit? I don't mean the mindless sort of nit-wit either. In Martha Stewart's December issue of Martha Stewart Living there was an article about a little tool called the knit-wit. I was thrilled to finally know that the tool my mother used in the fifties, to make this gorgeous dress that you see my daughter Brook modeling, actually had a name. I had talked about this tool with a friend of mine, whose mother also owned a knit-wit and her mother used hers to make flowers to decorate packages with.

It must have taken my mother hundreds of hours to complete this beautiful dress, made of purple silk organza ribbon.

I love the story of the time my mother was out dancing and her beautiful dress became entangled in her dates tie tack. Does anyone wear tie tacks any-more?

I really wish I had a photograph of my sweet Mama wearing this beautiful piece of art, back in her hay- day.

She would be so thrilled to see her granddaughter wearing her lovely creation. I bought my daughter a vintage slip to wear under it in a pale blue. My daughter is 6' tall and my sweet mother was only 5'4". Because my darling daughter Brook is so slender it was only the length that would have been a problem. My mother wore this dress with a deep purple silk organza slip. I remember thinking she was quite the vision of loveliness when I was just a little girl. This is an heirloom piece that my daughter has already worn to several very important events. You can click on the article from Martha's December issue if you want to read more about the knit-wit.
Thank you Martha Stewart for this wonderful article about what I thought was a lost art!

The Fifteenth Day

Yes, today is the fifteenth day of my choice for a more healthy way of living.

I know, I know...I skipped Sunday, my fourteenth day. Mr. Honey was home and the day started with waffles. That's Sunday at our house. For lunch Mr. Honey took me to the Elephant Bar. I did choose the from the lite menu...fish, brown rice, and veggies.

We rented a couple of movies, which I highly recommend, The Soloist (with Robert Downey Jr.) and Valentino- The Last Emperor. I loved both of them. I did have my first piece of dark chocolate in a couple of weeks...and I ate a couple of molasses cookies...and some popcorn. We had soup for dinner. Well, that was yesterday and today is a new day.

I'm back to my usual oatmeal, walnuts and cranberries for breakfast and I was taken out to lunch again today. This time we went to a local sandwich shop where I ate a southwestern chicken sandwich with mustard. It was yummy, and ice tea.

I took an extra day off work today, and I didn't feel like spending it cleaning, so I went shopping a found a really cute brown vest, that I had looked at last week, but this week it was 70% off. Now that's a deal that I couldn't pass up. I also bought a really cute black and cream sweater on sale. Now, I have already spent the money I worked overtime to earn, but it was worth it.

I did have a chocolate covered graham cracker and a non-fat latte (no sweetner) for an afternoon snack. Still, I don't think it will kill me since I worked out for an hour this morning.

Tonight I am having salmon and asparagus for dinner.

It's been a good day and as Martha would say, "that's a good thing".

The Twelth and Thirteenth Day But Who's Counting?

I missed posting yesterday, because after a 12 hour day at work I was just too stinkin' tired to make any sense. I much prefer being a kept wife. Working is highly overrated!

I managed a victory yesterday when I avoided eating a chocolate cupcake, because that's what I really felt like eating. I was starving when I got home from work. Mr. Honey is still out of town, so there was no one to have a yummy dinner waiting for me.

I came home and ate a salad, but it just wasn't satisfying, so I got in my car looking for something more to eat! My car was headed in the direction of Barnes & Noble in search of a chocolate cupcake! Can you imagine? My car was becoming an enabler. Almost magically my car turned around and ended up at Chipolte, so I ordered a burrito bowl with chicken, black beans, rice and guacomole. It was probably still too much food, but I got through the day without any sugar.

On to Saturday the 13th day of this process. Today is Saturday. I actually got to sleep in until seven. I got up, worked out and took a shower. I met a friend for coffee and had the first latte I've had in a very long time. We walked to the coffee place, so I got some more exercise to boot.
After we visited and were finished with our coffee we walked to a local Chinese restaurant for lunch and then walked home. I have no idea how many calories were in that lunch and, I must say, I really don't care.

The day has been a much needed break from my routine. I spent the afternoon with my sweet daughter at the bookstore, drinking tea, reading magazines, and chatting away the afternoon. I promised to tell the truth through this process, so I admit I ate an apple tart with my tea.

When we finished at the bookstore, we headed to the craft store. I decided I have enough unfinished projects at home, so I didn't buy more supplies.

When we returned home, my favorite son in-law barbecued hamburgers with organic beef and we had oven baked sweet potato fries. A big thank you to my favorite son in-law!

The Eleventh Day

Another long day. I was up early, and at work by 6a.m. I worked until 5:15p.m. and came right home to workout. Working out has become such a great stress reliever for me. This is definitely progress.

Tomorrow will be another long day at work. I'm trying to get as much overtime as I can before Christmas.

I ate my usual oatmeal for breakfast, pears for snacks, and lean cuisine at lunch.

Bless my sweet daughter's heart, when I finished working out she brought me a delicious bowl of home-made split pea soup and and a slice of rosemary bread. It was the perfect dinner.

I'm looking forward to a three day weekend. Thank God tomorrow is Friday! I'll finally be able to catch up on all of my favorite blogs and get some much needed sleep.

Day Ten

I'm about to head to bed. I will be working 12 hour days for the next two days, so this is going to be short.

I have been sticking to my healthy eating regime. I did probably have a few too many nuts today, but other than that it's been a good day.

I worked out tonight the minute I got home from work and I am hoping this will help me to sleep like a baby, so that I can be up at five a.m.

A big thanks to all of you who have been encouraging me every step of the way!

It's the Ninth Day

I'm really tired, but I'm committed to this process. Actually, I've been tired all day. I must not have slept all that well last night. It's anybodys guess.

There's nothing exceptionally different about what I ate today than any other day, except that, I did go out for dinner with a friend. When I got to the restaurant my friend wasn't there yet and I was starving, so I did eat a couple pieces of bread. I ate a Thai chicken salad with the dressing on the side, so that I could go easy on the dressing.

I'm home now and just about ready for bed. I decided to have some low cal hot chocolate. The house is cold and I don't want to turn the heater on because I'm about to hit the sack.

I have to tell you, I do miss bagels and cream cheese and chocolate croissants and ice cream and candy and cookies and carrot cake and you get the picture.

I would say it's been a successful day, but I sure don't feel any thinner. I would say that I must have glue desease. You know, that's where your fat turns to glue and sticks to you for dear life!

The Eighth Day of My Experiment

Oh my, it's been a long day. I ate my usual oatmeal with walnuts and cranberries for breakfast. Are you getting tired of hearing about what I ate, because I am.

It's funny, because, I used to think about what I would eat next all the time and since I started this challenge for myself, I don't want to think about what to eat next. I always ate fairly healthy before, just with a lot of extra unhealthy things on the side.

Gone are the french fries...and the chocolate chip cookies...and the coffee ice cream. It's not that I will never ever eat those things again. It's just that, now, every time I think about eating those things, I also think, is this the best choice, will this get me where I want to go?

Anywhoo, for lunch I ate another boring Lean Cuisine, another pear at break time, and a few almonds hidden in my desk at work.

When I got home from work I cooked salmon, because it's my favorite, and a spinach salad because I love salad. However, not long after dinner I was hungry again, but instead of eating cookies (there aren't any in the house, thank God), I ate a bowl of cheerios.

I still have to work out tonight, because I was too tired to get up this morning and do it, plus that way I can sleep in tomorrow.

I hope you are all having a great beginning to an even greater week! Carry on!

Seventh Day of My Experiement

Me & Mom

I'm feeling bored with this experiment, however, whenever possible I try to finish what I start.

Today was a laid back sort of Sunday. I slept in, went to the grocery store, did laundry, cleaned the house and watched recorded episodes of House.

I had my usual cheerios and banana, I had a salad & a pear for lunch, popcorn for a snack and a lean cuisine for dinner. I was still hungry after dinner, so I had a few wheat thins and about six grapes. I managed to stay away from any sweets. Oops, that's not true, I had one very small Vegan cupcake that my daughter baked.

I never had a weight problem growing up. My own mother never had a weight problem her entire life. My mother was in the beauty business. She worked for Elizabeth Ardens in Beverly Hills for years. The culture I grew up in was one obsessed with looks. Nevertheless, when I was young I seemed to be able to eat whatever I wanted. Those days are over.

I have to keep reminding myself that my goal is to feel good and stay healthy.

Day Six of my Experiment and Some Out of Town Fun

This morning started out with me getting up at 7a.m. and working out for an hour. Then into the shower I went to get ready for my day. I ate some cheerios and drank some coffee, so I wouldn't be tempted to eat sweet rolls at Starbucks on the way out of town.

Today was a girls day out. A couple of friends from work and I decided to head to Valencia for the day to see what's new at Pottery Barn for the holidays. We got to Valencia a little before noon and headed to Wonder Spa and Nails to get pedicures.

Wonder Spa has these wonderful chairs that massage your back while you soak your feet, and the Vietnamese manicurists pamper us with a foot massage and exfoliate our feet. It's simply divine.

The manicurists speak their language to each other and we are left wondering what they might be talking about. Of course we don't really care what they are saying because we are too busy giggling like school girls as our bodies shake from the back message machine hidden inside the spa chairs.

Do we look happy or what?

Then it was off to lunch at Wood Ranch for some barbecued chicken salad. I'm sorry to say we were having so much fun I forgot to take photos of the delicious food, however, I did get the waitress to snap a picture of us before we left to go shopping.

We told Margaret to have a glass of wine at lunch but she said "no thanks" and then proceeded to guzzle the champagne on display at PB. L.O.L. We're so silly.

Lori found a leftover bird from things left over from Halloween and tried to scare me with it, but it didn't work, I don't scare that easily.

I was coveting the lovely Thanksgiving napkins and plates that you see below. PB does such a great job with their table scapes and merchandising
The twelve days of Christmas plates were displayed along with these beautiful hurricane lamps on the table below.

Even the way the candles are displayed is fun to see. The candles shaped like pumpkins are on sale right now and were very tempting.

It's hard to see what Margaret has in her hand, but it is an iron sculpture of a reindeer.

Mercury glass has come back into fashion in a big way this year and I just loved the way the mercury ornaments were displayed on this trellis.

The store is getting ready for the Christmas season and there were signs of Christmas coming all over the store.

I love the carved Santa below sitting amongst the jewelery boxes and pretty shiny ornaments.

There were little potted Christmas trees all over the store. Lori couldn't keep her hands off of them. She was like a kid in a candy store.

This Christmas tree sparkled with shiny ornaments. I love the twelve day of Christmas ornaments and all the special photo ornaments.

There we stand in front of the store with our goodies in hand, ready to go eat again. We did stop at a little sandwich shop for a bite to eat.

Even the store window was beautifully displayed and festive.

I made it through my sixth day experiment without any sugar and with a lot of laughs and fun.

It was a very satisfying day, indeed! Thanks for the memories, Lori and Margaret.