Happy New Year!

Happy New Year blogger friends :).<br /><br />I wanted to swing by real quick this morning to wish you and your family the very best for 2012!<br /><br />As I look back on this blog in 2011, I am pleased with the progress I've made in my weight loss journey, and I know I owe a chunk of that progress to those of you who read and comment.  <i>You </i>keep me going.  <i>You </i>keep me accountable.  <i>You </i>make me want to come back here to own up to my setbacks, or celebrate with you in my successes.  Thank you for taking time out of your day to read and/or comment and share your encouraging words.  It is <b>always </b>appreciated.<br /><br />I will leave you with some of my favorite posts of 2011:<br /><ol><li><a href="http://the-big-weight.blogspot.com/2011/11/it-all-started-with-new-tradition.html">It All Started With a New Tradition</a>.  The engagement story :).<br /></li><li><a href="http://the-big-weight.blogspot.com/2011/04/drawing-inspiration-from-places-other.html">Drawing Inspiration From Places Other Than the Scale.</a>  The story behind what really got my butt kicked into gear to lose this weight once and for all.  <br /></li><li><a href="http://the-big-weight.blogspot.com/2011/04/setting-goals-for-2011.html">Setting Goals for 2011.</a>  The start of my plethora of 5Ks in the spring and early summer.  So proud of myself for that.<br /></li><li><a href="http://the-big-weight.blogspot.com/2011/05/march-of-dimes-march-for-babies-5k.html">March of Dimes March for Babies 5K</a>.  A first hand look at how the money raised for organizations like this can really make a difference.<br /></li><li><a href="http://the-big-weight.blogspot.com/2011/09/why-do-you-want-to-lose-weight.html">Why Do You Want to Lose Weight?</a> An outline of my reasons.  I plan to do a follow up post on this to reflect on what goals, if any, I achieved on this list in 2011.</li></ol><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz8YRHfjBRkCIoAtZnrSTBG2l74971guy2VF_bKSnECGpfpY6WPBuerjXDu7e1lg7xm5WYMToRC4iR7aPJ_xpOh2FEULqwHp7wNioXMLSZz1yffwSdNsoR6Mi4RF9__nawPPjYTklJ-eY/s1600/christmas+flower+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="343" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz8YRHfjBRkCIoAtZnrSTBG2l74971guy2VF_bKSnECGpfpY6WPBuerjXDu7e1lg7xm5WYMToRC4iR7aPJ_xpOh2FEULqwHp7wNioXMLSZz1yffwSdNsoR6Mi4RF9__nawPPjYTklJ-eY/s400/christmas+flower+3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Cheers to the best year yet to come for both you and me! Wishing you and yours a blessed 2012!<br /><br /><br />

Holidays New Years Eve Happy New Year!

Happy New Year blogger friends :). I wanted to swing by real quick this morning to wish you and your family the very best for 2012! As I loo...

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Merry Christmas + Week Recap!

I'll get the sad parts out of the way first.<br /><br />I've been doing a LOT of eating over the last several days, and I can feel the affects.  Next year I will have to come up with a better game plan if I'm going to do <a href="http://the-big-weight.blogspot.com/2011/12/giveaway-winner-weekend-recap.html">all that baking</a>.  Not only that, but I will have to institute a better strategy for all of the <a href="http://the-big-weight.blogspot.com/2011/12/one-day-at-time.html">Christmas-related</a> <a href="http://the-big-weight.blogspot.com/2011/12/one-day-at-time.html">parties</a> I've attended.  I talked with my WW leader, Sharon, about it this last Wednesday.  She suggested that I only pick 1-2 holiday parties to "indulge" and the rest need to involve conscientious eating.  Let's just say I'm glad to be home the rest of this week so I can detox and get myself back to a better way of eating.<br /><br />How did you do with Christmas/Hanukkah/whatever you celebrate?  I'm already planning the NYE menu so there are no slip ups there.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: purple;">****** </span></b></div>On to better things...<br /><br />As usual, God blessed me in many ways this Christmas.  For one, I got to spend time with my own family (and my parents are arriving today from Pennsylvania for the rest of the week) AND Joel's family for Christmas.  We did a lot of driving between PA, MD and VA, but it was worth it.  Additionally, I received some awesome gifts and was able to give some pretty great gifts as well.  Each year I strive for the "gift of the year" (a phrase I started giving to what I thought was the best gift I was able to give someone each year), and this year is no different.  Let's just say I'm looking forward to seeing my father's reaction when he opens his brand new Wii :).<br /><br />For now, I'm only going to share one of my favorite Christmas gifts so far.<br /><br />I got this beauty from Joel...<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL_wua8JzrwB_NSFWczKu36sXsdEb_wRRYqXZxW3JGYQJ8umGZQMFDH3NylyJqwqugyD9RwEmzt8p7owkFHlglvjOWp9mJXXyZebjDMyw2ezF6dazcN_oDNv02WW1zGg7PYseAjKl0ws8/s1600/nikon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL_wua8JzrwB_NSFWczKu36sXsdEb_wRRYqXZxW3JGYQJ8umGZQMFDH3NylyJqwqugyD9RwEmzt8p7owkFHlglvjOWp9mJXXyZebjDMyw2ezF6dazcN_oDNv02WW1zGg7PYseAjKl0ws8/s400/nikon.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nikon D3100</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Two years ago for Christmas, Joel got me the Nikon Coolpix L100 (below) as a transitional camera from the point and shoot to the DSLR.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.photoxels.com/images/Nikon/l100/nikon-l100-800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="254" src="http://www.photoxels.com/images/Nikon/l100/nikon-l100-800.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />I loved that camera but there were limitations, and as one of my <a href="http://the-big-weight.blogspot.com/p/goals.html">goals</a>, I planned to buy the D3100 as a reward.  I was VERY surprised when I unwrapped this gem of a gift... I cannot wait to learn all about it!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>I'm going to leave you all with this picture of my work outfit from last Wednesday.  I call this my "<a href="http://fatfatalefashion.blogspot.com/">Ariana</a> outfit" :).  <a href="http://fatfatalefashion.blogspot.com/">Ariana</a> - if you're reading this, notice how I'm also utilizing the work restroom to snap the pic ;).  I will admit that I wasn't initially feeling the look of this outfit at all - I was slightly uncomfortable in the belt (not because it was too tight, I just felt like it didn't look right).  I must have been wrong though because all day long people complimented me on the "awesome outfit".  Thanks for the inspiration <a href="http://fatfatalefashion.blogspot.com/">Ariana</a>!  If you don't read <a href="http://fatfatalefashion.blogspot.com/">Fatale Fashion</a> already, go over there right away and see what fashion finds Ariana has on display - she's so cute and has such a great fashion sense for gals like us :).<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxr5Q5RQjNfHvp__NtxeE6zHCr5surKiFIl_OdS8oVFgYbLtGdou-VNl2TD6NzRVPe0f7mcvI8oAJj8Xx_ZbyMZB6CfiVa1lrpNoUE4oL7XFRzRnDd37FsrB9nRNvgLFpCnDltctQMH7s/s1600/ariana+outfit.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxr5Q5RQjNfHvp__NtxeE6zHCr5surKiFIl_OdS8oVFgYbLtGdou-VNl2TD6NzRVPe0f7mcvI8oAJj8Xx_ZbyMZB6CfiVa1lrpNoUE4oL7XFRzRnDd37FsrB9nRNvgLFpCnDltctQMH7s/s400/ariana+outfit.JPG" width="297" /></a></div><br />Just like Ariana does, I'll post where I got the items I'm wearing... though keep in mind I do not have current prices on any of the stuff because it was purchased so long ago.<br /><br /><ul><li>Sweater - White Stag - Walmart</li><li>Black and White Polka Dot Shirt - Lane Bryant Outlet</li><li>Belt - Walmart</li><li>Silver Necklace - Ten Thousand Villages</li><li>Black Dress Pants - Lane Bryant</li></ul>Are you still off from work this week, or are you back to the grind already?  I'm working at home 2 days this week and spending time with my parents the other 2.

Christmas Holidays Weekend Recap Merry Christmas + Week Recap!

I'll get the sad parts out of the way first. I've been doing a LOT of eating over the last several days, and I can feel the affects....

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