Weigh In + Weekly Goals + More Christmas Celebrations

Well the verdict is in.... I am up 0.5 lbs and I'm okay with that.  After the serious eating challenges I've had almost the entire month of December, I'm not fretting about 0.5 lbs.  I know that things will start to move in the right direction this week!<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/AVvXsEhrR2fz6ykPOlqqtwQS8_iJgypy3me7h40U-Z9dMOyf1FUR88WXLFQ0VN3q5CU93JWxXqvJyOmIitVRDFryAGVY34YmrK4x2TmqUiVfEv76UBvZ-dI59lLrBFPzveVnU8vob32OevtIYLE/s1600/christmas+gifts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrR2fz6ykPOlqqtwQS8_iJgypy3me7h40U-Z9dMOyf1FUR88WXLFQ0VN3q5CU93JWxXqvJyOmIitVRDFryAGVY34YmrK4x2TmqUiVfEv76UBvZ-dI59lLrBFPzveVnU8vob32OevtIYLE/s400/christmas+gifts.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">sad that Christmas is over though</td></tr></tbody></table>As I stated <a href="http://the-big-weight.blogspot.com/2011/12/merry-christmas-week-recap.html">the other day</a>, this Christmas was awesome.  They seem to get better and better each year!  Despite my <a href="http://the-big-weight.blogspot.com/2011/12/one-day-at-time.html">battles</a> with the baking, I am still glad I did it because the recipients seemed so grateful.  Plus, there is something about putting in some hard work and seeing the smiles it brings to people's faces that make it all worth it :).  <br /><br />Together, Joel and I made this red velvet cake that we took to his grandparents on Christmas day.  It was quite a hit!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTznu2aWyrAWhKEiZMLsIcCc80Fa1K2TJXwo453qxnfTjoK-NQuA-nS7aPJ0roH6CsDQ1AZvdqt2Q-OSDz9Y80pKjgszKRiZlNE7rYLIaMCOP31kSMn3WLycNXPieTTSbK82B6hDc1ShY/s1600/red+velvet+cake+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTznu2aWyrAWhKEiZMLsIcCc80Fa1K2TJXwo453qxnfTjoK-NQuA-nS7aPJ0roH6CsDQ1AZvdqt2Q-OSDz9Y80pKjgszKRiZlNE7rYLIaMCOP31kSMn3WLycNXPieTTSbK82B6hDc1ShY/s400/red+velvet+cake+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />I did the baking and the white icing, Joel hand drew & iced the reindeer and Noel.<br /> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3COfPJwlTX8EOZT5FXjJIXDmeKI7znMxnxQSo1VS1NUxc-_JEkSPJX0IiSyYEa_BJU2KMYyveTTdMdsWSy9SJS0_d5Y74cADWoPJUkIOlSvdc6CUMOhZ8CAqU_ekHiyjMisnyhVOlULw/s1600/bhg+red+velvet+cake+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="323" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3COfPJwlTX8EOZT5FXjJIXDmeKI7znMxnxQSo1VS1NUxc-_JEkSPJX0IiSyYEa_BJU2KMYyveTTdMdsWSy9SJS0_d5Y74cADWoPJUkIOlSvdc6CUMOhZ8CAqU_ekHiyjMisnyhVOlULw/s400/bhg+red+velvet+cake+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />The only thing I would do differently in regard to this cake was bake it for less time.  It was a little on the dry side, but overall, not bad for my first try at red velvet.<br /><br />Another rewarding part of Christmas is giving to my niece and nephew.  It's so cool watching them open their gifts and seeing their reactions.<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/AVvXsEhK_-S2AIUqj7O2a201lHUid2I5Np4nuLh-9bOVE5VKP3XBS_qTUUa2AoNqsgxxcAS-8Yk4vQBjsxCD3AhdjMvH6utxrE2afwIsDqg7boXChxo-BcJOhyphenhyphenp8CwrGmO4BfXnQlaedCB4gIbk/s1600/rexon+bumbo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK_-S2AIUqj7O2a201lHUid2I5Np4nuLh-9bOVE5VKP3XBS_qTUUa2AoNqsgxxcAS-8Yk4vQBjsxCD3AhdjMvH6utxrE2afwIsDqg7boXChxo-BcJOhyphenhyphenp8CwrGmO4BfXnQlaedCB4gIbk/s400/rexon+bumbo.jpg" width="318" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rexon in his new Bumbo with a book, of course :)</td></tr></tbody></table><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/AVvXsEhsYFdtSf0HMUTrgCo9T_PPoDiAX-GaoGO3cQwUpStsNCWJcBRvvwSqmaAOWo8AZeL4WmkxcDW5BXRfmv5UYmRzsYHX9mfKUws_ZmDKqmmvzsSjJRB5G_ON4IKQcAa2r-1U07qcCy2K19g/s1600/christmas+2011+010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsYFdtSf0HMUTrgCo9T_PPoDiAX-GaoGO3cQwUpStsNCWJcBRvvwSqmaAOWo8AZeL4WmkxcDW5BXRfmv5UYmRzsYHX9mfKUws_ZmDKqmmvzsSjJRB5G_ON4IKQcAa2r-1U07qcCy2K19g/s400/christmas+2011+010.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh, hey Merlin!</td></tr></tbody></table>Oh yeah, and then there was Dad and one of his new toys - the self-proclaimed Gift of the Year...<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNfeagDyI1-CFCM9rNaAKYWdpIdcj26x1Z67_F1zVZPIUAPVhiqrKCY9vVYaqBAqOIgVGuqbl9y6vyICyhTwtdxb7wHFtq3foSf-eyGmGvUxd5Uf8WLb4VAQc3TdOnKSLInW49LURkVok/s1600/dad+wii.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNfeagDyI1-CFCM9rNaAKYWdpIdcj26x1Z67_F1zVZPIUAPVhiqrKCY9vVYaqBAqOIgVGuqbl9y6vyICyhTwtdxb7wHFtq3foSf-eyGmGvUxd5Uf8WLb4VAQc3TdOnKSLInW49LURkVok/s400/dad+wii.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br />Also, another decision that was made final this week was our wedding date:  <b>October 6, 2012</b>!  We made our deposit on Wednesday when I took my parents to see the wedding venue.  I'm so glad and relieved that the venue has been decided upon and we can begin to proceed with photographer and dj selections.<br /><br />On to the weekly goals! <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEPHHXZcGayhBxS9vC7YcoFq6_ZHzGYSWuOo-BlOdbMWpof09vHPM20Oa2UQfXqzy0bmBTUxveiaJW5X_APpzAfF_nB2GxclJGudMWazU-Mg7SUXmA6CUvvFRcVYsiloZLUl2ZEVaEQ0A/s1600/weight-watchers-diet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEPHHXZcGayhBxS9vC7YcoFq6_ZHzGYSWuOo-BlOdbMWpof09vHPM20Oa2UQfXqzy0bmBTUxveiaJW5X_APpzAfF_nB2GxclJGudMWazU-Mg7SUXmA6CUvvFRcVYsiloZLUl2ZEVaEQ0A/s1600/weight-watchers-diet.jpg" /></a></div><br /><b><span style="color: blue;">Goals for the week:</span></b><br />Stay within daily Points+ allowance (39) for 5 of the 7 days. If I have to delve in to the Weekly Points+ allowance, I want to use no more than 34 of them, leaving a balance of 15. <br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><b style="color: blue;">Potential Challenges + Solutions:</b></div><ol><li><b>New Year's Eve:</b> I think I will be safe on the menu part since I am preparing the food, but the alcohol consumption will be a challenge.  </li><li><b>Going over daily Points+ allowance:</b>  Back to this again.  As I've stated before, I struggle with this every week.  I have a 4 day weekend coming up ahead of me and with that time I plan to construct a menu for the upcoming week to keep me well on track.     </li></ol><b style="color: blue;">Planned Activity: </b><br />I'm sticking to 2 days of activity this upcoming week again.  If I do more, then that's a bonus.  The activity of choice will most likely be the elliptical.<br /><br />Speaking of activity options, Joel and I had started the <a href="http://the-big-weight.blogspot.com/2011/08/august-goals.html">New Rules of Lifting challenge</a> back in August.  I really enjoyed this because it shook up the dull cardio routine that I had been doing for almost 8 months straight.  We slacked off on the challenge big time in October and November, only completing Stage 1.  Last week, while on lunch at work, I read through Stage 2 and once again I'm intimidated.  Many of the moves seem like they will be difficult to learn, and I'm not too excited about re-acclimating myself to the meat-head side of the gym. It will be even worse this time of year, with all the New Year's resolution people.  Dang it.  We desperately need to get our butts back in gear with the weight lifting - it was really helpful and it broke up the same, dull routine of cardio.  I just can't find the motivation to do it.<br /><br /><b>What are your plans for New Year's Eve? </b> Almost every year since I've lived in the DC area, my parents come between Christmas and NYE and we end up doing nothing.  So lame we are. <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/AVvXsEixIOIH16mT__FflnxQcAsABWxOdraNmbzauLUwvyw2vLyFa5UENCGHGn_Wn1L3xymqzJpOZj5zM6bNYDB8mRiXMhx8EicqifK3E6HHThk2-5g_NoBSKz3kimNqHhK381zCDcO_LejLMWI/s1600/NYE+2010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixIOIH16mT__FflnxQcAsABWxOdraNmbzauLUwvyw2vLyFa5UENCGHGn_Wn1L3xymqzJpOZj5zM6bNYDB8mRiXMhx8EicqifK3E6HHThk2-5g_NoBSKz3kimNqHhK381zCDcO_LejLMWI/s400/NYE+2010.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">NYE two years ago... LAME</td></tr></tbody></table><br />This year, Joel doesn't have to work for once, and so we want to at least go out to a bar for a few drinks and then come back here to hang out.<br /><br />Happy New Year to you and your family!

Christmas Weekly Weight Watchers Goals Weigh In + Weekly Goals + More Christmas Celebrations

Well the verdict is in.... I am up 0.5 lbs and I'm okay with that.  After the serious eating challenges I've had almost the entire m...

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