Blogger's Ball 2012

*This event is hosted by lala Lists, Jessica Who, and Glossy Blonde.*

This is the first annual Blogger's Ball!  It's a shame that us bloggers can't really get together and ring in the New Year in style, but until that's possible, we can celebrate by having a virtual ball!  Why not?

This is my dress for the Blogger's Ball!  What a fun style!

Source: renttherunway.com via Sarah on Pinterest

1. What was your best part of 2012?
2012 was a big year!  I got a new teaching job, moved into my first house, bought my first new car, started this fun little blog, traveled to Maine, hung out with great friends and so much more!  What a year this has been!  I really don't know if I can pick a "best part!"

2. What was your favorite song/book/movie of 2012?
Song: "Blown Away" by Carrie Underwood
Book: "On the Island" by Tracy Garvis-Graves was one of my favorite books this year!
Movie: "The Lucky One" with Zac Efron based off of Nicholas Sparks' book

3. What was your biggest accomplishment of 2012?
This goes back to number 1.  That would be between buying my first new car in April, getting a new teaching job, and moving into my first house!

4. What are you looking forward to most in 2013?
Moving into my house began a new chapter in my life.  I'm so excited to continue this chapter of my life and see where I end up!  Oh and my Alaskan cruise this summer is going to be super fun!

5. What are your New Year's resolutions?
- Eat healthier.
- Loose weight.
- Blog more consistently.
- Save money better.  Create a budget and stick to it!

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Sunday Social: New Year's Eve

It's time for another Sunday Social!  It's been a while since I participated in this link up party!  But I figured NYE was a great time to return to the party!

This week's questions:

1. Favorite New Years Eve you've had before.
About 20 of my 23 NYE have been spent the same.  My family and some close friends get together and celebrate the new year.  It's a fun, low-key time spent with some great people.  However, my absolute favorite NYE was 2009.  I spent a month in Greece complete my second practicum and working with school age children all over the country.  We were there for the month of December and left the country shortly after the new year.  So, my 2009 NYE was spent in Volos, Greece.  Pretty cool, huh?!

2. Are you doing anything for NYE this year and if so what?
I am so excited to have some good friends coming to visit me for NYE this year!  I'm not really sure what we will be doing, but I know it will be a great time!

3. Name a book we should all read come January.
On the Island by Tracy Garvis-Graves is one of my favorite books and it will definitely put you in a mood ready for the summer!  The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks is another book I suggest you read soon!

4. What are your New Years resolutions?
I haven't really sat down and thought about a list of resolutions for the new year.  I typically don't tend to stick to the goals I set, so I don't usually have many.  This year, however, I do want to accomplish the following:
           - Loose weight and get into better shape.
           - Eat healthier.
           - Travel more!
           - Save money better (might be hard with the resolution above!!)
           - Blog more consistently.

Source: simplyseductive.blogspot.com via Sarah on Pinterest

What are some of your goals for the new year?

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From the Kitchen: Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Okay.  So, the plan was to make Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps.  As you'll see throughout the recipe, I adjusted the recipe, left this and that out, and made my own version of the lettuce wraps.  But, you get the idea!  And, fyi, this recipe was found on the back of the pasta package (I don't take any credit)!

Ingredients
Chicken
Package of Knorr Thai Sweet Chili Pasta Sides
Salt and Pepper
Lettuce
Lime (Lime Juice)
Peanuts

I totally planned to include the lime juice and peanuts to my recipe, but forgot them when I went to the store.  I think the recipe would totally benefit from having these ingredients, but the dish was yummy without them.

Directions

1. Bring 1 1/2 cups of water to a boil.  Once water is to a boil, add pasta.  Reduce heat and simmer for 7 minutes.  Let rest for 2 minutes.

2. In the meantime, heat oil in pan.  Add chicken.  Season chicken with salt and pepper (if desired).  Cook until chicken is cooked all the way through.

3. This is somewhere else I changed up the recipe.  To make lettuce wraps, put out lettuce leaves onto your plate.  I decided to make mine into a "salad" so I chopped up the lettuce and put it on the plate.

4. Fill your lettuce leaves, or top your salad, with the chicken/pasta mixture.  Top with lime juice and peanuts.

5. Enjoy!  I've always been a fan of lettuce wraps.  I love the combination of the warm chicken and the crisp lettuce!  Yum!

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After Christmas and a Ball Game

- Christmas was amazing!  As always!  It's such a magical time and is always spent with friends and family!  It's definitely the most wonderful time of the year!

- I completed my first week on Weight Watchers.  With a loss of 2 pounds!  It might be slightly inaccurate, because I'm switching scales (which aren't calibrated together) and I had on different clothes...but I tried the best I could.  Regardless, it was a loss and I'm excited about that seeing that it was Christmas week!  

- Virginia Tech's bowl game is tonight!  Go Hokies!

- Christmas Break is almost over.  Need I say more?

I'm leaving you with a little New Years' decorating inspiration that I found on Pinterest!!

Source: lilluna.com via Nikki on Pinterest

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056. Start Weight Watchers again.

 

Completing this goal has been a long time coming.  It's been less than a year since I last went to a Weight Watchers meeting, but it feels like an eternity.  I have been able to feel myself slipping and I know I haven't been making good choices.  I follow another blogger who posts weekly about her Weight Watchers updates and it's been a huge inspiration for me to get back into the game.  This afternoon, she posted that she had a great week and she hit a goal she was working towards.  After reading that post, I went immediately to the Weight Watchers website and signed up for the online program.  

I'm not sure how the online program is going to work since I won't be going to the meetings (which I feel are a huge help), but I'm going to give it a try.  I'm going to give my kitchen a makeover and revamp my exercise plan (which is hard to do when there is no Gold's Gym or American Family Fitness in the area!)  But between Jillian Michaels' workout DVDs and Just Dance, I think working out at home will prove to be pretty fun!  

So, as of Friday, December 21st, I'm officially a member of Weight Watchers again.  Here's to a new me - and a new year!  And tomorrow is my first weigh-in.  Eeek!

I'm going to hold you blog readers accountable for helping me stick to my goal!  My weekly highs and lows posts, which I started the same day that I signed up for WW, will be a good place to post my weekly losses (or gains).  Don't you think?  

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The Book Nook: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

My Rating: 4/5

Goodreads Rating: 3.99/5

Goodreads Synopsis: The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it.  It is simply there, when yesterday it was not.  Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements.  It is called Le Cirque des Reves, and it is only open at night.  But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway - a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors.  Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will.  Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love - a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.  True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus performers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead.  Written in rich, seductive prose, this spell-casting novel is a feast for the senses and the heart.

My Review: If I could sum up this book in one word, all I could say is, "Wow!"  To be totally honest, this book is not one that I would have picked up for myself.  If I was at the library looking for a new book to read, I would pass this book over without a second glance.  But since my new book club decided to read this book, I knew I at least had to give it a try.  Boy, was I surprised!  Turns out that I totally loved this book!  It was so much better than I imagined.  So magical - both in the story and how it is written.  I was pulled into the book early on and never wanted to leave!  The only reason that I rated this a four, instead of a five, is that it still doesn't compare to my absolute favorite books.  But this book is high on the list and I definitely recommend The Night Circus to anyone!

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Merry Christmas!

 
Merry Christmas!  I'm keeping this post short and sweet, since I know you are spending time with family today, but I did want to drop by and share one of my favorite Christmas TV scenes - from none other than The Big Bang Theory!

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Music Monday: Christmas, Part 2

If you caught last week's Music Monday post, you will probably remember when I mentioned that part 2 was coming.  It's here!  Before we jump into the music, let me just say that it is so hard to narrow down the music to put in this post when Christmas music is playing in the background.  I kept hearing songs I wanted to put in, but I would have been writing this post ALL afternoon if that was the case.

Here is part 2 of my favorite Christmas music!

Laurell: Wrapped Up In You




Dave Barnes: Family Tree




Avalon: Light a Candle




Amy Grant: Grown-Up Christmas List




Carrie Underwood: Do You Hear What I Hear?




Faith Hill: Where Are You Christmas?




Colbie Caillat: Christmas In The Sand



What are your favorite Christmas songs?  I have so many - these two lists don't even really break the surface!

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008. Send Christmas cards.

 

Christmas cards really shouldn't bee that hard to write and send out.  But its something that never gets done.  I have a goal every year to send out Christmas cards - and every year (after Christmas), I find the cards I bought and failed to send out.  This year, I wanted to change that.  I wanted 2012 to be the year that I finally sent out Christmas cards.  So, the first day of Christmas break, I sat down to write, address, and mail out my cards!  It wasn't hard or time consuming, so I just can't figure out why I never got them sent in the past!  But, I'll tell you what, it does help that I put in on my 101 in 1001 list!  Since it was a goal, I knew that I had to send them out!!  And check out my return address labels I made!  Aren't they cute!  

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Christmas Home Tour

I love Christmas.  And I love to decorate.  So, naturally, I love decorating for Christmas.  I've been envisioning Christmas decorations in a house of my own for some time now.  And while I wasn't able to fully carry out all of the visions that I had, I'm so pleased with my decorations for this year!  Welcome to my home!  Have a look around!

 
And please excuse the 18 Days Until Christmas sign.  Clearly, I took this picture a while ago.  I don't want you to think that I don't know when Christmas is! ;)

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