Giving Up

One of my New Year's resolutions for 2009 is to give something up each month. The idea behind it is that hopefully after the month is over I will have proven to myself that

1-I can live without something, and
2-that the thing I gave up really isn't as great as I once thought it was.

For example, in January I gave up fast food.


I had come to rely too much on the convenience of the drive-thru. I generally make the healthiest choices possible when eating fast food, but it's still not the best habit to form, so I gave it up cold turkey. It was so much easier than I thought it would be! Sure it took a little extra planning and/or effort, but I did it. If I needed something quick I would go to a grocery store (and make a healthy choice) or Subway (because I don't consider Subway "fast food"). The healthy habit has stuck and I've only been to a drive thru once since then . . . with a friend, I might add! :)

Now for my current goal. Working and living in an environment with young children pretty much guarantees that you have easy access to treats whenever the craving strikes. And that is dangerous! So this month I gave up candy and desserts.


February probably isn't the easiest month to do this, especially around the 14th, but that's one of the reasons I chose it. The other reason is because, let's be honest, 28 days is more realistic than 31! Again, it has been a lot easier than I had anticipated, but it's been incredibly difficult too, especially when making homemade truffles with Spencer and our friend, Renee. My mouth was watering like crazy! (Don't worry, there is one of each kind of truffle waiting in the freezer to be sampled in March). It is going to be hard not to let sweets creep back into my diet on a regular basis, but I really think I can do it!

I have a few ideas of what I can do, or rather not do, in the coming months . . . eating in the car, snacking throughout the day (other than designated healthy snacks of course), fried foods, and maybe, maybe even do a month where I give up chocolate in all forms (fyi, there are chocolate breakfast foods that are not considered dessert). But I'm struggling to come up with something for next month. You see, I'm planning a fantastic little road trip with my former roommate, Allyson at the end of March and I would hate to eliminate any option of edible goodness that we could enjoy between DC and Boston. I'd also hate to not meet my goal, which is why I'm having such a dilemma. I still have five more days to come up with something good . . . Suggestions are welcome! :)

P.S. Big thanks to google images! Also, sorry about the over-use of parenthesis.

Video 02.13.09

The awesome little skier in this video just happens to be a little boy I know and love . . . Matthew! :)



He is so stinking cute!!!

Change

After a year and some of wanting to do it, I finally made the appointment and my hair is now purple! Okay, so not Sydney Bristow purple, but there are definitely purple highlights in my hair. I knew I wanted to change my hair a bit, but I was hesitant because as soon as you get me in that chair, I'll cave and have the stylist chop all my hair off, and I didn't want to do that. I decided that I'd be strong and just do it! And I did. It's purple and I love the style!







I got it done at this salon in DC called Bang. It's kind of random, but I'd been talking to Spencer about what I wanted to do with my hair and he saw this girl at TJ Max who had that hair. He asked her where she gets her hair done and she tells him she's a stylist at this salon. He immediately called me and gave me the info. It took about a month for me to actually set up the appointment, but I'm SO glad I did!

All Good Things

I can think of no better way to spend a Saturday morning than walking around Eastern Market, crepe in hand, browsing all the amazing things people are selling. There are so many fun things to look at, cool vendors to talk to, yummy fresh foods (when they're in season), and it's an excellent place to people watch. Actually, going to Eastern Market is probably my favorite thing to do in all of DC. If you ever come to visit, you need to put it at the top of your priority list. Trust me. :)



Me at Eastern Market Dec. '07

Last weekend I went to the Market with some friends and had a great time, There aren't near as many vendors out in the freezing cold as there are during the warmer months, so I really didn't really plan on making any purchases. We hit a few stops and then got really cold and decided to head to the indoor market. We didn't get far when something caught our attention. They were these cool looking purses made out of vintage materials. I thought they were cute. Then we started talking to the lady who makes them, Jenae. She was telling us how each bag is one of a kind, she makes them all herself, and will fix them for you if anything ever happens to it. By this time I started thinking they were really cute. She continues on saying that she is discounting all these bags a good amount because they're from last season and she has started on new ones. That almost had me sold, but not quite. We were about to leave when I saw quite possibly the cutest bag she had on display. And I picked it up . . . there was no going back after that. Fortunately there's an ATM at the indoor market, because, like I said before, I wasn't planning on making any purchases. She put the bag aside and we picked it up on our way to brunch.

Here's her website and of course pictures of the one I fell in love with.

http://rangeofemotion.com/