Believing is seeing.

I stumbled upon a blog called Wish List Mom. The author of this blog creates a wish list every Wednesday consisting of simple things she hopes happens. Not "world peace wishes" although I'm sure she's for that, but little things. She said in today's blog that most of her wishes come true. I agree with her. Believing is seeing. It sounds corny but I believe its true!

Anyways, I thought I might try it. Here's my Wish List Friday:

I wish that ....

1. the sleet & snow predicted for Sunday will wait until the evening because we'll be in the city (NYC) meeting up with my Canadian friend, Ali, who's mom was chosen to participate in the Frigid Fest! We're looking forward to her play, Camouflague, on Sunday afternoon. It will be much more fun if bad weather isn't beating down on us.
2. my cleaning people come on Monday!
3. the perfect job (PT Marketing) turns up soon!

That's enough for today. May all our wishes come true.

Transitions update

Still doing my Transition Lifestyle classes - very informative and fun. We've got a great little group. Of course its easier to do this kind of thing when you have company, AND when everyone is reporting success!

We got weighed and measured at the 4th week class, and compared these figures with our 1st class. For myself I was about 2 inches less in my waist and in my hips. And had a nice reduction in body fat % which is also being tracked. Just into week 6 now and the weight and inches are still coming off. This is done with a combination of eating much differently (for me), stepped up exercising (although I had gotten much better about regular visits to the Y before this class) and supplements. We eat normal food - no pre-prepared boxed meal plans - whether at home or in a restaurant.

My goal in starting this program was to just be more comfortable in my clothes, without going up a size, because I'd already done that, and to reverse the trend of adding a pound or two a year. I am feeling good about this program, and I've met a new group of great people!

The Uncommon Reader

A friend recommended this great little book - perfect for those who enjoy reading. Its written by Alan Bennett who wrote 'The History Boys' which was also made into a great movie.

The title is perfect. It is a story about the Queen accidentally discovering the joy of reading and her journey as she expands her thoughts and observations on life.

Here are some of my fav observations from the book:

"Pass the time? Books are not about passing the time. They're about other lives. Other worlds." (pg 29)

"The appeal of reading, she thought, lay in its indifference: there was something undeferring about literature. Books did not care who was reading them or whether one read them or not. All readers were equal, herself included." (pg 30)

"Authors, she soon decided, were probably best met with in the pages of their novels, and as much creatures of the reader's imagination as the characters in their books. Nor did they seem to think one had done them a kindness by reading their writings. Rather they had done one the kindness by writing them." (pg 52)

"You don't put your life into books. You find it there." (pg 101)

I highly recommend this book!

Lentils?

I'm supposed to include lentils in my meals. I had to google them just to know what they look like! I bought a few packages last week. They are still in their packages this week. They are just not that enticing to me.

Otherwise my group and I are on week 3. My jeans are now comfortable again. Thank goodness. Progress!

Transitioning my body ...

I've been blogless for a few weeks partly because Bryan was home until Jan. 11th, and then I started a "lifestyle" program, called Transitions Lifestyle System. This is a program that a good friend of mine took late last spring with great results. It seems to me that others I've observed who have been on other programs (both diet and exercise) haven't achieved the results that my friend has. Plus my friend continues to eat normal foods, drink wine and enjoy life! Almost sounds too good to be true but thought I'd try it. I don't actually want to lose much weight but want to lose fat in specific areas. I also want to learn more about food, food pairings, what's best, what's not - something I've never really paid attention to. A lot of the info out there seems so conflicting, and, as most of you know I'm not much of a food person! So I am learning about food and how our bodies react, and what are our best choices.

The first meeting was interesting. Our measurements, weight and body fat %'s were recorded. Photos were also taken so we can compare our before and after in 12 weeks. We were all pumped and ready to get our week one orders!

With lots of enthusiasm I started week one, which was a cleansing week. UGH! Just veggies and fruit and some supplements for a week. I had NO energy. On the 6th day I added chicken to my meals and on the 7th day felt much better. There was a mixed bag of reviews at our 2nd meeting. One couple loved the 1st week (keeners!) and a few were like me. Just starting week 2 where we can now choose from a much larger menu of food items, no grains yet. There are some restrictions on the foods that we select.

I'll "weigh in" on how its going over the next 11 weeks.

Amazing sunset tonight

A beautiful, mild day today with the perfect sunset through the trees:

Merry Christmas

Scenes from our annual Manhattan visit on Christmas Eve:

Most famous Christmas tree! I see I caught the zamboni too!

Saks on 5th Ave.

We had a good visit but overall not as crowded as past years. A waiter mentioned that tourism was way down this Christmas and they were suffering. Hopefully this recession will not last long.

Merry Christmas to all!