#ManDayMonday, Friendships, Inspiration, Man-Day Monday, Pamper Party, Relationship

{ManDay} Monday … From the Heart of A Baby Boy

Good {ManDay} Monday Luv-lies!!

Found this little gem.  Thought I’d share it with you.  I know that you’ll luv it as much as me

 

Do You Luv It?

Do Tell ….

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Friendships, Inspiration, Nutrition

Happy 105th Birthday Momofuku Andos

Good Morning Luv-Lies,

Quick post this early morning.

Google’s done a great 105th tribute to the founder of Ramen Noodles, Momofuku  Andos.

If you, like me, spent your college years:

“Peel[ing] off the lid.

Pour[ing] boiling water into the cup.

Let[ting  it] sit for three minutes.

Stir[ring] well and serve.”

Get yourself right over to Google and help yourself to this celebration! 

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Blog Luv!, Friendships, GIF, Inspiration, Randomness, Relationship, Video, WeekEnd Luv

This is the Summer Happy Dance!!!

Morning Luv-lies,

One More  ‘Shout Out’  for The First Day  of Summer

What are you going to  dance about today?

… Do Tell …

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#AtoZChallenge2014, Blog Luv!, Challenges, Friendships, GIF

{C}ute … #AtoZChallenge2014

Day #3 of the #AtoZChallenge2014

The Letter C

Hello Luv-lies,

I’m a true to heart dog Luv-vahhhhh

BUT

THIS is just downright Cute …..

cute and cuddly

 

Cute & Cuddly

*I’m ALL Smiles*

Tomorrow … The Letter ‘D’

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Friendships, Inspiration, Relationship, Video

A Letter to A Person {On Their 1st Day Here}::[VIDEO]

Good Morning Luv-lies,

This video is  beyond AWESOME!  It is Waaaaaaay!   Waaaaaaaay AWESOME!!

Isn’t this AMAZING?!!!!     So honest.   So authentic.

One of my favorite take-aways : ‘Treat everyone like its their birthday…. because love is always louder’

AH- MAY-ZING!    And to quote a cliché’ – ‘ from the mouths of babes’.

I Luv! this.  What do you think?

do tell …

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Food, Friendships, Girl on Fire!, Goals, I am Woman....Roar!, Inspiration, My Weight Loss, Randomness, The Weight-ing Game, Weight Watchers ... The Way I See It

Sunday Weigh-in & Some Fun

Happy Sunday Luv-lies,

Just a short post today.  Couldn’t pass up the opportunity to share some fun news with you.

comfort zone

A little over a year ago I started this trek down the path of a healthier lifestyle.  On December 31st 2012 {on a whim.  You know.  Now that I think about it, some of my best successes have resulted from a whim…} I decided that I had had enough of making excuses for not living a healthier lifestyle.  I was tired of referring to the excess weight that I had been hauling around as, ‘Baby fat’.  Who the hell was I lying to {I know. I had been lying to myself and for a loooooong time!}?  After all, ‘my baby’ was twenty-nine years old!  I was tired of not being able to fit into the beautiful clothing that I had purchased {all year!} with the promise that ‘One day I’m going to be able to fit these’.  You’ve made that promise to yourself – haven’t you?  Tired of huffing and puffing after walking short distances.  Tired of eating too much, too late.  Waking up the next  morning feeling like a stuffed pig.  I could go on but I won’t.  This is suppose to be a ‘short’ post.

My ‘whim’ took me first to my local fitness center, where I eagerly signed on the dotted line.  ‘There!’ I thought.  Proudly, I was on my way to escaping this delusion that I had been living – for years!  I returned home, knowing that I was only halfway vested in this journey.  I knew then, like I know now, that I needed a weight loss program that offered me several things.   I needed a program that {amongst other things}:

~  held me accountable for walking the talkBecause, the mouth will say anything.  Enough said.

~ addressed the ‘Why?’ of my eating behavior.  You see, getting to the gym has never been the problem.  controlling the eating behavior has.

~  didn’t promise a short-term, quick fix-it solutionDidn’t get this size fast.  Not going to lose it, and, more importantly, get to goal quickly. Got to put in the work!

~ offered a forum where I could have some face-time with others – in real timeFace-time has a way of not allowing you to hide from the truth.

~ had a long-standing history & tried and true scientific basis for it’s successLongevity has its place.

~ allowed me to eat ‘real’ foodMy food mantra is that, ‘… there’s too much good *read- natural* food out there, not to be able to eat it!

~ that worked, seamlessly, with my present lifestyleYou want to guarantee failure? Implement too many unrealistic changes too fast in a schedule with little to no room for change.

~ taught me that the path to a healthy lifestyle can be measured in many different waysThe scale can not & should not be the only measure of ‘winning’

I’ll stop here.  {I could really go on 🙂

So without much thought *it was a no brainer for me* – I returned home and, because the physical center was closed –  I joined my local Weight Watchers group – via the website. 

green chairs

A year, and some change later {pardon the pun}, the program has and continues to live up to everything that I wanted and needed.  The group that I attend is slowly growing. Over the last year, we have transitioned from individuals gathered in a common space for individual reasons, to a cohesive, supportive, fun, trusting, understanding ‘family’ who at the core of it all, has each others best interest at heart.  I ask you.  What more can you ask?

so here’s the fun part  {it’s all fun. but. you know what I mean}

This morning I arrived to the meeting a lot later than I usually do.  My late is about three to five minutes.  Not today. I was about fifteen minutes late *yikes*.  Not good when the meeting is only thirty minutes long to begin with *crinch*.  It was nice to see all of the new attendees.  My hope for them is that they come back enough to realize that the program really does work – when you work the program.

Since the beginning of the year – yes.  just nineteen days ago – The group has been increasingly interested in increasing the our presence on #Facebook.

*aside* I think that it’s a great idea!  Especially since I spend a lot of time promoting a healthier lifestyle on my Facebook page

See, we have an official Weight Watchers Facebook page; however, it has its limits {at least for right now}.  We can’t wait to share recipes, successes & fitness info.  So our  fearless Leader, Nancy,  suggested that we start another page where we can post pictures and other incentives.  Looooove it!!!

But first, we have to come up with a name for our page!

This is the fun part!  We have until our next meeting to come up with some suggestions.  My mind is going a million miles a minute trying to think of something 🙂

Now, I am really looking forward to this upcoming meeting-  more than ever –  because I can’t wait to hear all of the suggestions! 

Did I say that we are a pretty witty bunch?

#WW Name Our Group Challenge

 So Luv-lies, I’ll be sure to let you know how this turned out.  One thing that I’m almost certain of.  I wouldn’t be late for next Sunday’s meeting 🙂

Do you have any suggestions?

Do tell …..

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Friendships, Goals, Inspiration, Keep Callm, Weight Watchers ... The Way I See It

… and to all ‘A Happy New Year’

Happy New Year 2014

Hello Luv-lies,

Happy New Year to you all!

I’m sitting here watching the ‘ball’ drop on this annual  New York City Event.  Watching the mess of confetti that is raining down on the elated  faces that have waited for hours for an opportunity to party celebrate the beginning of a New Year.

The New Year seems to bring about a renewed hope for all of those things that we didn’t and/or couldn’t conquer in the twelve months preceding it.  A New Year seems to inspire us to make good on those promises from before, and/or make a new set of goals/aspirations/dreams and promises.

Although I’ve long given up ‘resolutions’ and haves replaced them with ‘Yearly Inspirations’ and ‘Reflections on the Year gone by’, I can’t help but to get caught up the madness going on in New York’s Time Square.

champagne toast

Somewhere between the commercials and the celebration I’ve come up with my list of this year’s inspirations.

So without further ado, for the 2014 year I am inspired to do the following things …. {in no particular order of significance}

Blog at least three times a week – I enjoy meeting you here in this space (it’s like my virtual coffee shoppe) and after all, I started this blog to keep me accountable…. right?

~ Cook one amazing home made meal a month – this might not seem like a big deal, but take it from someone (that would be me) who has found true excitement in the kitchen – it’s a biiiiiig deal!

~ Reach Weight Watcher’s Lifetime Member Status -Let’s just say that ‘lifetime membership has its bennies’

~ Attend a few non-credit college ‘Learning for Leisure’ courses – right now courses in culinary arts, technology and language are on my list.

~ Races! Races! Races! – the list includes completing at least three each: 5K Races, 10K Races and one half marathon…. I’m taking all suggestions – be kind

~ Do Volunteer work – this has been on my bucket list for a while… now it’s time to put up (shutting up is not an option)

~ Attend at least one Blog Conference – depending upon the location, these can be quite pricey…. but you can’t put a price on the ‘friendships’ that you make in the blogosphere

~ Continue to workout at least five times a week – in addition to eating a helluva lot healthier, this workout routine has brought me great weight loss success and peace of mind!

~ Master this WordPress Blog Platform – full disclosure here…. right now, I am not totally satisfied with my blog… I have to devote more time in making it more user-friendly (amongst other things)….

~ Start a Garden – this is going to be interested… I don’t have much of a green thumb but I’m hell-bent on eating fresh veggies.  So my ‘me logic’ says – ‘want fresh veggies? why not grow them’?  ‘BOOM’ … makes sense to me

This is just a short list of the things that are Inspiring Me.  I’m certain that as the year rolls-out, the list will grow.  And so will the excitement of checking off my yearly inspirational accomplishments….

Brooke Hagel-Mood Board-Ideas 1

So Luv-lies,
What inspires you this year?
…. do tell

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#NaBloPoMo, Farmer's Market, Friendships, NaBloPoMO, Randomness, WeekEnd Luv

No Problem

one of the few things that I look forward to on the weekend is my Sunday visit to the local farmer’s market.
this market is not your run-of-the-mill super-mega-gigunda market.
it’s your good old-fashioned country market where you’re greeted at the door by a local farmer and the aroma of seasonal fruit.

 a country market where there is a free cup of warm apple cider to cut the chill of a  blustery winter.

  and

  a fresh-squeezed cup of lemonade, sold by the neighborhood children, to quench your thirst in the heat of the summer.

customer-service1

a country market where homemade bread is baked daily and the only thing more tempting than spending an hour catching up on the latest neighborhood happenings is the smell of freshly roasted coffee grounds.

and, although a seemingly small thing, the entire staff is well over twenty-five years of age.

that seemingly insignificant detail makes it more pleasant because you do not have to endure the lackadaisical disposition of today’s youth –
who have somehow managed to escape learning the fundamental lessons of social grace and respectful people skills.

Happy Sunday, Luv-lies

How did you spend your Sunday?

Do tell …..

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