The Journey...

Ahhh...the topic I have been so hesitant to write on....
I feel so vulnerable, but, I know I am not alone....
Here we go...

I do not ever recall a time in my life when I was happy with my body. You see, I was a very competitive dancer and even though I had NO reason to feel insecure about my body, I did. I was 10 when I went through puberty, and I grew like a beanstalk overnight and there were curves that I did not want. I looked like a giant in the age group I was competing in, and clearly did not fit in. I remember my dance teacher talking to me and my mom. She wanted to give me a change with the "older" girls but was worried about the age difference. We gave it a try. I truly flourished with my dancing when I moved up. However, I was in the awkward stage and no one else seemed to be there. I had the bushy eyebrows and wasn't sure how to use my new curves, on top of that, I was getting tormented in school because of my height and curves. It was a difficult time for me. I danced for a few more years and started to become comfortable. But then, HS came along. I wanted a bit more freedom to play other sports and try new things. I quit dance. I went from activity levels of over 35 hours a week to levels of about 20. A big difference, but I still worked out. I think I was comfortable in my skin for 1 year and that was it. Pathetic really. In Junior year, I tried not eating and over exercising, that was not a smart option. So then college came. I went from this 20 hour exercise regime to now the gym a few times a week and coaching. And your eating habits change big time in college! I was told this would happen and since I never really had to worry about what I was eating (meaning, I was burning off everything anyway), I just did not understand. So, I gained a little bit of weight and I was okay. Then, I stopped coaching and started a master's program and gained more bad habits (barley sleeping, not eating much, eating the wrong foods, putting my health last) and put on a bit more weight...Ughh I hate writing this...Regroup!

Into my master's program, I just was not feeling well. I was exhausted and not sleeping well. My stomach was being difficult (would randomly vomit, was not digesting properly) and I really did not do anything about it. Why? because my master's program was the be all and end all...Oh hindsight you are so evil! Anyway, I had gotten a terrible stomach bug in my 2nd and final year. I was so sick for 2 weeks, even my liver function was impacted. I missed some school and some of my internship. I was told I should have followed up with some more testing, but I just ignored it! I had so much to catch up on! So I went on with my stomach, energy way down and my weight going way up!

 I really ignored it up until I had another episode like I did in grad school, this time, I did not ignore it. This time I needed to get my gallbladder removed, and removed it we did! It was quite a bit after surgery until i was eating normal foods again (corn chips, ensure shakes, and ice pops were my diet for a LONG time), and when i felt great I decided the weight HAD to come off! I went to WW with the support of my family and I had a WW buddy. It went great for the first 1.5 months, until my stomach started hurting again :-( I went for every test imaginable, did diet changes, new medicines, everything.

 To this day, I am not 100% and I still struggle. Even with this struggle, I am still better and now can undo the damage I have done. I walked into WW the week before thanksgiving and have lost 12 lbs. I love that on WW you have the flexibility to eat more than a grapefruit and toast and its REAL food! There is also a wonderful amount of support! It has been a bit slow but steady! I started a new job that has thrown my sleeping and eating clocks way off, so it has been a bit of a balancing act! I also have become a bit more comfortable with myself and my inner demons are smaller now! I just came to the point in my life and realized I have so many wonderful blessings, to let this take my spirit down.

Each week, I plan to come here and tell you how I did!

Thanks for your love and support!

Xxoo Christina

Our first BIG purchase!

A VERY exciting part of our first year of marriage was one of our first BIG purchases together! I am Disney OBSESSED and proud of it and hubby got bit by the Disney bug as well! One day, we were at the mall and we saw the Disney Vacation Club (DVC) kiosks set up. We passed it a few times and I had to know what it was all about. But, I also didn't want to get my hopes up, so I just kept walking. We had some time to kill, and hubby said, I know you want to hear more about it, let's go check it out! (love him!). SO we met a WONDERFUL woman, Jennifer O'Dell (now with http://fairytaleescapes.com/) and I fell head over heels in LOVE with her! She just "got me". She spent some time with us, went over all the options and was NOT pushy at all! We left there, looked at each other and said, wow this is doable. We were nervous though, it is a larger purchase and we wanted to make a wise decision about it. We decided to think it through and look into our options through them (Concierge collection, cruises, other non-disney locations, etc). We really felt what they had to offer would really suit our needs and would really accommodate a one day growing family, AND really provide us with an affordable option to bring along my parents one day to help us with the kiddies! So again, we said we would think about it. We decided to go see the models at Roosevelt field (sadly they just closed) and again we just fell more in love. We also bought my parents as we felt they would be able to give us good feedback on this. They were in love as well! Again though, we waited it out. Jen emailed us a special they were offering and we just decided to jump on it! I remember how nervous and excited we were! From the time we made our purchase until now, we were able to go on 3 trips! I took my mom to Disney for mother's day, Scott and I went for our anniversary, and finally we had a weekend getaway in NYC in December with the Disney Concierge Collection. We are so happy with our decision and we look forward to our future trips!

In case you are curious on how it works...
You buy a certain number of points....you can use those points however you wish...more days, larger accomodations, amazing views, cruise, deluxe resort etc etc....they offer a deluxe studio, 1 bedroom, 2 bedroom, and a deluxe 3 bedroom villa. You can bank and borrow from year to year. There is SO much flexibility. You pay the monthly payment plus monthly dues (which you can pay upfront as well). We learned that these dues can really be a burden (with other timeshare companies), however, with Disney they guarantee they will only go up to a certain amount. This year our dues went down!!!

Also, there are some amazing perks! You get member only access to certain events and trips! Also, there is a DVC discount for almost anything; from food to spa packages to fireworks cruises and merchandise!

Pictures from our past trips!

Anniversary trip with Hubby! Deluxe Studio at Old Key West.

 

 Trip with mom! 1 bedroom at the Boardwalk!

 Lowe's Regency- Deluxe Room (they gave us an upgrade) Concierge Collection!

 These photos were from the visit at Roosevelt Field

 We feel blessed that we were able to make this purchase and neither one of us has a regret in doing so!

Thanks for reading along!
Xxoo Christina

Enjoying the moments!

This past weekend, the weekend of Nemo, I was lucky to enjoy some great moments.
I would like to quickly digress and say I do not know how I feel about this naming of snow storms! And Nemo??!! Really?! I think not, Bruce is more like it! I know they have a set list of names to choose from, but anyway!

So, on Friday, I was snowed in at work. I had to sleep at the hospital I work at. It was quite an experience, but, I was able to get to know some of my new co-workers a bit better!

Saturday, my co-workers and I shoveled away to get home as soon as possible! I was so thankful that my hubby cleared out the driveway and walkway for me! I took a shower and slept for a few hours! When I woke up, we made some delicious chocolate chip cookies!!!! Recipe to follow! We then went and played in the snow a bit. We ordered in some pizza, watched some TV shows on our DVR, and relaxed together!

For the cookies! These are the softest, most yummy cookies I have made! I always find my cookies get hard the next day, and I hate that! So, I have been playing around and have FINALLY gotten it right!

Ingredients

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 3 cups flour
• milk chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Cream butter, oil and sugars. Add eggs and beat until fluffy.
   
2. Add remaining ingredients, I added the chips last.  I use a cookie dough scoop for my cookies (looks like a mini ice cream scoop)...http://www1.macys.com/shop/product/martha-stewart-collection-small-cookie-scoop?ID=254747
   
3. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes. The recipe made about 34 cookies! 

I was SOOOO excited for Sunday! My great friend and photographer, Amanda Picone was finally going to be able to have her snow shoot! And i was SO lucky to get to be one of the models! When Amanda and I first met, we always spoke about doing a snow shoot! We had a few small flurries on our NYC Christmas engagement shoot and as luck would have it, snow on our wedding day, but not quite what we were hoping for! We had a blast! I think the pictures came out amazing too, and I am so excited to see the rest! Sunday evening kicked off with Sunday family dinner and Grammy Watching! I also put together my first video on the computer to enter a contest with Amanda and Stacy (another great friend and makeup artist!). Here it is:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=134Dzncz8vU

Sunday was the day I also FINALLY published this blog and I have been getting such amazing feedback, so THANK YOU! 

I hope you all have an amazing week!
Upcoming blogs will focus on DVC and weight watchers!
Thank you for joining me in my journey!
Xxoo Christina

I know I mentioned I was a newlywed. Are you still considered a newlywed a little over a year in?? Some say yes and some say no. I am just going to go with those who say yes! You are only a newlywed once, right?!I thought this post I would focus on what I learned during the first year of marriage! I also asked my hubby to write down what he learned. I love getting a dual prespecitive!

From the wifey!

*moving in is hard to do! Oh yes it is! I am VERY close to my family and this move, although SO exciting, was a challenge for me! By challenge I do not mean the little things like, how I never roll the toothpaste and make it a mess or how my hubby leaves ALL of his shoes by the side of the bed! We make jokes of these things as they really are NOT the be all end all in a marriage! I remember in pre-cana, there was a couple who thought those who did not live together before marriage were ignorant. I remember being so perplexed by this comment and my hubby was too! This couple went on and on to talk about these little issues that it appeared they never thought about the BIG ones! I know, I digressed! Sorry! Back on track here! I went through a period of realllyyy missing my family and our rituals that we had! The first few Sunday's, I called my mom to read the paper with her! I cried watching Grey's Anatomy alone. This was a separation issue. This to me was the bigger issue then the toothpaste or the shoes! Hubby had to figure out how to help me through this and this, I imagine was not easy for him either! Well, I know it wasn't because he couldn't quite figure it out and I was really not verbalizing (oh, communication- we will get to you!). It took quite a few months to get adjusted and verbalize. So be prepared for this change! It is a HUGE, GINORMOUS change! And do NOT stress about the little things! They are so insignificant!

*date night! Oh the date night. Most feel this is for only married couples with children. I feel this is NOT the case. It is SO easy to get into the habit of ordering in, staying home, being lumps on the couch. Now do not get me wrong, i LOVE nights like this and they are important! BUT! If this is what you do day in and day out, you are no longer putting in an effort and that can become a LARGE issue! Now, at the beginning of each month, we look at the calendar and plan it out between work, errands, occassions and so on. This way it is there on the calendar! We do not always have the plan on what to do, but we know we have the time to do. Also, it doesn't have to be a big to-do with lots of $$ being spent. Just, something small, the two of you.

*the little things! Leave a little love note! pick up your spouses favotire treat. Maybe even flowers. Something bad or good happened in your spouses day? Cheer them up or celebrate, no matter how big or small. To me, this is such a crucial aspect of your marriage. Sometimes, you go day to day and go through the motions, and you of course love you spouse, but they are NOT feeling it. Something small, almost weekly and all will be good!

*Compromise! Do NOT always pick the movie, resturant, activity- etc. TAKE TURNS!

*Divy up the chores/housework- No one person should be responsible for everything. We sat down and went over what needed to be down. We split it up, picked days and volia! Equal and fair! No resentments. And don't be silly, if your spouse needs you to pick up thier slack-do it!

*be playful and silly! We laugh, tickle, and tease all the time! My hubby makes me laugh when i do not even want to smile! And he gets creative! We have so mny silly small things but we love it! Also, it helps when you may be in a tense spot. My hubby made up the "shake it outs" before sleep. I was going through a rough patch and we layed down. He turns to me and said on the count of 3, i want you to shake it all out. I looked at him like he was cray cray but i went along with it. WOW! it felt so good and we laughed so hard that night! Now, we use it when we need it! We had a day of bickering not too long ago, and we did this and it worked!

*fight fair! It really sounds easy in theory. But, for me, it's a work in progress. Try your very best to not bring up things from the past. DON'T play the blame game, because your spouse shuts off! DON'T involve people who are not needing to be involved. DON'T EVER threaten to leave.

*be affectionate! always show affection! No, I am not talking about the gross PDA kind! hold hands, hug, smooch, be playful! It is SO important to show each other this kind of love!

*do things together! We like to cook together. Hubby plays sous chef! And sometimes he cooks, too. He makes a MEAN grilled cheese and an omlette! We clean together as well, which makes it more fun. Involve each other in the other's interests!

*COMMUNICATE! you have got to talk about it all and you have got to talk until you are blue in the face! I struggle with this. It may be something small that I do not want to make a big deal about, however, me holding it in made this little something GINORMOUS! hubby said, i do not care how small or big it is, just talk to me! Even if it's something you do not want to say because it may "worry" or "upset" your spouse, SAY IT! TRUST ME! JUST SAY IT! If your holding something in, your spouse is going to know and that only makes it worse! Just talk and talk about it all and do it all the time!

From the hubby! (less explanation here! He had NO idea what this was for!)

*Give yourself time to adjust to the new setting.
*Do not forget what bought you to the dance!
*Just because you are married, does not mean the romance dies!
*ALWAYS support each other!


What are your words of wisdom? Learning experiences??

Xxoo Christina

Ahhh! The first post! I started this blog many moons ago and just did not get to it! Please do not ask why, as I do not have a good reason! I had good intentions, really! But then life got in the way?? Or did I just get in the way? I am going to go with the latter! How many of you feel that you may do the same? Plan something exciting that is about you and then you just do not get to it?! ME! ME! ME! I find myself often wishing the year away to get to the next exciting event or trip or what have you. WHY?! I HATE that I do that! I do that and then I find I never really got to enjoy my days! I worked on being more mindful in 2012, and I had some success, not much, but some! When my hubby and I sat down at the beginning of this year, we went over our goals from last year and then made new goals for this year. Mindfulness and living in the moment were on the TOP of my list! Along with continuing to live a healthy lifestyle and do what makes me happy! My hope with this blog was to help me live in the moment and enjoy what is happening right now. So I feel keeping up with this will be essential to helping me achieve my goal! I am not the best writer, so if that is your thing, sorry, but I hope will you continue to follow along on my little journey!
Peace and love!
xxoo, Christina