21 Houses in 2 Days

The house hunt is ON.  I saw 21 houses over the weekend, and I have it narrowed down to 2 (both townhomes).  They are in the same neighborhood and the same floorplan, just small things in each that are different.  This is so hard.  I'm going to visit the top 2 tomorrow afternoon back to back and I pray that God will steer me to the right one.  I know I'd be happy in both, it's just a matter of choosing!  My sweet mom came up this weekend to look with me, and it was so helpful to have here there as a second set of eyes - she also took about 400 pictures (ha!) over the 20+ houses, so I have great documentation of the details of each place, since after you look at 20 houses, they all start to blend together :)

So, I don't have too much to say at this point, other than I am beyond exhausted - house hunting is mentally, physically and emotionally draining. 

Because of that, I'm going to BED!

I Heart Make-A-Wish

Today’s Show Us Your Life theme over at Kelly’s Korner this week is favorite charities.  My favorite charity is the Make-A-Wish Foundation.  I’ve been volunteering for Make-A-Wish since last year, and it is such a fantastic organization.  I wish I’d started volunteering a long time ago.

Make-A-Wish is a non-profit wish-granting organization that is recognized nationwide, but I feel like there that there are a number of misconceptions about the organization.  I think the most common misconception is that the foundation grants the wishes only of terminally ill children.  This can be the case – but not always.  The criteria for a child being approved for a wish is that they must have (a physician-documented) life-threatening medical condition – i.e., a progressive, degenerative or malignant condition that has placed the child’s life in jeopardy.   So, it does have to be a life-threatening condition, but not necessarily one where the child is terminally ill (does that make sense?).  These kids and their families go through so much, and the Make-A-Wish Foundation is able to bring them a slice of joy in a world filled with frequent trips to doctors offices and hospitals and everything associated with those visits.

After a child has been referred to Make-A-Wish (this can be by a doctor, social worker, or even a parent), the foundation confirms their eligibility with the primary doctor of the child.  Once a child has been determined to be eligible, a team of Wish Granters (that’s me!!) is assigned to work on the wish.  The Wish Granters go out to meet the child and their family to learn about the child and find out their one true wish.  Wishes fall into one of four categories:

I want to have…

I want to go…

I want to be…

I want to meet…

So, a child could want to have a puppy, go to Hawaii, be a fashion designer, or meet Brad Pitt…or anything else!  Those are just some examples of what I would wish for :)

The Wish Granters capture the child’s wish, then relay it back to the local Make-A-Wish chapter.   The chapter pulls everything together (makes travel plans, arranges for the celebrity meeting, whatever the wish may be), and then the Wish Granters get to ‘deliver’ the wish to the child.  It’s such an awesome sight to see how happy these children (and their families) are when the wish is granted.

If you’re looking for an organization to donate either time or money to, I’d highly recommend you look up your local Make-A-Wish chapter and see how you can help.  You’ll have fun while contributing to a great foundation!

New Kitchen Obsession

I recently got the coolest kitchen accessory and just had to share! My mom gave me a "Rub-Away" stainless steel bar of "soap" that eliminates yucky food odors (like garlic, onions, fish, etc.) from your hands...and it totally works!

I tried it for the first time tonight after chopping up an onion for my beef stroganoff (I'll have to share this recipe for for a Tasty Tuesday post - love it).  I have such a problem with my hands smelling like onion (or garlic) for DAYS after I chop the fresh stuff.  No more with this little guy!  You just "wash" your hands with this bar of "soap" and the odors are gone!  Something about the ions neutralizing the odors when combined with water...I don't know.  All I do know is that it works and I love it.  And, it looks cute next to my sink!  You should definitely try it out - worth the seven bucks (and no, I'm not getting paid for this post!)

Like my blog title says...it's the small things in life!  Ha!

Glad tomorrow is Friday!  Any big plans for the weekend?  I'm house hunting!!!!

Tasty Tuesday: Salsa Chicken

Today's Tasty Tuesday post is yet another crockpot recipe...yum.  Even though the weather is starting to get warmer, crockpot recipes are still a great go-to.  This is one I love to make, and it is SO easy, and healthy too!

Salsa Chicken
Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 packet of taco seasoning
1 cup salsa or picante sauce
1 can reduced fat cream of mushroom (or chicken) soup (like Campbell's Healthy Request)
1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream (optional)

Directions:
Place chicken in slow cooker.  Sprinkle taco seasoning over chicken.  Add salsa and soup.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4 hours.  Stir in sour cream before serving (optional).  Serve over rice!

Yum!  Enjoy!

Scrap Exchange

Over the weekend, I went to the coolest store, the Scrap Exchange.  I'd heard about the Scrap Exchange and had been meaning to take a trip downtown to see what it's all about for awhile, and on Sunday I finally did.  LOVE IT!

The Scrap Exchange is a store that collects donations of all kinds of materials - everything from fabric remnants to glass vials to bottle caps - and sells them (for super cheap)...there is some awesome stuff there for those with a crafty bone!

Here's my haul (close-ups below):

 

  

Burt's Bees Baby Bee bottles ($1.25 each) - how cute would these be filled with pretty colored liquid soaps / body wash in the bathroom?  I need to find some sort of lid / stopper for them if I do this.

  

Ribbons for wrapping (the blue and the bottom tan are raffia) - $1.00 each

  

An "M" that was $1.00 (actually, I think it's a W...) - I figure I can paint and distress it, or Mod-Podge it to make it cute (my last name starts with an M)

  

These are wallpaper remnants - same pattern, one is light blue, one is tan.  Only $0.50 each!  I thought these would be pretty in black frames (maybe in a bathroom in my HOUSE??)

  

Mini chalkboards ($0.75 each) - not sure what I'm going to do with these, but I've seen so many cute chalkboard ideas on blogs that I'm sure I can find something to do with them!  Definitely will need to paint the frames.

What a cool store - I can't wait to go back!

The House Hunt Is On!

I've decided to take the plunge and go full speed ahead with house hunting - EEK! I met with a realtor this weekend, got pre-approved for a loan, and even looked at a couple of houses! I can't believe I'm actually moving towards buying a HOUSE!  Three months from now, I'll (hopefully) be a homeowner!

On Saturday, I met with a realtor who came highly recommended to me by some friends who bought a house with her help a few years ago.  She had chosen a couple of homes / townhomes in my price range in the area of Raleigh that I'm looking to buy in, to give me a taste of what's out there. Below are pics of three of the four that we looked at this weekend.

Townhouse #1 (built in 1995)

This townhome is in an established neighborhood that has a good mix of townhomes and single-family homes.  It was a cute, 2 bed / 2.5 bath house with hardwoods downstairs and a great wooded area in the back.  But, it had popcorn ceilings, which I despise.  I know they can be removed, but ugh...I really do hate them.  The HOA fees in this neighborhood are really high (like ~$200 a MONTH!), which I have to factor into the price.

 

Townhouse #2 (built in 2003)

This townhouse is a bit newer, so things were a bit more updated than in townhouse #1.  But, I felt like the neighborhood was a little too cookie-cutter for me.  It also backs up to another row of townhomes, so you don't have any privacy in the back.  Not a huge fan, but it was still a cute place.

  

Single Family Home #1 (built in 1998)
I hated this one.  Nothing good to say.  It did have a garage, but that's about the only plus.  Definitely not interested in this one!

So, that was what I saw on Day 1, just as some options my realtor had selected to get my feet wet.  I'm supposed to be going through the MLS listings posted online, and I can let her know what ones I'm interested in going to visit.  I'll probably go out with her next weekend to look at a bunch.  I think my mom is going to come up to help me do some searching the weekend after next, so I may bring along a friend this coming weekend for a second set of eyes and opinions.

This is a very exciting, but scary time!  I can't wait to see how it all plays out.

Have a great week!

A Day In The Life

I'm participating today in Show Us Your Life over at Kelly's Korner today. Today's theme is "What is your typical day like?" So, here's my typical day (sadly, not too exciting!):

7:15am - Wake up, beautify myself (sometimes this includes a shower, but in full disclosure...sometimes it does not!).  Before I leave for work, I have to feed my 2 kitties, who will cry until they are fed!  Ever since Jackson had "problems" back in November, I've had to feed them wet food, which is so much more of a pain than dry food (and so much more gross).

8:15am - Head out the door to work, which is about 15 minutes from where I live.  Very little traffic because I'm heading the opposite direction of most commuters, so that's nice!

8:30 - Get into work, check my e-mail. I'm not a big breakfast person, so I usually try to bring something in to eat while I'm at work, like some dry cereal and fruit, or something like that.

8:30 to 11:30 - Work, work, work! I'm a Project Manager for a computer software company that develops systems used to manage data in clinical trials.  Sounds boring, I know, but it's actually pretty interesting!   I snuck a pic of my cube today with the camera on my phone when no one was around (sorry for the poor quality).  My co-workers hate the overhead lights, so we keep most of them off, which makes it a bit dark...I do have a lamp and a light under the shelf (and there's windows all around), but it's still a bit dark for my tastes!  Part of the picture got cut off, you can't see my laptop docked on the left-hand side of the picture, and there are a bunch of binders on the shelf you see on the right-hand side of the picture.  I had to be quick and sneaky taking this so someone didn't happen upon me and think I was a total loser for taking a picture of my cubicle, ha!  (It's not exactly something I think I'll remember fondly 20 years from now!)

11:30 - 12:30 - Lots of days (like today!) I go out to lunch with friends - I have lots of friends who work within 10 minutes of me, so it's easy for us to meet up for lunch.  I am trying to be better about bringing lunch though, since it's cheaper and healthier.  Just not as fun :)

12:30 to 4:30 / 5:00 - Work, work, work!  I usually leave around 4:30 or 4:45, which is nice - my job is pretty flexible with hours, and since I have a work laptop, I can always do stuff from home if I really need to.

My after-work routine varies.  On Thursday nights, my girlfriends and I all get together and do something - whether it is going out to dinner, or for drinks, or just hanging out and watching TV and chatting at someone's house.  If I don't have anything going on after work, I usually come home, pull dinner together, then spend the evening catching up on blogs, surfing Craigslist for furniture to re-do, and watching TV!  And, if I'm really being good, I sneak in a workout before dinner.  Sadly, that hasn't been happening recently (I've been so bad, ugh).

I usually go to bed between 10:30 and 11 - I always try to read my daily devotional before going to sleep - it's a good way to wind down the day.

So, that's it!  My typical day...not all that exciting, but it's a good life :)

If you're stopping by from Kelly's Korner, welcome! I'd love to have you as a follower!





PS - I took another little blog hiatus in the last 2 weeks of February, but my entry count for February was over twice what it was in January! Here's to March being twice February's count!

Valentine's Weekend Recap

For the first time in 7 years, I was Valentine-less on February 14th. But, I had a fabulous weekend nonetheless! My very best friend, who recently moved from NYC to Florida came to visit me for a long weekend. She got married last June, but her husband had to be out of town this weekend so she decided to fly up for a visit...we had the best time! We meant to document our weekend in pictures, but that was an epic fail.

Let's see...Friday night we went to a wine tasting and then out for a yummy Italian dinner (it snowed here AGAIN on Friday night).

Saturday brought massages in the morning, and a trip into Raleigh to watch the UNC vs. NC State game with some of my friends (thank goodness UNC won!) in the afternoon. Saturday night we saw the movie Valentine's Day - I thought it was cute, but I also was nauseous the whole movie because the theater was SO crowded and stuffy - that wasn't so much fun.

Sunday, we headed to brunch and then did some quality shopping at Home Goods (love that store). We also checked out some open houses on Sunday afternoon, since I'm considering buying! We had a cozy V-day evening (ha) watching movies and eating yummy takeout.

All in all, a great Valentine's day weekend, even if there were no boys involved!

How about you? What did you do for V-day?

Look for me on TV tonight, yo!

I'm super stoked to have 10th row seats tonight to one of the biggest rivalry games in college sports...UNC vs. Duke basketball.  Unfortunately, the Heels aren't having a great season, but I will say...when it comes to this rivalry game, it always has the potential to be a good one, even if one team is having a crappy season.

I miss being able to go to Carolina basketball games...it's something you really take for granted when you're a student!  So, I always jump when I get the chance to go now that I'm all grown up and don't get free student tickets.  (I live in the next town over from Chapel Hill, so it's easy for me to go...when I have tickets.)

And best of all, my baby bro will be going with me!  He's a senior at UNC and was able to get a student ticket, but these will be better seats so he gave up sitting with his friends to sit with his big sis.  Awwwwwwwwww :)

Anyway...ESPN at 9:00 PM EST...check it!

Tasty Tuesday: Lemon Chicken Deliciousness

One of my favorite bloggers, Kelly, posted this recipe several months ago when she hosted a blog tour of favorite dinner recipes.  I thought it looked fabulous and I've been wanting to try it - so tonight, I did!  Turns out it not just looks fabulous, but tastes great as well (and, major bonus - is healthy)!  She didn't name it, so I took it upon myself to name it "Lemon Chicken Deliciousness", ha!

Lemon Chicken Deliciousness

Ingredients
6 tablespoons olive oil
2 lemons, 1 thinly sliced, 1 juiced
4 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
3/4 lb green beans (can use canned, fresh, frozen...whatever you like)
8 small red potatoes, quartered
4 chicken breasts

Directions
Preheat oven to 450.  Coat a large baking dish with 1 tablespoon olive oil.  Arrange lemon slices from 1 lemon in a single layer on the bottom of the dish.  In large bowl combine remaining olive oil, lemon juice of 2nd lemon, garlic, salt and pepper.  Add green beans and toss to coat.  Using tongs, remove green beans and arrange them on top of lemon slices.  Add potatoes to same olive oil mixture and coat.  Arrange on inside edge of dish on top of the beans.  If desired, add lemon pepper for extra flavor.  Place chicken in olive oil mixture and coat.  Place chicken in dish.  Roast for 40-50 minutes.  Remove chicken and continue roasting potatoes/beans if necessary.

(Please excuse the gaping hole in the left chicken breast...I have a phobia of under cooking chicken, so I have to poke a thermometer into my meat to assure myself it's cooked through...)

Enjoy!

Feeling poopy

I woke up this morning not feeling great, and it's gone downhill from there...I think I'm finally catching the crud that's been going around my office for the past few weeks.  I have to go pick up my brother from the airport in a few minutes (he was in France visiting his girlfriend, who is studying abroad - how cute is that and how jealous am I?), then I'm heading to bed early.

Blah!

Book Review: Julie and Julia

So, I finally finished up Julie and Julia, by Julie Powell.  I started this book way back in November over the Thanksgiving holiday.  I read about half of it then, but have only read a chapter or two here and there since.  I read the last couple of chapters this weekend and can now file it away on my bookshelf.

Thoughts?  It was ok.  Not great, not my favorite.  In case you've been living under a rock for the past year and have missed the movie promotions, it's about a blogger who cooks her way through Julia Childs' Mastering the Art of French Cooking cookbook in a year.  Kudos to her, don't get me wrong.  That's a heck of a lot of fancy cooking.  But, I just didn't totally dig it.  I did appreciate the honesty with which she wrote and the journey that she traveled while she in a sense reinvented herself.

Maybe it was because it read like a blog, with each chapter a separate entity detailing a different cooking pursuit, as opposed to a novel where there is little distinction between chapters (making you more compelled to continue reading to see where the story goes), but it was easy for me to put it down for days or weeks at a time. 

Julie has a blog that she keeps up (although not the same one from the "Project"), which I think is neat because it's a little blogspot blog just like I have and not some fancy publisher house blog.

I've put off seeing the movie until I finished reading the book, so I do plan to pay a visit to the RedBox soon to check it out.  I've heard it was cute.

I'm not sure what my next read will be, but I better get on it because I want to meet my goal of getting through two books this month and February is a shorty month!  For tonight though, it's Super Bowl festivities...I'm heading out to a Super Bowl party - I'm bringing my yummy spinach and artichoke dip.  I'm going to cheer for the Saints, but really all I care about is the commercials (shhhhhhhhh!) and of course, all the food :)

My first blog award!

About two months ago, my sweet blogger friend Bernie gave me my very first blog award!  I had to go to google translator to figure out what the award translates to..it's Portuguese for "This blog is super cute"!  I'm so happy to get an award, and am excited to pass it on to these great bloggers:

Tasha @ Biology Gal
Brittney @ Running in High Heels
Danica @ Chic Runner

Congratulations ladies - I love each of your blogs!  Pass it on to your favorite bloggers!

Please be sure to visit Bernie's blog - she is such a talented photographer and I love dropping in and seeing her pictures.  Bernie, I'm so sorry I didn't pass this on sooner - I obviously have been a bad blogger all around the past couple of months!

Cheers!

Dumpster Diving - Fab Find

On Monday, I was leaving my apartment to head into work when I swung by the dumpster to drop off a bag of trash.  As I was driving up, I saw a girl walking that way with a big glass vase in her hand.  When I got closer, I saw that she had set three big glass vases and one tall wooden vase beside the dumpster.  Hello DIY project!  I loitered around until she left so she wouldn't think I was a nutso, then I swooped in and picked those puppies up.  I'm not a fan of the color / design of them (they just wouldn't go with my decor), but I like the shape of the vases - with a little DIY upgrade, I think I can make them into something great!

Here's my loot:

I'm pretty sure they're all Pier 1, because one of them has a Pier 1 price tag on the bottom ($45!) and they all match (except for the random wood one).  Score one for me on the dumpster dive!

I have no shame that I pulled these from beside a dumpster.  It's not that bad if I saw the person actually put them there, right?

Stay tuned for what I decide to do with them!

Tasty Tuesday: Salsa Turkey Burgers

In an effort to make a healthy dinner one night last week, I went in search of finding a turkey burger recipe that actually tasted good.  I found a nice base recipe then added my own little twist!

Salsa Turkey Burgers

Ingredients
1 lb ground turkey breast
1/3 cup seasoned bread crumbs
6 tbsp salsa (use chunky if you want bits of veggies in your burger)
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Combine all ingredients in a bowl until well mixed.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Divide into 4 patties.

Cook either in a frying pan (spray with non-stick cooking spray and cook approximately 10 minutes, flipping once), or on an indoor or outdoor grill.  (I did mine on a George Foreman type grill indoors, and topped it with a slice of provolone cheese - delish!)

Makes 4-5 burgers.

I have to be honest, I was skeptical of the turkey burger, because when I think burger, I think RED MEAT...huzzuh!  But, there were really good.  I ate one for dinner and one for lunch the next day, then I froze the other two patties for eating later.

Try it, even if you are a turkey burger skeptic - I promise it's yummy!

To buy or not to buy?

To buy or not to buy...that is the question.  For the past few months, I've been seriously turning over the idea of buying a house.  I've lived in my current (one-bedroom) apartment for almost three years, and while I absolutely love it, I'm starting to feel a little cramped and I'm getting the itch to own.

The lease on my apartment is up at the end of May, so I need to make a decision in the next couple of months on what I want to do.  Obviously, the real estate market is shaky at best right now.  But, if I were to find a place before the end of April, I would qualify for the $8,000 first-time home buyer credit, which would be a nice plus.

Let me back it up a bit...I've always kind of had it in my head that life would work out like this: graduate from college, get married, buy a house, have kids.  That's just what happens, right?  Well...I'm learning that life doesn't always work out like you planned (and that's ok).  I haven't really blogged about it, but I got out of a (very) long-term relationship about 7 months ago.  I'm in a really good place right now, and happier than I've been in a long time.  But, I'm nowhere near getting married.  So, at 25 with the likelihood being that I won't get married for another several years at a MINIMUM, I hate to think about throwing away money on rent for who knows how long while I wait for my perfect marriage-then-house scenario to come along.  The thought of buying a place alone is scary, but if it's something I can do financially, then I think it might be the wise choice.  And, if I should end up getting married and needing to move in with a hubby in the next several years (trust me, I'll pulling for this scenario!), then it's smarter to go ahead and buy now so I can maximize my time in the house and have the best chance of recouping my costs, rather than wait another year or two to buy, and then have to sell a year later because I'm getting hitched.

At this point, I'm thinking townhome over single-family home, becasue a) they're cheaper b) I wouldn't have to maintain the outside lawn, etc., and c) as a single female, I think I'd feel a little safer in a townhome than in a single-family home.  I'm still wrapping my head around everything and keep going back and forth on what I want to do...it's a really big decision.

Any advice on buying a first home??

February is the new January

Ok...where the HECK did January go?  I am absolutely flabbergasted that the month of January is over.  Really...how did that go by so fast??

I obviously have not been holding up my resolution goal of blogging regularly, seeing as my last post was on January 5th.  Shame on me.  What about my other goals?

Read at least 2 books per month - this definitely did not happen.  Still slogging through Julie and Julia.  It's a book that's easy to read in "pieces", so you can put it down for a week and not be on the edge of your seat wondering what happens next.  Which means I'm less motivated to read it than something with a more gripping story line.  That's my excuse, as least.

Find a church and attend regularly - I'm happy to report that I've been doing this.  I went to church 3 of 5 Sundays in January - I planned to go today, but had to skip because of the snow storm that blazed through NC this weekend - services were canceled and the roads were not pretty.

Get involved in new activities where I can meet new people - haven't done this yet.  Ditto for sewing, although I did get my new machine out of the box yesterday and played with a little.  Do I get half a point for trying?

To make things easy, I'll just lump all of my "health" related goals together....because NONE of them have happened yet.  None of them.  At all.  Not even bringing my lunch to work, and that should be an easy one.  Sigh. 

So...February is the new January.  Tomorrow is February 1st, and it's time for me to turn up the heat on these babies.  FOR REAL.

Get ready, because I am coming out of hibernation!

Tasty Tuesday: Slow Cooker Creamy Italian Chicken

When it's cold outside, I absolutely love doing crock pot meals. I tried out a new recipe this past weekend, and it was super yummy!

Slow Cooker Creamy Italian Chicken

Ingredients
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 pkg Good Seasons Italian dressing mix
1/4 cup water
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tsp garlic salt
1 - 8oz pkg low fat cream cheese
1 can 98% fat free cream of chicken soup (such as Campbell's Healthy Request)
3 cups cooked white, long grain rice

Directions
Place chicken in crock pot
Mix together Italian dressing mix and water. Pour over chicken.
Add chopped onion and garlic salt.
Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours OR low for 6-8 hours (recommended)
Mix together cream cheese and soup in separate bowl.
Carefully remove chicken from crock pot to plate.
Pour cream cheese/soup mixture into crock pot and mix together with dressing in bottom.
Return chicken to crock pot and mix gently to shred the chicken.
Cook on low until heated through.
Serve over rice.

Makes 6 servings.

Enjoy!

Guilty Pleasure

I have a confession....getting massages is my guilty pleasure.  I don't indulge often, but boy are they FANTASTIC!  A friend and I headed to the spa this morning and started our day / year off right with a little relaxation.  Love love love!  What's your guilty pleasure??

2010 Goals

Welcome to 2010!  Instead of New Years resolutions, I like to do goals.  2009 wasn't the greatest year for me, so I'm optimistic that 2010 is going to be fabulous.  Here's a rundown of my goals for this year, in no particular order.  If I think about it, I want to check in on myself a few times over the course of the year to see how I'm doing and make sure I'm on track to reach my goals.  I've broken them down into mini categories, since some are related.

Self-Improvement

1. Read at least 2 books per month

This is a lofty one.  I'm a fast reader, but most nights when I hetad to bed, I just turn out the lights.  I want to make it a point to read before going to sleep more often.

2. Find a church and attend regularly

This has been something I've wanted to do for awhile now.  I grew up going to church with my family, but when I went away for college, I stopped going except for when I was home from school.  And now I've been out of school for almost four years and I still haven't made the effort to find a church where I now live.  I miss it and have decided it's time to make the effort to make this a priority in my life.

3. Get involved in 2-3 new activities / groups, etc. where I can meet new people

While I have a FANTASTIC group of friends whom I love dearly, I want as many opportunities as possible to meet new people and expand my connections.

4. Learn to sew

So domestic, I know.  I actually asked Santa for a sewing machine for Christmas, so now I want to know how to use it!  I want to be able to do basic clothes repairs, and also be able to sew cute crafty things...pillows, etc.

Health

1. Lose 10-15 pounds

I had a goal in 2009 to lose 20 pounds.  At my lowest point, I got 15 down.  I've gained some back (sigh), especially over the holidays (in fact, I'm too scared to get on the scale right now...I'm waiting until Monday morning for that!), so I think I kept off about seven pounds.  I have a goal weight in mind, and depending on Monday's weigh-in (which is going to be my weekly weigh-in day), I'll need to lose 10-15 pounds to meet my goal.  The next three goals play into this one.

2. Bring lunch from home at least 4x per week

Saves money and is much healthier than eating out...

3. Cook dinner at home at least 4x per week

Same concept as above.  (Boxed mac n' cheese does NOT count!)

4. Exercise at least 5x per week

I really need to get back on the ball in this department.  Even though I managed to get through a 1/2 marathon three weeks ago, I have barely been exercising the past couple of months.  And it's starting to show...

Lastly, as it's own category...

Keep up with my blog!

I've enjoyed starting a blog and have "met" some great people in the blog world.  I slacked a bit in December, and I miss it!  I want to regularly update my blog - it's an outlet for me, and just plain fun!

So there you have it...this is what I'm going to be working on in the coming year!

What goals do you have for 2010?