Fun, Food, and Travel

The last few weeks have been so much fun. I don't get to check out new places very often, but when I do I enjoy every moment of it. I will admit now that I watch what I eat it has become a bit more of a challenge, not impossible, but a challenge.

View from hotel room in Atlantic City

My first adventure was being able to meet a friend of mine in Atlantic City. I have only been to Atlantic City for work purposes, so when the opportunity came to just go and enjoy and have fun I was definitely saying count me in. I took the day off from work and headed down. I felt like a kid the entire drive down so excited.

Me, hanging out on the bay side of Atlantic City
Luckily it wasn't too chilly out and the sun was shining

My friend had been there numerous other times and was insistent that we had to eat dinner at Carmines, which according to my co-workers, had the most amazing food! We got to Carmines and I soon found out it was family style eating, which means giant portions you share. Hmmm, I felt bad. My friend was looking at chicken parm and pasta dishes and I was all hey how about steak. Luckily, he understood my food concerns and was happy to order the steak. We ordered a porterhouse steak, that came with sausage and peppers and little potatoes. When the waiter brought out dinner, I thought wow are there 10 other people joining us. The portion was HUGE!! I took one bite and was in heaven.

This photo doesn't even do the size of the portion justice!
We left with a lot of delicious leftovers

The hard part came after when he ordered dessert. I have really avoided sugar and carbs and anything not meat-like, but thought I don't get to go out like this often and really just enjoy so I went with it. He ordered us the tiramisu. I knew I would regret it tomorrow, but I dug in any way. Delicious, is not even good enough to describe what this tasted like. I had never had tiramisu before and now wish I knew about it when I didn't struggle with weight loss so much :)  Anyway, after a few classes of wine and much fun we bundled up and walked along the boardwalk a little, I was happy because I got all my Fitbit steps in.  We then called it a night and headed back to the hotel. I know I shouldn't have had dessert, but I have no regrets what a wonderful, fun evening. I did have a little headache the next day, but no regrets.

We even got to catch a very peaceful and beautiful sunset

The second adventure was heading to NYC with my family to see the Spring Spectacular show at Radio City Music Hall. We piled in my dad's car and headed in, not sure who was more excited, the grownups or my nieces. There faces when we got out of the car was priceless. Looking at all the tall buildings, lights, and people; it's good thing they love adventures just like we do. We walked around the city for a little and then headed into the show. By then I was hungry, but not willing to give into eating any of the food that they offered at the concession stands. Truthfully, if I was by myself I would have gotten something, but with my mom and sister so close I felt like a failure if I gave in. One of the few times I didn't bring my own snack and I regretted it. I later realized when I was finally home and starving and eating everything in my fridge, I should have just had a little something and then I wouldn't have been hunger crazed later...lesson learned.

Us girls having fun in the back, while the guys had fun upfront

The show was truly wonderful, it was a magical day with my family. It was even more fun that we got to do our first show together. I love visiting the City, but there is no place like home.

My nieces even found time to do my hair and nails
Love these girls!

Happy Aunt Cindy

Next adventure is in April, we are going away on vacation for a few days to the Poconos. This will also include, Passover, Easter, and 3 birthdays (hint: one of them is mine). I also plan on bringing some of my own snacks this time to be fully prepared!!

End of Year Shenanigans

I'm back!  Sorry it has been so long since my last post. I feel like these last few months of 2014 flew by. Thank you to my blogging buddy Gwen for reminding me to get my butt back here. For those of you who don't know Gwen she writes a blog called The Sunny Coconut. If you are looking for honest, sincere, and success please check out her page. When I am feeling blah I read her posts and they usually get me moving again.

Even with all the craziness I am proud to say I have kept up with my workouts and yes, counted ever calorie and carb that went in my body. Even wine. On days when I knew an afternoon workout wasn't possible I got up early to at least get a run in.

5:21 a.m. I took this photo as workout proof for
 trainer Mark that I got a run in

So what else have I been up to...

Work holiday party. This is now a favorite outfit!

No complaints about the food by me...yum!
I shared leftover with my dad later that night

Hanukkah! The best part of Hanukkah for me, is watching my nieces open there presents. Now that they are older and really appreciate things, the look on their faces makes me a big puddle of Aunt Cindy.

Hmm, yeah they got a few presents

Hanukkah selfie with my favorite girls

Can't forget a silly selfie

I think this is our first family photo in many years.
thank you to the Iphone timer feature

And just to add to my fun and shenanigans, I got to ride with my fire company and Santa around town. Still not sure who gets more excited about Santa coming around town the parents, the kids, or me.

Great people, fire trucks,
candy canes, Santa, a lot of fun and so many laughs!

That's the quick and fun of my last month. I know everyone is big on New Years Resolutions, but I must admit it's not my thing. I try and look at every day as an opportunity to grow and enjoy even the little things.  Something that I do like to do throughout the year is make goals. Big ones and small ones. So what are some my goals? I want to play more in the kitchen and share my ideas and yes even failures with you. My goal to health, fitness, and weight loss is an ongoing process.  I would also love to save up for a new camera so I can play around with my photography skills a little more and be creative. These are just a few.

I would like to thank all of you for reading my posts and wish you a very happy, healthy, and safe New Years!!

Fall Into Fun

Fall time...to me it means leaves changing, pumpkins, hay rides, and festivals. Usually by this time my family has already been to a handful of fun events, but this year between my nieces busy social life of birthday parties, my new dating life, and other scheduling conflicts it has been more a challenge to get us all together, but we did it!  This past Sunday, it just happened that all of us were free and we took advantage of the moment and went to a harvest festival a few towns over.

My dad, nieces, and me waiting for the hayride

Well...it definitely wasn't as big as the promotion lead us to believe but we were together. The wind was blowing, but the sun was shining. 

My sister and me on the hayride...could you tell we are sisters?

My dad and brother-in-law hanging out on the hayride

They didn't have the best pumpkins to pick from, but we wandered around the fields and my nieces enjoyed saying ewww at every squished pumpkin. Some of the bushes had prickles on them, Kaitlyn helped me pick them off after. Maybe she will grow up and be a nurse like my sister. 

I'm pretty sure she was saying ewww look at that one!

We could have waited for the tractor to come back and get us from the field, but since we are a family that is healthy together these days we decided to would walk the rest of the way. Now I felt even better about the festival, I got my workout in for the day since I overslept that morning. 

Group shot my mom took from of us walking back

Not much else was really going on at the festival, but don't worry dad and I make any place fun! Oh look a wheelbarrow....

Who needs a festival of events when they had wheelbarrows
Good thing I lost some weight!

So the festival definitely wasn't the best one ever, and will probably not be one we attend next year, but we got to spend some time together walking around and laughing. Luckily they also didn't have much tempting festival food like funnel cake, french fries, and cookies so it didn't make it hard to resist. Since we were all hungry after the wind walking we decided to head over to a local restaurant and have a good dinner with plenty of healthy and delicious options for all of us to enjoy!  

This is called a warming up in the restaurant and excited for food selfie

Freedom Cups!

Happy 4th of July! A day to celebrate freedom and be thankful for it. Time for picnics, parties, fireworks, and fun. For those of us trying to not gain a ton of weight and trying to eat healthy these parties are more about what should I eat, what can I eat, should I be good or just say oh well for a day.  Sort of takes some of the fun out it. I say bring something you and everyone else can enjoy and make it one less decision you have to make; and it will keep you on track with your healthy goals! Let's talk dessert. My family loves dessert, it's what I struggle with at most birthday parties and gatherings. Not this time, this time I had an idea. I want to enjoy with everyone, so I came up with Freedom Cups.

Freedom Cups
Be Healthy and Enjoy!!

I found some wine glasses that had blue stems and were the perfect size, but you can easily find cups at your local store. Figuring out what went in them was easy, what is healthy and delicious and red, white, and blue...strawberries, cool whip, and blueberries! Works perfectly with my blueberry obsession.

Ingredients:

Blueberries

Strawberries

Cool Whip

Reddi Whip 

Cherries

Sprinkles

My Helpers
Ashley and Kaitlyn

I enlisted assistance from two of the best and cutest helpers I know...my nieces Ashley and Kaitlyn. My first step was cutting the stems off the strawberries. Then it was time to cut just the right size to fit in the cups. I decided to cut mine in half and then to cut the halves in half. Making the pieces large enough to still enjoy the taste but small enough to fit a bunch in the glass. Once I cute up all the strawberries I did a layer in each glass. You can decide how thick you want each layer. After the strawberries I did a layer of Cool Whip Lite. I recommend using a large spoon to scoop but a small spoon, even a kids spoon, to help layer it in the glass so you don't get too much on the sides of the cup.

How I cut up my strawberries and layered the Cool Whip Lite
Feel free to cut yours to how you like it and add as much or as little Cool Whip

 Next up blueberries! I did a layer of blueberries followed by another layer of Cool Whip and then strawberries. I topped it off with some Reddi Whip to get the neat spiral look and decorated with blueberries and strawberries on top.Tada!  Instant delicious dessert that is healthy and everyone can enjoy!

The different stages of layering fruit, Cool Whip, and Reddi Whip

My nieces had a blast helping me and got even more excited when I told them they could make their own! Ashley modeled hers after mine but added in cherries.  Kaitlyn is not a big fan of blueberries, I happily ate hers, so she used just strawberries, cherries and added some sprinkles for fun!

Ashley and Kaitlyn busy creating their delicious dessert
Picture to the right is Kaitlyn's Creation

Ashley couldn't wait to eat her dessert

I hope everyone has a safe and happy 4th of July, spending more time celebrating and having fun and less time worrying about what to eat.

Me and my sister Elyse enjoying our Freedom Cups!

Summer Fun!

I love summer time. The warm sun on my skin (sorry mom I do love the sun), the sound of the ocean at the shore, the kids laughing in the nearby pool, the smell of sunscreen (see mom I do wear sunscreen), and the longer sunny days. I also love that with summer comes our yearly family trip to Point Pleasant Beach/Boardwalk.

I had decided to take off this past Friday and it worked out that all of us were free to go. From the moment we figured out it would work out I was excited. I love our time together, seeing my nieces smiles and hearing their belly laughs as we play games, watching my family relax and enjoy each other's company, walking along the boardwalk and talking with each other, and of course the gift shops. It's our time. I also admit I was feeling a little nervous this time. Along with all the fun usually comes all the food. You know which food I am talking about...funnel cakes, fried oreos, french fries, ice cream; the delicious list goes on and on. I have been doing so good eating healthy and enjoying it for a while now I was torn between letting loose and eating it all or behaving and eating as little as possible. All week it was rolling around my mind. One second I thought eh let loose enjoy just this once and then I would think it's one second of enjoyment and then lots of feeling yucky. What is a girl to do?

Friday morning I woke up and it was beautiful out. I decided that no matter what I ended up eating later a walk was still a great idea to start the day off right. I did a nice 4.6 mile walk around my town. I ate normal for most of the day not wanting to be starving later. For the first time in a long time when I got dressed for the boardwalk I didn't want to cry at my reflection in the mirror. I actually thought I looked pretty darn cute. Off we went.

  

Family Pictures

  Playing on the Sand

After walking around and playing games it was time to eat. I told myself to just check out the menu and I would know what to do. I thought about my cute outfit, I thought about my walk in the morning and I thought about how good I felt. The decision turned out to be pretty easy. I found a place that served salads fully of chicken, avocado, mozzarella cheese, fresh tomatoes on a bed of delicious mixed greens. That along with a bottle of water and I was very stuffed and very proud of myself.

Yummy Salad! Love they put avocado in it

We walked more, played games, went on some rides, and then my mom suggested walking on the sand. It felt like freedom walking along the sand and near the water. The wind blowing through our hair. Hearing my nieces giggle as the water got closer to their little toes. When we walked back onto the boardwalk it was time for ice cream before we were ready to call it a day and head back to the car. I thought to myself well you did great at dinner, you played lots of games and walked on the sand that has to burn some calories, you can have a small ice cream. I was waiting online with my sister and brother-in-law when my mom called my name to show me that right next to the ice cream place was a fresh fruit stand and they had my obsession blueberries. I decided that sounded way more appealing. I got a large mixed fruit cup and felt more like a giddy kid than had I gotten the ice cream or frozen coffee deliciousness that my sister and I usually get (yes she still got it and said it was delicious).

Games, rides, prizes and more games

Haha..My dessert picture was photo bombed by my very hungry dad 

We stopped at one last gift shop where my mom treated my to a beautiful coffee mug to add to my collection and then headed to the car. On the ride home I felt so happy inside. I had enjoyed the entire day and ate delicious food all while staying healthy. It was an amazing day and boy did I sleep good that night!! I look forward to our next family adventure.

My new coffee mug with breakfast the next morning

Cindy