there's always time for a little celebration!!

Last night my hubby and I dressed up, went down into Portland, and had a nice & fancy dinner at McCormick & Schmick's Harborside at the Marina! We had some celebrating to do {and some gift certificates to use}!

Jason & I :) Love him!!!

 



At first I went into this dinner and I was in a "I'll have whatever I want (likely something I shouldn't have) mood" but then once I sat down my conscious really got the better of me. Maybe conscious isn't the right word. My thought pattern went like this...

- I want the blackened chicken pasta with alfredo linguine.
- But, I had cheese a few days ago so I don't know if I need that much dairy today.
- Plus, I might have dessert which might have dairy in it.
- I still want chicken though. What about the Parmesan chicken? It's still dairy but not as much as the alfredo sauce.
- Order glass of Riesling.
- Talk to waiter. Tell him I do want the chicken pasta but I don't want the alfredo. Waiter suggests that we do a veggie medley on top of noodles that have olive oil instead.
- BINGO!

I forgot to take a picture of my dinner but it was delicious. It was the Parmesan crusted chicken breasts with linguine and tomatoes & fresh basil. It was fresh, it was light, and it was perfect & just for me.

I've said it many times on here and many, many more times in my life - YOU have to be an advocate for yourself. Whether it is going to the doctors or eating as best you can at a restaurant you are the only one who is truly looking out for you!!

it wouldn't be an Annie post if there wasn't a comparison picture!

left ~ April 2012

right ~ May 2013

Because I made the decision to change my meal I felt better about myself, I am proud of myself, and I ordered {almost} exactly what I wanted for dessert. If I had had my choice {and I did, I just chose something else} I would have loved to have had the cheesecake with berries and next time that is available I just might. This time, though, I decided to share the MOST delicious apple pie upside down pie with vanilla ice cream with my husband. There's something fun and intimate about sharing a dessert...and my husband always lets me have the last bite! He's sweet like that.

Have any of you made any good choices recently at a restaurant? Salad instead of fries? Sharing dessert? I'd love to hear how everyone out there handles eating out!!

Fingers crossed {that next time I go out I can make good choices}...

the next steps...

While 2012 will always be the year that started this journey for me...I'm hoping 2013 will be the year the pieces really begin come together! There's more to life than the list below but this is where I'll be focusing a portion of my energy.

Here's a few ways I'm planning on making this happen!

Naturopathy

I have my first appointment for the end of February. I'm actually kind of happy that it's that far out. It will allow me to go to my 1 year Endocrinology checkup January 22nd and process some of the information I recieve there. It's my plan to go off the Metformin sometime in the next year. It may be February, it may not, but I'm okay with either way. I know there are a few insulin-inhibitors out there, I just need to educate myself about them. My naturopath will also help me with this. I found a nathuropath who isn't totally opposed to "western medicine" so I am happy with that. More updates next year as I begin treatment with her! The above picture was actually from a handout she had in her office...pretty much sums me up! I'm excited to learn more about PCOS this year and what it means for my future.

Healthy Eating Choices/Routine {this is NOT a diet}

I plan on this being the year I start to understand food more. Part of this will be through the naturopath, part through the barre3 challenge I'm doing, part towards what I've read in the last year, and part in ways I cannot yet imagine. I have it on my "to do list" to watch/read Fat Sick and Nearly Dead and Forks Over Knives. While both of these programs seems pretty extreme I know there are pieces I can take and put into my life. I need to start planning and implementing a menu/rotation and also setting aside a time one or two days a week to cut veggies and foods so I'm not doing it every.single.night because that can get tiring! I am ready to take the next step in food. It's been over half a year since we've had crackers or candy in the house. {I'm not counting the ONE candy cane Santa brought me}.

Exercise

This is actually becoming the easiest part of my routine. I am in love with barre3 - which shouldn't be a surprise to anyone who reads this blog! And while I've always wanted to become a runner I just don't know if it is in the cards for me. I'd need a dozen rolls of duct tape (to tape my boobs down) and a few dozen inhalers (to keep my asthma in check). Oh, and a new lower back! Arthritis and running don't seem to go well together. Last year my goal was to workout 4 days per week. And while I don't think I hit that, I bet I came close! I bet I did 3 times a year. This year I KNOW I can do 3 times a week. I'm going to try to figure out a real & easy way for me to track all of this...you know how I like my data!

Personal Balance

This is a tough one for me. It's tough for me to deal with and tough for me to blog about, partly because I don't know who is reading this blog. I haven't made the blog private yet...because I want to inspire people, not hide from them. But because of that, there are just some things I won't talk about. I recently watched The Secret. I was very intrigued by it. I think I actually used to have the book but I never read it and it is no longer on the shelf so I must have dontaed it. It just wasn't the time for me to hear the message. I'm not even sure this is the time but when I was listening to it I knew I wanted to watch it again, with my husband. Maybe there is something to it...

Personal Relationships & Technology

I want to unplug and reconnect with those around me, especially my husband. We both definitely need time to unwind and veg in the evenings but it is getting old being on the computer or iPad's all evening. I know that my husband's job requires him to work 24/7 and while I don't like it, the fact that he has to do it isn't going to change. We've starting by sitting back at the dinner table instead of infront of the TV. And even though it is only 10 minutes or so...it's 10 minutes that I now look forward to after only 1 week of implementation.

 

I also have some friendships I need to continue to workout. Some that I need to not work as hard at. And a few I'd like to try to progress from the "a few times a year friend" to something more. I want to try to find new ways to connect with my friends. Birthday cards? FaceTime? Writing a letter? If anyone has any other ideas...feel free to leave them as a comment!

 

 

 

Fingers crossed {that this is the best year ever}...