Back is Back To Good! And FMM

Just checking in for Friend Makin' Monday and to pass on that I have been pain-free in my back for about three days. I haven't even had the occasional soreness-in-that-area which makes me super excited! Dance is back on the agenda for 2012!! With Christmas going ons and what-not, I don't have too much to share. I've been pretty good this holiday season save for Saturday night when my free pouring host kept refilling my glass while I was too busy chatting to notice. I swear I wasn't sticking my wine glass out in front of him on purpose.

If you're new to Friend Makin' Monday, you can find the guidelines here.

FMM: Have you ever?

1. …traveled outside of your home country? If so, where? USA, Mexico, Ireland (lived there), UK (all four countries), France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany (lived there), Switzerland (lived there), Austria, Italy, Cuba, Tanzania (lived there)

2. …performed on stage in front of at least 1,000 people? If so, share some details! Not for over than many people, no. But I do love being on stage.

3. …watched an episode of Jersey Shore? Yes

4. …baked a cake from scratch? If so, what’s your specialty? I prefer baking cakes from scratch, but my specialty is actually pies, not cakes. I've never not had pie crust turn out perfectly, even when I was 14 and didn't have everything so I improvised with whole wheat flour and a metal baking tin. It wasn't until I was older and tasted some less-than-stellar homemade pie crusts that I realised how lucky I am that that was the baking super power I inherited from my mom.

5. …worked in a grocery store? No.

6. …dated someone who was your best friend first? Best friend no, but a few of them were friends first. 7. …made a difference in someone’s life during Christmas? I volunteered at the Food Bank a few times growing up and I adopted a family with two co-workers one year.

8. …been on TV? Yes. It's an episode of COPS my mom won't ever forget ;) Kidding! But I have been on TV.

9. …had cosmetic surgery? No.

10. …learned a second language? If so, what else do you speak? I used to have decent travel French and Spanish and I'm working on getting them back. I achieved fairly high levels of fluency in German and Swahili when I lived in Germany and Tanzania respectively. When I put my mind to it, I can pick up languages fairly quickly. It's the keeping them up so I maintain that level that causes me problems.

Goal Slacking

I have finally set my fitness goals for this week: have my fitness goals ready to go for next Monday!

Obviously, I'm as awesome at this whole 'goal setting' thing as I am at this 'staying on track' thing.

I actually did set a few fitness goals this week but they were small because I set a lot of non-fitness goals and I didn't want to bog myself down with lists. I still have to write 'thank you' letters to everyone we stayed with in Ireland (yes, write as in pen to paper with my best penmanship), I need to go through my spice cupboard and my fridge and clean them out, I need to find a job, I want to bake some Zupfe, I'm working on a craft project involving spray paint, I'm trying to set aside 30 minutes a day to crochet, and I stupidly decided to give Nanowrimo a shot... again.

I looked at the list above and wrote down the following fitness goals: don't skip dance class, and go for a long walk at some point. I'm aiming big this week!

Despite the lack of concrete fitness goals for this week, I have spent a lot of time thinking about what I really want out of the six months (the length of my journal) so while I have been lackluster in actually setting my weekly goals, they've never really been that far from my mind. I've gotten them figured out for next week and will be doing some of them this week (doing yoga in the mornings, for example) but I don't want the added guilt of not achieving them when I already have a full plate.

I may be the only person who has to write 'write to-do list' on her to-do list.

Christmas is Coming, The Goose and I Are Getting Fat

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat

Please put a penny in the old man's hat

If you haven't got a penny, a ha'penny will do

If you haven't got a ha'penny, God bless you!

It is safe to say that the end of 2010 did not go as well as the start. Knee problems then a hip problem then getting knocked sideways by a flu have left me sliding backwards as far as my goal go. Clothes that were loose are feeling a big more snug. There are a few shoulda-coulda-woulda moments in the last three months, but I also cried on three separate occasions from the pain and discomfort in my hip so I'm not going to beat myself up about it. I'll just pick myself up and move on from here.

I attended a Christmas get-together in my apartment building last night. Our awesome building managers put out quite the spread along with their homemade wine and kid-friendly punch. I came away from the afternoon realising that other than a grand total of five plain chips I ate very healthy. Maybe the holidays don't have to be a worrisome time of year!

I am making Grandma's Molasses Cookies with my mom today. Grandma always had these cookies all year round so I'm not quite sure why it became a 'Christmas Only' cookie in our house but they're one of my favourite traditions of the season. To be honest, this is one treat I always overindulge in so I've already started mentally eating my 30 molasses cookies and seeing if it stops the random snacking throughout the afternoon.

I Can't Run so I Will Cook

I am slowly setting up my apartment with equipment for a make-shift 'at home' gym-type-like thingy. I headed out this weekend to pick up some resistance bands and heavier weights to compliment the lighter weights, balance ball and yoga mat I already have. I'm not done but what I have will do for now. In the meantime, I want to set up an area for the equipment so I don't have to keep lugging it from my closet to the living room every time... although that is a good workout.

Fall is definitely here and I love it. I really do have a strange love for rain and going out in it and getting wet. I even like camping in the rain. I also prefer to work out in the Fall because I'm a big sissy when it comes to getting really hot and that's never a concern in the Fall!

Fog from my balcony

The only downside is that we're coming up to the workout weather I like best just as I am temporarily stopping the running. I've been having some knee issues since the Spring. Well, that's a lie. I've been having these problems since I was a teenager, but I noticed an increase in the regularity of it since the Spring. My knees don't hurt but I've been noticing that they don't feel right, if that makes sense. It almost feels like the joint has shifted but I know it hasn't. Anyway, I've been given a bunch of knee/surround muscle exercises to do (boo yay lunges!!) and have been advised to stick to low impact cardio for the time being.

The change in weather is also telling me it's time to start cooking some of my favourite meals. There's something about fall that makes me want to cook. The heat of summer is over, I need something that's more of an internal hug than a salad, and staying inside to cook when it's dark out just seems nice. I'm hoping to get some of the meals up on here to share. First up, Schnitz und Drunder (I tried to find an English link to the recipe, but alas, you'll just have to wait) which almost replaces a cheese fondue for my favourite Swiss meal.

Who am I kidding? I have an annual fondue party. This will always be my favourite Swiss meal.

Cheese melted in wine? Um, you had me at cheese! Yummy!

Anyone else have favourite Fall meals they're looking forward to?