Healthy Winner

This post is shaping up to be rather random ramblings, so don’t mind me!

This week has been busy and eventful–mostly good, thankfully. Unfortunately, there was a tragedy here in Portland on Tuesday night. Maybe you saw the news , but there was a shooting at the local mall. It was scary because it was so close to home and several people I know had JUST left the mall before the shooting started. One of my coworkers had just parked at the mall with her little kids when she saw people running out of the mall screaming. I’m glad she wasn’t inside! I hate when stuff like this happens so close to home and I hope everyone effected by it heals quickly. Whenever I drive near the mall now, my heart breaks for everyone involved. What a horrible way to start the Christmas season.

CHRISTMAS

In more positive news, Michael and I got our tree this week! It’s a little over 5 feet tall and one night after work I donned my Santa hat, made hot cocoa and we decorated the tree. I had a ton of new ornaments I bought the day after Christmas from Sur la Table. Michael’s new ornament is a hot dog. 🙂 Mine was a cupcake.

Fat Kitty was very curious, and a little timid, of the tree. He checked it out and then ran away to hide for the rest of the evening. Maya, on the other hand, decided her new favorite spot is underneath the tree in the corner, against the wall where no one can see her or reach her!

BOOKS

In other good news, I wanted to share a few excellent books I read recently (and they’d be great stocking stuffers for the readers in your life). I’ve been telling everyone I know that they need to check out these books.

The Snow Child

This is probably one of the best books I read in 2012 and I wanted to share it with you guys so you can read it, too. Check it out at your library asap! The story is about a couple who leaves Pennsylvania to be pioneers in Alaska in the 1920’s. They build a cabin in the wilderness, work on their farm and hunt in the winter. The story is about their difficult frontier life during that time period. The couple can’t have children and one snowy day, they playfully build a snow girl after a storm. Then the snow child comes to life!

It was such a touching, sweet story and there were a lot of elements to it that I could relate to. It was a poetic, eloquent book.

Gone Girl

Wow–what a great book! It was a mystery and I don’t want to give too much away but it’s a must-read. Gripping, diabolical and with lots of twists and turns. Read it!

The Baker’s Daughter

I liked this book, but there were some aspects that I didn’t really like. The story had two main characters. The first was Elsie, the baker’s daughter, who lived in Germany during WWII. Her story was intriguing and different because it was from the point of view of a German who believed in the Nazi party message. The second main character was a modern day reporter who interviews Elsie. I did not care for the modern day character or story line and the book would have been perfect had it stuck to Elsie’s story. Despite that, it was still a good and interesting read.

MONTHLY WEIGH-IN

I stepped on the scale this morning. My last weigh in was November 16th and I was 146. While I am technically under my goal weight of 150, 146 is not a number I feel comfortable at. It’s a little too close to 150 and I would rather have some wiggle room.

For the last month or so, I’ve been eating pretty normally (90/10 rule), but I’ve been trying to limit my sugar intake and reduce my alcohol calories. I had two holiday parties where I drank but other than that, I’ve refrained from drinking my calories since then. And it’s paid off! I weighed 144.4 this morning! A loss of 1.6 pounds is good news indeed.

The Winner Is………

Wasa is kindly letting me pick one of my readers to receive some free crackers for healthier snacking this holiday season, plus a gift card! I used Random.org to pick the winner.

Congratulations Hannah! Please email me as soon as possible with your mailing address so I can let Wasa know. Thanks for reading!

QUESTION: Tell me some good news from your neck of the woods.