CDL

I've become a calorie counter. Not in an obsessive way but enough to hopefully create an impact in my "healthier lifestyle". I'm straying from the "D" word since there's usually no long term stay in it. So this morning I decided to look up the nutritional values of my favorite Starbucks drinks.

Grande 2% Peppermint Mocha - 400 Calories
Tall 2% Peppermint Mocha - 250 Calories

Still not good enough for me so now i'm back to an old favorite with a twist...

Tall "skinny" no whip Cinnamon Dolce Late - 160 Calories. That I can live with.

I also have my Cardio Funk class tonight. An hour of this little black woman kicking my rear end to crazy techno music. I almost passed out last week - i'm hoping for better results tonight. Maybe lasting more than a half-hour before wanting to jump off the roof.

Ooooo, and Celebrity Apprentice tonight. I haven't been this excited for an Apprentice since the end of the 3rd season. Which, by the way, only adds to the ridiculousness of my addiction to TV. Let me list the shows I currently watch and/or DVR

America's Next Top Model
Crowned (the mom/daughter pageant show)
What Not to Wear
The Amazing Race
Project Runway
Extreme Home Makeover
Grey's Anatomy
Top Chef
Army Wives
CSI: Miami
The Biggest Loser
Celebrity Apprentice
Iron Chef America
Tim Gunn's Guide to Style
Make Me a Supermodel
Kimora: Life in the Fab Lane

I mean... I can go on and on. It's so absurd - I need help! LOL!!

It's the coldest day here in the Tri-State area. I think it's about 22 degrees with a windchill in the negatives. Like i've stated before - I don't believe in Global Warming especially with weather like this. My bathing suit still stays nice and tucked into my dresser until about June/July.

Alright... almost the weekend

Hello 2008

It's officially 2008 and I have to say this year was the most amazing New Year's Eve ever! If I could party like that every NYE it would become my favorite pseudo-holiday (because, let's be honest, it's not really a real holiday). Here are some pictures...

From L to R - The Penn Club all decked out, Rebecca & Chris dancing the Jive (that's Sarah's stepsister and her fiance), Rebecca Chris Sarah & Jon dancing the Waltz, Sarah & Jon (her brother), Me Sarah & Melissa (Jon's girlfriend), My shoes, Me & Sarah, Tommy & Jon, A few of the gang toasting, Me & Tommy, and finally Sarah & her Mom.

Just such a fantastic time!!! So sad i'm back to work though. It was so nice having almost 2 weeks off. The best part was that I didn't really do much. I do have two movie reviews -Atonement & National Treasure 2. Atonement was PHENOMENAL! Such a gut wrenching movie. Definitely not lighthearted but an amazing story - well written, well acted, and just overall well done. National Treasure 2 was fun. Part 1 had more of a story line but 2 was definitely more action packed. Both are worthy to see in theaters - especially Atonement. I'll be adding more to this post later. Have to run for now..............

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Ok, back - time for a little reflection since it is the beginning of 2008. A few days ago I pulled out an old journal. Last year, at this time, I was at a much different place. I never make New Year's Resolutions and at the request of what now is a past friendship I made them at the beginning of 2007. I recall the phrase, "becareful what you wish for (or pray for)". My resolutions were more of a request for a transformation in my life - my marriage, jobs, friends, family, health, etc. At the beginning of last year I had direction. I knew where I wanted to go and what I wanted to accomplish. Too bad my plans weren't His plans. I experienced transformation and continue to experience it - just not in the way that I was expecting. I was brought to the places of some of my worst fears and heartache. Financial difficulty, my marriage in complete disarray, broken friendships, health problems, death. I started 2007 closer to God than I have ever been and I ended 2007 further from God than I have ever been. I know this year serves a very real purpose - I know what i've gone through and continue to go through serves a very real purpose. I'm not the same person I was- good and bad. In the midst of it I was blessed with some amazing friendships as some old ones ended, I was given closure in a very painful area of my life, and I've become more aware of my heart which is a very big deal for me. No resolutions for me in 2008. This year has already started with the best moment and the worst moment for me. If that's any indication than I know I still have a long road ahead - another long year and more transformation to be done. But, I know I don't struggle in vain and i'm holding onto the hope even though it seems so dim sometimes. So I welcome 2008 and all it has to offer.

11 Days

That's right people - starting at 3pm today i'm off for the next 11 days. I can't express how thankful I am to work for such a great company. They closed the office from now until January 1st. And, my co-workers got me such a great gift - it's just nice to be appreciated. With everything that has gone on and me failing the Praxis again it's good to be reminded that I'm where God wants me right now and with my past experiences to count my blessings for such a wonderful job. Now onto more important topics...

Shoes

I went to Macy's last night and purchased the shoes for the dress I posted yesterday. I couldn't find the exact ones online but this one is extremely close. The only difference is the bling goes across both straps in the front but not on the side. Oh and mine are gold - not lavendar like these.












Nice right?! I loved them! I tried on a few before buying these and the other ones just weren't as comfortable (and i'm ALL about comfort).

5 more hours to go....

My Dress

Not only did I go to the gym but I went dress shopping last night. Here is the dress I purchased for the New Year's Eve Party i'm going to - make sure you change the color of the dress to red.

http://www.davidsbridal.com/social_dresses_detail.jsp?stid=2984&prodgroup=213

Sorry it's a link - I couldn't get the picture to copy or download. But, I love it!!! Of course it needs to be altered so tonight I need to go shoe shopping. I'm up for suggestions and reccomendations. The only must is that they need to be gold. I'm SOOOO EXCITED! I can't wait for this party!!!

Ok, gym last night... ugh - I kicked my own butt. I did 35 min of cardio and 30 crunches - I need to build up to the harder workouts. I'm thinking tonight I'll have to do weights because i'm not sure my legs can handle cardio right now (haha).

I hate the fact that I still have Christmas shopping to do. Not much but enough for it to be a pain. I'll probably finish it all up on Saturday. I'm just excited to finally give my gifts out. That's the best part for me. I was talking to my friend yesterday about not doing gifts at all next year and taking the money I would have spent and either donating it to charity or pulling a whole bunch of names off a Salvation Army tree and getting gifts for those people. I'm just so over the commercialism of this holiday.

I've officially checked out of work. Seriously - tomorrow is our last day here for almost 10 days. I have zero desire to do anything. Most of the companies we do business with are already on holiday so it's super quiet. So, PLEASE feel free to entertain me or IM or Email me today and tomorrow.

AIM - etrnalsonshine
Yahoo - etrnalsonshine
Gmail - nhayes05@gmail.com

NYC Scavenger Hunt

Let's talk about what I did on Monday. It was our office "holiday party". We were kept in the dark for a month about what we would be doing. All we were told was that we needed to keep an entire day clear and dress warm. Everyone showed up at the office at 9am and we exchanged our grab bag gifts. I got a very nice bottle of red wine. At 10:15 we all packed into cabs (15 of us) and made our way to the train station which, at that point, we knew we were doing something in the City. Of course it was the coldest day so far this winter and when we arrived at Penn Station someone in our group had the brilliant idea of waiting for a cab to take us to our next destination which was Grand Central Station. Why we didn't just hop on the subway is beyond me. So, we're waiting on line for a cab FREEZING our butts off and I ended up in a cab that decided to take the long way to Grand Central. Of course - the longer the better - it's all $$$ to them. We all arrive at Grand Central and we finally figure out that our bosses signed us up for a Midtown Scavenger Hunt by CityHunt.org. We break up into 3 teams of 5. My team consisted of my boss Jackie, Dawn, Patti, and Christine. It was a 2 hour scavenger hunt which included clues to answer and photo's to take. I wish I had the photo's so you could see all of the crazy things we had to do. Keep in mind - IT'S FREEZING OUTSIDE and we had to walk everywhere.

The first clue had us looking at this corner of Grand Central's ceiling - after renovation they kept a spot of the ceiling dirty so people could see the difference













The next clue had us build a sculpture from objects found around the station. Once that was completed we had to walk to here










That's Bryant Park. Along the way we had to stop and take a ton of random pictures... in... the FREEZING COLD... NYC weather.

Once that clue was answered the next clue led us here













Yep, we walked up to Times Square where we had to venture in and out of different stores to answer more clues and take more pictures.

2 hours later - completely numb - we made it to our final destination to tally the scores and eat some food















Good news is - our team won so the frostbite on my fingers wasn't received in vain. The prize was $50 for each person on the team. Not sure if that will cover the surgery needed to remove my fingers but it'll be enough for a few coffee's at Starbucks.

At the end of the day I was EXHAUSTED!!! The City kicked my butt - it kicked all of our butts. It was definitely fun though. Something different. They do all sorts of scavenger hunts for all types of occassions like Bachelorette Parties and even just Pub Crawls. I'd definitely like to do a Pub Crawl scavenger hunt. I'll have to look into that.

So that was my Monday. It's now Wednesday which means the week is almost over. Starting Friday at 3pm i'm off until January 2nd. I CAN'T WAIT!

Oh and I joined a gym last night. After shopping around I ended up at Bally's. They had a deal for a 1-year contract for $250. That's it - I couldn't believe it. Especially after being quoted $70 a month & $199 down at a local gym near Westfield. Very excited to work out again.

Alright, I need to get back to work.....

One Week till Christmas

Can you believe it?! Where in the world has December gone already! It feels like Thanksgiving was just the other day. Geeez! At least I was more productive with my shopping this time around. I didn't wait until Christmas Eve to do it all.

What a weekend and what a Monday yesterday. I'm feeling overwhelmed with life again. The last few weeks have been fine but i'm starting to slip back into that place I was at back in October. That wasn't a good place at all. Feelings of loneliness, frustration, pain - my home not being a place of comfort - all of it that felt like a ton of bricks weighing on my shoulders.

I'm thinking about taking a vacation by myself. Maybe visit a friend of mine who I haven't seen in over a year. Clear my head and attempt to resuscitate my heart and my life.

Depressing post - sorry. Tomorrow i'll have a fun post about my NYC scavenger hunt we did yesterday.

Two Points

Passing NJ State requirement for the Praxis Series Exam
157

Nikki's Score
155

This is the second time i've taken it - I'm too upset for words right now.