1/12 of the way

Well, we are going to be 1/12 of the way through the year tomorrow, so I thought I would bring back the goals and see how I'm doing!

1. Start a blog (check) AND write a post at least once per month (January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December)

2. Visit three or more new places

3. Lose at least 15 pounds (I would love to lose 30, but I want to make a realistic goal)

4. Get back in shape or at least become more active by doing some form of exercise frequently - ummm I did Jillian's 30 day shred for 1 day... still need to work on this one

5. Be specific about doing something kind for someone at least once per month (

• January  - I brought my older neighbor's recycling bin out to the curb for her 
• February 
• March 
• April 
• May 
• June 
• July
• August
• September 
• October
• November 
• December

6. Try six new recipes

7. Make a new friend

8. Watch the sun rise

9. Enjoy a sunset

10. Swim in the ocean

11. Do a charity run or walk

12. Raise money for a charity (Can be combined with number 11)

13. Donate to a new charity

14. Get a facial

15. Take a dancing lesson of some sort (salsa, country line, etc.)

16. Go to more than two Flying Squirrels games

17. Go to at LEAST one Hokie football game

18. Participate in a murder mystery dinner

19. Try to re-finance my house for lower interest and a conventional loan (so I can get rid of that darn PMI. And obviously this goal is only going to be applicable if the rates stay where they are)

20. Pay off my car?!?! Or at least come close

21. Ride my bicycle more than once

22. Read a non-fiction book (I know this might not be a big deal, but I 100% stick to fiction books) I read Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand I would SERIOUSLY suggest it!

23. Build something

24. Go through my house and get rid of things/clothes/etc that I haven't used in the last year

25. Organize my basement (especially the workroom)

26. Hang the rest of the pictures, art, and shelves that I haven't hung

27. FINISH UNPACKING from when I moved (yup, that's right folks, there are still boxes in my attic)

28. Volunteer for something I helped with Laura's Church (West End Pres) at their annual Stop Hunger Now event and we packaged 80,000 meals for kids in Haiti

29. Spend some serious time in my backyard weeding, killing weeds, and planting pretty things that don't take much effort to keep up

30. Have the BEST 30th Birthday party EVER!!! :) (Especially since Laura is planning it!)

Well, all in all, it looks like I'm doing ok so far. I still have a lot of goals to make, but I'm making progress!

It's beginning to look a lot like... winter!

Ahhhhh I do love snow... yes I moved from Massachusetts to the "south" (Virginia) to avoid the cold weather, yes I have lived in VA for 11 years now, yes I get cold ALL THE TIME, and yes I still like snow storms... A few years ago (I believe 2009), Richmond got a TON of snow, they called it the snowpocalypse and it was awesome! Maybe except for the fact that poor Christine was getting married one of the weekends and her wedding guests were limited because of the weather. I actually think I shoveled about a driveway's worth of a foot of snow to get to her wedding! Despite that, for me, it was beautiful, I got to work from home, I got to go sledding and make snowmen.

The only problem?!?! We haven't had a whole lot of snow SINCE then. I mean, we get an inch or two here and there, but that's nothing. If I'm going to be inconvenienced by snow, I'd rather it be at least 3 or 4 inches. 2 inches is lame and Richmonders just don't know how to deal with it. Accidents, school cancellations, no milk/eggs in the store are all just byproducts of even an inch of snow.

Now, we've already had our first snow of the year, and even our second snow of the year! Snow #1 was Thursday January 17th overnight. It was really pretty and we probably got about an inch of ice and then two inches of snow. I went over to my friend, Laura's, since she lives in the neighborhood, and we hung out and rather than me go out in the cold to go home, I just took over her extra bedroom and went home in the morning. :)

Snow #1 - I was too cold to go all the way outside so the picture
is through Laura's screened in porch

This was Millie's reaction to the snow...

Here was my house after the first snow. It looks so pretty :)

Snow #2 was this past Friday afternoon where it snowed all afternoon and we got about two inches of snow (lame). This time Laura came over to my house to wait out the snowstorm. Laura wanted to play in the snow, so she convinced me to find all my snow clothes. We both bundled up and went into the yard to make snow angels... I am pretty certain it took longer for us to put snow clothes on, than it did for us to play in the snow. Then we had Elizabeth over for a breakfast for dinner feast!

My street - I think it was still snowing...

I looked like a straight up dork in this photo.

Laura's snow angel...

Both snow angels...

My snow angel...


Needless to say... I would really like a snowstorm where we get like 3 or 4 inches of snow and I can just hole up in my house, drink warm beverages, read, watch movies and watch the beautiful snow fall. :)

*You can also check out Laura's version of the story on her blog Life's Next Adventures

Animal Clothing - Cheesy or Cute?

What do I really think of animal clothes? I think they are ridiculous. When people show off their little dogs with sweaters it kind of makes me want to vomit, because I think it's so silly. Because I'm a knitter, people have asked me before if I make animal clothing... I'm sure you can tell by the first few sentences of this blog, that I would say HECK NO!

Millie, my cat, is the sweetest cat I have ever met. She never scratches, bites, or even gets mad at me. Because of this, she suffers through some interesting predicaments. As I stated pretty vehemently above, I don't like animal clothing, however, I will put Millie in clothing or hats or whatever if someone else buys them for her. (See below)

I wasn't actually choking her, just trying to keep her from moving... this was last
Christmas and my sister bought Millie a Christmas hat

She didn't even try to take this off her head

Poor Millie hated this little number given by her
Aunt Amanda & Uncle Sam

She was so funny, she didn't want to move, but have no fear,
she still tried to chase the bug in the light

Planes, Trains and Automobiles???

www.imdb.com

If you have never seen the movie in the picture above, I strongly suggest that you do that, because it is HILARIOUS!!!

However, that's not really what I'm talking about... I have to say I travel a lot. I mean, I'm not out of town all the time anymore, but for a while I traveled a few times a month with work, or to visit family far away, going on vacation or visiting friends. 

I have been on more planes than you can imagine, probably more planes in one year than my mother has been on in her life. I have been on planes ranging in size from a 777 to a tiny puddle jumper where I talked to the pilot. I used to be a little scared of flying and this is probably because my mother is terrified of flying. However, at one point, during a particularly rough plane flight, I determined that worrying actually would do me NO good. I cannot control the plane, I cannot control what happens, so why even bother backseat driving? From then on I have had no issues flying because I know I can't do anything and I have to trust that the pilot will get me to my destination safely. 

Last weekend I took the train to and from Philadelphia. I have taken trains before and I have honestly taken an overnight train to MA (I don't recommend that because you DEFINITELY cannot sleep). The train ride to Philly was awesome. I really enjoyed the legroom, I had my own seat, I could use my computer the whole way, I could read, relax, knit and it was great. I seriously would take the train again... only issue - it costs almost as much as a plane!

Oh Amtrak - to Richmond I go...

I don't have much to say about automobiles except that I like to drive. I mean I drove a bus in college for two years and I still even have my CDL. But if we are talking about a trip from Richmond to Philly, I think depending on if I was by myself or not I would try for the train/plane by myself and the automobile if I was with people. If we are talking about a trip from here to MA to see my family the order would definitely be Plane then Train and then automobile. I have done all trips and that would definitely be the way I would go!

So, I don't know why I wanted to blog about this, but I think I just enjoyed the relaxation of the train so much, that I wanted to share it!

City of Brotherly Love

Last weekend my dear friend, Amanda, turned 30! When I spent Thanksgiving dinner with her family, Sam (her wonderful husband) told me he wanted to throw her a surprise birthday party. I, of course, was totally on board with this idea and was excited at the thought of surprising Amanda for her birthday. After a few iterations of plans, Sam decided on everyone meeting in Philadelphia for the weekend and actually surprising her on Friday night at a karaoke bar.

The good news: I was not involved in any way, shape or form of the planning, so I didn't have to worry about that. Also, I don't talk to Amanda nearly often enough so I knew I wouldn't spill the beans to her.

The bad news: She thought everyone was sick for her birthday girls night out and was a little sad leading up to the day.

However, she was surprised and we met at a karaoke bar in Philly to surprise her! And of course, sang a bunch of songs, hung out with her friends, family, and just enjoyed our time!

Sam and Alyse Singing

Props to Emily for showing up sick, but Em and Peter singing

Amanda and Cambria (the party coordinator) singing

The happy couple singing!

A lot of people singing :)

Amanda singing again :)

 Then we got to go back to Amanda and Sam's and have fun ALL weekend. Christine and Lee also came up from Richmond and we all stayed in the house together. On Saturday we hung out in the morning and finally got moving around 12:30 when we went to lunch in Old Philadelphia. We ate at this really cute pub. Afterwards, we walked to the dog store and China town. Sam cooked us a Cambodian meal on Saturday night and we watched Stepbrothers which was a lot funnier rented than the TBS version.

Christine and Nadia (she looks sweet but I promise you she is a little bit like the devil)

Sam and Leonard (he is hating every minute of this, but he is sweet)

Amanda and Leonard

Leonard was kind enough to share his perch with me :)

And this is the neighbor's dog, Paddy... ummm SO CUTE (he's a labradoodle or however its spelled)

Then on Sunday we went for brunch at Rollers Cafe (yummmmm) then got back on the train! What a quick weekend, but it was SO fun celebrating Amanda ALL WEEKEND LONG!

And so it begins - again

Crescent Rolls

Scalloped Potatoes

Wine? Yes Please :)

Love Wegman's Whoopie Pies
http://www.wegmans.com

So I bet when you see all these photos of glorious types of food and beverage that I'm definitely going to talk about diets, right? Ha. Well today, I am about to begin my journey to completing #3 on my 2013 goals. I weigh in for the first time and I begin my "diet" or really just get back on the wagon of eating healthier. The way I change my eating habits is by using an old version of Weight Watchers to count points. I'm going to put a plug in for WW, because I have before lost 50+ lbs. and I'm up a little since then, but I know it works and I know I can maintain for a while before having to lose again. So what's the best part about WW? I can eat every food you see above, in fact I can eat WHATEVER I want! One of the main keys to losing weight and maintaining it is portion control. Do I want to eat the whole Whoopie Pie? Of course, but I don't NEED the whole whoopie pie and usually I'm not even hungry for the whole whoopie pie, I just want a little something sweet. The more you control your portions, the less hungry your body is, and the more you can listen to it and what it wants.

Don't get me wrong, losing weight is not easy, has never been easy, and never will be easy, but I am choosing to change my habits and, as long as I am committed to doing that, I will succeed. I know that it's almost as much of a mind game as it is a diet and when you put your mind to most anything, you can do it, and that has been proved to me time and time again.

Just remember that you can't just say you want to lose weight and then never take action on it. Last year Laura, Kristi and I were going on a cruise. So eight weeks before the cruise departure I started the points plan. I lost ten pounds before the cruise and proceeded to gain six back when I was on the boat. Clearly I was only sort of committed to losing weight, and not so much to keeping it off. Whoops! I have yo-yo'd ever since then. Needless to say, it is time and so it begins - again.

I'm 29, I'm not ancient!

Sometimes I feel so old! I like routine, I go to bed at 10 or 10:30, I wake up at 6:30 on work days and whenever I feel like it on the weekends (usually no later than 8). So, what's wrong with this picture? Well, on New Year's Eve, I went to my friend Kristi's house and we hung out, played games, etc. At about 10:30 I was ready to go to sleep. It's New Year's Eve and I want to go to bed before the ball drops and 2013 begins?!?! This is totally unacceptable!

So, this past Friday, my friend Laura's cousin was in town and they were going to get a bunch of people together to grab some drinks. Great, I was totally on board for this, until Laura said we were going to meet up at 9:30. Ummm, excuse me, this is very hard for me to grasp the fact that I would be leaving my house right around the time that I'm going to start getting ready for bed. Well, I wanted to go, so I persuaded Laura to let me hang out with them beforehand because I figured that the farther away from my sweatpants and bed I was, the easier it would be for me to go ahead and go out! Well, I have to say, I had a blast! We pretty much took over the bar we went to with all the people we knew and it was just fun hanging out chatting, meeting new people, and just enjoying a Friday night! I think I went to bed around 1AM :)

Then... there was Saturday. I thought I was doing pretty well going out the one night, but on Saturday there was this awesome folk/bluegrass band playing at The Camel in Richmond. Another night where we go out at 9, another night where I stay out til midnight or 1, but yet another night where I have a great time with friends, friends of friends, and great music!

Sometimes I need the reminder that I am 29 years old, and I am not ancient or DEAD! I need to start making myself go out a little bit more, or at least stay up a little later sometimes, because honestly, I had a REALLY great time this weekend!

To Resolve or Not To Resolve?!?!

Hello hello and welcome to my blog. I'm CJ, just an ordinary almost thirty-something girl that lives in VA. I named my blog Box of Chocolates, because of two reasons: 1. I like chocolate and 2. You never know what you're gonna get...

Today I am going to talk about New Year's Resolutions. Everyone knows what resolutions are, right? It's a new year, a new time where you can change your life. It's that resolution to go to the gym every day (which stops after day 2), or the going on a diet, getting on the dating site and expect to be married by the end of the year, losing 50 pounds... all things that seem impossible and pretty much set yourself up for failure. According to Dictionary.com the definition of resolution is below.

res·o·lu·tion [rez-uh-loo-shuh n] Show IPA

noun

1. a formal expression of opinion or intention made, usually after voting, by a formal organization, a legislature, a club, or other group. Compare concurrent resolution, joint resolution.

2. a resolve or determination: to make a firm resolution to do something.

3. the act of resolving or determining upon an action or course of action, method, procedure, etc.

4. the mental state or quality of being resolved or resolute; firmness of purpose.

5. the act or process of resolving or separating into constituent or elementary parts.

Sooo... for whatever reason, I always feel like resolutions are so negative. It's like if you don't do your resolution, you're like every other person who failed at something. So, I try NOT to have resolutions, I'd rather have GOALS or something that I can look forward to doing not force myself to stop doing!

In the year of 2013, I will turn 30 years old. In honor of being 30, I am going to come up with 30 goals for the year (not to be confused with resolutions).

So, here we go, CJ's 30 Goals for 2013:

1. Start a blog (check) AND write a post at least once per month

2. Visit three or more new places

3. Lose at least 15 pounds (I would love to lose 30, but I want to make a realistic goal)

4. Get back in shape or at least become more active by doing some form of exercise frequently

5. Be specific about doing something kind for someone at least once per month

6. Try six new recipes

7. Make a new friend

8. Watch the sun rise

9. Enjoy a sunset

10. Swim in the ocean

11. Do a charity run or walk

12. Raise money for a charity (Can be combined with number 11)

13. Donate to a new charity

14. Get a facial

15. Take a dancing lesson of some sort (salsa, country line, etc.)

16. Go to more than two Flying Squirrels games

17. Go to at LEAST one Hokie football game

18. Participate in a murder mystery dinner

19. Try to re-finance my house for lower interest and a conventional loan (so I can get rid of that darn PMI. And obviously this goal is only going to be applicable if the rates stay where they are)

20. Pay off my car?!?! Or at least come close

21. Ride my bicycle more than once

22. Read a non-fiction book (I know this might not be a big deal, but I 100% stick to fiction books)

23. Build something

24. Go through my house and get rid of things/clothes/etc that I haven't used in the last year

25. Organize my basement (especially the workroom)

26. Hang the rest of the pictures, art, and shelves that I haven't hung

27. FINISH UNPACKING from when I moved (yup, that's right folks, there are still boxes in my attic)

28. Volunteer for something

29. Spend some serious time in my backyard weeding, killing weeds, and planting pretty things that don't take much effort to keep up

30. Have the BEST 30th Birthday party EVER!!! :) (Especially since Laura is planning it!)

By the way, it's pretty hard to come up with 30 goals, so you should be impressed that I did. Here we are, the beginning of my blogging career. I hope I can be somewhat entertaining!