Gah.  Here we are again.  The first day of the new year.  365 days staring you in the face where you swear that by day 365 you’ll be a newer, stronger, better you.

I’ve done that the last four years.

2012?  I started out at:

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I didn’t really have a resolution post for 2012.  2011 was a crazy year with Tony’s cancer diagnosis, and his months of recovery.  We had no idea how long his recovery was going to take – and to this day no one prepared us for what was in store.  My only resolution for 2012 was for Tony to be well!

It lasted 16 days before he was hospitalized.  He spent days in the hospital figuring out what was wrong with him before they diagnosed c-diff – he never really recovered from the hernia surgery he had in December.

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So 2012 had its ups and downs.  I am an emotional eater, so I think the only thing I can say is that exercising last year staved off a 50 pound gain!

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That’s what I weigh today.  At first I was pissed, because I did it to myself.  That’s a gain of 8.6 from a year ago.  But then I looked at the numbers, and realized I only gained an average of 3/4 of a pound each month!  I am going to focus on the positives, mkay?

But this year I decided not to have any resolutions.  One mantra is make each day better.  I have no excuses.  I don’t have little kids around my feet, I have a pretty flexible schedule.  My other mantra:  moderation.  This is where I seriously lack.  There is no reason for me to have wine every day.  Or cheese.  But I can incorporate those things into a healthy diet.

More veggies, more fruits.  I looked back at my WW journals when I lost 70 pounds from 1999 to 2000.  You know what saved me?  Well, I didn’t drink back then, but the other saving grace was zero point soups.

I know they aren’t zero point now, but I would make a big batch of zero point soup and I’d take 3 cups to work every day.  If I felt the urge to get something out of the vending machine, or food court, I’d heat up a cup of soup at a time.  I’d even heat up a cup while I was making dinner, so that I didn’t nibble while I cooked.  Here is my almost zero point Spicy Mexican Soup. 

I am making Wednesday my WI day for the week.  I am also going back to the Zero scale.  I zeroed it out this morning and that will track my losses.

We did manage to have a nice New Years Eve dinner, however, I undercooked the cornish hens.  I probed it but somehow the dark meat was a little raw.  Luckily, they were pretty big birds and the breast meat was delicious.  I plan on making a wild rice and chicken soup with the leftovers (um, without the mushrooms!).

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We wanted to do Cornish hens for Christmas eve, but they were expensive – two for $15!  We got these at Mariano’s for $3 each. Open-mouthed smile

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I ended up cutting out the back bone, and placing half a lemon under the cavity of each as it was baking.  I got the recipe from here.

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We splurged on this beer for me.  I thought it cost $7.99, but Tony was convinced it was $2.99, which is more in our price range.  While he was checking out, I was doing a prosecco tasting they were having, and as we were walking out I realized IT WAS $7.99 for this bottle – yikes!

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Sofie Pale Ale from Goose Island.  Holy shizz you guys, this is the champagne of all beer!  It had citrus notes, a bit of vanilla, yet super light.

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That was the perfect way to start out the night.  I’ll just need to win the lottery to buy this again! Open-mouthed smile

At Mariano’s they have bulk items, and I picked up Wild Rice – two cups set us back just $1.67.  I added 1/4 cup of white rice to the mix, with 3 2/3 cups chicken broth and just put it in my rice cooker.  I love the combination of grains in this – even split peas!

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I also made a broccoli gratin on the side.  The lemon got super juicy while it was baking under the hens, and I squeezed a generous amount over the meat and it was delicious.  I ended up throwing the chicken back in the oven for 15 minutes, and its completely cooked.  I’ll just add it to the end of the wild rice soup after everything else is cooked. Open-mouthed smile

So the question to you – do you resolve to do anything this year?  Make a list of 13 things you want to do in 2013?  

Happy New Year!  Hugs!