Happy New Years, all!  Wow, 2010.

2009 was a really great year for me, and I’m looking forward to seeing what 2010 has to offer.  I have to admit, I’ve never really been big into the “resolution” thing.  I always encourage myself and others to take action when they want to change something in their life, and to consider every day a new day and a new chance to live your life exactly the way that you want to.  I know, easier said than done, right?  I have a hard time with the concept that this is the one day of year where we resolve to do something better than we were doing it before.

That being said, I do appreciate the fact that starting a new year does give a consistent milestone for us to stop, take a breath, and look back on the last year.  Examine where we are, how we got here, and where we want to be.  And then determine what we need to do to help get us there.  I think giving us that little boost, that reminder, to change our lives for the better is a good thing.  I just don’t think we should limit it to New Years and our New Years Resolution!

So…. taking stock.  This year I:

• Started my comeback.  After my surgery in the second half of 2008, I took the rest of 2008 basically to recover and slowly get back on my feet.  2009 was my year to start rebuilding.  Making my mind and my body stronger.  Sure, the physical aspect is a given – I had to learn to exercise again and build up strength and stamina.  But what I didn’t anticipate was the mental aspect.  It was tough on me, mentally, to sit in the hospital for over a month.  It was tough on me to be in so much pain for a long time.  It was tough on me to be off work for a long time.  It was tough on me to have to start over.  It was very frustrating and demoralizing.  But I persisted, and I’m proud of that.  Everybody loves a comeback!
• Ran another marathon.  This goes along with the first bullet point, but means so much to me that I wanted to give it a bullet point of it’s own
• Met S.  On April 17, 2009, I met the love of my life.  We’ve had ups and downs, but he is one of the best things that has ever happened to me.  He moved in with me in September, and we have been building our home ever since.  I can’t wait to see what is in store for us down the road.
• Traveled internationally twice – to Israel in January 2009, and to Switzerland in October 2009.  Both trips were incredible, life-changing, and eye-opening.
• Added to the family – We got Mendy!  Although S and I joke about and feel like we are living in a zoo, she’s a lot of fun.  She and JB have a great time chasing each other around and playing, and we are so happy we adopted her.

So, although much, much more has happened, those are some of the major highlights.  Tomorrow there will be more about 2010 expectations, hopes, dreams, changes, goals, you name it!

But for today, we woke up and made a trip to the gym.  And… you’ll never believe this… I did weights!  Yes, I crossed over and joined S  in the dark side of the gym.  In the car on the way there, I had a Clif bar.

When we got there, I sat down on the weight bench to accept my fate.  Here was the workout S gave me and I did:

Muscle/exercise	Reps	Weight
Chest – Dumbbell bench press (4 sets)	12	20lb
Shoulders – Supersets (4 sets)	10×2 12×2	10 5
Back – One-handed dumbbell row (4 sets)	12 10 6 13	15 17.5 30 20

The shoulder supersets consisted of butterflies, lateral raises with bent arms, upright rows, and overhead dumbbell press.  Killer.  I have to admit that although I really dislike lifting weights, it makes me feel very strong and very good afterwards!  A hint for tomorrow… one of my 2010 changes is definitely going to be to incorporate weights consistently into my workout routine.  S is going to help.

After a quick shower, we decided there was no better way to celebrate a beautiful, warm California vacation day than a trip to the zoo!  S and I headed to the San Francisco Zoo.  On the way there in the car, I ate a Guiltless Gourmet Mediterranean Spinach Wrap.

This was the first time I had eaten one of these, and I was pleasantly surprised.  The tortilla was soft and chewy, which I really liked, and the filling was delicious.

I wish it had a little more feta cheese in it, but that’s about it.  The nutritional stats were pretty good as well, I was pleased to see that it had 9 grams of protein which is more than the typical wrap.  I also ate an apple and a handful of Ritz crackers.

The zoo was awesome.  I loved the lions and tigers, but couldn’t get good pictures because they are behind a wall.  Probably because of the tiger attack a year or so back.  I did snap a few of some other faves:

This guy was just wandering around the zoo, right next to us!

I was very disappointed because they didn’t have any elephants   Elephants are my favorite animal, and I was so excited to see them!  Total bummer.  But we still had a great time.

I ate a protein bar on the way home,

But was still starving by the time we got there.  I decided it was time to roast some brussel sprouts!  I washed and quartered, then tossed with olive oil.

Seasoned and spread them into a pan,

And roasted for 30 minutes at 400 degrees.  Then put in a dish with turkey sausage and parmesan cheese, and voila!

Quick, easy, delicious and healthy dinner.  Dessert was some sugar cookie ice cream.

And now we have settled down for the night with our glasses of champagne (in wine glasses, due to our lack of champagne flutes…) next to the fireplace and lit Christmas tree.

While you are waiting for the ball to drop, check out Chocolate Covered Katie’s Wild Bar giveaway!

Goodnight all, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!  Let’s make 2010 a great one