New Year New Blog!

2011 is the year that I am getting serious about four things: staying healthy, keeping my relationships strong, organizing and redecorating my home and saving $10,000 by cutting corners, getting creative and doing without. I hope you will follow me in my quest to lead a simpler life. Maybe my tips will help you get in better shape, keep in touch with friends, stay organized and save some big money!

Today is Day One: Health Day!

Normally, this is the day I re-join Weight Watchers, stick to my 21 daily points, make my goal of losing 10 pounds sometime in March and then go off the wagon....Not this year -- beginning today I am going to set a goal of losing 17 pounds before March 18. If I post it in public, then I will stick to it. I need to expend 59,500 more calories then I will take in over the next ten weeks. I will post tips from my diet plan and exercise routine. Perhaps you will join me.

Today's Health Tip: Fiber One

I love Fiber One and believe it is my #1 diet aid. Just one cup of Fiber One cereal with a cup of skim milk gives you 100% of the fiber you need for the day, plus it helps curb the mid-morning munchies. I eat my bowl of bran with a hardboiled egg (white only) on the side and a cup of coffee or tea. It is a GREAT breakfast for less than 500 calories.

Last Ones, I Promise!!

Dan is holding a 4 1/2 foot icicle that was hanging from the front of the house

This is my neighbor's deck - it was never shoveled - notice the snow fills the entire deck

#1 Son helps with the shoveling

More Photos

This is my Volkswagen Cabrio under the snow. Its license plate reads "2DEBCH" for "to the Delaware Beach."





Icicles hanging from the porch light

I am standing next to a more than l6 foot high snow wall

Dan is just starting to dig out the driveway - it took over 2 hours!

Blizzard of 2010

Location: Columbia, Maryland (between Baltimore and Washington DC)
Total Accumulation: 53 inches fell between February 5 and February 10.
We had to dig out, so the 53 inches quickly became 66 inches piled high!!
I can't wait until Spring and believe me, this snow will still be on the ground until then!

A Special Day Today

Eight years ago today, a tornado ripped through College Park, Maryland, a very unusual feat indeed! Even more unusual and sad was that freak tornado took the lives of two sisters, Erin and Colleen Marlatt, students at the University of Maryland, who were on campus that day and were driving home to their parent's home about 30 minutes away. The tornado lifted their car and tossed it across the campus, killing them instantly.
Colleen and Erin were the only two daughters of my dear friends, Patricia and Patrick. Pat & Pat are remarkable people and have channeled their grief into something wonderful. They created a scholarship fund for children whose parents are teachers in Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese of Baltimore. The merit scholarship awards $2,500 per year (for up to four years) for a area Catholic High School or the University of Maryland, College Park.
Tonight, we will celebrate the gift of Colleen and Erin with a Mass and reception in their honor and memory. Please say a prayer for the girls and their family today, and if you have children, Hug them tight today! Life is a precious gift!
Visit the website at www.colleenanderin.com to learn more about the girls and the scholarship fund.

Yoga Today!

I am trying to add some relaxation to my life. I keep super busy with family, career, volunteering and, of course, socializing and I totally feel guilty when I sit down to take a break. "Shouldn't I be doing something"? "Shouldn't I always be on my toes"? My husband suggested I take yoga (he is a runner and takes an occassional yoga class for flexibility) to calm down a bit, so I bit the bullet and showed up for class today. The instructor was nice and gave great direction. There were 10 other women in the class and we all seemed to be on the same page. I felt really good during and after class, so now I have to decide whether to plunk down the $192 bucks it will cost to take it every Wednesday AM for the next 12 weeks. The bonus is that with a 90 minute class, there is a 15 minute "re-balancing" segment at the end where you just lie there and meditate. It felt super good! I think I am going to like yoga. Namaste!

Majesty Magazine

OK, so I am little obsessed with the Royals - not "off the deep end" obsessed, but ever since Princess Diana walked down the aisle in 1981 in that fabulous dress with that fabulous train (My Mother and I were up at 4 AM watching it live that morning), I have been hooked!



If I was a native Brit, I'd be a Sloane Ranger. I just adored the Queen Mum, she reminded me of my Great-Aunt Elizabeth and I just love the tradition. So why is it I never knew about the magazine, Majesty, until this past weekend. Majesty has been published for about thirty years and though it looks like a tabloid, it is actually pretty classy and newsworthy. I happened to stumble across some old issues from 2002 & 2003 while I was visiting the Book Thing (see previous post). If you like reading about the lifestyles of the British Royals, check out www.majestymagazine.com.

Majesty gives its readers a colorful insight into the privileged lives of the royal families of the world. Personalities, lifestyles and fashion are all captured in exciting features and stunning photographs. Majesty records all the important royal engagements and takes an in-depth look at the dramatic history of Britain�s monarchs. Month by month it builds into a beautiful and authoritative collection.

If anyone is interested in the back issues I picked up - I can mail them out media anywhere in the US....Cheers!