New Years Resolutions

Some of my most favorite Memories from 2010

1. Greece 2010 was a amazing (the whole vacation in general was relaxing and necessary to clear my mind during that time of my life… I read a book called “Why men love bitches” while on vacation, this is the RELATIONSHIP BIBLE no joke.)

2. Going to Bulls/Cubs games with Pete.

3. Officially dating Pete (April 3rd, 2010)…

4. losing 11 lbs!

5. Turning 21 (Party bus was awesome and saw many many people I have not seen in a while!)

6. Earning a 3.82 GPA

7. Detroit 2010 Pan Orthodox Basketball Tournament was a great memory for me, ( Pete and I started speaking during the Detroit tournament in March and he took me with him to this tournament)

8. Trying sushi for the first time this year (now I go to Japanese places often!)

9. Running 4 miles under 40 mins (took me 38 mins!)

10. Baking my own homemade Pizza from scratch, even the dough!

10. Fitting into a size 2 dress for New Years!

11. Dying my hair a blonde color… I Finally tried it and I never thought I would.

12. Baking smore cookies with Pete!

13. Creating some amazing art pieces for my core art class this semester really gave me a sense of accomplishment

14. Starting this blog!

15. Meeting Kim Kardashian and Kanye West at Dinner with Pete

16. Getting the closure I needed on a past relationship

18. Working out with a workout buddy (Sophia) has been great, It’s helped me maintain my weight-loss and continue my healthy lifestyle.

19. Watching Pete play professional Basketball for the South Shore Gary Splash! (very proud of him)

20. Volunteering for the Greek Event in Chicago called 40 Under 40 where I met Theo Alexander (Talbot from True Blood)

21. Winning the Ahepa Marrow Basketball tournament

22. Going to Florida in the beginning of 2010 with my cousins was a blast!!!!

 

Some Goals For 2011

#1 Run in a 5k in the spring

#2 Workout at least 6 days of the week

#3 work on flexibility techniques

#4 let go of the past that is ruining my present

#5 Work/Volunteer at the GABBY award 2011 in New York City

#6 start volunteering a Chicago Public schools and figure our which grade I may want to teach in the future.

#7 Start playing basketball at least once a week at the gym

#8 Start respecting and trusting Pete more than I did in 2010…we went through some tough times in 2010 and now it’s time too look to the future and build respect in our relationship

#9 Take a class at the gym (I never take classes at the gym just work out and do my own thing, time to change that!)

#10 Act my age, not my shoe size (when it comes to dealing with parents)

New Years… A look at the changes throughout the past

I decided to take a look at how much I’ve changed each year by comparing 4 new years pictures in the last 4 years here it goes:

This picture from above is from 2007, Still a little highschooler during this time, I remember sitting in the garage party we went to right before we went to the most crowded house in the world. that was a ton of fun 2007 wasn’t that bad.

In 2008 I had decided to dye my hair black lol I don’t really know why or what I was thinking just wanted to try it. I’m not a huge fan of this hair on me and probably won’t go dark like this ever again. I don’t believe it suits my bubbly personality haha. I did love that dress though. This picture was taken during my first semester of college and everyone from high school met up at a hotel party out in the west suburbs, with not a single plan in mind. A keg ended up in the lobby…. it was pretty intense to say the least! Me and my ex ended up in a fight that night and my fake ID cracked in half (ugh…not the best New Years)

2009 was my first New Years single since 2006, I was in a place in my life where I needed time to myself and enjoyed New Years with my sister and some friends at a house party in Des Plaines, It was a pretty good time. Even though I passed out in the guest bedroom for a half hour (hey I needed a power nap!) I still managed to snag a kiss from someone on New Years … But in all honesty, I was pretty hung up on someone during this time and going into the New Year without a clear mind made 2010 I hard year for me.

So what does 2011 bring? WHO KNOWS! All I can say is this year Is going to be amazing!! The best New Years yet! Want to know how I know? Well,  it’s because I’ve decided I will let NOTHING ruin this New Years… I may not control what happens to me but I CONTROL HOW I REACT. I believe that putting a positive spin on everything will make things turn out better… I really truly am I’m a strong believer of that. You control your reactions to the people around you and this year I know the people I’m going to be with tonight are easy going so we’ll be having a good time with whatever we choose to do. It’s important to make sure you surround yourself with people that make the best of what’s around them. I’m spending new years with people that are easy going and carefree.

Good people+ strong drinks+ good attitude (KEY)= a good time tonight.

Things to keep in mind for 2011 to keep strong relationships (in regard to boyfriends mostly but you can apply this to family/friends)

• Apologizing does not always mean you are wrong and the other person is right. It means that you value your relationship more than your ego!
• Never live your life for a man before you find what makes you truly happy.
• The only person you can control in a relationship is you, Don’t try to control your significant other, it’s going to push them away.
• Don’t compete with other woman, but be aware that men are attracted to what they see, Insecurity and envy will destroy your relationship, realize that he wants to be with you, if he didn’t he’d leave.
• Never rely on a man for compliments, look to yourself for that.
• Know that you deserve to be the number one person in the life of the No.1 person in your life.
• A man will only treat you the way you ALLOW him to treat you, So if he showers you with ego-boosting compliments say “thank you very much”. Don’t down play the compliments a man gives you, chances are he’ll stop giving them because of the negative/ or sarcastic (“yea rightttt”) response it will produce.
• CONFIDENCE is key, Never compare yourself to others, CONFIDENCE is the most ATTRACTIVE quality to men (ok….maybe after looks, guys are animals LOL)
• In order to feel good about yourself, do what makes you feel good, Working out, running, yoga, biking, hiking or whatever it may be. Just make sure a man  never takes away the things that gave you the confidence that made them love you in the first place.
• Once you stop being who you were at the beginning of your relationship, your man will take notice, probably dislike it, and run. Remember who you were when you met, what drew him to you and act that way again
• You should not be the one doing all the bending…compromise is a two way street.
• When actions and words conflict, believe the actions. Respond to the actions.
• Make him miss you sometimes…when a man always know where you are, and you’re always readily available to him he takes it for granted. That’s not saying “play hard to get all the time” its more about doing things your truly passionate about instead of focusing your attention on being with your significant other. Find happiness in other areas of your life.
• Give him his space…let him go out with his boys, don’t pressure him to spend time with you, You cant force a man to hang out with you, and the more you try and keep him from his friends the more he will want to go.
• If your insecure about where/what your man does when hes “out with the guys” remember, “He’s going to do what he wants to do regardless of my bitching at him, might as well save my breathe”
• Trust is earned not a given, but doubting someone constantly will push them away. Trust your man if he shows you he loves you.

Now the hard part: Actually taking the advice I’ve stated above .. I may not remember all the advice I’ve given above throughout 2011 but at least I have good intentions in mind, it’s a start!

Zucchini Oven Chips!

I decided to make a quick appetizer for my family before dinner tonight, Zucchini Chips! They were a huge hit!

Ingredients

• 1/4  cup  dry breadcrumbs (I made my own bread crumbs by crumling up Wasa bread)
• 1/4  cup  (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
• 1/4  teaspoon  seasoned salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  garlic powder
• 1/8  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 2  tablespoons  fat-free milk
• 2 1/2  cups  (1/4-inch-thick) slices zucchini (about 2 small)
• Cooking spray

Preparation

Preheat oven to 425°.

Combine first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Place milk in a shallow bowl. Dip zucchini slices in milk, and dredge in breadcrumb mixture. Place coated slices on an ovenproof wire rack coated with cooking spray; place rack on a baking sheet. Bake at 425° for 30 minutes or until browned and crisp. Serve immediately.

*Diamonds* are a girl’s best friend…

After spending most of Christmas Day with my family, I headed over to Highland, Indiana with Peter for some celebration time with my boo and some friends. Peter gave me an amazing gift… he bought me a beautiful/gorgeous/amazing pair of diamond earrings (which are not photographed below because I refuse to take them off my ears!) and this gorgeous diamond necklace which is pictured below:

I must admit his taste is right-on

I bought Pete Several nice dress shirts, Under Armor gear for when he plays basketball, a couple of nice long sleeve shirts, new dress socks from express, a nice scarf from Nordstrom and a Lacoste Shirt.I also bought us a group-on discount for “Lips” Asian restaurant (He loves sushi)…After I gave him the discount for the Asian restaurant we decided to have dinner at our favorite Japanese place, Renga Tei. Pete decided to decorate my plate for me (a heart with a bow through it  as pictured above!)
After Dinner we headed over to the movie theater to see “The Fighter” starring Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, and Amy Adams. This movie was very, very good. I really believe that Bale’s performance deserves an academy award, he’s so versatile as an actor. It’s amazing how Bale can go from playing one type of character to the complete opposite… He can go from being, “The Batman”, the savior of Gotham, to being the cracked-out, “Pride of Lowell”… This is such an opposite transition and he convinces you he’s both of those characters with ease… Overall my rating 4.25/5 stars for this movie.

Couscous-Fage Salad

I decided to make myself a hearty whole grain dinner tonight after my 4.5 mile run in 43 minutes…YAY me!

Boiled 1/2 cup of water with 1/2 cup of couscous

Added chopped up green peppers, cherry tomatoes, and slices of cucumber

Added 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and a dash of black pepper….

I wasn’t too thrilled about the thickness of what I had made so I added 1/2 a container of my go-to breakfast: Fage Yogurt… after mixing it all together, my new concoction tasted so creamy and delicious!

Christmas day…

I had a wonderful Christmas weekened with my family! On Saturday morning my mother, sister and I decided to go to church. After church, Sophia and I came home and ate a healthy breakfast, obviously I went to my “go-to” breakfast after the Maggiano’s feast from the night before… My go-to breakfast is Fage Yogurt with fruit! After breakfast, I noticed there were several presents laying by the fire place, Santa brought Sophia Mark and I some awesome gifts. Santa gave me some new eco-friendly makeup brushes, a calendar for 2011 and even a snuggie, Santa must know I love to snuggle

My mom bought me some nice tops from Bebe and express, jewelry and two new pairs of Australian Uggs. I also got tons of new workout clothes from my brother and mom and my sister got me a sexy dress from Guess. I am very thankful for all the gifts my family gave me on Christmas. For me, it’s more exciting to see the expression of people when you give them gifts. I bought my sister some new workout gear, a workout video, and a nice top from Express. I bought my brother an Under Armor hoodie a nice pull over top and a nice scarf. For my mother, I decided to get her a new best-selling book, I really hope she enjoys the one I picked out. I also bought her a nice top from Express.

For My dad, I decided to give him a very thoughtful gift, I developed 500 picture from the Ahepa Marrow Basketball Tournament in 2010 and made him 2 calendars (one for the home and one for his office) and I also made him a personalized photo album of all the pictures… Overall I think everyone loved their gifts!

Christmas day was spent at my Aunt Tina’s home where she made us a healthy and hearty feast.

Fashion Show on Christmas Eve with Jenna, Sophia and Alexandra…

My younger cousins, Jenna, Sophia and Alexandra came into my room tonight and noticed my new years eve dress hanging from my closet door… let’s face it, the sequin gold dress is pretty hard to miss… We decided to have a little fashion show of our own! check it out

Christmas Weekend :)

I had a wonderful time on Christmas eve with all of my family and Christmas day was amazing too! Sophia and I decided to go to church in honor of our Savior who was born on this awesome day. After Church we came home and opened up our presents, my mom always does such a good job getting us things she knows we would love. Santa even left a couple gifts by the fireplace!

Here are some pictures from the night before. My three little cousins, Jenna, Sophia and Alexandra decided to do a fashion show toward the end of the night it was the best Christmas eve yet!

Merry Christmas!

It’s Officially Christmas… Merry Christmas to all!!!

I hope Santa brings me a little something nice… Time to sit and chill out with my sister and brother and watch Bad Santa… great movie! My sis and I have decided to go to church tomorrow in the morning before we open our presents. We both decided that it’s time for us celebrate and remember the real meaning of Christmas, the birth of our savior, Jesus Christ.

Peace, Love and Merry Christmas!

OHHHHH Fusion…

After a longgggg day of baking in the kitchen and delivery cookies to friends I headed to Niles and watched my dad, Pete and my sister’s boyfriend, Paul play in a mens league game… Afterward, Pete and I came back to the house and I finished baking some of the Chocolate Cacao cookies… Pete seemed to like them and he loved the cookie dough that was left over…

Afterward Pete and I decided to head over to Oh Fusion, a newer sushi restaurant on Sheridan. This place stays open pretty late and has good quality food, the portions were pretty generous too. I decided to have the California Rolls but had no idea that imitation crab (a food that is put into the rolls)  is actually fish.. This kind of grossed me out… Of course Pete waited until after I finished my food to tell me :p

http://ohfusionchicago.com/