New Year's Eve 2013 into 2014

This has become a bit of a tradition, to fill out a survey of sorts that reflects on the previous year. For this year, something slightly different, but still just as good.

TEN of this year’s movies you liked
These can be movies that weren’t necessarily released this year, but movies that you discovered and saw for the first time this year and fell in love with. 
1. Silver Linings Playbook 
2. American Hustle 
3. Hunger Games: Catching Fire
4. Thor (more so the second one than the first though) 
5. The Hangover Part 3 (yeah, not that great, but good to see the whole series go full circle and what not) 
6. Pitch Perfect
7. The Help (the movie was so much better than the book in this case) 
8. Psycho (yup, finally saw the original…holy crap!) 
9. The Fighter (finally saw this one too three years after it came out, and the more I think about it, the more it grows on me) 
10. The Avengers 

NINE things you are thankful for this year 
Things, people, places, anything that you’re thankful for, list them. And if you want to say why, go right ahead. 

1. My mom: She's become so much more than just a mother to me as I've gotten older. We've always had that good bond where we're friends as well as mother-daughter, but when something goes wrong, she's the one that I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that I can go to for help, reassurance, or just a hug.

2. My Friends: They may come and go, they may drop out for a bit and then return, or they may be there every single day, but the true ones are great and I couldn't ask for a better bunch of them.

3. My Dog: Yes, he's my best friend. Taurus cracks me up every day, he's a great listener, and he's the best snuggling buddy a girl could ask for.

4. My Grandma: She drives me crazy sometimes, but she's more like a sister to me than an actual grandma. (This includes all of the sister fighting that occurs with siblings over stupid stuff too.)

5. My Books: They are like a second home to me. (Well, 2nd all the way through 2000th home if you really want to get technical since they all take you to different places.)

6. My Career: Teaching is not only what I do, but it's who I am. I'm thankful that I was able to find a job again this school year (though it will be done at the end of January sadly) so that I could continue to do what I love. 

7. My Job: Starting to work at UNYTS in February was a blessing, not only because it gives me time to read (yay!) but it also makes me feel good that it's such a wonderful organization to work for that is making such a difference (Donate Life!)

8. My Fitness Pal: I've made some amazing friends on there (Agent 13!) who are there to call me out when I eat what I shouldn't or if I say that I'm going to go to the gym and don't. This past year, I balanced out at having lost 12 pounds, which isn't a lot, but that's a pound a month, and it's better than having gone up that much. MFP has helped immensely with that!

9. Gluten Free Products: There are many, and it would be silly to thank them all, but I'm thankful for all of them. It makes living this way much more tolerable.

EIGHT things you learned this year 
Can be anything from a simple, interesting fact to a gigantic life lesson. 
1. Rudolph's red nose is caused by a parasite. (Yes, I'm the queen of useless science facts!)

2. We may be living inside of a black hole and not even realize it. Like what if the whole universe was inside of a black hole, and another universe was studying that black hole trying to find out what it was and everything. (Thank you Penn State!)

3. I can hike. I may hurt myself and end up with bruises and bone contusions that you can still see on my legs, but dammit, I can hike!

4. Barnes and Noble is my personal heaven.

5. I finally gave in to Twitter and hate it. Then I started up a Tumblr and am hopelessly addicted.

6. I am really good at cooking when I put my mind to it. Give me a recipe once, and I'll make it my own, and it will be delicious!

7. There's always a silver lining. You might not know what it is right away, but just wait for the clouds to clear and you'll see it.

8. Being honest with yourself is even more important than being honest to those around you.

SEVEN best memories/moments 
Things that, no matter whenever they happened this year, you could never forget. Not this year. Not ever. These are the moments that mattered. 
1. Penn State Black Hole Conference 
2. Fossil Giveaway in Ithaca at the Paleontological Institute 
3. Hunger Games Day at Science Camp (nothing could have gone better that day, it was a dream!)
4. The phone call from the principal at a school that I interviewed at this summer. I didn't get the job, but her phone call made that okay and was the push I needed to stick with this. 
5. Being called "Elmo" by one of my students…because "everyone likes Elmo, and everyone likes you too." 
6. Hiking along a stream/creek outside of Albany carrying a giant boulder that had a ton of garnets in it (so that I could give it to my mom since garnet is her birthstone and I was so proud that I found it) and just appreciating how beautiful and peaceful it was and that I was able to do it, especially after how "wonderful" my knee was at the start of the year. 
7. Gluten Free Expo in Toronto with Mom

SIX accomplishments 
Everyone has at least six accomplishments. They don’t have to be big accomplishments. Just what you think are accomplishments, don’t be shy about it. 
1. I lost 12 pounds. 
2. I got my knee back in working order.
3. I got accepted to participate in a Penn State Astrophysics Conference/Workshop, which about 200 people apply for each year, and only 20 are accepted.
4. All of my ESL students passed their Regents Biology exam that I prepped with for months.
5. I survived another summer of science camp, while interviewing for what seemed like a million teaching jobs, taking two geology courses (4.0 GPA still!), and working at UNYTS part time.
6. I am getting better, and that’s probably my biggest accomplishment this year.

FIVE things you regret 
Everyone has regrets. Here’s your chance to admit to them and hopefully vow not to repeat them in the next year. 
1. Allowing myself to be fooled by some people, including myself.
2. Not telling people what’s on my mind when I needed to.
3. Slacking off with taking the Earth Science CST, so now it will be a bit harder.
4. Thoughts of giving up and feeling trapped. While I don't really regret them, because they would have happened anyway, I regret letting them take over my life for so long. 
5. Not following my budget as well as I should have the past couple months, so now I'm starting to go into panic mode.

FOUR favorites this year 
Pick any four favorites you want. Food you discovered. Book you read. Movie you watched. TV show you started watching. Video game you played. Class you took. Vacation you went on. Song you heard. Highlighter brand. Anything you feel like should be a favorite, include it. 
1. Movie: Silver Linings Playbook
2. Book: Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock 
3. Book Series: The Mortal Instruments 
4. Food I Discovered: Bone Marrow outside of Albany…OMG absolutely amazing, so much so that it should be a sin!

THREE plans for next year 
Everyone’s got plans for the next year. These three should be your most important plans…the ones that mean the most to you. 
1. Finish up my Earth Science teaching certification and get my professional teaching certification finished up (everything is done for it, I just need to get everything in order and submit for it)
2. More professional development/conferences/workshops this summer (which will definitely include another NYS Geology workshop…this year's is in the Finger Lakes)
3. Enjoy life to the fullest, and find a way to separate the little things that shouldn't matter from the big things that always will matter.

TWO major changes in life 
Has anything this year changed your life? To better? To worse? What has made you restructure your life? What made you improve? What opened your eyes? 
1. I found out that I definitely need to exercise every day, because even one day of being lazy will cause me to barely be able to move thanks to my knees. Just those 15 minutes every morning of knee exercises before getting ready make a huge difference, and I need to do them.
2. I've come to the conclusion that I am the one. Seriously…I've been in a couple short lived relationships this year, and they all fizzled. But I'm the one who has to deal with myself 24/7, and so long as I love myself, I'm happy and content.

ONE resolution for this coming year 
This is your resolution. The most important thing you need to do. 
2014 is going to be happier and healthier than the rest. That is all.

Most importantly, I know not many people read this, but I would like to wish you all a very happy new year. Cheers to 2014 being amazing and better than the past!

I'm A Construction Zone!

So in getting started with the new year, I downloaded a new app on my trusty iPhone. MyFitnessPal. It's free (amazing cause it seems like such a great site) and keeps track of what I eat and how much I exercise. I guess this is important to me because my clothes have gotten looser, but the scale has not budged at all...which is to be honest, a bit frustrating. I know that it shouldn't matter, because I'm losing inches, but women focus on the scale and that magical number. My goal is to lose 30 pounds...who knows if it will happen or if my body will let it. I'm noticing that celiac seems to pick a weight with you and doesn't want to let you move much from it, but we'll give this a go.

Created by MyFitnessPal - Free Weight Loss Tools

Let's take a view at Marie's weight journey over the years, shall we?

I started out as a skinny child. As in, there were no tights that fit properly, because they would all bunch up at my ankles. I was a string bean until puberty struck, which led to hips and a bit of a belly, but still nothing awful or anything. I'd say that I was happy with my figure until college...

Freshmen 15 + Parents' Divorce = Freshmen 50

 

Okay, so it's a old photo. I think I was 6 here? But the side shot gives you a clue at how itty bitty I was. I was even short for my age for a little while, not that you'd know that now that I'm 5' 10". Not to mention, you've got to love the late 80s outfits...my mom was a huge fan of putting us in turtlenecks.

High school, sophomore year...still thin...can't complain. Yup, that's me with my violin. I was damn good, won competitions. Wish I could say that I still play, but honestly I've not picked it up in a couple years now.

College, senior year...not too awful I guess, but definitely a butt and thighs. I was starting to feel like a house and uncomfortable in my skin. (I do have to say though, I have a really hard butt. My violin teacher in middle and high school used to call me "Buns of Steel" and it's kind of true. No matter how big I get, my butt stays really solid. I guess I have dancing for all of those years to thank for it?)

This is a few years later, maybe 2007? I had just come back from living in NYC for almost a year, and it wasn't too bad. I was fully in control of everything that I ate, and I tried to be a bit healthy here and there. Plus, I got a ton of exercise in with walking around the city, and my apartment was on the 10th floor with a rarely working elevator.

Don't tell my mom that she's in this blog too, ok? This was a couple months before I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease, and I was pretty blown up like a balloon...of fat. Trust me, you don't want to see the bottom half.

This is me this most recent summer...2012. Pretty awful if you ask me. This is what I am when I look in the mirror...and I'm not happy with it.

It's all about gaining confidence to be honest. I don't want to be the big girl, or "oh well she's big boned, that's all." I want to feel "just right." I do think I'm pretty, so it's not that. I don't even ever expect to be thin...just healthier and not labeled as being "obese" in my medical record chart. (Yup, saw that when I was in the hospital for my gallbladder right before being diagnosed with CD. Let me tell you, that hurt!)

Gym more often, cutting back on my sugar intake (I don't eat much really, but my sugar intake is insane I've noticed with this awesome app.) Drinking more water and eating out less. I just want to feel better in my own skin.

So here's to 2013 being that year. I'm a construction zone!

Happy 2013...Two Hours To Go!

With two hours remaining in 2012, I just thought I'd put my resolutions in print...make me that much more accountable for them. I mean, I did last year, and actually achieved two of the three...not too shabby for new year's resolutions, right?

1. Read 50 books this year. It's going to be a combo of some of my favorite series that I'm re-reading and new books that are on my list to read for the first time. I'm actually pretty excited about it.

2. Keep going to the gym. This is more of just a maintenance thing, but if I can up it to twice a week instead of just once a week, that'd be great.

3. Drink more water. I'm not too bad with this, but there are times where I really slack off with it, so I'd like to improve on it.

I hope you all have a safe and very happy new year! Here's to 2013 being better than all of the previous years!

Six Question Saturdays: Goodbye 2012

In recognition of the close of 2012 coming up soon, how about a 15 question survey about the past year? I even turned into "little miss over-achiever" and put in some photos!

1. What did you do in 2012 that you’d never done before?

I went to my first science teachers staff development that was away from home for a week. Total nerd, I know, but it was really cool and I hope to attend one a summer from now on! I made some new friends, learned a ton about planetary science that I never thought I'd ever want/need to learn (big bang theory, how we find new planets, astrobiology, holding the oldest rocks on Earth...awesome!) and drove across NYS taking only the old route 5 instead of the thruway.

2. Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I kept up with going to the gym...some weeks better than others, but for the most part I went at least once a week. I didn't write down a single thing that I ate. And I read 61 (currently on 62) books this year, and my goal was only 40. Yay! I'll make some for the upcoming year...working on coming up with them.

3. What would you like to have in 2013 that you lacked in 2012?

Let's go with a relationship...that would be spiffy!

4. What date from 2012 will remain etched upon your memory and why?

November 26, 2012...it's when I moved back up to high school teaching. Definitely a high school teacher more than a middle school one, which surprised me, because I always thought it was opposite.

5. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Standing up for myself and realizing what I deserve in life. It's a huge achievement for any person when they reach that point!

6. What was your biggest failure?

I really don't think that there were any failures...sadnesses and disappointments, but not failures.


7. What was the best thing you bought?

Hmm...my iPhone in February. Don't know what I would do without that thing, which saddens me in a way by how pathetic it sounds, but I'm being honest.


8. Whose behavior merited celebration?

You mean other than my own? My dog's...he's been a good boy this year. Plus, he's so damn adorable!

9. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

One of my closest friendships came to an end this year sadly it seems. It's linked to my answer for #5.

10. What song will always remind you of 2012?

My awesome friend Aleisha posted that "Call Me Maybe" was hers, and I thought...wow, yeah...that is it! Especially the US Swim Team version...

11. Compared to this time last year are you:
Happier? About the same
Thinner? I am! The scale may be the same, but I've gone down a size or two for clothes!
Richer? Hell no! Paying bills sucks!


12. How will you be spending New Year’s?

At home watching the ball drop with some champagne, appetizers, and my dog (leading up to the big event by watching some great movies.) I've gone out in the past for New Year's, and it always leaves me feeling disappointed.

13. What was the best book you read?

Hmm...okay, I'm going to list a few, cause I can't choose just one. They're all in different genres too, which makes it even harder to try to choose one.

Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity by Katherine Boo (stays with you and haunts you long after you finish reading it...)

Vaclav and Lena by Haley Tanner (sweet and sad, a must for anyone who teaches, especially ESL students)

The Elephant Whisperer: My Life with the Herd in the African Wild by Lawrence Anthony (elephants...'nough said!)

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling (hilarious!!!!)

Fall of Giants (The Century Trilogy #1) by Ken Follett (I'm going to read #2 this upcoming year...can't wait!)


14. What was your film of this year?

Brave...loved all of it!

15. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2012.

Patience will bring good things to those who have faith in God.

A New Decade

I'm writing this in my last minutes of my twenties. Interesting how you think you'll be at a certain point in your life, and you end up in a completely different area.

Ten years ago, I was halfway through my undergraduate degree in biology with pre-medicine. I was going to become a doctor and there was no stopping me. I was in a long-term relationship with a nice guy...it just wasn't meant to work out for various reasons. My parents had just gotten divorced two years earlier, and things were rough.

Five years ago, I had just gotten back from a year in New York City. A year that taught me so much about myself and what I can and can't handle. I never thought I'd miss Buffalo, but I did. I was in another long-term relationship that was never meant to work, but I kept pushing for it to. I also realized that hmm...maybe teaching is the thing? I dropped my view that medicine was the only possible career for me. I took a couple months off of school and jumped into my first education courses...and I'll never look back.

Two years ago, I went back in time, starting a new teaching job at my alma mater high school. Again, I learned a lot about myself and how I interact with other people. I pushed my limits and knowledge. I've succeeded. I've come home exhausted, I've graded to the wee hours of the morning, I juggled getting my Masters degree while working full time, I earned a 4.0 GPA while helping my students pass the NYS Regents exam. And you know what? I absolutely love it!

On May 2nd at 1:49am, I turn 30 years old. It's a new decade. Who knows where the next ten years will take me. Of course, I can have a plan, but if anything over the past ten years, I've learned that these plans rarely ever turn out how you think they should. So here's what I say for my thirties...I'm going to go with it. Wherever the road may take me, I'll go.

One thing that I do know? I'm getting rid of the junk. I've learned what I deserve over the past ten years...in relationships and friendships, with work, with life in general.

So bring it on. The clock just struck midnight. Happy birthday!

Resolutions: Past and Future

As I sit here on my comfy chair in my PJs with my laptop and Taurus cleaning the chair cover (because that's what he does best) on New Years Eve, let's look back and forward, shall we?

There's really little to no point in doing a year in review for this year. I still have my job, though teaching a different (better) subject. I still love my job. I'm done with the hospital. No boyfriend, but some fabulous *cough* dates. Health is doing well, celiac under control for the most part. Hopefully next year things are pretty much the same, though a boyfriend would be really great. If that happens, awesome. If not, I'm cool with waiting for the right one.

So let's get to the resolutions, shall we? How did I do this year?

No pop for the year...yeah, that was a failure. I did make it to Valentine's Day though without any...step in the right direction? I don't suppose it helps any that my friend Rob bought me (well, my request) a SodaStream that I'm absolutely in love with (almost as much as my new straight iron.)

Work out once a week at the gym...success! Yeah, I'm pretty awesome with this. Joined the BAC in February again, and have been there at least once a week, sometimes more. Thank goodness for my amazing trainer, Kim, or I probably wouldn't have managed this. Having a training session once a week kept me going. And while I've only lost about ten pounds this year, that's ten pounds that I didn't gain, and quite a few inches have disappeared thanks to new muscle. Buff, right, that's me.

Cutting down on sugar and bad fats...eh, not too bad. Obviously fast food is out, but ice cream is too tempting all the time. I have no desire for chips really any more, too salty actually. I am eating more fruits and veggies, and I've actually started eating leftovers more, which is pretty amazing.

Pay off my highest credit card bill...epic fail. The summer of no paycheck killed me, literally. I'm finally recovered now, at the end of December. 'Nough said. (Though I did learn my lesson and have been putting away money for the summer since September.)

It wasn't an original goal for the year, but I read 101 books (goal of 100) in 2011...yay!

So what are my resolutions/goals for this upcoming year...2012?

1. Keep up with the gym...maybe increase to twice a week? I'm not sure how well this will work out, especially in January with teaching ESL (English as a Second Language) students Living Environment for the month to prepare them for challenging the Regents exam...plus mom's two surgeries. But maybe in February this can start to become a reality.

2. Write down the food that enters my mouth. I did well with this during the summer and into fall, but then fell off from doing it all the time. It helps and makes me feel more in control of things, so back to it I go.

3. Read 40 books. Yes, it's a lower number this year, but at least three of the books on my to-read list are well over 1000 pages long.

Keeping it simple with just the three. Though, let's get real about this, are new year's resolutions ever really simple?

Happy New Year! May it be better than any other!