New York City. This is for anyone who has ever been to NYC!!

First of all, thank you to those of you who have already given me suggestions for things to do in NYC. I have written them down, looked them up and found some winners!

But this post is for anyone how lives or has ever been to NYC!

My friends and I will be there for 6 days and 5 nights and trying to narrow down things to do feels impossible. I have been to New York once but I was only 13 years old. I do remember it like it was yesterday but I am beyond excited to go back and at Christmas! The fashion, the restaurants, the architecture, the lights...NYC is fantastic.

When it comes to restaurants here is our dilemma.

People have suggested some amazing restaurants with fabulous views and amazing atmosphere. But the problem is....when I pull up the menus online...
1) I can barely read the menu because I don't know what anything is
and
2) The meals are all at least $50 per person.

Now I do love atmosphere and nice restaurants but I do not eat super elegant food and typically if I pay a pretty penny for a meal I want more than a tiny little piece of meat. You know what I mean?

So my question for you is...

What are your favorite restaurants where we can get good quality food in a fun atmosphere for not too much $$$? None of us are too big on seafood if that helps. I have been researching but I figured asking people who has tasted it first hand would be a good idea. Our hotel is on 41st street and 9th avenue I believe...if this gives you a reference to where we are staying. I would love to go to some "off the beaten path", maybe not so crowded little cafes or restaurants if you know of any. Also any lounges you would suggest would be wonderful.

Also have any of you seen any good Broadway shows recently? We thought about going to see Wicked but it is coming to my home town in February for about half the price so I think we are going to hold out for that. Any smaller shows that are good? Ones that aren't so popular? I know some of these are fantastic but I don't know which ones specifically.

I believe the only "touristy" things we are doing is a tour of lower Manhattan, taking the ferry to the Statue of Liberty and doing the Ground Zero memorial/museum. Because 3 out of 4 of us have been to NYC we didn't want to spend all our time doing tours but wanted to do a few highlight tours.

Suggestions?
Ideas?
Must sees?
Shopping ideas?
Restaurants?
Shows?
What to wear?
Anything really :)


Thank you so much! 9 shorts days away!! Cant wait!!

Weigh-In. New York. Such an exciting month!

It's Christmas time again!

The most wonderful time of the year in my opinion. The birth of our Savior and there is no greater feeling than being surrounded by family, friends, lights, presents, Christmas trees, holiday parties and love. But the greatest of these is love...by a mile.

When it comes to my family and Christmas there are gatherings galore. We start several days before Christmas and continue them until several days after Christmas. I have a large family on both sides and getting together with everyone is such a fun time.

An added bonus this year is my trip to New York coming up in 13 short days!! Thank you to those of you who have given me suggestions of restaurants, shopping, shows, etc. In such a large city and only 6 days we definitely need some good ideas! There are four of us girls going. We leave at the crack of dawn on the 15th and return Tuesday night, the 20th. So excited! Going to NYC during Christmas has always been a dream of mine. Many pictures will be taken I can assure you!

I also wanted to give a little weight update. Unfortunately Thanksgiving and all the delicious food got the best of me this year. I didn't think I overdid it too bad but after a nearly 3 pound gain in the last two weeks, I guess I should have been more conscience of what I was eating. This morning I weighed 179.2 pounds. Still in the 170's thank goodness but about 3 pounds higher than I was in mid-November. But as of yesterday I am back on the bandwagon. The holidays are just hard when trying to lose weight. Period.

After much contemplation and thought, I have decided that I want to set a final goal for myself. Some people don't like to set goals that are set in stone but it gives me the motivation I need.

I have always said that my final goal weight will be 160 pounds. That is also a huge milestone for me because I started my lap band journey at 260 pounds and that would be a 100 pound loss. I am currently 179 pounds, thus I need to lose 19 pounds in total. By April 18, 2012, my birthday, I would love to hit my ultimate goal.

That would mean I need to lose 19 pounds in the next 4 and a half months. That is roughly only a pound a week starting now. If I want to make this easy on myself I need to start asap. So that is where I am at. I have lost 81 pounds and I am proud of how far I have come. 19 pounds to go. These will be the hardest but I am ready for the challenge!

I hope all of you have a wonderful weekend!
Happy Holidays!!!