Tag Archives: Thanksgiving

Happy Anniversary Mom And Dad (or Celebrating 32 Years Of Awesomeness)

Posted on August 7, 2014 | 1 comment

Today is my parents 32nd anniversary. It’s also my cousin Adam’s 32nd birthday (yes, he was born on my parents’ wedding day). But sorry Adam, the focus on today’s post will be on my parents (but I’ve included you a bit at the end!).

For my entire life and in all my memories, my parents have been happy. Of course, there have been some sad and stressful times, but those have always been from outside circumstances and not from issues between my parents.

The fact that my parents have always been happy is probably why I’m so picky when it comes to dating. I’ve seen what a successful relationship is like and I don’t want to settle for anything less.

So in honor of my parents’ anniversary, I went through the photos I have and found some of my favorite ones. Mom and Dad, I want you to understand the effort it took for me to find photos of just the two of you and not with other people or with a dog (seriously almost every photo I have of you both is with a dog!).

This picture is obviously from my parents’ wedding. I happen to have this one in my computer because I needed it for an anniversary present I made for my parents on their 25th anniversary (Mom and Dad, this blog post is your present this year. You know all about my lack of funds right now). I will never fit into my mom’s wedding dress (not only do I weigh more, I’m too tall), but my mom and I discussed randomly one time about me using parts of her wedding dress to incorporate into whatever wedding dress I buy when I eventually get married. So maybe one day, that dress will be part of my something old.

This photo is one that I took when my parents were about to go to the prom that my dad’s hospital throws every year. The background behind them is a fountain at my parents’ house, and I remember insisting on taking a photo of them before they left for the prom. Plus, there are very few times that my dad wears a tux, so I wanted photo evidence of it.

This photo is from my brother’s college graduation at USC. I used this photo along with their wedding photo in the anniversary present I made years ago. I just think it’s a nice photo of my parents.

Of the photos I was able to find of my parents by themselves and without a dog, a majority of them came from my brother and sister-in-law’s wedding (and our week in Maui). This photo was taken on our first day in Maui right after we got to our rental house. Of course after traveling, the first thing we wanted to do is relax by the pool.

This was from one of our neighborhood walks in Maui. I think it was a retaining wall from a house on the same street as our rental house. My parents have a friend who enjoys seeing hearts in nature, so my parents made me take this photo so they could share it with their friend. I also like how my mom is standing on a step so she looks the same height as my dad.

This might be my absolute favorite photo of my parents. This was from the wedding (and possibly after a few drinks). I don’t remember ever seeing my parents dance before (I don’t know where I would have). And they were being so silly and fun. And considering that this was taken right before my mom had to start chemo, it reminds me that even when things are going to be stormy ahead, there’s no reason not to fully enjoy life every second.

I hope you all enjoyed seeing these photos of my parents.

And just so my cousin Adam isn’t completely left out, this is my favorite photo of Adam with our cousin Stephanie’s son Dalton. This was at Thanksgiving in 2007.

So happy birthday Adam and happy anniversary Mom and Dad! I hope all of you have awesome and amazing days today!

1 Comment

Posted in Celebrations, Family, Fun Stuff

Tagged anniversary, birthday, cousin, dad, Maui, mom, parents, Thanksgiving

Recovering From Thanksgiving (or As Always It’s Back To The Grind)

Posted on December 4, 2013 | Comments Off

I was back to work as usual on Monday after Thanksgiving. It was very nice to have 5 days off from work (it was almost like being unemployed again!), but it’s nice to be back and making money too.

Since there are still holidays coming up, the next few weeks at work will be a bit weird. We have time off for the holidays, odd shifts because of the shows going on, and a work holiday party. So even though I’m back at work, I think I only have one week this month that is a normal work week.

I’m also getting back to my usual food and exercise plan. I gained more weight than I expected over Thanksgiving. I knew I would gain some because of the extra food, but I was still a bit shocked when I got on the scale on Monday. I think some of it was random water and stress weight because when I weighed myself yesterday I was already down 3 pounds.

My focus for the last few weeks of this year are to continue my routines that I’ve worked out. I’m finding spin classes that fit into my schedule a bit better (including a free class at SoulCycle on Fridays right after my shift ends so I can go straight from work). I’m trying to stay good at bringing my lunches to work (good for helping me lose weight and save money). And I’m working on just being happier with myself in general.

I know that I didn’t lose as much weight this year as I thought I would, but I’m on track to be down about 40 pounds this year. To some people that may seem like a lot, and to some people that may seem like nothing. It’s only a portion of what I need to lose, but even if I only lose that each year, I’m still heading in the right direction. And I need to keep that in mind. As much as I’d like to have lost all my weight this year like I did the two times I did the RFO diet, it’s not realistic for me anymore.

But as I spent some time before writing this looking back at my older posts, I’ve realized how far I have come this year. And as I start thinking about my goals for next year, I’m getting excited about what my life might be like a year from today.

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Posted in Fitness, Food, Fun Stuff, Health, Tough Stuff, Weight Loss

Tagged goals, SoulCycle, Thanksgiving, weight gain, weight loss

Thanksgiving (or I Am The One Who Gave The Kids Face Paint)

Posted on December 2, 2013 | Comments Off

As I mentioned before, Thanksgiving was going to be a little weird for me. I was the only person from my immediate family there, and I was staying at a hotel alone (which I don’t really like anyway).

The morning of Thanksgiving was pretty low-key. I hung out in my hotel room and watched the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. I usually watch clips of it on YouTube after Thanksgiving, but this was the first time I watched the entire thing on TV. That was actually pretty cool (nobody else in my family really cares about the parade so I’m not used to being able to watch it live).

My family met over at my Aunt Nancy’s house at about 2pm. I drove over by myself and as soon as I got there, I gave my cousin’s son, Dalton, the present I brought over for him and his sister Annabelle. For the past few years, I have drawn a mustache on Dalton at Thanksgiving. The first year, I accidentally used a permanent marker (I just used the marker that Dalton handed to me). Last year, I used mascara. This year, I brought face paint! And as soon as I handed Dalton the face paint, he asked me to draw his mustache on.

And as soon as I was done, Dalton was off to paint Annabelle’s face. I was chatting with a bunch of my relatives while he was painting her face, and I burst out laughing when I saw Annabelle.

She asked to be the Wicked Witch from “Wizard Of Oz” and I think that Dalton did a very good job of doing that!

Also at Thanksgiving, I got to hang out a bit more with Hudson, my cousin’s youngest son. This trip was my first time getting to meet him in person, and I might not get to see him again until next Thanksgiving, so I tried to get as much time with him as possible. I especially loved his outfit.

Before dinner was served, my mom called me and we got to FaceTime for a bit. I passed my phone around to everyone so they could all say hello. Even though I was still missing my parents, it made me feel a bit better that I got to see them even if it was only over the phone (seriously, isn’t technology the best sometimes!).

Dinner was ok. Thanksgiving foods are necessarily my favorites. I like the sweet potatoes so I had two servings of that. But I’m not the biggest turkey fan. But the desserts are always good. This year we had pumpkin pie and my Aunt Nancy also made my mom’s chocolate decadence cake. I’m sure I went way over my calories for the day, but it’s one meal so I wasn’t too worried about it.

Overall, even though the day was a bit weird for me, it was a very good Thanksgiving. I’m so lucky that I got to spend the day with 4 generations of my family (and we all pretty much get along)! And hopefully next Thanksgiving we will have more members of the family able to celebrate with us.

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Posted in Celebrations, Family, Food, Fun Stuff, Travel

Tagged cousin, dinner, family, San Diego, Thanksgiving

Grandma’s Birthday Dinner (or One Of Our Thanksgiving Traditions)

Posted on November 29, 2013 | Comments Off

I’ll do my recap of my Thanksgiving on Monday, but first, I’m going to share with you my Wednesday.

Ever since I can remember, my family has celebrated my grandma’s birthday along with Thanksgiving. For years, we would go out on Friday night to a nice dinner, but recently we’ve switched that to be on Wednesday night.

So after a kind of crazy drive to San Diego (it took me twice as long to get there because of so many car accidents on the road), I went over to my grandparent’s place to meet up with them before dinner.

The dinner was at The Godfather restaurant. We’ve had my grandma’s birthday dinner there in the past, and I like it because my family gets a private room (we kind of need to with so many of us being there including some noisy little kids).

As soon as my cousin’s son Dalton saw me, he came running over. Dalton and I have a special bond. Ever since we met for the first time, we’ve been super close. And I love him just as much as he loves me. Of course, I made sure that he was going to sit right next to me. I don’t get to see him too often, so when I do I want to make sure I get as much time with him as possible.

Dinner was good. The food was as good as I remember it (I’m glad that I forgot to eat breakfast and lunch on Wednesday because there was a ton of food). And the conversation was fun too.

This year is a little weird for me because I’m the only person from my immediate family at Thanksgiving. My brother has missed it before, but my parents have always been there. But with my mom having chemo on Wednesdays, there wasn’t really a way for my parents to drive down (and now with the dog’s cancer it would be difficult to have him here too). As soon as dinner was done, I called my mom to fill her in on what happened, who said what, and if any big family announcements were made (my cousin has announced her engagement and pregnancies at Thanksgiving dinner in the past).

Even though it kind of stinks to stay at a hotel alone, I’m so grateful that I spend my Thanksgiving with my extended family. We have 4 generations at Thanksgiving now and I know that something that a lot of people can’t say. I’m also grateful for the fun Thanksgiving traditions my family has, especially celebrating my grandma’s birthday.

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Posted in Celebrations, Family, Food, Fun Stuff

Tagged birthday, dinner, family, grandparents, Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving (or My Top 10 Things That I Am Thankful For)

Posted on November 28, 2013 | Comments Off

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I’m spending today with my mom’s side of the family in San Diego this year. I’ll be doing a recap of my Thanksgiving (and my Grandma’s birthday dinner) soon. But I wanted to take today to share some things that I am thankful for. I’ve been noticing people posting one thing they are thankful for every day on Facebook. I haven’t been doing that this year, but I’ve decided to do a top 10 list of things that I am thankful for this year.

1. I am thankful that I have a family that loves me and supports me.

2. I am thankful that even though my mom is going through chemo right now, she is doing amazing and I am every reason to believe that at the end of her treatments that she will be cancer-free.

3. I am thankful that even though I might not love my day job, it pays my bills and allows me to do what I love.

4. I am thankful that I have acting in my life, something that I am so passionate about and couldn’t imagine not doing.

5. I am thankful that I have amazing agents who submit me for great parts and believe that I am going to book something big in the near future.

6. I am thankful for the traveling that I got to do this year (and that my parents could pay for it because I would never be able to afford Maui on my own right now).

7. I am thankful that I am healthy enough to do the 5Ks that I’ve done so far (I’ve got one more in a week).

8. I am thankful that I found a workout that I love and that there are instructors there who truly care about me and want me to get in the best physical shape that I can be.

9. I am thankful that I have amazing friends who support me in what I do and are there to cheer me up when I need it.

10. I am thankful for this blog. It has been like therapy for me. I get out things that sometimes are too hard to say out loud. And I feel like by sharing these things, I have been able to get closer to my friends and family and not feel like I am hiding a part of myself.

So those are the top 10 things I am thankful for. I’m definitely thankful for more than that, but I didn’t want to overwhelm you all! I hope that you get to spend today with people who you love and you have a chance to reflect on the things that you are thankful for this year (feel free to share some in the comments if you’d like to!).

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Posted in Acting, Celebrations, Family, Fitness, Fun Stuff

Tagged 5K, family, list, SoulCycle, spin class, thankful, Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Recap (or My Attempt At Blogging From an iPad Today)

Posted on November 23, 2012 | Comments Off

First of all, if this blog looks weird, I’m blogging from an iPad. I did buy a wireless keyboard to use with it in the future (thank you Apple Store for doing Black Friday online), but for now, it’s the touchscreen and an app.

Thanksgiving was awesome. Lots of good food and fun with my family. My mom made an awesome turkey.

Even my dog wanted to eat it.

While we were waiting to eat, we started playing with my cousin’s kids’ sticker set. And of course, in our silliness we took pictures.

Our table looked beautiful and I made a nice plate for myself (even though I didn’t calorie count, I don’t think I went too overboard).

Today is another family day, and then tomorrow I’m back to LA and hopefully back on track with everything.

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Posted in Celebrations, Family, Food, Fun Stuff

Tagged dinner, family, Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving (or Hope You Are Spending Time With Those You Love)

Posted on November 22, 2012 | Comments Off

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I’m at my parents’ house spending time with my family (all 4 generations of us). Yesterday, we went to my cousin’s ultrasound and found out she’s having a boy!

This is going to be a short post because I’m trying to help out with the table settings and the food.

I just wanted to say how thankful I am to have all of you reading and joining me on my journey!

Now time to google now long we need to cook the turkey! 😉

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Posted in Celebrations, Family, Food, Fun Stuff

Tagged fun, love, thankful, Thanksgiving

No Stress Dinner (or Not Missing Thanksgiving Dinner Again)

Posted on November 21, 2012 | Comments Off

I’ve mentioned how I’ve done the UCLA RFO diet before. I actually did it two times, in 2006 and 2007. In 2006, I did it mainly because I needed a fast way to lose weight before having hip surgery. I started the diet in February and stopped in October so I could eat Thanksgiving dinner.

That Thanksgiving dinner was one of the first real meals I had after being on the RFO program. I was so nervous to eat food, so I spent about 2 months prior to the date working with a therapist on exactly what I would eat. I planned out every bite. I brought my own measuring tools (because I knew I could trust them).

And what I learned is that the meal I planned out was actually more food than I usually would have allowed myself to have. My big weakness is the stuffing, so I do have to make sure I don’t go overboard on it.

In 2007, when I did the diet again, I actually was on the diet on Thanksgiving. Everyone was enjoying the meal, and I drank a 100 calorie chocolate shake. Not so fun.

Since 2007, I really did realize that one meal will not make or break it. It’s how I react to that meal that makes the difference. If I feel like I blew it, I can’t go overboard for a month after (it’s happened), because I screwed up for one night.

So for tomorrow, I’m going to enjoy my meal. I will possibly measure out the stuffing (since it’s at my parents’ house I know I can trust their measuring devices), but I’m not going to stress over it.

Tonight is a fancy meal to celebrate my grandma’s birthday, so I know that I’ll be having 2 big meals in a row. And to keep my sanity, I am not planning on weighing myself again until the middle of next week. The combination of big meals, stress from flying, and taking my panic medications will make me take on some water weight, and I know that the number will be a “fake” number.

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Posted in Celebrations, Family, Food, Tough Stuff

Tagged calories, food, stress, Thanksgiving

Trip Prep (or Guess I’ll Find Out Who Reads My Blog Soon)

Posted on November 20, 2012 | Comments Off

It’s almost time for my Thanksgiving trip! Thanksgiving is a big holiday for my mom’s side of the family. We all get together every year. It rotates whose house it’s at, and this year it’s at my parents’ place.

I’ve been busy getting all my clothes and stuff ready for the trip (Thanksgiving is casual but we also have a fancy dinner for my grandma’s birthday another night). I’m also helping out my mom a bit by doing the place cards, so I’m bringing those in my suitcase. And I also have Hanukkah presents for my mom, dad, brother and his fiancée (it’s cheaper than shipping it all to them).

There will be 15 members of my family over 4 generations at Thanksgiving this year. I personally thinks that’s awesome and I feel lucky that we are all able to gather every year.

I’m so excited to see my relatives. My cousin is expecting her 3rd baby and we are going to find out the gender tomorrow! My cousin’s son and I have a super special bond and I can’t wait to see him and hear all about his adventures in school. And there’s one aunt that I’m super close to (we speak every week), and I’m happy to see her in person to discuss all of our favorite TV shows.

But I’m also a little nervous this year. I know that there are some of my relatives who read this because they’ve mentioned something to me. But then there are other relatives who I have no idea if they’ve read any posts or even know that I have this blog. I have revealed things on here that I’ve never discussed with my family, and I really don’t necessarily want it brought up at dinner.

Obviously, all of my family has known for years that I have a problem with my weight, but I don’t think anyone really knew that I have an eating disorder (and have been through some treatment for it). And I can guarantee that nobody in my family outside of my parents knew that I had any credit card debit.

I don’t want Thanksgiving to be any different this year know that I’ve made this information about my life public. I’m hoping that either we will casually discuss this blog or it doesn’t come up at all.

Just want dinner to be filled with our old traditions. Which include someone making a big announcement at dinner (it’s usually my cousin announcing she’s pregnant but I wonder what it will be this year), watching a kid’s movie at some point (this year, it’s “The Brave Little Toaster”), and something making us laugh so hard that we cry.

All of us (minus my cousin John) at Thanksgiving last year.

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Posted in Celebrations, Family, Food, Fun Stuff

Tagged holidays, nervous, prepared, Thanksgiving

Tag Archives: Thanksgiving

Happy Anniversary Mom And Dad (or Celebrating 32 Years Of Awesomeness)

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Recovering From Thanksgiving (or As Always It’s Back To The Grind)

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Thanksgiving (or I Am The One Who Gave The Kids Face Paint)

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Grandma’s Birthday Dinner (or One Of Our Thanksgiving Traditions)

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Thanksgiving Recap (or My Attempt At Blogging From an iPad Today)

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Happy Thanksgiving (or Hope You Are Spending Time With Those You Love)

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No Stress Dinner (or Not Missing Thanksgiving Dinner Again)

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Trip Prep (or Guess I’ll Find Out Who Reads My Blog Soon)

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