Well here it is, the obligatory New Year’s post!  Last year I wrote my Yearly Reflections, as a look back at the year, and small glimpse of what was to come.  Little did I know many life changes were to come in one short year!

Since I’m not big on New Year’s Resolutions, I thought I’d use this opportunity to reflect back, rather than try to guess what is to come.  So here it is – a look back at a year that I never could have predicted…

January started with a week-long snow storm, and an entire week off of work – score!  (This also ultimately led me to hate winter weather and start looking to move south…) 

The early part of the year was mostly centered around planning our wedding, and stressing about small details.  In February, I wrote a post about Kroger’s Carbmaster Yogurt – which ended up becoming my highest rated post of all time, and still brings new visitors to my site every day through Google searches.  Way to go Kroger for making such a kick-ass yogurt, and for bringing me new blog readers!  In February, I turned 28 and had low-key celebrations with my family and friends!

In March, my little sister was in a bad car accident, and I am so grateful that she walked away from the totaled car without more than a few bruises.  March was also a big running month!  Casey and I ran the Strides of March 10k, followed by the Emerald Miles 5k on our anniversary, when we both won age group medals! 

At the end of the month, we traveled to Atlanta and I cheered on Casey while he ran the ING Georgia Marathon – his third one!

In April, I did my marathon 20 miler and started tapering for my upcoming marathon.  I also had my amazing bridal shower, planned by Lindsey, Liz, and Sarah – best bridesmaids ever!

May was aaaaaall wedding celebration for days on end.  But first, a small hurdle.  Just six days before the wedding, Casey and I ran the Flying Pig Marathon, and both set new  personal records! 

The week of the wedding, I had my Wedding Tea, Rehearsal Dinner, Bachelorette Night, and finally…MY WEDDING!

Followed by a week-long Caribbean cruise in paradise…

As soon as we got home, the celebrations continued all month long.  My little sister graduated from high school – I was soooo proud of her! 

And that weekend one of my best friends got married – congrats Leah and Greg!!

Summertime brought more travels.  Without telling many people, we both started looking at schools and new opportunities that would take us out of Cincinnati.  We planned a trip to Hilton Head with the Vondersaar family, and on our way we stopped in Charlotte, North Carolina for the first time, to check out a far fetched idea that I might consider culinary school…

Just a week after returning from Charlotte and Hilton Head, we packed up again and went to Washington, DC for a wonderful Fourth of July weekend with Blake!  This was our first time visiting our nation’s capital, and we totally fell in love with the city.  We hope to move there someday!

I took a brief two week blogging hiatus while my personal life got flipped upside down.  Finally, at the end of the July, I posted our BIG announcement on the blog, and life hasn’t slowed down since. 

August brought a whirlwind month – two more trips to Charlotte to find a place to live and attend my JWU orientation, followed by weeks of packing up a house that I absolutely loved.  I sobbed through my entire last day of work at Springer, and drove off the next morning with two dogs in the backseat of my Honda, and a 24 foot moving truck in front of me. 

After arriving in Charlotte, I took another two week blogging hiatus, and had the biggest meltdown of my life.  Adjusting to the move was really hard on me and I didn’t handle it very well (i.e. not showering for days, sobbing uncontrollably, etc.).  But I finally picked myself up off the floor, and started embracing my new life and my new home.  After two weeks in Charlotte, I traveled back home to help move my baby sister into COLLEGE – how did that happen?

And after a fun visit to Indianapolis for Labor Day, it was time for me to officially start culinary school!  Just as I started to get homesick again, we had our first visitor in Charlotte – Lindsey!

September was also marked by one of the biggest scares of the year – the dogs got really really sick from the turtles in our backyard.  Thankfully they recovered, about $2,000 later – ugh. 

In October, we all headed north for my big sister’s farm wedding!  She was such a beautiful bride, and her wedding was absolutely perfect.

Back in Charlotte, the DLO came to visit for Mary Ann’s Bachelorette Weekend!  One of the most fun weekends I had all year…

At the end of October, Casey and I headed back to DC for the second time this year – this time so that he could run the Marine Corps Marathon!  He ran it without training, and had a tough but amazing race.  I was so proud of him!

In November, we ran our first race in Charlotte – the Charlotte Airport 5K – and I met Kath, and Amanda, who helped me discover my new love for HOT YOGA!  The next weekend, we headed down to Jacksonville, Florida for Mary Ann’s wedding!  It was another amazing DLO weekend, and I was honored to be her Matron of Honor! :)

I had a long 10-day break for Thanksgiving, so I took advantage and headed to Cincinnati for my first visit back home since I moved in August!  I surprised Leah for her 29th birthday party…

After a wonderful visit home, I met Casey in Indianapolis for a fabulous Thanksgiving with both of our families! 

I also got my new camera, which has made blogging so much more fun!  In December, Marathoning, Marrying, and Milestones became The Front Burner after hours and hours of work and a lot of praying.  On a whim, I set out to prove something to myself by running Charlotte’s Thunder Road Marathon in the freeeezing cold, and without training.  I did it, and faster than I thought I could, and developed a whole new love of Charlotte in the process…

And just recently, we hosted a humongous joint family holiday celebration here in Charlotte!  A week filled with family, fun, and food that went by way too fast…

WHEW – there it is – 2009 in review!  Is anyone still reading this??  I laughed a little when reading last year’s post about the new year.  Never in a million years could I have predicted all the things that 2009 would bring.  So I’m not going to even bother guessing what is in store for 2010.  But I know it will be another year of exciting changes and surprises for me and Casey, and I’m excited to continue to explore the unknown into the next decade…

Happy New Year!!

As part of our increased efforts to combat the holiday cookies, Casey and I had planned to head to the gym for a cardio and strength session when I got home from work today.  Upon getting home, I discovered that he had actually planned a circuit training workout for us to try at home and see if we liked it. 

When we worked out in Cincinnati, we went to a gym that had a central weights area with a running track around the perimeter.  Two nights a week, we’d head to the gym and do a circuit workout, alternating running a lap around the track with a weight set – basically doing simultaneous strength and cardio training while keeping our heart rate up the entire time.

Since we have the treadmill at home now, and a good assortment of free weights, Casey thought we could give the circuit another shot – this time from home!  We did the entire circuit three times for a total of 60 minutes, and we were both completely drained by the end.  So much that I announced, “I have to show this on the blog!” and went back and did each pose for you to see for yourself!  Disclaimer: PLEASE ignore my dumpy and unflattering workout clothes – when I got dressed to workout I was not planning to model for the internet.

Here we go! 

Emily and Casey’s At-Home Circuit Workout

Start out by running at 7.0mph on the treadmill for one minute. 

Jump off the treadmill and move to the floor for 15 Regular Pushups.  Casey and I did this alternating, so while I did strength, he ran on the treadmill, and vice versa.

I’m not going to keep writing it every time, but so that you get the idea, in between each of these strength exercises was a minute of running on the treadmill, got it?  Next up – Weighted Rows!  I used 12 lb weights here and did sets of 10 on each arm.

Moving on to abs – the Toe Touch.  Basically a pike move that works your lower abs as well as oblique muscles, because of the sideways motion.  Sets of ten on each leg.

Second ab move – the Twisting Plank – ouch!  Starts like a normal plank, and then you twist and touch your elbow to the floor.  Sets of ten on each side.

Back to arms – Diamond Pushups.  Hopefully you can tell from the picture that my hands are close together forming a diamond shape in between.  From there, do a regular pushup, although it’s much harder.  I did these in sets of ten.

Time for standing – Single Leg Deadlifts.  Deadlifts are my number one most hated exercise to do (probably because they are the most effective!), and doing them on one leg is that much more difficult!  Balance is key in this exercise.  Do a set of ten on each leg.  (Don’t forget to keep jumping back on the treadmill in between each exercise!)

Next up is Single Leg Squats.  Try to sink as low as possible without losing your balance!  Again, sets of ten on each leg. 

Back to arms and shoulders – Lateral Raises.  These are hard, especially with 12 lb weights!  Do ten.

Similar move – different muscles.  Bent-over Flys – bend over and bring arms up to the sides like you are trying to fly!  Lucky ten again.

Last one – Arm Curls!  I actually usually do curls with 15 or 17 lb weights, but since those were out in the garage, I just stuck with 12 lbs for today.  For our next circuit, we’re thinking about bringing in a few different levels of weights.

And of course, finish up with one last fast minute on the treadmill!

All of those exercises, with a minute of running in between, makes up one 20 minute circuit.  We repeated the cycle three times for an hour long workout, and we were both sweaty and exhausted by the end!  It’s nice to know that we can get such a great workout in the comfort of our own home, and not have to waste precious time commuting to the gym.

Finally, as always after a workout, make sure you stretch and finish in Downward Dog…namaste!

Since we hosted the double Holcombe and Malone holiday this year, I spent a lot of time planning and preparing FOOD for all our guests!  Christmas morning, I was up early baking pumpkin muffins and cutting up fruit for the fruit salad, for our early Christmas breakfast spread.

My family spent the morning enjoying these pumpkin delights, sipping hot coffee, and slowly opening presents.  We were short two family members, since my sister and her husband were celebrating on a late honeymoon to LONDON!  Every time we opened her gifts and card, the whole group got a little sniffly…

Check out this awesome MUSHROOM growing kit that Rebecca sent me!!  She saw my blog post about the original mushroom stump, and got me my very own kit to grow portabellas  – my favorite!  I have to wait until mid-January to open the box, but rest assured, it will be featured on the blog!

Once we were done, we cleaned up and got ready for the rest of the Malone clan to arrive.  While we waited, I began prep for my Christmas feast.  Starting by breaking down the smoked turkey for the carnivores.  Everyone kept offering to do this for me, as apparently vegetarians are afraid of meat?  I reminded them that I have handled far worse things than a cooked turkey in culinary school….

I actually picked out the recipes for our Christmas dinner while I was reading Cooking Light on the treadmill on Thanksgiving Day!  I narrowed the selections down to the few best, and set to work getting ready for a wonderful dinner with my fabulous combined families.  Our spread included…

The infamous smoked turkey.  Notice my pretty holiday dinnerware!  I got this last year as an super early Christmas present from my mom – I love it!

Sherried Green Beans and Mushrooms.  I pretty much followed this recipe exactly, except I replaced the sherry with white wine vinegar.

Israeli Cauliflower with Panko.  This was absolutely delicious – a definite favorite contender at the table!  I think panko can pretty much make anything taste fabulous though. 

Bulgur with Dried Cranberries.  I made this early in the day so that it could sit in the refrigerator for a while and the flavors could marinate and intensify.  I doubled this recipe (since we had 8 people!), but chose not to double the cranberries or the oil, in order to scale back the calories a bit.  This was my second time making this recipe, and I still absolutely loved it.  One for the permanent collection!

While all of these dishes were delicious, the star of the dinner was the Roasted Carrots with Smoked Paprika!  Holy YUM!  This will definitely be a new go-to recipe.  We sliced the carrots with a mandolin in order to get the desired flat shape, which made them roast quickly and evenly.  These were the first leftovers to go.

Combined with family all the way from Cincinnati, Indianapolis, and Atlanta, it was the perfect Christmas dinner.  

But what is dinner without DESSERT, right?  Ugh, there was more dessert this holiday season than my house has ever seen!  Starting with a massive arsenal of Christmas cookies.  My mom showed up with enough cookies to feed all of Charlotte!  She’s been making the same cookies for literally 30 years, and it just wouldn’t feel like Christmas without these Holcombe classics.  (For the record, that is a cookie tray, not my individual plate!)

On the Malone side, they have two family favorites.  Grandma Jacque’s famous pumpkin roll (made for the first time by Tina!)…

And Casey’s brother Kirt always requests a pecan pie at any family function or holiday.  My family never ate pecan pie, so my taste buds aren’t quite adjusted to the sweetness.  Regardless, this was homemade and delicious.

I never totally gorged myself with desserts or food during the holidays, but I opted to have dessert every night, which is something I never do.  Even having eaten pretty small quantities at a time, I can tell they have added up, and it is time to get back on track.

That effort started tonight, with a much needed trip to Y2Yoga with Amanda for some hot vinyasa!  And much to my surprise, Whit was there too!!  The Charlotte bloggers (minus Kath – we missed you!) were sweating out our holiday sugar, and back to our healthy, normal selves. 

Despite my dessert overload, I was really happy to have served my guests such a delicious meal that was also incredibly nutritious, well balanced, and overall low in calories.  Had they not seen me working out of a Cooking Light magazine, I doubt they would have noticed any difference.  Hurrah for a happy and healthy holiday feast!