On top of going to the Emmy awards in Las Vegas this past June, we went to visit and volunteer at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, UT and watched the sun set over the Grand Canoyn (all that in 1 trip!).
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| Grand Canyon sunset |
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| On the Red Carpet |
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| Volunteering at Best Friends |
We got to meet the lemurs at the Duke Lemur Center in North Carolina and visit the wonderful rescued farm animals at Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen, NY. We also visited the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and bird watched in the Sapsucker Woods in Ithaca, NY.
We took a few trips to Vermont. On one of those trips we tried to camp but, due to faulty rented camping equipment, ended up staying in a lovely hotel instead. That "camping" trip did result in a great bald eagle sighting, so all was not lost there.
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| Tom and our clearly faulty tent |
Above and beyond all of those amazing things, we traveled to Churchill in Manitoba, Canada to witness polar bears living in the wild on the shores of the Hudson Bay. Getting the chance to witness the beauty, grace, and peaceful solitude of polar bears in the their natural habitat was, by far, the most incredible thing my eyes have seen.
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| Small polar bear we spotted nestled in a patch of willows |
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| The shores of Hudson Bay |
On top of all these great things I would like to count down my top 5 personal accomplishments of 2011.
5) Passing the Chem 101 placement exam at Montgomery College. As silly as it sounds, this was a great accomplishment for me. I haven't taken a chemistry course in 10 years, so in order to be allowed to register for Chem 101 I had to take a placement test to make sure I know enough basic chemistry to take the college level course. I studied for a few weeks, basically teaching myself chemistry all over again. The studying paid off and I passed the test!
4) Losing around 20 lbs. I have always had to watch my weight and this past year I finally put my mind to dropping the pesky extra weight. I achieved the weight loss through watching my diet and exercising a lot more than I had been.
3) Getting into yoga. I had been interested in yoga for years and dabbled in Bikram several years ago but never had a steady practice until this year. I joined Bikram NYC in the Spring and sweated it out there several times a week for several months. Since Bikram is rather expensive and I wanted to explore other types of yoga, I have continued practicing Vinyasa at Thrive Yoga here in Rockville (at a great student rate!) Yoga has changed the way I think about my body, and I can attribute a great deal of my weight loss to it.
2) Leaving TV (the first time) and working as a Vet Tech for 6 months. Back in February, I knew I wanted to get out of the TV business and explore other areas of interest. Since I love animals I thought I would try my hand in the Veterinary field and contemplated going to vet school. I realized that wasn't the right route for me and I turned to nutrition. However, those 6 months working at Hope Vet in Brooklyn were such an amazing time. I worked hands on with animals and, by the end of it, I was doing things I would have never dreamed I could do. I learned how to draw blood, take x-rays, properly handle animals, fill prescriptions, the list goes on an on.
1) Leaving TV (the second time) and NYC to pursue my goal of becoming a Registered Dietitian. This, by far, was the greatest personal accomplishment of 2011. I examined many ways of getting in to the nutrition business, including getting certified online to become a Holistic Health Coach. After weighing all the options I finally decided to do things the right way and get another degree. Becoming an RD is my goal and 2012 will be dedicated to that pursuit.
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