I’m back and (hopefully) better than ever!

Wow….it feels like an eternity since I last posted anything to the blog. I hope to get everyone caught up on what I have been up to:

I had Christmas Eve dinner with my fiancée and her family. This was the first time I had not been with my family during Christmas Eve and it was somewhat sad. I guess it is just another step in the process of growing up. Christmas Eve is the “Big-Show” for Italian families, so that is why it is so important. Although I didn’t spend it with my family, it was still a very good night with lots of food, (soon to be) family, and wine.

Christmas was a nice time for me as well, as my fiancée and I woke up early and drove down to my parents house. We got there in time to open presents, of which there were many.

The day after Christmas I attended a concert in Asbury Park, NJ. The show was a great time and a good way to unwind after a whirlwind two days of food and family.

For Christmas I thought it would be nice if my fiancée and I went to do something together, so I purchased two seats in a cooking class at the Institute of Culinary Education on W 23rd street in NYC. It was a 3 day class that focused on the 3 regions of Italian cooking. It was an amazing experience and I highly recommend it to anyone who might be looking for something to do during a week off. The best part is that they give you all the recipes after you are done (and you get to bring home the left-overs!). My fiancée loved it and it was great to spend some down time with her, as we don’t really get to do much of that.

New Years Eve we headed to Boston for a celebration with some college friends. It was great to see everyone and Boston was a pretty fun town. The highlight of the weekend there was seeing the Blue Man Group. I had never even thought about seeing them, but after doing so I would certainly see them again. It is such an unusual experience and such a unique one that it is hard to describe exactly what is so cool about, but I will recommend this as well.

The weekend was finished up with a New Year’s dinner with both of our families. So needless to say, I am broke, stuffed, and sufficiently rested!

The only bad part about the time off, was my fiancée telling me that we were both going on a wedding diet! Now neither of us are large people, but apparently if she is dieting I have to diet as well, or else temptation will overwhelm her and she will gorge herself on the relatively unhealthy foods that I enjoy. So today is day 1 ladies and gentlemen….I will weigh myself tomorrow and keep track of the diet on my blog. I figure public shame and ridicule is the best way for me to lose weight.

This of course means that I will need reader participation…if I gain weight, or I am not losing it I expect you to call me fat and make fun of me. If I lose weight….I expect you to tell me how fat I still am. This is a two-way street here people. I don’t lose weight without being heckled and you can have some fun tossing insulting fat jokes my way, deal?

Bring it on….