Remember Me?!

Well, howdy, all!  I know, I know..."Where the hell have you been?!" is a totally appropriate question. 
But I don't have any exotic exciting answer.  Just kind of got off the logging train for a while.  Not sure if I am really even back. But wanted everyone to know that even if you are on the verge of giving up on me (and rightfully so!), I am still keeping track of you. 

TJ, I am jealous of the Hawaii trip. Suzi, wow girl, what can I say?  I am proud of you.  Jack is busy trying to create an international incident in Italy, etc, etc.

So, you see, I am paying attention. 

What brought me in this morning was that I have been busy cleaning out all the favorites accumulated on my computer (after suffering a major malware attack!) and realized that so many blogs are gone! Poof, disappeared, no goodbye, no kiss off, no nothin'.  And as I delete them, one by one, I am thinking you're all thinking I went poof, too!

But, nope, I am here!  And I will continue to post sporadically for a while and hopefully more often if I can find my mojo, which is buried somewhere in this house, I swear it!!

Wow! Been gone a while!

I just realized its been over a month now since I have posted.  There's not a lot to post about.  I continue to struggle with these last 15 pounds, going up and down and up and down in small increments.  I seem stuck!  I continue to go to my meetings (I didn't yesterday!) and I consider myself a Weight Watcher forever, but it gets pretty disheartening after awhile. I need exercise and I haven't been motivated to do it, especially with the back acting up.  Oh, by the way, I have a compression fracture in my back!  Where I did that at and how is anybody guess, all I know is the damn thing hurts almost all the time anymore.  So, I am more and more inclined to get my Dr. to let me stop here.  Its a good place, I am content with it and I can maintain here pretty well.  I need to make an appointment to see him anyway (physical time) so this is a conversation we will have then.  I will let you know!

Struggling Tremendously

I didn't go to WI yesterday.  I knew I was up and I was, frankly, disgusted.  Not disgusted with myself, but disgusted with this struggle.  I am eating on Plan! Do I eat things that may be off plan? Absolutely, but the plan is supposed to account for that as long as I have points available.  So why the hell is this so hard?! 

I am not quitting, just took a Weigh In off.  I will continue to eat according to plan because, if nothing else, I am maintaining and I will accept that.  I just don't want to gain!

+.2 Really?

Yeah, this is the story of my life these days.  Up a fraction, down a fraction.  I am damned good at maintenance.  Too bad I want to lose 15 lbs!!

I think I might have discovered what I have been doing wrong (yet to be seen) and that is not measuring my fruit servings.  Fruit is free, so I wasn't particularly concerned about it.   I wasn't eating an entire watermelon at a time, but I can still put a few pieces of fruit away every day without much thought.  So, starting today, we will measure our fruit and anything over 2 servings is going to get counted, one way or another.

Lets see if that works!!

I Got Bit!!

This morning, as I walked out the back door going to work, I looked up at the porch light and there was this creature.  He/she looked like this:

Yes, a lovely little gecko.  Oddly he/she was wedged behind the light fixture and couldn't get out.  They are such odd looking little creatures and we love our lizards cause they can pack away some insects!  Seems like this one had shown up to the smorgasbord around the porch light and got caught somehow.   So I freed him/her.  He/She bit me.  That's gratitude for ya!

By the way, there was no pain involved for either of us!

Pictures (What Am Doing!?!)

I have never liked to have my picture taken!  I just honestly don't take a good photo.  Only pictures of myself that I have ever liked were done by a professional photog with serious airbrushing skills.  So there is not alot of pics of me around.  And the ones I have, I don't share readily.  But right now I am struggling to lose those last few pounds that are so damned difficult to shed and I thought a retrospective might give me a leg up.

And entertain you!! 

This first was Christmas 2009.  I had been a Weight Watcher all of 3 months at this time.

This next one is February 2010, so into it 6 months                                                                                       

This blurry thing was taken earlier this year.  Its one of a few full body shots I have.  I am getting a little less uncomfortable about having my picture taken.










This last one just a week or so ago.  I am seriously impressed by the change in my face alone.  I will never like the camera, but I can at least smile a little easier.

                                                                              

All in all, I am doing pretty good!                                                               

 



Woo-Hoo, I am still amongst the living...

and still amongst the losing!!  Down 1.6 today. 

Its a stressful time right now.  Summer has always been tough for me, but this summer we are doing home renovations.  OMG!!!  I need to move into a hotel.  One with room service and a Swedish masseuse named Sven sounds really good to me right about now!  Our house is about 30 years old and has been "flipped" at least once,  meaning lots of shoddy workmanship and cheap work arounds which means more work for us (read hubby!) and more cost to do what we want to do to get it where we want it to be. 

How am I losing?  Nervous energy, I am sure.

Night Out Before Weigh In

Sometimes, it just has to happen.  I can't dictate when incredibly wonderful friends, whom I haven't seen for years, are going to arrive in town and want to party.  That being said, I got to chose the restaurant, so I went Spanish, with Tapas and Light Beer for me, and wine for my friends. The tapas were incredible, (I even got to talk to the owner to hopefully set something up for hubby's birthday in Sept.) we had good food; shrimp and garlic, mushrooms and garlic, Spanish tortilla, patatas bravas, wayyyy tooo much bread (and it wasn't even real "Spanish" bread).  It was good and I don't regret a minute of it. 

I do however wish that it had not come with an accompanying pound!

I am sensing a theme here though, folks.  Some of my heros and I are falling off this wagon and that is scary!  If my heros are not up there to hang to me and pull me back where I need to be, what the heck am I gonna do?  I am hanging on for dear life, I won't, I simply will not give in to this weight gain crap again!!

Slacker!

I am such a Slacker!  I have no excuse for not posting, heck I was up a pound, I own it.  I was not happy about it because I didn't think it was deserved.  but in retrospect, it was!  I have a co-worker, a temp who is permanently gone as of Friday, that insists on bringing Costco size boxes of Yorks Perppermint Patties (the little ones) to work.  This is like crack to me.  I don't think I have tracked a single one of the bazillion of these things I have eaten in the months she has been there.  Kate, I love you, but I can't be happier to see a human leave my environment. 

Today, I ran into a man who, along with his wife, had been members and attendees of the same meetings I go to.  I was shocked!  "Dave, how are you?"  "Totally derailed", was the answer and I took a second look and he had gained a lot of his weight back and he was well on his way to a 100 lb loss.  So sad!  We met in cafeteria and what did he have on his plate, a burger and fries.  My comment to him was "You know what you have to do to stop that!" and he agreed.   I adore the guy but would like to bonk him good!!

Weigh in and I Got This!

So, I have been on vacation since the 27th of May.  That vacation from work, from Weight Watchers, from counting, measuring, weighing, etc.  And today I weighed in!  DOWN .2!!  I am thrilled.

What this tells me, is that even though I am not really trying, I have been doing this long enough that I naturally reach for those foods that are going to be better for me (natural foods) and avoid that processed stuff, which I really don't even keep at home and as I didn't go anywhere, it wasn't terrible hard to avoid.  What I do have trouble with is discipline.  I stay reasonably on plan on those days that I leave the house and go to work. I don't eat right when I am at home.  I eat haphazardly, with no plan and no accounting.  That's not good and can and will catch up with me eventually.  I go back to work on Monday, so I am not in any danger of crashing and burning just yet, but I have to find a way to stay on plan when my days are more loosely structured.

And loosely structured is what I really want in my future, I just don't want it to describe my body!!

Weigh In and a Valuable Quote

Up 1.2 Phhhttt!! 

"A lot of people are afraid of heights. Not me, I'm afraid of widths. "


Quoted: Steven Wright
 
Works for me!

Weigh In and I Forgot...

to post about it!  I am getting old and senile!  But, I am also getting thinner, down another pound.  I love it. 

There is mucho trouble on the marital front.  Its hard to figure out what's going on, maybe everything is going wrong.  It sure feels that way sometimes.  My sweet husband can morph into Ivan the Terrible so quickly these days and then when I lose my cool, he's all back sweet as pie again.  So, here I am getting myself healthier and better looking and he's making me think about how wonderful it would to be single again!  This was not in the plans. Oh well, I am sure it will sort itself out.

We went to a party this weekend and I took Sloppy Joe's that were really good and pretty lean.  They were 4 points a 4 oz serving, which was too much for most (certainly for me!).  The tang kind of makes you want to limit your intake.  I had a bit on a half hamburger bun and a half a cup or so of my Kidney Bean Salad which I also had taken along.  It was probably the lightest party meal I have ever eaten.  I made up for it with about 4 margaritas.  Shh, don't tell anyone!

Weigh in and Other News

Down .2 this week.  Phhhhhttttt!!  Ok, now that I have that out of my system... Ok, so yes it was a loss, but hey, what happened to that 2+ loss from last week?  I could have used another one of those! Oh well onward and downward (upward would not work in this context!).
I checked my measurements last week and have lost a total of 27 inches, which is nothing to sneeze at! I am so happy with the progress I have made and happier still with my commitment to continue on this path.  So, many times in the past I have reach a goal, or almost reached and then quit thinking that was good enough.  I am now convinced that this is a forever change in my life and I will continue eating like this forever.  Its good and, obviously, its good for me.

Last week, we had to have our little girl pug's left eye removed.  Poor baby.  She had been blinded as a very young puppy by a bite from a larger dog.  Because they can't discern light through the eye, they tend to not close it all the way and it dries and becomes prone to infection and starts a vicious cycle that is best ended by this type of surgery.  She now truly defines the words "pug ugly", but we love her nontheless. 

A Visit from a Loved One

Well, if you have read my blog back to the beginning, you know I took care of my mother during the last 13 months of her life. 

Sometime in the summer of 2008, when she was still feeling pretty good, she and my step dad went to church and then lunch and when they got home, she realized that she had lost her wedding ring!  She was so upset.  We looked everywhere, called the church, call the restaurant, all to no avail.

Today, Mother's Day, I found my mother's ring on the floor in the room where she ultimately died.  

I think she came to say HI!

Weigh In and Get a Load of This!

Another 2 lbs GONE!!  Is that awesome or what?! I feel so good about these losses.  I haven't posted significant losses in months and now, all of a sudden, I am dropping rapidly.  I am within 3 pounds of my 50 pound loss and 13 pounds of goal if I continue to strive for 150. 

My back is still miserable, although better than it initially was.  I think its time to go back to the doctor for a follow-up.  The source of the pain seems to have shifted upwards so maybe its not was I thought it was at first.  I think an MRI might be in order and then, hoping it finds nothing, some physical therapy.  This kind of pain really wears you out.  The other problem is I take pain meds to dull the roar that is my pain and then wind up exacerbating the issue because I do too much because I don't hurt!  Vicious circle! 

I am making chicken enchiladas tonight.  I will try to get some pictures posted.  I make them as WW friendly as I can and do a pretty good job.  The biggest problem with enchiladas used to be portion control, but I can no longer eat my weight in them.  A couple is very satisfying so I can make a batch and take them for lunch during the week. 

I like being a Weight Watcher!

Weigh In and Back on Track

Weigh in was super this week, -1.8 lb, almost 2 pounds.  I have to attribute it to eating way less than my allotted PointPlus.  While I like having my 0 PP fruit, I do think it adds a bit too many sugars/carbs, natural though they may be, for my particular body to lose on.  So I am being more judicious in my use of fruits, I have added red pears to my repetoire because, well I like them, and they have an abudance of fiber which does me a world of good. I have quit grapes and am about to quit bananas, or eat less of them or smaller ones, or something because I love bananas, but all those starches...

I also tracked really well week.  I ate the same thing every day for my lunch/dinner (see Stuffed Bell Peppers below) so that made tracking easy and they were incredibly good for only 7 PP each.  I ate alot of veggie omelets too, with maybe an ounce of ham thrown in.  I use Eggbeaters or 1 egg and 2 egg whites for my omelets, so tons of protien, lots of veggies, and good filling foods.  I noticed in eating last week that I got alot more of my good health guidelines covered that I had been recently, so that probably had a lot to do with my loss also. 

So, good week.  OH, and the back has let up considerably!!  So Laura is a happy camper this morning.

Sandwiches!

What's your favorite sandwich? Mine is a BLT!  With lots of bacon, and tomato and some token lettuce.  Oh, and lets not forget the mayonnaise! 

For obvious reasons, I don't do BLTs all that often, but today, I wanted the whole enchilada. 12 Grain bread, 4, at least, slices of bacon, three good slices of tomato, and don't forget the green stuff.  And a glass of really cold milk! It was so good and I paid 16 PPs for it.  Worth every bite!!

Weigh in and Hanging in There!

I had a pretty good weigh in all things considered.  As I previously mentioned, I didn't go to my meeting a week ago because I was in too much pain.  So I weighed myself at home and was up ALOT, like 4 pounds!!  Yes, 4 days of incredible amounts of alcohol and living on scrounging "what you can find because this campground cum mudbog" isn't what you envisioned when you planned your trip really did add up.  Now, most of it was water, and tons of sodium no doubt.  So when I went to my meeting yesterday and was up 1.6 lbs, I felt pretty damned good!!
So, while my back is still killing me, I am back on track. 

Today is Easter and the kids will come to eat.  I am making a ham, some potatoes, and probably asparagus.  I also already made some stuffed peppers for the week. I can take these to lunch.  They are very point friendly and I won't be depending on Easter leftovers to get me thru the week.  I will send a great deal of ham home with them, husband will have a load of it for his sandwiches and I can pretend like ham doesn't exist which isn't all that hard for me, not being a big ham fan.

Oh, want to see my peppers?

These are so incredibly simple to make, that posting a recipe is almost a sham. 

First thing I do is make a pot of Royal Blend Rice.  One cup uncooked makes about 2 3/4 cups cooked rice.  I actually made my rice several hours in advance of making the rest of the ingredients.  (Do it the night before or this can be a good way to use up left over rice from Chinese take out (you are not doing that are you?) or brown rice from dinner. 

Later I browned 14 oz (.85 of  a pound) of lean ground beef and seasoned with pepper, fajita seasoning, red chili powder, garlic powder (just a lot of our favorite seasonings and I tend to go Mexican whenever there is a blend like this).  Notice I didn't say salt!  Alot of the ingredients yet to come, contain alot of salt.  Hold off for a bit.  Spices are always to the consumer's taste.  I like stuff spicy, but not everyone does, so make it taste like you want it to taste.

Once my meat was no longer showing any pink, I mixed in my rice.  Then, I dumped a can of Rotel's in there! It could have used two, because I like it hot, but I only had one.  So I also added a can of stewed tomatoes with green pepper, onion and herbs or something.  Remember the salt warning.  These tomato ingredients are incredibly heavy in sodium.  Do not add salt until you have tasted your filling. At this point,  I will bet that this will be more than salty enough for you.

If you haven't already, scalp your bell peppers and pull out the ribs.  Rinse them off and set them in some kind of oven proof dish.  Fill them with the meat and rice mixture.  Go ahead and pack 'em down a little bit.  Now, you can always take whatever doesn't fit in the pepper and pack it up for the freezer, or like I did, dump it around the base of the peppers. 

Pop them in 350 oven for about an hour.  Then I sprinkled a little token cheese on them and broiled them for a few more minutes.  Now if you really want cheese, I would slice these things in half long ways before stuffing and really cheese them up at the end (but you didn't hear that from This Weight Watcher!)

Anyway, thats where I am, what and how I am doing.  As long as this back is acting up, I am basically in survival mode.  Not much fun to be found until the body heals.  But still on the right path and that's all anyone can ask of me right now.

OH, My Aching Back!

Yes, folks, I have done my back in.  Too much camping fun, throwing around 5 gallon water jugs, walking over uneven terrain, boogeying my behind off and my back has decided enough is quite enough already!! 

Monday morning I woke up almost unable to move.  Could not get a doctor's appointment until Friday.  This has happened to me before, its a form of arthritis and I have the misfortune to have it in my lower back. Its been a while since I have had a flare up and I hadn't missed it a bit!

So, the good Dr. put me on some decent pain meds (Tramadol, cause I don't like narcotics and it works well for me) and I ordered a new TENS unit cause I don't know where my old one disappeared to! 

I didn't go to WI, I just couldn't imagine sitting in one of those chairs for 5 minutes, much less 30!  Hopefully, by Saturday, I will be feeling significantly better and will go then.  I am not using this as an excuse to get off plan, that won't happen.  Just don't have any stats to report.

I Have Returned Older, But Not Necessarily Any Wiser

Well, I had a blast!  It was a pretty intoxicated 4 days, but I really remember all of it, including the rain, the freezing cold, the mud, my camp stove not working, did I mention mud?  I have a sunburned nose and decolletage and I threw my back out!  Oh, and my lower lip hurts like hell!!

I also met some really great people, listened to some awesome music, drank a beer bong (Yep, at 8 am on my birthday!) and have already determined to go again next year.

I don't think I did to bad as far as any weight gain, but there was no real way for me to track points and, frankly, I drank much more than I ate.  Oh, well, its once a year.  And worth every pound.

"The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated."

Thank you, Mark Twain, for the perfect entree to this entry!! 

Sorry guys, I have just been incredibly busy trying to get ready to go on a brief vacation!  Yay!! I was down last week .6, which is good, but bet I manage to screw it all up before I weigh in again a week from this Saturday.

I intend to have a really good time rockin' out (camping) at a Country Music Festival that runs from Thursday to Sunday of this week and my birthday falls in the middle of that somewhere so I have even more celebrate.  Let's see how much damage I can do!!

Actually, the plan is to be a really good WW.  I am packing fruit and veggies, have seafood on the menu, and brought lots of water to cut down on my beer consumption.  I may just surprise all of us!  Wish me luck!

Weigh In and What To Do About It

Well, weigh in was not as bad as I expected.  I was down .2 actually which was a miracle.  But I need a bigger miracle so I am going to have to knuckle down and do this right. 

I have not been meeting my good health guidelines for starters, so this week I will map out every day ahead of time to make sure I get my dairies and oils in (which I am bad about) and quit eating crap every day that I don't need.  Its not hard, I have done it before, I just have to be disciplined about it.  And, starting yesterday, track, track, track and track some more.  If I am honestly tracking, I will honestly be losing!  I know that about myself and when I don't track, its because of the things I don't want to see, like the handful of almonds or the York Peppermint Patties, corn chip and guacamole...you get the idea.

I made some yummie meals the last couple of days.  Roasted Red Pepper and Herbed Pasta with Shrimp, really, really wonderful.  You can find the recipe at Cooking Light.  I changed up angel hair pasta for the penne, reduced the oil a little, and omitted the cheese completely.  Its works out to about 9 PP per very filling serving.  Whodda thunk one cup of pasta was so much?!

Last night we had Turkey Tenderloin with Tarragon Mushroom Gravy.  I don't remember where I found this recipe, but have tweaked enough that its mine now anyway.

Turkey Tenderloin w/Tarragon Mushroom Gravy


PointsPlus™ Value: 5

Ingredients
1 1/3 pound(s) Jennie-O Turkey Store Turkey breast tenderloins
2 Tbsp Best Foods Light Mayonnaise
2 tsp dried tarragon, divided in half
1 tsp lemon pepper
2 pkgs sliced crimini mushrooms (or slice your own)
1 cup diced raw onion
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
15 oz fat-free chicken broth
1 Tbsp olive oil

Instructions

Heat oven to 350?F. Spray large skillet with nonstick cooking spray. In bowl, combine mayonnaise, half the tarragon and pepper. Spread over turkey breast tenderloins.

Pan sear turkey.

Remove and set aside. Add up to 1 tblsp olive oil and mushrooms and onion to skillet. Cook 3 to 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Return turkey to skillet.

Pour about 1/3 of the broth and remaining tarragon over mushrooms. Cover and Cook 30 minutes.

Remove cover and cook and additional 15 to 30 minutes or until turkey is no longer pink in center. Remove turkey to serving dish and cover with foil to keep warm. Return mushrooms and broth to burner and bring to a boil. In a jar, add rest of broth to 2 tablespoons flour and shake vigorously until no lumps remain. Add slurry to hot pan with mushrooms. Whisk until a thickens and a smooth gravy is formed.

Serve with Mock Mashed Potatoes.

This is an incredibly good meal.  I actually weighed 3 oz of turkey tenderloin out.  Its not alot but I was satisfied with that.  I love the Mock Mashed Potatoes and they are free.  Smothered in low PP value gravy that is incredibly flavorful.  And with Asparagus on the side.   That's a good healthy meal!!  I will get back to taking pictures eventually.  In the meantime, try these and let me know what you think. 

Wow, tough week!

This has been an incredibly awful week for me.  Work was hell and my eating was horrendous.  I mean, I ate really good food, just the wrong food and way to much of it.  Lets recount a few of the more glaring errors:

Avocados were on sale, so I bought 10 and made guacamole for the office on Monday.  That meant guac for breakfast and lunch along with the accompanying chips.  Now, mind you, I made the dip and the chips as WW friendly (baked chips, low fat additives to the guac) but there was no sense of portion control at all.  Damn good stuff, but...

Tuesday, left over chips and salsa that a co-worker contributed.  Score: Chips 2, Laura 2 lbs!

Wedsnesday, vendor meeting that spilled into lunch.  One of the best Mexican Food restaurants in town.  More chip, more salsa, refried beans with cheese, mexican rice, green chile beef.

I am going to get ex-communicated from Weight Watchers, you wait and see.  Did I write it down? NO!  Did that make it any less points?  Absolutely not! Tomorrow, I face the scale!  Crap!

Long Walk in the Desert and Hubby-Pain-In-The-Ass!

I started this yesterday, but Blogger has been giving me fits.

I purchased a Groupon for a years family membership to the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum which is a world famous zoo (actually) that features the flora and fauna of the Sonoran Desert.  Its actually quite a marvelous place.  Animals are in enclosures, not cages.  And the enclosures are designed to mimic their natural habitats.  I love it.  So it was a really good deal, but I had to get there and cash in my Groupon by April 1 or it would expire and I would lose the $25 I plunked down on it!  So today was the day. 

I asked Hubby-Pain-In-The-Ass (hereby referred to as HPITA) if he wanted to join me.  I emphatically told him that his presence was not required and that if he was going to be grumpy I would prefer he stay home.  No, no, he would go. "By the way, when are you coming back?  Game starts at 3!"  (Please, just shoot me now!)  I told him we should be able to get back by then but reminded him this was a very large place, I was not going to be hurried.  I wanted to go and take my time, take pictures and enjoy the day outdoors.   "No Problem."

We got there about 9 am and probably started walking around 9:30 or so after getting in and using the facilities.  At about 11:30 we got close to the restaurant and I asked him "Are you hungry or do you want to wait until we leave?", thinking we had just split a breakfast burrito and I wasn't really hungry and didn't really expect him to be.  "Well, when were you planning on leaving?" "I don't know, to get home by 3 we need to be moving that direction by 2:30, I guess."  "Oh no, my back won't take that!"  WTH?!  Since when do you have a back problem?

He was bored and wanted to go home.  I should have never taken him to begin with!  These are the days that test my marriage vows to the limits!!

I did get some good pics:

Can you see that beautiful hummingbird among the orange flowers?

The beautiful Harris Hawk.  They hunt in family groups and hunt like wolves where certain members of the pack will drive prey to the hawk that is aligned to make the kill.   This is a male, the female is larger and their society is matriarchal.

Speaking of wolves, a beautiful Mexican Grey Wolf.  They are slowly being re-introduced into the Sonoran desert after having been hunted to near extinction.  Needless to say there is a lot of controversy over this with all the cattle ranching that goes on in Arizona.

Bobcats!  Too cool!   The rock ledge they are laying on and the rock above them, in fact their entire enclosure is man made.  It looks so natural, you might not know if you weren't made aware of it.

A beautiful dried agave blossom from last year.  These make exquisite dried "flower" arrangements except they are about 10 feet tall!

When the desert blooms, the colors are incredible and its always amazing (at least to me) to see the juxtaposition of this delicate flowering next to the the apparent harshness of cactus. The yin and yang of the plant world.

This is Datura. Its highly toxic and can be fatal if misused.

This is quince?!  I have no idea, but it was really pretty.

The only time I really like doves is when they are nesting.  This little lady was totally undisturbed by the fact that I was invading her space.  As a matter fact, all the animals at this "zoo" are completely at ease around humans.  Even those in the wild, which are many.  Many of them were born here and have no fear of humans because we are not perceived as a threat.  They've never been harmed or even frightened by humans.  Whats to fear?

What is not to love about a hummingbird?

Another little momma reminding us that spring is here!

And another.  

I do like this new camera.  Its easy to use and takes a pretty good pic. 



Giveaway Winner!

Well, Christy, as you were the only person to respond, you get a great book.  Please email you address to me and I will be thrilled to send it right out to you.  It's an awesome book and I know you will love it.

Weigh In and Not Moving in the Right Direction

Very Frustrating!  Up .8  Its back and forth and back and forth and its frustrating.  I can't seem to find a rhythm to this weight loss dance since WW changed things up.  I mean, I am not doing horribly, but I just can't seem to make sense of it.  I am not find the formula that works best for me to keep me losing consistently.  Just have to keep plugging away at it, I guess.

300th Post and a Giveaway!

Wow!  I have impressed me!  And now, I want to impress you.  In celebration of this auspicious occasion and my newly developed love of tasting good stuff, keeping it light and cooking in general, I want to give away a couple of copies of my favorite new book!

This wonderful tome will help you put together flavors so they enhance each other.  Want to cook some Butternut Squash, but not sure what spices work with that?  Look up Butternut Squash and find a bevy of wonderful herbs and spices to complement your dish.  Or, conversely, look up the spice and find something to use it on.  Great way to get introduced to new flavors!

So, whattya gotta do?!  Not much of anything.  Just pop in, say howdy!  and then I will give you a number and let a randomizer sort it out because I don't like to play favorites, I love ya'll equally! 

I will close this opportunity on Saturday, March 19th at 6 pm PST.  That'll give a anyone thats interested more than enough time to give me a shout out!

So what do you think?

Chips and Dip

Yesterday I made tacos for dinner, but I also made chips.

I have extolled the virtues of Arizona Brand Tortillas before, but in case you missed it, these damned things rock!!  Emphasis mine! 

These are made in Phoenix, but I know they are shipped everywhere, so if your grocer doesn't sell them, threaten to break his kneecaps or something til they get them for you.  You will love me forever. 

Its hard to see in this little picture, but under the words "Corn Tortillas" is written "Tacos and Tostadas".  That means these are extra thin to help get that great crunch you want when those items are on the menu.  I believe I might swear off making tacos if I couldn't get my hands on these!

Anway, because they are so thin, they are 1 WW PointPlus for 2 tortillas.

So, I also use them to make chips.  I slice them long ways, as opposed to triangular, because they seem to crisp up more evenly, but you can do it however you want.  I spray them with olive oil from my Prepara Pump bottle and toss them gently on a cookie sheet. Put them in a 400 degree oven and then watch them like a hawk!!  Ok, kind of a lazy hawk, but a hawk nontheless.  Once they start to brown, they will go quickly.  Once you start to see a little color, take a spatula and turn them over (as best you can) and then back in until they are done to your satisfaction.  These are just about right!

Then I take them out and sprinkle them with seasonings.  Not too much salt, but I like Nacho Cheddar Popcorn Salt and chili powder.   I can have 2 oz or 20 chips for 2 PointsPlus.  Thats really quite a bit.  They are crunchy, totally not greasy, very flavorful and if I want a dip, I can use salsa or I can (and do) mix some Light Sour Cream with Salsa.   That is a yummy dip and isn't a deal breaker. 

So if you are craving chips, here you go. 

Even if you eat an entire dozen tortillas worth of chips, its still only 9 PP, but don't do that!!  Save some room for a taco or two!

Shh!! Look Over There in the Followers Boxes ------>

Jack Sh*t has decided to follow me!!  Dayum!!  I feel...I feel...I don't know, like I am being followed or something!  But, don't get all excited or anything, he might up and leave and then I would be sad. 

Hi, Jack, Welcome.  Glad to have you!  I am honored!

Weigh In Results, Dinner Last Night and Tonight!

Well, my weigh in was good.  Down .8. Better than the +1 of last week.  Then last night I copped out on dinner and we ordered Chinese.  But I did pretty good.  Had one adequate serving of each item (no white rice, yuck!), and stopped.  No seconds, no licking the spoons! A year ago, I would have gone in to a toxic sodium coma from consuming way too much of that stuff.  It was good, but knowng I have more control makes it soo much better. 

And then tonite we are having tacos.  You'd think it was my birthday week or something.  Nope, the planets just aligned properly and we are cruising the planet this week for eats.  I also baked 6 large chicken breasts, cut them up into 3 oz portions and froze them.  I have left overs from Friday, that 3 Citrus Chicken was really good and the bulgur I made to go with it was incredible (has mushrooms and asparagus in it!). My husband says there are too many choices and he doesn't know what to eat.  Such a problem.

Tomorrow is Weigh In, What's for Dinner Tonight?

Tonight I am going to make Triple Citrus Chicken Breasts (only with just Double Citrus), and Bulgar Wheat with Carmelized Onions, Mushrooms and Asparagus.  This diet is killing me!!  NOT!

Size 14!

Well, I am soundly in a size 14 these days.  That's from a 22!  I can't even grasp that.  I see myself in the mirror and I know, I mean I can't miss, that I have lost a lot of weight.  I am only 15 lbs from goal, so I have accomplished  quite a bit, but there is that mind/body disconnect that I think so many of us struggle with.  I get loads of compliments and I am buying clothes hand over fist, and enjoying dressing up for the first time in many, many years.  But I still see that fat girl in the mirror sometimes.  This is a tough issue to overcome.

Cheeseburger and Fries!

I have been jonesing for a cheeseburger for a couple weeks now and today, I organized a lunch group to go hunt the illusive Burgersaurus and we found it.  And it was mighty tasty.  I had a burger with swiss cheese, green chilies and avocado!  Is that decadent or what?!  I could only eat half of it, tho' I did eat all my fries.  But you know what?  I did dang good.  It was filling enough to be lunch and dinner, so I think I can stretch my daily PP to cover it.  We'll see!

Weigh In and Walk for the Cure

Up a pound at Weigh In.  This seems to be my way of lossing, down two one week and up one the next.  It takes so damned long to lose this way.  I wasn't terribly good at weighing and measuring last week so I will attribute my gain to that and start paying more attention.  I have no excuse not to weigh and measure.  I even have the tools at my desk at work if I get something from the cafeteria that I am not sure about. 

I dashed out of Weigh In and headed to meet up with my team for the Conquer Cancer Walk up Tumamoc Hill.  This is an annual event here and collect thousands of dollars that are kept in our community to assist those who are victims (and survivors) of cancer.  This was the first time I have participated. 

I got there about 7:30, I picked up my  T-Shirt, bright red with silver lettering and designs, and we (I was walking with co-workers) headed off about 8 am.  It was cool at first but in about 15 minutes we were already almost too warm.  All in all, its about 5 miles up a small hill in town.  Its not grueling but it was work.  At the top, brunch was served and it was really good.  

Because I had worn blisters on my heel we decided to ride the bus down.  Just about the time I got on the bus, I realized I didn't know where my car keys were!  Yikes! The bus pulled slowly down the hill and reached a Y in road at about a hundred yards.  There was a cop car there and I had the bus driver let me off the bus.  I went over and asked the officer if she wouldn't mind taking me back down the path so I could look for my keys.  She agreed and I hoped into the back seat of the squad car.  My first, and hopefully, last time to take a ride in the back of a squad car.  Uncomfortable! 

Anyway, she slowly drove down the entire road, in the center lane where possible so I could look along the roadside to see if I could see my keys.  No Luck!  I have another set, of course, but they were at home and hubby would have had to bring them to me from across town.  I really didn't want to make that call!  So Officer Friendly took me to where my vehicle was parked and I had her drop me by the team leader truck so I could look in the bed, thinking maybe, just maybe I layed in them in the bed of the truck when I picked up my T-Shirt.  As we pulled up to the pick up, we saw them, laying on the bumper of the truck in all their hot pink spring ring glory.  Thank you, God and Thank you, Tucson's Finest!  All in all, it was a great day!

Cancer Walk

This Saturday I will participate in a Conquer Cancer walk up an historical hill in town.  It helps to generate funds for the American Cancer Society and our company participates as a team and I am proud to say we are in 3rd place as of today in participants and funds.  Not too shabby!

What do I get out of this?  Well, there is the exercise.  And the free tee shirt (actually it cost me $40, but who's counting?) and a breakfast.   I know my gluts will be screaming by Monday morning and I will want to crawl into work.  Hubby has offered tea and sympathy.  Can't ask for much more.