2011

In 2011, I

• got yelled at and threatened with blood pressure meds by my doctor in February
• got an iPod for Mother's Day
• went to Florida in May
• broke my arm in August
• walked five miles in one day in September
• saw Sting perform at the Fox Theater in November
• dealt with car issues, family issues, and personal issues all stinkin' year
• lost 128.3 pounds, which is 36.75% of my original body weight
• lost 11 inches off my hips, 10.5 inches off my waist, and 11.5 inches off my bust
• lost control several times, but wrestled it back into my corner every time

I don't know specifically what 2012 will bring. I know it will bring more stress, because that's the way life is. But I also know that I will have to deal with that, because letting it run roughshod over me doesn't really help. 

What Was I Thinking?

For Christmas, I asked for and received Just Dance 3 and Zumba for the Wii.  I've heard so much about how fun they are, and I figured it would be better than just stepping on and off the balance board in Free Step.

The girls were really excited for the Just Dance--they've played it at their friend's house, so they know a lot of the moves already. Lauren was demonstrating it for me last night, and I suddenly remembered:  I am totally uncoordinated.

I was watching her jump around, thinking, "Crap. I am never going to be able to do that!" But I got up and did the "Crazy Thing Called Love" routine. You know the best part of trying to do one of these routines?  You feel like a total idiot.

Honestly, I don't know what I was thinking. I never like aerobics in college, either. But I do know that if I suck it up and do them more frequently, it'll get easier and I might even remember what rhythm is. Yeah, probably not.

Stuffed Pepper Soup

One of my favorite recipe sites is Gina's SkinnyTaste. She posts a new recipe pretty much every day, and they usually look delicious. I was browsing there the other day, specifically looking for something new to make. I decided to give Stuffed Pepper Soup a try.

But I didn't want to tell everyone what I was making. Jeff in particular has bad stuffed pepper memories from the 70's--that and goulash are the two foods he & his brother joke about the most. But the recipe has everything we like: peppers, tomatoes, ground beef, rice. In fact, as I was making it, I realized that it looks a lot like chili without the beans.  We eat our chili over rice, so the similarity is even greater. I used a more peppers than the original recipe called for, and no green--just red, yellow & orange.

The girls gave it grades of A- and B, and agreed that I could make it again. Jeff liked it, especially after I sprinkled some "Mexican" cheese over the top of his. I loved it and was glad I allotted two bowls for myself. I'm looking forward to leftovers for lunches the rest of the week.

Shopping

I got a few Macy's gift cards for Christmas, woo hoo!  I've decided to use them as my motivation. I have plenty of clothes to get me through the winter, but not much for spring or summer. It will take me a while to get my BMI from Obese to Overweight, so the timing should be just right. I will not go shopping until I get to that point.

We also got a big Amazon gift card from my mom. I dithered around for quite a while, trying to decide if I wanted earrings with my share of it, or an earring stand/organizer, or books or music or  . . . yeah, you get it.

I've decided that I want to broaden my cooking horizons a bit, so I'm getting a couple cookbooks.
Cook This Not That 350 Calorie Meals
Cook This Not That Kitchen Survival Guide
I've checked both of these out of the library, and really like the way they're set up and lots of the recipes look good. I also saw that there's a 2012 edition out, but I'm not sure that it isn't more of a restaurant guide than a cookbook, so I'll give it a trial run via the library as well before I buy.

Look for more cooking posts in the coming months!

Song I can't get out of my head:  Brighter Than the Sun

Aftermath

Once again, all those good plans were for naught. I ate without thought or caring on both Friday and Saturday. Saturday night, I even felt like I might throw up for a brief moment and wondered why I was doing this to myself. Not a pleasant thought or feeling.

But Sunday was better. I had one biscotti with coffee at our church potluck breakfast service (one of the other members said, "We should do this every year, no matter what day Christmas falls on" and I agree) and the rest of the day was pretty good. It was kind of a relief to be eating better again. I certainly felt better.

BUT--have I gotten back on the scale yet?  No.  And I don't plan to. I plan to keep working my plan to the best of my ability and ignore the scale until January 1st. Then, like so many other people, I get a fresh start. Next Sunday will be Week 1 and I'll start over from there, no matter what that number is. Am I hoping it's a "good" number?  Yes, of course. But whether it is or it isn't, it's where I'll be starting.

Week 46

Lost a little over a pound this week; that's more than half of last week's gain gone. It's still about a pound and a half over my lowest. 

Yeah, I know it'll come off eventually. In a weird way, it's good for my motivation. It'll hopefully keep me mindful over the weekend.

Honestly though, I don't know if it will or not. When I'm confronted with yummy food, I don't generally do too well.. Appetizers seem to be the worst for me--vast arrays of food tempt me to constantly pick at it until I've had far too much. Sitting at the table, it seems to be easier for me to portion things. At Thanksgiving, it was the cheese ball that was the most irresistible.

The answer would seem to be to find something else to do. Find another place to sit that isn't right in front of the nuts and chips and cheese and crackers and spinach dip. Yeah--at the holidays, it seems like the only place that fits that description is the bathroom. 

So we'll see how it goes. Today is a busy day, as is tomorrow, as is the rest of the weekend. I'll check back in with a report on Monday.

Then and Now

This is a picture from December of 2009.  As we do most years, the family took a turn ringing the bell for the Salvation Army. We sign up through church, so it's easy. We also did it last year, but no one got a picture. Jeff & the girls did it this year, but I went over to visit my Dad at the last minute, so no family pic there this year. I don't know how much I weighed in this picture, but I'm guessing it was pretty close to my heaviest.

Although this isn't taken during bell ringing for contrast, it is a current family picture, and one I like very much.

I should print both of these and keep them on my refrigerator.

That Helped

So it's been a rough week. I'm doing my best with my plans, but I'm not really feeling it. I'm surrounded by cookies, and my mom just sent us a tin of Swiss Colony popcorn. I told Sarah that she could have the White Chocolate bag, I'd take the Butter Toffee bag, Lauren could have the Cheddar bag, and when Dad got home, we'd tell him it came empty.

It's a joke, but also a sincere temptation. I really could eat that whole bag.  Of course, it would be over 1000 calories and 72 grams of fat. The Pecan Tassies that are my signature Christmas cookie are 100 calories each. In past years, I would eat three at a shot.  Today, I ate one after lunch, very slowly, and I savored every bite. 

Part of me hates this. Hates mindfulness, and would much rather just eat without thinking and without consequences.  Sadly, the former is possible but the latter is not.

This afternoon, I took a risk. I had planned to try my dress on again tomorrow, but I decided to give it a go today. This had potential to backfire in a big way. My weight is up a little right now, and if I couldn't get it zipped, I knew I would be seriously bummed.

When it did zip, I was happy but also relieved.  Don't get me wrong--it was tight, and I had no intention of even trying to sit down in it.  But it zipped.

The zipper made it easier to ignore the Fail Voice. That's the voice that gleefully reminds me that I've lost essentially no weight this month, and am nowhere near getting below that magic 225 where I stalled last time. That's the voice that wonders why I don't just eat what I want for this ONE WEEK and get back on board next Monday,  I could totally do that, no problem. And if I gained a few pounds or even ten, so what?  It'll just come back off again once I'm working it.

Except that I've already lost it once. I don't want to have to lose it again and again. And again. A fluctuation of a couple pounds is reasonable, but that's it. I'm drawing a line in the sand.  I'm going to keep working my plan, even if my results aren't optimal yet. Health is the goal here--losing weight is the happy side effect.

Follow Up

It's not the most I've ever gained. Not quite two pounds, which I know will come back off again in time.

But I have to admit, it's a little disheartening. Not surprising--I knew this would be the result in the middle of the binge. But I still have that tendency to think of this in a linear way, and this feels like a step back. It messes with my "schedule." Really, though, I should not be thinking in those terms at all, so having it messed with is not a totally bad thing. Sometimes, I will overeat. But ONLY sometimes. Most of the time--the vast majority of the time--I will make healthy choices. And that will get me where I need to go, and keep me there.

Week 45

I did not weigh in this morning. I think this is the first Thursday I've missed. I can blame it on Lauren being on the Wii early this morning (she woke up super early), or on my getting breakfast before I remembered to weigh, but really, I just didn't want to.

I've had a couple binge days this week, and although I followed one with a loss the next day, I know I'm up this morning.  I'm trying to decide if I'll just let this whole week go and not weigh in until next Thursday, but I know that isn't a good idea. Eventually, I'll have to start weighing in less frequently, but right now especially, I need the accountability.

Tomorrow morning, before breakfast, I'll weigh in and record the damage, no matter how bad it is.

Doubt

I'm essentially back to the weight I was when I got married. It's also the same weight I was when I last got serious about my health last time (about seven years ago). So now I have this vaguely superstitious fear that I won't be able to get past this point. That I'll just up and quit. AGAIN. That I'll stop caring. That I'll go back to those old bad habits.

 I've had occasional binge days in the past, and for the most part, I've come to accept them and know that I can move past them. But now I have this horrible dread that I can't or won't get past the point of eatting myself into oblivion.

Oblivion sounds good right now--there's a lot of stress going on, and there's no sign of it letting up.  Last week, I was going to write a blog post called, "It Never Gets Better," but I decided that sounded too depressing and that I should have more of a zen-like "It's Always Something" attitude instead.
So what am I doing about it?  Right now, I feel like all I can do is keep a really tight rein on my eating. I don't think that's a really healthy attitude either, but at least it isn't unremitting binging. 

My Ring

Last year, I didn't wear my wedding ring, because it was too small. I can't even remember how long it had been since I'd worn it regularly. One of my big goals was to be able to wear it again. I finally could, but it took until summer for it to be comfortable, which was longer than I expected.

I frequently took it off when I went for walks, which was a good thing in August. If I'd been wearing it when I fell, I would have had to have it cut off.  It did take a few weeks for the swelling to go down enough to get it back on.

Yesterday, I took it off again. It's gotten so loose that I'm starting to worry about it falling off. It's not quite to that point yet, but it's definitely sliding around on my finger. I'm going to find out about a ring sizer, but until then, it stays in my jewelry box. I'm happy to have lost the weight, but my hand feels weird without it.

Week 44

Well, this is it--the deadline I set to get back to the weight I think I was at when I got married. So did I make it? 

I'm half a pound over.  That is success, as far as I'm concerned. I haven't tried my dress on recently--I've decided to wait until my actual anniversary for that, but I believe it'll zip easily.  Thanks for all the encouragement from everyone--it really does make a big difference!

For this week, I lost 1.18%.  Four week floating average is 1.42%.

It's time for a new goal.  I go back to see my doc in early February, and I'd really like to be in the "Overweight" BMI category by then.  That's 11 pounds and 8 weeks away. Normally, I'd be very confident about that time frame.  But Christmas will be here soon. It took a week to rebound from Thanksgiving, and that was just one day. I want to give myself a little wiggle room.

Also, I'm going to start slowly increasing my calories in January. When I eventually get to maintenance, I'll be eating more. I'd like to work to that slowly and kind of coast into it. 

I still haven't started the C25K yet.  I have a little more time today, so I'm hoping to figure out how to do the first level without the podcast or stopwatch or whatever. I don't want to have to count seconds in my head, but that's all I can think of so far.

Week 43

Down .17% this week.  Four week floating average of 1.12% down.

That's a reasonable loss, considering that I came off Thanksgiving week, and two large losses previous weeks. I'm satisfied.  I have 3.2 pounds left to get to my original goal by next week. That's not impossible, but it's highly unlikely, and I'm not going to worry about getting there in the next seven days.

I'd like to start the Couch to 5K program soon, but don't want to kick out the $75 for the community center this week (yes, that's what I'm choosing instead of Planet Fitness). I might download the podcast for my iPod and run around the gym for half an hour instead for the first week or two. I won't know exactly how far I've gone, but that's not something to worry about yet. I'm going to work more on getting to the point where I can run for more than 30 seconds at a time first.

After a fairly laid back week, things are ramping up again. I'm working today and tomorrow afternoon & evening, and Sarah has to be at church by 6:30 Saturday morning. That's also the day of the craft show and bell ringing for the Salvation Army. I've done very little prep for Christmas in terms of shopping, baking or sewing, and none of the decorations are up yet.

Happily, I've found a sucker friend that is willing to do the C25K program with me, so that will help with motivation. I will start by Monday at the absolute latest.

Week 42

Down 2.1% this week. Floating average of 1.77% down over four weeks, 1.09% down over six weeks. 

This is surprising, but not shocking, just like two weeks ago but in reverse. Then, I saw my daily weight not budging even though I was on track. This week, I've been eating the same way, but watching the numbers drop almost daily. In fact, today was the first time I haven't lost at all in almost two weeks.

So big losses two weeks in a row.  I'm three and a half pounds from the goal I set for Dec 8. I know I can do that, but I'm not sure if the numbers will get there by that time.  Maybe, maybe not.  It doesn't matter, because I know I will get there and beyond. The "beyond" part is what really matters to me.

The plan for today:  moderate breakfast, small lunch, nice dinner. We're going to the in-laws', so I don't know what all they will have, but I know it'll be good, and I plan to enjoy myself. I anticipate that the appetizers will be my biggest challenge.

Shopping

I went out shopping with a friend last night and had a really good time, got a couple cute things on clearance, found a couple cute things to add to my Christmas list. One of the places we went was Macy's because I had a gift card.  Their woman's department is nice but not amazing. You know what is amazing?  Their online catalog.  There are several dresses I see there that I'd love to try on, because I'm not buying something I can't try on.

For example: this dress looks really cute in the picture. But how do I know that waistband will hit me in the right place?  How do I know the neck isn't too low?  Same issues with this one.  I love the whole wrap concept, but since I've never tried one on, I can't know for sure how it will look.

I'm not about to kick out $$$ for five dresses so I can try them on at home and return four.  I guess it's just that much more incentive for me to get out of the plus sizes.  Easter shopping is going to be fuuuuuuuuuuuun.

Reconsidering

As I was walking out to my car at the end of the parking lot the other night (the other cold and windy night), I remembered something:  I really dislike being cold. When I mentioned this to Jeff, he said, "You live in Michigan. You're just now realizing this?" No, I've known this for a long time. But when planning to join a gym, leaving the house when it's below freezing and getting into a cold car is one of the things I didn't take into account.  It's also one of the things I do my best to avoid. Once there's snow on the ground, I'll like it even less.

So, I'm going to give workout DVDs another look. When I got them last time (and never used them), I still had nice weather to tempt me outside. I'm hoping that the cold will encourage me to use them more. I've put holds on three different ones and can hopefully pick them up soon. Hopefully I can find something I really like.

Ciabatta Rolls

Holy cow, these things are AMAZING. I made them Sunday night/Monday morning. Yes, they take a little time. Yes, they're a little work. But did I mention the AMAZINGNESS?

When I first took them out of the oven, they had a very crisp crust. Like, break it open hard. But really good.

After they sat for a while, the crust went from hard to fabulously chewy. That's the kind of texture I love, but that I find really hard to get, especially out of my own oven.

The flour is kind of messy when you eat them, which is just another reason to break them into bite-sized pieces with your hands instead of tearing into them with your mouth.

Unfortunately, I ate three that first day. Since then, I've been more restrained, but it's been seriously hard to resist them.

For Thanksgiving, we're bringing rolls and dessert. I'm going to make these and another recipe that has a slightly sweeter, more tender yield. I'll try to post more step-by-step pictures. For dessert, pumpkin pie is a no-brainer. I was going to bring something healthier as well--maybe even the Cook's Illustrated Cheesecake that is supposed to be so fabulous.  But then I thought about pecan pie.  Then I thought about Dutch Apple Pie. Then I thought about Black Bottom Pie. At this point, I have no idea what we'll end up bringing.

Week 41

2.22% loss this week. Four week floating average is at 1.34% loss.

Yeah, that's what I thought. A week of nothing in spite of good habits = a huge loss the following week. I don't think I'm destined for nice, even weight loss for a while. Once I get closer to my goal weight and start slowly increasing my calories, I'm hoping for more moderate, consistent losses.

I just finished a big breakfast of fried potatoes with mushrooms, scallions, red peppers, ham & eggs (410 calories for a huge plate of food).

Lunch is going to be kind of a splurge. When I got home from work last night, Jeff was making hamburgers on the George Foreman, and they smelled wonderful, so I'm having a cheeseburger & salad for lunch. Originally I was going to use a ciabatta roll (look for a post about those tomorrow) for the bun, but I'd rather have one with dinner, so I'm just going to slap the patty on top of the salad ( 371 calories).

Dinner will be leftover minestrone soup with a little ham thrown in for protein, a roll, an apple, and a couple rolls of Smarties (368 calories).

I still have about 150 calories left for the day, and I need to get some protein, but I've hit my limit on fat. I don't think I'll be able to get any exercise today unless we stay home instead of going to see my Dad. We'd all rather go see him, but I haven't talked to him yet this morning, so I don't know if he's up for visitors.

Beef Stir Fry

I can't begin to say how often we have stir fry.  Beef or pork, it's a great way to make a healthy dinner we'll all eat.

This version used:
10 oz sirloin steak, sliced thinly
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup diced red onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp minced fresh ginger
1 cup sliced red and yellow bell peppers
2 cups green beans
2 Tablespoons hoisin sauce

To make it, I browned the meat over high heat, then took it out of the pan before it was cooked all the way through. Then I added some olive oil, and let it get hot over medium heat before adding the onions. After they got translucent, I added the garlic & ginger. That came out of the pan and got added to the meat. I added the bell peppers and let them get a little color before throwing in the green beans. Then I added a few tablespoons of water and slapped a lid on the pan so the vegetables could steam a little. Then I cleared some space in the middle of the pan for the hoisin sauce.  I added the meat & onions back in, and stirred everything thoroughly to coat.

We ate it over brown rice, and there are two servings left. I'll have one for dinner tonight, and Jeff will have the other for lunch tomorrow.

Per serving (1/6th of the meat/veg + 1/2 cup brown rice): 245 calories, 28 carbs, 6 grams fat, 18 g protein, 3 grams fiber.  I'll also have an apple in the car.

Just for comparisons sake, tonight's family dinner while I'm at work will be BBQ meatballs. One serving, which is 4 meatballs and a few tablespoons of sauce, is 315 calories, 21 carbs, 17 grams fat, 16 grams protein, and 0 fiber. I love meatballs, but 4 isn't much of a dinner. That doesn't even touch on anything on the side. I'm glad I've got leftovers.

Another Option

I'd like to know how Planet Fitness says "No Commitment" on their billboards, but you still have to sign up and pay an annual fee.  Do I need a new dictionary, or do they?

Anyway, I remembered another option:  our local rec center has a small workout room. Signing up for that is $75/year, which is incredibly cheap. They have weights and treadmills, though I haven't been in to look at it in a couple years, so I don't know the specifics.

I would be all over this, but there is one downside: they don't open until 9AM. Yes, that is a substantial drawback for me. I really like getting my exercise in early, before the rest of the day starts. I don't want to take one or two hours out of our school day every day. Yes, the kids could come with me and work in the library. Yes, they could stay home and work. But that's still time that I'm essentially unavailable to them. I feel like I'm gone a lot already because of work, and they're getting the short end of the stick.

So . . . Planet Fitness = more $, more distance, but less disruptive to our lives. Community Center = close, cheap, but not good for the schedule. I'm going to put it to the family over dinner tonight. I seriously can't remember the last time we all sat at the dinner table at the same time. I better make something delicious.

Week 57

0% loss this week, which is unsurprising but still confusing.

It's unsurprising because I've been weighing in all week, and watching the numbers bump up or down a little bit, but not moving the way I would expect. So this is actually not bad, considering I was up a pound and a half yesterday.

It's confusing because I've been "in the groove" all week. I've been eating right for the most part, staying under my calorie goal, drinking water, exercising. Normally, I would expect to see at least some loss. (this is one of the reasons I do get on the scale every day--if I saw that number today with no warning, I would have thought the stinkin' thing was broken)

But I have to take into account that enormous loss last week, and that this might just be my body's way of keeping balance. I'm at .56% average loss over the past four weeks.

So I'm going to keep on doing what I need to do. I might not get a walk in today, but I'm going to try. I don't know how my food is going to go, either.  I didn't eat breakfast until almost 11AM, which doesn't leave a lot of time to eat lunch or make dinner before I have to run out again.

Go Wings!

Just got back from a Wings win, 5-0 over Anaheim. We actually left halfway through the third period, right after Franzen scored the last goal.

Got over 4 miles in today, woot!  Hoping to get the same tomorrow, although it will be even busier than today.

#5 Thing I'm Thankful For: That the Nemo's bus filled up fast, and we got home fast, so I didn't have to use a public restroom!

Time

 No exercise yesterday. None today, either. Much as I want to, there is NO TIME. Between the kids' school, my work, Girl Scouts, and hours of available daylight, it isn't happening. I'm hoping to get two BIG walks in over the weekend. God knows I need them.

#4 Thing I'm Thankful For:  that I'm working so much right now, even though the demands on my time are extreme.

Week 39

2.77% loss this week. That brings my four week floating average to 0.95%.

Yay, right?  Big loss, I'm happy, woo hoo. So why do I feel weird? (Because I am weird.) When I have a small loss or a gain, it gives me new determination to stay on track. When I have a big loss, I feel almost guilty. "I'm losing too fast!"

There certainly is some drive to "get there" as quickly as possible. I'm always thinking ahead, to what my weight could be in another month or two if I stay on track. Balance that with the "keep it healthy" mentality. I think for the most part I do keep it healthy. I try to eat balanced meals and get reasonable exercise.

But it's that "too fast, better slow down" idea that sometimes sabotages me. I'm more likely to end up going overboard. I think I'm going too fast, so I balance it by eating more, or eating stuff I otherwise wouldn't.. Then I slow down or gain for a few weeks. Then I get motivated again and lose big. And again and again and again.

I'm going to stay moderate again this week. We're having a birthday dinner at my in-law's this weekend. I have no idea what kind of food we'll have, so I'll just have to do my best with it. My mother-in-law knows how hard I'm working to be healthier, so she's very supportive.

I guess I'm going to just keep doing what I'm doing. Staying mindful & making good choices.

#3 Thing I'm Thankful For: My great family (especially daughter #1 who did most of the work) who cleaned the kitchen again last night!

Cranberry Balsamic Pork

Eat at Home did it again. Her Ingredient Spotlight is cranberries today, which really gets my mouth watering. There are so many things you can do with cranberries--I think it's the tartness that gives them that flexibility. Basic cranberry sauce is almost my favorite part of Thanksgiving (nothing beats my stepmom's stuffing), but the following recipe is the one I pull out when company is coming over. Simple, delicious, impressive.

Cranberry Balsamic Pork

• 1 1/2 tablespoons butter
• 4 - 6 center cut, boneless pork chops
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup canned whole berry cranberry sauce
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Melt butter in a heavy skillet. Salt & pepper chops.  Saute until just brown on both sides. You don't want them cooked all the way through, or they'll be tough by the time you're done. Remove from pan. Add onion & rosemary. Saute until translucent. Add broth, cranberries, and vinegar. Add pork back to the pan and cook on medium until done to your liking. Serve with rice, noodles, potatoes, or--our favorite!--spätzle.

Winter Exercise

I'm still walking outside--the weather is actually pretty nice in the afternoons. But like I've said before, "Winter is Coming." If there is any ice or snow on the ground, I won't be exercising outside.

Then what DO I do? I can think of a couple options.

• Option 1: no exercise.

• Option 1: gym membership. I saw a Planet Fitness billboard advertising $10/month. No bells & whistles with that, and I can only use the one facility where I sign up. That's not a deterrent to me. Having to drive 20 minutes to the nearest one so that I can exercise is a deterrent. However, if they're open early, I could return to my "exercise before everyone else wakes up" routine. I don't know how busy they'd be at that time, though. 
• There is an added bonus here of weight machines. Cardio is good, but I'd like to build some muscle as well.

• Option 2:  videos/Wii Fit games. There are a million of these available. Zumba, Gold's Gym, Insanity, TurboFire, Exerbeat, Just Dance . . . I have no idea which would work for me. I wouldn't have to drive to exercise, but I don't think I'd use them while everyone else is asleep. Many of them incorporate weight training using your own body weight, which I theoretically like, but I'm not sure how well it would work in practice.
• A benefit here is that you pay once and that's it. You can even borrow from the library. Yeah, I did that. Twice. I checked out two different fitness DVDs, and never put them in the player once.
• A big drawback is that I'm fairly uncoordinated. Yeah, I know, big surprise. Shut up. But I always hated aerobics, because following the actions was annoying.

At this point, I'm leaning toward the gym. It's a little more expensive, and I'd have to leave the house. But I know me, and I think I'd use that option more than the other.

#1 Thing I'm Thankful For: that my immediate family is healthy, and that my parents are both doing better. My mom is doing pretty well with chemo, and my Dad will hopefully be released from the rehab facility soon.

#2 Thing I'm Thankful For: Microwave Rice Packs. A minute and a half in the microwave, and I have deliciously warm feet when I get into bed instead of misery.

Like the white socks?

Both girls went out with separate sets of friends and had a good time. We got surprisingly few trick-or-treaters, especially considering that our neighbors said they saw a good 200 kids. The only thing I can think of is that we had a green light bulb in the porch light. It was kind of dim (and quite spooky), but I didn't think it was so dark that people would think we weren't handing out candy.

So we still have some candy left. Both girls made out like bandits, so there is tons of temptation around here. My plan is to limit myself to one piece per day. Most fun-size bars have fewer than 100 calories, so I can work that. I'm looking at a really substantial loss this week, and I'd like to not sabotage that.

October Stats

Total Hours Exercised: 18.5
Total Miles: 61.57
Average Speed: 3.37

I walked every day through the 17th. In the second half of the month, I only got six walks in.

It's supposed to be reasonably nice weather this week, so I'm going to make a concerted effort to get a big walk in every day. I can't walk on my break this Thursday, even if the weather is nice--need to hit a library in the vicinity--so that will be the biggest challenge.

Costumes

In past years, I've usually made costumes:  princesses (three years in a row for Lauren when she was little), Asian outfits, a cheerleader. Some years I've assembled costumes: hippie chick, biker girl, witch.

I've only flat out bought a costume once--when Sarah wanted to be Violet from The Incredibles. I knew I couldn't make that, and was happy to shell out the $30. In spite of the thin fabric, I was pretty happy with that one--she also got shiny boot covers, gloves and a mask.

This year, Sarah wants to be a Scream ghost and Lauren wants to be Darth Vader. (Someone told them that you always dress as your alter ego for Halloween--verrrrrrrrrrrrry interesting, no?)  I was perfectly willing to buy masks for them, but balked at spending $30 for a full Vader outfit for Lauren. Cheap fabric, so you'll freeze without a coat, and it's ridiculous.to spend that much when I can whip something together from sweatshirt material.

That was a week ago. Since then, I've had a bunch of classes, tried to get as much schoolwork with the kids done as possible, tried to walk when I can, tried to stay on top of the housework, and generally tried to keep up with my life.

Last night, I gave in. We went to Party City and I paid $20 for a costume, with breathing device but no light saber.That was an extra $10, and I might pick one up today, just because. I mean, what's a Sith Lord without his light saber?

Qdoba

Last night, after I got home from work (to a spotless kitchen again!) I was standing in the kitchen, trying to figure out what I would make for dinner tonight. We have lots of food available (tilapia, shrimp, kielbasa, pork chops, chicken), but nothing was jumping out at me. It didn't help that I knew today would be a busy day. I have an afternoon class and an evening class, and Jeff (who took the day off) is at the zoo with the girls for a Web of Life class. I also have a chicken in the crockpot, which will be dismembered and turned into stock. I also have to get ready for candy & nut sales through Girl Scouts.

So I was standing there with no idea what to make. Me:  "What do you want for dinner tomorrow night?"  Jeff:  "BK." Well, yeah, that was a stupid question. He always wants BK. "If we go out for dinner, you'll take lunch to the zoo instead of getting something there, right?"  "Of course."  Hm. That still doesn't help me with the calorie/fat/carb/salt issue I have at BK.

Inspiration struck:  "How about Qdoba?" "OK."

I only discovered Qdoba this year. But in the world of fast food, it's a total winner for me these days. I can get a Naked Taco Salad with chicken or pulled pork and black beans (I am skipping the cheese today, but I seriously don't miss it) for under 400 calories. 29 grams of protein and 17 grams of fiber is icing on the cake. (hmmmm--there's carrot cake left in the kitchen right now  . . .) Yes, the salt is still ridiculously high. But that is the case at every take out place I've seen, so I'll do my best to mitigate it by drinking extra water today. The goal is 8 ounces every hour, except when I'm in class.

Now that I don't have to think about food anymore today, I can get on with the rest of the craziness of my life.

Week 38

.37% loss this week.  That's not a big loss. Not even half of what I gained last week. But it is a loss, and I do feel like I'm back on track. I've had a harder time lately getting walks in. Not necessarily because of the weather, but because of my schedule. Not walking has the one-two punch of "no exercise" + "no stress relief."

Today presents a good opportunity. I'm dropping the kids off at a friend's house relatively early for some pre-Halloween fun, then have classes at the co-op with the break in the middle. Instead of walking during break, I think I'll try for a big walk before I go. I should have just enough time to get home, work up a good sweat, shower, eat lunch, pack dinner (leftover beef barley soup & bread) and get out the door.

Versatile

Eat at Home's Ingredient Spotlight today is tortillas, which got me thinking. I always have tortillas in the house, even though I don't eat them myself that often. I'm not low-carbing per se, but I do keep an eye on calories, and carbs can add up fast.

One thing both kids love to do for their own lunches is quesadillas. True, Lauren did have to learn that you only need one slice of cheese, not three, but now she does a great job. And yes, they use cheese slices--another food I don't care for myself, but it works for them.

Breakfast burritos are another quick, versatile breakfast item. I especially like them for Jeff, who can eat them on his way to work. It's warm, filling, and didn't come from a drive-thru window. One scrambled egg, a little ham or bacon and some cheese, wrap it up and he's good to go.

My favorite thing to do with tortillas is baking them into chips. Cut 'em up, hit with cooking spray, throw in the oven on 350. Keep an eye on them, because you know they'll burn in a heartbeat. Eat with refried beans, topped with sauteed mushrooms, onions, peppers, zucchini, & corn, with cheese sprinkled on top and then topped with salsa.  Or, you know, just salsa.

Zucchini Fries

I don't know where I saw the idea for zucchini fries, but it sounded good, and we have some zucchini to use up. I didn't have the dry bread crumbs that the recipe called for, so I toasted and pulverized some wheat bread. I think next time I'll wait until I have actual dry crumbs, or take the time to dry the fresh crumbs in the oven. My crumbs were too soft and didn't stick well. I ended up sprinkling the extra over the top.

I cut up a pound of zucchini, dipped the pieces in one egg beaten with a little water, then breaded them with the crumbs from two slices of wheat bread mixed with a quarter cup Parmesan cheese. I put them on a baking dish and baked at 450 degrees for about 20 minutes. When it came out of the oven, it was even more obvious that the fresh bread crumbs were a bad choice. They got a little over brown in places. Still, I ate them up (about half the pan) and enjoyed them.  You get a substantial amount of food for not a lot of calories, and that does count for something in my book.

Carrot Cake

I was all set to make Cook's Illustrated Best Light Recipe Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. But first, we had to get parchment paper.

While at the store, I saw ready made carrot cakes in the cooler. For fun, I checked the calories.  600 per slice. I laughed and walked on.

While searching for the parchment paper, I saw a box of Duncan Hines Decadent Carrot Cake mix, and decided to see what the calories on that looked like, too.  260 for a prepared slice.  Well!  That was even less than the CI version. Note: the CI version calls for a 9x13 pan to be divided into 16 pieces. I'm sorry, but less than 12th of a pan that size just isn't a serving. So in the interest of speed and ease (no carrots to grate!), I got the box mix.

I drew the line at canned frosting, though. We got some lower fat Neufchatel cheese and powdered sugar.

The cake is in the oven now. Once it cools, we'll go for a walk. Once we're back, we'll frost it. Once I get home from work around 7, we'll have dessert. It still clocks in at close to 400 calories per slice, but I'm ok with that.

By the way, how crazy is it that I wish I had a bike these days?  Pretty crazy, right?  Right! But it's such a nice day, and riding bikes up to the library sounds wonderful.

Apple Experiment #2

This time, I used phyllo. It turned out ok (a little soggy), but I know I can do better. For one thing, the filling was too wet, and the apple pieces were too large. Next time, I will cut the dough into four strips instead of three, and make filling from smaller pieces of apples with no peel that were cooked for a shorter period of time. I will also sprinkle the dough with ground almonds (or maybe dry bread crumbs) before folding. I had considered including brie or even bacon in the filling, and will revisit that in the future.

As it was, I got 14 votes (only voted for myself once)--third place got 17 votes, so I'm pretty happy with my experiment.

Where to Begin?

After yet another day of lousy choices (potlucks are not my friend; that's all there is to it), I have new resolve today.

Yesterday, I told my family that I needed help in the kitchen. I'm trying to make sure the kitchen is clean every night--no dishes left in the sink, etc. But I'm also working a lot more nights lately. I said, "On nights I get home after 8PM, I'd really appreciate it if the kitchen were clean when I got home." That night, I walked in the side door to a running dishwasher and spotless counters & sink. A small thing for some, but a big deal for me.

In that spirit, I'm trying to get more accomplished today. Unfortunately, the clutter has permeated every part of my house. Do I work on my bedroom first, or tackle the basement? I'd like to clean out and donate a lot of stuff from closets & cupboards. There's also laundry, grocery shopping, cooking, and other regular stuff. And I will get a walk today, even though it's pretty cold out.

Guess I better get off the computer. Will report tomorrow how it went.

Apple Experiment

This weekend is Apple Fest at our church. Among other things, we're having an apple bake-off. There are a LOT of good bakers at my church, so I wanted to do something a little different than a regular apple pie or apple cake. When I was in 7th grade, I learned to make pie pastry, and was pretty good at it. Lately, I've been having issues with pie pastry. It's gotten to be more difficult to deal with, and I don't know why. Instead, I decided to use the dough recipe that goes with the Pecan Tartlets I make every year at Christmas. This dough uses butter, cream cheese, and flour. It's very simple, delicious, and flaky, at least in the form of mini tarts.

Today, we're going to another Renaissance Day field trip (like this one), and I decided to give my experiment a trial run before the bake-off. The basic procedure is easy: mix the dough, roll out, cut out rounds, fill with a little applesauce, fold over, pinch closed, brush with egg wash, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, bake at 350 degrees. Easy, right?

I made up the dough, and realized that it doesn't roll out as well as traditional pie dough. It's very tender & delicate, and tended to fall apart on me. Also, I was using a very chunky applesauce for the filling, and some of the chunks were too large. I got one round on the Silpat and in the oven and was pretty frustrated. While they cooked, I rolled and cut out the rest of the dough, but didn't fill them right away. Maybe the waiting made the difference. Maybe I rolled the dough out thicker. I don't know what it was, but the second batch was much sturdier than the first. Also, after brushing with the egg wash, I dunked the top side in the cinnamon sugar before sprinkling more on once they were on the Silpat. Much better coverage!

It's not hard to tell which ones were from the second half.

At any rate, I think they all taste fine, but I have a confession: I'm tired. I've been working more lately, and more in the evenings. I don't feel like making finicky dough again. So for Sunday's entry, I'm going to buy some puff pastry and use that instead. It'll probably taste even better, and I know it'll be easier. More pictures to come!

Week 37

.9% gain this week. Not unexpected, not upsetting. Considering the past week, it's not even excessive.

Yesterday did not go as planned. While out running errands with the kids, my brake line suddenly ruptured. I've never had that happen before, but when the brakes suddenly go all the way to the floor and the car barely slows, you know something's wrong. Luckily, this did not happen on the freeway or on a busy street or even in my driveway. No, it happened in one of the few places where I could think, "OK, if I go through this neighborhood, the mechanic is only a mile away." Any of those other options could have included a very nasty accident or at the very least a tow truck. And since the mechanic knows that the car only has to make it through one more winter, they did the minimum safe fix, so the repair was only $225 instead of more than $500.

But it was still a pretty stressful afternoon. We were there for several hours; I had to cancel one class. I couldn't get out to walk because of the rain. When I got home, I skipped the dinner I had planned and ate a lot of I-don't-know-what until I left for the other class. When I got home, I ate some more, soundly breaking my "no eating late at night rule." I didn't ask Jeff to go out for BK (though I thought about it), so that's a small victory, right?

So today is a new day. I know this gain will come back off again. Maybe not by next week, but it will come off. I've got a good, substantial breakfast and lunch planned, and dinner will be the healthy stuff I had planned for yesterday. If it doesn't rain, I'll get a quick walk during break at co-op.

Retro Night

Last night was a throwback to the 70's at our house. I'd planned to make grilled pork chops, which is pretty standard around here. Jeff mentioned how much he loved it when his mom made pork chops smothered in cream of mushroom soup when he was a kid. I reminded him that I'm always looking for suggestions and requests on what to make for dinner. "Yeah, with mashed potatoes." I wasn't planning to make it until next week (this kind of recipe wants bone in chops, and boneless are all I have in the freezer), but since we were at Meijer yesterday anyway, I got the meat & soup.

It really is super easy to make:  brown the chops, add the soup and a can of milk, and let simmer for a few hours. The meat ended up being tender and delicious, although the pan I used was a little too small and they couldn't lay flat the whole time. Mashed potatoes, salad and roasted butternut squash rounded things out.

Jeff & Lauren loved it. Sarah didn't like it at all. I thought it was tasty, but I know the fat & sodium made it a poor choice.

As a matter of fact, I've had a lot of poor food choices this week. I had Middle Eastern food Friday night, pizza Saturday, and Burger King for breakfast Sunday. Then last night. None of those days was off the charts terrible. But in combination, as a trend, it's bad news.

Today's plan is simple:  oatmeal & applesauce with a glass of milk for breakfast (done), leftover jambalaya for lunch, and food that I can eat in the car between classes for dinner. No, not drive-thru. An apple, string cheese, almonds, and a Skinny Cow chocolate bar.

Tomorrow's weigh in won't be pretty, but it's not going to bother me, because I know I'm back on track. It is eye-opening to see how quick and easy it is to veer off course, though.

Ellie Krieger Jambalaya

Jambalaya with Shrimp and Ham

NOMNOMNOMNOMNOM.  Wow, this was so good. I changed the recipe only a little, in that we all despise green peppers, so I used a yellow one instead. I also used a little less (red) onion than called for, because I already had some cut up.

This recipe has a few big factors in its favor besides being delicious:  it's super easy and you get a ton of food for the calories (2 cups for 440 cal). One of the drawbacks is the shrimp. Let's face it--shell on shrimp, though cheaper than peeled, is a pain. Peeling a pound of it (glad I didn't have to devein it as well!) took the longest part of the whole thing.

How did the rest of the family like it? They enjoyed it, but not to the extent that I did. Sarah said, "isn't Jambalaya supposed to start with sausage?" She really doesn't care for ham, but it wasn't a huge part of the dish anyway. I told her that next time, I'd make some sausage to add to everyone's portion (not mine--I really don't think it needs sausage). No one else had more than half a serving, which means that there is 1½  servings left. That's one lunch and one work-night dinner for me!

I will definitely make this again, but it won't go into heavy rotation because of family apathy.

The Apple Report

I'm pleased to report good progress on the apples. I've made:

• three batches of crockpot applesauce--this is an absolutely stellar way to use up apples.  Four pounds of cut up, partially peeled apples, a quarter cup of sugar, some cinnamon, and a couple ounces of water. Let it go on low for several hours, stirring occasionally. I got about six cups of finished applesauce. This last batch I left a little chunkier than the previous two for a special purpose. More about that later this week. 
• one batch of roasted apple butter--seven cut up, thoroughly peeled apples and a cup and a half of unsweetened apple juice. Roast at 450 degrees for half an hour. Mash the apples and continue to roast at 350 degrees until thick and brown, stirring occasionally. This is not something I'll be doing again. For one thing, leaving my oven on for hours is not something I like to do often. Also, it made a huge mess of the pan. As the apples reduce, they take up less space, so the little bits left on the sides of the pan get VERY black. The pan is soaking in the sink, and I know it'll come clean, but it's a definite negative aspect. Sarah had the apple butter on her toast this morning, and did like it, but it seemed like a lot of work for not a lot of product (direct opposite of the crockpot applesauce). 
• one apple crisp--about three cups of cut up, peeled apples, 1/4 cup sugar, and a dash of cinnamon in a baking dish.  Mix 3/4 cup each of flour and oatmeal with 1/3 cup of brown sugar, then cut in half a cup of cold butter, cut into pieces. Sprinkle over the top of the apples and bake at 350 degrees for 30 - 40 minutes. Delicious, but the calorie count is a little high.
• we've all been eating raw apples quite a bit. I'd say I have one on most days.. Can't beat that!

 We still have a fair number of apples left, but they're the smaller ones. If I have to peel apples, I'd rather do 10 big ones than 20 small ones. I think for our last production, I'll get out the hand crank peeler, since I want uniformly peeled and sliced pieces. Someone mentioned on a previous post "cake in a jar." My mom has done that in the past, and really liked the results. We have an apple cake recipe from my grandma that we really like. Sarah & I dug out all my canning jars this morning. I have about six wide mouth pint jars, and about 600 (or so it seems) wide mouth half-pint jars. I need to buy more lids, and we'll give it a go tonight or (more likely) tomorrow. I'm hoping they turn out well enough to give as part of Christmas goodie packs.

I did have to throw four or five apples away (a couple felt like grenades, ready to explode and barely held together by their skins. Gross). I also had to cut away some bruises, but for the most part, there's been fairly little waste from this year's orchard trip.

Back to It

After yesterday's grueling 5 miles, I was back to the same old route today, 3.36 miles long. I was thinking about the CropWalk next spring. This year, I did the 2.2 mile with Lauren, and at the time, I said I wanted to do the 10K in 2012. Dude, 10K is over 6 miles. There's no way I could do that, even if I walked it the whole way.

I need to step it up. I know that by adding a certain street, I'll take that basic walk up to 3.78 miles. So while I can, I'm going to do that. That's not a big jump, so I'll take it up a little more than that next month.

I still don't know what I'm going to do once it snows & gets icy.

Done

I did it.

I saw pink t-shirts, pink hoodies, and pink hats. I saw pink wigs, pink feather boas, and pink hair ribbons.  I even saw two women wearing pink bras attached to their sun visors.

I walked five miles in the Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk down on Belle Isle this morning. Actually, between walking to & from the bus, and walking around the parking structure looking for my car (hint:  always take the same entrance when coming back to the building, even if it's farther away--taking the one on the opposite corner leads to frustration), I'm pretty sure I got a good 5.5 miles in. I have no idea how long it took.  More than an hour and a half; less than two hours.

It rained a little bit, but never very hard. The wind was more of an issue for me--for a fair bit of the last mile and a half, I had my hands over my ears. Moral of the story? Wear a scarf, a hat, earmuffs, something!

Next year, I want to be in good enough shape to do the whole thing without feeling like I'm trudging the last half. And I'll bring my iPod.

Right now, I need hot food, a hot shower, and a nap.

Sizes

Clothing sizes mystify me.

My mom ordered a skirt for me online.We looked at the sizing chart, and based on my measurements, we chose a 26. I really had my doubts about that number, but hey--we're following the sizing chart, so it should be right, right?  Uh, no. I got into the store, tried it on, and it was practically falling off. I got a 24 of the same style off the rack--also rather too big. I got a 22 of a slightly different style, liked it, got it. It fits quite well through the hips, but a belt is helpful because the waist is a little big.

I was very happy several weeks ago to fit into a pair of size 24 jeans. I had a pair of 22's and a couple pair of size 18 pants that I love waiting in the wings.I was cleaning out the closet yesterday and decided it had been long enough since I last tried them on, and to see how close I was. Frankly, I didn't expect much, because the 24's aren't loose at all.  The jeans went on, zipped, and buttoned, to my suprise. Still not comfortable enough to wear, but that day is closer than I realized.

What the heck, I thought. I might as well try the pants on, too, even though I KNOW I won't be able to fasten those up.  Ha--wrong again!  And again, way to tight to wear or even sit down in, but by Thanksgiving, they might be comfortable. I really thought I'd need to be at least ten pounds less before I could even get them zipped, so this is a pleasant surprise. 

Shirts are just as bad. I generally get loose, t-shirty type tops.  The last one I got (with the skirt) was a 1X. This is very good, because I have a bunch of 1X shirts I like waiting for me as well.  But then Jeff brought me home a Breast Cancer Awareness T-shirt from work. It's a 2XL, and it's fairly snug across the chest. I've only worn it a couple times, and generally just around the house. I also have a button down 3X shirt from Old Navy that fits but is also a little snug, even though there's some Spandex in it.

I know the answer to this apparent mystery:  "You can't go by the number. Styles differ.  Manufacturers differ. You HAVE to try clothes on to see if they'll fit."  It may be a pain, but it's kind of a nice problem to have again.

Week 36

1.57% down this week.  Average over four weeks is .77%.

HA.  So there. (directed at myself only)

Yeah, I talked the good talk last week about "maybe it's just slowing down, and that's fine," and that was the truth. If I slowed down to half a pound a week, I'd wish it was faster, but at least I'd still be losing. But I really didn't think it was a permanent thing. 

What did I do differently this week than the past few weeks? I didn't binge, for one thing.  Amazing what a difference that can make.  Or, if I did binge, I kept a pretty tight rein on it.  Also, I walked every day.  In fact, I've walked every day this month; today is supposed to be rainy, so we'll see if I can get an outdoor walk. My average walk this week was 38 minutes. Yesterday and Tuesday I made sure to get around an hour.  I like the half hour evening walks with Jeff (and those are at a faster rate, as well), but I think I need a full hour's worth of walking to really make it count.

Unexpected Reward

Since I fell, I haven't been back on my regular route.  I've gotten good walks in, but haven't crossed that big street.  Yesterday, I had a big block of kid-free time in the middle of the day, so I decided that it was time to get back to that. Crossing the street was no problem.  I did make a point of scanning the road before I got off the sidewalk, of course.  In fact, I realized that I look at the ground a lot more than I used to a couple months ago.

About a quarter of the way through, I remembered why I always liked walking early in the morning.  It wasn't a hot day, but the sun was definitely getting toasty, and there is no shade at all for a fair bit of that route.  Still, I soldiered on, and was pleased with myself when I hit the stop sign, just like I used to.  Coming back, I could tell I was going more slowly--even my music didn't put a lot of oomph in my step.

Then I saw it.  In the middle of the road, this beautiful chalk design.

It's hard to read, but all around the perimeter is "GO LIONS GO TIGERS"

It was a great pick me up, so when it was time to pick up the kids, I drove back along that road and stopped to take a picture.  I just wish I'd seen it before it started to smear, and that I'd had a ladder to get a better picture.  I have no idea who drew it, and no way to let them know how much I enjoyed it (unless I take some chalk of my own).

I love it when I get little bonus perks.

Apple Overload

When we went to the orchard a week ago, I paid for two half-bushel bags.  In previous years, I'd had trouble getting through just one half-bushel bag, so I don't know what possessed me this year. After a week of eating apples but no time to bake, here's what we had left.
 
Yep, barely made a dent.  So Sunday night I made crockpot applesauce.  We had it on pancakes for breakfast yesterday and it was fabulous. But it only took ten apples. Last night I made an apple crisp, which was heaven.  Seriously, it was all I could do not to polish off what was left in the dish. But it only used four apples.

Do you see where I'm going with this?  I'm going to have some serious difficulty here using up all these apples.  Yes, there's my grandma's apple cake recipe. I think I'm going to freeze or can some applesauce. I'd like to make some little apple hand pies. I was also thinking of apple chips/dried apples. Oh, and some of that applesauce can be reduced down to apple butter. 

Today is the best day for me to get anything accomplished, but of course there are several other things that need my attention as well, so we'll see how much actually gets done.

Apple Crisp
4 medium apples, big chopped
shake of cinnamon
1/4 cup white sugar
Mix and put in baking dish.
1/2 c old fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
few shakes of cinnamon
Mix oats, flour, cinnamon & sugar.  Add butter and mix in until crumbly.  Sprinkle over apples.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 - 40 minutes.  Eat while warm, preferably with vanilla ice cream. (I also chopped up about a tablespoon of candied ginger to add to the apples.  Love that little hit of spice!)
Serves six.  Per portion: calories: 325, carbs 47, fat 16, protein 2, fiber 4

Yeah, it's not health food.  But it's a really delicious treat!

Tropical Tilapia

Last night for dinner I made Tropical Tilapia from the Eat at Home blog (love that place!). Lauren, of course, immediately started in on how she hates fish, but even she liked it well enough. No, it's the the dish that turned everyone around on fish, but it was pretty good, and I'll likely make it again.

I didn't make the rice with coconut milk, but I did toast a little coconut to sprinkle over the top.  That seemed to be everyone's favorite part. The salsa was also quite popular. The fish itself was good, but I think I used a little too much salt when seasoning it.  It really didn't need any, since I was using (low sodium) soy sauce. There is a little left over, which I'll heat up for my lunch probably tomorrow.

Tonight's dinner:  crustless quiche (either ground beef & zucchini or bacon & spinach), salad, and apple crisp for dessert. Need to pick up some ice cream, too! 

So Close

I like living in Michigan. I like being close to family.  I like the resources and opportunities we have here.  I even like the scenery once you get out of the city.

But I miss Idaho fiercely sometimes. I miss mountains. We generally go to Florida for vacations, so that we can see grandparents, and because it's a pretty frugal deal. Idaho would be much more expensive. The gas to get there. Three days drive instead of two each way, so an extra motel stay on the road each way.  All the things we'd want to do and see (Yellowstone, Craters of the Moon, Wood River Valley, Stanley Basin/the Diamond D, the few friends I still have that live there) would really add up, partly because they're all pretty far away from each other.  You can't really pick one place and do day trips and really do them justice. Lodging is also an issue.  Although I know one friend has offered to put us up, that's just one friend. We're talking several thousand dollars for a trip to Idaho.

Also, Jeff wants to be able to go to a major league baseball game no matter where we go.  Seattle is the closest to Idaho, although Denver is "on the way" (not really).

Denver, though.  Denver is a solid two day drive, so cheaper right off the bat.  It's on the edge of the mountains. There are a lot of old West historical opportunities, as well as Rocky Mountain National Forest. Another one of my friends lives there.

When I mentioned we were thinking about Denver to my Dad, he immediately started, "Well, then you head up to Cheyenne, and it's not too far from there to Rushmore and the Badlands, and just a hop, skip, and a jump from there to Yellowstone."  When I brought up the lodging issue, he promptly suggested we get a tent. Yeah, that's not happening. 

So it looks like I'll finally get to show my family what real mountains look like.  Just not quite the ones I was hoping for. For now, I'll take it.

Must See TV

There have only been a few shows that have earned my slavish devotion. 

The first was Northern Exposure.  Quirky, great characters, went disappointingly downhill after the male lead left. My favorite episodes were the one where Joel goes back to New York and where Shelly has her baby (the whole thing about seeing her daughter at various ages in the laundromat was awesome). Least favorite episode was where Joel & Maggie were stuck on a plane to Russia, constantly bickering, and he ended up proposing.  Terrible!

The next was X-files.  This is the one that really topped them all. I wouldn't leave the house on Friday nights, even after Jeff got me my first VCR so I could record it. I always made a huge amount of food and friends would come over to watch.  Sometimes there would only be one or two others, sometimes over half a dozen. Favorite episodes:  Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose and Jose Chung's From Outer Space. Least favorites:  Space and anything from the mytharc (which got so convoluted toward the end). Another show that tried to continue after the loss of the male lead but couldn't.

Then came Lost. The first season of Lost was blow-my-mind-amazing. It also went downhill, and by the end was more frustrating than fulfilling.

The show that I'm most excited to watch now is Fringe.  I have to admit, I wasn't keen to watch it at first.  "It's just another X-files rip off."  Jeff is the one who convinced me to try it, and I thank him weekly for that. And there are certainly similarities, at least on the surface.  There are many episodes that nominally sound like old X-files--even last night's "fungus that kills its host" reminded me of Firewalker. But no matter how much Fringe might start out by sounding like an X-file, it always ends up in a radically different direction. Again, the characters are wonderful.  Olivia and Peter may be the main focus, but Walter is the one who really makes the whole thing work.  John Noble is amazing.  I don't have most or least favorite episodes so far, although I did think the rotoscoped episode last season was clever and interesting. Also, Fringe hasn't started strong and gotten weaker.  If anything, I think it's as good as it's ever been, and I'm always looking forward to where they'll go next.

Plans

It's supposed to be nice this weekend.  Like, upper 70's nice.  I won't know what to do with myself!  Well, there is stuff to be done.  Work, grocery shopping, and I'm going to pick up a skirt my mom ordered for me.  I hope it actually fits.  Even if it doesn't, I'm going to get something new, preferably that I can wear to work/church.

Sarah is loving riding her bike these days, and keeps telling me I need a bike so we can ride together.  Yeah, she doesn't really know my history with bikes . . . Still, it sounds very appealing.

I also have a bushel of apples to deal with.  Two years ago, we got a half a bushel, and lost some to spoilage because we didn't eat them all.  That will not happen this year.  Even though it won't be chilly this weekend, I'm going to spend a lot of time in the kitchen, making applesauce and apple butter, and maybe a pie.  Ohhh--hand pies with the chunky applesauce filling!  Then I can freeze them.  For future reference, Idared apples are amazing.  The Golden Delicious were good, too.  The Northern Spy, Empire, Mutsu, and Jonagold were all disappointing, at least on this past trip.

Week 35

.72% lost this week.  Still not hitting my 1% goal.  My four week floating average is .6%.  Maybe I am finally slowing down on my rate of weight loss.  We'll see.  If that's the case, then that's ok, too.  If it takes longer, then it takes longer.  It's not like it's going to make a huge difference in 10 years if it took me 18 months or 24 months to get to my ultimate goal.  Or 36 months, for that matter. What I do care about here is making as many good choices as I can and moving forward.

Just keep swimming!

I'm also a little extra zen about this smaller-than-expected loss, because I finally broke the 100 pound mark.  I've been dancing around it for almost a month now, and that has been frustrating. So now that I've gotten through that, I'm feeling a little revitalized and better about how I'm doing.

I have to admit, I'm jonesing for McDonald's today, knowing that I'll have an hour and a half break and there's one near where I'll be.  I've got my standard plan of making dinner and going for a walk during that break.  But I want a Big Mac and a big fries and a big Coke.

Walking Works

Before I left to take Sarah to Scouts, I was a mess.  A dozen things running through my head, realizations of how unprepared I am for multiple things, etc. I came home and got a half hour walk in.  Nothing has changed, except that I really think I can avoid eating the entire contents of the refrigerator now.

I'm going to make some soup and get ready for my classes.

Tooooooooooooooooo Much

Too much to do. Girl Scouts, Fall Product Sales, food, house, school, work, exercise.  Christmas is coming.

Lentil Soup and Corndog Poppers

When we were at the Renaissance Festival, the kids got corn dogs.  I love corn dogs when they're fresh hot & crispy from the fryer.  When I thought about Lentil Soup, of course I tried to think of an "incentive" to go with it. Mini cornbread muffins sounded good, and I decided to put a slice of hot dog in the middle for fun.  It was a big hit, but not without its flaws. For one thing, the hot dog being in just one slice meant that when you take a bite, the whole bit of hot dog comes out.  I think it would have worked better (but not the same effect) if I'd chopped them up into the batter. 

While I was making the soup, though, I had an even better idea.  I started with some bacon, and as I was taking it out of the pan, was struck with the thought that bacon in cornbread muffins would be insanely delicious.  I almost scrapped the entire hot dog aspect right there, but the bacon was destined for the soup.  Next time, though.

The soup itself was good, but (as usual) I liked it better than anyone else and will happily be eating the leftovers for lunches this week.

Lentil Soup
4 slices bacon, cut up
1/2 cup diced onion
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 cup sliced carrots
1/2 cup diced celery
1 cup beef broth (all I had left)
3 cups water (should have been 5 cups in order to be "soupier")
2 teaspoons Vegetable Better Than Bullion
1 1/2 cup dry lentils
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried thyme
salt & pepper to taste

Start by frying the bacon--use a big stock pot.  When it's cooked, remove it from the pan and set aside.  Add the rest of the ingredients.  Bring to a boil, then reduce and let simmer for about 45 minutes. Makes 6 servings, 1 cup each (if I'd used more water, I could have had it for 8 servings, still a cup each and it would have been more like a soup than a stew). 190 calories, 26 carbs, 7 g fat, 18 g protein, 12 g fiber, 4 g sugar.

A Study in Contrasts

The Easiest Way to Make Pumpkin Pancakes:
Have your 12-year-old whip up your mom's pancake recipe, then shoo her out of the kitchen.  Add a half a cup of canned pumpkin, a couple shakes of cinnamon, ginger, cloves & nutmeg.  Throw in a tablespoon of brown sugar for fun.  Cook and serve pancakes to happy kids.

The Most Frustrating Way to Make Pumpkin Oatmeal:
Have your husband ask what time you're going to the mechanic for your overdue oil change.  Begin to curse, realizing you meant to leave half an hour earlier.  Get dressed, get gas, get scolded by mechanic for not realizing you were two quarts low, go for a walk while waiting, come home.  Cook 1/2 cup oatmeal with milk, water, 1/4 cup canned pumpkin, and a couple shakes of cinnamon, etc.  Eat with a fork because you didn't run the dishwasher last night.  Realize you should have used more pumpkin, and maybe left the milk out. Look forward to lunch in two hours.

Walking vs. Jogging

As a rule, I like walking and don't see a need to move up to running or even jogging. Occasionally, I'll jog for a little bit between bouts of walking.  I've thought about trying a Couch to 5K program. But for me, speed doesn't seem to make as much a difference as time.  How long I spend is more of a factor than how fast I go.

Today, I did a little experiment. I compared today's walk with yesterday's walk/jog.
Yesterday:  49 minutes, 2.88 miles = 3.53 mph
Today: 51 minutes, 2.97 miles = 3.49 miles

Not a lot of difference there.  So does this mean that when I walk again after jogging a little, I slow down and end up compensating? Do I even need to care? I'm not planning on racing anytime soon.  And even when I do get to the 10K CropWalk next spring, I don't care if I come in dead last, as long as I finish.

For now, I'm not going to push myself too much.  I'm going to just work on getting out and walking (or whatever) for as long as I can until the weather stops me.

Mmmmmm

Holy cow; it's October.  Already.  It seems like summer's been gone forever already.  I'm hoping the weather improves a little, especially because we're going apple picking this week.

I do generally like fall.  Not only is it pretty, the cooler temps means soup and baking weather. We do lose those fabulous summer fruits, but I like different squashes as well.  I'm looking forward to doing more with pumpkin this year.

I know; pumpkin in October is cliched. But I've never done a lot with pumpkin beyond jack-o-lanterns.  One year, I did make a pumpkin pie from a pumpkin instead of a can.  It was a LOT more work, and it didn't seem to have any extra flavor. I think canned pumpkin is pretty straightforward. But this year, I'm going to give pumpkin another go.  I'll cook it in the crockpot instead of roasting it, though.  The kids love roasting the seeds, too.

I'd like to have bags of puree in the freezer, and I'm going to try making pumpkin butter.  As for what I'm going to do with it once I have this bounty, I have a few ideas (oatmeal, pancakes, muffins, soup, maybe polenta?), but not much beyond the basics.  Any suggestions?  I'd love to hear some favorite pumpkin recipes, either sweet or savory.

Decision

Well.  It seems I have a dilemma. I was all set to go to Wicked in December, but then found out that Sting will be in town November 6th.  I know I would enjoy either one. The tickets cost about the same amount (too expensive to do both, in other words). Jeff & I have seen Sting before, which doesn't make me want to see him again any less. Wicked has two songs that I already know I love, and the potential for more, plus a story.  Sting has a gazillion songs I already know I love.

I.
Don't.
Know.

Week 34

0.16% lost this week.  That's not a whole lot.  But it's lower than I was last week, and the lowest weight I've been in a long time. That brings my average over the past 4 weeks to 0.82%.

The past week had a lot going on.  We went to the Renaissance Festival on Friday (spinach pie and half an apple dumpling a la mode, but I dodged the Fish & Chips bullet, and declined the roasted almonds), which was a lot of fun.  The kids had never been, and really had a good time.

Saturday. we went up to my stepbrother & sister in law's annual potluck.  Ohhhh, deadly good stuff there.  The highlight for me is that he fries the best beer-battered fish & onion rings.

On Sunday, Jeff & I went out to breakfast. It wasn't as decadent as the previous week, but it was still a big breakfast (eggs, home fries, two sausage links, two strips of bacon, toast), and not the smartest choice after the previous two days.  If we go to the same diner again, I'll stick to oatmeal.

But the biggest factor wasn't any single event.  The battery on my food scale died over a week ago, and I just got a new one yesterday ($6 for one battery, ack).  I don't think I'm very good at guesstimating amounts yet, so having the scale back is helpful.

I'm not thrilled beyond words with my progress this week, but I am satisfied.  What if I don't hit that goal I set for myself?  Then I don't hit it, and keep going. The "keep going" part is more important to me than any one moment in time. 

Hair Results

It's pretty much just what I asked for, but also not quite what I expected. I'm used to it being shorter when I get it cut, but I do think this is a good length.  Also, I think my hair has gotten a little wavier over the past few years--the "poof" factor has increased.  We'll see what happens when I get the curling iron out and try big hair again!

In all I like it, but am still getting used to it.  I definitely think it's softer and less severe, which is a big improvement.

Tamale Pie

aka, Mexican Shepherd's Pie.

It didn't turn out quite the way I planned.  Yeah, like that's such an unusual occurrence in my life. I got home from my second visit to the mechanic of the day with barely an hour before I had to leave again for work. (I realized after I got home in the morning that none of the things the car had been in for were actually fixed.  When I called, he said, "But the headlights work!"  "The headlights always worked!!!" Yes, they took care of it.)

Jeff was lobbying for take out, but I wanted to get that ground beef cooked, and we've all been eating too much junk lately.  So I amended a few things for speed and ease.  I didn't put in any cheese.  I didn't shred any zucchini. I used fresh tomatoes instead of canned (yeah, ok, that didn't actually save time but it did use up some tomatoes that would have otherwise gone bad). I mashed up the beans so they wouldn't be as conspicuous and would help hold things together.  I used less sugar in the cornbread topping.

Here's the final result:

12 oz ground beef
1/2 an onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic,  minced
1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped
1 can black beans, drained, rinsed and mashed
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
ground cumin
1/2 cup beef broth
3 small roma tomatoes, chopped
1 cup of corn niblets
Your favorite cornbread recipe

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
2. Brown the ground beef.  Drain off the fat.  Add the onions, garlic & peppers.  Cook until softened.  Add beans, chipotle pepper and cumin to taste (chili powder would have been good here, duh).  Add beef broth (or water or other broth).  Remove from heat and stir in tomatoes & corn. 
3. Pour into casserole dish.  Mine was an oval about a foot long.
4. Make cornbread topping.  Use cornbread mix, or the recipe from the back of the canister, or your favorite recipe. Pour topping over the meat mixture.
5. Bake for 30 - 40 minutes, until top is nicely browned.

6 servings. 430 calories, 54 carbs, 16 g fat, 22g protein, 6 g fiber,11 g sugar per serving.

When I got home from work, Lauren met me at the door, raving about how good dinner was.  No one else mentioned it, so I know it was not a runaway hit.  What can I say?  Casseroles are always a hard sell around here.  I really liked it, and will have no problem eating it for lunches. 

Sugar

When I got my brace last week, the therapist mentioned that there are things I can do to heal faster/better.  Caffeine, alcohol and sugar all contribute to slower healing.  "Sugar?"  "Well, yeah, for diabetics." I'm not diabetic, but both my parents are, and I've heard several people talk about watching their sugar intake.

Although I don't always eat with health in mind, I do know how to balance things like calories, fat, fiber, protein, carbs, etc.  I have a pretty good idea of what a "healthy" day looks like.  At least, I thought I did.  Throwing sugar into the mix is a real challenge for me.  Never mind my affinity for the occasional dark chocolate bar; "hidden" sugar is killing me!

MFP's daily sugar recommendation for me is 27 g.  This morning, I had Cheerios with 2% milk and strawberries.  That's 15 g of sugar right there, most of it from the milk! 

I'm playing around with a Tamale Pie idea for dinner that will come to about 500 calories, 55 carbs, 20 g of fat, 27 g of protein, 5 g of fiber, and 15 g of sugar.  Not the greatest numbers; I'm going to keep tinkering with it to see if I can improve the fat and calories before I go to work. The sugars--ok, a lot of it comes from the white sugar in the cornbread recipe.  I got that off the back of the container, and I'll cut it by at least half. But the rest comes from the milk and the tomatoes.  Those are harder to cut out from this type of recipe. We'll see what I end up with an how everyone likes it.  I'll definitely post the results tomorrow.

Worrisome

A friend of mine runs a local Angel Food Ministries through her church.  Angel Food isn't charity, but it it dang inexpensive food.  I've gotten it a couple times, but not recently.  Though the price is really good, some of the food is processed, and there's more chicken than we usually need. Also, I've gotten pretty good at keeping our food budget low for the most part.  Still, it was nice to know it was there as an option for any lean months we might have.

Except it isn't there anymore.  My friend told me yesterday that AFM is closing, citing lack of funds. Her  husband is a manager of a local Kroger, and she said that she hopes they step up with some kind of similar offer.  Kind of a "savvy shopper" list.  It would be really smart of them, even just getting more people in their stores.

I do worry about how tough times are getting for so many people, especially when safety nets like this are disappearing. 

On a similar note, Sarah is participating in the Rock-a-thon at church this Friday night.  They're collecting non-perishable goods to donate the the Salvation Army. Her personal goal is 75 cans.  I told her I'd give her $20 and let her shop at Aldi to see what she can get, but that she needs to start hitting up the neighbors, too!

Tomorrow

Starts a new week.  A new, fresh start!  Very big plans, very much looking forward to it.

Renaissance Festival

Heh.  Today's food choices can best be described as excessive.  Not insane, but somewhat out of bounds.  Spinach pie and half an apple dumpling a la mode at the Fest.  I'm happy I didn't see the Fish & Chips vendor or the "Queen's Nuts" until after we ate.  They were opposite each other, so I dubbed it the "Alley of Good Smells." 

Kids had a great time, and we only got rained on a little at the very end.

We got pizza for dinner.  Hand tossed sausage & pepperoni has a lot more calories than thin crust veggie pizza--go figure! 

Week 33

0.63% loss this week.  My floating average over the past four weeks is 1.39% (had a huge loss 9/1, after some post-surgery water gain on 8/25).

This weekend is going to have some challenges for me.  Tomorrow, all of us are meeting a bunch of friends at the Renaissance Festival.  Woo hoo!  Kids have never been, and I've only been once.  I don't even know if Jeff has ever been. I got us some food coupons, because although I'd like to bring some fruit for us, I know we'll want to eat other stuff as well.  I'm pretty sure that there aren't many low cal options there. . . maybe all the walking will balance it out?

On Saturday, we're going to my stepbrother's place for their gigantic annual get together.  It's another potluck, with food I love that I don't typically make.  Less opportunity for walking there.  My strategy is to get one plate of food, with small amounts of the things I love, then find someone to talk to that is away from the food.  Out of sight, out of mind. I hope.

Today's plan: get ahead of the game.  Eat well, drink plenty of water, get a short Free Run on the Wii this morning, and walk during my break tonight.

The Next Step (marginally gross picture alert)

Yesterday, I got my cast off and got a brace.  It isn't nearly as pretty or interesting (it looks like I have carpal tunnel), but I'm glad to have it.

The surgeon said I'm "ahead of the game" and he's hoping I won't need physical therapy.  Whether I will or not will depend on how I do over the next three weeks.  I need to keep doing the "palm up" practice, but I also need to start "knocking on the door."  In other words, flex my wrist back and forth.  So far this isn't difficult--it's impossible.  And it's frustrating when I think I'm bending my wrist, then look down to see that it's still essentially flat. At any rate, I need to have the brace off three times a day, for about 10 or 15 minutes and work on those exercises as much as I can.

The surgeon did tell me that I flat out will not be able to move my wrist front to back as much as before. This morning, I realized that I should have asked why that is. Is it a factor of the plate itself, or just that the muscles & tendons won't be able to get back to that original point?

Now that the cast is off, I have an idea of what my scar will look like.  Really, it's not much.  Yeah, it seriously grossed the kids out last night, but in six months, I doubt it will be noticeable at all.  There was a lot of dry flaky skin that I thought was much more disgusting than the incision itself, and it looked worse from the compression of the brace than anything else.

It has been a little more painful without the cast.  There were a couple times yesterday that my wrist under my thumb gave me a sharp unexpected pain, and it was a little achy at night, but not too bad.  I've been able to ponytail my hair, but not really well, and the hard twisting motion needed for a bun is totally out of the question.  Luckily, I had a friend put it up for me this afternoon.  Since it's getting cut next week (the hair, that is), it hopefully won't be an issue after that.