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 Starting weight:  285.2
 Yesterday’s Calories/Carbs Goals (limits):   2314  / 40.0
 Yesterday’s Intake:  Calories & Net Carbs:   2049 /  37.3
 Yesterday’s Exercise:    40 minutes elliptical
 Weight Yesterday:: 241.0    Today:  241.0    bmi:  45.54
 Change today::  -+0.0 lbs.         Loss-so-far:   44.2 lbs.    
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GAWWD I’M IN A GOOD MOOD TODAY!!!  Today was payday, woohooo!  So I went shopping online this morning, that was fun.  Our family has a pull-a-name-out-of-the-hat gift exchange each year and of course I got someone out-of-town (my niece and her husband in Connecticut).  But nowadays it’s SO much easier because I can just order stuff online and have it delivered to the recipient! 

I also ordered something online that’s cool for my daughter - a microphone / karaoke system.  We saw this at the baby shower last month, one of the guests brought this microphone thingie that she just plugged into the TV and voila! - karaoke on the screen with the music and the singing coming out of the TV speakers.  My daughter thought this was so cool because the songs are programmed right into the microphone thing (it comes with a book showing the codes for over 1,000 songs).  They sell for $179 but I managed to find one online for $114.  Now if it’ll just get here in time (I paid $6 extra for 2-day shipping, which I thought was a really good deal).

Yesterday’s zig-zag target calorie amount was 2314.  Ha!  I didn’t make it again.  I was pleased to see that I didn’t gain any weight because of what felt like a massive eating-binge but rather I held to the exact same poundage as yesterday.  *Shrug*  Beats gaining.  It’ll be interesting to see what happens as time goes on.  Today’s target calorie amount is 1928.  It’s 4pm and I’m at only 683 calories and 8.7 carbs so far today.  I’m thinking it’s time for a snack, LOL.

If there are any low-carbers out there looking for snack-food, boy do I have an INCREDIBLE find for you!  Microwave Cheezits! It’s not my recipe (of course, lol!), I found it at Linda’s Low-Carb recipe site back in the summer.  I’ve been avoiding making these because of the calories - but now that I’ve upped my calorie limits I’m happy to add it back into my available choices.  They rock!  And are so easy to make, which is really good for Eileen-who-hates-to-cook!

MICROWAVE LOWCARB CHEEZITS

Ingredients:  Kraft Deli Deluxe American Cheese Slices
                   (This is the kind that comes in a stack - NOT individually wrapped)

Cut one square of cheese into 16 tiny squares. Arrange on a sheet of parchment paper in somewhat of a ring around the edges of the paper. Don’t place the cheese squares too close together or they’ll stick to each other. Don’t place any in the center of the paper or they will burn before the outer squares are done.

Carefully place the sheet of parchment on the tray of a microwave oven. Microwave on HIGH about 65 seconds, or until the crackers are well-browned, but not burnt. Watch closely and add more time if needed.

Remove the parchment from microwave and let the crackers cool slightly before removing them from the paper. Peel them off the paper and store in an airtight container. Repeat this process one cheese slice at a time. These will keep quite well in an air-tight container at room temperature for several days or longer.

Each slice of cheese makes 16 crackers
Can be frozen

Per Serving (16 crackers): 80 Calories; 7g Fat; 4g Protein; 0g Carbohydrate; 0g Fiber

You can also cut the slices of cheese into quarters for larger crackers.  Watch them closely as they cook because they tend to get dark faster than the tiny squares.

Ya gotta try these - you won’t believe how yummy they are!  And what a cool snack for kids (my assistant at work saw me make these and tried it at home with her 9yo who loved it).  For those who are watching their carbs it opens up a whole world of dips and spreads (which are usually low-carb BUT we have nothing to put them on!!!)

Did I mention - that I’m in a really good mood today?!  =D

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