Losingmore

Another fine day to enjoy…..lower 70’s today…and once again sunshine.  I need to send the boys out to take care of a season long backyard full of doogy poo….I think the backyard isn’t so muddy any longer…so maybe when they get home.  I might wait until it gets cold again the beginning of next week though.   In the “frozen” state, its much easier to collect.

TOM is coming any second now…..and I had an incident with a chocolate covered cream stick donut yesterday.  Sigh.  I felt so guilty after I ate it…and I am not even sure why I did it….it was there, I suppose.  Of course, it has been there for a few days and I managed to avoid it.  Nothing I can do about it now.  I will just take the points out of my flex bank, and move on.  That much less to work with this weekend. Back on track today.

Dh actually liked all his presents yesterday, I think.  I ended up getting him a pillow thing to hold his gps on the dash without having to suction the window, some magazines, and a swiss knife mini tool set for his key chain in addition to the gift I had previously purchased.  Dinner was yummy, and although I made extra to send to his parents, DD had two guy friends over, that stayed for dinner…so needless to say, there were no leftovers.  Not even for the dog.  I think the one boy almost licked his plate clean…lol

That is about it for me…..going to get out today and enjoy this beautiful day!  Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Sunshine…again.  NOT complaining AT ALL.  Its really so nice to have the sun shine….and be warm outside at the same time.  60s for the next couple of days…then it gets colder again…and snow.  But I do see they are predicting a warm up again by the middle of next week, so at least the snow event will be short lived.

The corned beef and cabbage and potatoes and carrots were perfect yesterday…and I enjoyed every single ounce of my 3 ounce serving!  lol   Yes, I used my scale to measure out exactly 3 oz.  Did the same for the potatoes, and repeated it for my mother’s meal as well.  She is doing fairly well, btw…..I think she is up to a total loss of 7 lbs or something like that.  I allowed myself a half of a pc of soda bread.  This bakery that my mom gets it from makes just absolutely fabulous soda bread…..and I couldn’t not have ANY.  I felt good about the meal, being that I practiced portion control well.   For dessert I made a lime parfait out of sf lime jello, low fat cream cheese and cool whip free.  It calculated out to 2 pts per a very generous serving, and it was nice and light and the perfect ending to a heavy meal.

So today is my honey’s birthday.  He woke up early….kind of grumpy.  Ya, I guess turning 45 will do that to ya….lol  I need to finish getting his gift.  I am at a total loss of what to get him.  I did get him a box of these chocolate covered peanuts he likes from a local chocolate shop and a dvd set of Hogan’s Heroes….I hope he will like.  But I still need to get him something else.  Gonna check out Best Buy later today.  DH is possibly the HARDEST person to buy for EVER!!!!   and I am at a total loss for ideas this year in particular.

Well….everyone make it a great Thursday!!!!  Weekend is so close now you can smell it! 

and Happy St. Pat’s day….not sure how much Irish heritage I have in me…my mom’s side is a giant vat of many cultures…so chances are, somewhere in the mix, there is some irish.  Not much.  But I do love corned beef and cabbage….mostly the cabbage, but when you cook the corned beef with the cabbage, it just gives it this great flavor.  When I am done posting, I am going to get my two crockpots fired up.  Having my parents over tonight, and plan to send some leftovers to the inlaws…so hence, the TWO crockpots.  DD’s friend might also stop over for dinner.  She is in love with my cooking…lol  We learned at WW last night that a 30z serving of corned beef is 6 pts.  So I can easily work that in.  1/12th of an 8″ soda bread is also 6 pts.  Might have to pass on that.  We will see, I might have enough pts if I eat light for dinner and lunch, to indulge in a piece.  Carrots and cabbage are 0 pts, and about a 50z serving of potatoes is 3pts.

Went to my meeting yesterday, LOST 1.4 lbs.  Not bad….but yes, it would have been better if I would have weighed before the weekend or even after I got home, because when I got home, I went to the bathroom, hopped on the scale and was an additional .4 pounds lighter than I weighed BEFORE I went to the meeting.  Which just goes to prove, how the scale can fluctuate so much.  At the beginning of the journey, this time around, I swore to myself I wasn’t going to let the scale numbers make me crazy, and I am keeping that promise.  The important thing is that the scale continues to move in the right direction.  So ALL IS GOOD!!!!!! 

Sun is shining gloriously today.   Temps should climb up into the upper 50’s - 60’s.  Great day for a parade.  DD had mentioned she wanted to venture into Cleveland for the parade today….which I was against ( but didn’t voice it )  IDK, it’s Cleveland, and I don’t even feel comfortable venturing there myself without DH.  I figured I would just let it play out and see what happened.  I don’t think she found anyone to go with, so I think she isn’t going.  She is at her college class right now, so I guess I will know shortly how it all worked out.  Hopefully she isn’t going, and I didn’t have to be the bad guy.

I hope everyone has a wonderful day!!!!  Be true to your goals!

One pound down, one to go.  Got rid of one of the pounds I picked up on Sunday.  Like I said yesterday, I still think there will be a loss at the WI tonight, but it just won’t be a big as I would have had if I weighed in on Wednesday or Thursday or even Saturday of last week.

Having oatmeal for breakfast with a banana mashed up in it and sprinkled with cinnamon.  I discovered it was the very last of the oatmeal I had in the pantry.  I barely squeeked out  a serving.  ( a little shy of one ) I don’t eat oatmeal very often for breakfast ( usually its eggbeaters with some sort of veggie stuffed inside) so I will need to try to remember to pick up more for the pantry next time I am at the store.  I debated putting a tbs of peanut butter inside it to ( which is really delicious…gets all melty and smooth )…but decided I didn’t want to use up so many points on breakfast.

It’s a nice sunny day today…temps in the 50’s.  Supposed to be like this for the remainder of the work week.  It definitely looks and feels much like spring out today, which makes me very happy.  Hard to believe the official start of spring is only days away…..however, WE won’t be free and clear of snow storms until sometime near the end of April.  I sure hope someone sent Mother Nature the memo that spring is coming! St. Patty’s day is supposed to be nice.  Usually it snows.  I am looking forward to making corned beef and cabbage.  I only do it once a year.

Dh’s birthday is on Thursday.  I am going to make that lemon chicken I never made for my inlaws.  I may invite them over, but I doubt they will come.  They are both in their 80’s and don’t like to drive at night.  I totally understand.  I am also going to make DH some naked cupcakes ( unfrosted ) because that is how he likes them.  Me?  I could do without the cake and just eat the frosting.  So unfrosted cupcakes have no appeal to me!  Which is a good thing, considering I have already had cake this week. 

I saw a segment this morning, on the Today show, with Kirstie Allie promoting her new show on losing weight.  I have never been a fan, and in fact, hated those Jenny Craig commercials she used to do.   It always seemed to me that she never got the big picture….you know?  I remember one that used to make me cringe when she was like, “you can eat chocolate cake and lasagna”  I felt that she would inevitably gain it all back, because who can gorge on chocolate cake and lasagna in the real world and lose weight?  No one.  And I guess I was right.  I am not sure what her approach is this time around, but she has lost 20 lbs since January, so it seems its more sensible.  I might tune into the show just to check it out.  IDK.  It’s on Sunday nights.

So I hope everyone has a great day!!!  I am going to get some laundry done, clean the kids bathroom ( yucky job) and try to get the dog in for a walk.

I am adding the recipe for the lemon chicken per Mel’s request:

chicken Breasts in lemon Sauce

6 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts, seasoned with salt and pepper

1/2c flour, seasoned with salt and pepper

2 TBS olive oil

3 TBS  unsalted butter, divided

1TBS finely chopped shallot

1/4c white wine

1 1/2c chicken stock ( low sodium, fat free)

juice of one lemon

1/4 c fresh, chopped flat leaf parsely

1 tsp corn starch

1. Heat nonstick skillet and olive oil.  coat chicken in flour, shake off excess, and brown in oil.  Remove from pan when all pcs are browned on both sides ( about two minutes per side…chicken does not have to be done completely as it will finish cooking in warm oven while you make the sauce ) and keep warm in low oven.

2. Add 1 tbs butter to skillet.  Cook shallots until slightly browned and translucent.  Add wine.  Reduce to about 1 TBS liquid.  Add chicken stock and cook 2 to 3 min.  Add lemon juice and parsley.  Allow to come to boil.  Swirl in remaining butter.  If the sauce is to your likeness for thickness.  Then you do not need the cornstarch..but if you like it a little thicker ( which I do) then mix 1 tsp cornstarch with a little cool water or chicken stock and add to the sauce.  Let come to a boil stirring constantly and cook for one more minute.

3. Add chicken and juices back into the pan with the sauce.  coat the chicken and serve.  Sauce is great on pasta.

It is 5 pts per one breast and about a 1/4c sauce

is the President is visiting the next town over from me this afternoon.  Strongsville.  I am glad I don’t have to get to the mall or do any shopping today…..traffic will be poopy.  So if you want a glimpse into my world…watch the evening news today.  haha!   The weather, by the way, is poopy today too….misty rain…but better than snow!

The weekend was fine.  Of course, I weigh two pounds heavier today than I have all week and all weekend.  We ended up going out for dinner yesterday…  I stuck to some very basic WW rules for what I ate ( no alcohol,  broth soup as an appetizer, water to drink, packaged up half my entree for later, so I am very certain the gain is due to water retention.  TOM due the end of the week, doesn’t help matters much.  This water retention, is the same story every Monday morning lately.  Oh well….just need to be extra careful with my salt intake and carb intake for a few days.  The cake?  Well, I had one small piece, sent the rest home with the inlaws…there wasn’t much left, but better it be out of the house.  It was their cake anyway.  Still thinking, even with the retention, I will have a loss this week at WW.  It may be less than I originally anticipated, though.   None the less, the important thing is the big picture and that the scale continues to head in the right direction.

Good sweaty workout today.  NOT liking the one hour less of sleep.  Me and everyone else.  HA!

Only silver lining is that it will stay light in the evenings longer.  I am glad for that.  I have about half the clocks in the house adjusted to the correct time.

So, in light of the time change, I seem to be running behind schedule today…and I better get moving if I want to get some things done!  have a great day all!!

Well….the bus incident is now behind us.  The bogus charges have been dropped with DS…and all is good again.   Again, the whole thing was really stupid, IMO.  I am glad it’s been taken care of.

Friday….its still mild out, but cloudy with a good chance of some rain today.  It got up to 71 degrees yesterday, with the sun shining.  The boys washed my van and DD’s car.  Both were full of the white residue of road salt.  So now they are nice and clean.  Road salt residue is so corrosive on the vehicles.  The snow is almost all gone now.  LOTS and lots of puddles in the yard.  Battling some big black ants in the house today.  I am assuming their outside dens have been flooded with all the melting snow and they are looking for some dry land.  I can’t seem to figure out just where they are entering from…but sprayed the baseboards in the front of the house, because I think they are coming in that way.  I will have to wait and watch.  Ants……ugh….hate ants.

I had a good sweaty workout yesterday, and did some free weights too.  I wanted to find some time to go for a walk yesterday, but with the errands I needed to run, never found the time.  If it doesn’t rain after lunch, I will take the dog and go for one today.  I planned a bday dinner for my inlaws ( both bdays are in March ) for Sunday.  I am going to make a lemon chicken with pasta and broccoli, and I picked up a very small cake yesterday at the store.  Small cake means no leftovers!!!  There is enough for each of us to have a piece, and that’s about it.  Which is just fine.

Eating has been spot on all week….have stayed within my points each day and not gone over into my flex pts.  I will be looking for a loss on Tuesday at the meeting.

make it a great weekend everyone!  I, for one, am really really glad to see the green grass again.  Muddy season is here, but for now…I am not complaining. 

oh, I almost forgot to mention…yesterday for lunch I had Amy’s frozen roasted vegetable tamale dinner .  I don’t very often eat many prepacked meals any more, but they were having a sale at the store, and this looked pretty good.  It was really very good.  The whole thing was 5pts.  Very filling…and had black beans on the side.  10 grams of fiber per serving.

it’s 8 am, and it’s 60 degrees out already!  And as a bonus, the sun is shining.  I doubt it will get anywhere above or near 70 today, still a considerable amount of snow covering the ground, but less each day.  The kids in the neighborhood were all outside enjoying the mild temps yesterday.  I have forgotten how much I love to hear the kids playing outside.  It’s one of those happy places for me. 

I have several errands to run today….two banks and grocery store for a few needed items…and I am hoping to get another nice walk in with the dog outside again.  We went yesterday, and I was able to use most of the sidewalks, bar a few that were still snow covered and very slushy.  It was above freezing all night, so maybe that is gone today.

The situation with the bustop and ds, which I thought was resolved yesterday by Dh and the various other heated parents that called and visited the school on the matter ( and I won’t go into it because it’s too complicated, but suffice to say the bus driver is making a mountain out of a mole hill, and throwing her power around ) got a breath of new life with a report that arrived in yesterday’s mail.  So today, DH has a conference call with the Bus Superintendent,  and the driver.  Hopefully he will get this thing resolved and they will throw out these bogus charges.  Geesh…..much a do about pretty much NOTHING!!!  aggravating

So that’s it for me today.  I tried to think of a picture that would go along with this post, but came up with nothing.  lol  Enjoy your day before Friday!!

Late post today….a bit of drama with the youngest child and the school bus.  But for a change, DH took care of sorting it out….I was jumping for joy.  I usually get stuck with the awful task of calling the administrators and sorting out everything that has to do with the kids.  It involved a bunch of the neighbor’s kids…and the administration had to deal with quite a few irate parents this morning…but justice prevailed.  My neighbor stopped over unexpectedly this morning…and we enjoyed a cup of coffee and a cup of tea, respectively, and chatted the morning away about the incident and other things.  It was nice to sit and chat.  So much of our days are wasted away with chores and things that need to get done, it’s often hard to find time to just sit and chat and enjoy another’s company.

I ended up not going to the meeting yesterday….but saw a new “low” on the scale this morning.   So the scale is moving in the right direction.  I got a good stinky and sweaty workout in yesterday.  :)  I thought briefly about attending the Wednesday morning meeting they offer at the same location I go on Tuesdays, but with my neighbor showing up, that got pushed out the door.  Spent the afternoon with my mom yesterday, and picked up all the treats for the kids easter baskets ( they are older, so I just get them a little bit of high quality candy and gift cards) and we also stopped in at Fashion Bug to look around.  I found a pair of black yoga type pants I liked…for an incredible price, so I bought them for myself and I got a large.  Just a plain old large.  No X attached to it in anyway.  I am wearing them today…and they feel just fine!  I have never worn a medium pant nor top as long as I can remember, even when I was younger and around what my goal weight will be….so this is a major NSV for me.   Although, I do think things actually run bigger in their respective sizes these days, than what they used to back in the 80’s….so who knows?  Maybe I will one day wear a medium…..

I guess that’s about it for me today…We are in for some FANTASTIC weather for next 5 days or so, tomorrow it is supposed to hit 60’s and I am hoping with the rain that is here, the last of the snow will be gone. I am beginning to see some areas of green on the lawn amidst the blanket of white.   I know, the muddy season will follow, but at this point, I am actually looking forward to the muddy season!  lol  I am so behind on the stuff I need to get done today…but I really enjoyed the visit with my friend today!  make it a good one everyone!

Did a tiny bit of spring cleaning yesterday, along with the weekly grind.  Flipped my mattress, vacuumed it, and washed all the bedding.  It wasn’t nearly warm enough and there is still a considerable amount of snow on the ground, so it didn’t get line dried in the outdoors, but it is all fresh.  I think I slept extra well last night, and I don’t know if it was because the bed was actually more comfortable, or just my mind telling me so.

So today is Tuesday, and that means WW meeting.  I am once again on the fence about going.  I have been averaging a meeting every other week, for one reason or another….and still am seeing the scale slowly creep toward success….about a pound a week loss…which is just fine.  Today is Market Day, so my mother will be coming over, we need to pick it up and then I need to put it all away, before the meeting.  I have been just letting it sit in a box ( all frozen food) until I got back from my meeting, but with the warmer temps…that is really not an option.  Pick up time falls right into the ww meeting slot time.  So what to do, what to do?  I guess we will see.

The sun is shining gloriously, once again, for the 5th straight day in a row.  I am not complaining.  lol  Temps are supposed to be getting up into the 50’s for the rest of the week.  The youngest boy asked yesterday when he could wear shorts to school again…..lol  I told him, generally, when there is no snow on the ground and it is 50 plus degrees outside.  He replied, “a bunch of kids have already been wearing shorts”.  ( apparently these middle school boys have very high metabolisms…..don’t get cold much….lol )  Oh well, its his legs that will be cold, so I told him, if he wanted to wear them today, he could.  Shorts and a winter coat…odd combo.  Oh well.  Its a fight not worth fighting, in my opinion.

I MUST get some exercise in today….I opted for cleaning yesterday….which afforded some exercise…but I don’t count it as exercise really.   I would love to take some time to get outside and walk, and so would the dog.

Sunshine each day and temps above freezing all weekend.  The forecast is calling for temps in the 40’s and 50’s for the week….and I am feeling much more upbeat the past few days.  I don’t know…I am sure it has to do with the weather and the sunshine.  Still A LOT of snow on the ground yet….and I KNOW we are not out of the woods yet, and could still get another or several more inches of snow before Mother Nature calls it quits for this winter season….but I am feeling cautiously optimistic today…lol  I can’t wait until the snow melts enough for me to use ALL the sidewalks in the neighborhood!  And I am feeling renewed by the longer lighted days….which, when dst hits, will get even longer.  Yes, I do like the sun in the mornings as well, but a longer daylight in the evenings will also be a big welcome.  Spring can’t be that far off…..

DD had a great time getting her dress in NYC….she did indeed get the dress she had her heart set on, and it looks stunning on her. This is the dress. I spent the day Saturday, regretting my decision to not spend the extra $100 and go on the trip with them.  But oh well…what can you do?  DH was sensing that I was feeling a bit down on Saturday, and we took a trip to Crocker Park to have lunch/dinner and make a stop at Trader Joes.  We ate at one of my favorite restaurants…Brio, and I think some emotional eating got the best of me.  I ordered a salad ( its a lettuce wedge with bacon, blue cheese crumbles, tomatoes and a most wonderful buttermilk dressing.  I didn’t order anything on the side or leave anything off as I usually do.  Then I got what sounded like it would be on the healthier side,  grilled shrimp over eggplant…but when it came, the eggplant was breaded and fried.  I should have asked when I ordered…but I didn’t.  So I ate all the shrimp, and two bites of the eggplant, and gave the rest to the boys.  it was a tasty dish though.  And I did indulge in one too many of the flatbreads they serve.  i didn’t even keep track of points that day….and I haven’t done that in a long time. I also got myself ONE ancho chile truffle from the rocky mnt chocolate factory……and enjoyed it.  So once I got home….it was totally back on track.  Sunday I tracked and stayed within the daily point allowance, since I figured I used up all my flex pts on Saturday.  Its ok…whats done is done.  I am not wallowing in it.  I felt victorious in the fact that I got right back on track as soon as I got home.

We got a lot of yummy things at Trader Joes.  I got a huge container of greek yogurt for $2.99….and of course, I got my fav chicken potstickers and chicken sausage ( TJ’s has great chicken sausage)  The free sample was some breaded eggplant….and when I flipped the box to read the nut info, it looked pretty decent, so I sampled some ( it was good) and bought a box.  The sun was out all day, and there wasn’t much of a wind, so walking around outside was rather pleasant.  I stopped in Sephora and got myself more foundation I needed.  It was a good day.

Despite my desire to watch the oscars yesterday, I got totally sidetracked and forgot to watch it.  I looked online this morning to see who won what.  I saw the Hurt Locker last weekend…and it was a very good movie…one of those you think about over and over again.  So I was glad to see it won.  I really wanted to watch for the dresses…lol

Just had my breakfast of eggbeaters with mushrooms and the rest of the leftover roasted asparagus from last week.  I have a lot to do today, so I guess I’d better get my butt moving.  Make it a great Monday everyone!