Sistah Pat

Just nod if you can hear me…  Is there anyone at home….

Sorry I’ve been gone so long.  Our router went out and I couldn’t get on the internet at home for ten days.  (Thanks, AT&T, for your prompt response…)  And school, well, school is a nightmare.  There have only been two days this year when I’ve gotten out on time.  And that’s not really on time.  That’s just within 30 minutes of being on time.  Every other day, I’ve been there for at least two hours over.  They’re eating us alive this year. 

Yesterday, it was a professional development session that the principal wanted me to attend and share with staff.  Today is a meeting.  Tomorrow is another 3 hour professional development session.  Thursday is a full work day, then a 30 minute drive to a mandatory 2 hour PD, then a 30 minute drive back to school for open house from 6:00 to 8:00.  Just seems like it never ends.

And while I’m at school?  I can’t get free long enough to even go to the bathroom!  It’s vicious.

Anyway, while I have ten minutes, I wanted to post real quick and update.  Still not smoking, no longer exercising (Are you kidding?  When can I fit it in???) and eating whatever comes my way.  Haven’t weighed myself in forever.  Sounds pretty dismal, doesn’t it?

That’s what I’m aiming for.  Going to try to keep it to 1,000 calories per day for the next 5 days and see if I can jump start some weight loss.  I haven’t been on the scales but I can definitely tell that I haven’t lost any weight.

Still not smoking, still jogging in the pool 45 minutes per day.  Still eating too much.

DIL picked up the boys Sunday and I have Jake this morning.  First day back to school for the kiddos.  Hope I get a good group of kids.

After eating that wonderful pork tenderloin at a Caribbean restaurant a couple weeks ago and doing my best to duplicate it, I’ve finally got a fairly good handle on a recipe.  Added up all the calories and here’s what I came up with.  This one has to be added to My Favorites!

Caribbean Pork (I doubled this recipe because I’m feeding so many guys and they eat a lot)

1 1/2 lb.  pork loin, trimmed and sliced into 1 inch steaks

3/4  cups  fresh orange juice (about 2 oranges)

3  tablespoons  fresh lime juice

1  tablespoon  olive oil

1  teaspoon  salt

1  teaspoon  dried oregano

1/2  teaspoon  ground cumin

4  garlic cloves, chopped 

1 yellow pepper, sliced

large sliced onion

2 sliced zucchini 

1 mango, sliced              

Place orange juice,  lime juice, olive oil, salt, oregano, cumin, and garlic cloves in a blender; process until smooth. Combine orange juice mixture and pork in a large zip-top plastic bag; seal and marinate in refrigerator 2 hours, turning occasionally. Remove pork from bag, reserving marinade.

Spray a large skillet with Pam, heat to medium high and sear pork on both sides.  Reduce heat, add 1/2 reserved marinade, cover and simmer until pork is done and marinade is reduced to a thick glaze on bottom of pan.  Remove pork from pan.

Add pepper, onion and zucchini to pan.  Give them a quick saute and then add remaining marinade.  Cook until marinade is reduced to desired level.  Serve vegetables over pork and garnish with fresh mango slices.

To the best of my ability, I’m coming up with around 220 calories per serving.  I served this with sliced homegrown tomatoes and yellow rice and everyone loved it.

• The Good:
  I’m still not smoking
  I jog in the pool at least 35 minutes a day
  I eat better than I have in a long time
• The Bad:
  The scales are making me so mad I haven’t even looked since last Friday
  I get hungry in the evenings and eat too many “diet” snacks (popsicles, rice cakes, etc.)
  DIL still hasn’t picked up the kids and they’ve been here almost the entire month
• The Ugly:
  I’m NOT ready to go back to work.  Feels like I didn’t even have a summer.
  I’m sick of watching kids and want some peace and quiet for a change
  I don’t have any nice clothes to go back to work and will not buy any when I’m this fat.

…with white icing and sprinkles.

Today has not been a good day.  I’m kind of put-out that DGS, Steven, has ROTC “camp” for a week.  He has to be at school from 8:00 to 1:00.  That means no sleeping in.  Of course, 6:45 is not really that early but it kind of spoils the last week before I have to start working.  He had it yesterday, today, tomorrow and next Monday and Tuesday.

So I got up early and grabbed some coffee.  Stepped on the scales and the damn things shot up to 201.5.  Are you kidding me??  Damn!!  Went out to the car and found out that DH ran all the gas out of it.  School is almost 15 miles away and it showed enough gas for 8 miles.  Figured I could coax it to school and then get gas after I dropped Steven off.

They’re redoing some old railroad tracks that cross a main drag on the way to school and the road is closed for the next two weeks.  School is kind of on the outskirts of the city and there aren’t that many roads that go there.  So I had to go way out of the way yesterday morning and decided to let the GPS show us a new way this morning.  It was kind of squirrely.  Wound through some twisty, curvy, hilly woods but we came out just down the road from the school.  I dropped Steven off and then headed down the road to the gas station and had to drive by  what Jake and Scout call “that place where they make the most deeeelicious, awesomest doughnuts in the world” so I pulled in and picked up a dozen of them.  Considering that the kids have been staying here and the twins could eat a dozen by themselves, I figured I wouldn’t have much trouble getting rid of them.

I came out and noticed that the sky was really dark in the direction of home.  Really dark.  Looked like a major storm was heading my way and I could see ligntning in the distance.  I pulled into the gas station, turned the car off and my seat automatically slid all the way back like it always does when you turn it off.  I gassed up the car, hopped back in and turned the key.  And my seat didn’t move.  I turned the key off and then turned it on again.  Nothing. I tried to reach the gas pedal and could only touch it with the tip of my toe.  I mean, let’s face it, five foot two just doesn’t go that far.  So I pushed the forward button on the control panel, grabbed the steering wheel and did my best to pull it forward.  Nothing.  Damn, Damn, Damn!  I reached for my cigarettes and remembered that I don’t smoke anymore.

I got in the trunk and started pulling books out.  I had an entire box of them that I was going to donate to the teachers’ book exchange when we start back to work.  I managed to stack enough of them behind me to allow me to perch on the edge of the seat and reach the pedals.  Started driving home and, halfway there, got caught in the unfamiliar twisty woodsy area when the downpour started.  It was DARK.  I mean, like night.  The rain was coming down in sheets and I was clutching the steering wheel to keep from falling off my stack of books while trying to catch a glimpse of the road in-between wiper sweeps.

I finally made it home.  It was still pouring and I left the doughnuts in the car and made a mad dash for the front door.  Obviously, this is not going to be another “sunny, fun day in the pool” day.

I was drenched and the house was freezing because I was dripping wet in the air conditioning.  I stripped down and got into a hot shower.  Just started to get warm and the phone started ringing.  I grabbed a towel and ran to the kitchen to answer it.  It was Steven.  Major didn’t show up today.  None of the kids knew what to do so they were all going home.

I went back out to the car -in the downpour - sitting on the books- and headed out to pick him up.  I thought I remembered the way the GPS showed me but I made a wrong turn somewhere and couldn’t figure out how to get back on track.  I pulled over at a gas station and got the GPS out to set it for the school.  Reached into the console for my cigarettes and, of course, they weren’t there.  But the doughnuts were still in the car.  Sitting right there on the passenger seat.  And I took one.

And it was good.

Awww…Come On!  200.5.  Again?  Still?  Are ya sure?

I mean, really!  I’m workin like a dog, here, okay?  Gimme a break.  (sigh…)

Still on track.  Eating healthy, exercising, not smoking.  I ate a cereal bar yesterday morning, a Lean Cuisine for lunch, jogged 30 minutes in the pool and had ginger grilled pork loin for dinner.  Helped it out with some broccoli and baked apples with Splenda and cinnamon.  Last night’s treat was a sugar-free Jello Mousse (60 calories) with lite whipped cream (30 calories).

Did a lot of cleaning yesterday.  Went through tons of old paperwork DH was hanging on to.  (Is there a reason we need all the paperwork and receipts for a cruise we took 3 years ago?  Do we really need all the Drive Guides, tourist brochures and condo receipts from Hawaii in 2007?)  Didn’t tell DH and probably won’t.  I’m just going to keep on cleaning.

On the agenda today: more cleaning, laps in the pool, no smoking and eating healthy.  Is there anything worth living for?

Wicked ex DIL is still homeless.  The kids have been staying here going on three weeks now and she called DS and asked him if he could let her live in his place.  Thank God he told her that wouldn’t work.  After everything she’s done, she doesn’t understand why he won’t let her move into his place and let her stay there for free until she gets back on her feet.  Are you kidding me???  Of course, he doesn’t have a choice but I don’t even think he should pay her child support right now.  He’s had the kids three weeks out of the last month.  I don’t know what’s going on with her but I think she’s taken another dive.  She left the kids here for ten days because she had a “migraine”, had them back for three days and then got kicked out of her mother’s house and is homeless.  She also told DS that she’s under a doctor’s care and can’t go back to work until he releases her so she hasn’t been paid for three weeks.  Ummm….didn’t we know this was what would happen?  Of course, CPS is totally signed off on the case now and there’s no one watching her anymore.

Enough…

1:45 Update - Jogged 35 minutes in the pool.  Pushed it pretty hard.  My calves were definitely feeling it.  Ate 3 cherries and a cereal bar for breakfast.  Planning turkey breast for dinner but I need to find something right now.  Maybe a Lean Cuisine…

5:30 - We have about three perfect pool days a year.  Today was one of them.  Everyone should be in a pool today.  Temps at 101 and the pool is 78.  I went back out to the pool with DH when he got home and did another 35 minutes of jogging and 15 minutes of playing with Jake and Scout.  Wish I could just curl up on a float and sleep out there.

Working like a dog on this house.  I did a lot of work yesterday and most of it doesn’t show.  Cleaning out the closets, cleaning out the freezer, laundry, cleaning the medicine cabinet.  More today.  I dread it but I ought to wash the walls and paint…

Weight is down to 199.5 this morning.  Talk about work!  Sheesh!  I’m battling for every ounce.  I was ready for the urges yesterday evening.  After dinner, which was a potroast with carrots, potatoes and onions, “baked” green tomatoes, and Sarah’s Clafoutis recipe, I started really “needing” something around 7:00.  Instead of eating, I went out to the pool and jogged for another half hour.  Kind of took the edge off and I was able to survive the evening.  Although I did have another serving of Sarah’s Clafoutis.  I made this one with canned tart cherries and some tree ripened peaches.  Topped it with a serving of low-fat whipped cream that weighed in at only 20 calories for 2 Tablespoons.  Kind of nice what all that air does to whipped cream.  You get a lot of bang for your buck.

So, I felt pretty good about yesterday.  Ate healthy, didn’t smoke and did 2 1/2 miles of jogging in the pool.  Doing my best to stay on track.

So far, today, I’ve had a cereal bar (120 calories).

Yesterday was a bust.  At least, in the healthy eating and exercising department.  I didn’t smoke.  That’s a good thing but I had a really frustrating and irritating day and yesterday evening I was eating everything in sight.  I’ll do better today.

One of the reasons yesterday was so bad is because I decided to do some major housework.  This week is a bonus week.  I made a mistake and thought I went back to work this week.  When I discovered I still have it off, I made the decision to tackle the housework.  One week of heavy duty cleaning and painting before I have to start dealing with school again.

What a hassle!  I’d like to blame it on the kids but DH was even worse than they were.  He argued and gripped and complained until I finally told him to go away and leave me alone.  My God, you’d think I was asking him to work a chain gang!  I wanted to address the problem of HIS clutter in the kitchen.  He must have two boxes of paperwork that take up half the table and the entire top of a cabinet.  I decided to move an old computer desk that isn’t being used to the family room, set it up as a desk for him and help him organize his paperwork.  Big mistake.  He likes it all spread out on the table.  He doesn’t care if we have to eat in front of the TV because of the stacks of paperwork he has on the table.

First step, move a small bench from the family room to the guest room.  I had to listen to five minutes of complaining until I finally moved the damn thing myself.  Next step, move the computer desk from the guest room to the family room.  (Why not leave it where it is and let that be his work area?  Because DS has been using the guest room for weeks and DH says he can’t do his paperwork in there.)  There wasn’t a computer hooked up on it but there was a lot of stuff in the drawers and on the shelves.  I had to listen to a litany of whining and complaining before we could finally get the desk downstairs in the family room.

Finally, it was time to sort all his paperwork and get it organized in the desk.  You’d have thought I was destroying our lives. 

“Don’t touch that stack.  That’s stuff I have to deal with this week.”
“Leave that stack alone.  I have to go through it.”
“You’re going to mess everything up.  I have a system here.”
“Why are we even doing this?  What’s the problem with leaving everything the way it is?”

The problem, Donald, is that we can’t eat on the table!  We can’t even see the table.  And the stuff piled on the corner cabinet is leaning precariously toward the floor.  One little nudge and it’s going to go.

On top of having to drag him through every little step of getting stuff moved to the desk in the family room, we still have Jake and Scout because DIL is still homeless.  They’re really good but they still hit me up with, “Nana, can we go swimming?  Can we have a popsicle?  Will you fix us some Kool Aid?  Will you set up the Wii for us?”

Yesterday evening, I had popsicles and toaster struedel.  Oh, and an ice cream sandwich.  And, of course, that’s after dinner which was tacos. Oh yeah, I had two glasses of wine.  And a couple of crackers with a chunk of cheese.

(sigh…)

I’ll do better today.  Headed to the pool right now to get my laps in. (No, I didn’t exercise yesterday)  Don’t think I’ll weigh myself today.  Still not smoking….

11:30 - Decided to keep track of what I do all day to try to identify triggers.
11:00 - 11:30 -Jogged in the pool. 
11:30 - 12:00 - Ate a Lean Cuisine, (260 calories) ughh..this one was gross), took my Chantix, took a shower, put a sirloin tip roast down to thaw for dinner. (what am I going to do with that?  No plan, it just happened to be the first thing I grabbed in the freezer.  Maybe baked green tomatoes, carrots, onions, etc.)
12 - 1:00 - Scoured the bathtub, put out clean towels, seared the roast and got it in the crockpot, stripped my bed and made it with clean sheets.  Took the dirty sheets to the laundry room.  Began cursing when I saw a load of wet clothes left in the washer…continued cursing when I went to put them in the dryer and found a load of clothes in there.  Left for who knows how long, cold and wrinkled.  Cursed very loudly when I folded them and told the twins to put them away.  Figured out how far I’m jogging in the pool.  Turns out I’m doing about 1.2 miles.  Not bad for water up to my neck.