i've been absent for a few days because i've been all kinds of sick. yay for cold and flu season! i'm gonna blame the night out with all the crazy people. someone shared.
the last few days have been kinda bad. i didn't feel like exercising. or counting calories. or getting out of bed if i didn't have to. last night was the first time i felt like cooking all week. and i made pork-n-beans... somethin super easy, then i wanted something comfort, and made stovetop apple dumplings. which were easy and quick and totally delicious. but my husband and i ate the whole thing, and there was an entire stick of butter in there. whoops.
if you're curious about them (or want to try to lighten it up), it's something i kind of figured out how to make on my own.
1-2 apples, diced
1 stick of butter
sugar, cinnamon, brown sugar, and/or nutmeg, to taste
melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat, once melted, add spices. once it's bubbly, add in the apple chunks (these can be plain, or seasoned before adding to the skillet - i used red delicious but green apples can be used for a firmer texture and more tart taste)... simmer and stir occasionally for 5 mins or so.
while it's simmering, mix 1 cup of buttermilk biscuit mix with 1/4 cup milk and seasonings to taste. drop by spoonfuls into the skillet with the apples. lower heat and cook, covered for 5-7 minutes or until biscuit mix looks done. i occasionally stir it up so the biscuit chunks are spread through the apple mixture and absorb all that yummy goodness.
once it's done, sprinkle again with a little extra cinnamon (i love cinnamon!) eat it warm with ice cream, or just dump some milk over it (which is what we did last night)... the bottom of the biscuit/dumpling things will be caramelized and a little crunchy and chewy.
so good and makes the house smell amazing.
warning: use sparingly, this WILL go straight to your hips. or thighs. or gut. or butt.
Today is my Moms Bday so we sang HB to her before Bible study. Then on the way home we stopped by a local bakery {some nice person [not me] got her a giftcard} and we each got a cupcake. Very nice of her to share.
It was chilly {35*} this morning when I got up but the house was warm! High today is 55* but its not windy and the sun is shining!
I did 30min of cardio/pilates then 30min of just pilates. I didn't like the first DVD I tried, so I stopped it and stuck in another.
Tricia, Cathe's latest 10 DVD Low Impact Series just came out. I've tried a few of the workouts, and as usual they are killer, but good. My siggy line is from one of those DVDs.
Me again. I found a fun scarf pattern like this one, but I created my own. I'm making this to give to my Mom when we go out to eat for her Bday on Sunday. http://ravel.me/patchworkpenguin/f07bw
Mandy - I hope you're feeling better today. That recipe sounds delish. I love cinnamon too. I have a Weight Watchers recipe for mini apple popovers that is awesome too. You use reduced fat crescent rolls, and you stuff 'em with chopped apples w/apple pie seasoning, brown sugar. They are soooo easy and so good. When I locate the recipe, I'll post it.
Penguin - Those scarves are so cute! Sounds like you're doing a great job with your exercise. I hope the scale starts going down for you soon.
Nothing exciting happened yesterday. I did rake the back patio, made pizza for dinner, started the cushion for the rocker, finished the scarf for Mom, and started a baby blanket.
We watched Captain America which was okay, but not a favorite, there's a blurb at the very end {past the credits} which ties together the Iron Man, Capt America, Thor, and Green Lantern movies; they are making a ensemble movie called the Avengers.
Not much exiting happened today either. I did take some shots of April outside being a dog, mulching a stick. {see avatar} The poor dog has been stuck inside for most of the year because of her surgery so its nice that we can let her run around the yard, but still supervised. Hubby and I did a little shopping and ate an early dinner out at our new favorite BBQ place called 'The Commisary".
Hubby has had a relapse of his cold/sinus/flu thing. The good news is its warmer this week, high today was 76*, very windy, but I think we exceeded it High tomorrow is 80* but it will rain. I wore a tank top and thin dress pants for most of the day. Mom liked her scarf and the dayplanner I bought her for her Bday. We have allowed April more freedom to run around. We aren't crating her at night anymore. Good news is if she hears a noise in the night she can investigate, the bad news is we have to keep the counters and 'lab level' areas free of food or anything else she might like to chew on. I started knitting a vest for myself, no pictures yet.
My weekend was super busy too and I didn't get to post at all over the weekend. I didn't really count points or calories over the weekend but I didn't really eat that much. On Saturday I did have some cake at our cruise party but I'd prepared for it. I'm happy that the sugar didn't agree with my system so when I'm on the cruise, I know I'll need to stay away from sweets. I didn't get in my walk either yesterday because I was out and about shopping for last minute stuff for my trip. Today it's back to being POP and to working out!
Gettin ~ Congrats on your NSV from last week...how cool! You are going to be rockin' it on the cruise!! And, OMGosh, you are at 204?!?! Yowsa, you are just kicking October and November's arses!!
Tricia ~ Good luck with the contest for the wedding! Wedding planning is so exhausting and money-consuming. I remember when we were planning for ours and I was in major-money-freak-out mode toward the end. I was cutting things left and right. There were no "thank you" favors for guests, lol...
penguin ~ I love the new avatar of your dog, April...she is a gorgeous dog! I used to have a black lab/husky.
Mandy ~ Mmmm, that sounds sooooo delicious!! I tried doing that to spaghetti squash last week, but it wasn't so spectacular...I might have to give your apples a try sometime.
Nothing new to report here. Just plugging along and trying to get rid of the last little bit of my bronchitis...it's almost gone!
I did 40min of cardio/weights today. I woke up groggy, with no energy, and a crick in my neck {which the exercise helped}, but I managed to do everything I'm 'supposed' to today and got my exercise in.
Its still very warm here. I'm not sure what today's high was but its 73* now.
Emme - I'm glad you are getting better from the bronchitis. You just keep on plugging along. Have you been able to start running again?
Penguin - Congrats on having a good day yesterday and I hope your neck is feeling better today. Exercising it out was a great idea.
I'm still plugging along too. No more drops on the scale but right now, my main concern is to hold it between 204-205 until after vacation. If I drop more that's good but if not that's fine. My goal was to be at 205 before vacation and I met that goal. I know eating the high sodium food on the ship will make me go up a few pounds but I won't stress over it because I know it will only be a temporary gain as long as I don't go crazy with eating & drinking.
I hope everyone else is doing okay and hanging in there.
GettinFit ~ It's awesome that you made your 205 goal before vacation. I know you will have an awesome time on your cruise and I have a feeling that your new-found confidence from your weight loss and clothes fitting will help you have an extra good time! I'm so happy for you! Yeah, and no stepping on the scale for at least one week after you get back, lol!! You need to have time to drink a ton of water and flush out your system and get it back to normal before you start thinking about what the scale is going to read.
Yes, I have been able to run! I have been able to run 4 times since my bronchitis started. I ran outside for the first time since bronchitis on Saturday and it was my fastest time ever for the 3.2 miles. I clocked in at 32:17 and I usually run it in about 34-35 minutes, so maybe my body needed the little break. I ran on the treadmill last night because it was already dark out when I wanted to run, but I don't mind it as much. I bought a cheap pair of wireless headphones so I can watch the shows I have recorded on the DVR without cranking up the volume to hear it over the noise of the treadmill. It works out, and I'm really enjoying it. I'm running an official 5k on the 26th and that will be my first "official" one...the Spartan Race I ran last month was an obstacle run that took me 2 hours and 20 minutes to get through, so that wasn't a straight run, lol!!
My eating has been better today than it has been over the past week! yay! I did 40 min of boxing drills DVD. The crick in my neck moved into my opposite shoulder {!?} so I was hoping the boxing would help loosen it up.
Gettin, good job on the 205!
Emme, great that you are feeling better and back to running!
Emme - I'm glad that you have been able to start running again. I can't wait to see how you do on your 5K race.
Penguin - Glad you had a better day too.
It's been very quiet around here. I hope everyone is just busy and not off the wagon.
I'm doing okay. Kinda just watching what I'm eating as I'm not counting calories or points right now. The scale is fluctuating between 204-206. I've worked out Mon & Tues. Plan on getting in a walk today on the track before I head home if it's not raining.
