I'm sitting here in my office, which is on a west-facing hill, watching fall arrive. The clouds that mark the leading edge of the cold front have arrived, darkening my normally bright office. The wind has picked up and is blowing the leaves off the trees. The lightening is flashing off in a distance. Mr. Weatherman tells us we'll be back to normal fall temperatures by the end of the week. Goodbye, summer, you had a good run of it.
My schedule has been thrown off today. After I took TB to the bus stop, I went to the grocery store to shop for an Oktoberfest party we're hosting this weekend. I've had fun trying to plan a menu that is healthy, vegetarian-friendly, kid-friendly, and still relatively traditional. I've decided on sauerbraten, beer-simmered bratwurst (or mock bratwrust) with sauerkraut, Bavarian potato salad, rotkohl (red cabbage with apple), dilled green beans, apple tart, linzertorte, soft pretzels, and gingerbread hearts for the kids. We'll see how much of this cooking I can actually accomplish by Saturday!
Anyway, I missed my normal gym time, and had to go right after lunch before the gym closed at 2 because of the school holiday. It's not my favorite time to work out, and I didn't get there & changed until 1:20 so it was a shortie. But, at least I went, and I worked my shoulders so that they can be strong enough to lift all those beer steins!
Thanks for the recipe Kim. It looks good. I understand not really using a recipe, they're more like guidelines anyway.
Sigh. Today is just one of those days I'm finding. Not so nice weather/school stressors/lonesome feelings are making me feel totally unmotivated to do anything. I'd love to just curl up and not wake up until I'm graduated with a degree in hand.
I'm having a science experiment/leftovers stew thingie for dinner. No idea of the calorie count but I'm just using a bunch of stuff left over from thanksgiving - oven roasted squash, taters, and onions, - plus zucchini and BBQ chicken breast, plus a can of pureed pumpkin thinned with milk, and various spices that I think will work.
Saute the whole mess, add the pumpkin/milk mix, a chicken bouillon cube dissolved in cup of boiling water, and simmer for 30 minutes. It looks pretty gross but smells really good. Am not going to divulge recipe to DH - he's coming home late from class and will eat (almost) anything that's in fridge.
I develop a lot of recipes from having leftovers and cans of stuff around. Most are quite healthy and not too caloric.
Just checking in. I just got home and have been feeling pretty miserable the last two days - severe PMS, which I usually don't suffer from much at all -- cramping and the whole nine yards. Must be perimenopause or something!
Anyway, I'll write more later, but now I must eat. Oh, I have a delicious lentil recipe that I make frequently in the winter - it's a lentil tomatoe soup spiced with red wine and cloves... it may sound kind of odd, but it is absolutely delicious. I'll try to remember to post it next time I'm on here.
Since August I have been working 2 part time jobs, one is about a 50 minute commute and the other is less than 2 minutes away... The 2 minute away school is in the next block job was posted and I was really, really, REALLY hoping to get it because it would be so close to home...Anyways, I didn't get it another lady got it, she had more seniority than me ...
Since August I have been working 2 part time jobs, one is about a 50 minute commute and the other is less than 2 minutes away... The 2 minute away school is in the next block job was posted and I was really, really, REALLY hoping to get it because it would be so close to home...Anyways, I didn't get it another lady got it, she had more seniority than me ...
Is it quite common for teachers to work on contract now, not with a permanent position at one school? One of my clients has been on contract with a different posting every 4 months or so so I was curious. Would this affect your pension plan, or do all teachers, part and full-time, get the same deal?
Anyway, I'll write more later, but now I must eat. Oh, I have a delicious lentil recipe that I make frequently in the winter - it's a lentil tomatoe soup spiced with red wine and cloves... it may sound kind of odd, but it is absolutely delicious. I'll try to remember to post it next time I'm on here.
Yes, please do post it. I'm not a great lentil fan but I keep trying. Your weight loss is quite like mine - taking forever but sloooowwly inching ever down. Aren't the fractions on the scale great?
I am going to be disgustingly cheerful this week . Not only am I going to the "magic kingdom" aka NYC in three days but my scale shows a drop back down to 133 lbs, 3 days ahead of schedule.
My "science experiment" last night was a success. DH gobbled down 2 bowls after he got home and didn't even notice there was squash in his "goop". He hates squash so I'm disguising it. We eat a lot of "goop" - veggie goop, chickpea goop, rice goop, etc. and it's easy to slip an extra ingredient in there. Using lots of cumin seed and turmeric helps too - I love middle eastern food and so does DH. Now if only there was alow cal version of hummus . . .
Morning! We had a lovely vacation. Very relaxing. My great nephew is 7 mos old and so cute and fun.
There should be a law that you can't weigh yourself the day you get home. I got much better news this morning.
I still haven't really got my ducks-in-a-row since coming home but I have to work this afternoon so I should get my backside back into some sort of routine.
A good grocery run would help.
Not much to report. I lost 1.5 pounds by brushing my hair this morning. Almost makes up for the shock of a couple of months ago of gaining 1.5 pounds by putting in my contacts. It couldn't possibly be my scale, could it?
Back from TO. My weekend with the family was great. Although I have been home several times in the past few years it's been over 4 years since I was with my family at Thanksgiving. That of course is the rub. After 3 Thanksgiving dinners in 2 days accompanied by only 1 run...I am up 4 lbs again. (Insert big Sigh) I am not going to get depressed about it though. I am just going to get back on track.
Today's our anniversary. We have been married for 3 years. The sad part is that DH seems to have forgotten. I hesitate to say anything because I really don't want to get into an arguement. So as it stands so far I have spent the day doing some much needed cleaning. How is it possible for men to live in a pig stye and not even care. Don't get me wrong he does the basics like his laundry and the dishes most of the time. Although occasionally I will return from a trip and find the sink over flowing. Anyways he doesn't seem to go past the basics like cleaning the bathroom or sweeping the floor. All that is left up to me. If I don't do it...it doesn't get done. He refuses to get a housekeeper as he says this is something we can handle on our own and it will take time for us to get organized yet I am the one going crazy. There is so much dust in our house it's insane and with all the travelling I can barely keep up. BTW, does anyone have a suggestion for handling the mounds of paper that seems to come in the mail? The majority of our bills are electronic and I have added us to the do not mail lists but we still get all this crap.
I am sorry for sounding like a complainer. I had such a lovely time this weekend and then I came back to reality which is 4 lbs up, a messy house and a forgotten anniversary.
Kim, that weather sounds cold! My parents said that it has snowed twice already this year where they live (SLC, UT). I'm just happy that the temperature is a lot lower than the summer temperatures. AND, if your contacts weigh 1.5 pounds, I sure hope that my glasses weigh 4 pounds!!!! My scale has been up all week by 4 pounds and I have the munchies today.
Geans~sorry that your DH seems to have forgotten your anniversary. But perhaps he'll remember and surprise you tonight!
Is it quite common for teachers to work on contract now, not with a permanent position at one school? One of my clients has been on contract with a different posting every 4 months or so so I was curious. Would this affect your pension plan, or do all teachers, part and full-time, get the same deal?
Dagmar
I'm not a teacher Dagmar I am a secretary and I don't contribute to the pension plan because I am only at 30% time....I'm not sure how it works for the teachers...
Today is a good day, I worked till 1:30, voted and later tonight I am going to the gym... Back and bicep day
...
Speaking of recipes
another lady got it, she had more seniority than me ...
Yes, please do post it. I'm not a great lentil fan 
but I keep trying. Your weight loss is quite like mine - taking forever but sloooowwly inching ever down. Aren't the fractions on the scale great? 
Good morning!
