Oops, I just pressed a wrong button and deleted my post!

Dagmar - you should check and see if Canadians are accepted to the NWCR. I know that sometimes things that say "national" or "american" include Canada too (like the AAA).

I accidentally skipped my UBWO yesterday. I meant to do it when I got home, but I got home late, took the dog for a walk, and next thing I knew I was half asleep in bed suddenly realizing I hadn't done it. :mad: I don't know if I'll be able to fit it in today since my Spanish class got moved to Wednesday this week, which is at 7:00-8:30, and I'm supposed to do my run today which is higher priority than the UBWO (planning to do it as soon as I get home, around 5:45, then a quick shower and off to class).

I splurged on a tall nonfat pumpkin spice latte (no whip) this morning. I'm kind of annoyed that after getting to work and looking it up online, it turned out to be 200 cals. What the heck is in there that is so caloric? The espresso?

Jessica, Starbucks (if that's where you got it) doesn't have a SF pumpkin spice syrup so it's the sugar in the syrup that makes the calories so high. A tall skinny latte made with SF syrup is 90 calories. I'm addicted to skinny cinnamon dolce lattes (extra hot, please!) :D

Meg, thanks! I didn't realize it was using pumpkin spice syrup, I thought they actually put the spices in (like the pumpkin pie spice mix you can buy in the spices section of the grocery). I guess I need to make my dinner 200 cals less than planned!

Unfortunately it's the same with the gingerbread syrup, so that pretty much rules out the fall lattes for me. And don't even think about the eggnog lattes because they use real eggnog from the carton! :faint:

Speaking of dinner, today is a cooking day. I'm roasting butternut squash cubes and making spaghetti squash alfredo (along with pumpkin cookies for DH's office party tomorrow!) When the weather is this cold, I crave warm foods. :T

Is there a secret to spaghetti squash? I tried making it once (in the microwave) and it ended up being pretty gross (tasteless and kind of dry and a little crunchy). Haven't tried it again. I love squash in general and DH hates it, but if I could figure out how to make it properly it would probably be okay.

Here's my Spaghetti Squash Alfredo recipe, which has a pretty good description of baking the squash. I've never tried microwaving, only baking. I like to keep the strands fairly crisp and not mushy. Try it again because it's such a versatile vegetable to add to so many recipes!

Spaghetti Squash Alfredo

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

1 med spaghetti squash
1 sliced red pepper
1 sliced yellow pepper
1 sliced orange pepper
1 sliced red onion
4 green onions
8 oz container of sliced mushrooms (I omit)
2 handfuls of snow peas in the pod
water chestnuts optional
1 container Alouette Light garlic and herb cheese (or any other similar brand)
1 12 oz. container fat-free sour cream
garlic, salt, pepper (and/or crushed red pepper seeds to make spicy)
olive oil spray
1 oblong metal cake pan sprayed with the olive oil spray

This dish is put together very much like a stir fry with the vegetables served al dente (crisp).

Cut spaghetti squash in half. The inside will look like a pumpkin, so you scrape all the loose squash and seeds out of the middles. Then it will look like a cantaloupe. Spray each half with the olive oil spray, and season with the garlic, salt, and pepper. Turn each half so the cut side is down inside the pan, so that when it heats up it steams into itself.

Bake for about 45-55 minutes or until it is fork tender, where you can puncture the outside of the hull and soft in the middle.

While the squash is in the oven, put all the peppers, onions, mushrooms, chestnuts and pea pods into a large pan and sauté on med/high heat. Before the onions turn transparent, stir in the cheese and sour cream together into the mixture. Let simmer on warm, stirring intermittently. Depending on how crisp you like your vegetables, this will take about 20 minutes to cook.

When the squash is done, use a glove to turn over. Be careful: These will be hot on the inside and steam up, so let them cool a little bit before you try to handle them. When they are cooled, use a fork and pull from the outer part of the shell to the inside and the squash will string out like spaghetti.

Place on a plate. Optional: top the squash with mozzarella or some kind of shredded cheese. Then top with the cheese/veggie mixture that was being sautéed.

You can also use a tomato sauce over the squash like regular spaghetti, or just salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese, or just use your imagination, and serve with a salad.

Makes approximately 6 servings.

Happy hump day everyone!

Bought my new container of half & half and left it in the fridge at home. Doh. Sad coffee again. (Does my obsession with my AM coffee mean I should get a life?) It's chilly here again this morning. I'm looking forward to the daylight savings time switch. It's been hard for me to get up in the dark lately. Food & exercise POP and I actually found myself wanting to pack cottage cheese to eat this afternoon. I've tried but never liked the texture of raw cottage cheese (is ok baked in protein bars), but want to like it b/c it's so healthy! Last weekend I mixed 1/2 cup cc w/ 1/2 c plain ff yogurt, diced up half an apple, sprinkled cinnamon and sweetener, and... kind of liked it! That's what I packed for my afternoon snack today. Big victory for me.

Sometimes living in the middle of nowhere has benefits. There is no Starbucks for me to be tempted by. With my coffee obsession, the smell of Starbucks makes me weak in the knees.

Jessica, I like most squash and I don't like spaghetti squash either. Maybe I want it to be more like real spaghetti, lol. I've skipped my abs workout several times doing that same thing, not realizing it until the next day. Oops, it happens.

Speaking of the NWCR, I found my (still blank) NWCR forms when I moved last month. I thought to myself I should fill them out, but felt guilty I'm above my goal weight. I suppose I'm still over 30 lbs. down though, so I should fill them out!

Off to get some work done. Have a great day everyone! Stay warm!!!

That squash recipe looks wonderful. I think I might try it this week-end. :)

So I had my annual gyn appt. this morning. She didn't say a single word about my weight. Which is so weird, because her reaction to my weight gain at last year's appt. was what got me to start over again.

I feel slightly guilty about missing the gym this morning, but I'll have to get over it. I will try to do some push-ups, squats, lunges, tricep dips, crunches, etc. as the day goes along.

I'm late checking in today as I've been in bed all day. I don't know quite what happened. I got up at my usual 5 AM and showered and was reading the paper when I got dizzy and threw up. I managed to take my son to school and came back and crashed for 2 hours. In those few hours I managed to lose 2 pounds. I don't recommend doing it that way, though! A can of tomato soup, sipped all day, has been my only food, but it has finally made me feel better. I hope all the sleep I got today won't interfere with a good night's sleep tonight.

It's cold and I'm starving
 

Just flying by - first really cold windy day today and I am craving a hot dinner RIGHT NOW :hungry:!!

Unfortunately I actually have to cook something for that to happen. Had a can of turkey chunks to delay the hunger pangs but my stomach's not buying it :nono:.

Fish curry goop :p tonite. Something new (I like "science experiment" cooking) and I think DH is over his candy bar binge and will appreciate something non-sweet in his body.

Have a good evening all!

Dagmar :tantrum: snow in Oct. is unnatural

You're absolutely right! So is zero degrees - and that's F, not C! :brr:

Allison, oh, my, how horrible! I hope you feel better tomorrow.

Good information about Starbuck's. Too bad you had to find out the hard way, though, Jessica.

Meg, yummy recipe! Someone asked me the other day about how to fix spaghetti squash and this sounds great.

Megan, glad you found a good way to eat cottage cheese. I, too, have a packet of forms that I haven't filled out. Unfortunately, I still have lots of boxes to go through so it'll be a while.

Wardhog, that would be annoying not to hear the doctor say anything about all the hard work you've done to lose weight. They always seem to focus on the negative and ignore the positive, but maybe that's the nature of their training.

Dagmar, "turkey chunks" and "fish curry goop." Okay, why doesn't that make me hungry? :)

Pat, I feel for you. So how long before you get to move somewhere warmer?

My DS called today to see if I knew any clinic he could go to where he lives (I grew up there). He said he had been having chest pains, pain down his left arm and was light-headed driving home yesterday. Yikes! He's not a detail-oriented person, and he forgot to fill out his insurance enrollment forms on time so he does not have health insurance. The two clinics he called both told him to go to the ER, but he didn't. So now I'm having an anxiety attack. But I figure that he's only 30, although he's a smoker and overweight. Can you really have a heart attack at 30? I did tell him to go to a fire station and at least get his blood pressure checked. You never cease to worry about your kids no matter how old they are.

Have a good Thursday, everyone!

Yup, you can. If he never has his blood pressure or cholesterol checked, there might be surprises. It could be a lot of things, even anxiety, but he SHOULD get checked. Not necessarily in an ER if the pain is gone ;)

Sheila-- I hope your ds is ok! He definitely needs to get checked out.

Allison-- hope you feel better! What you have has been going around my school and it seems to be short-lived (one day) so hopefully you will be better tomorrow.

I just got back from my WW interview. I think it went well. She said she would call me tomorrow so I'm crossing my fingers!! I'll let ya'll know when I hear something.

Speaking of Starbucks - those new hot chocolate drinks? The salted caramel hot chocolate (which sounds very intriguing to me) - for a tall one (12 oz) with skim milk and no whip: 400 calories!! :eek: