The scale was up 3 pounds for me as well. I've had a terrible headache since shortly after eating dessert last night. Sugar hangover? That happens right? I declined the pumpkin pie and made a berry crumble pie. Less calories and fat but I used a lot of brown sugar in it and I'm wondering if I'm just not used to sugar anymore?!

Trying to get some energy to head to the gym......

I was partially successful with my Thanksgiving goals. I went for a long (~6 mile) walk the morning before, ate small portions at our Thanksgiving meal (lunch). Of course I wasn't rude to my hosts, but I didn't enjoy the food very much. They made their traditional dishes that didn't coincide with mine - gelatinized cranberries with some kind of marshmallow/cool whip topping that I didn't bother trying, black eyed peas with tomato relish, candied yams, nothing green, not even a traditional green bean casserole. It was easy to eat small portions of these things I don't really like (and skipped some entirely!). Unfortunately I ended up bringin half a pumpkin pie home. I left the second pie there with them, but I don't think they'll eat it. I don't understand why they asked me to bring pumpkin pie if they weren't going to touch them, you know? I gave them lots of opportunity to ask me to bring something else, anything else. My mom pointed out that they may be unused to pumpkin pie like I'm unused to their southern foods (Mom is so insightful sometimes) . Anyway I've eaten more of the pie, and I know I should throw the rest away (no convenient person to foist it off onto). Ya'll tell me to throw it away!

Luckily politics didn't come up, but the in-laws of our friend were not exactly the warmest people. My BF noticed this too. We left quickly after eating b/c we just weren't feeling the love fly around the room. BF wished we had gone to see his family instead, even though he stayed here b/c he thought he'd be working today. It made me miss my family a whole lot, too, and made me sad that I can't afford to visit them more often. I'll see everyone at Christmas, though. I'm going to need to save my pennies b/c my sister just told me I'm going to be an aunt for the first time! I don't want to miss things because I'm so far away.

Well Michele, when I eat sugar I get a big zit on my chin. I guess we all have our sugar reactions! Lol. I actually get a "sugar hangover" too, sometimes, if I do eat a large quantity my body is no longer used to. Usually mine manifests in just being really tired and sluggish.

Congrats on those who stayed OP during their Thanksgiving meals, and good luck to those who are having them today!

I've already cleaned the kitchen thoroughly and I've got the bathroom and moving some furniture around to do. Does anyone have any ideas to remove a musty smell from dresser drawers in a dresser recently purchased from a thrift store? I was thinking a basic cleaner, but afraid it would soak too much into the grain of the wood inside the drawers. Then maybe line with dryer sheets or lavender/rosemary sachels? Later I'm off to go caroling at the town's Christmas celebration. Santa Claus comes in on the shrimp boat. Only in this town!

ICU, I totally understand about the subclinical thing. I had symptoms for two years before my TSH finally went up enough to be diagnosed, and even then it was only 8 even though I was miserable. Then even when my TSH was too low, I still had symptoms, until I finally had my Free T3 tested as well, which came out below normal. Since then I have been on a combination of synthetic T4 and synthetic T3 and it has been working very well. My doctor almost didn't believe me when I told her that my chronic knee pain (which I'd gone to an orthopedist and PT for) disappeared after 3 days on the T3 med.

My scale was up 1.8 this morning, probably from all the salt in the gravy and water weight from the wine. I overate, but not to the point of my stomach hurting. Didn't quite manage to avoid bringing home leftover pie and sweet potatoes though, so I'll have to portion carefully (since I can't bring them to work until Monday).

This morning I went to the "Great Turkey Burn-Off" 2-hour fitness class at the gym. Good thing I got there early, it was totally packed! DH took the dog for a 2-hour walk while I was at the class. They're actually having a second two-hour class tomorrow morning but I will probably skip that one since I'll be too sore from this one!

Scale down this morning, 1.5. I'd love to leave the 150s in the dust for Christmas this year. I really liked the feeling of control yesterday - I tried to follow the suggestions here about concentrating on the people instead of the food, and I came to understand that my husband's family, as totally odd as they are, are actually very easy to eat around. Nibbling stuff actually stays out in the kitchen - it's not spread all over the house where you can't avoid it. The dinner was almost all whole, clean food, and NOT ONE person noticed at all that I skipped the mashed potatoes, gravy, and the strange green jello salad. Huh. Holidays through a different lens - and it was really OK. Color me paradigm-shifted!

Does anyone have any healthy brussel sprout recipes? Sometimes when I make them they taste good, sometimes I guess I overcook so they get that sulfur taste. I was thinking of tossing them in EVOO and roasting them...?

Whew! What a week! I worked myself into a frazzle on Wednesday, but it was well worth it. I was up at 6:30; made the cranberries; showered; made the sweet potatoes; made the stuffing; made the potatoes; got the turkeys brining; made two of the four pies; all at the same time that I was fixing and cleaning up breakfast for my family. I finally died of exhaustion after running the dishwasher twice, doing 5 loads of hand dishes and 4 loads of laundry!

Thursday morning I made the other two pies and had a relaxing late morning and early afternoon. And dinner was a success! Everything was ready at the same time and the experimental turkey was good! I'll be sure to BBQ one again as it was so easy and a lot faster than the roaster.

Half of the crowd left last night and the rest left a couple of hours ago. Now more laundry and moving stuff around to get the house back to normal.

Then I'll have to go to the grocery store because DD decided to have a birthday party here on Saturday night and wants to serve burgers and stuff.

Oh! And the good news is I'm down almost 2 pounds this week! I'm sure it's all the extra work I've been doing around here. But who's complaining? NOT ME!!!

The sachets might work. I also saw these things at Lowe's that were basically a little block of cedar that you can hang in a closet. When the scent starts to fade, you just lightly sand it and it smells all cedary again. I wonder if that would work?

My first hosting of Thanksgiving was a success, though I ate way too much. There is still pie in my kitchen, but I can't have any more of it. If I have to throw it away I will. I do have 8 of Glory's strawberry cheesecake bites - at the 16-18 cals apiece that they work out to be I'll have a couple of those if I'm dying for sweet later...

Megan - made your sweet potato apple bake yesterday and it was fantastic... I liked it overall so much better than the rich, pecan and brown sugar topped sweet potato casserole that DH's ex sent for the party. (Not that the casserole wasn't good, it was fantastic, just way too sweet.) And, everyone loved it, including DH, so it is definitely on my make again list. And, the little cedar blocks do work well in musty drawers and chests.

Allison - glad your day went well!

ICU - I'm glad Thanksgiving went so well for you!

Michele - did you make it to the gym? Hope so. I have a headache today too, that I know is from all the sugar. I did go for a run, and feel much better now.

to everyone else! I'm about to go do some UB work downstairs while DH listens to music with a buddy. I've already run today, but figure I need to hit the 1000 (estimated) calories of pie I ate yesterday hard before they have time to stick.

They are excellent that way! They get almost sweet. I just take off the yucky leaves, cut them in half, toss them in oil and roast. Can't recall how long - just til they're done. I'll never boil them again.

I am so glad I have no thanksgiving leftovers! I didn't bring anything, didn't take anything home. I ate sensibly - wow! - including a small brownie with coffee for dessert. We finished up other leftovers here for lunch today, and I need to get to the grocery store - and the gym - hopefully today. But it's snowing! A lot. I do have 4 wheel drive, and it's not horribly cold or windy, so I'll probably go. I've been home since Wed night, except for a few hours for dinner yesterday, and I'd be happy to stay in til Monday morning.

ICU - I've been admiring your swimming, and so signed up for a CHristmas break set of lessons/coaching at the HS pool starting 12/15. It's 8 sessions over 3 weeks, and right after work. Last year I did the same, but it was 8 weeks 1x/wk and at 8:30 at night. This should be better. I'd use swimming for more of my cardio if I had more stamina at it, but of course the way to do that is - duh - to swim more. I do get things if you beat me over the head with them.

Hope you all are enjoying your time off.

Shannon-- yes, I made it to the gym. I dragged my feet but I wasn't about to skip. I am, however, going to skip the leftovers while my family eats them. I am debating having a small piece of the berry crumble though-- to test my sugar theory?!?!

We are going to see a movie later and we've already sworn off movie treats/popcorn. My girls are going to have pumpkin pie instead. I think we're going to see Blind Side.....

Pat-- I hope you enjoy the swimming. I keep debating doing a mini triathlon but I haven't actively swum in years. I was a swimmer when I was a kid so I suspect it would come back. I also haven't ridden a true bike in years. I do spin classes but I know they are different....

MEGAN ~ I saw this a few weeks ago and cut it out of the Parade magazine in the Sunday paper...haven't made it yet but I thought it looked interesting!


Brussels Sprouts by Cat CoraNovember 15, 2009 · Filed under Uncategorized

Serves 8. Taken from Parade Magazine (you know, the ones that comes in the Sunday paper). They say, “Spouts get a bad rap. But when Iron Chef’s Cat Cora caramelizes hers with butter and capers, people line up.”

3 lbs. Brussels sprouts
1 T. plus 1 t. kosher salt
1/4 c. unsalted butter
4 T. capers
2 T. lemon juice
1/2 t. freshly ground black pepper
2 T. grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish

Prepare Burssels sprouts by peeling off the outside leaves and cutting off the stem. Using a paring knife, mark the core where teh stem was with an X. Cut the sprouts in half.

In a 4-quart saucepan, bring 2 quarts of water to a boil. Season with 1 T. salt. Blanch sprouts for 10 minutes or until fork-tender.

In a 10-inch saute pan, brown the butter and add sprouts. Cook over medium-high heat until caramelized, 10 minutes.

Remove from the head and add the capers and lemon juice. Season with remaining salt and freshly ground black pepper. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, if desired

Pat, I did exactly that with the brussel sprouts - tossed in a little EVOO, salt, and roasted them - and they were very good this time. I know they can be good and the trick is to not overcook them, I guess I just let them go a bit too far sometimes in the saute pan (and I don't usually overcook veggies, I prefer them crunchy). Anyway, yum! You're right about the sweetness.

Gary, thanks for the recipe. I'll try that next time I make them, perhaps with a little less butter. The capers sound like they would add an interestin flavor.

Shannon, I'm glad you like the sweet potato apple bake! Yum yum, now I want some, lol.

I've been making some headway cleaning the house. I'm trying to de-clutter. Why do I have so much junk??? I also need to make a trip to the dump to throw away a very old TV and vacuum cleaner that no longer work. Of course nowhere in a 100-mile radius has any kind of electronic recycling. Caroling last night was fun. We dressed in "costume" and raised $360 to give to the county's "Christmas for kids" program - toys, coats, etc. for kids who won't get them otherwise.

I hope everyone's having a good weekend!

alinnell: congrats on the 2lbs - nice feedback for all the effort!

Megan - I've had pretty good luck with spraying Ozium around. I find it at auto supply places, as detailing shops use it to get smoker's odors out of fabric and interior. Squeak open a drawer, give it a healthy shot, and shut the drawer. Works on suitcases too.

shannon - I like the idea of "sticking" extra calories. I lurked through the thread a few weeks back about how long a time there is before extra fat gets comfy and then won't leave.

WaterRat - cool - now you can be a chlorinated WaterRat! A little technique goes a long way in the pool, that's why I, Uberklutz, stays there.

michele - I can vouch for swimming coming back quick! We're headed out to see Planet 51 this afternoon (me and DS10) and we've agreed already to no popcorn.

EZ - Nice recipe - thanks for sharing that one! (goes off to see if there are capers in the pantry).

Birthday party for DS10's best buddy tonight - I will be challenged with cake. Not going there, as the sweet tooth is in remission and I don't want to reawaken that monster. I might, however, have a shot of Jack ... much easier to ingest very slowly, and not near the shock to the poor pancreas!

ICUwishing-- what goal do you have? What Nationals are you trying to get to?

No exercise today, five hours of putting out Christmas decorations instead... Does that count? Also, have to come clean... I didn't throw out the 1/4 slice of razzleberry pie, so I ate it as I put out decorations as a replacement for the planned egg nog that went bad on me...