Good morning everyone!

Well, we went from balmy warm weather back to winter The temps have dropped down into the 40's and the outlook is more like our normal Spring temps with high's getting into the 50's by mid week. It's gloomy and misty here this morning so I won't be able to get out at noon and walk unless it clears up.

Weekend was on the busy side--made the Sassy Meatloaf recipe from Simply the Best and brought it into work for lunch today. I needed something new to try. Weekends are such a challenge for me eating wise...I do pretty well during the day and then in the evening I tend to throw caution to the wind and munch. Didn't help that TOM is due this week and nothing satisfied me. Today is a fresh day.

Hope everyone had a good weekend.

Hi Melissa and everyone else. It's on the cool side here too, although we had lots of sunshine over the weekend.

I seem to have regained control over my eating over the past few days - as some of you predicted I would . I have to weigh in this week - likely Saturday - to fulfill my monthly weigh-in commitment and with any luck, I won't have to pay. The running has helped too - 50 minutes yesterday morning in spite of a brisk wind that just about blew us into the lake.

The weekend was busy. Got the remaining leaves raked up, transplanted a few hosta and other things that were getting too big. DH trimmed the front hedge - well, actually, massacred it is more like it. But we have re-claimed our front walk as a result and the yard is looking pretty good.

How's the meatloaf Melissa? What's up with everyone else?

Hi Everyone,
Very boring weekend here. Went to a bunch of plant sales, bought some interesting little gems and got most of them into the ground this weekend.

Tried to dig up our short season community garden. Its is a disaster- they planted a cover crop and then rototilled it too shallowly and when it was raining. Outstanding (not). Anyways, we spent two hours building beds and another two deciding to cover the other 20' with black plastic until we return from italy.

I did work out this weekend and did a bit of flyladying, so our house is getting into some shape. I need to focus on getting my stuff organized for my trip, getting instructions to the housesitter and getting all the work at work done. Yes, ladies, the day after I get back I'm leaving for South Carolina for a week of work. Yikes.

Anyways, zesty meatloaf sounds great melissa. We are having a very green inspired dinner - spinach sorrel soup and
cilantro pesto and pasta. I need to get these things out of the house before we leave.

I still haven't weighed in for a month. I don't know why. I'm like 10lbs from goal and just stagnating. I found two books (full) from the last two years that show this seesawing () between weights. Pretty depressing. However, I saw a friend at a plant sale who made it back to goal and that was inspiring.

Okay darlings, hope all is well.

lala

The meatloaf was very tasty! I'd definitely mark this as a good recipe and one that I'll use again. It was fairly simply...ground beef, salsa, oatmeal, tomatoes, mushrooms and carrot. Instead of shaping into 1 large loaf I divided the meat up into "individual" meatloaves (I weighed each one). If you want I could post the recipe if you don't have the cookbook.

i'm back procastinating from the task at hand - proposal writing.

melissa- that sounds like the meatloaf i make on a regular basis, though I use turkey breast meat instead of ground beef. I love the oatmeal and usually use homemade chili sauce, but salsa would make it even better.

Hmm. I guess I know whats on tomorrow nights menu .

lala

Melissa: Please, post the recipe. Sounds yummy and a little different from my regular one.

lala: By the time I get weighed on Saturday, it will be close to eight weeks for me. Definitely not a good idea if staying on track is the goal. Gotta bite the bullet, face the music, and move on.

I'm heading out of town tomorrow on business but back on Friday. I do this every second week - not the kind of travel that lala does - but enough to through my rhythm off. Gotta get three runs in between today and Friday and I'm not quite sure how I'll do it. I hear it's snowing in Cape Breton (where I'm headed). Oh joy!!

I'll check in later today.

Katie, congrats on the new job! That's wonderful; and it must make you feel great to know that they went to all that extra work to get the funding and create the position. What a coincidence, too, about the WW connections! How was your visit to the Twin Cities?

Lala, my dh (who grew up farming & ranching) says there's no excuse for the way they treated y'all's community garden! Tilling it wet, and going shallow to boot! I imagine the black plastic will help, though, and will certainly kill the weeds. That spinach sorrel soup sounds great; we're having soup more often now, and it's really helping. I've been reading that book Volumetrics, which recommends soup highly. And I made their version of hummus last night, and served it w/pita wedges I toasted in the oven. My Dad looked at it suspiciously, but ended up really liking it.

Melissa, I really like that cookbook too (Simply the Best). Everything I've tried from there has worked well; will have to try that meatloaf now. My favorite recipe to serve for company is the Chocolate Amaretto Cheesecake. Yum. I posted the recipe in the desserts thread last year, I think.

Seasaw, nearly an hour running in such a strong wind! You go, girl! I'm sure with that, and all the gardening over the weekend, your metabolism is just humming along right now. You're inspiring me to pump up my morning walks now!

This morning, dh dropped me off by the river so I could walk/jog home with different scenery. It was really lovely. The cornfields are coming up in spite of the drouth, but if we don't get rain soon, they'll just burn up. Maybe this weekend!

Hope everyone is having a great week!
Regards,
Jan

Hi everyone,

It snowed here last night ~ even in the city. So much for spring, it didn't stick, but well, I'm sure my little broccoli plants didn't appreciate it.

jan- I'm glad that your dh concours. I think we'll just cover it and then just plant cool season things for the first half of it. We have lots of arugula, beet and pea seeds to plant. The dog is waiting anxiously for the soil to warm up so that his filet beans can be planted. I just hope we can reduce the amount of organic produce we buy this year by actually eating what we plant.

I also love soup. Today we have carrot ginger soup in the cafeteria. Very lovely and low points. I shall have some for lunch. My cilantro pesto was also yummy. I suspect it would be great as a rub on chicken.

susan- is this a work trip to cape breton? I have always wanted to go there. I honestly don't know what my problem is with weighing in. I guess I feel that my schedule is so whacky that I don't want to give ww my money and then have to pay for missed meetings. However being accountable is a good thing. It would be nice to get a baseline reading prior to leaving the country.

I am not looking forward to my week in the Carolinas. I hate really hot weather, however, I'll be in savannah for the vidalia festival. I hope to experience something cultural.

So, I send my parents off to London tomorrow. Based on the questions they are asking, you would think they have never been outside their house. I'll be relieved when they are in their seats drinking mimosas and enjoying their daughter's hard earned miles.

Well, I'm about 65% done with my proposal. I'm just stymied, I better get back to it.

lala

Hello ladies,
Just thought I'd stop in for a quick hello. Had a good trip to the Twin Cities this past weekend. The weather sucked - turned cold & we had 6 inches of snow there on Sunday. But it's probably melted by now. We got back home Monday afternoon.

Melissa - do post the meatloaf recipe. I'll love to try a new version.

Seasaw - sounds like you're back in the groove. Man, I am in awe of your running ability.

JanetMae - thanks for the kudos on finally landing a new job. Three & one half months it took - I guess not TOO bad, all in all. I am excited/nervous to start. I hope I am up to the task & that I really enjoy it. So glad to be going in a different direction career-wise. A major perk is that you get 100% free tuition. Am planning to go back to get my master's degree this fall or winter, hopefully.

lala - you are so on the go - you must have perpetual jetlag

Well, I start the new job on May 1. I have a 2 day training seminar in Milwaukee on May 2-3, so I am jumping right in. I am so glad to be back with the working world. DD will be going back fulltime to daycare/preschool next week. DH is on vacation this week, so is busy trying to do some things around the house.

Been doing pretty good on the eating/exercise front, so at least that is somewhat under control.

Hello to everyone else I missed. I'll try to check in later this week, gals. Thanks again for all the kind words, etc., about the new job.

Later,

Just got back from doing my noon at-work meeting & thought I'd post my weigh-in for the week. Happy to say I'm down a bit. I am due for TOM this week & I (contrary to most women) usually LOSE weight the week I'm supposed to get TOM. But, I'll take it!

Weigh in April 24: 143.2

Raining here this afternoon - thunderstorms, too.

Later ladies,

yeah kt!

Sorry, I am so swamped here and I don't know where to start. Its sunny for the moment. I took mr. jacques for a walk at lunch and then he conned DP in taking him again. We ended up driving to the coffee place so they could get coffee and cookies. I ended up with a roasted veggie wrap.

I'm happy to see you getting back into the work world. You are very fortunate to get a job so fast (really), things here in high-tech/telecom are slow.

I am going to wi this week. I could use a boost.

Okay, stay dry during the t-storms and enjoy your day!

lala

Good evening everyone! I managed to get to an early meeting since we had a luncheon at the university scheduled for noon. Anyway, I was up 1.6 today but I kind of expected it since my TOM begins in just a day. Last month I think I lost a bit but this month I posted the gain. I felt bloated and yucky so it's not a surprise.

It was cool here today (60) but sunny. I was bummed that I couldn't get out over the lunch hour for a walk. Ah well, tomorrow is another day.

Janet: I love the cookbook...I'm always trying new recipes. It's funny that you mention the cheesecake because my hubby and I were looking at it and I've been contemplating making it.

Katie: Good for you!

As promised here's the recipe:

Sassy Meatloaf

Makes 6 servings.

1 pound lean ground beef (10% or less fat)
1 1/4 cups low sodium salsa
3/4 cup quick-cooking otameal
1 carrot, shredded
2 plum tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup coarsely chopped mushrooms

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.

In large bowl, combine the beef, salsa, oatmeal, carrot, tomatoes, and mushrooms. Shape mixture into a loaf.

Place the loaf into the pan. Bake until browned and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean and hot, about 1 hour and 5 minutes. Let stand about 10 minutes before slicing.

Per Serving: 183 calories, 8 g Total Fat, 3 g saturated fat, 44 mg cholesterol, 61 mg sodium, 12 g total carbohydrate, 2 g dietary fiber, 16 g protein, 11 mg calcium.

Points per serving: 4

I couldn't find the low sodium salsa so I used regular. I also shaped the meatloaf into 6 individual loaves (weighed them on my scale) so I could make them up as needed. This is a really good recipe. My leader said she takes the mixture and puts it into red peppers and cooks them, and that sounds equally good.

Kt, way to go on the loss! Glad you enjoyed your trip; looks like you do a lot of travelling too...

Melissa, that meatloaf sounds good; will have to try it!

Lala, good luck with your weigh in. I need to do the same next week, so will have to be careful this weekend.

Dh and I are heading to Dallas early in the morning, so I'm getting my handouts and cd's ready for a prez. The hotel has a pool and fitness center, so hopefully will be able to get some exercise in! Will just have to be *very* careful not to overdo when we go out Sat. night in the West End, where all the nightclubs and restaurants are. "See" y'all again Monday!

Jan

hi everyone,

I have been battling computer woes all morning.

Seems that everything is back to normal.

Janet- Have fun in DFW. I have connected through there, but never stopped. Going to have to one of these days. I will wi either tomorrow or Saturday. It depends on my mood.

Its nice here today, but as usual, I'm stuck wondering how the heck I'm going to meet my deadline.

Have a great evening everyone.

lala