Sunday, June 29, 2008

Sunday Night

And all is well...very well! We have been thoroughly enjoying our visit with the parents-to-be. My darling daughter-in-law is sporting a tiny "pooch", that we are drawn to like a campfire. We all talk to "Re-Pete" with shameless bids for favoured Grandparent status. I treated it to a rousing rendition of "Good Morning to YOU" that brought morning smiles to my son's face as a child, and a little less enthusiasm when he was a sleep deprived teen! There is something about wearing my new dress with shiny patent shoes that made me feel like a kid again. How is it possible that I will soon be a grandmother? WHERE did the time go? Never mind. I remember all to well where it went! It is very difficult not to wish the time to hurry between now and November, but in reality? My wish is for all the days left, to be as long as possible so I can savour every moment of anticipation!

It is creeping up to one year that I have been on Weight Watchers, and although I have been strictly adhering to the program, the weight loss is hovering around 22 pounds or so. Hardly earth shattering in comparison to some of the stories I read. Sometimes I wish that I had eaten horrendous food in horrendous amounts, so there would be a dramatic change when I stopped! No such luck. Slow and steady is the way I seem to be going. So it looks like 104 weeks won't be nearly enough time. On the bright side, I am determined to stick with the program because there has been a loss of 22 pounds. That is better than the year before, and I have eaten so much more over this past year. Just doesn't seem right, does it? LOL

Thursday, June 26, 2008

MMMMM Hot Dogs!

They say that if you ever saw what was in a hot dog, you would never eat one again. The lesson here is DON'T LOOK! I love 'em, and have just realized that without the wicked bun, they make a nice choice for lunch. Just polished off two of them, wrapped in two slices of Oat Hull Fibre bread, for five points total. That is not too shabby! And it was o o o, so tasty. Life is full of rediscovered food for me these days, as I have learned to really question what is "allowable" and what is not. Weight Watchers, although painfully slow, does work, and you can eat what you like, when you like without a scrap of guilt to torment you! MMMMMM good!

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

That is the way it is....

Some mornings are worth waking up to! I found that I have shed the weight gain from last week, and bonus! Lost a pound. Why a grown woman makes such a fuss over a few numbers on the scale, is beyond me, but that is the way it is! That phrase covers so many of life's mysteries, doesn't it?

Yesterday, I managed to tackle the tons of wash that were waiting for me. With the super sized washer and dryer, it goes a lot faster than it used to, too! We are getting ready for a visit from the kids on Friday, so there are all sorts of little projects on the go around here.

I can officially tell the world that I am going to be a grandmother in November, so the comfort of the mother to be is of prime importance. As if I didn't adore the girl enough already, this just added more icing to the cake! I have been fighting the urge to shop for a "generic" baby. I want to fully enjoy the little boy or little girl experience, so I am leaving all the shopping for the baby's arrival. When we were on our shopping trip last week, it was so hard to pass by the little tiny people items! There is an overpowering urge to get everything in order before the little one's arrival. Time to declutter and get things spic and span, so I can spend the rest of my life doing important things like baking cookies, and reading stories! Life won't ever be the same again, will it?

Saturday, June 21, 2008

OH NOOOOOOO

Well, I finally hit the scale.... I can see where the little indulgences have really hit me! I added every morsel up, and I was 35 points OVER for the week. Remembering that it was a vacation week, and I was at the mercy of our salty friends south of the border, it still doesn't seem fair that the scale should rise five pounds for 35 points over. FIVE pounds? That is 1750 extra calories...but five pounds???? PLEASE let it be water weight!

Anyway, I am back into my home routine, which is so much safer. Unlike my dear husband, I eat to live, not live to eat! I enjoy flavours and textures as much as the next person, but always worrying what is going to "stick" around forever sort of ruins any gastronomic experience, if you ask me. The funny thing is that I have been really, really active for the past week - on my feet constantly. Where is the plus for that one folks? I really hope that this poundage will melt away next week. But, onward and upward. Today is another day. SIGH

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Had a great time...

shopping, and resting south of the border. There were tons of sales on, and I am happy to report that I am the new owner of four new dresses, five new blouses, and undies to match my four colourful cowboy bras! Cowboy bras you may well ask? They are the kind that rounds 'em up and heads 'em out!

Shopping was so much easier this trip, as the styles have changed, and there are actually cuts that work for me! I think the extra few pounds lost have had an effect, too, as I had to go down a size in a lot of the garments.

We tried to keep to the straight and narrow, but the salt content in the food was very noticable. We only ate out once a day, but still, the swelling is uncomfortable to say the least. Our standard "hotel food" meals based on rotisserie chicken didn't work out as well as it usually does. Even with the skin dutifully removed, you could still make a sandwich without the slightest sprinkling of salt! THAT was salty chicken! Another few days, though, and this too shall pass. I know I will have to wait awhile before hitting the scales. Far too depressing to see all the water weight!


We also took a day and went to Swanson's in Fargo for our vitamins. Of course there were a few other stores there that beckoned and made the day trip worthwhile. We had lovely, lazy nights watching old TV shows on Nick at Night...pretty exciting for a couple of oldies, aye?

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Keeping my nose to the grindstone...

makes for less time posting! But today, I am taking it easy. I have a pot of beef & barley soup on the stove for our supper, and have a little time as it simmers until I need to ring the dinner bell! I am trying to make up for the oh so decadent week I have had gastronomically.

On Wednesday, I went to a dinner meeting at De Luca's Cooking school. We were treated to a lesson as well as our five course dinner. Need I say it was enjoyable? I came away with a new twist on Italian Penne that will knock your socks off. It sure did mine - right off the wagon....oh, my. If you ever want to make an Alfredo pasta, this was the sauce to end all sauces. It involved butter, whipping cream and little else - what isn't to love? The whole secret to the sauce, is NOT putting the Parmesan directly into the sauce, but sprinkling it generously on the pasta in the serving dish. What a difference this made to the end product. The other dish demonstrated was a simple tomato based sauce that was a lot more calorie friendly. Of course, that isn't the one I loved. There was a visible gasp from the aging crowd as the cook tossed in literal handfuls of salt to cook the pasta. We were all waiting for the Cardiac fairy to spirit someone away as we sat enthralled, watching the recipe come to life before us. I could not bring myself to use these ingredients so cavalierly, but when you have all of your days points saved for one meal, and need a small taste of the rich life? This is the technique for you! A meal of white flour pasta, butter and cream? Not WW friendly????? Who knew? Sometimes life is best experienced off the well travelled path, so when the scales did not show a loss for me this week? It came as no surprise. Did I mention the lemon cream cannoli that was served for dessert?

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Monday...another chow down day...

and all but three of my Flex points are gone for the week! OH MY GOODNESS! It is perfect timing for dear hubby to have a couple of days out of town, so I can get myself back on track. It is far too easy to fall out of step when you have someone around that enjoys food soooooooo much! The other night, I made Pad Thai, and it was amazing. Even better as leftovers! I am going to put that on our menu regularly from now on as it was soooo good. Basically, it is rice noodles, with shrimp, bean sprouts, and a quick mix sauce over all. I added a couple of green peppers sliced thinly, for a little colour. When you plate the dish, you sprinkle a few peanuts over the top, with some red chili flakes and a lime cut into sections.

So, here is the horror story that was my menu today:

Breakfast: eggs, toast & butter, skim milk - doing okay so far...

Lunch: two cups of cherries, two grilled cheese sandwiches made with slices and Oat Hull bread(here is where it all started to go very wrong!) 70gms of Sun Chips

Supper: 2 oat hull toast & butter, two shrimps from Rick's leftover Pad Thai with a 'fork swirl' of noodles

Snack: five Werther's hard candies.

Sigh. Tomorrow is another day.

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Sunday Night

And all is well...now that is! I have been a veritable eating machine today. I started the day off with my usual breakfast of eggs, toast and skim milk, had a nap, and then a lunch consisting of a cheese sandwich and two cups of cherries. BUT the trouble came at supper time, when the lure of the barbecue got to me! So, two PC Blue menu burgers later (with Wonder buns)left me with very few Flex points left for the week. Trouble is, I promptly ate two Cadbury thin bars for dessert...who knew the mint variety was so compelling? The phrase "May as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb" is hanging in the air!

I imagine I will duck back into the kitchen for some more cherries and a big glass of water when I am done this update. Some days, you are much hungrier than others...one day last week, I had a ton of points left over for the day, and didn't have any desire to eat them! So, it just goes to show that the only thing you can ever be sure of is change.

It really doesn't matter if this happens. If you keep track of your points, the program works. In my experience, the times I have gone over a bit, are the times I seem to lose. Do they build in a 'fudge factor' to the totals they give you? Do they think that we won't measure every morsel and record it? The one thing I love about the online program is that it is easy to keep track of every bit without flipping through books and constant addition. It would just mess things up royally if I didn't keep track accurately. I also love the comfort zone that Flex points give me...I can slip out of the traces without worrying. Tomorrow is another day, and I am sure I will be on the straight and narrow once more. But for now? I will continue on with a little belch and a smile.

Thursday, June 5, 2008

Life is good....

I love it when I wake up to a loss! Ounce by ounce, the scale is finally cooperating. I wonder if my body has decided that it doesn't have to hang on to food anymore, because there is always more coming?

Yesterday's Menu: That I am not particularly proud of, but truth in all things!

Breakfast: eggs & toast, skim milk
Lunch: Vegetable soup (homemade), sprinkling of parmesan cheese, canteloupe and strawberries with Splenda
Supper: 4 dinner rolls with liver sausage and olives
Snacks: 2 cadbury thin bars, activia yogurt, leftover fruit from lunch!

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Oh oh...

So. I THOUGHT I had eaten enough lunch yesterday, but when I got out and about, I soon discovered (via dizziness and weakness - not a pleasant thing when you are trying to do your shopping) that my blood sugar was far too low. So, off to MacDonald's we went. Closest and quickest restaurant, and the most deadly, I may add. Much to my surprise, when I checked out the nutritional info? It was well within my points. I had to use a few Flex points, but for emergency use, Micky D's is okay. Isn't that amazing? (If you were to drop the cheese, and half the fries, a Big Mac meal would be 15 points.) Of course, when my sugar gets low, I get clumsy, so I literally dropped half of my medium fries. Bonus! I still had enough, and it was only four points. The burger was 13 points. I tried to drink as much water as I could when I got home, but the scales still showed a pound increase. Thank goodness hubby is out to a dinner meeting tonight. That will make it easy to have a simple supper - even if it is all by myself.

Yesterday's menu:
Breakfast: toast & butter, 2 eggs, skim milk
Lunch: 1 cup of tomato soup, Wasa Fibre Crispbread and Cheez Whiz
Snack: Big Mac, 1/2 medium fries
Supper: carrots, peas in the pod, Helluva Good Dip (2 T)
Snack: Healthy Choice ice cream bar...not as good as Skinny Cow, but they were on sale at Costco!

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Days are confused...

I could swear that today is Saturday! Hubby coming home with Chinese food is definitely a Friday thing...how come it was Monday? Hopefully I will get sorted out today. He had a rough trip home, as he had to drive through a forest fire. The RCMP opened up the highway out of Thompson, but there were a couple of places down the road where he couldn't even see the front of the car. Out of cell range, in the wilderness, with the trees on fire around you? Not an experience I would care for...I was lonesome all weekend, but got some much needed rest. In fact, it was a series of naps, in between baths and bed! I did get a fair amount accomplished in the house, but of course it doesn't show. Sigh. It is the 80/20 principle at work again! Only 20% of the housework you do shows. I just read an article, that said that it is 20% of the food that you eat that gets you into trouble. Is starch 20% of the human diet? Because that is what my downfall is. Keep the cake, but hand over that fresh bread! Rick makes the best caraway rye bread in the universe....I won't let him near the breadmaker, because I know that I could not stop at one slice! Give me the cardboard that is 1 point for two slices, and I will happily focus on the filling! But prime the pump with good bread, and like an alcoholic, one slice is too many and a million not enough!

Yesterday's menu:

Breakfast: eggs, toast & butter, skim milk

Lunch: veggies and dip, 3 slices of Wasa Fibre Crispbread with Cheez Whiz,Activia yogurt

Supper: Sweet & Sour pork, rice, chicken with veggies

I was quite happy until nine o'clock when hubby showed up with the Chinese food. After eating, there was this sick, queasy feeling that didn't go away. Not sick enough to be sick, but sick enough to make me not want to eat Chinese food for quite awhile. Ick. Don't even like talking about it!

So, today will be busy. We have to pick up some stain, so we can get the deck done, and while we are at it, it would be good to pick up some flowers and some new pots. I would like to plant a couple basil plants and some mint, close to the kitchen door. Maybe tarragon and some thyme too. So much for my gardening! I love white flowers, and every year, I resolve to put more colour into the garden...every year, I succumb to the lure of the soft white petals of every sort of bloom, from petunias to carnations! THIS year, I am going to go for more colour.....