Grandma

My grandmother on my father's side, Gloria passed away on Monday, Februrary 19th at 11:35 pm. I was able to be with my Grandma and my family on Monday, and was with Grandma when she passed away. Please pray for the family during this time.

Been awhile

seems like the longer you are away from blogging the harder it is to come back. things haven't been particularly crazy lately, just haven't been particularly in the mood to update. So, at least for right now, instead of trying to catch up on what has happened, I'll just start from now and go forward. i think that a lot of good stuff has happened, but some of it has been kind of private and there is that weird line that is hard to know who might be seeing the info. so anyway.

my EXCITING (dripping with sarcasm here, its terribly exciting to me, but everyone else will think it is lame) news is that i have spent the last few weeks setting up my office. as part of my birthday present, chris helped me clean out my office to the point where i could get a handle on the organizing part. we rearranged the furniture a bit, and i'm in the midst of the organzing right now. i have spent quite a few evenings working on my filing cabinet. it gives me a weird thrill to see the nice organized, LABELED, filing system. i tried to get chris as excited about it, but it was a no go. i thought about taking a picture of it, and posting it, but then everyone would be able to see all of our accounts, and that is kind of creepy. but believe me, it is BEAUTIFUL! i am mostly done with the filing. probably about 75% done. i have all of the file folders labeled and put in the right order, but i have a big stack of papers to be put INTO the file folders. All of the papers are organzied, so honestly, that shouldn't take too much time. chris also made me a shelf to go over my desk for the various items that are cluttering up my desk. I have put on a primer coat, and the first coat of paint. Chris is going to install the mounting hardware, and then I will paint the second coat, and then install it. After that, Chris will help put up the decorations in the room, and i will be all set. I bought a 4 ft folding table to use for scrapbook stuff. that way i don't have to put away my stuff all the time. i'm also in the process of upgrading my computer a bit.
let me know if there is anyone out there still reading this! shamelessly begging for comments. :)

Backpack

I had plenty of time to blog today, since I was at work, and we were a little slow. but I have been busy setting up my new fun toy! probably not as fun as whatever you are thinking, but quite cool to me.

I have been looking for a good organization/to-do list/calendar program. simple, cheap, and something i don't have to carry around. well, i found one. it is like i am the one who invented this program. they must have read my freaking mind. it is EXACTLY what i want. how cool is that. It is a program called backpack by 37signals. I haven't had enough time to get it ready for other people to see yet, but it is quite handy. head over and check it out. I'll let you know how it works out for me, and post a review later.

hope you all have a SAFE and happy new year!!

Don't know what title to give this

I have been lacking in the blogging department. We are staying pretty steady at work, and doing the normal holiday activities. We aren't terribly busy, but I just haven't had the gumption to type a blog.

Things are going quite well. We are almost done with our christmas shopping. Hopefully everyone likes what we got them. Chris' parents will be with us for the next week, and then my parents are coming down for New Years. The house is decorated, and clean (for now). We have all of the presents wrapped except for the ones that haven't arrived yet. I'll be mailing my siblings' gifts today.

I've been busy working on some knitting projects, but you will have to wait till after christmas to hear about those (don't want to give anything away).

Life is good. Weight watchers is holding steady. haven't gained or lost for the last 3 weeks, but I'm okay with that. Pretty good for me during the hoidays. Plan on hitting it hardcore this week while I'm off. Hopefully I'll have a chance to hit the gym in the mornings. I think I'm going to make a vow to not watch tv during the day while I'm by myself. It's usually just crap anyway. . . we'll see how that goes. I'm going to try and get some scrapbooking done while I'm home too.

Entry for November 30, 2006

I just wanted to let you all know something very good that I found out about Ruby Tuesday. Most restaurants don't provide nutrtional information at all. Some will provide the information for a select few items of their choosing. But Ruby Tuesday has provided the nutritional information for their ENTIRE MENU!! That is incredible. It is so freeing as a weight watcher member, because I don't always want to stick to the few items that are the "healthy choices". Sometimes it is a special occasion, and I want to get what I want. But it is hard to make that choice when you have NO IDEA what the nutritional info is for that item. The freedom with weight watchers is that you can choose to splurge, you just have to know how much so you can work it into your points. Even though there aren't too many low points items at Ruby Tuesdays, I will still be going there more often, because I will have an exact idea of what I can and can't have. I have already sent them an email thanking them for providing this, and if you are a ww member, or just like having the nutritional information avaialable, please send them an email from their website as well.

That being said, it is SAD that the Carolina Chicken Salad has 26 points. That is just wrong.

sorry i've been M.I.A for so long

Things are trucking along over here. My weight loss is staying steady. I've lost 14 lbs so far. I have this horrible cold that is going around. I've had it for about a week. I was home from work Wed, Thur, and Fri last week. I could barely talk at all. I'm still pretty croaky, but thankfully we haven't been too busy at work, so my voice has had a rest. Getting ready for my parents to come for Thanksgiving, and then a few days later, Chris' parents fly in. They will be here on and off throughout December. And then my parents will be here for New Years. Busy busy few weeks, but I'm really looking forward to the company. The house is ALMOST ready. Just need to clean the guest bath tonight and do some generally straightening. We spent most of Sunday re-organizing Chris' office because that is where our guests will be staying. It looks really good now. We are also going to make Chex-Mix tonight, and maybe some homemade cookies! Hope things are going well with everyone out there, and I will try to post more regularly.

Check this out!!

Okay, if you are at all like me, then you will want to go check out this link.

http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/EverydayDinner/ShoppingListSplashPage.htm?e=email

They have made up 10 weeks worth of menus, and combined them in this very nice pdf file with a shopping list!! They include all of the nutritional information. They also coordinate together, so you don't have to buy as many groceries!! As much as I love to plan, sometimes I get too overwhelemed when trying to create a new menu each week (too many choices). This is going to be fabulous for the next few months. They have a really good variety, and most of the recipes are short and easy!!

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Today is my five year wedding anniversary. On the one hand, it doesn't seem that long. On the other hand, I don't remember what is was like before Chris was in my life. We are the best of friends. No marriage is perfect, but I know that mine is perfect for me. We fight, we laugh, we love, we cry. But we are always honest, and always there. We seem to make our decisions a little bit slower, but we know they are always the right decisions for us. We are so different, but we know each other so well. No one gets me like he does. I never want to take it for granted that there is someone out there like that. And that he loves all the quirky, weird, stupid, and annoying things about me. And he makes me laugh. My life is so full and fun with him. I love you Chris!!

This is a picture of what Chris got me for our anniversary. It is called a Pandora bracelet. The "S" is obvious. He got the hedgehog bead because he once told my mom that the animal that I remind him of is the hedgehog (because they have a tiny head). The blue glass flowered bead is because blue is my favorite color. And the flower bead has 5 petals for our 5 year anniversary. One of the things I love the most about this is that Chris customized it just for me. And he will be able to add to it as we experience life. And I will be able to tell a story about our life when I explain the beads.

i've been a bad blogger

Sorry I haven't updated lately. I was doing good about updating for awhile, and I've been kind of lazy for the last few weeks. Things just got really busy here. We have been putting some finishing touches on our house, and it is really coming together. There are still some more things that I want to get, but it is starting to look really neat. And I have some cool ideas for my office that I want to do. :)

Chris' birthday was this weekend, and we had some people over for a cookout. I got Chris a homemade pasta maker and two cds, and a gift certificate to a woodworking shop. Our anniversary is this weekend, so we are going to a cabin for the weekend. It should be very fun! :)

I've been doing okay on WW. I have stuck to my points this week, but I didn't feel like I had lost anything. According to the scales this morning, I have lost, so we will see how that works out tonight on the scales. I'm still trying to find the good balance between protein, carbs and veggies. Cause sometimes, I feel like I'm eating all empty carbs and they don't fill me up very much. So I had more protein this week, and it helped keep me satisfied.

10 lbs gone!

Well, last night's weigh-in was successful. Down another 1.4, for a total of 10 lbs in 3 weeks. So I got my little 5 lb star to add to my bookmark (you'll know what I'm talking about if you are a ww member - past or present). I know that my weekly losses will start to slow down, so I think I need to be more intentional about adding activity. I was supposed to last week, but it just didn't get down. I'll work on some laundry tonight, and pack my gym bag tonight, and reset the alarms for early. Then I won't even have time to think about it in the morning.

This weekend we had a successful garage sale. The proceeds will be going towards new furniture. Just the little incidentals that we have been living without. The plan is to get two bookshelfs for the living room (one for dvds and one for games), two endtables, two nightstands, a table for the entryway, and shelving for my office. If we have anything leftover, some more art for the living room.

I went to Meijer and bought 2 bookshelfs for 19.99 each. We were at Meijer on Saturday night and saw the same bookshelfs for 49.99. I wanted to sleep on it, so we came back on Sunday to get them, and they had been put on sale for 19.99 each! We came up empty at Garden Ridge and Bed, Bath and Beyond. Last night we went to the other Meijer to see if they had any matching endtables, and came up empty there too. We headed over to Target, and found a console table for the entryway on sale for $80 (originaly $99). So, the next priority is to get two nightstands. We may wait awhile on the endtables. They aren't as necessary as the nightstands.
So right now, this is what I'm considering getting for nightstands. What do you think?

Option 1 IKEA Hemnes

Happy Days

My weigh-in last night was very successful. Last week I was only down 1.4 lbs, but this week I was down 7.2 lbs for a total of 8.6 :). Not bad for two weeks. I think I actually lost about half of it the week before, but I had some major water retention during last week's weigh in. I'm hoping for about 2 lbs a week for the next few weeks, and then about a pound a week. I know I can do it if I stick with it. But it felt good to see it pay off. :)

I hate weigh in days

Sometimes I hate them because I know I didn't do well. Sometimes I hate them, because I think I did well, and I don't want to get my hopes up and then be disappointed. In both cases, I guess I just hate the waiting. Its not like there is a lot I can (besides staying within my points, but that actually won't affect tonights weight that much). I had my hopes up so high last week, and then only came away with a 1.4 pound loss. Good for one week, but not so good for the FIRST week on weight watchers. Now I truly feel like I have made up for that this week, but the point is, I don't know, and I just have to sit here and wait. and wait. and wait for 5 o'clock to roll around. Then Missy will pick me up, and we will be on our way.

3rd time is the charm?

I have been trying to post this blog since I got here this morning (45 minutes), so we will see if it works this time. I got my daily email from Hungry Girl, and thought I should share it with my oh-so-few (but greatly appreciated) faithful readers.

Choc-horrific Calorie Catastrophes!

Outback Steakhouse - Chocolate Thunder From Down Under
(Approx: 1,220 calories, 78g fat, 130g carbs, 0g protein = 31 Points)

This evil Aussie dessert is legendary! No one stands a chance in a face-off with this 1,220-calorie thunder blunder. By the time this storm settles, you’ve been slammed with nearly 80 grams of fat! Board up the windows, or at least stay far away from the Outback.

P.F. Chang's - Great Wall Of Chocolate
(2,240 calories, 89g fat, 376g carbs, 20g protein = 52 Points)

If you find yourself at the foot of this frightfest with a fork, it may already be too late. There’s no escaping the colossal 2,240 calories and nearly 90 grams of fat this wall weighs in at. They must’ve built this thing with bricks made of carbs…it’s got 376 of ‘em!

On the Border - Chocolate Turtle Empanadas
(1,280 calories, 81g fat, 440mg sodium, 131g carbs, 4g fiber, 11g protein = 32 points)

Toss out any superstitious notions that turtles are a symbol of long life, health, and
cleverness. These turtles deliver 1,280 calories and 81 grams of fat to your dessert dish! It’d take more than a slow ‘n steady pace to burn off all of that!

Ruby Tuesday - Brownie
(1,030 calories, 43g fat, 138g net carbs, 8g fiber = 23 Points)

Nope, the scariest sweet on Ruby’s menu isn’t that Chocolate Tallcake. It’s the plain ol’ Brownie lurking quietly in the corner of the menu! This terror packs in 1,030 calories and 43 grams of fat. Um, no thanks.

Freakish Cake 'n Pie Blunders!

Applebee's - Sizzling Apple Pie
(Approx: 1,085 calories, 56g fat, 580mg sodium, 146g carbs, 7g fiber, 14g protein = 26 Points)

Apple desserts are safer for you, right? Uhhh, guess again. Run for cover – the Weight Watchers section of the 'Bee’s menu is an especially safe haven!

Macaroni Grill - New York Cheesecake w/ Caramel Fudge Sauce
(1,760 calories, 113g fat, 710mg sodium, 168g carbs, 1g fiber, 19g protein = 44 Points)

It’s no secret that cheesecake has lots of calories (doy). But we are truly in awe of the 1,760-calorie and 113-fat-gram price tag on Macaroni Grill’s cheesecake. Yowsa!

The Cheesecake Factory - Carrot Cake
(Approx: 1,510 calories, 84g fat, 600mg sodium, 179g carbs, 6g fiber, 129g sugars, 18g protein = 36 Points)

If you thought cheesecake was all you had to fear at the Factory, guess again. One slice of their carrot cake’ll cost you about 1,510 calories and 84 fat grams! No amount of superstitious safeguarding will protect you from those nightmarish nutritionals. Those POOR carrots...

Johnny Rockets - Apple Pie a la mode
(1,450 calories, 91g fat, 940mg sodium, 140g carbs, 6g fiber, 134g sugars, 15g protein = 36 Points)

J Rockets' Apple Pie a la mode contains a ghastly 1,450 calories and a morbid 91 fat grams. 91 FAT GRAMS?!?! Are they kidding???

Macaroni Grill - Dessert Ravioli
(1,720 calories, 89g fat, 770mg sodium, 214g carbs, 3g fiber, 16g protein = 41 Points)

This unconventional dessert may sound enticing, but with a horrifying 1,720 calories, 89 grams of fat and 214 grams of carbs, we think this pasta pastry dish must be possessed. Skip it, peeps!

I stick by my opinion that this is the reason that restaurants don't release nutritional information. It isn't because they don't have it, it is because if people knew how horrible the food was nutritionally, most wouldn't get it.

I'm doing well on Weight Watchers. I meant to post after my first WI (weigh-in), but I didn't lose as much as I thought I would. But instead of letting it get me down and pigging out, I chose to stay strong (might seem small to some people, but for me it was a big deal). I'm going to be extra cautious this weekend, and strictly count my points, cause I want there to be some major movement on the scales this Monday.

holding steady

Still holding steady. I think some of my water weight from last week is gone. I came up with a reward structure for my weight loss. I've come up with these before, but they never really seemed to be too much of a motivator. Especially because I usually end up buying the "rewards" for myself instead of earning them. So I came up with a non-food reward structure that isn't the typical rewards I would use. I usually just get my haircut at Great Clips, and have never been to a salon/spa before, so I thought going there would be fun, and different, and something I wouldn't normally do, but should enjoy. I will probably get all of these done at the Planet Salon and Spa in Beaumont.

1. 10 lbs - essential Manicure ($22)
2. 20 lbs - eyebrow waxing ($12) and haircut ($30)
3. 30 lbs (also my 10% goal) - Detoxifying arometherapy body wrap ($70)
4. 40 lbs - makeup lesson ($50) - (i suck at putting on makeup)
5. 50 lbs - rainspa manicure ($30) and rainspa pedicure ($65)

After I reach that point, I will come up with some more. I didn't want to focus on the big picture, because I have so far to go, it is easy to get distracted.

first weigh in

Well, my first WW weigh-in was tonight. I was down, but a lot less than I thought I would be. I thought I had lost 4-5 lbs, but I only lost 1.4. I'm really hoping that a big part of that is because I started my period yesterday and I usually gain a few pounds (water retention) during my period. I WILL stay on task this week, and we'll see what happens next week.

I'm starting a new bible study tonight. Hoping that will give me a little bit of focus.

Easy Chicken and Dumplings

I decided to try some new recipes. I have never made Chicken and Dumplings before. I came across the recipe in "Kitchen Comforts by Gay Boassey", a cookbook that I picked up at a book sale at work. I tried to find someplace online that sold it, but I couldn't find it anywhere. Anyway, when I figured out that it only had 3 points per serving, I decided it was worth a shot. It was relatively simple to make, and it was super yummy.

Easy Chicken and Dumplings
1 rotisserie chicken (traditional or
herb)
3 cans fat free chicken broth
2 cups water
2 tbsp salt (we will actually reduce this to 1 tbsp next time we make it,
it was a little salty)
1 cup fat free half-and-half dash pepper

DUMPLINGS
2 cups flour
1/2 cup plus milk

Remove all meat from chicken; discard skin and bones. Place broth,
water, salt and chicken meat in a large soup pot and bring to a rolling
boil. Lower heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes.

Mix dumpling ingredients in a medium bowl until stiff dough
forms. On a floured surface, roll out the dough to about 1/2-inch
thick. Cut into strips.

Return broth to a boil. Holding strip of dough in your hand, pinch
into 1-inch pieces and drop into boiling broth until all strips are dropped in
broth. Lower heat to medium-high and cook for 10 minutes.Add half-and-half
and sprinkle with pepper.

Serves 8 (3 points per serving)

Roly Poly Review

Thought I would review one of my favorite casual restaurants in Lexington. Roly Poly is a sandwich/wrap restaurant. They have a huge variety of wraps available, over 50, and almost all of them are healthy. The nutritional data is available on all of their selections. They have a lot of unique combinations. One of my favorites is the Turkey Applejack. It contains turkey breast, melted jack cheese, apple butter, bacon, onion, mushrooms, basil mayo, and it is lightly grilled. SOOOO tasty. And it is only 8 points for a regular wrap. According to my weight watchers guide, all of the wraps at Roly Poly are between 4 and 8 points. Chris' current favorit is the Delhi Chicken (curried chicken salad, fresh basil mayo, cashews, spicy thai sauce, avocado, lettuce, tomato and sprouts). It has 7 points. For all of you in Lexington, the Roly Poly is behind the Liquor Barn on Harrodsburg Rd. Follow the road right next to Liquor Barn back to the Kroger. The Roly Poly is the in shopping center in front of Kroger. I would be absolutely EXSTATIC if they built a Roly Poly at the Brannon Crossing shopping area. I would be eating there all the time.


edited to add: Well I blogged before I read by email. I subscribe to a daily newsletter from Hungry Girl. She regularly reviews "diet" products and sends "tips and tricks for hungry chicks". I regularly find good advice and new products from her site. This is what was in today's email.

Noodle SHOCKERS!

Think a little pasta dish here and there can't do any damage? Noodle THIS...

Ruby Tuesday - Baked Chicken & Broccoli Pasta (not including bread or dipping sauce served on the side) has a completely INSANE 2,119 calories, 135 grams of fat and 53 POINTS (if you count)! This disaster of a dish consists of pasta tossed with Parmesan cream sauce, fried chicken breast and marinara sauce, which is then smothered with Parmesan-Romano and Swiss cheeses and baked. Um, yikes.

Chili’s - Cajun Chicken Pasta isn't exactly diet-friendly. With its cajun-seasoned chicken, penne pasta and creamy alfredo sauce, it racks up 1,460 calories and 75 grams of fat. Oh, it also manages to pack in 5,800mg of sodium. That's just scary.

Macaroni Grill - Spaghetti & Meatballs w/Meat Sauce is the most offensive pasta dish we've ever come across. How a simple dinner of spaghetti and meatballs can manage to pack in 2,270 calories, 115g of fat, 5,330mg of sodium and 206g of carbs is perplexing to us. Seeing these stats scared us so much we may never step foot inside a Macaroni Grill again.

Now, I knew the pasta wasn't the best thing for you, but I honestly had no idea it was this bad. Now we know why most restaurants won't include their nutritional info. NO ONE would eat this crap if they knew how HORRIBLE it was in regards to calories, fat, sodium and carbs.

Popcorn Facts

One large, butter-soaked, movie theater popcorn contains more than 1,500 calories and over 115 grams of fat! Even if you skip the butter, that tub'll cost you around 1,150 calories and 75 grams of fat.

Got that little factoid from an email newsletter. . . how is that even possible?!?

Best 2 point snack EVER

ok, as some of you know, I'm back on weight watchers. I failed MISERABLY trying to do it on my own, so we will try again. a friend from work is going with me, and i know that that is going to help me enormously.

got through yesterday okay, especially considering i didn't have a chance to get to the grocery store before i started. so last night, because i was lazy, i went to the close kroger instead of going to walmart. i probably spent about $20 bucks more than if i had gone to walmart, but i didn't feel like driving across town (that is sad i know. walmart is really on 10 minutes away, but kroger is 2 minutes away). Plus, I would have ended up getting some other stuff at walmart that i need to wait on (new purse, video card, etc). anyhow, all that to say, that i discovered THE most fabulous 2 point snack. They are the new fruit parfaits from Dole. I'm not terribly fond of yogurt, so I don't usually go for the parfaits, but this one said that it wasn't yogurt, but cream. I saw that it was only 2 points, and I needed to get a wider variety of snacks (thank heavens for the 100 calorie packs, but they get boring after awhile). it was delecious. fantastic. didn't know a fruit cup could taste that good. probably making more out of this than it really is, but if you have ever done weight watchers, or any weightloss program, you know that what food you do get to eat is cherished. you have to make every bite count, cause you don't get as many. why would i waste my points on something that i didn't really like??

anyhow. free advertising for them. they were pretty cheap at kroger (looking at my receipt, they were . . . 1.96 for four, so not that cheap, but not bad). i'll try and post some weight loss stories (the positive ones) when they happen.

Well, I'm back at Weight Watchers. I failed miserably trying to do this on my own. So I decided to head back. A girl at work is doing it with me, so that should help quite a bit. I'm going to a different meeting. For some reason, I was having a hard time with the last meeting that I was going to. I'm not saying that as a valid excuse for me to quit, but it did make it a lot easier.

These are my starting pictures. Not really in the mood to do a full body shot just to do a before picture. These are the best full body shots I have from our vacation (usually avoid the camera like the plague if I can help it.

Since no one reads this site as of now, and even if it does get more popular (yeah right), hopefully by that point, I will have lost a bit more weight, so I won't be ashamed at my starting point, I'm going to go ahead and put my actual weight on here.

Starting weight: 294 (3 lbs more than the last time I started weight watchers).

Today has gone okay so far. I waited entirely to long to eat (well after lunch), but I didn't have a chance to go shopping last night, so I knew I needed a good amount of points for lunch.

Hopefully now that I'm doing weight watchers, I will be updating this more regularly.