Too Much Socializing.....

One of my toughest spots for sure. The socializing. Gets me in trouble every time. But it's soooo much fun! I love my friends!

Thursday I met a great girlfriend of mine that I see on a regular basis. The hubbies were playing golf, and we hadn't had a chance to catch up in a while. The weather was great, and dinner at a local favorite place, on the patio, sounded perfect. Beers included.

Friday was Happy Hour with a few friends. The stories and the giggles and the great conversation got the best of me. The hostess kept pouring, and I kept drinking. Lesson learned. Do my own pours from now on.

Saturday was a great night out with neighbors to a local pub for some beers and a couple of hours at the pool table! We had a blast! I ate fine, but enjoyed more beers than my points allowed for. Now I AM over on my points! Surprise! Really?

Okay. So what's my plan? Focus on the power foods....fruits and veggies, lean meats and whole grains. Drink plenty of water, and exercise.

And the "alcohol once a week" was a really great plan that seemed to have slipped my mind? Back to that!

Got off track a bit. No biggie. Jumping right back on.


"love the life you live, live the life you love"

WW CEO

I found a great blog this morning when I read my WW email. This is David Kirchhoff's blog. He is the CEO of WW. I am going to follow him and see what great tips he has to offer.



WW CEO Blog



"love the life you live, live the life you love"

Pete and Repete.......

Pete and Repete were sitting on a fence. Pete fell off. Who was left? Repete.

Pete and Repete were sitting on a fence. Pete fell off. Who was left? Repete.

My dad thought this was hilarious when I was a kid. He had many similar to this. He would draw an imaginary half circle in the air, and then say, "do you know what that is?" Then he would draw the other half of the imaginary circle in the air and say, "the other half of this". Every time I brought home a new friend, the jokes were endless. One of his favorites was to draw a squiggly line in the air, and say, "Do you know what this is?" My friends would shake their heads no, and he would draw it again and say, "I don't know either...... but there it goes again". Yip, that's my childhood. But we did have lots of fun, and he was always the parent to volunteer to drive because he had such a great time with me and my friends. He's the dad that let us all get out of the car at a stoplight and run around the car! This certainly explains much of my goofiness! And yes, as a parent, I volunteered to drive, and let the kids get out of the car at stop lights and run around the car! Smart? Doubt it. Fun? Well, sure.

So, back to Pete and Repete. Sometimes I let life get in the way of living. Do you let that happen sometimes? So much to get done in a day, that you move through it like a robot, just to get the task on the list complete? Well, the last couple of weeks have just been full of task that needed to be completed and I was on a mission to do just that. The problem? WW and planning goes to the bottom of the priority list. I certainly don't mean that I don't care and don't think about it at all, but I do tend to get myself in trouble. But because I have become so wise in my years, I get right back on the right track.

I titled this Pete and Repete, because I know when I go to weigh in today, I will be back at 173.....or more? I keep repeating myself and my actions. Three years ago, I would have skipped the meeting, been frustrated with myself, eaten out of frustration, been in a crappy mood, and possibly quit. I know this is a lifestyle change, and I will never quit going to my meetings. Even when I reach my goal weight, I will continue to go to the meetings. I know I need it in my life.

Off to a meeting for motivation and inspiration!



"love the life you live, live the life you love"

"Red Light" or "Trigger" Foods

Do you have a food that when you eat it, you can't stop? I have heard these foods referred to in the WW meetings as Red Light or Trigger foods. I have several. I was unfortunately reminded of one of them this afternoon, so I'll be skipping dinner, or at least eating an "All Veggie Salad"......DRY!

I bought some trail mix for those times when I am heading out the door for a few hours and I don't want to come home starving! Now I have not bought any kind of trail mix in a long long time. Why? Because it's totally a trigger food for me. And I know that! I guess I thought perhaps a miracle had happened and I could eat a 1/4 C (3 PPV) and be content. Well that's just plain stupidity on my part. This stuff was delicious. I found it at Costco.

Peanuts, almonds, dried cranberries, oranges, raisins and strawberries. The strawberries were the best part, I thought. When I eat a PB&J, I eat strawberry jam, and I am pretty sure these were sugar coated or something. Egads!






Then it all triggered a sweet craving, and I thought to myself, self, these would really kick ass with some chocolate. Well, I don't have any in the house, BECAUSE IT'S A TRIGGER FOOD! Then, i found some........



This jar was a christmas gift. Its cookie mix, with white chocolate chips, and M&M's. Well, it was.....The only reason there are any M&M's left in the jar, is because they were stuck in the mix! What I could get out is now all a part of my awesome, yet addicting PB&J trail mix!



Like I said, if you can eat 1/4 C, then knock yourself out, but if you're like me? Kinda stupid? Better pass...

I am going to measure out serving sizes and write the PPV on the Baggie, so at least if I over indulge, I'll have an idea how bad it was!

Now I am going to go see how full the fridge is of raw veggies!

"love the life you live, live the life you love"

Dreams do come true.......

While riding through the car wash today, my sunroof leaked, BAD! Water poured down my back. I screamed! Okay, I gasped.......then the car in front of me honked and the whole thing shut down. All I could think about is that somehow my reoccurring dream of drowning in my car was going to come true!


"love the life you live, live the life you love"

Holding steady....I just know it!

Okay, I am trying not to panic. Gotta be on my best behavior so Fridays weigh in is a success.

Here is yesterday's eats.......I started with my favorite.


My oatmeal pancake......



Mixed it all up......



Instead of one big one, like I always do, I pulled my head out of my, you know what, and made three smaller ones, but different sizes so I could build a little pyramid. Can you say, "Loser?" you know you can.



Yum!



It tasted as good as it looks.



Seriously, I this a lot, because I have a ton of oatmeal pancakes topped with banana, pictures.



Lunch was Taco Soup.....another love....




Dinner was kinda the same spaghetti I always make, but just a bit of a twist. I love this Ragu....it's a favorite for sure......kinda sweet.




But this was new......



I usually buy the Honeysuckle cooked, turkey meatballs. They are so tasty and easy when I am limited for time. Well, I was at a store that didn't carry them, and these caught my eye. I threw them on the grill. Trying not to make such a mess in the kitchen. Turkey, sweet, Italian Sausage!



The outsides got a little crispy and I loved it! I decided to cut them into bite sized pieces, and then throw them in the sauce to simmer a while. Obviously not in any big hurry tonight.



Do you have a Potwatcher? See the little glass disk in the pan?



I am not EVEN kidding. You can just put your feet up and wait until you hear this little guy clinking around.....Then you know the water is boiling.



You know it takes FOREVER for the water to boil if you just stand there and watch it!

Dinner was delicious! I will be buying the sausages again, for sure!


"love the life you live, live the life you love"

Milk Shakes!

Some foods just make you happy. Maybe just because they taste so darn good, or maybe they're tied to a memory, or a person. I remember as a kid, during the summer time, taking a Sunday drive to the DQ for ice cream. Sometimes a vanilla cone did the trick. Sometimes it was a hot fudge sundae with peanuts and a cherry on top. Sometimes a Strawberry Shake was calling my name.

Lots of memories tied to food as a kid. Certainly explains the need for Weight Watchers in my life, huh? Thank goodness I have learned that I can still have all those great things. Sometimes moderation is the key, and sometimes it's learning how to have the same treat, but in a healthier way.

This is a favorite of mine that I am enjoying on the deck, in the sunshine, with my dogs, bringing back some great childhood memories.





Weight Watcher Vanilla Smoothie, with frozen strawberries.........2 PPV






and 1/2 of a frozen banana..........






It doesn't look so appealing in this picture, but it taste great in my smoothie, I mean SHAKE........






I didn't share with Tucker and Mishka, and they weren't very happy about it either......






Find a healthy way to enjoy the foods you love........and be Happy!

You can do so many different varities with this WW Vanilla Smoothie.....

Add PB2 (a peanut butter powder found at HyVee or Whole Foods)
Add a bit of chocolate
Any frozen fruit is delicious! Try Pineapple!

Be creative, but keep it low in points!






"love the life you live, live the life you love"

Apples, Not Donuts

Another great Pinterest find!





I put this picture on Facebook yesterday, and immediately received a text asking me if those really were apple slices, or donuts?

They really are apple slices, and it was such a tasty and different little Sunday afternoon treat!






On one I put Better N Peanut Butter and drizzled some honey. 1 PPV

On another I put Better N Peanut Butter and a few sprinkles of Kashi cereal. 1PPV

And on the last I put Laughing Cow Cinnamon Cream Cheese with a few raisins. 2 PPV





Truly deeee.....licious!

"love the life you live, live the life you love"

A Blog in progress....

I started this blog last May. Since I have not been in an office working for about six years now, I feel all computer knowledge I once had, flew out the door. My computer experience as of late, has been email, Facebook, google everything, balancing the checkbook, and my new love......Pinterest. All really super important things, right?

Since I have started the blog though, I realize that I have picked up on more information than I thought I had.

The more I blog, the more I want to learn, and the better I want my blog to look, so figuring out how to post pictures from my IPad was like a small miracle from Jesus! He really does answer prayers. Even ones about technology.

My newest interest is trying to have pages on my blog. I didn't even know what that meant two months ago. I am getting there. And thanks to the blogging world, I met a new friend. A fellow WW member and blogger. She is leading me down the right path and soon I will have pages......with actual information on them!

Thanks Racheal!

Check out her blog!

www.runningwithracheal.com





"love the life you live, live the life you love"

This Week in My Kitchen

I really wanted to title this blog, "Staples", but when I looked up the definition, just to be certain, (because I do have a small vocabulary) this what I found......

Staple food or staples, food that can be stored for use throughout the year.

Okay, so not staples, since I have a lot of produce that will only last a week! But here are a few of the things I ate this week that helped me have a 2 pound loss at the scale!

I might consume too many of these, but they always hit the spot for me! Plain, or with peanut butter, or freeze them and add them to a smoothie, or toast an English muffin, spread on peanut butter, or almond butter, or drizzle with honey and top it with banana slices!



I remember eating lots of oranges as a kid, and I remember my mom always cutting them like this. So that's just always how I eat them! So yummy mixed with some yogurt!


These are like candy to me! Have you ever had them frozen? You should! Great snack to share at the pool!


I try to eat an apple every day! I have added kiwi to the regular shopping list! Also great mixed in your yogurt!


When blueberries and strawberries are on sale, I stock up and freeze them.


They are my favorite fruit to add to my WW Vanilla smoothie!


A cup is all it takes...........


I like to top it off with a little Kashi cereal! Got my water in too.....


It doesn't suck........




My next treat for the week? I never cook spinach. I don't know why. I love a spinach salad! So I mixed things up in the kitchen a bit.



Sauté in a little olive oil..........



This olive oil is actually butter flavored.......makes your mouth water, doesn't it?


I really like an egg white omelet.......topped with some feta.....


Salsa to finalize.......the spinach was a hit for me. A repeat for sure.


I love feta, so here is another way I enjoyed it this week......I mixed it in with one of my favorite hummus favors, Buffalo Style, and cut up some raw veggies.






More feta? Yes, please. For dinner, I had some left over chicken breast that I had grilled the night before, (I was soooo hungry while I was grilling the chicken, I forgot all about picture taking), but I cut the chicken up into bite size pieces, added some feta and dried cranberries, and topped with a little olive oil and cinnamon pear flavored balsamic vinegar! OMG! Deeeeeelicious!


Seriously? MORE feta? Well, okay, if you insist.



Turkey.....


Greek seasoning to taste....I like a lot....this one is salt free.........then I mix in an egg to help hold it all together......I make four patties and grill in a grill pan coated with Pam. While the burgers are cooking up, I sauté some red onions in a little olive oil.


And there ya go! Of course I top them off with feta, and you don't even NEED a bun!


This one I kinda made up because I lost the old recipe I had.......


Fresh green beans, duh......


Sauté some garlic in olive oil.........then add a little onion.


Then add your green beans. Stir fry for about 30 minutes, or until desired texture? I don't like mine crispy, but some prefer them that way. We ate on these for THREE days! They tasted really good cold too!


I didn't feel like I got my hard core workouts in this week, but I did lots of yard work and did take Tucker......(seen below).....



.......on a couple of awesome walks at Heritage park!



I have had a great week and I am feeling very "Happy" with my results.......so this seems very appropriate.




"love the life you live, live the life you love"