BAD NEWS!

The 3-2-1 cake that I have been so excited about, and that originally I thought it was 2 PPV, then rumor had it (in the WW room) it was quite possibly only 1 PPV, is actually like 2.7, so it's THREE PPV! Okay, fine. I still think it is delicious, and super convenient, and I will continue to enjoy it. Here is the strawberry!








1 box of any flavored cake mix
1 box of angel food cake mix

Combine the two really well. Put 3 T of mix in a small coffee mug. Add 2 T of water and mix really well. Put in the microwave for 1 minute. Like magic! Cake! I like to turn mine upside down on a plate and top with a little redi whip! Yum!

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

It's a Losing Battle!

Bahahaha! Sometimes, I crack myself up! Get it? Losing? I am losing, and it is a battle?

Okay, fine. I am used to laughing alone. But I do have great news to report. I know that I have talked about seeing the 160's a LOT! When I see 169, I am going to cry. I just know it. I was hoping for 171 today. That would be one pound down from last week, and I would be happy. I have decided to try the one pound a week thing, since it has taken me months to get through this whole 170 thing. Maybe instead of looking at the big picture and freaking out, I will just focus on one pound at a time. I have blogged about how goal setting totally stresses me out.

I did remember to take my IPad for the "Weigh In" today. I always like to go to Nancy. She has been there awhile and always makes great conversation. Today was the first day I had to ask her to hold my IPad and take the photo. She already knows I am a goofball, so she said sure, and helped me out. Thanks Nancy!



Yahoo! Yeehaw! Yippee!

It's better than I expected! Now I am thinking, crap, i am a pound ahead, so do I shoot for maintaining this week, or do I go for another pound? How about I just follow the WW rules, and see what the results bring me? I may end up crying next week! Here's to hoping for tears!!

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

TGIF!

I do love my Friday's. Happy Hour with my friends, the end of the week, looking forward to time with my husband, coffee with the folks one morning, chatting with the neighbors outside.......but my favorite part of Friday? I get to start a whole new Weight Watchers week with my 49 points allowance to spend! Okay, maybe kidding a tiny bit here, but if you are unfamiliar with WW, each week you are allowed a daily points range, and you also are allowed 49 additional points to use, or not use, throughout your week. And because Friday Happy Hours are somewhat of an important event with my girlfriends and I, I tend to use a majority of those on Fridays. It is not an excuse to "pig out" or to drink a 12 pack, but it is the one day that I do allow myself to relax a bit and indulge where I may not the rest of the week.

So, I have had a really great week, in life, and in WW world. I remain in the 170's, but back down to 172. I totally forgot to take a picture at the scale, but will try to remember to do so in the future. If I do forget, I will post my weight anyhow. I was super busy this week and away from the house a lot, and when I am away, I certainly am more apt to eat less, and when I eat out, for some reason I do make better choices. I will see 169 this month and celebrate with a much needed mani pedi. (I thought for the longest time, that mani pedi meant a man getting a pedicure. Sometimes, I'm stupid.)

I continue to enjoy my at home gym much more than I thought I would. I am saving money by canceling my gym membership, saving gas and time by not making the drive there, and bonus? I don't have to do my hair before I exercise!! OMG! Speaking of hair, I just keep cutting it off!



I know it makes me look thinner! I maybe need some different product though, kinda looks wiggish. Don't you think?

Okay, here are a few of the things I have been eating this week.........





This is an Ina Garten recipe. Herb-Roasted Onions. I love it. Two red onions, one yellow onion, lemon juice, dijon mustard, garlic, seasonings and olive oil. Roast at 400 for 30 to 45 minutes. I boiled a few new potatoes and added them to the mix. You can Google "Ina Garten Herb-Roasted Onions", and you should easily find the recipe on the Food Network website. One day when I am really smart, I will figure out how to make tabs and have recipes available! Or one of my smart followers will guide me through the process?

Here is a simple and yummy way to enjoy a little rotisserie chicken. I will eat this on a regular basis during the spring and summer.



It is simply chicken and grapes. Celery or water chestnuts are great to add also, but I didn't have either, so went without, but I do love the crunch they add.




I just added a little light mayo and salt and pepper. This was a super satisfying lunch with lots and lots of crunch!

I have been trying hard to have at least one fruit with every breakfast. I hate to cut up a watermelon, and I hate to pay someone else to cut it up as well, but ended up sacrificing a bit and buying a small container of pre-cut anyhow. I think I will buy one and cut it up! This was so sweet and juicy and tasted so good!

I had some left over boiled potatoes, so I sliced a couple and crispied them up in a little Pam, then I scrambled some egg whites, and it made a great hearty breakfast to start of my Friday!



Another one of my favorite breakfast includes fresh fruit topped with WW vanilla yogurt and 1/4 c of Kashi cereal. But this week, I decided it made a great afternoon snack as well. Walmart has a variety of flavored carbonated waters that I like in place of all the Diet Coke I used to consume. I don't have these often, as I really have made a habit of just drinking plain water, but when I am really wanting a bubbly something, I will go for one of these. The Pineapple Coconut is delicious and so is the Kiwi Strawberry. Price Chopper has them also in the Best Choice brand.







I keep forgetting to take a picture of the box when I make this next item, and now we are out, but I love these fat free muffins. The brand is Krusteaz. They have several different flavors in the fat free, and some NOT fat free. One box makes 10 muffins, and the fat free muffins are 4 PPV a piece. It can be hard to only eat one, but they are super moist and yummy! I had ordered a new table and chairs for the deck, and the delivery guys were on thier way. When they called, I asked them if they would be able to carry the items up the stairs to the deck. He hesitated, but said that they would. Well, it was a Saturday morning and I was super excited to get this table and chairs I had wanted for about 10 years, so I was giddy as heck. I decided I would make up some muffins for the delivery guys as a thank you for carrying the boxes up to the deck. Hmmmm.....wonder how many muffins it would take for them to stick around and assemble them? Anywho, the box always has suggestions on the side of different things to add in. This time I tried the idea off adding frozen blueberries to banana mix.YUM! Good thing I plan on giving half of these away!











I went ahead an made myself an omelet so I wouldn't overdue on the muffins.

So the guys show up and they are super sweet and very appreciate of my warm muffins and cold bottle of kiwi strawberry water to go! I spent the next 2 1/2 hours unwrapping and assembling, and sweating. But look!



I am sitting at it right now! I earned some serious points assembling, so I sat down and had a cold beer afterwards. Then I decided to make my planter into a table with a piece of glass I had in the basement, and I put these sun flowers in it that I found while Spring cleaning.



Kinda cute, huh?

Well, between the home gym, the lawn mowing and weeding, the great food, the furniture assembly and all the support of friends, family, WW members and fellow bloggers, I have had an awesome week, and I hope that you have too!



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

I believe in signs......

So after a really frustrating weigh in last week, I had pretty much decided I was not going to my meeting tomorrow. It's been a crazy busy week, and I just didn't think I could handle the disappointment in myself. I haven't tracked my food this week, which really just pisses me off. I mean, who do I think I'm kidding here? Who am I hurting? Yip, me.

As disappointed as I was in myself last week, the meeting was really awesome. The leader had all of the members who were at Lifetime (goal weight and keeping it off) tell what they do that works best for them to keep the weight off.

One member focused on power foods. Lean meats, fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Another member walked 30 minutes everyday, rain or shine. And another member continues to journal her food to hold herself accountable.

One member said that no matter what, she always comes to a meeting. She mentioned that when she was given her goal weight, she thought there was no way possible she could get there. She felt that she was at an age that it wasn't possible, and that she weighed more than that in high school. I was crying like a baby on the inside. THAT'S MY STORY! Then other members mentioned how they too, had thought there was no way possible they could reach their ideal weight, and had gone to the doctor to get a note to say their body weight could be higher than the BMI guidelines and that they would be perfectly healthy. I DID THAT! You have to have a note from your doctor if you want your goal weight set above the BMI.

So, I had decided the next time I saw the woman that made me cry (on the inside, like a baby), I was going to ask her for her number, and see if she could help me get to my goal weight. Well, today I had decided NOT to go to the meeting, but weigh at home, and I would be fine, and return next week with happy results.

So I walk into a store, I rarely shop at, and there she is! That woman that made me cry (on the inside). She works there! I had to talk to her. I said "Oh my goodness, we're you at the ww meeting in Olathe last Friday?" To which she replied "yes". Then I said, "you made me cry, on the inside". And then I explained why. She totally wrote down her name and phone number and is meeting me at my meeting tomorrow.

Coincidence, I don't think so.

Never..........give..........up.

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

Well....here goes

The day before St. Patrick's day was an awesome day! I was so pleased with the scale, and well, of course myself. St. Patrick's day was also an awesome day! My biggest concern was figuring out just the perfect outfit to go with my kick ass accessories.



I felt great about my successful week, and well, I thought I looked great! See?


As i backed out of the driveway, i was amazed that it was snowing, Bradford Pear!






So i had to snap a shot! Then I headed out with a girlfriend for a great afternoon in Kansas City in search of other stupid people, like ourselves. It didn't take long. We found a local news anchor, John Holt, and he was more than willing to put on one of our hats and say "Green Beer!"


The rest of the day was a blast! I must admit, I lost count of points throughout the day. I spent the rest of the week exercising, making smart food choices and drinking plenty of water. The scale last week was at 171.8 and I was super excited to see how much closer I had gotten to seeing 160 something on that darned scale! Friday morning came and I jumped out of bed and headed to my WW meeting! I went through my routine......pee'd, she'd any extra clothes and jewelry, exhale and step on the scale.



I don't even know what this means. I ALWAYS have a pretty good idea what the scale is going to say, but this was truly unexpected. I have been stuck in the 170's for a really long time, and weighing 169 is going to make me, quite possibly, the happiest girl in the world! So I am not quitting, and I won't until I get to goal, but this was truly a very frustrating way to start the weekend. When I get pissed, I work like a horse, so my entire house, after four days, is quite possibly the cleanest it has been since we built it, 13 years ago. I suppose something good came of it? I discovered my highschool volleyball kneepads and put them to good use while I cleaned all of the hardwood, ON MY HANDS AND KNEES,



My knees thank me.

I found this on Pinterest, and I love it because, for the most part, it is everything Weight Watchers tells us to do!



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

Green Beer? Yes, please.

I just got off the phone with a friend I have had for over 25 years. Do you have that friend you like to have coffee with, or the friend you like to discuss books with, or the friend you like do projects with, or the friend you call to run errands with, or the friend that knows all the latest hot spots? Well, this is the friend I like to go out and about with and maybe get a little crazy with! We both just agreed that throughout the day, we are 32. We are both 45+. Kansas City is such a great place to live. There is always something fun going on and I am always willing to participate! Today we are headed to Waldo and Brookside areas for some "green beer" and most likely, some very interesting people watching!

I thought it best to start off my day with some protein, so here's my yummy breakfast. I can't promise to remember to take any pictures the rest of the day. I get to chatting and always forget I have my camera!

I assembled my breakfast sandwich nice and slow, so you could see how I manage to get so much flavor in every little bite for only 6 PPV. My banana is zero of course, and the peanut butter is 1 PPV.

I start and end with light wheat toast.........



I like to divide my cheese so it all stays together nicely!


Then I took one sausage link and sliced in into 3 pieces, plenty of sausage for me!


Added my egg cooked in Pam. Then topped off my banana slices with one T of Better N Peanut Butter.



More cheese!









Now, THAT, was some yummy goodness!

Happy St. paddy's to all!

I am off to the treadmill to earn myself a few Green Beers!

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

Feeling sassy!

It really has been a great week! My "at home gym" that I created has really worked out much better than I had expected. I was pretty nervous about making myself work hard at home by myself. I always have known I work a little harder at the gym. I think having other people around you working hard can be really motivational, but on my quest to save some money by cutting back on a few monthly expenses, I told myself I would just do it! In order to know I am getting in a great workout, I always put on the heart rate monitor! Huge help! I am doing 60 min on the treadmill whereas before I thought 30 was sufficient. I also found a great idea on Pinterst! If you don't know Pinterst, you should!


I wrote down what i found on a legal size sheet of paper and posted it in GYM! I am amazed at my heart rate while doing these exercises! I totally suck at the knee highs, so I just run in place and bring my knees as close to my chest as possible! I watched myself in the mirror, I'm so glad I'm home alone! It was suggested to do all of these, then repeat 3-5 times. I'll work up to that. The upbeat tunes are really helpful too! Love me some Black Eyed Peas!

I exercised every day, I got all my H2O in, kept within my points, and still had a great night out with friends twice this week!

One night for dinner at home, I bought one of those marinated turkey tenderloins in the vacuum pack? I had never purchased one before, but really wanted to throw something on the grill since it was 80 degrees this week!



I made a great big salad and dinner was delicious!

Ok, I am only posting this picture because I think it's just so stinking cute! I bought a few cute colored eggs and wanted a center piece of some sort. I just took the candles out and replaced them. Cute, huh?



I had to share!

Moving on......I was really busy running all over this week, so lunch out a few times was a grocery store salad bar. Lots of veggies, a little grilled chicken, (I have learned to love my salad without cheese, amazing!), and top it off with salsa and a wee bit of sour cream. Love it. All though, this is a blurry, terrible picture, it tasted fantastic!





I try to eat light the day and night before my weigh in, so last night I had grilled salmon, steamed broccoli, and a baked sweet potato. I guess I was starving, because it all tasted very gourmet. It wasn't, I was just starving! That's a T of country crock light on that broccoli, and well worth the 1 PPV it cost me.



So I decided to take my new BFF, my IPad, to my WW meeting every week from now on and take a picture at the scale. I know. Friggin crazy, huh?

I was hoping for 173 today. I stepped on the scale and took the picture.



Then I screamed......."Wait! I'm holding my IPad! Please don't record that!" Well, we all got a good laugh, then I found someone to hold it for me, then take the picture.



That Ipad weighs a LOT! YAY! So much better! I was very pleased with myself.

Looking to be down a pound a week until I get to goal! I started out at 212.

I just need to remember to have someone else hold the IPad!


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

Yay! Recovery!

My last post was a total Debbie Downer! Thankfully, with the incredible encouragement of my awesome husband, (I really don't know how I got so lucky!), I have recovered! It has been an awesome few days since with a great Girls Night Out on Friday.



I counted all points and made great choices on my food and limited my beers! I actually RAN Intervals on the treadmill Friday morning! I NEVER do that! I felt great afterwards, on top of the world, really.

Saturday I hit the treadmill again and then decided to pass on a party because it was an entire crowd of some of my favorite people, but they like their adult beverages, and in keeping with my goals to only have alcohol once a week, I really feel like I know myself well enough, it was best to stay in and have Movie Night on the couch. We made it a special night with KC Strips, baked potato and salad......no wine! So proud!

Awesome Sunday as well. Slept in to make up for that lost hour in the "Spring Forward"! More on that in a second. Made a big breakfast, but point friendly of course! Then a little paper reading and snuggle on the couch with the dogs, then to the treadmill, and I RAN AGAIN! Hope I keep this up! It really feels awesome! Then to Mike's parents for an afternoon coffee and visit. Mike's mom offered up cake with the coffee, one of my favorite treats, and I PASSED! Pat myself on the back, thank you very much. Then out for an early dinner, and home for movie night again on the couch with the dogs.





We do love this empty nester thing!

So, I really wish I could tape the conversation my husband and I have every single time change. It will take him a good three weeks to adjust. It's ridiculous. He has kind of a crazy schedule in that he works a lot of hours......goes to bed VERY early and gets up VERY early!

Me...."Hey, you will probably make it all the way through The Good Wife tonight, because it's on a 8, which is really 7"
Mike....."No....8 is really 9, so I' m gonna fall asleep for sure"
Me......"No it's not, because when we got up at 8, we made all the clocks say 9, so really 8 is 7"
Mike...."I don't think so"

Then we drew a diagram. It's like two kids in math class with the worst word problem ever! Here's how the conversation ended.

Mike..."Oh, yeah, you're right."

THANK YOU!!!

The following got me back in my groove after my Debbie Downer day.....


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

Yeeee.......Ike's!

Things were going along so nicely too. I came home from 4 long hours of errands, and no, I did not exercise before I left my house, which I am supposed to make myself do, and I......was......starving! I unloaded the car with items from the grocery store and Costco. I picked up a WW cheese pizza and lots of stuff to make a salad to go along with it for my lunch. I had a small breakfast 6 hours earlier so I had planned on a bigger lunch than usual. As I was putting everything away, all I could think about was EATING! So I opened the pizza and put it in the microwave and made my salad. I ate it. Then I was craving something sweet, so I had a WW mini fudge bar. Then I wrote down my points. The pizza was TEN POINTS! I hadn't even thought to look. I assumed it was 6. EGADS! Well now I'm just pissed.

So I ate a granola bar, then a chocolate rice cake, (actually very tasty), so I had another, then a Special K strawberry bar (reminds me of a pop tart), had that with a cup of coffee, which made me wanna try the new Laughing Cow Strawberry Cream Cheese, on a bagel thin, so I did.



Now I just added about 15 points to my 10 point pizza. Nice. Then I tried to cry, but I didn't want my mascara to run because then I would be bloated and have messy eyes. Oh, I'm on my period.

So I got on the treadmil.

The following could not be more appropriate.......




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

Another Childhood Favorite!

In Junior High (back in the old days, before Middle School) I had a girlfriend named Ashley. She lived really close to the school. Several times we would all go over to Ash's house to play pool, make up dances, and of course, have a snack! One that I really remember as a favorite was her Mom's milkshakes that we would top off with granola! They were so yummy and creamy and delicious!

Here is my equally tasty replacement! And it is only 3 PPV!






It's the WW French Vanilla Smoothie!



I make it with 1 cup of cold water, 1 cup of ice and 1 cup of frozen strawberries (whenever they are on sale, I load up and bring them home right away and wash them and freeze them). I top this with 1 PPV worth of Kashi Go Lean Crunch!

Ahhhh, the memories!

Childhood Memories.....Food....

I have a lot of childhood memories that are related to food. I am sure many of us do. Family trips to the DQ, favorite birthday dinners and favorite birthday cakes, after school snacks of Little Debbies perhaps? Many of my childhood memories involving food are when I was in grade school and I spent a lot of time alone. That might be where the Little Debbies came in, or the bag of Nacho Cheese Doritos! I used food to fill the void. I still struggle a bit with that when I am home alone. I notice I don't eat too much in public. I guess I don't want anyone thinking "No wonder she's fat, look how much she's eating!" I never have a hard time at a party with all the food choices, and eating out is usually easy for me to make the healthiest food choices, but I do know that when I am home alone, it's easier for me to over eat.

As a kid, my mom would come home from the grocery store on Saturday afternoon and we would unload the groceries together. Then I would snack on the Ritz crackers and pimento cheese while she would make the best tuna salad ever! Then I would sit there with a new bag of Nacho Cheese Doritos and dip it in the tuna salad until it was gone! Then I'd rinse it down with a full bottle of Pepsi!

Another favorite? All those Little Debbie's!

Here are a couple of healthier options.

I still love tuna salad and my Doritos! But now I make it a meal and eat it over a large bed of raw veggies and ONE serving of Baked Nacho Cheese Doritos! Super tasty and very satisfying!





I really love a sweet! My new find, 3-2-1 Cake, is my Little Debbie substitute, and it was so stinkin nice outside yesterday (March in Kansas!), I had my cake and ate it too, on the deck! I drizzled a bit of Lite Hershey's over the top!








Another childhood favorite? Sloppy joes and tater tots! Now I make my Joe's with lean ground turkey on a wheat bun, and I sub sweet potato fries for the tots! I usually make my own sweet potato fries, but tried some frozen ones tonight. They were okay, but I will make my own next time.


















I like to eat my Joe open faced. Makes me fill like I get more food! I try to make a salad with each dinner, but if that doesn't happen, I get a few raw veggies in. I did a few cucumbers and some hummus! Yum!





Well, here is this mornings breakfast! A banana, a Nutri grain low fat waffle (2 PPV) with a little nonfat vanilla yogurt and some sliced strawberries.





Now I'm headed upstairs to my at home gym! Tons to do today! Oil change, post office, grocery store, gift to buy! Gotta get busy!

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