Wednesday Weigh-In and other stuff

Well it’s been a fantastic week on the fitness and healthy eating front.

I had a goal to lose 4 lbs between June 1 and June 15 and have already met that goal. That’s 9 lbs since the second week of May, so I’m pretty happy with that. The next short term goal is to lose 4 more before June 30.

One thing that helps me is to not declare any foods off limits. For me, doing that is sure sabotage. I love Mexican food, so yesterday I went with friends and had a delicious plate lunch consisting of a chicken enchilada, rice and beans. I did try to not eat TOO many chips, and I think I did pretty well. When dinner time rolled around I wasn’t hungry, so I had a glass of wine. I still wasn’t hungry when I went to bed, so all was well. And I had dropped 1 lb this morning when I weighed.

Last Thursday I got my bike out of the shop where it got an annual maintenance checkup, and did my first ride IN A LONG TIME, with friends after work. We work on a military installation which is huge, and you can get many miles in with hardly ever seeing a vehicle. I only did a 10 mile ride my first time out, because my seat couldn’t take much more than that. I plan to up it to 20 this Thursday, and suffer through it a bit. I’m also still getting my 20 minutes on the elliptical trainer, although I’ve only done 1 time this week so far.

Scenery from my ride:

The Tennesse river runs along the edge of our installation, and we ride to the river recreation centers on our ride. LOTS of these guys out there, have to watch out. We also see coyotes, deer, lots of small wildlife and once, a bobcat in the middle of the road. Always an adventure.

So lessons learned this week…don’t deny yourself things you like, just do it in moderation. And MOVE a bit.

This little guy is almost moving…right now he just spins in a circle, but it won’t be long.

Happy Wednesday!

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Weekend in Review

Oh how I love the weekend!

This past weekend, although WAY too short, was a just in time break from a crazy work week. We have a new senior level manager at work, and life there is just a bit more crazy and hectic than it’s been in awhile.

The weekend started with daughter and Peanut coming Friday evening for a spend the night visit. They were able to stay until Saturday afternooon, so there was a lot of grandmommy spoiling time.

Saturday night I had a ladies night out with some friends from church. We do a Secret Pal drawing twice a year, and we just finished the first period of the year, so we had a pot luck supper to reveal secret pals. It was great fun, and after the reveal we watched ‘The Help’. I recommend the movie for those of you who like to have a good cry now and then. I’m NOT one of those people and will usually avoid a movie like that, but chose to stay. Yes, the tear ducts got all cleared out. There were ten or so women going between sniffling, sobbing and laughing at ourselves for the entire couple of hours.

I am very pleased to say that even with a grocery shopping trip with my daughter and a potluck with dishes from some fantastic cooks, I’m down a pound this morning from last Friday, so I’m a pretty happy camper. My daughter did head straight for the bakery when we entered the grocery store, then stopped and said ‘oh my gosh, we head straight here every time don’t we?”. We then promptly left the bakery and settled on Mango Italian Ice and celery and peanut butter for snacks. Of which we had neither once we got home. But we were prepared.

I took a less than healthy dish to the potluck myself, but didn’t pig out on it. It was Baked Potato Salad, and, oh my it’s good. I’ll post the recipe for it soon, it’s great to take to a pot luck.

Sunday was a LAZY day, I didn’t lift a finger all day. A real lazy summer Sunday, as it should be.

There’s some landscaping progress at our house, hopefully I’ll have beautiful pictures and an update soon.

Meanwhile, Happy Monday. Every day can’t be a weekend day.

Friday Food Stuff

I’ve always liked trying new and different foods, and although I’m one of those people that CAN eat the same thing every day forever, I like to mix it up and explore new things.

My newest find, and again, I’m lagging behind most of my friends in discovering this, is quinoa.

If you aren’t familiar with quinoa, it is like a little wonder grain.  You can find a lot about it here.

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=142

It can be prepared a lot of different ways, but all I’ve done so far is have it for breakfast.

I found a recipe on a blog that I love, Debby’s Weigh.  You can see her recipe here (scroll to the bottom, past some of her other WONDERFUL looking things):

What I love about this is you can modify it so many ways. For instance, I used dried cherries instead of raisins, left out the cinnamon and allspice (although I think that would be great for wintertime) and used honey rather than maple syrup. It was delicious. But quinoa can also be made as a salad, adding cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, green onions and lemon juice. Or as a tropical side dish, with coconut, mango, pineapple, etc. Or add some curry, and have a totally different side dish. So I’ll be experimenting with different recipes, as well as different types of quinoa (oh yeah…there’s red, white, black, etc.)

So that’s my Friday food find. Have you tried anything new and different lately?

Have a great weekend. Here in the South we’re looking at a wonderful, hot summer weekend, and a little Peanut time.

Wednesday Weigh-In

One of the challenges I find myself facing as I try to lose weight and get in shape is always having healthy food choices on hand. I try to take my lunch to work when I can, because that is the only way to know exactly what I’m eating and allows me to control portion sizes. Unfortunately it’s just not always possible.

That said, I’ve been searching out good fast food choices. One thing I’ve found is that at least some fast food chains are providing pretty healthy choices these days. Granted, I’m sure there are ingredients in these things that I might not choose if I were making the meals myself, but I’ve found a few good options.

My favorite new find is Wendy’s Berry Almond Chicken Salad. I don’t use the dressing because it really isn’t needed with the fruit. Another good thing about this one is that you can get a half size or a full size, depending on how hungry you are. Delicious.

Another option I’ve found that’s pretty decent is a chicken soft taco from our local Mexican restaurant. Grilled chicken wrapped in a soft tortilla, and you can request only what you want added. I typically ask for lettuce and tomato. I can eat this with an apple or pear and it’s a perfect lunch for me.

Exciting news on the exercise front – my bike has been in the shop for its annual maintenance, and I get it out tomorrow. My first ride in a very long time is tomorrow after work with a couple of friends. I cannot WAIT to get back on that saddle, although I am dreading the tushy toughening that has to take place for the first few weeks. But it will be worth it. I am now up to 20 minutes on the elliptical, and plan to go to 30 next week. The plan is to stick to 3 days a week since I’ll be biking a couple of days.

My goal for June 15 is to be down 4 lbs from June 1. I’m feeling pretty confident.  One day at a time.

Happy Wednesday.

No post is complete without a Peanut pic.

Weekend in Review

Wow the weekends go by fast!

This past one was not very eventful, but very restful and FAST.

Daughter and Peanut came on Saturday afternoon and helped me with the grocery shopping.  I have to say that when they do that, which is most Saturdays, I shop a little differently than when I’m alone.  For instance, I NEVER visit the bakery and bring home chocolate eclairs or chocolate frosted donuts when I shop alone.  I do that almost EVERY Saturday when they are with me.  The best thing for me to to right now in order to eat right is to not have anything bad in the house.  So I’ll confess, I had two chocolate frosted donuts over the weekend, and a cranberry slushie from a drive through, which I love, but I know is full of sugar.  So I was very happy when I weighed this morning and was down 1/2 lb from Friday morning.  I guess I did something right.

Sunday service at my little country church was great, with the pastor reminding us to praise and be thankful for all of our blessings.  It made me realize that a lot of the praying I do consists of requests…for healing, improvements in situations, etc.  I don’t spend nearly enough of that time thanking Him for all of the things I have to be thankful for.  And I do have SO many.

Sunday afternoon consisted of a little family visiting, then a little photo taking.  Unfortunately the photographer (me) seemed to snap between smiles, but I think he’s still as cute as can be.

All in all, a quiet, restful weekend. And now looking forward to a great, busy week.

Happy Monday.

Friday Food Stuff

There’s a song I remember from when my kids were small, from some tv show. I’m thinking it might have been Sesame Street, not sure. Anyway, there was a line in it that went something like ‘try a little something new, try a little something different’. That line gets stuck in my head frequently and I have no idea why.

When it comes to food, I do like the idea of trying new and different things, and I’m doing more of that lately.

This week my new thing is the Chia seed. I finally broke down and decided to see what all the rage is about.  I might be the last person I know to try Chia seeds.

Most of my friends have been touting the wonders of this little seed for quite some time, but I only just last week made my first purchase of these little so-called wonders.

Chia seeds are supposedly an amazing source of Omega 3, proteins and fiber. They do this funny thing when hydrated…a gel forms around them, increasing their size and weight. This gel is calorie free, and the seeds mixed with other foods help fill you up. They don’t really taste like anything so you can add them to anything, they just kind of enhance the taste of whatever you put them in.

Some suggestions I’ve read for using them are to add them to puddings, dressings, dips, salsas, sauces, etc. The only thing I’ve done with them so far is add them to our morning breakfast smoothies. This smoothie consists of frozen strawberries, a banana, protein powder, a little soy milk, a dash of vanilla and chia seeds. On occasion I throw in a handful of spinach, but hubby isn’t crazy about the funny brown color the smoothie turns, so I don’t do it often :-).

I’ve been adding flax seeds to foods for quite sometime, and have wondered how chia seeds compare. I did find this one article, Chia Seeds Vs. Flaxseeds. It seems like the chia might have a little edge. And you can do that potted plant hair thing with them, bet you can’t do that with a flax seed.

If you have any other suggestions on other uses for Chia seeds, please pass them along.

There’s another thing that is quite popular lately that I’ve been wanting to try. I’ll be experimenting next week, check in next Friday for an update.

Meanwhile, I’m looking forward to the weekend with some rest time and of course a little Peanut time. I cannot get enough of this kid!

Have a wonderful weekend…TGIF!

Wednesday Weigh-In

I’ve been working on my plan to get fit and lose weight, and have implemented a few things so far. I‘ve had a few victories, and am pretty motivated.

Things I’m doing:

• Having protein with every meal
• Greatly reducing carbs (this hasn’t been as difficult as I thought it would be)
• Eating a fruit snack every afternoon to ward off the snacking before dinner (loving apples especially)
• Cutting portions so that I’m never full after a meal, just comfortable
• I purchased a Fitbit monitor. I’m tracking steps taken per day, calories, activity, etc. I love this thing (it also monitors sleep, and that’s been very insightful).
• Setting short term weight goals…I set a goal on May 7 to lose 5 pounds by June 1. I’m 1 pound away with 2 days to go! I believe that I can do it. My next goal is 4 pounds by June 15.

Things I’m going to do:

• Beginning this week, 3 days a week I’m exercising on the elliptical trainer for 15 minutes at a time. I plan to increase the time by 10 minutes each week, and after 4 weeks, add another day.
• I’m taking my bike in for a tune up later this week, and will start riding with a friend next week. I’m totally excited about that one!

So, Lori and Robbyn ( see, I KNOW I have two readers :-)), I will be reporting in to you each Wednesday with my progress.

Wish me luck.

Weekend in Review

Well I really did have the best of intentions to post on Friday. Then my clumsy self got my vacuum cleaner cord unknowingly wrapped around my laptop power cord while I was vacuuming, and sent the laptop crashing to the floor.  The good news is the laptop is fine, but the power cord got pulled out and broken, so I’ve had to order another one.  I didn’t want to use the laptop unless I had to until the new cord arrives, because it was only about ½ fully charged.

Then tonight I had a nice glass of Chianti before going to bed, and within 30 minutes of laying down began experiencing agonizing, “I’m sure this time it really is a heart attack” acid reflux. So I got up to read, and had a thought…I wondered if hubby’s power cord might work on my laptop, even though he has another brand. Lo and behold, here I sit, with my laptop charging as I write.

So, Memorial Day weekend in review. Daughter and little Peanut spent the night Friday night, and we had a lot of grand mommy-baby playtime.

The Peanut LOVES to jump

Saturday night was date night (dinner and the new Men In Black movie), Sunday was more playtime with baby, grilling out and just a leisurely day in the country.  Dad stopped by, and Peanut loves his great grandpa!  This photo is actually last weekend, but it shows the mutual adoration that they always share 🙂 and I love it! So sweet.

Monday I headed to my dad’s with my daughter and the baby for a short visit with some of the rest of the family, then back to the country for a laid back rest of the day.

Lazy day in the country

I do love a long weekend, even though I know I’ll pay for it the rest of the week at work. It was totally worth it.

I’ll talk more Wednesday about weight loss goals and such, but one thing I’ve done is set some short term goals. Right now, I’m 1 ½ lbs away from a goal I have set for June 1. Wish me luck!

Have a wonderful rest of the week.

Getting My Groove Back

I’m definitely out of my groove when it comes to keeping this blog up. I remember when I first started blogging a few years ago, I couldn’t wait to get on here and write. We had just bought our land and were getting it ready to build our house. That was basically what the blog was about, so it was really pretty easy to sit down and write about what was going on almost daily, or at least a few times a week.

Lately I feel like there just isn’t anything going on in my life, but there really is, I’m actually very busy. I think that when it was just the housebuilding it was easier, because I knew exactly what I was going to blog about, and now my mind is off in a hundred different directions.

I really just blog for myself, as a journal of sorts, and I do like to go back and read things from the past few years. There are many good memories there that make me smile. I do have a few friends that still come here looking to keep up, and have asked to me keep it up.

SO, that said, I’m trying to come up with a plan, you few friends.

I posted recently that I’m really focusing on weight loss and getting fit, so I think I may dedicate Wednesdays to that. And of course if you know me, ironically one of my favorite hobbies is cooking/eating/planning food. OK so the hobby is food. Which is why I’m focusing on weight loss. I do get it. Anyway, I think I’m going to dedicate a post each week to food. And of course little Peanut and family get a day, probably a weekend recap.

So I’m going to see if I can get it all sorted out in my mind and start this week.

So look for Foodie Friday, coming up this week. And this little guy is what makes me smile these days.

The Peanut

Facebook is the Devil and other Scattered Sunday Stuff

I love to read. I love to work in the yard. I love to cook. I love to walk. I love to ride my bike. I love to visit with people. I love to go out and have fun.

Lately, I’m really not doing any of those things. I have a problem. A vice. A BIG ONE. I’m letting it make me lazy, and the more I do it, the more sucked in I get. It’s social networking. In my particular situation, it’s Facebook.

It’s the devil. It calls to me. I can always justify my time spent there. I tell myself that we are so busy that we don’t have time to keep up with friends like we used to, and Facebook is the perfect way to keep up. We can see what our friends are up to, watch their kids as they are growing and changing, seeing the places they are vacationing, their accomplishments.

So every evening when I get home from work I cook dinner, we eat, and it happens. Hubby sits down in one recliner in front of the tv, I sit down in the other, and put my laptop in my lap. I listen to the nightly news, then as he settles in to his favorite programming, I chat with friends, read and catch up on the daily Facebook wall, then settle into one of my favorite games. There are probably four or five that I like, so I’ll skip around and play here and there. Then it’s bedtime. Three hours have passed. Goodnight. Another evening gone by.

What I WANT to do is make dinner, eat, go for a walk with the dogs, sit on my back porch and watch the sunset, then do a chore or two so that I don’t have them all to do on Saturday. Spend maybe 30 minutes catching up with friends on FB (and not even every night), then shut it down and either read or write. Or actually pick up the phone and call a friend and catch up. What a thought!

So that’s my goal starting today. I’m going to try a 3 day a week schedule for catching up on FB, and then only 30 minutes at at time. Maybe I’ll be able to work on a few projects that I have been wanting to get to, like going through photo albums, working on the spare bedroom to make it more inviting, and working on a food and exercise plan. Maybe I’ll call a friend and catch up via telephone.

Now on to catching up the two people that have told me to please keep blogging so they can keep up with me :-).

The past week has been less than fun. Hubby had oral surgery a little over a week ago, and the very same day my back decided to get a little whacky. He has pretty much recovered, and I’m still limping around, having to use a heating pad and take pain meds. I’m trying the ‘lay on the wood floor’ treatment tonight, if that doesn’t work I guess I’ll give in and call my Dr. this week.

One thing I have been doing is spending whatever time I can with little Peanut. He’s growing like a weed, doing all kinds of cute new things.

Little Peanut

He’s now 4 months old, a whopping 17.2 lbs and very healthy. He is starting to eat baby food cereal, and still has the impulse to push it OUT of his mouth, rather than take it in :-). All in good time.

Grandmommy and Peanut

This week I’ll be helping my daughter do some nursery decorating, hopefully be able to exercise a little, and getting ready for a fun Mother’s Day weekend.

Have a great week, and don’t be surprised if I call you for a chat!