A Day in the Life, WI

Hi Everybody.  I had a good day yesterday.  I went out to my running trail with DH and we had a good fast-paced walk along the trail for about an hour.  We ran the final 1/2 mile.  [My Nike+ girlie in the sidebar is happy again.] Then back for a shower and off to my WI.  It was bad, as I expected, but just under my "scream weight."  I wanted to record the weight so I can revel in my big weight loss next week. :-)  I stayed after the meeting for the review of the plan, just to cement it in my mind.  I recorded everything I ate yesterday and plan to track my eating and my points for a while to get myself firmly back on track.

We had enjoyed a honey-baked ham during the holidays and I returned with the ham bone in the cooler.  The day we got home, I started a Navy bean soup.  We had it for dinner yesterday.  Yum.  Just the dry beans, onion, water, a chopped sweet pepper, and the ham bone.  I did take the precaution of checking with my WW leader for  advice as to how to count the ham part. [She recommended counting 2 oz of ham worth of points even tho' there weren't 2 oz in each serving--this accounts for the bone marrow that infuses the soup.]   No picture, sorry.

Here's another picture from our trip:

This is my 87 yr old Aunt Bettie.  She's my mom's sister.  She enjoyed playing pool.  Notice DH in the  mirror.

Johnny has the week off, so I do too (no grand babies this week).  We'll have them over for supper and exchange presents in the next few days.  I want to tackle my house, send lots of things to the thrift shop, straighten, sort, do laundry, clean out drawers, etc.  Is it spring yet??  Guess I'd better prioritize by room so I actually accomplish something.  I also have some business to take care of concerning my Dad's estate.  I'm his executor, but he was so organized that he's made things pretty easy for me, but there are still many hoops to jump through.

Exercise today will be another trip to the gym for weight training and swimming some laps.  I'm not a strong swimmer--I think I failed baby tadpoles when I was little and swim just well enough to have passed the test so as not to have to have an "adult" with me in the pool.  I'm thinking of maybe taking a basic swimming class for adults to try to improve my form.  This new shorter hair style really makes it believable that I'll get in the pool twice a week.  My hair dries fast and I can even get away with not doing anything to it and yet have it look okay.

I haven't decided about dinner tonight--maybe roasted pork tenderloin with baked apples.  There'll be a "numbers game" post coming up soon.

Be good.
Tish
189.4

Take Me Home Country Roads, Unbelievable 0 point Apple Pie

We're home!  We had a great trip.  We really enjoy road trips.  Here are some of the highlights:

The Peachoid--a 150 foot tall water tower in Gafney SC, on I 85.

We stopped by Jefferson's Monticello, near Charlottesville, VA on our way home.  What an amazing place and so well done.   Curiously, the vacation rental house where we stayed was in Monticello, GA (home of Tricia Yearwood).

Jay and my Aunt Bettie in the back seat (our huge cooler took up the 3rd seat)

Self portrait.

DH did all the driving.

Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz had it right.  There's no place like home.  We might miss the company and the fun activities, but nothing's going to feel as nice as our own bed tonight and we really like our house.  I have a definite date with my jacuzzi tonight!

As I promised my self, I've jumped right back into my good routine.  We had baked talipia for dinner with grean beans and whole wheat roasted vegetable ravioli.  This afternoon when we got home I made a new recipe I learned from my sister.  It's amazing.  If you like apple pie, but want your pie without ANY WW points (in the new, fresh fruit is 0 points system) here it is:  

So simple:  Core and Slice Fuji apples in 1/3" slices (no need to peel apples).  Place in pie pan spritzed with non-stick spray.  Add a generous sprinkling of cinnamon--I used 2 tsp for about 10 small apples. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or until fork tender.  You can add a TBSP of water, or cover with foil for the last part of cooking if they seem dry, but mine came out fine without.

These are unbelievably delicious.  The type of apple makes a difference--Fuji's have just the right degree of sweetness so as not to need any sugar added.  They are wonderful warm (on ice cream--not WW), but equally scrumptious cold in your oatmeal, or just plain.  I love cold apple pie and these have that same appeal to me.  They would also be a nice dessert with a dollop of FF Cool Whip.  Try 'em, you'll be amazed.  AND the house smells delicious with the apples and cinnamon while they're cooking.

I went to the gym to lift weights after dinner and got in the pool afterwards to swim some laps.  Tomorrow morning I'm going to go out to my running trail to try to earn some R-E-S-P-E-C-T from my little Nike+ girlie.  Then I'm going to go to my WI and face the music from being AWOL for the past couple weeks.  Oh, and my gym is offering Zumba classes starting in early January.  DH and I are both going to go.  I went a couple times with my daughter, Laura, when we were out there earlier this year and it's great exercise.

Onward and downward,
Tish

Charlie Brown Christmas

Here's our tree.  Note my camera tripod which served nicely as a frame.  Fortunately, I was able to use the tripod to photograph the lunar eclipse before the tree took shape!  I figured out a techie way to get it from my camera to my blog without a cable. :-)
 

We have had a good Christmas.  The most important things took precedence.  Time to reflect about God's gift of His son.  Time to spend with family, to support my sister while she's working to regain her health and energy and to remember our Dad.  Time to relax and have fun (pool, ping pong, foos ball, and jigsaw puzzles).  Good food (too much and too many sweets.)  Exercise (too little--I'm not sure pool is exactly aerobic!).

Here's another picture of the gang at the lake house.  (you can see the lake outside the window in the Xmas tree picture).

We'll be home day after tomorrow and I'm happy to say that I'm really looking forward to getting back to my routines.  I can't wait to get back on my running trail.  I notice my little Nike+ icon on the sidebar is dissing me.  I have a couple new cookbooks that are calling to me.  I also want to get back to learning the new Weight Watcher's program and LOSING weight.  I know I've added a few unwanted pounds.  I'm not waiting for the new year.  Just get me home and let me at it.  I've had my fling and I'm ready to embrace my real life.

See you in a couple days.
Tish

Merry Christmas

Hoping you all have a wonderful Christmas day.  I'm with family (sister, brother, DH & Jay, an aunt, and nieces and nephews).  Family is great.  I missed my Hot 100 Update yesterday, but I have to say I'm not doing it now.  We'll get home early next week.  Then it's back to work.  Here's a picture of our "Christmas Tree."  We're in a vacation rental home outside Atlanta.  No decorations at all here, but with this and that, we came up with a tree  (that's my camera tripod under it all!).  Oops, I forgot that I didn't bring my download cable.  You'll have to use your imagination.  Santa found us last night--Jay was worried.  He even filled the shoes in front of the fireplace.  My mother's mother was French and we grew up with shoes, not Christmas stockings.

Have a blessed Christmas.  See you soon.

Tish

Friday Fly By, Hot 100 Update

This will be a Fly By.  I am still not "on plan," in that I'm not tracking or counting up points, but I feel okay about how I'm eating.  Very busy getting through laundry and family papers/pix to get ready for a family rendezvous over Christmas.  I've spent way more time than I'd like in our very chilly attic looking for one certain document among dozens of boxes of my Dad's papers.  Aaargh.

Look what I discovered when I finally took the time to click through the many pix I downloaded from our kids' visit in November.  A good candid "cousins" (our grandchildren) picture.  IIRC, little J was squirming a lot, trying to get himself out of the picture.  His oldest cousin, J, did a grand job hanging on to him and tickling him into smiling for the camera!

Hot 100 Update.  Again failed all three, but I did go to my WW meeting and gained only .2, I have exercised 3 of the past 3 days, and the chocolate is more or less back under control.  Even tho' I'm not meeting my original goal, the fact that I'm still thinking about it and paying attention to it has made a positive difference in how I've managed over what has been a difficult holiday season.

Stick with me, I will get back to my "real" life one of these days!

Tish

Getting Ready for Christmas, Wednesday WI

Hi All,

I'm back home and jumped right in with getting ready for Christmas.  I'd put up the pre-lit tree that I ordered, so when I got home Saturday evening, and I'd forgotten that we'd agreed to babysit that night, I let E unwrap ornaments and deck the tree.  Very cute--she decked it very deliberately all around the bottom foot of the tree, but couldn't reach any higher (our tree is on a piece of furniture).  DH came to her rescue and held her up while she put the others on.  Funny, I've been very territorial about being the one to decorate the tree and decide where things went, but I was quite happy, this time, to cede the responsibility to E (& DH).  While she was thus happily engaged, little J sat in his chair at the kitchen table and played with the new (to him) Fisher Price Nativity scene.  I used the time to make dinner and reflect on my many blessings.

I can't say that I've been at all "on program" this past 10 days or so, but I haven't gone "hog wild" either. Today at my WI I gained .2  After last week's 2.4 loss, I'm okay with that.  I really want to hop back into the new WW plan and did pretty well today.  I got out to run yesterday (dressed for the low 20s complete with ear muffs, scarf, mittens and layers).  Back to the gym tomorrow and easing back into my routine.  

My sister seems to be improving, but we've changed our plans and will rendezvous with my TX brother in GA and spend our Christmas together.  That will be good for us all, I think, in this first holiday season without our Dad.  We've found a lovely big rental house (thanks, Sharon, for the idea! ) and I'll cart food down there so we can do our own meals instead of eating out.  

Oh, another Christmas thing I did with the kiddos when they were here yesterday was making a gingerbread house.  I bought one of those kits from Michael's (I think) for less than $10.  What a deal--everything you need is in the box.  I put the house together the night before and, while J was taking his morning nap (that was his contribution to the effort--napping!), E decorated the house.  She was very precise and loved it.  It didn't tempt me a bit (though I did toss the leftover candy in the trash as soon as we finished) and I sent the house home with her at the end of the day.  Here are some pix:

E has a "thing" about having her photograph taken, so I had to take sneak pictures while she was otherwise occupied.  You can see how carefully she was putting the decorations on, though and the last shot captures her satisfied smile when she saw it sitting under the Christmas tree.

I'm weeks behind with my shopping, but my near and dear know I love them.  I'll try to have presents for the little ones, but am making no promises about cards or cookies for the neighbors.  I am holding together pretty well, but a couple of times a day something will make me realize how much I'm going to miss my Dad and I'll get a little teary.  I guess that's okay.  I'm keeping tissues in my pocket at all times.

Once again, I'm not doing a lot of blogging, but will get back to it soon because I MISS you all.

184.4

Friday Fly By, Hot 100 Update

Thank you all for your kind comments about my father's death this week.  I have been in Atlanta the entire week with my sister who is seriously ill.  Fortunately, she got a diagnosis today and will start treatment tomorrow.  As you can imagine, it's been a very difficult week for our family. Dad's funeral will probably be sometime in the spring.

As to my Hot 100 goals, I have failed all three, but still managed to go to a WI here and registered a 2.4 pound loss.  I need to get back to my routines and I'll do that when I return home tomorrow.

I'll be back next week.

Holding tight to the "reason for the season."
Tish

My Dad

Hi friends,

I wanted to let you know that my wonderful father died today.  I am with my sister in Atlanta, but when we got word that he'd taken a turn for the worse, I called DH and he and our son Johnny were with him when he died.  He was the best father I can possibly imagine and we'll all miss him so much.  That said, I'm glad this final suffering has ended and that he is with God in heaven and is reunited with my mom.

Tish

I did it!

You can just start calling  me Tech-Tisha!  I got my sister's new Mac wireless system up and running in less than 15 minutes.  I am on my computer which found her new network with no problem at all (easy when I know all the passwords!).  Now all I have to do is find the right cord so I can get her ancient PC and printer connected to the network.  She's asleep in that room right now, so I'll have to wait until tomorrow. I think I'm going to get myself one of those Airport Extreme routers --they are awesome.

I decided to check a bag on my flight down.  I usually travel with a 26 inch suitcase, but, because I was bringing the computer & router as well as a couple bulky boxes of Christmas presents, I decided to bring my huge suitcase.  I checked it and only managed to squeak under the 50 pound limit by decanting a few items to a carry-on bag.   My trip was otherwise uneventful.  Oh, I did finish the "difficult" level sudoku in the flight magazine that had apparently been attempted by several previous occupants of my seat.  That felt good.  I also started reading the book Unbroken, by the author who wrote Seabiscuit.  This one's a true story, but it's not about horses.  It's about a second-generation Italian boy who was on the fast track to becoming a delinquent until he discovered he could run.  Really run. He ran for the US in the 1936 Olympics and was on the way to breaking the 4 minute mile.  Then the war came.  His war involved flying, crashing into the Pacific, being a prisoner of war, and becoming an unsung hero.  I like this kind of book and it's so well written, it almost reads like a novel.

This is how I like 'em best, cut in wedges.

I think I'm going to do fine staying OP here.  We had baked fish, 1/2 of a potato, and green beans for dinner.  I'm going to run to the store tomorrow and stock up on a few of my staples.  I'm already missing the huge box of navel oranges I scored at Costco on Friday.  They were delicious.  I want some NOW.  :-)  Hmm, maybe it's time for a nice glass of water.  I always have trouble staying hydrated when I fly.

I brought along my running shoes and my Nike+ ipod thingie.  I'm going to try to get out for a run tomorrow.  I only have about 25 miles to run to reach 500 for 2010.  That sounds like a nice round number, no? It's supposed to dip down into the 20s here tonight, so maybe I'll wait to do that run until the sun has had a chance to warm things up a bit.

Okay, that's it for now.

Have you enjoyed the first northern hemisphere navel oranges of the season yet??

Friday Fly By, Hot 100 Update

Hi Everybody.  Is everyone else incredibly busy right now, or is it just me??  Whew.  Today I went to my Praise Moves Yoga class, paid bills, shopped at Costco, visited my Dad, took some homemade turkey soup to my neighbor who just got out of the hospital, and set up our Christmas tree.   I'll take this chance to relax a bit while I compose this post.

Just lights for now, decorations come later.

I didn't post yesterday, but I had a full day.  After a day of taking care of J&E, I made lemon-soy chicken for dinner.  WE also had brown rice and roasted butternut squash.  Yum.  I used 34 points yesterday, my daily 29 plus 5 of my weekly points.  I felt well nourished and satisfied and I managed to fit my oz of dark chocolate into that points packet.  I feel good that I haven't yet felt the need to use all of my quota of extra points for a day.  There are 49 weekly extra points, so the quota would be 7 per day.

We did our regular Thursday night strength training at the gym, but then we did something new and different.

A few weeks ago, when we were at the beach in NC, DH and I had several great talks while we took our daily walk along the beach.  The kind of talks that are memorable and where we come up with some of our best ideas about things we want to accomplish or do.  Anyway.  We were talking about how much we enjoy biking together and about running.  DH has 10 or so marathons under his belt and I like to run and have run a few races including a 1/2 marathon in the distant past and a 10 miler last year, but neither of us feels led to run long distance races any more.  But we both want to stay in shape and to pursue a variety of modes of fitness.  We got the idea that we might enjoy trying a tri.  Soooo, last night, we hit the gym 20 minutes earlier and after 45 minutes of lifting weights we went to the pool and swam laps.

I'm not a natural born swimmer.  In fact, I think I flunked the swimming classes my mom dutifully took me to when I was 6 or 7--it seems to me I never graduated from the "minnow" class.  I got to the point where I could tread water, do the breast stroke, side stroke, and an acceptable crawl.  I apparently passed the swim test necessary to go in the pool without an adult.  But, natural born swimmer--no.  So last night, I was pretty content with my 6 laps in 15 minutes.  Slow, but okay.  I was content until DH gently pointed out that a "lap" is swimming in two directions, not just across.  Okay, so 3 laps in 15 minutes.  At least I have a good baseline.  AND, I tried something new.  Good for me!  We're going to "train" in the pool twice a week for the winter and look for a tri in the spring.

Day four and my "streak" is on track.  I'm feeling good about the program and about my eating. I've stayed "on plan" and tracked every bite to make sure I'm keeping to the point allowances.  I'm already looking forward to switching to the Power Point plan (CORE) and not having to track daily points, but I'm still getting acquainted with the new point values, so this is good.

RATS!  I just managed to wipe out about 15 lines of this post.  Okay, so you'll get the concise version.

I want to spend some time with my sister and I found a great airfare, so I'm flying down on Atlanta.
Missy, if you happen to be reading this and you don't want to know what you're getting for Xmas, I suggest you stop reading right now, okay?
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Missy has an ancient PC and her house isn't set up for WiFI, so we took advantage of the Black Friday sale at Apple.com and are giving her a MacBook Air  and an Airport Express (router).  Setting that up for her will be my #1 priority.  I have a bit of a vested interest, because I can't imagine being "unplugged" for almost a week!

Okay,  Hot 100 Update

Goal 1: I think I have to admit that I'm not likely to reach my WW goal by Jan 1st, having taken a 7.4 detour in the wrong direction, but I have almost a month left and I'm going to do my best to lose and stick to my plan.  I'm excited about the new WW plan and think I'll do well.  I've rediscovered my motivation to stay on plan.  (and yes, I've found a WW meeting close to my sister's house in Atlanta).

Goal 2:  Yes.  I exercised 6/7 days and it was quality exercise.  Adding swimming and a goal of doing a tri is a fun extra.

Goal 3:  Finally.  The chocolate is now under control.  I have been able to eat well and treat myself to a mini-splurge of 1 oz per day.

I noticed Jack playing with the soccer ball yesterday.  He was sitting on it and then scooting around.  It looked like very good exercise--Bosu Ball?  He's all boy--he loves any ball he sees.

Have a great week end.  My next post will be from Atlanta (God and my computer-geek-skills willing!)

Two Good Days--Is that a streak??

I'm loving the new WW plan.  I looked it up online and followed it the best I could yesterday.  Today I went to my WW meeting and heard the official introduction.  It has come at the perfect time for me.  I'm feeling strong and confident about being able to stay on plan and reach my goal weight and I haven't felt that way for a month or two.  This is all good.

I think I mentioned that I'm going to do the new program "PointsPlus" as written for a few weeks at least, before I go back to my "CORE" (Simply Filling) variation.  This means that I can eat whatever I choose as long as I stay within the daily points allowed (29--everybody I've met has 29 which is the fewest number of points allowed--oh, except for guys--they get more--about 36 I think).  It also means I need to track points for everything I eat (as opposed to Simply Filling where I'll only need to track the non-power food points).  Power foods are what used to be called CORE foods and don't count against the 49 extra weekly points which they intend for you to use and I will use them.  Points on many of my go-to foods have increased a bit.  Fruit and veggies (except for starchy veggies--corn, potatoes, etc) are all 0 points.  Anyway, I'm looking forward to my favorite ever breakfast tomorrow--a soft boiled egg, and toast with ICBINBJ.  I'll have a nice cup of mint tea to round it out.  (2, 3, 1, and 0 points, respectively, for a total of 6 points.  I may splurge and have a nice chilled half pink grapefruit sprinkled with Truvia. (0 points!)    

I'm a convert to Truvia.  I had tried it once last year and found it bitter, but I read on a blog (one of yours?) that if it seems bitter it means you're using way too much.  I like it and it doesn't taste bitter at all. One packet is just right for the grapefruit though I usually like grapefruit without anything on it, too.  I especially like the way Truvia tasted "granulated" like sugar rather than powdery like Splenda.

For you viewing pleasure:  Laura with her three J,B&R and J&E

Tonight, for dinner, I made a new recipe:  Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Spring Vegetables.  I know, I know, it's not spring, but I was able to buy beautiful fresh ingredients at Whole Foods and, believe me, this was wonderful.  The recipe is from the brand new WW cookbook:  Weight Watchers Points Plus Cookbook.  

Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Spring Vegetables

prep time:15 min      cook time: 30 min      Serves 4 

1 pound pork tenderloin, trimmed  (power food)

1 T chopped fresh chives (I used 2 T of finely diced shallots)

3/4 t salt

1  pkg frozen artichoke hearts (9 oz), thawed

1 pound baby potatoes, cut in half  (my baby potatoes were large-ish so I cut them in quarters)

1/2  pound asparagus, trimmed

1 c baby carrots

2 c small fresh mushrooms (optional, but very good!)

2 t olive oil

1/4 t black pepper

1.  Preheat oven to 475.  Spray large shallow roasting pan with nonstick spray

2.  Sprinkle pork with chives (shallots) and 1/4 t of the salt.  Spray large nonstick skillet with nonstick spray and set over medium high heat.  Add pork and cook until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes.

3.  Transfer pork to roasting pan.  Combine artichokes, potatoes, asparagus,carrots, oil, and remaining 1/2 t salt and the pepper in large bowl; toss to coat.  Arrange vegetable mixture around pork.  Roast, stirring vegetables once, until vegetables are tender and instant read thermometer inserted into center of pork registers 160 F, about 25 minutes.  Let pork stand 5 minutes before slicing into 12 slices.  Serve with vegetables.

Per serving  (3 slices pork with 1 1/4 cups vegetables):

352 g, 293 calories, 6 g total fat, 1 g sat fat, 0 g trans fat, 62 mg Chol, 549 mg Sod, 31 g total carb, 3 g total sugar, 7 g fib, 28 g protein, 57 mg calcium.

Okay, today's WI.  I gained 1.6 from two weeks ago.  It's okay.  My morning weight this morning (after 1 day on the new plan) was down 1.4 from yesterday morning.  And it's going to be down again tomorrow and way down next week.  I'm very confident.  Do you remember this great post  from Charlie about the On/Off switch?  My switch has apparently toggled back to ON!  Two days may not constitute a streak, but just keep watching.  I'm going to DO this.

I put the turkey wings into my crockpot with an onion, some peppercorns, a bay leaf, celery, and a couple of carrots.  The beginnings of a(nother) good turkey soup that I'll have on hand for the next few days.  (broth--0 pts,  2 oz turkey--2 pts,  carrots--0 pts,  celery--0 pts, onion--0 pts, 1/4 c cooked barley--1 pt, mushrooms--0 pts)  Three points for a bowl of great turkey soup.  YES!  Did I mention that I cooked a 27 pound turkey???

I have been tagged twice with the question quiz.  I will work on that while the kiddos are napping tomorrow.  I am also really missing spending time on your blogs and that's the other thing I want to do tomorrow.

Thanks for your good wishes for my Dad.  I went to see him today and spent about an hour singing to him (Christmas hymns which I know he loves) while he slept--his pain meds keep him very sleepy.  I saw his leg and the site of the break doesn't have any bruising and the swelling has almost all gone. His pain is being well controlled and he seems comfortable and they report that his appetite is good.  

I had a short session with the exercise bike this morning--I don't love it, but it beats the rain, wind, and very chilly temps outside today.  I think I may go upstairs now and do my 10th kettle bell session.  I'm looking for those guaranteed results right after!  :-)

G'night.

186.4
hoping the light color makes the gain less noticeable!

New Beginnings

I had a wonderful Thanksgiving--full of kids and grandkids and family.  It really made me feel thankful for my many blessings.  Here are a couple pictures we took before everybody went home.

with our grandchildren

all our kids and grands!

All that thankfulness involved lots of food too and, as wonderful as it was, I'm most thankful that all the tempting calorific not-on-my-plan things are finally out of the house.  My weight has been drifting slowing upwards over the last two months so that I now have 7.4 pounds to lose get down to where I was at the beginning of October.  No more.  Did you notice the title of this post?  New Beginnings. That's because today is the day, now is the time that I rededicate myself to reaching my goal.

All this coincides nicely with WW's new program which was introduced yesterday.   The WW website must have been overwhelmed because it took all day before I could finally get to the site.  This is the first major change to their plan in a dozen years.  It is different because they have reconfigured the points system.  I like what they've done.  Most fruits and veggies are no points.  The new points calculator now looks at the carbs, fiber, protein, and fats.  The old one looked at just calories, fiber, & fat.  Things make more sense to me in the new plan.  And, wonder of wonders, they still allow me to follow my "CORE" plan.  They don't call it "Core" anymore, it's Simply Filling, but it's there and that's what I'm going to go back to.  For now, though, I'm doing to regular program.  I get 29 points per day plus the 49 weekly points.  I imagine I'll eat the same things that I'd eat with the Core/Simply Filling, but for now I want the reassurance that I'm eating correct portions.  After I get used to the new way, I'll switch over to the Core/Simply Filling plan, because I don't want to be tied to counting points for every single bite.

They now allow me 49 points per week over and above the 0 point Power foods (skim milk, lean protein, eggs, veggies, fruit, etc).  And they encourage you to use all 49.  My beloved Latte Bars which say 1 point on the box, are now worth 2 points.  So are the Strawberry Smoothie bars.  They will still be on my plan, but I'll save my points to include them.  I haven't been to my WW meeting yet to hear the official explanation, but this is what I'm thinking now.  I'll let you know more about it tomorrow when I understand more.

To go along with the new food plan, I'm revving up my exercise, too.  Back to my good 6 out of 7 days per week with solid exercise each day--half cardio, half strength.  Today I ran 3.5 miles (in the drizzle).  Tomorrow I think it will be the exercise bike.  

My sweet Dad fell yesterday and has a compound fracture of the hip (the top of his femur).  They were able to do the portable x-ray at his nursing home so that he doesn't have to go to the hospital which is always very upsetting to him.  It's hard to see that he's in such fragile health. I'm thankful for the good days we enjoyed with him a couple of weeks ago.

 J&E are napping right now and I need to go take advantage of this time to finish up my Bible study for tomorrow.

I'm feeling strong and confident about reaching my goals.  I'm excited about the new plan and motivated to use it to advantage.  The hardest hurdles (celebration-wise) are behind me.

How about you?  Are the T-giving temptations out of your life and your fridge now??

Post Thanksgiving Hot 100 Update

Hello all.  We had a wonderful, blessed, and delicious Thanksgiving yesterday.  The scale showed only a .2 pound rise this morning vs yesterday's weight.  There are lots of leftovers, but I have a big pot of turkey soup which is very diet friendly and the sinfully tempting things are mostly gone (the pecan pie went home with Johnny, the cranberry jello salad was a big hit with the grandkids, and the Sweetie's sweet potatoes with marshmallow topping is down to just a couple of servings left).

I'm awaiting the big reveal at WW next week when they roll out their new plan.  I hope to find it interesting enough to adopt it for the next big push in my weight loss program.  The nice thing about WW is that they are always sensible.  I'm feeling like I need a renewal in my motivation and hope that this pre-Christmas new eating plan will provide that.

Hot 100 Update

1.  Weight Loss--I did not got to my WW WI on Wednesday as two sets of family arrived that day.  Grandkids not seen in months trump my WI any day!  I will be there "with bells on" next Wednesday for sure.

2.  Exercise--Fail.  I have had 2 rest days  rather than just one this week.  I had 16 at dinner last night and today went sight seeing with Laura and her family in DC.  Lots of walking but no organized exercise.  Running tomorrow.

3.  Chocolate.  Pass--actually I haven't had any this week because I've been too darn busy to go get some!

I'm having a wonderful time with family.  I hope to get some good pix to share with you when everybody is back together on Sunday (Johnny and his gang went to visit the "other" grandparents after dinner yesterday).

Love to you all !

Friday Fly By, Hot 100 Update

Where has this week gone?  And next week, by this time, Thanksgiving dinner will be a year off.  Amazing.

I did my strength work out last night, so this morning was a cardio morning.  It was beautiful out so I went for a run on the river trail.  For a change, I set off the opposite direction.  I did a combination of walking and running for a total of about 3.9 miles.  My little Nike+ girl is happy with me again.  I only have about 45 miles left to run this year to reach my goal of 500 miles in the year.  I'll probably surpass 500 handily.

We celebrated son Johnny's birthday yesterday (34).  I made two cherry pies and cranberry bars during the day.  We had flank steak, roasted potatoes, and broccoli (all "plan-friendly") and I did have a small piece of birthday pie (because I knew it was 'special').  I was pretty good about staying away from the cranberry bars, too.  Jay helped, inadvertently.  I made a double batch because I wanted to give a tin to Johnny (he loves 'em) and also take some to my dad (who also loves them) and have some for numerous house guests next week and send a tin in with Jay on his birthday next week.  This morning when I was getting the milk for my cereal, I noticed that the big tin with the extra bars was not there.  I knew DH wouldn't have taken them, and finally guessed that Jay had misunderstood and thought he was to take the big tin in to work to share with his work team today.  That was what happened.  The tin re-appeared back in the kitchen, empty, when he got home from work.  Oh, well.  I do super well at avoiding temptation when the object of my temptation disappears!

The second cherry pie was for dessert tonight.  We had some friends from our time in Rome to dinner tonight.  They're moving back to Virginia after having lived in Rome for 20 years.  They're missing good Italian food and cappucini, but are enjoying all the ethnic restaurants.  I made steak, whole wheat orzo with spinach and tomatoes, and sauteed zucchini with mushrooms for dinner.  I confess to another small-ish piece of pie.  We're sending the leftovers over to Johnny's house tomorrow morning and planning austere eating until the first house guests start arriving on Tuesday.

Hot 100 Update:
1.  I gained weight at my WI this week.  I am having a hard time getting back in that good mind-set.  I'm not giving up and I still hope to make progress toward my goal, but this week's grade for making progress is a fail.  Semper Speranza.
2.  Yes to the exercise.  6 out of 7 exercise days this week.  Good cardio, good strength workouts and I enjoyed the exercise.  I helps me feel better about myself to have succeeded in this goal and thank God it helps with the calorie war, too!
3.  Chocolate did not stay at 1 oz/day allotment this week.  Hmm.  Perhaps there is a correlation between goal #3 and goal #1.  

I've been tagged with some interesting questions.  I'll try to get to those tomorrow.

Be strong.

To See or Not to See

With apologies to Hamlet (and Shakespeare). I knew when I stepped on the scale first thing this morning that it would not be a good WI today.  I had my breakfast, did my last chance workout (on our exercise bike), went to my BSF, and then to my WI.  I got there fairly late and went directly into the meeting and weighed on my way out.  I predicted to the WI lady that I would have a gain and she said, yes, just a bit.  I didn't look at the number and am not inclined to do so.  I'll just go through this week as well as I can and see what I can do by next week.

I'm disappointed in my results the past few weeks.  I need to cut out many insidious small variances from my plan and get back to my good zone.  I love my new smaller clothes and would hate to have them get too small.  So here's to my trying to get back. Semper Speranza.

Tomorrow E (shown in her Minnie Mouse costume, above) and I will make cranberry bars for her Daddy's birthday dinner.  Her daddy, our son Johnny, turned 34 last weekend.  They're coming over tomorrow night for dinner.  He requested steak and cranberry bars.  The bars are so good that I can't have them in the house for a moment more than necessary, so we'll make them tomorrow afternoon, save out enough for dessert, and package the rest in a tin for him to enjoy.  Johnny is the cook in his family and quite enjoys having someone else do the cooking occasionally.

Johnny, 6 years old, with his first fish.

Have a good day

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Rainy Tuesday

My morning run

It was rainy when I got up this morning.  I briefly considered ditching my plan to run this morning, but I'm not the Wicked Witch of the West and I won't melt, so I headed out and was greeted by this beautiful sight at the very beginning of my run.  It was a wonderful run.  Not cold, not crowded, and I felt great. My new "do" does nicely in the rain, too.  I felt so good that I took a new route out to Dike Marsh--famous with birders hereabouts.  I saw lots of birds including lots of stately egrets.  This little group flew as I got near, but had returned to the side of the trail when I doubled back 10 minutes later.

Egrets at Dike Marsh

Today for lunch I made an old WW standby.  Open faced Reuben sandwiches.  I made 2 for a total of 320 calories.    

WW Open faced Reuben Sandwiches (this recipe is from the WW 365 Day Menu Cookbook)

Toast 2 pieces of Rye Bread (130 calories for 2 slices)

Spread dijon mustard on toast

Top each with with 1/2 oz turkey pastrami (I couldn't find turkey, so used regular--60 calories for 1 oz)

Top pastrami with 3 T sauerkraut (I used canned, well rinsed for a total of 10 calories)

Top each with 1 oz of thin slice Swiss cheese (120 cal for 2 oz)

Broil until cheese is melted and just begins to brown.

I don't drink a lot of soda these days, but I splurged and enjoyed my lunch with a diet A&W in an iced mug!   Yum.

Tomorrow I have BSF in the morning and then my WI at noon.  I don't want to run again (I try not to run on consecutive days), so DH is going to set up our Lifecycle (exercise bike) so I can exercise.  This will save me some time and I can get in that "last chance workout" that I've missed the past few weeks.  We've had this exercycle for a few years and I've never been on it, tho' DH uses it a few times a week.  I hope it's going to help me keep up my exercise plan this winter.

Do you let the weather get in your way?

Home Again!

My mother and her parents at the beach, 1921

Nope, DH and I didn't even get on our "bathing costumes" during our stay at the beach.  The weather was fine, but it was, after all mid-November! I think my grandparents look pretty neat in their bathing apparel, though.

We went to early church with my FIL at St. Andrew's Covenant Presbyterian Church, where my FIL went when he was a boy.  Then back to pack up.  I love how it's so much easier to pack to return home than it is to pack to GO.  We left ourselves an hour to get in one last walk together on the beach. It really is a nice beach--flat, sandy, just enough shells, nice dunes, and very uncrowded.  Here's one more picture.

The wave breaking just behind us "caught" us and totally soaked my shoes!

DH put the things in the car and strapped on the bikes and we headed off to my FIL's apartment.  He had invited numerous friends and family members to an "open house" between 12 and 2:30.  He announced that he was serving tomato soup and didn't seem to want any advice to the contrary.  I stopped by and picked up a vegetable platter and some spinach/artichoke dip at the grocery to round out the offerings.  Apparently he'd rethought his menu, because in addition to the soup he had little dishes of nuts everywhere (honestly, I'd guess there were 15 nut dishes in his small apartment living room and dining area!)  Have I mentioned that I'm a "nut" about nuts.  I found them very hard to resist, and am sure that I overdid both my nut quotient AND my salt quotient for the day (week).  Oh well.  Lots of people came and it was good to meet them and to give FIL a chance to "show off" his family.  We got off at 2:30--much later than we'd planned, but we got home by 8:30 or so with good traffic most of the way. Jay is a super traveler.  I was fooling around with my camera and taking pictures over my head toward where he was sitting behind me. This one turned out pretty well!  He was in charge of the big cooler on the seat next to him.  We always travel with baby carrots, bottles of water, bananas, and apples.  

Jay.  I can't believe he'll be 29 next week!

Let's just say that the scale was NOT my friend this morning.  Lots of cups of tea and glasses of water today in addition to my regular eating routine.  I loved having the babies come this morning. Ella was wearing a new little red corduroy dress.  I said I liked her outfit.  She replied, "Amie, this isn't an outfit, it's a dress!" Silly me.  We had baked salmon and almond apricot couscous with mint for dinner.  Then DH and I hit the gym for our strength training.  We switched our schedule so that we go on Mondays now because we have our Messiah rehearsal on Tuesday nights in November.  

I'm just starting to realize that Thanksgiving is NEXT week.  Aaaaak!  Did I mention that we're at 15 and counting for dinner that night???  (and 7 of them are overnight guests so I really have to get all my spare rooms spiffy--no piling up stuff in a "spare" room this time). Yikes.  No playing games on Facebook this week.  Oh, and yes.  We're celebrating FIVE birthdays next week--I think we're having birthday pies at T-giving dinner.  They're all clustered right around Thanksgiving Day.

I'm woefully behind reading and commenting on your posts.  I've read more than I've commented, but I'm missing that exchange.  It's part of my routine that works and I'm going to carve out some time to reclaim that part.  

Take care.

Travel Notes: Vol III, Hot 100 Update

Cora and Henry Lattin, my great grandparents

Don't you LOVE this picture?  I was finding some old family pix to put up on my facebook page for Veteran's Day and I came across this picture of my mother's father's parents BICYCLING.  Look at her outfit!  Can you imagine trying to bike in a long skirt??  They were both doctors in Albion, New York--she was one of the first several women doctors to graduate from medical school in NY.  I think this picture is probably from the mid 1890's.   See:  biking is in my blood!

Another great day.  I'm starting to sound like a broken record, here, but yes, it was another great day today.
As is so delightful on vacation, we slept until we wanted to get up.  I got dressed in my running clothes, had a quick oatmeal breakfast (perfect for a crisp fall morning) and went out for a run on the beach.  It was beautiful and sunny, a little breezy, but not too cold.  My run was a bit haphazard because I hadn't thought to consult the tide charts and I think high tide must have been reached some time in the middle of my run.  That meant that the nice "hard" surface sand kept getting washed over by the breaking waves and I had to dodge little incursions of waves trying to reach almost up to the sand dunes.  We've established that running on the unpacked sand is not fun, so I did have a lot of walking parts.

The incoming tide taking up some of the best running space.

I went 5km and had a nice run.  A couple hours after I got back from my run we went out for our bike ride.  The ride I'd read about started in downtown Wilmington and went out along the Cape Fear river to the beach.  We saw the traffic and lack of bike lane and decided to catch the trail closer to the river.  We parked in a community and were able to avoid the city traffic.  We went about 20 miles and were back in 2 hours.  It was a good ride and we saw some beautiful sites along the river, but Wilmington needs to put a little more work into its bike trail system.  The "bike lanes" were marked, but were quite narrow and the road was uncomfortably busy with trucks breezing past us as close as two feet away.  

Here are some pix from our bike trip:

A nice park at the far end of our ride.

You can see the bridge in the back ground.

A very cute covered bridge across a marshy area to a very large home.

Our bike lane.

All in all a very nice day.  We went with FIL to visit some of his friends for a late afternoon tea (I had a cup of coffee and 2 small (wonderful) cookies.

We came back to our beach house and I made a fish chowder--from scratch.  It turned out beautifully and I'll definitely make it again.  I used skim milk and skim evaporated milk and the only "off plan" things in the recipe were 3 T of butter and 2 T of flour.  It served 8, so that's not so bad.  The cornbread I made was a different story, but also very good.  I'm hoping that my 3 hours of exercise will offset 2 small cookies and a large piece of cornbread.  What do you think??

Hot 100 Update: (the quick, I'm tired and off to bed as soon as I hit "publish post" version)

I have 3 goals:

1.  I lost .5 pounds at my WI this week.  I'm headed back in the right direction.  With a few indiscretions, I have been pretty much right on plan with my eating.  I continue to weigh and record my weight daily.

2.  I am way ahead on exercise this week.  6 out of 7 days and several days with 2 sessions.  No "phoning it in" this week.  Yay.

3.  Chocolate.  I'm enjoying my 1 oz a day allowance.  I admit to doubling up one day, but I didn't have any the next day, so I'm averaging out okay.  I'm trying to stay with my 1 oz per day though and be satisfied.

Be good!  Tune in tomorrow.

Tish

Travel Notes: Vol II

What a great day!  I slept so well last night; I didn't wake up even once between when I went to bed and about 7:30 in the morning when the sun woke me up (believe me that's very rare!).  We slept with the bedroom door open and enjoyed the sounds of the ocean all through the night. Oatmeal this morning and then I went out for a run on the beach.  It felt great (especially the homeward leg when the wind was at my back).  Here's a picture I took on my way out.

Oh, this is not me.  This is the cute little guy who was my running partner this morning.

A nice lady took my picture.

DH snapped this good one of Jay and me when we all went out for a long walk after I got back from my run.

So I ran a little over 3 miles.  It's different running on the beach, I tried to stay on the "hard" sand near the water, but it's not the same as running on my normal trail.  I plan to run every morning that we're here--watch my little Nike+ girl icon and just see if I don't!

When we got back, DH went and picked up his father. They took his bike to the shop to get a new tube and then got back here.  I fixed a nice bean soup, popcorn, and orange wedges for lunch and then we went on a bike ride.  The gimp (DH, with his half-arm cast), the octogenarian (my 88 yr old FIL) and me!  Here are some pix from that ride.

FIL & DH

DH & me

FIL, looking pretty good, no? (he refused to wear a helmet)

Self portrait, while riding (nice quiet street).

We had roasted rosemary pork tenderloin, baked acorn squash & broccoli for dinner tonight and DH bought some WW latte bars for our dessert.

Tomorrow we'll do our long ride (28 miles) in the afternoon.  I want to run again in the morning.  This week will NOT be a "phone it in" exercise week!

Be good!