Saturday, December 31, 2011

No Weigh In today

I'm actually doing something for the first time in 10 years for New Years Eve!  No scale is available.

But I did want to wish you all a very Happy New Year!  If you drink, do it responsibly.

Let's kick 2012's ass!

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Friday, December 30, 2011

Is this where I'm supposed to recap and set goals?

Stuff That Sticks Out from 2011

I started the year trying cross country skiing.  The Mr loved it, me?  Not so much.  BUT I did like snowshoeing and burned comparable calories so it's all good.  Now if it would just freakin' snow so we could actually do it, we'd be good!

We played our version of tennis which should be renamed "one ball chase" for an hour.

We went on a hot air balloon ride over Napa Valley.

Added some pretty hard workouts that we actually were able to do and they're ones fit people groan about so we're pretty proud of that.

Honestly, those were the highlights.  2011 was a year of frustration on the weight loss front.  We're looking to not repeat that.

Stuff we're implementing for 2012

When we take vacations, big or small, no high cal day the Saturday after we get back.  We eat what we want on vacation every day and if we want to get back to pre-vacation weight a donut or pizza isn't going to speed that up so, new rule.  Period.

We'd like to incorporate yoga.  I got a yoga DVD for Christmas that I asked for, we watched it and he fell asleep and I fast forwarded out of boredom.  That's a good sign.  *rolling eyes*  So while I was tempted to say yoga every Friday (which is usually our rest day) but I know with certainty we won't so instead I'll say, we'll do it if we feel like it which will be at least once a month.

I want to make more homemade items.  Whether its soups, pasta sauce, tortillas or cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning, I want to know what's going into my foods.  I'm not saying I'm going to buy a cow to keep on the lanai and churn my own butter and shuck my own wheat from the field or stop going to Trader Joe's or big box grocery stores but there is pride in being able to make your own food and I want that for us.

As for the rest?  We'll just tweak as we go.  I'll always be on the lookout for new workouts to challenge us, I'll always track my food and I'll always cook awesome meals that make this lifestyle seem like people who gorge on crap are the ones missing out.

Anything in particular you are going to add/do differently for 2012?

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Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Brussels Sprouts - Triumph or tragedy?

Remember when I told you all I was looking to try brussels sprouts?  I know, seems like a lifetime ago.  I think the Mr. was hoping I would forget or keeping buying them with good intentions and end up throwing them out.  The night finally came that I was ready to give it a go and honestly it was the worst night to do it.  I'd been baking all day, still had a house to clean and was stressed to the max.  But I said "tonight's the night" and I had him cut them in half and get them back to me.  He was nervous.  He remembers the smell of sulfur filling the air and his mouth when he was a kid and to him, nothing could improve that in his mind.  Well that only happens if you overcook or over-steam them which I had no intention of doing.  I took the sprout halves and my spray mister and misted them with olive oil.  I tossed them in garlic, added some black pepper and cut up one slice of low sodium bacon and put them in a glass pan.  I roasted them for about 30 minutes and got this:


The Mr was willing to choke them down since they smelled good and I was anxious to try them finally to see what I thought.  I took my first bite and they were good.  The more I ate, the more I loved them.  They tasted like the insides of a really good egg roll with a smoky bacon flavor.  The Mr had a bit of a mental block with them but in the end he said he would absolutely eat them again if I prepared them that way and would try them any other way.  I made them again the same way and they were the only side dish (I had rice to temper them for him last time) and the Mr ate them.  They're not his favorite but I'll confess, they're my new favorite.  I will so be stocking up on these as much as possible when they're in peak season, which I think is starting to dwindle if I'm not mistaken.  Boo!  I'm anxious to try a slaw recipe I've got whirling in my noggin and of course you know I'll give you my feedback on those!

When someone else is a guinea pig for a food and likes it, does it influence you to give it a chance you might not have on your own?


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Tuesday, December 27, 2011

And then I went insane...

Some years you think you've got it all mastered and you realize you don't.  Lord only knows how long it'll take me to undo what I did the 3 days I went insane but right now I really feel like ripping that gravatar off the page because I don't deserve it.

I know one thing, there will be a rule for next year, no f*cking candy in the stockings if it's stuff we can get any time of year.  We have to pick ONE candy and we split it, period.  Not three different kinds plus what my mom gets us.  I ate crap I didn't even want because it was there.  That is NOT how I'm going into this year, sabotaging myself.  I'm not going to spend time relosing weight I've already lost, that's not productive and it's not acceptable.  I thought yesterday was supposed to be an "on track" day but the Mr dumped his stocking and started rifling through his candy somehow I felt like "well if he's going to do it, so am I!"  But I never do anything small so I did equal to and greater than...like the math problem I am.  My holiday depression had kicked in FIERCE as soon as we got back from Christmas with my family and you couple that a healthy dose of PMS and hormones and it was like an out of body experience.  I swear it was like the healthy me was hog tied and an evil drone took over while I was forced to watch, yelling "noooooo!" from behind my gag.  Welcome to the big failure of 2011.

You can prepare all you want but in the end, sometimes temptation just wins, not once or twice but three times.  I suppose the only victory I can claim is I did exercise and not break our streak.  Well that and dumping the rest of the cookies in the trash so I couldn't screw myself up another day until planned treats on vacation from some of our favorite places.  My instinct is to beat myself up over it and tell myself what a failure I am, oh wait, I guess I already did that above but it's done.  There's nothing I can do to take it all back and I just have to move forward with new rules in place for next year since I'm not looking to spend a third Christmas in a row feeling the way I have the past 2 Christmases.  I will hop on the scale and see the damage and do what I need to in order to rectify it.  Period.

Now I'm off to drink my water and tell this attempted cold to take an effin' hike.

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Monday, December 26, 2011

Keeping up with the gift cards

My grandparents, probably like yours, have everything.  When you get to be in your 70's and 80's, you've accumulated all of the stuff you want and need and say things like "gift cards will be fine."  The problem with that is when you tell someone that you go to Olive Garden all the time, then people will think they're all clever and get you a gift card there...all three daughters and a granddaughter.  Italian food for life!  I've been making sure I get them gift cards that can be used at multiple restaurants so they at least have an option.  So between each daughter, us and their friends, my grandparents really rack up the gift card count year round.  Her birthday is in the spring, his birthday is in the fall and then Christmas.  They're a lot to keep track of.

As I was watching my grandpa open his 7th gift card at his 80th birthday party, I pulled The Mr aside and joked that I was going to get them a recipe box to put their gift cards in to keep track of.  I decided to go through with it and bought a nice bamboo recipe box to organize the gift cards and I even filed their Christmas gift cards in there for them.


What I love about this recipe box is not only is it pretty and something they can keep on the counter but this particular model has a card holder on the top!  Let's say the grandparents want to go to Red Lobster for dinner, they can grab the gift card out of the box and slip it in the slot on the top so they don't forget it!


Love it!  When the lady at the store asked if I was organizing my Christmas recipes, I told her no, what I was going to use it for and she about lost it telling me how awesome that was and I thought, "hmm, I should probably share that one."  I know I'm not the first person to think of it but you'd have thought I was given how the cashier was going on not just to me but the lady behind me as I was leaving.  Of course the grandparents loved it or if they didn't they did a great job faking it.  So if you find yourself with an abundance of gift cards that you don't want to keep in your bulging wallet or dig out of the abyss of your purse, this recipe box is a great way to keep track of them!

What was your favorite gift you received this year?
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Saturday, December 24, 2011

Merry Christmas to me - Weigh In

Down one pound.  Which means...200 lbs lost!!!!!!!!!!!!

So when you say you've "only lost a pound" (which I'm very guilty of) remember that at some point, that will be a  VIP.  (Very Important Pound!)

Merry Christmas everyone!

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Friday, December 23, 2011

The magic of the season

Where did December go?  Today is my hubby and I's dating anniversary and I love that we still celebrate that.  We're getting each other gifts this year, I'll update ya on what I get later.  Then I can spill the beans on what I got him.

Tomorrow is my favorite day of the year.  There is something so magical about Christmas Eve.  It reminds you of that anticipation you had as a kid tossing and turning waiting for Santa Claus to come.  I remember one year when a kid at school tried to tell me that Santa didn't exist.  I was going to sleep under the tree and catch him.  I laid down and stared up at the lights interwoven in the Christmas tree with the Pickwick Living Voices The Little Drummer Boy playing in the background.  I was gonna do it.  I was going to catch him.  I was gonna...wake up in my bed after being moved in the middle of the night.  Damn.  The following year, I left a contract out for him to sign proving he was real and of course he signed it.  He had really pretty handwriting.  Very ornate...and similar to my mom's.  But I was good with it.  Little did I know that Santa was the spirit of Christmas carried on for generations from the days of Saint Nicholas.  Everyone who celebrates Christmas takes on that privilege to carry on the tradition and spirit of giving.  A right jolly old elf might not come through my fireplace anymore but I was reminded by a friend what that spirit of giving really means.

A few years back they were in a financial tight spot and things were really tough.  Her youngest had his heart set on a specific Spiderman toy and it broke her heart that things seemed so bleak at holiday time.  I offered to get it for him as well as a family gift and she said they loved playing board games as a family.  So we went all over town until we found her son's toy, a good board game she suggested and added a $50 gift card to the local grocery store so they could get a full Christmas dinner prepared.  She was overwhelmed and her gratitude was enough thanks, I told her just to pay it forward one day.  She did just that this Christmas to a woman who was about to be evicted and gave her the $100 they were short for rent when no one else could help them.  In addition to that, she told me that a kid was telling her youngest this year that Santa wasn't real and he said yes he was and he knew that because a few years ago he got the toy he wanted and his parents couldn't afford it that year so Santa DID exist.  It brought tears to my eyes and was worth every penny to allow a little boy hang on to his childhood a little longer.

Wishing you all a magical Christmas!

Edit:  Here's our dating anniversary take:


Yep, that would be the original Strawberry Shortcake I had as a kid...whose hair still smells like Strawberry and my beloved Fashion Plates!  If you follow me on Pinterest, you know that these were pinned AFTER he bought these on my Childhood Favorites board!  So he done good.  I got him some snowshoes which he was hoping for money this year to buy them but it didn't look good so I got them for him.  He was thrilled!  It's gonna be a great Christmas!  Happy Anniversary honey!
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Wednesday, December 21, 2011

A Guest Post from The Mr

I just thought I would stop by and let everyone know what a great job The Mrs. did the past week and a half baking her butt off and making some of the best treats that my co-workers and I have ever enjoyed. The most amazing thing is that she did all of this baking and somehow managed to avoid eating all of it. She showed tremendous willpower and I have to say kudos to her for a job well done, for keeping her cool, properly tracking her food, getting all the workouts in and still managing to research, bake and photograph all of the wonderful treats that you’ve enjoyed seeing here. She took on quite a challenge and I am extremely proud of her and hope that everyone is able to benefit from all of her hard work.

My favorite treat out of the bunch is the cookie-dough fudge but I have to say there is also nothing quite like one of those choco-rolo’s while they’re still warm. My co-workers really loved the 7 layer bars, which is funny because we honestly thought people would steer clear of the coconut since it is not one of our favorites. Yet when I tried a small bite of one I could understand why my co-workers were so crazy for them.

My co-workers weren’t the only ones who were able to benefit from all of the baked goods. We also made some staff and patients at a local retirement home very happy and it was heartwarming to see the smiles on their faces as we delivered two large containers full of brownies, raspberry tarts and snickerdoodles. Not a bad way to break the ice with complete strangers too, as it turns out.

Thanks to everyone for commenting and enjoying the wonderful pictures and I hope that you are able to share some of these amazing goodies with your family and friends at Christmastime. I know I will be hoping that she will make some more of that cookie-dough fudge! “Eatin’ dough is the way to go” – within reason of course! Which just goes to show that you can still indulge in some wonderful things as long as you balance it with a good workout and some sensible choices along the way, er, uh weigh. Merry Christmas everyone!

-The Mr
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Saturday, December 17, 2011

Greetings from the Bakery- Weigh In

Um yeah, I don't know what to say.  Down 4 lbs this week which means I'm one pound from 200 lbs lost.  Let me tell you why this is hilariously funny.

1)  The house has been full of temptation and I lost not gained.  Score.

2)  IF I lose a pound next week do you know what it will be in time for?  A mini culinary vacation we have planned for NYE in which I will need to spend 2 weeks getting back to my previous weight.  So I *might* hit it long enough to have it taken away.  Fate is a funny bitch, ain't she?

So honestly, if I do hit it, I don't know that I'll say anything because I don't want a bunch of congrats for something that's going to be gone 4 days later and I'll be danged if I'm giving up Sprinkles cupcakes which I got screwed out of in San Fran for our anniversary so it'll be a mini celebration then back to business so it can be a permanent one.

I hope everyone's been enjoying the 12 Days of Treats posts!  I've gotten some great feedback from it and there are 2 more recipes left and I think they're pretty dang good.  The last one is my favorite...okay one of my favorites.

Have a great weekend y'all!

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Saturday, December 3, 2011

Yawn - Weigh In

I'm down 2.5 lbs which is still 1/2 lb up from my lowest but I'll take it because Aunt Flo is bloatin' my big arse like nobody's business today!  Between that and sleeping hard from being up until 2:15am baking cookies (see how much I love you all?), I look like the Stay Puft Marshmallow woman!  Hope I didn't want to get my ring off today.

We have been making rather merry lately and attended a Christmas symphony last night and it was amazing!  One problem though is you shouldn't attend a moving musical piece when it's that time of the month because I was tearing up at every little thing.  Luckily I caught a stray tear but jeez man!  Why does menopause have to suck!?  I mean your hoo-ha is designed to squeeze out another human being, go through monthly hysteria and they take it away when you're older and you think you can celebrate but you still have to pay with hot flashes, night sweats and crap?  Sheesh.

Welp, off to make more merry on our annual road trip to a Victorian village for some Christmas cheer.  Thank God I don't have to be up early tomorrow but I will be a baking fiend so no rest for the wicked!

(Feedburner is having some kind of conniption fit this morning so I hope everyone gets this okay that is subscribed)

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Friday, December 2, 2011

You spoke, I'm listening

There will be a 12(ish) Days of Treats countdown.  We'll start it up Monday (which means I'll be baking my buns off this weekend to get ahead so brace yourself old folks home down the street, holiday treats are coming your way!)

I made the first recipe last night and The Mr's work folks loved 'em.  One dude ate four.  And he's thin.  Jerk.

Here's a wee little teaser:



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Thursday, December 1, 2011

12 Days Recipes? Yay or Nay?

I know lots of sites like to do the whole 12 days of Christmas treat recipes.  Is that something you'd like to see here?  What if I got lazy and only posted 6?  Okay we'll pretend I didn't give myself the out.  (But I did)

I really am on the fence about doing one but I'm interested in trying other recipes in addition to the ones that are tried and true in my house and I just need to know if when I'm trying these out (and trying to lighten a few up if I can) would you be interested in seeing it or is it overkill for you?

Obviously we all know I'm going to do what I want (HA!) but I just wanted to see if I should be making sure the camera is charged up and keep the folding table on hand when I do them.

Should I do a 12 Days of Cmas treats recipe dohicker here?
 Sure! I love new recipes to try this time of year!
 No. The pics would be too tempting.
 Do what you want, you know you will anyway.



  
pollcode.com free polls 

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