Still eating turkey, and lovin' it!

I love turkey. Maybe it's because I'm not usually the one who makes it. I get to take lots of leftovers home after we have Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners at my sister's. At first I was a little intimidated, but she doesn't want all the food left, so I help out by taking it. No one in my family likes leftovers. I love leftovers. For the most part, I think they taste so much better the second day. And, you can't beat the savings!

Holiday leftovers seem to extend the holidays a bit. Don't you think?

Good News -- I didn't gain weight!

After a very long Thanksgiving weekend of indulging and several pre-Thanksgiving indulgences, I managed to maintain my weight! That's very good news!

I made an awesome cranberry slaw (1 pt/serving) from a Hungry Girl recipe that I planned to use as my go-to sweet dish. Unfortunately, I left it at my sister's, and my daughter got it. I never connected with her to get it, so I had to make do with delicious (not WW) pumpkin pie, chocolate silk pie, homemade brownies, and chocolate chip cookies. So I wouldn't make myself sick, I put everything in the freezer. Having them out of sight really helped.

I can't wait until we learn about the new Weight Watcher's plan. I read that it emphasizes protein instead of starches. And that's a good thing for me because my body doesn't handle carbs well.

I really miss my pedometer. Maybe I'll get one after Christmas (on sale?)

I get a bonus from a group I do a newsletter for, and this year, I bought a Wii with it. Wal-Mart had it with all kinds of accessories, controllers, etc., and I should have it by Friday! I'm hoping this will be a fun way to get off my butt!

Thursday before I went to my sister's for Thanksgiving, I stopped by Garden Ridge and got a couple of Christmas trees for $60 ea. One was green, which I lent to my daughter, and the other is white.

Yesterday, we put up the tree with my butterfly ornaments along with gold stars, white icicles, and snowflakes. It's really pretty. I'll take a photo this evening and post it.

Restaurant Reviews

Oh, I know ... I should be talking about the great salads I ate last night and today at lunch, but --

We went to Cheddar's last night, and my son got the Chicken Fried Steak, and I got the Chicken Pot Pie. Both were delicious. We also got an order of fried Mozzarella sticks. And they were good as well. It all cost less than $21. We drank water, which saved at least $5.

Today for lunch we went to a volunteer appreciation luncheon at Azuca downtown. Finding a parking space was one of the most frustrating experiences in many months. The presentation of the food was really nice, upscale, and it tasted good. But the salmon sat heavy in my stomach all afternoon, and I hate the fish burps! My son said the portabello sandwich bothered his stomach all afternoon.

The company was fantastic. I really enjoyed visiting with the people from the Library. They made me feel so welcome and almost a bit like a celebrity.

I spent this morning unpacking a cart of boxes that I stashed a few years ago when I got my new work station. I practically filled a recycle bin with the stuff that I didn't need. I figure if I didn't need it for the past 5 years, it's not worth keeping.

After parking 4 blocks from the restaurant, and unpacking the cart and walking today, I got quite a bit of walking in.

Food:
open faced grilled cheese, (3)
salmon with crab, vegetable sticks, grilled carrot, pickles, tomato slice, lettuce leaf, and chocolate cake

Exercise:
8369 steps!

Have You Noticed the Skies Lately?

We walked after work today, and the sky was beautiful!

I noticed Thursday when we were driving home from downtown that the sky was pink on the horizon and blue above. By the time we got home, the sky was blue on the horizon and pink on top. It was amazing.

I mentioned the beautiful sky to my walking partner, and we noticed it did it again today. As we were walking the last 100 yards or so, I turned around and saw the spectacular sky behind us. It was gorgeous! She said it made her want to travel somewhere. It actually makes me want to sit in a lounge chair on the beach to watch the sunset with a tequila sunrise, margarita, or glass of White Zinfandel and someone with whom to enjoy the spectacular gift from God as we listen to the waves. OK, so maybe I DO want to travel ;O).

Well, my pedometer is blank again! I'm going to have to wear pants with pockets when we walk. I'm getting tired of having a blank screen when I want to log my steps. Maybe I'm just too hot to handle ;O).

Friday I was wearing pants without pockets again, and when I went to the ladies room about 10:00, I set it on the TP holder. At 4:30 that afternoon, when I went again before I headed home, it was still there on the TP holder. I'd even walked to a meeting and back. Needless to say, I was disappointed that I didn't have it on all day.

I sneaked a peek at the new WW plan. I'm excited! I hope it launches here soon!

I've had a breakthrough! If you remember, we had our 40th class reunion a month ago. I've seen some photos that people took of me at different functions surrounding the reunion. I actually look good! The one of me in black to the right of this page is from a reunion function. And I don't mind looking at it ;O). This is an accomplishment!

I've spent most of my life hating photos of myself. Either I'm looking better or I'm just becoming tolerant of the way I look. There's a profile of me at a United Way function in a company newsletter. And I didn't gag when I saw it! Also, in the same issue, there was a photo of me in a group of Toastmasters members. Again, it wasn't bad. I wish I'd fixed my hair, but I wasn't upset at how I looked overall. I'm talking major news here. Most of my life I've avoided having my photo taken because I hate the way I look. I've lost 25 lbs, and I'm so much happier about the way I look.

I'm ready for my close up Mr. Demille...

Food:
Bowl of rice crispies with 1/2 c skim milk
10 baby carrots, 2 cups spinach with 3 oz rotisserie chicken and 2 tbsp French Dressing
1 4-oz burger with 2 slices high-fiber low-calorie bread, mustard,
mashed potatoes, 1 sl low-fat cheese.
1 cranberry granola bar.

Exercise:
Walked 2 miles

It Was Just a Dead Battery

I don't think wearing it in my waistband while walking helped it any. My pedometer battery only lasted a few months, and it was a bit corroded. I thought it should last at least a year. Maybe I'll put some duct tape on it so it'll be protected from the perspiration.

I changed the battery this morning about 10:30, and I managed to get 6059 steps on it even without my morning 160-190 steps while getting ready for work.

My walking buddy didn't make it today, so I walked alone. I walked about 2900 steps, so I did more than I usually do when left to myself ;O)
When I leave to pick up my son, I'll drive the route to see how many miles I walked. I feel it was at least 1, maybe 1-1/2. Of course, it always feels like more than it is.

I remember that once I walked through the neighborhood in a big circle and just knew I walked about 7 miles. It was actually 2! I was so disappointed.

I've always liked to walk. Now that I'm able, it's a shame that I've become so lazy. But it's just a matter of time before I'm back in the swing of things. Actually, I've managed to be too busy to walk.

Today I walked to a meeting in the Admin bldg, then to the cafeteria to get a salad, then to Weight Watchers@Work, then back to my building. We won't talk about the weigh in. You can see the upswing in my chart. They were talking about being on the scenic route on our weight loss journey today at the WW@W meeting. I just went in, weighed myself, filled out my chart, and left. I'm hoping my son will feel confident enough to drive himself to the library soon or take the bus.

I've been using him as an excuse for not staying at the WW@W meetings, but really, I could do the meeting. It's just 30 minutes; it takes 30 minutes to take my son to the Library, and I get here early every day, so I definitely have the time.

Here I am, talking to myself in public! This is how my mind works: I'll actually form a negative thought like "I wish I didn't have to take my son to the Library on Thursdays so I could go to Weight Watchers." As soon as the thought is out there, I'm already thinking about a way to work around that "problem." Like "Well, gee, it only takes 30 minutes to get to the library and back, and Weight Watchers is only 30 minutes. What's the problem?" Do you do this? I've even thought something like "I hate it when he does this. He always does th ... wait. He actually did something nice the other day. And then he did do that." And before I know it, I realize I've been stewing about nothing. Anyway, so now you know how my mind works!
Scary, isn't it?

Food:
Huge bowl of Corn Flakes (at least 3 cups) with skim milk
Large salad with greens, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, black beans, 1 boiled egg and 2 tblsp cheese and some ranch dressing
1 can pear halves (probably 3 pears total)

Exercise:

I Think I Broke My Pedometer

I wear it religiously. Today I wore it as we walked after work, and it was blank when I checked it afterward. It is completely unresponsive. I think perspiration got into it's works, or maybe the battery died. I think it would have been about 9000 steps because I had 4200 before the walk, not counting the 160 steps I usually do in the house (today without my pedometer). Oh I'm hoping it was just wet and will return when it dries out.

This is the first night I don't have to work on something on my computer. So I'm here for fun this evening. I've checked my email, and now I'm blogging.

I was so excited Saturday. I got on the scale and it was at 215! Then this morning, I got on and it was back to 220 :( I'm sure eating homemade candy had nothing to do with the gain. It had to be because I didn't eat any vegetables yesterday.

I made up for the nonvegetable day yesterday by eating a can of carrots and 1/2 can of green beans with some beef fajita meat and walking 2 miles! I also walked to the admin bldg and back at a brisk pace. By the time I got back, I was glowing with perspiration.

Food:
egg sandwich, 1 whole egg and 2 egg whites, 2 slices double fiber bread (4)
1/2 sandwich with whole wheat bread, 1/2 serving blue corn chips, 2 cookies, 1 serving pasta salad.
5 oz beef fajitas, carrots, green beans (both with margarine)

Exercise:
9000 steps