Simply Me

Because you can never get enough of giggling babies!

 

19

That's how many pounds I've lost since the beginning of the year. No, I haven't joined a gym or Weight Watchers. No, I'm not doing Medifast. I know many people doing these things and these are doing good things for them. I just know those aren't for me and my mindset when it comes to food.

The whole thing started in December, actually. I realized that I was losing weight although I was doing nothing to actually make that happen. I started getting curious and started weighing more frequently. Then, as the numbers kept going down, I started trying to figure out exactly what I was doing different. I mean, come on, it was Christmas...my favorite time of the year to gorge on all things sweet and yummy. 

Once I started pinpointing some things, I began to make semi-concious decisions. I have a strange brain. If I go about something in the wrong way, a way that doesn't work with how my brain works, then I am just doomed for failure. I long ago gave up doing ANYTHING until I knew in my head I was actually ready. Actually prepared to do what it takes. Waiting for that can take a very long time.

One key piece to my particular puzzle is that I cannot give up my favorite foods. Telling myself no to something I enjoy eating is a good way to make me want it more. Yes, I'm like a toddler that way :P 

I gradually gave up the soda habit. Economics played a part here. The soda drinking habit is expensive. My soda drinking is such that I don't like to have 2 liters or 12 packs around (because then I just drink them!). So, I'd buy one here or there from a convenience store or machine. I finally stopped buying at the convenience store when the cost was closing in on $2 each. Now, I buy one once in a blue moon and will have a soda out if they have Coke available. Otherwise, I drink water. And since we're rarely eating out, that means not much soda gets poured down this hatch.

Next on the list, based on my obersvations:  sleep. I am purposely NOT staying up late most nights. I eat if I do. I eat junk. If I'm in bed, I can't eat. There have been nights where I started getting an urge to find something to chomp on and I made myself go to bed instead. 

Another habit I have formed is eating complete meals, especially dinner. I know this may not be the norm in your house, but our dinner habits have been a hit or  miss thing for years. Again, because of economics and in an effort to purposely choose healthier meals for all of us, I've been creating two week family calendar/menus. No longer do I have the excuse that I don't know what to make or that I don't have what I need on hand. This serves two purposes, I can get right on dinner when I get home and/or someone else can know what I have planned and get it started before I do. 

What's come out of this is that I have a full, satisifying meal between 6-7pm and I do not get hungry again. Sometimes I still WANT to eat ice cream or tortilla chips with con queso dip, but I make myself think about how full I am and that I don't need it. Most nights, this works. 

Fruit and veggies for snacks. Simple, right? Not if you don't actually buy them and eat them! Right now, the fruits are grapes, oranges and bananas. Baby carrots are the go-to veggie. Only buying things like chips and tortillas chips occasionally means I'm not tempted to eat them as often. Out of sight, out of mind can work it seems!

And finally, I still eat the foods I like. I had pizza on Friday night. I had chipped beef gravy for breakfast this morning. I'll have spaghetti with meat sauce and a slice of garlic bread tonight. I'm not watching for a specific calorie count. I'm watching to eat complete meals that make the desire to snack in between less of an issue. 

For the first time in about 8 or so years, I'm looking into the very near future and seeing the scale register something under 200 lbs. These are habits I can maintain, I believe. And best of all, I haven't even begun to up the level of activity I'm doing. With warm spring weather on the horizon, I see myself spending tons of time outside working with the horses, including much training time between the 4 of them. This training will involve lots of walking and some jogging. It may not all be 100% cardio in nature but I'll be moving and not eating while doing it. So, it's got to put me one step closer.

Finally, there's nothing like success to motivate you forward. Baby steps, I'll take 'em.

Two weeks...I think that's MORE than enough time

To be sick, that is. I started with a sore throat on Ash Wednesday. Went to bed with the dread of knowing I was in for my first cold (flu?) in over two years. I blame it on the pediatrician's office. We were there that Monday with Casey for a med check. While he was also diagnosed with strep and a sinus infection, I would have gotten it from him long before then. And I never got strep. A bit of knowledge that cost me $35.  $25 copay for the office visit and $10 (to my surprise) for the strep test.

I manage to work 1/2 a day at home that Thursday. Then collapsed into bed from then until Sunday night. I'm trying to remember if I worked at all on Friday. I was pretty worried about recovering in time for a big visit from management to our offices last Monday and Tuesday. I really HAD to be there. I managed to do it but woke up last Wednesday in sort of a relapse. I called into work again to say I just couldn't do it. 

To add to the fun, a little "thing" appeared on my face on Sunday that week. I watched with trepidation as it slowly grew bigger. By Wednesday I was really concerned. It was located on the left side of my face, right on the cheek bone, just under my eye. It was hard, swollen and hot. Knowing that any infection on your face is potentially very dangerous, I got in to see my doc that day since I was already home.

She initially called it an abcess and prescribed Bactrim and warm compresses. Told me to call if it got worse. Boy howdy!  The next morning, the swelling was much worse but I decided that I had only had two doses of the medicine and to give it another day. Friday morning there was more swelling, the area of the "abcess" was larger and I was getting really worried. Called the doc back and they saw me late in the afternoon. She agreed that it was much worse. She switched me to Augmentin. Again, if it got worse, I would need to go to a prompt care place or the ER.

The next morning, Saturday, my eye was almost glue shut from the goop that had collected there. The swelling under my eye was huge. I woke up my husband and told him he needed to drive me the ER. We had a quick turnarond in the ER, which was quite nice. I bet we weren't there more than 45 minutes. I was diagnosed with celluitis. He said I should resume the Bactrim, but at double the dose AND continue with the Augmentin. He also prescribed a topical antibiotic and said to continue the warm compresses.

Did I mention that this sucker HURT?  And I felt as exhausted and worn out as I did during my cold/flu bout the weekend before. I went back to the doctor this past Monday because I just wasn't sure if it was getting better or not. Her conclusion was that it was improving but she wanted to change my ointment. 

I spent a total of $100 in copays and probably $60 in medicines in 10 days time. Oh how I could of thought of better ways to spend $160!

After two days of rest (doctor ordered), I am improving but still exhausted. Must go back to work tomorrow though. I hope to not be this sick again for a very long time. I've missed some gorgeous days that would have allowed me significant time with my ponies, not to mention all the household things that are waiting as well. 

I need to look into vitamin supplements, I think.

Ash Wednesday: Lent Begins

So, we're still working on new dishes for our weekly menus. With the beginning of Lent, I needed to be sure we had some fish options available.

I bought a 5lb box of haddock at the store on Sunday. We're not big fish connoisseurs but Tom and I do like haddock. 

I went back to Taste of Home website and searched on "haddock" and came across several good, low calorie options. This is the one we tried tonight:  Tomato Baked Haddock. The website doesn't have a picture so I took my own:

It was quite tasty and will definitely be in the rotation again. Only Casey turned his nose up at it. 

I made two slight alterations to the recipe. I added a small amount garlic powder along with the salt and pepper. I also used no-salt added tomatoes.

Springtime Smiles

Look at this! A second layout and it's only March!  
(click on image to view in a larger size).

:::: smirking grin inserted here ::::

Credits:

Papers: Sweet Memories (Vera Lim Designs - TDD #27)

Elements:  All from "Everyday Life"
(Gina Marie Huff--Weeds & Wildflowers Design / TDD#27)

Word Art -"springtime smiles" (Krisis Kreations - ScrapMatters / TDD #27)

Photo Frame (Rhonna Farrer - 2Peas) 

 

This layout was inspired by TaraMcK's layout on The Daily Digi's Flickr pages. Click on over to see the amazing layout she made that got my juices flowing. Tara is one of the team over at The Daily Digi.

 

Now that's funny, I don't care who you are

I've been a Larry the Cable Guy fan for years. I first heard him when he did a weekly call-in segment on a local rock radio station. He says even now that 98 Rock helped to launch his career. Tom and I have seen him twice live at the First Mariner Arena in Baltimore. 

A few weeks ago, Larry came on the 98 Rock Morning Show to promote his new show on the History Channel:  Only in America with Larry the Cable Guy. I expected it might be amusing to watch a time or two. We added it to our weekly DVR recording schedule. I didn't expect I'd likely watch more than a couple of shows.

Boy howdy! I haven't enjoyed a show this much in years. There hasn't been a segment that has not only been funny, but *interesting*.  I've learned TONS of stuff about the neatest things. Watching Larry going to the home of the family of the Emily Post to learn about etiquette? I was in tears laughing at his antics. And they get one over on HIM during the rodeo segment.

If you're looking for something to watch on TV that will bring a smile to your face and maybe let you forget some of the ugly of the world out there for a time, you really need to check out this show. It airs on Tuesday nights on the History Channel.

Recipes

I'm guessing that I've mentioned before on this blog that I'm not a fan of cooking. I love eating, but cooking it for myself has never been in my top 10 favorite things to do.

Then some things happened:  the economy tanked, husband lost his job, husband began a diet program of his own design, to name  a few.

The combination of these things and others meant that regular eating out was no longer an option. This lazy cook had to come up with meals for the family on a regular basis. This isn't too difficult in the summer, where grilling and fresh fruits/veggies keep most everyone happy.

All too quickly, summer passes and winter comes blowing in. I don't grill outside in temps below 60. We sputtered along with some family classics but this often left Tom in the cold because the calorie values were not within his daily limits. Lean Cuisine has become a very good friend to him.

Now, I give him a TON of credit. He began his diet on January 1, 2010 and hasn't stopped. He's lost close to 70lbs and is keeping it off. I need to lose weight too but am not ready to go it the way he has. I did start feeling a little guilty about leaving him hanging most nights to figure out what to eat. 

A "diet" cookbook was recommended to me by someone I know on Two Peas in a Bucket. The book was from Taste of Home called Comfort Food on a Diet. I bought it last fall. My initial perusal didn't seem to find much that I thought the bulk of the family would be thrilled with, so I put it aside.

At the beginning of the year, I resumed my Family Calendar & Menu habit. I find that if I plan out meals two weeks at a time, I can be assured I have the necessary ingredients on hand and work around various schedules. Meals that take a little longer aren't planned for night where the schedule is tight. And knowing ahead of time what is planned for dinner on a given night actually takes some of the pressure off.  The calendar/menu is placed on the fridge so everyone know's what's coming up both in terms of scheduling and dinner each day. Here's what a typical two week period would look like (at the bottom of each day lists the entree for that evening's meal):

It became clear that many of our favorites were things Tom would no longer eat in an effort to maintain his weight loss. Admittedly, many of these meals are high calorie or the kinds of meals that he feels he can't just eat what is considered a "normal" portion so he would rather not eat it all. He didn't complain at all. He'd simply make himself something else. 

I find myself facing two weeks worth of days to fill with some meal idea and it didn't take long before I couldn't come up with enough stuff to fill a whole two weeks without repeating meals. And you know how boring that gets. FAST.

So, I pulled out the Comfort Food on a Diet cookbook and had a closer look. My fresh eyes started finding more recipes that I thought at least had the potential to satisfy 2 or 3 out of the four of us. I threw caution to the wind and starting adding new recipes to my repertoire. 

I thought I'd share one we had again tonight that has been a pretty big hit. I'm not a big beef fan but even I found this quite to my liking!  It's called "Swiss Steak". If you do a google search for "swiss steak" you'll find a huge variety of dishes that are called swiss steak and look completely different! This is a tomato based version. 

You can find the recipe on the Taste of Home website by clicking HERE. I served it over a small portion of rice. Tom is not a big vegetable eater so he sticks with salad while Casey and I had steamed broccoli. Sarah missed out because she had already eaten out with her beau. 

I'd also add that the recipes I've started using from this book are not difficult to make and go together quite quickly. This recipe takes an hour or so to cook (to get the chop steak tender) but probably only 10 minutes to prepare, maybe less. This makes it an even better recipe in my book!

My next pair of shoes

 

Want a pair for yourself? Click here.

Of Springs gone by...

I recently put all my photo albums onto the deacon's bench that was moved to the dining room around Christmas. I was taking a break today and randomly grabbed one of the older binders and started flipping through. The year was 2002. The memories of the year came flooding back with each turn of the page. 

I was still using film in 2002. I had had my Canon Rebel for about two years at that point, I think. I would occasionally grab up some b&w film and randomly use it. This has always been a favorite. 

I really need to work on my scanning abilities. I've lots of images to scrap and many of them are from these film days. Since I'm a digi scrapper, that means the photos need to be made digital. If you know of any good resources that give great tips on making the best scanned images possible, please let  me know!

A new month brings a new banner

This month's banner comes from this kit:

This can be found here:  Two Little Pixels