Cruising to Healthy

[Jesscap5]

Hi Everyone!

 

Hope you all had a great holiday! Well I didn't gain weight, I actually lost. So that's good. We didn't have all kinds of food, I didn't back and I didn't pig out because I was too busy playing games, playing with my niece on the wii (good exercise too we played the Just Dance 2) and wrapping, unwrapping presents..I did sleep in a lot last week on my week off and was really lazy but still didn't pig out. Had no money for food anyway. LOL

 

Was going to go to Kickboxing last night but then I remembered I HAD to pick up my thyroid meds before the drug store closed..and I need to take them because I know it does help me lose weight when I take them regularly and it just helps improve my overall mood also. I also had a bad headache so when I finally got home I had some soup and almost got sick..so I took an ibuprofen and that helped and I went to bed early. So today I am feeling much better and hopefully still feel better by the end of today so I can get back into my kickboxing routine.

 

Tomorrow is my birthday, might go to bingo with my mom (I get a free bingo pass too for the next time I go), not sure if we are doing the cake thing or not. But I won't pass it up, cause I never do on my birthday.

 

I do have some ideas I want to try..if you have never read ALL You magazine..you should I love it. They have lots of coupons (good ones usually too!) and great ideas and recipes. I'm going to start journaling again and try to make and freeze bulk foods that I can use for meals..

 

One Step at a time..I'll keep you posted on that

 

Hope everyone has a great day!

[Jesscap5]

We are on the Destiny again, but with ports I have never been to - Ochos Rios, Jamaica and Grand Cayman.

 

Kim

 

Kim, Are you doing any shore excursions? I have been to both those places and have been to Dunn River Falls at Ocho Rios and did a Dolphin Encounter (not swimming with them) and Sting Ray City at Grand Cayman.

 

I didn't end up doing the Dunn River Falls cause I was too scared (I almost drowned when I was young from rocks like that, so it got me paranoid) though I did hear it was great. The people there do ask you to buy things alot and a family member was going to buy an item from someone and the person almost grabbed all his money before he gave it to him..so needless to say the man never got any money and my Aunt and Unlce would never go back there again. Though I didn't personally encounter that..I just walked away and ignored them.

 

Grand Cayman was beautiful. Some things are a bit pricey (didn't buy anything either!) but we did the Sting Ray City Excursion and that was my favorite!! A boat took us too the sandbar, got on our snorkel gear and it was amazing having all the Stingrays swim around us and we got too feed them which was kind of scary and exciting! If you are not too sqeemish about the Stingrays I would give it a try sometime. It was better then the Dolphin Encounter excursion we also did at Ocho Rios.

[RachieLnnn]

Hi everyone,

 

Since I was away so long I'd really like to get back into posting here, hence why I am on again this morning. :) I hope that you all don't mind me jumping back in. I posted a bit in October and everyone was so supportive and friendly, that it really made me feel like I could do this. My goal is to lose 35 pounds. I weighed that in college and high school, where I was on 2 sports and while never "skinny," felt great & healthy at that weight. I think that my new goal should be being healthy instead of losing weight.

 

Now that the holidays are over, I'm going to work out on the elliptical for 30 minutes most days and do some light weight training and crunches, etc. on the other days. I'm trying to think of what regimens worked for me in the past... In college I would wake up and do 1/2 hour on the elliptical everyday, but I didn't have class until 10 or 11. Now that I have a full time job, it's a little harder but I think I could still fit it in. I also ate a small salad with every lunch and dinner, and cut out all soda. Instead, I would have one small glass of skim milk and sometimes a small glass of chocolate milk with my meals. Oh how I wish I had a salad bar at home!

 

I've been tracking my meals on the Daily Plate. I like it because I seriously think they have more foods on there than WW did, and it's free! I only wish they had an app for the Droid phone...

 

I'm also going to watch this season of the Biggest Loser and try to follow along on the journey with them instead of just watching the show... and try to really let it inspire me. I caught the last few episodes of last season, and they all look so great... ran a marathon, etc! Wow.

 

What are you guys doing to jump-start your New Year? Is anyone still logging your food? I found that pretty interesting... once I total up my calories, it's interesting to see what percentage comes from chocolates, etc. :eek:

[RachieLnnn]

P.S. forgot to mention, have a great time on your upcoming cruises Kim and Brooke!!! I'm super jealous!

[cruisingagaininnov2008]

Jess...thanks for the advice. I haven't even looked at the excursions. On the past 3 cruises we have been on, the only excursion we did was a Rick Springfield beach party - at a beach-side resort with food, drink, music included. I really regretted not booking something when we were at Grand Turk. So, I am definately going to try something new this time around. I am really not one to sit out on the beach all day, so I need to do some research.

 

Day 2 is going well so far. I am trying to keep busy to avoid eating. I just went grocery shopping with my son to buy some healthy foods and some non-healthy cookies for the kids that I am sure will be calling me tonight. I just better not answer. I just ordered an exercise dvd today. I need to get my butt moving. Finding the time with 2 young children and work is tricky, but it must be done.

 

Time to meet the bus! I'll check in later. Kim

[brooklynfc]

Jess,

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Go on and have a piece of cake. The last time my mom thought she was helping me by not buying me a cake for my bday I just went and bought one for myself. lol.

 

Okay, I can't remember who said something about New Years, but I made a resolution just to believe in myself more. I figure that counted that I would believe that I could lose weight, but didn't add the pressure.

 

But I almost went back to WW, but they got expensive (for me anyway), so I'm gonna stick with sparkpeople, which is free and I can track there too. I started tracking again. No as pre-prepared as last time, but I'm trying. Its just been a whirlwind. Got back to exercise too. Watched, what I could, of the Biggest Loser last night (stupid signal) and I got on the bike for a full 30 mins.

 

I almost think I would like that new Xbox Kinect. It would make feel like less of a loser for buying at Xbox at my age with not kids, lol. But hopefully the gym on campus will open back up after the students get back next week and I'll have more equipment to work with.

 

Jess, can't believe we have the same swim suit! YAY! Do you know any places for good deals on suits? I'm having a real problem almost paying $100 for swim suit with shipping and all.

 

Good Choices!

[Jesscap5]

Thanks Brooke! I already told my mom I expect a cake and NOT one she likes because she often buys her favorite (triple chocolate cake) and ice cream and it's like Hello, not your birthday! :rolleyes: LOL They have cake every month at work and I never have any..so this is the one time I don't feel guilty eating a piece of my own birthday cake.

 

Is the Xbox Kinect like the Wii? I am clueless..but I soo wish I had internet at my place, I just cannot afford it though. Otherwise I'd be getting a game console and use netflix on the wii or other game console if you can. My niece has it (Netflix) on her ipad and Wii and you get a TON of choices.

 

I got that Swimsuit I think from womanwithin? I got it a few years ago but I kept using it in my parents hot tub and the color faded..so I don't wear it now, I got a new one at Fashion Bug but it was like $50 and it's not my favorite (well only one I have right now) but I usually try to find the best coupon codes out there when ordering. You can google them or try Retailmenot.com - they are pretty code about listing coupon codes. Otherwise I know a site Swimsuitsforall.com sometimes has really good sales but since you are leaving shortly, you wouldn't really have time to wait for a sale if you wanted to order from there. But you can find out if there is any good coupon codes.

I wouldn't blame you though, I wouldn't spend $100 on a swimsuit even if shipping was included.

 

Hope you have a great day..so far my day has been good, might go to bingo tonight so I can get a free pass for next time (if you go on your birthday they give you a free pass for next time).

[brooklynfc]

Jess,

 

The Kinect is a new piece to the Xbox. It like scans your body and can detect your movement without a controller. So you are the controller, which makes for more moving. My aunt got one and she says she did the fitness tape and it was amazing, but she said she kept saying, "Is that really what I look like." lol. It has dance games and reg. video game type stuff too. But its expensive b/c you have to buy the Xbox and the Kinect part.

 

HA! I just bought a bathing suit! I was hemming and hawing about it. I found a coupon code last night for Onestopplus for 30% off which brought that one shoulder purple one down from $109 to $87, but I thought.......NO.......I'll wait on votes some more. I looked at the suits again.....back and forth, back and forth this morning. The pink/black/white one was on sale for $66, but I hadn't bought from that place before. Lucky I checked back on Onestopplus and long and behold........the purple one was on sale for $69! Last night it was full price! so I took my 30% off coupon and got it for $57 with S&H. I thought that was pretty good. Hope it fits right.

 

Sometimes I crave cake. I just want bday cake. I think its b/c I remember the emotions that go with it and want to feel that way. I don't like that whipped stuff though. Reg. icing please! We started by those little cakes. Walmart has the little round ones or square ones. They really only serve about 7-10 ppl depending on how big you cut the pieces. It helps cut down on leftovers.

 

Enjoy bingo!

[RachieLnnn]

Jess, Happy Birthday! I hope that you have a great day. Enjoy that cake and don't feel guilty about having a treat on your birthday, it's only once a year after all.

 

I recorded the Biggest Loser last night but haven't watched yet. Tonight I have the house to myself so I'm planning on working out (hope the gym isn't terribly crowded, right after New Year's is always the worst). A healthy dinner, and then settling in to watch TBL while I do some nice stretches, etc.

 

Last night I made pumpkin chili, I know it kind of sounds weird, but pumpkin is really nutritious and I had a bunch of frozen puree from last Fall. Here was the recipe: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pumpkin-Turkey-Chili/Detail.aspx

 

The only changes I made were only using 1/2 pound of turkey, adding a can of red kidney beans, more bell pepper, and a bit of frozen corn. I also had to spice it up a bit... in the end, I probably added 2 full tablespoons of chili powder, 1 teaspoon of cumin, and 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper (we like things spicy).

 

I haven't figured out the calories per serving yet, but it's mostly whole, good foods (veggies, beans, lean meat), so I felt pretty good about making that. I did add a small bit of sour cream and a tablespoon of cheese.

 

So far I'm down 2 pounds since I started tracking. The hard part is that the Daily Plate is telling me to only eat 1150 calories a day if I want to lose 2 pounds per week... which is super hard for me. I feel like I have to go work out for 1/2 hour so that I can burn an additional 450 calories and up it to 1600, just so I can eat a little more rounder meals.

 

Although, I've told myself not to stress about tracking pure fruits, vegetables, and low-fat milk. These are not the things that added on pounds in the first place. :rolleyes:

[Jesscap5]

Thanks Rachel!

 

Sounds like you are on a roll, keep it up and thanks for the recipe, I'll have to try that sometime.

 

Brooke - We only get the small round cakes too and I don't like the whipped topping either. My mom loves it but I already told them I like regular icing. lol

 

The Xbox with the Kinect sounds better then the Wii because you don't have to hold a remote. Maybe some day...

 

I hope your bathing suit fits..I voted for them and honestly I thought all of them looked nice. But it's good sometimes to go with your own choice of what you like.

[RARcruise]

Kim- I went to Ocho Rios and personally will NOT go back. It was a little scary to me and I do not like people hounding me about taxi's, shopping, etc. Even in stores around hear if a sales person is to pushy I leave. We did not do any excursions because we are laid back people most of the time. I am pretty sure we will not be doing any this time as well because a)my mom can't get around that easy and 2) excursions for 6 will be very $$$$. I did enjoy looking around the Georgetown. This time we are going to Georgetown and Cozumel (which is my favorite) I even went back to the port marketplace by myself to pick up a few more necklaces for my neices while Richard took a nap. That says a lot.lol The funny part is that after I bought the necklaces and was walking back to the ship I noticed a tag on it that says Made in China. LOL

 

Jess-Good job over the holidays! Much better then me.

 

Brooke-Trying to decide if I am going to talk to you because I am so jealous. Have fun planning and packing.

 

Rach-Glad to see you back.

 

Gotta run fill you in on myself later.

[brooklynfc]

Morning,

 

Annette,

 

Hey, I will be hating on you too......we can never seem to plan our cruises at the same time, so we don't have to hate each other while on vacation, lol.

 

Well, I'm at least staying in a calorie range. It has to be less than what I had been eating. It has it between 1700-2000. I did some BL looking and they have a formula to go by to find your calories and it was something like 2250 for me...so I'm eating less than that. I think the BL diet would be very similar to what I'm doing now, but I might as well just keep with this until after the cruise and then try the BL.

 

I'm keeping up with the 30 min. stationary bike. Just waiting for the gym at work to open back up and I'll change things up. But any exercise is good exercise right?

 

I've been researching Disney cruises for my friends who are going in Feb. and it makes me kinda want to try their line. Though the price makes me cringe. Why the price has to double just b/c you are the Disney brand idk.

 

Anyway, I'm in planning mode. 2 more weekends until I leave and only 10 more working days!

 

I'm a little worried about my friend. She said he dad has been ill lately and I'm a little afraid that she was warning me that she may have to cancel if he doesn't get better. I don't know what to do if that happens. Obviously I can't pay for the extra person. I guess i would have to cancel too and just get my insurance to refund the money. I mean that would be the worst case. I'd get my plane ticket and cruise cost back.

 

Good Choices.

Edited January 6, 2011 by brooklynfc

[RachieLnnn]

Brooke, I will keep my fingers crossed that your friend's dad gets better and you don't have to cancel your cruise. I know how heartbroken I would be after all that planning. :(

 

I was looking at the Daily Plate Forums last night, and there are a lot of posts from people on there that said the estimated calorie count can be too low. They said most people should pick "lightly active" if they are at least getting out of bed and going to work, etc. Since I do walk everywhere but have a desk job I originally put the least active category. Well, I switched it, and now it is allowing me around 1350 calories a day, instead of 1150 which helps a lot with my eating plan. They also said not to go under 1200 calories a day, or your body can go into starvation mode... has anyone heard of this? I put in that I wanted to lose 2 pounds a week.. if I went to 1.5 pounds a week it would be even more generous, but I'd really like to lose 35 pounds by May. I also want my diet to be sustainable, though.

 

Some days when I exercise and burn 400 calories or so, I always eat those calories. :) And I am still tracking everything I eat, except if I forget to log on an apple or a clementine, or want a glass of 1% milk, I don't worry about it too much.

 

I was also reading an interesting article about dairy fat, and how a lot of vitamins that are naturally present in dairy are fat-soluble, meaning your body cannot absorb them as well unless they are in their more natural state. It advised to eat regular, full-fat dairy when it comes to things like cheese, yogurt, etc. because those fats actually make you feel fuller longer, and you get the benefit of having fat present to absorb the vitamins. I have never heard of this before, and thought most nutritionists advised to eat everything skim if possible in order to save calories. The more I read how professional opinions change all the time about everything from eggs to butter vs. margarine vs. carbs, the more frustrated I get. Can't they make up their mind? It kind of makes sense, though, and I might start buying full-fat cheeses, etc. and just eating a lot less of them, and seeing if that helps. Also, I looked at the ingredients of my light sour cream last night, and it kind of weirded me out. I thought they just skimmed the fat off the milk and made it into sour cream, but no, there were a lot of additives. So now I'm going to stick with the real stuff and just buy it rarely (we only bought it maybe once every 2 months anyway).

 

Well, that was a long rambling post! Sorry about that. I have to say though, I really enjoy posting on here and reading your posts. It really seems to help me stay on track so thank you all for that! And I hope my posts aren't too long!

 

Everyone take care of yourself!

Edited January 6, 2011 by RachieLnnn

[Jesscap5]

Oh No Brooke! :( I hope you are still able to go, keeping my fingers crossed for your friends dad and hoping you are still able to go on your cruise!

 

Today it seems like everyone in the office is ordering out..yesterday too. Today it's Chinese food.

I am no mood for food at all. Don't think I mentioned this but I am having some stomach issues. It's almost like I can't eat anything because it doesn't settle right, also it doesn't help that at my job I have to have someone take my place when I go to the bathroom and every time I tell the girl I NEED to go..she takes like 30min at least everytime..until she's done what she is doing or ready to take her break after I go to the bathroom. I have never really made a big deal out of it but there was a time I was almost in tears because I was in so much pain and I told her to come down ASAP and when she did, she looked upset. :confused: So tomorrow I see a gastroenterologist so well see how that goes.

 

Rachel - I only drink skim milk and have since I was little. It doesn't bother my stomach but other things like cream, real ice cream..etc could be that I am lactose intolerance..not sure.

 

 

Hope everyone has a great day!

[brooklynfc]

Morning,

 

Jess,

 

I hope so too, but I'd understand if something happened. I hope your Dr. visit goes well!

 

Rachel,

 

I think the "experts" all have their own opinions on how things work. The only proven thing is that you take in less than you burn. Other than that, I just think its a personal choice. I read an article too that said to eat more fat over carbs...........who knows. They wonder why people are so confused, humph.

 

Well, last night I had to go over to my brothers. They were going to put down their doberman (their dogs are like kids to them b/c of their trouble having kids) on Sat. But when they came home he had already progressed to barely being able to stand up on his own. They brought him in the house and I came over to spend some time with him before this morning. I don't generally see animals at the same level as humans, but it doesn't mean that I don't have feelings for them. He was the sweetest doberman you ever met. Just a big baby really. I think of him as that big abominable snowman from the Daffy Duck cartoons, "Which way did he go George?" It was heartbreaking to see him last night. They were both in the floor with him, just petting him and talking to him. My SIL was balling and my brother's eyes were puffy. Their other dog that has never been without the doberman was howling outside. When he wanted to get up, they had to help pull him up and he wobbled around. His brain just isn't communicating with him body anymore, which apparently is common with the bigger breads of dobermans. He spent 20 mins and was still going when I left, just lapping at the water bowl, not really getting any water. I didn't cry when I was there, but I cried all the way home. I mean for all technicalities.........he is my nephew. When I got home mom had bought donuts home.......and yes I ate to my emotions.....but I wanted two donuts, but I only had one. In fact, I wanted donuts, chips, cheese dip, cheese ball.......just about anything. But I just took myself to bed.

 

Sorry to be such a downer.

 

Good Choices.

[RachieLnnn]

Brooke, I'm so sorry to hear about your dog "nephew." I could really understand how upsetting it would be to see that. I would have been devastated too. :( Good job on having only one donut and stopping there. All these little postive choices really add up.

[Jesscap5]

Brooke - So sorry to hear about your brother's dog. :( At least you got to say your goodbye's. With my last dog which we had almost 13 years..he got so bad one day that my dad put him down that day and I never got a chance to say goodbye and I was devestated and heartbroken for a long time. I think personally, I understand animals more then I do humans and not that they are any better but IMO they are just as important as any other living thing/person.

 

I had a bad night too, and lost my phone last night- thought it was at work...yeah it's not. It's my lifeline and has all my contacts in it and of course I don't have insurance on it right now. I'm having other issues that I really can't discuss right now but I might have to give up kickboxing for awhile..well see.

 

Hopefully I'll have lots of friends and family over this weekend as I didn't end up getting cake for my birthday and my parents are holding onto my b-day cards so we'll probably celebrate it tomorrow..and hopefully that will cheer me up.

 

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Edited January 7, 2011 by Jesscap5

[RARcruise]

Brooke- Hope everyone is doing ok with the loss of your brother's dog. I know that had to be very hard for them. We had to give away a couple dogs before and I cried so I can only imagine their pain.

 

Jess- Hope you got your cake. Everyone deserves birthday cake. I did some kickboxing off a video yesterday and it does give you a little power feeling. :) Praying that everything gets better for you.

 

Rach- I haven't been tracking any foods :eek: I should.

 

As for me tax season has begone and it is soooooo hard to stay on track. I am working all day driving 100 miles everyday between going to work and schools and work, and schools etc. There is no freezer at work so no frozen meals or it would be so much easier.

 

First let me say I did not reach my goal of 600 miles last year but I can't go back to that. So moving on to 2011

 

I have 434 miles to Port Canaveral from my house. My treadmill is not working good anymore so I can't walk those miles. So hear is my insane (as my friend said) plan. I walked at a rate of 3.5 miles per hour. So that would have been 124 hours of walking. 124 hours=7440 minutes. So if I work out avg 22 minutes a day it will be like walking to the Port. So that is my plan right now I am at 140 minutes. Started Monday so I am on track. I am using videos so they range from 20, 24, or 30 minutes a day. I have to keep track on facebook because my memory will not be able to keep up. :p So you girls that are on there will be able to know what in the world the random numbers are. I decided not to do a count down to my cruise on there since we are all going this time. I wouldn't want to get robbed while I am on the seas. I still have over 340 days but I am still excited.

 

Oh Brooke- I decided how I handle people on cruises I will just take out my jealousy by not talking to them the whole time they are on the cruise. LOL Get it I couldn't talk to them anyway!!!!;)

[cruisingagaininnov2008]

Annette...thanks for your input about Ochos Rios. It probably would not be my first choice, but I will cruise where ever my favorite rock star steers the ship. :D I also so not a fan of pushy sales people. I hated that in Nassau, too. I will look at the excursions and plan something fun for that day.

 

I am not doing well food-wise this weekend. I have been spending too much inside and too much time inside the pantry. :( Tomorrow is another day.

 

Have a great week,

Kim

[Jesscap5]

Morning everyone!

 

Finally got my piece of cake Saturday. One piece only though as it was really sweet.

Did a bunch of deals on Friday night and Sunday..I haven't been doing my usual couponing and I had a lady who I would always sell stuff to for dirt cheap ask if I had anything and I really didn't. But I stocked up on newpapers the new year (there is a bunch of coupon inserts in there at the new year) and there was some great profitable deals to be had and I got a giftcard from my sister in law for Christmas to Rite Aid so I ended up not even paying a dime, got a ton of good stuff and still have $40 some odd dollars to use, which I'll probably just keep rolling over so I don't have to pay anything out of pocket.

 

Brooke - I must say I was happy when I saw you post on fb that you went to CVS and got your makeup for 75% off. :D I was trying to look for coupons but couldn't find any except $1.00 off any Rimmel product and they had single eyeshadows for $1.07..so I ended up getting a couple of those for .07¢ each. I will most likely give them to a teen I know or a friend as I am very picky on makeup. They are cute colors though.

 

I started a food/drink log this morning. I've always done it on and off but I really want to put some good effort into it and the other thing I really want to put more effot into is cooking. I seriously have a pantry almost full of stuff and half a freezer full of meat and veggies and still don't know how to put a meal together .LOL. I have a brand new crockpot too that I have never used. So I'm gonna get that out and after talking to my mom and aunt I'm gonna try it. I want to make higher in fiber meals and try to do meals mostly from scratch I think it will be better. I really want to try to learn how to cook and eat from more organic/ less processed foods. I seriously think that's why my stomach is messed up. I think in the long run if I can learn now then hopefully I can keep it up. One step at a time though as I am a newbie and I get tend to give up easy and I'm hoping and praying I really put in a better effort and not get so frustrated as easy.

 

Edit to Add: Has anyone tried Moose Meat? Brooke?..my aunt gave me some leftover Stew that she made and I was going to try it tonight for dinner. Kinda nervous about it though because it's out of realm of foods I normally eat but I am really trying to venture out of my norm and give new things a try and it's organic.

 

Hope everyone has a safe, healthy and happy Monday!

Edited January 10, 2011 by Jesscap5

[brooklynfc]

Morning,

 

Well, I weighed and I gained 2lbs..........lol. I should have expected that though. I tracked food and exercised, but everyday I ate a little something extra and when you do that........well......you know. I'm not trying nearly hard enough to be on track and that's my own fault.

 

So, today I'm still tracking. I'm going for 30 mins a day on the bike and maybe I'll at least lose the 2lbs I gained before next week. :rolleyes:

 

Annette,

 

I like your plan, tehe. And I see you have snow. We are suppose to start here around noon, but I think they may be wrong this time. They said that Friday night we were suppose to get a dusting.........we got an inch. Silly weather people.

 

Jess,

 

Well, I guess maybe our CVS was trying to get rid of stock or something b/c it was only select ones in the Physicians Formula brand. Not all the eye shadows had a sticker on them. The CVS 10 mins. away and a couple days before didn't have the stickers.......who knows.

 

Never had moose. Deer is about the only one I've had of wild game. I'd say that it won't be that different though. I here most wild game meat taste the same. If its in a soup, you maybe won't be able to taste any flavor difference at all. Mom just made veggie/deer soup last night. But some people are just sensitive to the taste of wild game. I say try it, it won't taste like horrible, but you will either like it or hate it, lol.

 

Good Choices.

 

Jess,

 

Noticed you were talking about coats the other day. Onestopplus just sent me an email for up to 60% off their coats using OSPCOATSALE code.

Edited January 10, 2011 by brooklynfc

[RachieLnnn]

Hi everyone!

 

I'm down 2 pounds for this week, yay! Now i just have to KEEP GOING instead of giving up. I always give up right when I get started, it seems.

 

This week is going to be extremely hard to stay within my calories, too. We have our Holiday party for work (a little late, yes :)), and I'm going away this weekend to visit some friends. I know that our favorite mexican place will be on the agenda, which means queso and margaritas. Yikes!!! But what I need to realize is that there are ALWAYS going to be temptations in my life, not just during these weeks where I'm trying to lose weight, but always. So I need to focus on portion control, eating healthfully earlier in the day, limiting alcohol, and ordering food carefully. Oh and drinking water!!! Wish me luck... I know I can stay on track if I just keep going and don't give up.

 

Jess, that is great that you are going to try to cook more! I absolutely love cooking. Do you have a Crock Pot cookbook? Sometimes you can get inexpensive ones online, or they might have one at your library. Or you can look for recipes online at allrecipes.com or even the foodnetwork.com.

 

We got an email from our local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) yesterday. She wants to know if we are in for next year. I think we are going to do it again, but I'm just nervous... we kind of had a hard time using up all our vegetables last year, and last year we split a portion. It's over $800 for 31 weeks, and you do get a LOT of vegetables each week... After looking at the numbers though, I think I would rather just go to the farmer's market each week with the money in my pocket, and buy exactly what I want or what looks good. I think that would help me plan out my menus better too (if I can pick what I want to receive, instead of just getting what is ripe that week). I don't know, I'm torn. I really want to support the local farmers, but I think I can do that through the farmer's markets too.

 

Last night we made roast chicken and pumpkin risotto... the risotto was delicious!!! I kind of followed this recipe

http://www.bunkycooks.com/2010/09/pumpkin-risotto-with-sage-roasted-chicken/, however, I added carrots to the onions in the beginning, and a cup of pureed pumpkin at the end instead of butter & cheese. It was DIVINE! The key to risotto is just to stir stir stir and it takes awhile, so I like to do it on the weekends.

 

On my menu this week are 1. Leftovers (chicken pot pie with puff pastry topper, super easy, roast chicken and risotto) and 2. Lasagna. I bought some ricotta which isn't too bad, but I'm going to cut way back from usual on the amount of mozzarella I add. We have some ground turkey and I'll add lots of peppers and onions to the sauce. My sauce is a marinara made last summer! Need to clean that freezer out!

[RARcruise]

SNOW DAY!!! This is the first time I can ever remember snow this many times in a year hear in the south. I am thinking that I am going to put the kids in Christmas sweaters and take them outside for our Christmas card photos for our cards in Dec. I forgot I was even typing we are back in side and no plans to leave again today. Walked about a mile or so to my brothers house and woke him up throwing snowballs at his window.:D

[Jesscap5]

Jess,

 

Well, I guess maybe our CVS was trying to get rid of stock or something b/c it was only select ones in the Physicians Formula brand. Not all the eye shadows had a sticker on them. The CVS 10 mins. away and a couple days before didn't have the stickers.......who knows.

 

Never had moose. Deer is about the only one I've had of wild game. I'd say that it won't be that different though. I here most wild game meat taste the same. If its in a soup, you maybe won't be able to taste any flavor difference at all. Mom just made veggie/deer soup last night. But some people are just sensitive to the taste of wild game. I say try it, it won't taste like horrible, but you will either like it or hate it, lol.

 

Noticed you were talking about coats the other day. Onestopplus just sent me an email for up to 60% off their coats using OSPCOATSALE code.

Brooke - All the CVS stores should now have the stickers. They clearance out some makeup 2-3 times a year I think. The ones clearanced maybe different store to store I don't know..but it's nice to get some good deals sometimes...or for me all the time. lol

 

I did ask a couple other people and they said Moose meat doesn't taste as "gamey" as venison. I've had venison years ago, don't remember much of what it taste like though and your right..my aunt said if she didn't tell me then I probably wouldn't notice anyway.

 

Thanks Brooke, I'll take a look when I head over to my parents after kickboxing.

 

Jess, that is great that you are going to try to cook more! I absolutely love cooking. Do you have a Crock Pot cookbook? Sometimes you can get inexpensive ones online, or they might have one at your library. Or you can look for recipes online at allrecipes.com or even the foodnetwork.com.

 

Rachel way to go! I did print one recipe I think it was from betty crocker or something. But I will check the sites you listed also or get a book if it's cheap enough. lol Looks like I'll have to ask you for food advice since you sound like you know your stuff and love cooking! :D

 

Walked about a mile or so to my brothers house and woke him up throwing snowballs at his window.:D

:D That's funny.

 

It's strange that people in the south are getting more snow that us north easters but that might change come tomorrow and wed. It's heading our way and I'm NOT looking forward to it. :(

[RachieLnnn]

Yikes, when I came back to work after lunch, I realized that I did NOT bring any of my healthy snacks! For lunch I had a Sandwich thin (110 Calories), with about 60 calories of turkey, 70 calories of Jarlsberg cheese (slice), and a slice of tomato, and 3/4 apple w/peanut butter... While I'm not starving now, for some reason it's really unsettling to think about the fact that I have no good choices to snack on. I'm going to try to make it until dinner, but I wanted to work out prior to dinner so I know I'll really be hungry by then... Booo. I like to have a yogurt or some nuts and a fruit in the afternoon to fuel my workouts.

 

For breakfast I had a bowl of cheerios with some raspberries and 1% milk.

 

Well I have some gum now, so time to just get to work and focus so that I can make it until 6pm! No vending machine, I promised myself, and there is nothing good or satisfying in there anyway... :cool:

Edited January 10, 2011 by RachieLnnn