Choreboy Strikes Back!
He's blogging, AND blaming me for his spare tire. Geez.
I can't help it if I was forced at gunpoint to bake four-dozen cupcakes this weekend. Granted, it was a space ray gun wielded by the four-year-old Nephew, but still....
Okay, seriously. Go. Read. Comment. I'm sitting right beside him laughing so loudly that I'm scaring the kids and have forced the cats into hiding. Hee!!
Monday, March 28, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
WW Weigh-in, Week 3
Wherein Amanda Laughs Hysterically
Start: 150
Week 1: 147.25
Week 2: 150.25
Week 3: 148.12
Yep, that's down 2.2 pounds from last week, and I'm totally freaking out my Weight Watchers Online Tracker. It only understands each week individually, so it's going nuts with wailing sirens and such (not literally re: the sirens), hollering "You're losing weight too quickly!!! Click here to see how to slow down your weight loss..."
Riiiiight. Because a 1.9 pound net loss over 3 weeks is so unreasonable. I think I'll be ignoring that little quirk of the WW etools...
So, did I do anything significantly different from last week? Hmmm. Caloric intake:
3/17 - 1184, 28
3/18 - 1490, 33
3/19 - 1345, 29
3/20 - 1294, 28
3/21 - 1234, 28
3/22 - 1206, 28
3/23 - 1126, 28
That's an average of 1268 calories/day, and 28.9 PointsPlus/day. Last week was 1229 calories/day and 27.5 PointsPlus/day. I ate 273 more calories this past week and showed over a two pound loss, compared to last week where I ate less than Week 1 and gained three pounds.
Go figure.
And I can't blame the loss on less fluid retention because, well, I'm still retaining. Ask Choreboy, who's wondering how I manage to stand upright with the boulders I've got mounted on my chest at the moment. Yeeouch!
Okay, that was probably TMI. Anyway.
My prediction is that somewhere between Weeks 4 and 5 I'll see a drop below that 147.25 I hit at the end of Week 1. That weight was taken around day 10 of my cycle, and day 10 of this next one has a good chance of hitting in the next couple of weeks. So we'll see. I may end up tracking my weight not just with the same time of day/ same scale/ same clothes scenario, but also at the same phase of my cycle. Oish.
Oh well, as long as the trend line keeps going down it'll work out. I'm just really curious to see how far below 147.25 I go on day 10, whenever that happens to be.
Fortunately, I'm easily entertained.
-----------------
In other news, The Evil That is Ringworm appears to be fading from our home. Mine is virtually undetectable, and the patch on the anonymous child's arm is getting there too. Thank goodness.
That said, I fully expect the unafflicted to come down with it... likely as soon as I think it's safe to shelve the anti-fungals.
Start: 150
Week 1: 147.25
Week 2: 150.25
Week 3: 148.12
Yep, that's down 2.2 pounds from last week, and I'm totally freaking out my Weight Watchers Online Tracker. It only understands each week individually, so it's going nuts with wailing sirens and such (not literally re: the sirens), hollering "You're losing weight too quickly!!! Click here to see how to slow down your weight loss..."
Riiiiight. Because a 1.9 pound net loss over 3 weeks is so unreasonable. I think I'll be ignoring that little quirk of the WW etools...
So, did I do anything significantly different from last week? Hmmm. Caloric intake:
3/17 - 1184, 28
3/18 - 1490, 33
3/19 - 1345, 29
3/20 - 1294, 28
3/21 - 1234, 28
3/22 - 1206, 28
3/23 - 1126, 28
That's an average of 1268 calories/day, and 28.9 PointsPlus/day. Last week was 1229 calories/day and 27.5 PointsPlus/day. I ate 273 more calories this past week and showed over a two pound loss, compared to last week where I ate less than Week 1 and gained three pounds.
Go figure.
And I can't blame the loss on less fluid retention because, well, I'm still retaining. Ask Choreboy, who's wondering how I manage to stand upright with the boulders I've got mounted on my chest at the moment. Yeeouch!
Okay, that was probably TMI. Anyway.
My prediction is that somewhere between Weeks 4 and 5 I'll see a drop below that 147.25 I hit at the end of Week 1. That weight was taken around day 10 of my cycle, and day 10 of this next one has a good chance of hitting in the next couple of weeks. So we'll see. I may end up tracking my weight not just with the same time of day/ same scale/ same clothes scenario, but also at the same phase of my cycle. Oish.
Oh well, as long as the trend line keeps going down it'll work out. I'm just really curious to see how far below 147.25 I go on day 10, whenever that happens to be.
Fortunately, I'm easily entertained.
-----------------
In other news, The Evil That is Ringworm appears to be fading from our home. Mine is virtually undetectable, and the patch on the anonymous child's arm is getting there too. Thank goodness.
That said, I fully expect the unafflicted to come down with it... likely as soon as I think it's safe to shelve the anti-fungals.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
WW Weigh-in, Week 2
Subtitled: Our Bodies, They Are Not Bank Accounts
Note: there may be some "language" in today's post. This would be why:
Start: 150
Week 1: 147.25
Week 2: 150.25
No, your eyes are not deceiving you. That's a 3 pound gain. And if you think I'm going to blame it on hormones...
...you are dead on the money.
Let me give you the data. Here are my calories and points for the week:
3/10 - 1670, 37
3/11 - 1261, 28
3/12 - 1163, 29
3/13 - 1312, 29
3/14 - 948, 22
3/15 - 1247, 27
3/16 - 1005, 21
That averages out to 1229 calories per day, 27.5 points per day.
Last week when I lost 2.75 pounds, my average intake was 1252 calories/ 29 points per day.
So basically, I managed to gain weight while consuming 161 calories less than I did last week. I know I'm scrupulous about logging every bite. Like I've seen others say, if you don't journal your food, your butt will. I know the truth of that -- if I weren't logging every bite (seriously y'all, I made sure to put in the six lousy chocolate covered almonds I ate yesterday), we'd be looking at an even higher scale number.
The simple truth is, my body is holding onto a boatload of fluid. I'm on day 17 of my current "cycle" and it's prime time for the water retention to kick in. I don't like it, but it's a physiological, medically-verifiable fact.
And hell yeah I'm pissed. It's not even as if I can comfort myself by saying "Oh, next week will be better!" because who knows? Next weigh-in will only be day 24 of the cycle. So... maybe yes, maybe no. My last cycle was 35 days. The one prior was 17 days. The one before that was 26 days. I've gone as long as 58 days between periods.
There is no telling.
Welcome to perimenopause, kids. In spite of being used to this insanity -- I've been going through it since I was 37 -- I am so freaking aggravated. These are not mathematically valid results. At least not by the average 3500 calories/ pound measurement they aren't. Theoretically, at the absolute bottom end I should be eating 1660 calories per day just to maintain my weight. By that math alone, I should have lost almost a pound. Or something. Hell, I'd have taken holding steady. So instead to gain?
Frustratingly, it's just more proof that our bodies aren't like bank accounts.
It annoys my "Give me something concrete and I'll run with it" mind to no end, but it's the jaw-clenching, tooth-grinding truth. Sure, it's comforting to think "Okay, if I put 3500 calories less into my body than it needs to function on a daily basis, I'll lose a pound, and that means if I put 7000 calories less into my body than it needs, that's two pounds, and then..." but the math just doesn't hold true in reality.
That 3500 number is an average, which means there are those freaks of nature (of whom I am shamefully jealous) who burn calories as if they're well-aged pine, and then there are those on the other end of the scale whose bodies are exceptionally efficient (i.e., they hold on to fat as if famine were around the next corner, rather than McDonald's) and only require a minimal number of calories to sustain life.
Those are the types of people on both ends of that 3500-average bell curve. The rest of us fall somewhere in the middle, some higher than 3500, some lower, and a precious few right on it. You simply can't look at intake and assume a specific weight loss. It's a nice guide, but we're all running with different metabolisms. When you then throw in the hormones (don't even say it's an "excuse" boys/ girls who've never had a hormonal fluctuation in their lives or I won't be held responsible for my actions), tormenting yourselves because your weight loss isn't adhering to a specific, mathematical formula is unrealistic at best, and self-sabotage at worst.
Be honest. Journal your food. If it's the chocolate that nuked your weigh-in (I've been there), then own it. By the same token, if it's the hormones, quit bitching yourselves out and own that.
I do.
Note: there may be some "language" in today's post. This would be why:
Start: 150
Week 1: 147.25
Week 2: 150.25
No, your eyes are not deceiving you. That's a 3 pound gain. And if you think I'm going to blame it on hormones...
...you are dead on the money.
Let me give you the data. Here are my calories and points for the week:
3/10 - 1670, 37
3/11 - 1261, 28
3/12 - 1163, 29
3/13 - 1312, 29
3/14 - 948, 22
3/15 - 1247, 27
3/16 - 1005, 21
That averages out to 1229 calories per day, 27.5 points per day.
Last week when I lost 2.75 pounds, my average intake was 1252 calories/ 29 points per day.
So basically, I managed to gain weight while consuming 161 calories less than I did last week. I know I'm scrupulous about logging every bite. Like I've seen others say, if you don't journal your food, your butt will. I know the truth of that -- if I weren't logging every bite (seriously y'all, I made sure to put in the six lousy chocolate covered almonds I ate yesterday), we'd be looking at an even higher scale number.
The simple truth is, my body is holding onto a boatload of fluid. I'm on day 17 of my current "cycle" and it's prime time for the water retention to kick in. I don't like it, but it's a physiological, medically-verifiable fact.
And hell yeah I'm pissed. It's not even as if I can comfort myself by saying "Oh, next week will be better!" because who knows? Next weigh-in will only be day 24 of the cycle. So... maybe yes, maybe no. My last cycle was 35 days. The one prior was 17 days. The one before that was 26 days. I've gone as long as 58 days between periods.
There is no telling.
Welcome to perimenopause, kids. In spite of being used to this insanity -- I've been going through it since I was 37 -- I am so freaking aggravated. These are not mathematically valid results. At least not by the average 3500 calories/ pound measurement they aren't. Theoretically, at the absolute bottom end I should be eating 1660 calories per day just to maintain my weight. By that math alone, I should have lost almost a pound. Or something. Hell, I'd have taken holding steady. So instead to gain?
Frustratingly, it's just more proof that our bodies aren't like bank accounts.
It annoys my "Give me something concrete and I'll run with it" mind to no end, but it's the jaw-clenching, tooth-grinding truth. Sure, it's comforting to think "Okay, if I put 3500 calories less into my body than it needs to function on a daily basis, I'll lose a pound, and that means if I put 7000 calories less into my body than it needs, that's two pounds, and then..." but the math just doesn't hold true in reality.
That 3500 number is an average, which means there are those freaks of nature (of whom I am shamefully jealous) who burn calories as if they're well-aged pine, and then there are those on the other end of the scale whose bodies are exceptionally efficient (i.e., they hold on to fat as if famine were around the next corner, rather than McDonald's) and only require a minimal number of calories to sustain life.
Those are the types of people on both ends of that 3500-average bell curve. The rest of us fall somewhere in the middle, some higher than 3500, some lower, and a precious few right on it. You simply can't look at intake and assume a specific weight loss. It's a nice guide, but we're all running with different metabolisms. When you then throw in the hormones (don't even say it's an "excuse" boys/ girls who've never had a hormonal fluctuation in their lives or I won't be held responsible for my actions), tormenting yourselves because your weight loss isn't adhering to a specific, mathematical formula is unrealistic at best, and self-sabotage at worst.
Be honest. Journal your food. If it's the chocolate that nuked your weigh-in (I've been there), then own it. By the same token, if it's the hormones, quit bitching yourselves out and own that.
I do.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Majorly Skeeved
Me, squealing: It's gross!!
Him: It's not. It's nothing.
Me: It's gross!!
Him: It's just a little parasite.
Me: Oh my God, it is not a parasite it's a fungus. Eewww!
Him: It's a parasite.
Me: Fungus! Like! Mushroom!
Him: Fine. It's a fungus. We'll save the flakes from your scalp and we'll put them on a pizza.
-----------------
You know, it's one thing blogging about your child's ringworm.
It's quite another matter when it's your own.
I'm more than capable of giving myself a healthy case of the psychosomatic itchies. When they're accompanied by red lesions with a distinctive, raised ring around the borders, though... well, that's how I found myself driving home from my doctor's office today, shrieking and cursing to myself in an empty car. So I'm now the proud owner of anti-fungal shampoo and ointment, because I'm special and my case of ringworm happens to be on my scalp.
Not enough ick in the world to cover this.
Oh well, at least it's not impetigo.
(knock wood)
Him: It's not. It's nothing.
Me: It's gross!!
Him: It's just a little parasite.
Me: Oh my God, it is not a parasite it's a fungus. Eewww!
Him: It's a parasite.
Me: Fungus! Like! Mushroom!
Him: Fine. It's a fungus. We'll save the flakes from your scalp and we'll put them on a pizza.
-----------------
You know, it's one thing blogging about your child's ringworm.
It's quite another matter when it's your own.
I'm more than capable of giving myself a healthy case of the psychosomatic itchies. When they're accompanied by red lesions with a distinctive, raised ring around the borders, though... well, that's how I found myself driving home from my doctor's office today, shrieking and cursing to myself in an empty car. So I'm now the proud owner of anti-fungal shampoo and ointment, because I'm special and my case of ringworm happens to be on my scalp.
Not enough ick in the world to cover this.
Oh well, at least it's not impetigo.
(knock wood)
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Just a Quickie
You know you're aging when you have to wear your reading glasses to give yourself a pedicure.
Good grief.
Good grief.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Okay, I'm Caving
No, not on my food! Good grief, I'm on a roll there! No, no, it's just that I've been seeing this "ABC's of Me" meme running amok, and since I want to post something tonight but really have no clue what to post about, I'm in.
A - Age: 40 years, 11 months, 9 days. Not that I'm counting.
B - Bed size: queen
C - Chore you hate: scooping the litter box. Making the bed has also always seemed pretty pointless.
D - Dog's name: Teddy, a.k.a. Hound
E - Essential start your day item: something caffeinated. Coffee is best, Diet Coke will do.
F - Favorite color: green
G - Gold or Silver: gold
H - Height: 5'7"
I - Instruments you play: piano and violin, neither one that well anymore
J - Job title: office manager/ ruler of all she surveys (I'm very nearsighted in my good eye, so they let me get away with this)
K - Kids: 2 boys
L - Living arrangements: married, offspring, 3 cats, 1 dog, innumerable dust bunnies, and more books than there is shelf space
M - Mom's name: Yo, ma!
N - Nicknames: A, A.J., Ralph (yes, Ralph -- my father is a very twisted man)
O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: for a tonsillectomy when I was 4 -- 2 nights! The nephew just had his removed and it was out-patient.
P - Pet Peeve: bullying and hateful behavior. Don't get me started on this rant...
Q - Quote from a movie: “Since the invention of the kiss, there have only been five kisses that were rated the most passionate, the most pure. This one left them all behind.”
R - Right or left handed: Right
S - Siblings: 2 - one sister, and one brother
T - Time you wake up: the alarm goes off at 6:00. I'm usually awake around 4:30 or 5:00, because my body hates me and wants me to die of sleep deprivation :P
U- Underwear: uh, yes? (who wrote this thing?)
V - Vegetable you dislike: freaking PEAS. Bleah.
W - Ways you run late: my beloved children attempt to thwart my efforts at promptness
X - X-rays you've had: lots of dental, legs (for the stress fractures), wrist (fracture), chest... more, but I've lost count
Y - Yummy food you make: monkey bread, buttermilk pie, chocolate cake with chocolate ganache glaze, lentil soup, mustard maple pork tenderloin, salmon with mustard dill sauce, curried sweet potato oven fries... shoot, now I'm hungry and I just ate.
Z - Zoo favorite: elephants. Always.
A - Age: 40 years, 11 months, 9 days. Not that I'm counting.
B - Bed size: queen
C - Chore you hate: scooping the litter box. Making the bed has also always seemed pretty pointless.
D - Dog's name: Teddy, a.k.a. Hound
E - Essential start your day item: something caffeinated. Coffee is best, Diet Coke will do.
F - Favorite color: green
G - Gold or Silver: gold
H - Height: 5'7"
I - Instruments you play: piano and violin, neither one that well anymore
J - Job title: office manager/ ruler of all she surveys (I'm very nearsighted in my good eye, so they let me get away with this)
K - Kids: 2 boys
L - Living arrangements: married, offspring, 3 cats, 1 dog, innumerable dust bunnies, and more books than there is shelf space
M - Mom's name: Yo, ma!
N - Nicknames: A, A.J., Ralph (yes, Ralph -- my father is a very twisted man)
O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: for a tonsillectomy when I was 4 -- 2 nights! The nephew just had his removed and it was out-patient.
P - Pet Peeve: bullying and hateful behavior. Don't get me started on this rant...
Q - Quote from a movie: “Since the invention of the kiss, there have only been five kisses that were rated the most passionate, the most pure. This one left them all behind.”
R - Right or left handed: Right
S - Siblings: 2 - one sister, and one brother
T - Time you wake up: the alarm goes off at 6:00. I'm usually awake around 4:30 or 5:00, because my body hates me and wants me to die of sleep deprivation :P
U- Underwear: uh, yes? (who wrote this thing?)
V - Vegetable you dislike: freaking PEAS. Bleah.
W - Ways you run late: my beloved children attempt to thwart my efforts at promptness
X - X-rays you've had: lots of dental, legs (for the stress fractures), wrist (fracture), chest... more, but I've lost count
Y - Yummy food you make: monkey bread, buttermilk pie, chocolate cake with chocolate ganache glaze, lentil soup, mustard maple pork tenderloin, salmon with mustard dill sauce, curried sweet potato oven fries... shoot, now I'm hungry and I just ate.
Z - Zoo favorite: elephants. Always.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
First WW Weigh-In!
Back during the holiday season I was determined not to go above 150 again. And I haven't.
Well, not on The Official Scale I haven't. That's the medical-style scale at my parents' house.
On our little scale at home? Erm...
uh...
it might have been another story (*koff* 154 at the height of the bloat *koff*).
Ahem.
So my starting weight last Wednesday for Weight Watchers was 150. It was actually 149.99999999 (on The Official Scale, after some of the bloat water had drained off), but for all intents and purposes?
150.
After a week and a day on plan, though?
147.25.
YES.
2.75 pounds lost. I'll take it.
Weirdly, I was really excited to weigh in this week. I haven't been excited to get on the scale in months, even when I was losing consistently; but with counting PointsPlus instead of (okay, in addition to) calories, something just clicked. I'm not sure if it's the fact that fruit is zero points or what, but it's just working for me. And as I've said before, I'm all about using whatever method is working best at a particular moment in time. For me, at this moment in time, Weight Watchers happens to be it.
Another thing I'm really enjoying about the WW site is that it breaks the weight lost down into percentages. So by the time I hit 142.5, I'll have lost 5% of my starting body weight; and at 135 I'll have lost 10% of my starting body weight. Goal is 130, so I'll only be 5 pounds away by then. Awesome.
I'm ridiculously excited by all of this, as you can tell from the relentless babbling.
----------------------------
One thing I have to say SparkPeople has over Weight Watchers is the interactive community. Weight Watchers has a thriving online community; don't get me wrong. But from my perspective SparkPeople's community is better organized and easier for a newbie to both navigate and jump into. I could be missing something, though, and I'm open to suggestions if anyone has them.
----------------------------
In other news, rain, rain, and more rain is in the forecast for our area of Florida today. It started last night and hasn't really stopped since. This morning I was in and out of the rain four freaking times by the time I finally walked into the office. I'm soggy, my stupid shoes are wet, and the cuffs of my pants aren't exactly dry either. Fortunately, the rain was needed and all of the sniffledy people here at the office (and at my home) are thrilled that this might actually bring the pollen count down. Between the oaks flowering and the orange blossoms blooming, it's a nightmare for the hay fever-prone.
Speaking of which, I need to make sure we have enough tissues. Better wrap this up. Later!
Well, not on The Official Scale I haven't. That's the medical-style scale at my parents' house.
On our little scale at home? Erm...
uh...
it might have been another story (*koff* 154 at the height of the bloat *koff*).
Ahem.
So my starting weight last Wednesday for Weight Watchers was 150. It was actually 149.99999999 (on The Official Scale, after some of the bloat water had drained off), but for all intents and purposes?
150.
After a week and a day on plan, though?
147.25.
YES.
2.75 pounds lost. I'll take it.
Weirdly, I was really excited to weigh in this week. I haven't been excited to get on the scale in months, even when I was losing consistently; but with counting PointsPlus instead of (okay, in addition to) calories, something just clicked. I'm not sure if it's the fact that fruit is zero points or what, but it's just working for me. And as I've said before, I'm all about using whatever method is working best at a particular moment in time. For me, at this moment in time, Weight Watchers happens to be it.
Another thing I'm really enjoying about the WW site is that it breaks the weight lost down into percentages. So by the time I hit 142.5, I'll have lost 5% of my starting body weight; and at 135 I'll have lost 10% of my starting body weight. Goal is 130, so I'll only be 5 pounds away by then. Awesome.
I'm ridiculously excited by all of this, as you can tell from the relentless babbling.
----------------------------
One thing I have to say SparkPeople has over Weight Watchers is the interactive community. Weight Watchers has a thriving online community; don't get me wrong. But from my perspective SparkPeople's community is better organized and easier for a newbie to both navigate and jump into. I could be missing something, though, and I'm open to suggestions if anyone has them.
----------------------------
In other news, rain, rain, and more rain is in the forecast for our area of Florida today. It started last night and hasn't really stopped since. This morning I was in and out of the rain four freaking times by the time I finally walked into the office. I'm soggy, my stupid shoes are wet, and the cuffs of my pants aren't exactly dry either. Fortunately, the rain was needed and all of the sniffledy people here at the office (and at my home) are thrilled that this might actually bring the pollen count down. Between the oaks flowering and the orange blossoms blooming, it's a nightmare for the hay fever-prone.
Speaking of which, I need to make sure we have enough tissues. Better wrap this up. Later!
Monday, March 07, 2011
An Open Letter to My Co-Workers
Dear Co-Workers,
My blue pen and post-it note pad appear to have wandered away from my desk. Granted, this is not like The Great Scissors Debacle of 2010, but still.
I. Want. Them. Back.
If they return by lunchtime, no one gets hurt.
The office supply cabinet is two bays up to the north. Use it.
Sincerely,
She Who Generates the Paychecks
My blue pen and post-it note pad appear to have wandered away from my desk. Granted, this is not like The Great Scissors Debacle of 2010, but still.
I. Want. Them. Back.
If they return by lunchtime, no one gets hurt.
The office supply cabinet is two bays up to the north. Use it.
Sincerely,
She Who Generates the Paychecks
Thursday, March 03, 2011
Hard Reset
I've seen a few folks talking about needing to do a "hard reset" with their weight loss efforts, and I believe it's quite evident I've reached that point myself. I'm still far below my high weight of 200 pounds, but if I don't do something that might not always be the case.
Failure is not an option. So yesterday, I joined Weight Watchers Online.
As most of you are aware, I've been using SparkPeople for two years now for tracking my food and whatnot, and truly, I can't say enough good things about it. The tools are easy to use, and the community is great. I'm even one of the leaders for my local SparkPeople team (may God have mercy on us all).
And it's free. You can't beat free. Also, I'm twenty pounds down from last year's high of 166-168 pounds. It's hard to argue with success.
But right now, calorie counting isn't cutting it for me. I'm just treading water. It's too easy for me to eat at the middle to top end of my 1350 - 1670 calorie range. "Eh, go ahead and have that donut, Amanda. You can fit it in. Oh, that cheese looks good! Just a little slice..."
You know, that's just fine sometimes. But not daily. And there are moments, especially when I'm in the pits of hormonal hell, where a little more structure might be helpful.
Plus whining about it endlessly is proving somewhat ineffective.
So after following Sheryl, aka Bitchcakes for the past year-plus, and also watching Jenn and Patsy with Weight Watchers, I bit the financial bullet and signed up. The change in social security withholding gives me enough extra monthly to be able to justify the cost (right around $18.00/month); additionally, they're running a membership special at the moment where if you pay for 3 months online membership at once, the initial fee is waived.
To be honest, I'm really pretty psyched about this. I've always been interested in Weight Watchers, and the whole "points" system has intrigued me. I'm clearly a marketer's dream, because the new PointsPlus system that's been the talk of much of the blog world as well as mainstream media has further drawn me in.
So here I sit, a full-fledged Weight Watchers Online member. I get 29 PointsPlus per day, and 49 more weekly... I guess they're flex-points or something? And because I'm a total data geek, I'm tracking my food on SparkPeople as well as on my Weight Watchers plan manager. Hee.
Turns out 29 PointsPlus per day is in the neighborhood of 1200 calories, give or take for fruit and vegetable intake. I have to say that fruit being zero points is a benefit to me already, because yesterday I picked grapes for a snack rather than some lovely glazed pecans (that I really should move away from my desk, say, now). Also, having my "extra" points all in one neat little bundle works for me mentally. I totally have hoarding tendencies (ask Choreboy) so my preference is to hoard the points rather than expend them on food. That said, it's wonderful that they're there in case we're out at dinner, or if I really desperately need that quarter pounder with cheese (which is THIRTEEN FREAKING POINTS OH MY GOD).
Ahem.
So anyway, I can see this being a good thing. I'm fired up again, which is what I really needed.
And in case anyone wanted to know, Hershey's Special Dark kisses are 2 PointsPlus for 3 kisses. That's vital information right there.
Okay FTC, once again, NOT BEING COMPENSATED. Weight Watchers and SparkPeople are getting publicity and linkage for free. Not that I'd mind being compensated, but no one's offered :P
Failure is not an option. So yesterday, I joined Weight Watchers Online.
As most of you are aware, I've been using SparkPeople for two years now for tracking my food and whatnot, and truly, I can't say enough good things about it. The tools are easy to use, and the community is great. I'm even one of the leaders for my local SparkPeople team (may God have mercy on us all).
And it's free. You can't beat free. Also, I'm twenty pounds down from last year's high of 166-168 pounds. It's hard to argue with success.
But right now, calorie counting isn't cutting it for me. I'm just treading water. It's too easy for me to eat at the middle to top end of my 1350 - 1670 calorie range. "Eh, go ahead and have that donut, Amanda. You can fit it in. Oh, that cheese looks good! Just a little slice..."
You know, that's just fine sometimes. But not daily. And there are moments, especially when I'm in the pits of hormonal hell, where a little more structure might be helpful.
Plus whining about it endlessly is proving somewhat ineffective.
So after following Sheryl, aka Bitchcakes for the past year-plus, and also watching Jenn and Patsy with Weight Watchers, I bit the financial bullet and signed up. The change in social security withholding gives me enough extra monthly to be able to justify the cost (right around $18.00/month); additionally, they're running a membership special at the moment where if you pay for 3 months online membership at once, the initial fee is waived.
To be honest, I'm really pretty psyched about this. I've always been interested in Weight Watchers, and the whole "points" system has intrigued me. I'm clearly a marketer's dream, because the new PointsPlus system that's been the talk of much of the blog world as well as mainstream media has further drawn me in.
So here I sit, a full-fledged Weight Watchers Online member. I get 29 PointsPlus per day, and 49 more weekly... I guess they're flex-points or something? And because I'm a total data geek, I'm tracking my food on SparkPeople as well as on my Weight Watchers plan manager. Hee.
Turns out 29 PointsPlus per day is in the neighborhood of 1200 calories, give or take for fruit and vegetable intake. I have to say that fruit being zero points is a benefit to me already, because yesterday I picked grapes for a snack rather than some lovely glazed pecans (that I really should move away from my desk, say, now). Also, having my "extra" points all in one neat little bundle works for me mentally. I totally have hoarding tendencies (ask Choreboy) so my preference is to hoard the points rather than expend them on food. That said, it's wonderful that they're there in case we're out at dinner, or if I really desperately need that quarter pounder with cheese (which is THIRTEEN FREAKING POINTS OH MY GOD).
Ahem.
So anyway, I can see this being a good thing. I'm fired up again, which is what I really needed.
And in case anyone wanted to know, Hershey's Special Dark kisses are 2 PointsPlus for 3 kisses. That's vital information right there.
Okay FTC, once again, NOT BEING COMPENSATED. Weight Watchers and SparkPeople are getting publicity and linkage for free. Not that I'd mind being compensated, but no one's offered :P
Wednesday, March 02, 2011
It's About Time
After thirty-six days, all is well. I was feeling more settled yesterday and as the day wore on I noticed that my stomach was looking a little flatter.A couple of hours later I discovered why. It's amazing how intense the bloat gets -- the scale can vary as much as five pounds from one day to the next.
You know, I'm so done with the whole "peri" part of this peri-menopause. I'd like it to just pause already, thankyouverymuch. And thank you very much for listening to Sunday's rant.
Oish.
In other news, it's becoming apparent to me that small boys bring home icky things. Last fall it was impetigo, and now one of my precious snowflakes has developed a most charming patch of ringworm on his arm. If it's not the bacteria it's the fungi apparently. And they're all out to get me. See, I can take vomit. I can take blood (good thing too because the Gum Zombie's nose is a veritable fountain of carnage at times). I can take just about any body fluid you throw at me, although I may make little gagging noises in the process. In the end, though, it's no biggie. I changed diapers for close to seven years straight, for crying out loud.
But communicable skin conditions? GACK!!! Yep, throw me something a bit scaly, oozy, and most importantly, contagious and I turn into a complete pansy.
Here's hoping the ointment works as described. If not, you may next find me huddled in the back of a closet with my iPad.
You know, I'm so done with the whole "peri" part of this peri-menopause. I'd like it to just pause already, thankyouverymuch. And thank you very much for listening to Sunday's rant.
Oish.
In other news, it's becoming apparent to me that small boys bring home icky things. Last fall it was impetigo, and now one of my precious snowflakes has developed a most charming patch of ringworm on his arm. If it's not the bacteria it's the fungi apparently. And they're all out to get me. See, I can take vomit. I can take blood (good thing too because the Gum Zombie's nose is a veritable fountain of carnage at times). I can take just about any body fluid you throw at me, although I may make little gagging noises in the process. In the end, though, it's no biggie. I changed diapers for close to seven years straight, for crying out loud.
But communicable skin conditions? GACK!!! Yep, throw me something a bit scaly, oozy, and most importantly, contagious and I turn into a complete pansy.
Here's hoping the ointment works as described. If not, you may next find me huddled in the back of a closet with my iPad.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Baking Again
Bread today. White. First loaf.
No, not a good sign diet-wise. Baking rarely is, for me. My hormones have gone around the bend. I'm somewhere between a week and a week-and-a-half late and bloated as hell; my cycles are ridiculously varied and even by their standards I'm behind. I'm crabby and emotional. I spent at least an hour last night in tears over the ills of the past few decades -- those committed by me and those committed against me -- like that does anyone any good at all.
Oh, and I'm fairly convinced I will NEVER lose this last fourteen to twenty pounds. Urrrgh.
Hopefully the bread at least turns out decently. I'm having an entitlement moment; I'm owed a good loaf of bread.
Dammit.
No, not a good sign diet-wise. Baking rarely is, for me. My hormones have gone around the bend. I'm somewhere between a week and a week-and-a-half late and bloated as hell; my cycles are ridiculously varied and even by their standards I'm behind. I'm crabby and emotional. I spent at least an hour last night in tears over the ills of the past few decades -- those committed by me and those committed against me -- like that does anyone any good at all.
Oh, and I'm fairly convinced I will NEVER lose this last fourteen to twenty pounds. Urrrgh.
Hopefully the bread at least turns out decently. I'm having an entitlement moment; I'm owed a good loaf of bread.
Dammit.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Is this thing on?
I feel like I should tap into a microphone or something, since this place is way dusty after being neglected for the past -- oh holy crap -- nearly three weeks.
Mea culpa, y'all. And thank you for hanging in there while I contemplated my navel for a bit.
I go through cycles with my food, and at the moment I'm sick and tired of what's been working for nearly six months. URRRGH. Boredom with my tried-and-true menu items leads to baking (mmmmm.... butter), which finally leads to me figuring out something new to cook and then settling down. So between February 1st and now, I've been baking.
I got to play with the stand mixer Choreboy gave me for Christmas -- yay! I made monkey bread from scratch, and let's just say that yeast and I are not yet on totally friendly terms. I made one batch and the yeast activated just fine, everything rose, life was beautiful. Then I started up another batch (I believe we had a teensy "binge", aided and abetted by my offspring), but the stupid yeast didn't work.
Yes, we ate it anyway. I wasn't wasting all that dough, brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter!
Ahem.
The next weekend was Valentine's weekend, and Choreboy had requested a vanilla bean cheesecake. After much use of power tools (i.e., the Kitchen Aid and the food processor) we got that sucker mixed up, baked, and in the fridge. And let me tell you, it was awesome. I adore vanilla beans, and although cheesecake isn't my favorite dessert, I'd eat this every night if I could.
If you click on the recipe, by the way, check out the hilarious nutrition information. It's 538 calories per slice assuming 16 slices per 10-inch cake. GACK!!!
Fortunately, this past week marked the end of the baking fest and the return to sense. I made a move to animal-based proteins away from the legumes I'd been concentrating on for dinner with a lean pork tenderloin and a lovely cut of salmon. Happily for my budget, Publix* had a sale on the Eat Smart pre-cut veggies ($1.00/ bag -- for those of you who are Publix shoppers I believe the price goes through this Thursday if you want to grab some) so I stocked up on a bit of fresh broccoli.
Also, today I made a HUGE batch of lentil soup at lunch. It might seem counter-intuitive considering I was trying to move away from legumes, but lentils are different from chickpeas, plus I had carrots to get rid of and what better way than to toss them into soup? It turned out pretty well, I believe, and that's a good thing because I have a ton of it left over. I think my parents are going to have a little soup coming their way.
So, next weigh in? I'm guessing around my birthday, which will make it the beginning of April. I'm going to concentrate on eating well over the next several weeks, because I have this dress I want to wear come summer and although it fits kind of at the moment, it will definitely be more flattering with a few less pounds attached to my ass.
For those who don't want to do the math, I'll be forty-one. I've barely resigned myself to forty. Bleah.
Next up is getting back on my treadmill. JAFG kindly sent me a kick-in-the-butt text (heheh... thanks chica!) and although my words were good, my follow-up sucked. In my defense, my husband has left a table propped against the treadmill so that is impeding my progress somewhat.
Hey, that's my story and I'm sticking to it (ignore the fact that I could have moved the table my own damn self and burned a few calories in the process). Tune in next time for more True Confessions of a Diet Tortoise!
*Note to the FTC: once again, I'm only mentioning brand names and stores because I feel like it. I receive no compensation from anyone for the products or vendors listed.
Mea culpa, y'all. And thank you for hanging in there while I contemplated my navel for a bit.
I go through cycles with my food, and at the moment I'm sick and tired of what's been working for nearly six months. URRRGH. Boredom with my tried-and-true menu items leads to baking (mmmmm.... butter), which finally leads to me figuring out something new to cook and then settling down. So between February 1st and now, I've been baking.
I got to play with the stand mixer Choreboy gave me for Christmas -- yay! I made monkey bread from scratch, and let's just say that yeast and I are not yet on totally friendly terms. I made one batch and the yeast activated just fine, everything rose, life was beautiful. Then I started up another batch (I believe we had a teensy "binge", aided and abetted by my offspring), but the stupid yeast didn't work.
Yes, we ate it anyway. I wasn't wasting all that dough, brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter!
Ahem.
The next weekend was Valentine's weekend, and Choreboy had requested a vanilla bean cheesecake. After much use of power tools (i.e., the Kitchen Aid and the food processor) we got that sucker mixed up, baked, and in the fridge. And let me tell you, it was awesome. I adore vanilla beans, and although cheesecake isn't my favorite dessert, I'd eat this every night if I could.
If you click on the recipe, by the way, check out the hilarious nutrition information. It's 538 calories per slice assuming 16 slices per 10-inch cake. GACK!!!
Fortunately, this past week marked the end of the baking fest and the return to sense. I made a move to animal-based proteins away from the legumes I'd been concentrating on for dinner with a lean pork tenderloin and a lovely cut of salmon. Happily for my budget, Publix* had a sale on the Eat Smart pre-cut veggies ($1.00/ bag -- for those of you who are Publix shoppers I believe the price goes through this Thursday if you want to grab some) so I stocked up on a bit of fresh broccoli.
Also, today I made a HUGE batch of lentil soup at lunch. It might seem counter-intuitive considering I was trying to move away from legumes, but lentils are different from chickpeas, plus I had carrots to get rid of and what better way than to toss them into soup? It turned out pretty well, I believe, and that's a good thing because I have a ton of it left over. I think my parents are going to have a little soup coming their way.
So, next weigh in? I'm guessing around my birthday, which will make it the beginning of April. I'm going to concentrate on eating well over the next several weeks, because I have this dress I want to wear come summer and although it fits kind of at the moment, it will definitely be more flattering with a few less pounds attached to my ass.
For those who don't want to do the math, I'll be forty-one. I've barely resigned myself to forty. Bleah.
Next up is getting back on my treadmill. JAFG kindly sent me a kick-in-the-butt text (heheh... thanks chica!) and although my words were good, my follow-up sucked. In my defense, my husband has left a table propped against the treadmill so that is impeding my progress somewhat.
Hey, that's my story and I'm sticking to it (ignore the fact that I could have moved the table my own damn self and burned a few calories in the process). Tune in next time for more True Confessions of a Diet Tortoise!
*Note to the FTC: once again, I'm only mentioning brand names and stores because I feel like it. I receive no compensation from anyone for the products or vendors listed.
Tuesday, February 01, 2011
Fourteen to Go
I'd determined back in December that I wouldn't do a full, official weigh-in until February 1st. Leading up to the holidays I saw over and over throughout blogland that we needed to decide if we were going to lose weight through the holidays, or if we were "just" going to try to maintain. Quite frankly, the phrasing bugged. Maintaining weight over the holidays can be a huge struggle. There is no "just" about maintaining over the Thanksgiving-Christmas-New-Year's season. Maintaining is awesome!
It's also what I chose, and what I did*. Which, with all due self-awareness, might have a tad bit to do with my defensiveness regarding the usage of "just".
On November 18th, I weighed 144.5 pounds. Today, I weighed in at 144 pounds. And if I want to stretch it -- okay, I totally want to stretch it -- it was more like 143.9. Take THAT, holiday food fest!! 144 is an all-time low from back in 2006 when I weighed 200 pounds.
56 down, 14 to go.
Goal date: December 31, 2011. And geez, that seems a bunch closer than it did back in November!
------------------------------
In other news, I'd rate my back at 90-95% of normal, and feeling 100 times better than it did a couple of months ago when I first managed to mess it up. Hooray!! The only thing truly bothering me now is trying to determine just how I managed to hurt myself. Was it scrubbing the bathroom floor at work? Carrying the Gum Zombie-who-really-weighs-too-much-for-me-to-pick-up to bed? Dancing around like an idiot to Pink's "Raise Your Glass"? Four times? In a row?
All of the above?
I wish I knew, because I'd really prefer not to torture myself. Also, I want to exercise but there's a serious fear component involved at the moment. So... I'm trying to look at this realistically. In all likelihood I didn't hurt myself exercising. It was probably one of the things I listed above (darn you, Pink!). I know I can walk on my treadmill. I can probably even do the evil-that-is Tabata sprints.
There go those excuses. Looks like my treadmill and I have a date for tomorrow.
*Yes, I did report a post-holiday weight of 146 or thereabouts, but it wasn't from the real weigh in scale; ergo, it was not an official weight. So there. That's my story and I'm sticking to it :P (Okay, plus a couple of pounds fluctuation is maintaining in the real world.)
It's also what I chose, and what I did*. Which, with all due self-awareness, might have a tad bit to do with my defensiveness regarding the usage of "just".
On November 18th, I weighed 144.5 pounds. Today, I weighed in at 144 pounds. And if I want to stretch it -- okay, I totally want to stretch it -- it was more like 143.9. Take THAT, holiday food fest!! 144 is an all-time low from back in 2006 when I weighed 200 pounds.
56 down, 14 to go.
Goal date: December 31, 2011. And geez, that seems a bunch closer than it did back in November!
------------------------------
In other news, I'd rate my back at 90-95% of normal, and feeling 100 times better than it did a couple of months ago when I first managed to mess it up. Hooray!! The only thing truly bothering me now is trying to determine just how I managed to hurt myself. Was it scrubbing the bathroom floor at work? Carrying the Gum Zombie-who-really-weighs-too-much-for-me-to-pick-up to bed? Dancing around like an idiot to Pink's "Raise Your Glass"? Four times? In a row?
All of the above?
I wish I knew, because I'd really prefer not to torture myself. Also, I want to exercise but there's a serious fear component involved at the moment. So... I'm trying to look at this realistically. In all likelihood I didn't hurt myself exercising. It was probably one of the things I listed above (darn you, Pink!). I know I can walk on my treadmill. I can probably even do the evil-that-is Tabata sprints.
There go those excuses. Looks like my treadmill and I have a date for tomorrow.
*Yes, I did report a post-holiday weight of 146 or thereabouts, but it wasn't from the real weigh in scale; ergo, it was not an official weight. So there. That's my story and I'm sticking to it :P (Okay, plus a couple of pounds fluctuation is maintaining in the real world.)
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Calling All Sports Fans!
I might have mentioned previously that I am not an active soul by nature. When I was a child, my favorite activity consisted of shutting myself in my room with a book. If this wasn't solitary and sedentary enough, I'd move to my closet with a flashlight.
Come to think of it, not much has changed. Okay, you can find me on a treadmill now but more often than not I'm reading on the thing and if I could? I'd shove that sucker in a closet so I could get a bit of peace and quiet while I'm on it.
So of course, because God has a tremendous sense of humor, I managed to produce two very bouncy boys, a descriptor which was evident even in utero. The Elder was literally spinning like a whirling dervish during his first ultrasound at six weeks gestation (I'd had some worrisome bleeding, but after watching his antics I figured he'd just tried to kick himself loose), and the Gum Zombie was the only awake and active fetal wunderkind for his scheduled ultrasound session at the midwife's office. I swear that child made the sonographer's day -- we got a solid 30 minutes watching him wiggle around in there.
So yeah. Active. Now don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for this because not only are they healthy but they also have an unholy love for video games, so it's a darned good thing they have interests that counteract their mother's genetic contribution to their makeup. It's just... wow.
The Gum Zombie, being the free spirit that he is, blithely informed me a couple of weeks ago that he wishes to take gymnastics. Now this is the child who likes to hand-walk up doorways and hallways and hang there until I catch him at it. Failing that, he will watch TV with his hands on the back of the couch and walk his legs up the wall until he's at a good forty-five degree angle to the floor until there's too much blood rushing to his head or, again, until I catch on that my walls are being abused. Really, I shouldn't be surprised.
A few days later he asked, "Don't you want to know why I want to take gymnastics?"
Well, yes; yes indeed, I was curious.
"Because I want to learn how to do backflips. I'm going to be a ninja when I grow up, and ninjas have to do backflips."
I blinked a couple of times still hoping I could somehow get out of this (do you know how dangerous backflips are????), and then he played his trump card:
"I went to the library and checked out a book on gymnastics, so I already know all about it."
All of you who are parents are nodding right now. Yeah, I'm so hosed. Clearly I have to get him into gymnastics and support his chosen profession of ninja, because he went to the library and researched it on his own. Initiative must be rewarded. Here's hoping the Y's gymnastics program is less cost-prohibitive than the two closest gymnastics studios.
Meanwhile, the Elder has more pedestrian goals. Last fall he approached me with a pamphlet for the basketball program at the church that houses his before-and-after school program.
Practices started a couple of weeks ago, and he had a game yesterday. Let me tell you, it was high comedy. No, I'm not a huge sports fan, but I swear watching sixth-grade boys running up and down the basketball court is hysterically awesome. They're up the court, they're down the court, they're up the court... oh, there's a melee breaking out over the ball! Wait, the kids brawling are all from the same team. Snerk. There's more traveling and double-dribbling than you can shake a stick at, and throughout the whole thing they're just giving it every bit of heart they've got. I was grinning like an idiot.
And then there was the Elder, in the last 35 seconds of the game. He'd already scored 4 points, and I guess he figured then was as good a time as any to clean his glasses. As I watched him take them off and start wiping the lenses on his jersey, I thought, "I sure hope that ball doesn't come toward him."
Remember that whole God has a sense of humor thing? I sometimes swear he's listening in and giggling.
The ball came straight at the child. He looked up, and without even flinching he got the ball and started dribbling with the one hand while continuing to polish his glasses lenses with the other. He finally passed it (still one-handed) to another of his teammates who ran it down the court right as the buzzer sounded. I was clutching my head in my hands and everyone around me was howling with laughter, regardless of who they were there rooting for.
Again, awesome. A bit more of this and I could almost become a sports fan.
Come to think of it, not much has changed. Okay, you can find me on a treadmill now but more often than not I'm reading on the thing and if I could? I'd shove that sucker in a closet so I could get a bit of peace and quiet while I'm on it.
So of course, because God has a tremendous sense of humor, I managed to produce two very bouncy boys, a descriptor which was evident even in utero. The Elder was literally spinning like a whirling dervish during his first ultrasound at six weeks gestation (I'd had some worrisome bleeding, but after watching his antics I figured he'd just tried to kick himself loose), and the Gum Zombie was the only awake and active fetal wunderkind for his scheduled ultrasound session at the midwife's office. I swear that child made the sonographer's day -- we got a solid 30 minutes watching him wiggle around in there.
So yeah. Active. Now don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for this because not only are they healthy but they also have an unholy love for video games, so it's a darned good thing they have interests that counteract their mother's genetic contribution to their makeup. It's just... wow.
The Gum Zombie, being the free spirit that he is, blithely informed me a couple of weeks ago that he wishes to take gymnastics. Now this is the child who likes to hand-walk up doorways and hallways and hang there until I catch him at it. Failing that, he will watch TV with his hands on the back of the couch and walk his legs up the wall until he's at a good forty-five degree angle to the floor until there's too much blood rushing to his head or, again, until I catch on that my walls are being abused. Really, I shouldn't be surprised.
A few days later he asked, "Don't you want to know why I want to take gymnastics?"
Well, yes; yes indeed, I was curious.
"Because I want to learn how to do backflips. I'm going to be a ninja when I grow up, and ninjas have to do backflips."
I blinked a couple of times still hoping I could somehow get out of this (do you know how dangerous backflips are????), and then he played his trump card:
"I went to the library and checked out a book on gymnastics, so I already know all about it."
All of you who are parents are nodding right now. Yeah, I'm so hosed. Clearly I have to get him into gymnastics and support his chosen profession of ninja, because he went to the library and researched it on his own. Initiative must be rewarded. Here's hoping the Y's gymnastics program is less cost-prohibitive than the two closest gymnastics studios.
Meanwhile, the Elder has more pedestrian goals. Last fall he approached me with a pamphlet for the basketball program at the church that houses his before-and-after school program.
Practices started a couple of weeks ago, and he had a game yesterday. Let me tell you, it was high comedy. No, I'm not a huge sports fan, but I swear watching sixth-grade boys running up and down the basketball court is hysterically awesome. They're up the court, they're down the court, they're up the court... oh, there's a melee breaking out over the ball! Wait, the kids brawling are all from the same team. Snerk. There's more traveling and double-dribbling than you can shake a stick at, and throughout the whole thing they're just giving it every bit of heart they've got. I was grinning like an idiot.And then there was the Elder, in the last 35 seconds of the game. He'd already scored 4 points, and I guess he figured then was as good a time as any to clean his glasses. As I watched him take them off and start wiping the lenses on his jersey, I thought, "I sure hope that ball doesn't come toward him."
Remember that whole God has a sense of humor thing? I sometimes swear he's listening in and giggling.
The ball came straight at the child. He looked up, and without even flinching he got the ball and started dribbling with the one hand while continuing to polish his glasses lenses with the other. He finally passed it (still one-handed) to another of his teammates who ran it down the court right as the buzzer sounded. I was clutching my head in my hands and everyone around me was howling with laughter, regardless of who they were there rooting for.
Again, awesome. A bit more of this and I could almost become a sports fan.
Monday, January 17, 2011
...And Make Sure You Use GOOD Wine...
Yeah well, Ina... turns out Fish Eye merlot ($5.47 a bottle, screw top) works just fine for your Parker's Beef Stew recipe.
The picture above is after all four of us had eaten dinner. Choreboy alone had two helpings. Sorry Food Network, but no way this serves only six; in the end we calculated it at a minimum of 10 servings per recipe.
It's not as if we're even talking small servings here -- this stew is seriously good stuff. But after two hours of prep time before that sucker went into the oven (not counting the bit of chopping and marinating I did hours earlier) it had better be.
The only tweak we made to the recipe was we used green beans rather than peas, because peas = eeew.
No, my recent Campaign to Not Hate Legumes hasn't extended to those nasty little green spheroids. My loathing for peas goes beyond mere texture, it seems.
Ah well... it's been a great three-day weekend. Tomorrow, back to the grind. I hope everyone who had a day off today enjoyed it! I sure did.
[Now I'm going to pay for it, because I have to get the tax paperwork together at the office -- UGH. Honestly, I'd rather eat peas. And y'all know that's saying something.]
The picture above is after all four of us had eaten dinner. Choreboy alone had two helpings. Sorry Food Network, but no way this serves only six; in the end we calculated it at a minimum of 10 servings per recipe.
It's not as if we're even talking small servings here -- this stew is seriously good stuff. But after two hours of prep time before that sucker went into the oven (not counting the bit of chopping and marinating I did hours earlier) it had better be.
The only tweak we made to the recipe was we used green beans rather than peas, because peas = eeew.
No, my recent Campaign to Not Hate Legumes hasn't extended to those nasty little green spheroids. My loathing for peas goes beyond mere texture, it seems.
Ah well... it's been a great three-day weekend. Tomorrow, back to the grind. I hope everyone who had a day off today enjoyed it! I sure did.
[Now I'm going to pay for it, because I have to get the tax paperwork together at the office -- UGH. Honestly, I'd rather eat peas. And y'all know that's saying something.]
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Whew.
I love the holidays. I love the food, the family, the food, the presents, the food, the togetherness...
... and I have I mentioned the food? Oh yeah.
I was nowhere near saintly over the holidays. In fact, I came close to declaring a free-for-all between the Gum Zombie's birthday on December 18th through January 2nd, which was the Sunday night prior to returning to work. It was glorious, and I was bloated as hell.
So, entirely reasonably, I refused to get on the scale. Until tonight that is. What spurred me on, you might ask? My hipbones. They finally re-emerged from the water retention wonderland that was my gut, so I figured it was approaching safe.
It wasn't the "official" scale, and it wasn't the "official" time, but the scale said 146-ish. I'll take it. Considering the enjoyment over the holidays, I'll absolutely take it.
As for the rest? I'm done. Pooped out. Resting. I realize that before I know it, the 2011 holiday season will be upon us; but until then, I'll let The Divine Miss M give my current holiday thoughts:
Yep, that about covers it. Here's to 2011, everyone!
... and I have I mentioned the food? Oh yeah.
I was nowhere near saintly over the holidays. In fact, I came close to declaring a free-for-all between the Gum Zombie's birthday on December 18th through January 2nd, which was the Sunday night prior to returning to work. It was glorious, and I was bloated as hell.
So, entirely reasonably, I refused to get on the scale. Until tonight that is. What spurred me on, you might ask? My hipbones. They finally re-emerged from the water retention wonderland that was my gut, so I figured it was approaching safe.
It wasn't the "official" scale, and it wasn't the "official" time, but the scale said 146-ish. I'll take it. Considering the enjoyment over the holidays, I'll absolutely take it.
As for the rest? I'm done. Pooped out. Resting. I realize that before I know it, the 2011 holiday season will be upon us; but until then, I'll let The Divine Miss M give my current holiday thoughts:
Yep, that about covers it. Here's to 2011, everyone!
Monday, January 03, 2011
Never Say I Can't Take a Hint
Him: Still no new posts on your blog!
Me: I haven't had time.
Him: Three days into the New Year and you couldn't even talk about how The Divine Miss M is down?
Me: Dude. You go months without posting.
Him: I'm a boy.
Duh.
So here you go m'dear... now go thou and do likewise :P
Me: I haven't had time.
Him: Three days into the New Year and you couldn't even talk about how The Divine Miss M is down?
Me: Dude. You go months without posting.
Him: I'm a boy.
Duh.
So here you go m'dear... now go thou and do likewise :P
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
I'm Back!
Well, as much as one is ever "back" in the thick of the holidays. And speaking of my back it is, dare I say it? Showing signs of improvement.
I went to see my doctor a week ago and to my relief she determined this was most likely a muscular issue rather than a slipped disc or something of that ilk. Whew. My family has a "curse" wherein some of the lumbar vertebrae like to give out in the early forties.
And guess who's forty? Hint: check the sidebar, kids.
Fortunately, though, this curse comes out of the male side of the family and thus far only males have been old enough to be afflicted with it. Of course, on the minus side, my distaff progenitors have managed to produce a particularly vicious strain of spinal arthritis.
So I'm likely screwed regardless. But not yet!! Heh. I'll take it.
Treatment-wise we kept to what I had been doing: 650 mg aspirin every 4 hours, 4-6x/day (preferably 4x, due to me preferring that my gums not bleed), and heat with either an adhesive heated pad at work or a heating pad with 20 minutes on/ 20 minutes off at home. She also gave me an anti inflammatory ointment that I looked over but opted not to take after reading that it was contraindicated for folks who've ever had hives from taking any of a laundry list of NSAIDS.
Both Naprosyn and Anaprox gave me hives back a little over 20 years ago. I'd taken Naprosyn for a year for "girlie" issues and it was awesome. Then one day I took it for the usual reason and my skin felt prickly. I didn't know what was causing it and didn't really put 1 and 1 together until the next dose when I took it around my mother, and within moments I was scratching at myself a bit and welts were breaking out. Mom quickly recognized the hives for what they were.
I was pretty bummed, but my GYN said sometimes folks have a reaction to one formulation and not another, so she gave me a sample of Anaprox to try. I got home and my parents insisted I try it when they were both home, with Benadryl at the ready.
More hives. Yippie.
So at that point, my GYN told me this ridiculously long list of stuff I couldn't take that effectively knocks any NSAID into contraindicated territory.
For years I wouldn't touch even an aspirin, but since Tylenol has never been effective for me I started taking aspirin when I was absolutely desperate for migraine pain relief about five years ago, and I haven't had a problem yet. So since I've been okay with aspirin it's possible that I could use this anti inflammatory ointment, but the name of it is somethingorother-sodium, and the similarity of that name to naproxyn sodium just... doesn't sit right.
Plus I just wasn't desperate enough to risk hives. If the aspirin and heat hadn't been helping, I may well have sung a different tune.
So I figure I'm going to have a sit-down with my doc at some point and see what I can do about all these supposed contraindications for just about every other reasonable pain medication out there I've been told I have, because if I can actually take some of them as I get older, my life is going to be a whole lot more pleasant. This is one huge reason why I make sure I have a primary care physician, because at least there's someone in the world who knows my record regarding pain medication (i.e., as a rule I don't request it and I don't take it) so that if I'm ever in the position to actually need something at least there's good backup that, in spite of the ridiculous allergy list, I'm not "drug seeking".
I hate how the jerks of the world make it harder for the rest of us to get needed medication.
And don't get me started on the restrictions on cold medicines that actually, say, WORK. I swear, if one more pharmacy tech gives me the look that says she just knows my 20-pack of Drixoral is going straight to a meth lab, I won't be held responsible for my actions.
-------------------------
In other news, the Gum Zombie has enjoyed a full recovery from Hurl Fest 2010, and was able to completely enjoy his 8th birthday this past Saturday. We just had a little family party this time around, with the child's grandparents, aunt, uncle, and cousin in attendance in addition to the Elder and me (Choreboy was working). And as a special surprise, Miss P, GZ's preschool/in-home-daycare lady came!! She knew him before he was born (the Elder and her grandson went to the same preschool so she saw me waddling around nearly 42 weeks pregnant), and had him in her daycare from the time he was 18 months old until he left for kindergarten. She's awesome, and it was so good to see her again and have her over.
Outside of that? Not much. Oh, my eating is terrible at the moment. Yes, I've lost all control. I'm below 150... barely. Well, maybe not now considering I ate birthday cake, chips, and dip with reckless abandon and followed that up with all the office treats well-meaning professionals keep dropping off at my workplace.
And I can't do my tabatas because I'm scared they'll hose my back if I jump back in before it's healed.
So color me frustrated. I'm trying to just count small victories at the moment, like the fact that I had a lower-calorie soup for lunch instead of going out and getting a sub. It's not much, but that's 600 fewer calories than I could have eaten. I'm more or less good with that.
Okay, time to get away from the computer and back onto my heating pad. Merry Christmas and/ or Happy Holidays, folks!!
I went to see my doctor a week ago and to my relief she determined this was most likely a muscular issue rather than a slipped disc or something of that ilk. Whew. My family has a "curse" wherein some of the lumbar vertebrae like to give out in the early forties.
And guess who's forty? Hint: check the sidebar, kids.
Fortunately, though, this curse comes out of the male side of the family and thus far only males have been old enough to be afflicted with it. Of course, on the minus side, my distaff progenitors have managed to produce a particularly vicious strain of spinal arthritis.
So I'm likely screwed regardless. But not yet!! Heh. I'll take it.
Treatment-wise we kept to what I had been doing: 650 mg aspirin every 4 hours, 4-6x/day (preferably 4x, due to me preferring that my gums not bleed), and heat with either an adhesive heated pad at work or a heating pad with 20 minutes on/ 20 minutes off at home. She also gave me an anti inflammatory ointment that I looked over but opted not to take after reading that it was contraindicated for folks who've ever had hives from taking any of a laundry list of NSAIDS.
Both Naprosyn and Anaprox gave me hives back a little over 20 years ago. I'd taken Naprosyn for a year for "girlie" issues and it was awesome. Then one day I took it for the usual reason and my skin felt prickly. I didn't know what was causing it and didn't really put 1 and 1 together until the next dose when I took it around my mother, and within moments I was scratching at myself a bit and welts were breaking out. Mom quickly recognized the hives for what they were.
I was pretty bummed, but my GYN said sometimes folks have a reaction to one formulation and not another, so she gave me a sample of Anaprox to try. I got home and my parents insisted I try it when they were both home, with Benadryl at the ready.
More hives. Yippie.
So at that point, my GYN told me this ridiculously long list of stuff I couldn't take that effectively knocks any NSAID into contraindicated territory.
For years I wouldn't touch even an aspirin, but since Tylenol has never been effective for me I started taking aspirin when I was absolutely desperate for migraine pain relief about five years ago, and I haven't had a problem yet. So since I've been okay with aspirin it's possible that I could use this anti inflammatory ointment, but the name of it is somethingorother-sodium, and the similarity of that name to naproxyn sodium just... doesn't sit right.
Plus I just wasn't desperate enough to risk hives. If the aspirin and heat hadn't been helping, I may well have sung a different tune.
So I figure I'm going to have a sit-down with my doc at some point and see what I can do about all these supposed contraindications for just about every other reasonable pain medication out there I've been told I have, because if I can actually take some of them as I get older, my life is going to be a whole lot more pleasant. This is one huge reason why I make sure I have a primary care physician, because at least there's someone in the world who knows my record regarding pain medication (i.e., as a rule I don't request it and I don't take it) so that if I'm ever in the position to actually need something at least there's good backup that, in spite of the ridiculous allergy list, I'm not "drug seeking".
I hate how the jerks of the world make it harder for the rest of us to get needed medication.
And don't get me started on the restrictions on cold medicines that actually, say, WORK. I swear, if one more pharmacy tech gives me the look that says she just knows my 20-pack of Drixoral is going straight to a meth lab, I won't be held responsible for my actions.
-------------------------
In other news, the Gum Zombie has enjoyed a full recovery from Hurl Fest 2010, and was able to completely enjoy his 8th birthday this past Saturday. We just had a little family party this time around, with the child's grandparents, aunt, uncle, and cousin in attendance in addition to the Elder and me (Choreboy was working). And as a special surprise, Miss P, GZ's preschool/in-home-daycare lady came!! She knew him before he was born (the Elder and her grandson went to the same preschool so she saw me waddling around nearly 42 weeks pregnant), and had him in her daycare from the time he was 18 months old until he left for kindergarten. She's awesome, and it was so good to see her again and have her over.
Outside of that? Not much. Oh, my eating is terrible at the moment. Yes, I've lost all control. I'm below 150... barely. Well, maybe not now considering I ate birthday cake, chips, and dip with reckless abandon and followed that up with all the office treats well-meaning professionals keep dropping off at my workplace.
And I can't do my tabatas because I'm scared they'll hose my back if I jump back in before it's healed.
So color me frustrated. I'm trying to just count small victories at the moment, like the fact that I had a lower-calorie soup for lunch instead of going out and getting a sub. It's not much, but that's 600 fewer calories than I could have eaten. I'm more or less good with that.
Okay, time to get away from the computer and back onto my heating pad. Merry Christmas and/ or Happy Holidays, folks!!
Saturday, December 11, 2010
My Buddy Murphy
Yes, that would be in reference to Murphy's Law.
Yesterday my back was doing much better by the time I got home from work. It wasn't great, mind you, but if I was just standing I was fine -- no stabbing pains, no burning, nothing. Awesome!! And I could recline on some angles, with proper support, rather than having to be perfectly parallel to whatever surface I was on.
It was marvelous. I caught up on some blogs and even managed to comment here and there. I didn't go straight back to my bed, and gave the poor forlorn Hound some attention. And thank you, all of you, for your well-wishes. I'm no fan of back pain, and I have every hope that this too shall pass. However...
... it won't be as quickly as I thought.
So, the Gum Zombie was complaining that his tummy hurt. Considering that the child had mixed tortilla soup with Oreo Cakesters, I had chalked it up to indigestion.
[Note: this is the part where, if you're eating, you should go away for awhile, then come back without food and with a settled stomach. Trust me here.]
Anyway, I was on my way to rest on my bed, after enjoying my first more-or-less normal evening of the week, and the Gum Zombie was still grousing about his tummy. He decided he wanted to go to bed also, and we had just turned to head that way when the floodgates burst loose.
Twice.
His stomach contents for the day were ejected with such force and at such volume that they covered fully two-thirds of my entryway (blessedly wood), splattered three feet up two walls, and splattered another three feet into the kitchen and onto my family room rug (oops).
Choreboy was at work. The Vomit Comet was on one side of Lake Puke. I was on the other.
He'd managed to keep most of himself out of the line of fire, so I sent him down the hall to his bathroom where he proceeded to turn his stomach inside out (and worse) while I scrubbed down the carpet and cleaned the floors and walls. Poor little fellow... he was absolutely miserable.
As I got onto the floor to scrub the carpet I had one brief thought of my back, then I was too wrapped up in scraping everything up and helping my shivering boy that I didn't think of it again until this morning.
On the plus side? My nose has been stuffed up for days, so I couldn't smell a thing. Also, the child is doing much better. After he'd fully purged everything from his body last night I tucked him into bed, and this morning he woke up looking much more perky. He's run a low-grade fever today, but after a steady diet of Gatorade, ginger ale, toast, and rice pudding he appears to be on the mend. Bless his heart.
As for my back... let's just say that "ouch" is an understatement.
Yesterday my back was doing much better by the time I got home from work. It wasn't great, mind you, but if I was just standing I was fine -- no stabbing pains, no burning, nothing. Awesome!! And I could recline on some angles, with proper support, rather than having to be perfectly parallel to whatever surface I was on.
It was marvelous. I caught up on some blogs and even managed to comment here and there. I didn't go straight back to my bed, and gave the poor forlorn Hound some attention. And thank you, all of you, for your well-wishes. I'm no fan of back pain, and I have every hope that this too shall pass. However...
... it won't be as quickly as I thought.
So, the Gum Zombie was complaining that his tummy hurt. Considering that the child had mixed tortilla soup with Oreo Cakesters, I had chalked it up to indigestion.
[Note: this is the part where, if you're eating, you should go away for awhile, then come back without food and with a settled stomach. Trust me here.]
Anyway, I was on my way to rest on my bed, after enjoying my first more-or-less normal evening of the week, and the Gum Zombie was still grousing about his tummy. He decided he wanted to go to bed also, and we had just turned to head that way when the floodgates burst loose.
Twice.
His stomach contents for the day were ejected with such force and at such volume that they covered fully two-thirds of my entryway (blessedly wood), splattered three feet up two walls, and splattered another three feet into the kitchen and onto my family room rug (oops).
Choreboy was at work. The Vomit Comet was on one side of Lake Puke. I was on the other.
He'd managed to keep most of himself out of the line of fire, so I sent him down the hall to his bathroom where he proceeded to turn his stomach inside out (and worse) while I scrubbed down the carpet and cleaned the floors and walls. Poor little fellow... he was absolutely miserable.
As I got onto the floor to scrub the carpet I had one brief thought of my back, then I was too wrapped up in scraping everything up and helping my shivering boy that I didn't think of it again until this morning.
On the plus side? My nose has been stuffed up for days, so I couldn't smell a thing. Also, the child is doing much better. After he'd fully purged everything from his body last night I tucked him into bed, and this morning he woke up looking much more perky. He's run a low-grade fever today, but after a steady diet of Gatorade, ginger ale, toast, and rice pudding he appears to be on the mend. Bless his heart.
As for my back... let's just say that "ouch" is an understatement.
Wednesday, December 08, 2010
Back Issues
Hey gang, I managed to hose my back somehow. At the moment I am functional, but once I'm home from work I can't sit at my desk too long because apparently some idiot installed a freaking knife in the back of my chair that jabs me in my mid-back any time I'm parked in it.
So anyway, the upshot is that I'm trying to get my back in a less painful situation. I'm giving it another week to see if the pain changes (it's already gone through a few mutations), and if it's the same or worse I'll be hauling myself in to see my doctor. Fortunately I'm having some luck with aspirin and positioning for the pain aspect.
Speaking of positioning, sitting here typing doesn't work for me for long. I'll keep y'all updated, but it'll be brief until someone pulls the sawzall out of my spine.
So anyway, the upshot is that I'm trying to get my back in a less painful situation. I'm giving it another week to see if the pain changes (it's already gone through a few mutations), and if it's the same or worse I'll be hauling myself in to see my doctor. Fortunately I'm having some luck with aspirin and positioning for the pain aspect.
Speaking of positioning, sitting here typing doesn't work for me for long. I'll keep y'all updated, but it'll be brief until someone pulls the sawzall out of my spine.
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