Scale Day v13.0

When I turned off the alarm this morning my mind went through three thoughts.  1. I know I lost this week, I worked hard and did great with the food choices and calorie counting.  2. I might not have lost this week, maybe I didn’t do enough. 3. I have a few ideas of things I want to try, regardless what the scale has to say I should do them.  Knowing that only a non-loss would really get me to make a new change, I actually didn’t know what to wish for, gosh I’m strange!!

As it turns out I think I got it all.  I didn’t gain but I only lost 1/2 a pound.  A new zero has entered my life and I was happy to see it.  Last week my weight was 151.2 and this week it is 150.7.  I was hoping to see 149 something, but that zero was a happy sight.  On a really bright side, I have some non scale news.  I’ve not been liking my clothes lately.  My t-shirts are so loose they look like maternity shirts and my jeans keep falling down.  Yesterday I found myself with 5 extra minutes as I exited the mall and I tried on size 8 jeans (when my journey started I was stuffed into a size 12, remember I’m only 5′ 2″) and I got them all the way up.  Sure they were snug, but I got them up and over my butt.  Speaking of which my butt is still large, but I have a waist and it’s smaller than my butt!!  Plus I’m starting to see the effects of all those ab exercises and my arms, lets just say I have muscles and I like to flex them.  I know I’m a dork, but it’s been a long time since I had anything to flex.  I also need to mention saddle bags.  When I started this journey one of the things I was thankful for was that I didn’t really have bad saddle bags.  Well as it turns out they were just covered up in excess fat.  Now that I have shed some of that fat you can see the bags.  They are not really bad, unless my doing side planks, wow and then they just hang down, so gross.  Ok, enough of that talk.  A few additional numbers to through out, my BMI has actually changed from last week, it’s down a tenth to 27.6, which is down 2.6 from where I started, not bad at all.  I only have 2.7 more points before I can say I am not over weight.

Several weeks ago I started a stretching goal, because I was feeling sore and it really helped.  The last few weeks I’ve been feeling pretty good and I’ve found my extra stretching sessions going by the wayside.  For almost three months now I’ve been working out practically everyday, in fact I’ve only missed 4 days.  This week actually included a missed day, but I doubled up my workouts a couple of days later.  My workouts are still very challenging.  Sure I’m making my movements bigger from where I started but I’m still able to get my heart rate up there…but I want a new challenge.

I have a zillion Pilates and several Yoga tapes that I have not yet gotten into.  I’m planning on adding two afternoon sessions this week, one Pilates and one Yoga.  the first Pilates session I’m going to try killed my arms the last time I did it (which was probably more than 5 years ago), it uses the band and I can’t wait to see if my new arms can handle the session.

I have huge plans for the next 6-months of my life and I can’t believe I have not yet mentioned it here.  You may have read some where along the way on my blog that I’ve studied dance all my life, including college and even had a scholarship with a company in Chicago post graduation.  Problems with my knees killed my dreams at the time and I came back to MI.  The move turned out to be a great decision since I married the man who made me want to come back and we now have two amazing boys.  My mother has been bugging me for years to try Nia and more recently one of my favorite bloggers sent me a Nia workout.  To say it was love at first dance is an understatement.  My love for Nia grows the more I learn about it and I have signed on to undergo White Belt Training in mid November, which will allow me to teach Nia.  The thought of making any kind of living from movement has me jumping up and down, in fact excuse me for a moment…ok I’m back 🙂 I am very thankful that my mom kept bugging me (ok that is what she excels at) and for my new bestest friend for bringing Nia to my life.

I’m not sure what the future holds but I’m going to work hard to put my body and mind in a place where I will hopefully be teaching and spreading the love of Nia to Kalamazoo (who currently does not have a Nia teacher).  Yes I need to keep up my cardio, because not only will I need to be able to do the Nia steps for my students but I will also need to be able to talk and instruct them through the class!!  But I also need to improve my flexibility.  I remember me as a new dancer back in elementary school, stretching daily in order to do the splits, thirty years later I’m in the same spot.  I know first hand what it takes to be flexible enough for the splits (all three ways) and to fold yourself in half over your legs when they are straight out in front of you (seated forward bend).

Here are my goals: splits, a full seated forward bend and losing another 6 pounds before While Belt Training.

How am I going to do it?  I’m going to keep eating well, keep working out daily, add afternoon Pilates and Yoga (starting once a week) and I WILL stretch daily.  The only way to really improve my flexibility is to really work at it, not just as my muscles are warming up or cooling down.  It needs to get its own part of my attention.  I can’t wait to see what my body has to say about these new goals.  Hmmm, a sense of excitement and a can do attitude, that for sure puts me on the right foot.

Random Thoughts Monday v3.0

Happy end of Monday ye all, the day has gotten away from me, but I’m full of thoughts to throw out

• Goals: I have so many goals at the moment that if I don’t get them all written down I think my head might explode.  I have several long-range goals that have been in the works for some time, one you know and another I’ve known for some time but have not told you.  Tune in on Wednesday for my breaking news :).  In order to make my long-range goals I have had many smaller goals creep their way into my life.  Most of my goals revolve around my health and fitness level.  But, life such as it is, things are never simple, I have many goals that have nothing to do with my health and fitness.  All my goals seem to be competing for my time and the feeling of frustration is sinking in deep.  Stress is not a good thing, I don’t enjoy it at all!!  All of my goals were added to my life to enhance my life, not to freak me out…perspective…big breath
• It’s not only important to determine your goals, but to ensure you know WHY it is important to YOU.  What will happen if you don’t reach your goal?  Will the world end, probably not.  Will you stop moving forward?  Hopefully not.  Will you still want that goal and be sad and disappointed if you don’t give it your all and keep pushing forward?  If your answer is a resounding yes, then you have some work to do.
• My homework this week is to write down why I’m working for each of my goals, the whys for my short-term goals and a plan to keep me on track…
• By the time I write my next Random thoughts post it will be October!!!
• Go to my 20 year high school reunion or not???
• I bid so infrequently on eBay I forget the strategy every single time.  I still remember the auction I lost by just mere seconds.  My fingers working hard to get my next bid in and then seeing the clock run out, urrggg.  It turned out to be a good thing actually.  Two days later I found a cheaper option and I won.  This week I’m in the hunt for a Halloween costume that apparently is no longer made, making it crazy hard to find and the prices kind of obnoxious on ebay…but here I am searching and hoping to find AND win the it costume of choice for my oldest.  Wish me luck, thankfully he has a 2nd choice that can be found at most Halloween party shops for $19.99, hmmm, maybe I’m hoping I wont find his 1st choice, shhhhh, don’t tell him.
• Do you have perennials that weren’t in the best place this year?  Start planning your garden for next year, because in the next couple of weeks it going to become prime season for moving/splitting your perennials into a new home.
• The Detroit Lions are 3 & 0!!!  believe it.  I don’t want to think about how many more they will need for a winning season or to get into the playoffs.  I’m just enjoying the glow of seeing my Lions kick some butt!!  Did you see the catch that lead them to a game winning field goal in overtime?  Wow, very nice, them boys got some talent!!  We meet up with the Cowboys next and they’ve already lost one, to the Jets, oh boy, I’m not nervous, I’m a Lions fan

Scale Day v12.0

I wish I could tell you that I was not nervous for my scheduled date with the scale this morning.  I was a bit terrified actually.  No the result wasn’t going to halt any efforts, if anything a gain or non-loss would get me to work harder.  But I am already working hard and I so badly wanted a loss this week.  My nerves were caused by my pattern over the last three weeks, +0.4 > – 3.1 > -0.1.  I had really no idea what the scale would say, I hate not knowing!!!

Today is not only scale day, it is also measurement day.  Before going to bed last night I did a few measurements, was hoping for some good news and boy did I find some!!!  I lost a 1/2 inch on my hips and just over 1 1/2 inches on my waist!!!  I did finally start losing at the bust line, 1/2 and inch, oh well, it was bound to happen.  Since the beginning (June) I’ve lost just over 3 1/2 inches on my waist, 2 1/2 on my hips and  1 1/2 inches on my thighs!!!

The measurements certainly helped my nerves but I was still a bit of a wreck to pull out the scale.  I did get up on time this morning and got right to business.  I lost!!!  1.8 pounds, I was so relieved, that brings my 4 weeks loss to 4.6 pounds, not where I had wanted it, but still pretty awesome.  My overall loss is now 13.9 pounds, my total weight is 151.2 and BMI is 27.7.  After I lose 3.6 more pounds I will reach my 1/2 point to my final goal, which is exciting.  I can’t wait to be in the 2nd half of this journey.  Next week I hope to be under 150, which was what I weighed when I got pregnant with my first son.  Getting under that first pregnancy weight is such a huge milestone for me, I want it real bad.

Last week I made my first attempt at a #7DayChip and I was unsuccessful.  Since I’ve been making good food/portion choices for a while, my challenge was to fill 1/2 my plate with fruits and veggies.  I did well at first and then I didn’t.  I’m trying again this week.  After shopping yesterday my fridge is stocked a little better to help me reach this goal.

One last thought I wanted to share.  Now that I’m drinking water regularly and more than ever before, I find I get dehydrated easier.  It does make sense that if you are not retaining water and you eat a little saltier or drink a little slower that you will get dehydrated easier.  I’m now more conscious of my salt intake and the pace at which I drink water.  I’m listening a little closer to my body’s clues, because they are there, screaming at me.  All you have to do is listen AND act.

Random Thoughts Monday v2.0

Happy Monday everyone, hope you’re feeling rested and ready for another week.  My weekend was full of family and friends which was wonderful, except nothing got done on my to do list.  It’s going to be a busy week!!

• The Detroit Lions: can you believe it, we are 2-0!!  They didn’t just kind of win yesterday, their 48-3 win was a trouncing.  In additional Michigan happy football news, my alma mater Western Michigan University ended a five-year drought over our biggest rival Central Michigan University with a 44-14 win.  WMU’s record is now 3-1 and that one loss was to U of M (who is also having a great year, so far, knock on wood!!) which had a final score of 34-10, not bad for little WMU against a big 10 school.
• DVR, OnDemand, Netflix, Red Box, Hulu, Video stores, Blu-ray, DVD, VHS: goodness so much has changed.  I remember not to long ago when I would have to program my VCR to record a program.  I remember when I used to have to leave home to rent a movie.  Things just keep changing, thankfully they usually get easier in this area, but they keep changing
• Emmy’s shmemmys: I remember when I was little and I’d sit in front of the tv with popcorn and my mom and watch dutifully every second of every award show and pageant.  Now a days, I just check on-line in the am, find a list of winners and read a little about what happened.  What was once several hours now takes just a few minutes.
• Winter time at the Zoo: here in Michigan not all animals stay at the Zoo all winter.  Yesterday we were at a birthday party in Grand Rapids at the Zoo, so much fun!!!  I got a chance to ask the zoo folks what happens in the winter time.  Apparently some animals (who have indoor habitats) do stay all winter, others go to other zoos or they go home for the winter.  Their biggest croc is going to Florida for the winter, his owner is coming next month to pick him up and take him home.  So interesting.  We also saw the zoo kitchen, where it became apparent that most zoo animals eat better than I do.  The kitchen was full of veggies.  But it was also full of frozen mice and frozen blood.  They actually make popsicles out of blood and mice, gross!!  They also make paper mache to hold treats that the animals can rip apart.  See here for the true story of how this zoo build a meat filled paper mache zebra and placed it in the lion pen last month.

Well that’s all for this week.  Have a good one and don’t forget to fill your grocery basket with fruits and veggies, zoo animals will have nothing on me this week 🙂

Fall TV 2011

Oh boy, tv is coming back in a big way.  The schedule is packed full of so much fun, mystery, paranormal, action and some laughs too.  Below I’ve listed the shows I’m most excited to see along with a ton of links.  If you haven’t already, this weekend is your last chance to clean up your DVR and get all the new shows set to record.  Of course there will be some stragglers that wont start until October and there are some really good-looking mid-season replacements to keep an eye on.

I’m afraid my list of shows to watch is really too long.  I’m going to have to make some cuts, I only hope the shows I love stay on the air.  And the comedies, there are so many, I’m not sure where to start, I have a list below for those too.  Ok, lets dive in.

Sundays

• Once Upon a time: ABC 8pm (October 23rd)
• A fairytale with some twists, how awesomely cool, but why do we have to wait until the end of October!!
• Premise: And they all lived happily ever after – or so everyone was led to believe. Emma Swan knows how to take care of herself. She’s a 28-year-old bail bonds collector who’s been on her own ever since she was abandoned as a baby. But when the son she gave up years ago finds her, everything starts to change. Henry is now 10 years old and in desperate need of Emma’s help. He believes that Emma actually comes from an alternate world and is Snow White and Prince Charming’s missing daughter. According to his book of fairytales, they sent her away to protect her from the Evil Queen’s curse, which trapped the fairytale world forever, frozen in time, and brought them into our modern world. Of course Emma doesn’t believe a word, but when she brings Henry back to Storybrooke, she finds herself drawn to this unusual boy and his strange New England town
• Pan Am: ABC 10pm (September 25th)
• We have another week to wait for this one, but it looks worth it
• Premise: Welcome to 1963: a time when only a lucky few could take flight,   experience a global adventure or gain a front-row seat to history. Those   lucky few flew Pan Am, the largest, most prestigious airline in the   world. More than Coca-Cola, Elvis Presley or the transistor, Pan Am   exported American culture to the world abroad and brought that world   back to American shores

Mondays

• Castle: ABC 10pm (September 19th)
• Hawaii Five-O: CBS 10pm (September 19th)
• Playboy Club: NBC 10pm (September 19th)
• I’m surprised too that I want to check this show out.  I’m not a fan of Eddie Cibrian, but I watched the preview and it looked kind of good.  I’ll watch at least the pilot.
• Premise: In Chicago in the early 1960s, a young woman seeking adventure as a Bunny in the glamorous world of the Playboy Club quickly finds herself in over her head.
• Terra Nova: Fox 8pm (September 26th)
• We’ve got another week to wait for this one, but goodness I can’t wait. Not only is Steven Spielberg one of the executive producers, but it stars Jason O’Mara!!!
• Premise: an epic family adventure 85 million years in the making.  TERRA NOVA follows an ordinary family on an incredible journey back in time to prehistoric Earth as a small part of a daring experiment to save the human race. In the year 2149, the world is dying. The planet is overdeveloped and overcrowded, with the majority of plant and animal life extinct. The future of mankind is in jeopardy, and its only hope for survival is in the distant past

Tuesdays

• New Girl: Fox 9pm (September 20th)
• Watch the pilot on Hulu now!! I did and it was funny
• Body of Proof: ABC 10pm (September 20th)
• Unforgettable: CBS 10pm (September 20th)
• I know CBS didn’t need another cop show, but they do them so well and I really like the premise on this one!!  The previews look pretty cool.
• Premise: Carrie Wells remembers every day, every hour, every second of her entire life… except for the day her sister was murdered.
• Ringer: CW 9pm (started September 13th)
• Sarah Michelle Gellar is back, yahoo!!  Almost enough said 🙂 I hear there is a lot going on in the pilot, almost like they could have taken several weeks or months to tell us what they packed into the pilot.
• Although this show already premiered, I have yet to see it since my cable doesn’t air the CW.  I watch the CW exclusively on-line, which usually occurs by the 3rd night, so hopefully tonight it will happen.
• Premise: Sarah stars as a woman who, after witnessing a murder, goes on the run, hiding out by assuming the life of her wealthy identical twin sister – only to learn that her sister’s seemingly idyllic life is just as complicated and dangerous as the one she’s trying to leave behind.

Wednesdays

• Persons of Interest: CBS 9pm (September 21st)
• This is the show I am most excited about, it’s from Executive Producers J.J. Abrams, that’s really enough said!!  If you haven’t yet seen a preview for this show you’ve got to, right now!!!
• Premise: Jim Caviezel and Michael Emerson in a crime thriller about a presumed dead former-CIA agent, Reese, who teams up with a mysterious billionaire, Finch, to prevent violent crimes by using their own brand of vigilante justice.

Thursdays

• Charlies Angels: ABC 8pm (September 22nd)
• I’m actually the least excited about this show, but have to check it out.  Don’t think you need me to give you the premise, the name says it all by now.
• Prime Suspect: NBC 10pm (September 22nd)
• Maria Bello stars, love her!!
• Premise:  it takes a look inside a New York City homicide department. Maria stars as a tough-as-nails NYPD homicide Detective Jane Timoney, an outsider who has just transferred to a new squad where her new colleagues already dislike her. Jane is confident and focused – and also rude, abrupt and occasionally reckless. She has her vices, and rumors of a questionable past follow her everywhere – but at the end of the day, she’s an instinctively brilliant cop who can’t be distracted from the only important thing: the prime suspect.
• Vampire Diaries: CW 8pm (started September 15th)
• The Secret Circle: CW 9pm (September 16th)
• I shouldn’t be surprised, but yes I am, I’m going to at least watch the pilot and then we’ll see.  It stars Britt Robertson from “Life Unexpected,” gosh she’s cute!!  The premise doesn’t really clue you in, but I will, this show is about young pretty witches.
• Premise: Cassie Blake is a normal, happy teenager, leading an everyday life with her devoted single mom, Amelia. But when her mother dies in what Cassie thinks is a tragic, accidental fire, her world is turned upside down. Cassie moves in with her warm and loving grandmother Jane in the beautiful small town of Chance Harbor, Washington – where the residents seem to know more about her than she knows about herself.

Fridays

• A Gifted Man: CBS 8pm (September 23rd)
• Not only does this show star Patrick Wilson, but it also stars Jennifer Ehle (from BBC’s Pride and Prejudice, the one with Colin Firth, swoon!!)
• Premise: When a well-known surgeon begins seeing his dead ex-wife he starts questioning the meaning of life and his place in the world
• Blue Bloods: CBS 10pm (September 23rd)
• Chuck: NBC 8pm (October 21st)
• For the past couple years I’ve tried to stop watching Chuck, but it keeps pulling me back in.  This year the show doesn’t start back up until late October.  It will be interesting to see how satisfied I am with all the shows I will already have been watching for several weeks.  I wonder if I’ll watch this year???
• Grimm: NBC 9pm (October 21st)
• Along with “Persons of Interest”, I’m really looking forward to this new show!!!
• Premise:  inspired by the classic Grimm’s Fairy Tales. Portland homicide Detective Nick Burkhardt (David Giuntoli, “Turn The Beat Around”) discovers he is descended from an elite line of criminal profilers known as “Grimms,” charged with keeping balance between humanity and the mythological creatures of the world.
• Fringe: Fox 9pm (September 23rd)

For even more shows and mid-season show previews check out the fall preview pages:

ABC : I’m contemplating giving “Last Man Standing,” “Man Up,” and Suburgatory” a chance, we’ll see…midseason highlights: Apartment 23, GCB, Missing and Scandal

NBC : midseason highlights: include Alive, The Firm and Smash

CBS

Fox

And don’t forget about SNL and the Daily Show and and … am I ever going to get anything done again.  My goal with tv, is to enjoy and escape, it shouldn’t feel like a 2nd job or keep you from the more important things in life, i.e. a good book (there are so many!!), family and your life.  Wish me luck on cutting my list down.  Happy hunting to you too.

Scale Day etc. v11

Hard to believe I’m starting my 11th week on this journey.  Of course my efforts started slow back in February, March and April of this year.  Back then I certainly wouldn’t have put any money on me still being on my way to being healthy and fit.  Today, I think I would.  I still have many, many weeks to go, but I think I’m a pretty safe bet now.

Today I have a few things to discuss.  It’s Wednesday so I have to talk about the scale.  Yesterday I joined Twitter, see my tweets on the right and follow me please :).  I had a good reason to join and I’ll talk about that below as well along with an exciting Twilight treat.

After last week’s loss of 3.1 pounds, a great week of work outs and doing really well in food choices I was very optimistic.  I did lose but it was only .1 pounds.  Well, at least I didn’t gain or stay completely the same.  What happened here?  I’ve looked back at my documentation.  I’ve worked out 27 days in a row.  I’ve recently adjusted my workout schedule and it’s still kicking my butt.  I did great on water in take this week.  I’ve looked at the average calories for the weeks when I did lose weight and this week was right in there.  Everything looks good, so why not a loss?  Maybe I did lose but I gained muscle?  Maybe.  Next week I’m scheduled to measure so we’ll see.  The only area for improvement is still in the fruits/veggies arena.  My challenge this week, while keeping up all my good habits, will be to, per recommendations from My Plate, fill 1/2 my plate with fruits and veggies.  ThiryThreeandCounting brought a fun challenge to my attention the other day, #7DayChip, which lead me to joining twitter, which has been fun.  Lots of support and good information on Twitter, who knew.  I’ll let you know if I get that chip next Wednesday.

A few minutes into my Twitter life paid off quick when I found out that the Twilight- Breaking Dawn Part 1 trailer would be premiering in just a few hours.  It’s so fun, so exciting, if you like Twilight you’ve got to check this out!!!

Random thoughts Monday

In an attempt to clear my head for a new week I’m going to try out a new weekly posting, called “Random thoughts Monday.”  We’ll see how it goes.

• A normal Gambling man: in talking with one of my husband’s clients yesterday, who had just gotten back from winning over $100 at a poker tournament, I got to thinking.  Are there men out there who go to poker tournaments 5-days a week?  Men who consistently make $100 or more a day and bring it all home to a family?  I know my husband, who is a musician, makes almost all his money playing gigs.  Gigs where he rarely drinks, doesn’t do drugs and his paycheck is automatically deposited.  He’s such a normal guy, but most would never guess that (unless they had met him once) and would assume he’s the stereo-type for a rock-n-roll musician.  So are there family men out there who actually support their family via poker?
• Organization Intervention: how did I ever get anything done when I worked 50-60 hours a week in an office.  Some how I did, but not now.  Sure I still work part-time (all these hours are at home, telecommuting is the best invention!!) and I’m taking care of two kids, but it’s so hard for me to keep the house clean, get the laundry done, food on the table/keep food in the house and the zillion of other things you do each week to keep a house moving.  But I have a to do list that grows and never lengthens.  I’m a certified project manager (PMP) and proud of it, you’d think I’d be able to use some of my skills and get moving on my list.  But no, it never happens.  Well PMP, it’s time to get to work.  First things first, lets get all the special to-dos (i.e. things that are not normally done daily/weekly) onto one list.  That’s it, just make a list…see you next week.
• When’s the book going to be done?: hmmm, I remember my original plan which had my books first draft getting finished in June 2011.  Well I’m sure fitting into the stereo-typical author profile, I barely wrote this summer.  Maybe 2,000 words all summer.  I’m happy to report I got over 1,000 words down today and tomorrow I’m going to write some more.  I need to get back into the habbit of working on my book and come up with a daily or weekly goal that puts me on the right path to getting all my first thoughts down.  I need them out of head!!!  Do you have a side goal or hobby that you have not worked on lately?
• Remembering 9/11: it’s always hard to think of all those that were lost ten years ago, but yesterday’s memorials were especially moving.  It is comforting to know they will never be forgotten and we will always come together to remember them.  Did you think yesterday where you were ten years ago?  I was at the dentist.  Having no cavities would have filled my day with joy, but that was forgotten, as my heart cried for all those living in H E double hockey sticks.  I thought of you yesterday and today and in all my years to come.

September 7, 2011

Big day in my household, not only did my oldest get on a school bus and ride to school for the very first time, it is also my husband’s 39th Birthday and for me, it is scale day, oh boy!!!

Man am I proud of my son!!  Just yesterday he was saying he didn’t want to go to school.  Maybe my pep talk and incentives played a part in his change in attitude, but in the end he had to choose to have a good day and enjoy his adventure.  Yes, I’m taking my son’s example and moving forward in my journey.  If he can get on the bus and concur his fear, than I can too!!!

Scale day.  After last weeks disappointment (+0.4 pounds) I was hoping for at least some kind of loss.  I continued in my daily workouts, got in all the planned water, even added in the extra stretching almost every night.  I have to get side tracked here and tell you how happy I am that I added the extra stretching.  I’m not sure if it was the afternoon workouts on both Saturday and Sunday, which means I got in more sleep both those mornings, or if it was the stretching.  Regardless, I feel a ton better than I did last week and my hip joints are happy too, thank goodness!!!  Anyways, back to scale day.  I definitely did better on the calories this week.  I listened to the hunger scale, but I could have made better food choices and there were at least a few days I went a little over (at least 14% over) my calorie limit.  I was concerned and a little anxious this morning, but mainly I just wanted to know what it had to say so that I could move forward and do ever better this week.  I am happy to report I lost 3.1 pounds this week!!!  What, wait, yes, that’s right!!!  3.1 pounds!!!  Now before I get too excited, I think this means I was holding some water weight last week.  If I add my change in weight to last week it means I’ve lost 1.35 pounds per week, which has been kind of my norm, so I’m back on track.  The good news does not stop there.  I’m more than 30% of the way to my final goal, which is a new milestone for me.  Plus my BMI is down .5 from two weeks ago and 2.2 from my starting number!!!  Love it, Love it, Love it!!!  What did I do to celebrate…my hardest workout of the week.  I didn’t plan on doing the hardest workout on scale day, but it sure has been nice.  No mater if I lose or gain, a good hard workout feels great after facing the scale.  Trust the process and keep moving forward.  Forward on to another week of actively reaching for my goals, gotta love it!!!

Finally, to my husband.  There is a place I got where it is safe to be myself.  There is a place I go where laughter and tears flow freely.  There is a place I go where truth is spoken and dreams are shared.  It is a place of acceptance, understanding and honesty.  I’m thankful, that with you, I’m always there.  I love You.  Happy Birthday!! Now you are officially older than me 🙂

Basil Pickin

It’s hard to believe that those of us in the northern states need to start thinking about harvesting our Basil and other herbs because cold nights are headed our way fast.

Below is a quick how to, this applies for any and all herbs that can be frozen.  I’ve successfully frozen: Basil, Rosemary (on and off the stem), Sage, Thyme (on and off the stem)  and Oregano.  Freshly frozen herbs are a much better and cheaper alternative to store-bought dried herbs.  If you have not done it before you’ve got to try it!!!  Your spaghetti, soups, stocks and so many recipes will be so happy for the freshly frozen herbs.

Most herbs can handle the 50s and most the 40s too, but Basil is the first you should consider chopping down.  Basil will be the first to get limp and ugly black spots all over their leaves if they deem it to be too cold, which is well before a frost hits.  Rosemary on the other hand can be the last you harvest, it’s pretty hardy.  If you get a cold frost don’t write Rosemary out, you might be surprised.

For all the herbs start by collecting everything:

• pair of gardening shears
• bowl for those small herbs
• towel/paper towel/salad spinner
• freezer ziplock bag
• pen
• some time, you don’t want to chop the herb down if you don’t have the time to process it and get it in the freezer!!

Next, jump in

• Use those shears and start chopping down the herbs and bring them in the house, or where ever you are going to clean them.  If you do bring herbs in the house be aware you may be brining in bugs and dirt
• For Basil pinch of all the good-looking leaves, look for the leaves with the best deep coloring.  Skip the bug eaten or light-colored leaves.  My mom says to only pick the large leaves and my aunt says that you can pick the flower buds (that have yet to bloom).  I’m not sure either of them are right, ok, please don’t tell them I said that!!!  I say pick any leaf that looks good to you.  For Thyme I suggest going two routes.  Pick out the best looking sprigs and continue onto the next step and also take the leaves off of several springs and continue with these herbs on their own.  TIP: to remove Thyme and Rosemary leaves hold the stem upside down and pull your fingers along the stem, you’ll pull leaves off as you pull.  For Oregano  and Sage follow the Basil advice above and for Rosemary follow the advice for Thyme (i.e. create two batches, one with leaves still on and one with the leaves pulled off).
• Rinse the leaves well.  For Basil and the springs of Rosemary and Thyme you can rinse in a standard colander.  However, for the Oregano and the Thyme and Rosemary that have been pulled from the stem be sure to use a mesh strainer.  You don’t want all your herbs to go down the drain!!
• Get as much water off the herbs as you can.  For the Basil and springs a salad spinner works great.  For the small leaves (or if you don’t have a salad spinner) scatter them in a single layer on top of a paper towel or kitchen towel, place another paper towel or kitchen towel on top.  Roll the towel up and press a little, try not to crush your leaves too much.
• Take a freezer ziplock and label the bag with the type of herb and the date harvested.
• Add all the clean dried herbs you can into the bag, really pack them in.  Zip the bag closed 75% of the way.  Roll the bag to get all the air out and then finish zipping the bag
• Put bag in freezer
• When needed, pull your bag from the freezer, break off a piece, chop and add to your pot.  Of course if your recipe calls for a sprig of Thyme or Rosemary just pull those out and place right into your pot, they are already washed, so nice :).

Hope you’ll consider saving your herbs for winter use or if you don’t have any, consider growing them next year!!!

September 2, 2011

Well, after not losing weight this week you’d think I’d be more careful with my calories.  Yesterday was a total bomb.

All was going well, my water intake was great, then the afternoon hit and I was so hungry.  Yes, I’d say a 5 on the hunger scale.  I drank a class of water and had a couple of nuts.  I did my grocery shopping and I was pretty good at the store, it could have been really bad too.  The trip gave me another sign that I have been changing my eating habits, because I had one craving in the store and since I was hungry I indulged.  So what did I get, was it some candy, no, was it cheese popcorn, no, it was veggie chips.  I had to laugh, because when I got home I ripped open the package and had two chips, man did they hit the spot.  The result was very different from what would have happened four months ago.  unfortunately I was still hungry.  While unpacking the food I accidentally ripped open a banana, so I made a drink with it (milk, banana, little sugar, little cocoa and coffee), which is less than 3o0 calories, not bad, again it could have been so much worse.

The problem was that I now had enough calories left for a little dinner, which is normally fine.  Last night I had dinner plans at the best Asian restaurant in town, their fish tacos are amazing.  How could I not enjoy, husband and I hardly ever get a date night.  Again it could have been a lot worse, we didn’t even have time for coffee.  I love me some espresso, which would be fine, but I like mine with milk and chocolate, oh yes, the mocha, yummmm, I do usually go for the tall, skim and no whip though.  We did make it out to the best brewery in Michigan, Bells where a couple of local bands got together (all good friends of my rocker husband- in fact one of the guitar players is my youngest’s godfather and we are god parents to their oldest) to play the whole of Abby Rd.  The show rocked and of course I indulged in one beer.

I blew past my calorie count yesterday, by more than 700 calories, it could have been a lot worse.  I didn’t complete let go, but I did indulge, which is ok as long as I don’t make it a pattern and I get right back on track today.  Yes I have had breakfast, I’m on my 2nd 16-oz glass of water and I’ve had two aleve, because I’m older now, rocking out, staying up late and having one beer does me in 🙂

I did sleep in this morning.  I will get in a work out this afternoon, already have it scheduled with the family.  I got to thinking, it has been 14 days since I missed a morning workout.  I was tired yesterday morning during my workout, I didn’t have the best workout, which made me sad.  I remember a couple of weeks ago I slept in a few mornings and I felt rejuvenated once I got back into the morning workout routine.  I’m hoping the restful morning will help me to have a good workout this afternoon.  I also have been thinking for some time that I need to spend time everyday stretching, more than what my workouts cool down provides.  My muscles are starting to feel tight, a sign of strain and over work I think.  Starting today I’m making a daily goal to stretch and I’ve added it to my goals page, I like that page!!

So in summary, I’ve gotten off track and my muscles are tight and tired.  Today I will get back to my calorie limit and all my goals, including the new stretch goal.  I’ll continue to listen to my body, indulge occasionally and then get back on track and move forward reaching for my goal, a healthy me.

Happy Labor Day Weekend Everyone!!!