T.G.I.F

Yes - I know you love some playin' on the weekend. Looking forward to a busy Saturday myself.

Tonight I meet Peggy for some chit-chat on my goals and 'tings that happened this week. It's been a busy week actually. Then I gotta get home and get me some sleep tonight.

Tomorrow morning I'm planning a fun ST session in the basement. Might even have to try it with an MP3 player - I always forget we have those. I did a good workout Thursday morning too.

Then it's off to dance recital #1. The LO doesn't want to wear makeup - she hates having to wash her face, lol. She's very excited about dancing on the big stage. I'm volunteering and get a T-shirt out of the deal. The 9yo is jealous, so I told her that it would likely fit her OK too and she could have it after I was done. It's big on her, but she's not arguing.

Next is home for some laundry and moving about. Back to the evening recital where the 9yo dances 3 times in 3 different outfits.

So, I have my menu for the day and will pack my cooler for myself and the girls. It'll be fun. We'll be tired.

Sunday I would LOVE to relax and stay home, but I'm going to need to come into the office. It'll make next weekend all the sweeter for the wait.

I've been tagged

The rules: Rules are made to be broken. But basically it involves telling 5 things about yourself and then tagging 5 more people. I was tagged by Debbie - who follows rules like a good teacher.

Five Things About Me:

1. To steal from Debbie, I attended 9 public schools between P-12. I was in #4 by Christmas grade 3. One included going to QEII for summer school - I like to count it. Dad retired from the Air Force when I was 9, and then we moved when I was in High School, but I went to the big city for a while during the transition to live with my brother. I may have her beat in post-secondary, though. I started at Acadia before moving out west. I took course at Mount Royal College, SAIT and through Athabasca just because before moving home to finish up at Mt. Saint Vincent. 5 universities before I got my degree and now I'm studying through CGA.

2. I was dehydrated most of my life. I have periodically given blood over the years and it has always been a labourous task, taking 45 minutes or so. After I joined WW last year and was struggling to drink 6 cups a day (I laugh now at how hard that was) I donated in 12minutes. Also, I was a regular advil/tylenol popper, but I rarely have to take them now. Water is an amazing thing.

3. My second child was borne on my first child's birthday. I love that one. I was induced and when the doc set the date I just sat there and tried to explain it wasn't a good date. After being informed that he was going away for the weekend, and based on what he saw I wasn't going into labour anytime soon, that the choice was mine to wait it out. I was already 1.5 weeks over and agreed. Then I went home to give the whole thing a positive spin. "Honey, it looks like this baby is going to be borne on your birthday. If that happens, I want you to know that you're the luckiest little girl getting a birthday present from God." She bought it, but we had some possessiveness issues to address the first little while. "I'LL take care of it Mommy. After all, she's MY birthday present."

4. I still cry driving by Miller's Lake in the spring when the snow melts. It makes driving difficult, but it also reminds me of the spring I lived in Halifax and Dad used to pick me up for the weekends and we'd always have bets if the ice was still there. And I'd always laugh at the crocodile in the lake because I was from a small town in Colchester County and all this stuff was more quirky than I was used to.

5. I am an accountant who hates doing personal tax returns. Mine are currently a month late getting filed.

OK - now YOU - the one reading this - yeah you -

you've been tagged. Let me know in the comments if you're posting a list.

What Goes Up Must Come Down

See that ladies - back down to 143.8. I've been here before and am hoping to see some new numbers sometime soon.

Food check

I've got my food in check the past little while. I'm following one of Corinne's menus this week. Eating 8 times a day is interesting. I'm not sure I can continue with the every 2 hours thing. I'm used to eating 6 mini-meals a day and that's more my grove. I'll stick to it this week - I'm loving the scale results.

Now to get my exercising into check. With all this lean protein I've been eating, I told the hubby that I NEED to do some exercise to support the food. So, tonight I'm pushing some weights and taking a cruise on the elliptical.

Sunday I did 2.5km roller skate again. I think it's going to be a regular route, but I can see getting to the point where I just turn around and head home from there.

Soccer started for the season. We're getting the questions as to why the 4yo isn't signed up. It's big here, but she wasn't interested and, I for one, am glad to have another relaxing summer pool-side instead of swatting flies on a field.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO ME!!!

YUP. It was May 23rd, 2007 that I realized that my 4 days of trying to cut out sweets and bready products was destined to fail. I sat at work looking down at my ginormous belly and thought about 2 of my friends who had lost weight on Weight Watchers. One worked out at Curves and the other walked up and down the highway and some other exercises. I'd seen both withing the previous month. The scale that I'd purchased the previous weekend scared the crapolla out of me. AND, my body shape came with all sorts of personal insecurities. If you're there or have been there, you know what I'm talking about. If you don't - well, kudos to you or maybe you're missing out on part of the journey we're on. Regardless, that's another post.

SO, here it is 1 year later, 40 lbs lighter, and what have been the highlights:

Octoberbest: Thanks to Kim for hosting this and introducing me to Sparks.
Silver 33's: 33 inch waist Silver brand cords. I couldn't believe they fit. They're getting big now.
Losing over Christmas Holidays: Thanks for my Holiday plan, and those of others I was ready for December.
Inches lost: I did not take my measurements until July when Octoberbest started. I'm am very pleased with my progress since joining Phit-n-Phat as well.
Increased Energy: Keeping up with my kids and actually having to help them along.
Making WW Goal and Making WW Lifetime.

There have been others too numerous to mention that have given me the motivation, encouragement or determination to continue. I'm still working on more goals and still want to lose some more inches. As it's been a year I'm thinking I'll stop updating my graph for now. What I know is I'm back to a body I can like and have brought with me a whole heap of confidence this time around.

Have a great weekend everyone. Believe in yourself and you can accomplish whatever goals you set our there for yourself. Cheers,

The ProBar

Well, Kendall posted thinking I was snacking on ProBar. Sorry - no - my pro bars are homemade and less than half the calories or yours. However, the reason I'm posting the link is because I decided to check out this brands site. They actually look really good and are all-natural. If you are into protein bars check them out if you can find them and let me know how they taste.

I really can't go any longer without sharing the Trish's Homemade Protein Bar recipe from Phit-n-Phat. I make these EVERY week. I do a basic batch for myself every second week and a batch loaded with 'stuff', like almonds, walnuts, pinenuts, chocolate chips, dried pineapples, raisins, dried sugared ginger, etc for hubby and the 9yo. It's my cake substitute and mine are generally around 3pts.

Trish's Homemade Protein Bars:
3.5C Old fashioned rolled oats
1.5C LF powdered milk
4 scoops protein powder of choice
1C lf maple syrup (I actually just use a LF syrup 'cause I can't find lf maple syrup)
1/4C egg whites (or 2 egg whites if you're into separating)
1/4C orange juice
1/4C apple sauce
1 Tbsp vanilla
Mix and put in sprayed 9x14 casserole dish. Bake at 325 deg. for 20-30 mins until browned on edges.

NOTE: For the 4yo I remove the protein powder and add extra powdered milk. ALSO some chocolate chips. Next time I'm going to bake hers as drop cookies.

The Beast

I really dislike having to weigh my food all the time and keep in check those BLT's. I was reading the mouse today and I can so relate to her reaction to the Armstrong ad. I don't so much care about his use of the F-word either mouse, but the idea that there is a way out of measuring and weighing is really appealing. Guess what though? It's unrealistic.

OK - here we are. I have admitted that I have a food problem. Never thought I did, but my ability to pile on almost 50 lbs over 8 years years or so emphasizes the point - doncha think? If I had known how to eat I would have lost it when it was only 5 or 10 lbs. Instead I felt over-whelmed and sulked my way from a 10 to a 12. Then I later convinced myself that 14 was the new 12. Still later I choked down pride and began to purchase 16s. It felt horrid. Weight Watchers taught me a lot. Blogger friends taught me a lot. Phit-n-phat taught me a lot. With all this knowledge you'd think I COULD just put down the fork.

If you were at my house last night for pork loin, potatoes and asparagus maybe you'd understand that I sometimes can't just put down the fork. Frig it was good.

Long Weekend

Weekend went well. I got in an ST session Saturday morning and took Baloo for a 6.8 km walk. On Sunday, the 9yo and I decided to break in our wheels and went 2.5km. I tried roller-blading a couple of years ago on a flat parking lot for around 15 minutes. This trip with flat, mild and moderate incline was fairly intense for me. After 5 minutes I was wondering what I had agreed to. All I kept thinking was the biggest incline just before the end. We made it though. Monday we headed out again for another trip, likely around 3 km since it was return and not as far as the first trip.

We went to see the new Narnian movie. I hadn't read this book because I couldn't find it when we were reading them. We read the first one (the creation of Narnia), the second (LW&W), the third (A boy and his horse, i.e. Caspian), missed the fourth, read the fifth - the ship one. We didn't get to the last 2. I thought the movie was very well done. The 9yo said we need to get it for keeps.

Also went through the boxes of clothes that are between the 2 kids in size. Organized and cleared out a bunch of stuff for donation. We drove by a house with a Princess 2-wheeler with training wheels out by the corner. Hubby stopped to ask if they were putting it out for someone to take, so we took it. In return, we told the 4yo that she should put her tricycle by the road since it's too small for her. She liked that idea and is very happy for the upgrade. Hubby put a note on it saying it needed a new home. The trike disappeared yesterday afternoon in the trunk of a white car.

The home scale actually dropped down a bit this morning from hovering around 150. It's notoriously higher for the past few months than the WW scales. I was glad to see the drop. For my part I went over my points Saturday. I didn't indulge. I took the kids to McD's Saturday and just had fajitas and a couple of fries before leaving them with hubby and going to look at books. I also stuck to water and a couple of small nachos at the movie before handing them on to the 9yo who finished them up. I took it light at supper since we'd been out.
Sunday food was good. We did have chicken cordon bleu, potatoes and fiddleheads for supper. It was so good. My points for the day were around 22.
Monday I was good until supper. I had some steak and prolly too many potatoes, onions and brocolli. nah, not too much brocolli, but I did eat to being a little more than satisfied, so I'll have to work on that.

Tuesday:
Morning: .5C cottage cheese, 1C berries, .5 scoop pp (4)
Snack: coffee with whole milk (1)
Lunch: steak, potatoes, onions, little bit of brocolli, coffee with whole milk (7)
Snack: pro bar and carrots (3)
Supper: pork loin, half sweet potatoe, lettuce & spinach salad (6)
Snack: 0.5C lf soy drink, 1 scoop pro powder (3)

ST: repeater of Saturday morning followed by elliptical or blading with the 9yo - I feel like I'm in a second childhood and so glad I can share this with her. That she WANTS me to :))

Total for day: 24

Goals Update and Menu

Sorry I can't be more exciting today. But - actually - I am excited about some of the progress on my goals.

Goal #1: This one is hard because it's not measurable, really. I always feel like I've missed the opportunity to thank someone - like last night. A girl taught me how to do a 3-step turn that I was having problems with and I didn't explicitly thank her. Missed opportunity - but at least I am recognizing it and that's progress. On the plus side, I have been thanking the girls at work for all they do and my family for being so great.

Goal #2: Operation Debt Down. I did NOT contribute to my emergency fund this week. But, I did not touch it either. It currently sits at a little under $300. If I am threatened to have my power or phone cut off I can at least pay on the accounts and still be safe. Other than that I paid OFF my first credit card - the HBC. Now, I fully expect the next statement to have residual interest that will need to be addressed, and when I get that statement I will be able to make that payment quite easily. Yesterday I cut up the card and cancelled it today. Woot!!! 1 down, 4 to go.
I was worried about the 3-mortgage month, but neglected to note that Mark gets paid the day before the mortgage is due. I tend to have a reserve for these months, but I had spent it. Anyway, all is good.
So, since I get paid semi-monthly and Mark gets paid bi-weekly, I am going to have to ear-mark his cheques for gas and groceries because it's easier.

Goal #3: 28 inches. Hmmm, you already know that I've gained weight and haven't been exercising, so I guess I'm sucking the big one on this. BUT, I have decided to focus on what I have been doing (see the transition in Positivity: Goal #1 here - finding MYSELF right).
Monday: I went for a great walk with the family on Monday night. I don't want to count this kind of thing as exercise, because this is WHY I exercise - so I can keep up. Mark felt we went too far, Ci biked and had a great time, J went in her jogger and laughed a lot. I pushed the jogger for over half and really hoofed 'er. I walked the dog the rest of the way and really hoofed 'er. 40 minutes of good cardio walking trying to keep up with the bike.
Tuesday: I worked late Tuesday night and missed my scheduled ST, but did volunteer to take the deposit to the bank. It's not far, but I did walk it, then side-tracked to Tim's for a coffee. I think it was 20-30 minutes out. Not what I planned - but it was something.
Wednesday: When hubby went to shower I could have settled in with the kids, tidied up, whatever. NO, NO, that's not what I did. Instead I got them ready and leashed the dog. We walked down the road and up a dirt road in the area so the LO could trike - it's really too small for her, but we'll work on that in a couple of weeks. Anyway, I ended up carrying the trike while walking 'pully dog' most of the time. The walk was slow, but it's the stuff life is made of.
Thursday: I got ready for dance class last night and poor Baloo got SO excited. I felt badly for her. I can't say it was kick-ass cardio, but it was a great, light workout. The stretch was much-needed. 45 minutes of dance and 45 minutes of yoga. Sadly, the season is almost over.

So, in conjunction with my 28 inch goal I also need to reign in my eating. So, I will post my nenu for today to be accountable to that (did you like that segway?).

Early morning: some water - did you know that drinking some water .5-1 hour before breakfast actually kick-starts you metabolism. Mark usually brings me coffee, so I've requested water instead. I drink it in bed while he's getting ready then hunker back down for a while.
Breakfast: Super-smoothie with coffee. Sometimes I add my 1C coffee directly to my smoothie so I don't have to use a point for the whole milk I add. It's kind of a gimped up latte and I usually drink it in 5 seconds. It's great for Mondays and Fridays. I do 5 points. 1C lf soy drink, .5 banana, .5 scoop pp (I used Lead Dessert Banana Cream today), .25C prepared oatmeal, 1C brewed coffee.
Drive in: Tim's coffee (large, half milk, half cream, splenda) 1 point
Snack: Orange and coffee with whole milk 2 points
Lunch: Sheppard's pie (points estimated by comparison to PC product) 6 points
Snack: less than 2C carrots, 12 whole almonds 3 points
Supper: Tim's coffee, 12 almonds 3 points
Before bed: 1C lf soy drink 2 points

Total for day: 22 pts

Sounds like an exciting day so far. In my cooler I have almonds, peanut butter, can of tuna and can of black bean soup. I'll need to work the details out for the rest of the day. The pb and canned stuff are just staples I keep at work, but I don't go home for supper on Friday nights, so will eat before I leave work and bring a snack (likely some almonds) for through the evening. Fridays are left-over days - lots of fun. The plan is 24 pts today.

Oh - Have a great weekend. It's a long one for me - technically. Hubby missed out on OT as the union guys took all the spots (can't blame them at triple time), so I may go in for a day or so. For those who celebrate, Happy Victoria Day. Have a great weekend.

Accountability, Baby!

Yeah, I gues that's what I got last night at 6pm at the fire hall. And I guess that's what I'm doing now. So much for my Re-commitment promise last week. I'm up another pound. And, I'll be honest here, it had nothing to do with the pants I was wearing. In fact, I was wearing the SAME pants I wore 2 weeks ago and, likely the same top as well. If not the same top the weight difference would be immaterial.

There - I've put it out there. I've talked the talk, but haven't been walking the walk. I've run out of excuses for my lax behaviour. I have not exercised at all, except for some walking, in almost 2 weeks. My elliptical is wondering what it's purpose in life is. My weights get more action being used as a balancing tool by the 9yo than anything else. I'm feeling relaxed, lazy, and unmotivated. On the food side, measuring is fine - sometimes. Journaling gets done on Thursday and part of Friday before taking a nose dive. Luckily I am planning my meals or I'd really be in a tail-spin.

So - for myself I am going to journal my food here. For ALL of blogland to ignore. BUT, this has always been MY back-to-basics - the thing that gets me moving again. My daily points, based on weight and age, etc is 19, plus all the other stuff. I smooth my weekly pts and just go for 24/day while in weight-loss mode. If I put in a kick-ass work-out I'll have and extra 2pts just for kicks and giggles. YES - I eat all my points. The goal: at least 4 kick-ass work-outs this week, 2 for ST.

SO:
6am: Coffee with whole milk and splenda (1)
7:30am: Super smoothie (1C yogurt/milk, some strawberries, 1/4C prepared oatmeal, 1/2 scoop protein powder) (5)
9am: Tim's coffee, 1/2milk, 1/2cream, splenda (1)
11am: Homemade protein bar (3)
1pm: 1C brown rice, 10 shrimp, topped with frozen veggies and drizzled with oyster sauce (less than 1Tbsp) (6)
4pm: 1C baby carrots and 1Tbsp pb (2)
6:45pm: 1.5 C chili made with ground chicken (5)
9:30pm: 1/2C lf soy drink (1)

Activity: Dance/yoga - low impact cardio for 45 mins and some great light stretching for 45 mins.

Less Housework

Anna liked the idea of the simple mirror. Wish I could take credit. Oh, I'm so excited about this new book I bought. "Make Your House Do the Housework." When we decided on our bathroom it was really strictly "What look do I like?" What I've come to discover are a few things.

- Pedastal sinks take away much-needed storage space.
- White moulding shows the dirt far more than grain wood.
- White tub/toilet/sink needs cleaning far more often than darker colours (grey or light brown would have been ideal).

In other areas of my house:

- The pretty victorian style couch, loveseat and chair I bought this winter collects lint and dog hair in the buttons.
- The solid dusty rose colour shows all the dog hair and other mishaps that come with family 'life' (at least ours).
- The legs and open space below the couch allow dirt, toys, shoes, books, dust balls, etc to collect under said couch and does nothing to hide it from visitors eyes. My last couch still collected, but the skirt hid it all until I could get under there.

I did buy furry black throws to camouflage, but it mostly just makes me miss the fact that it's the dog curled up there (i.e. camouflages Baloo instead of her fur - ugh).

So this book has a lot of ideas. At the end of the day, hubby and I decided to plug away at project that NEED to be done and we are planning to sell in 4 years. Ideally I would like to build and incorporate more of the ideas in this book into our plans.

You can catch more flies with Sugar

Well, I am wanting to report on my positivity goal today. I am SOOOO excited that we finally got up the casing on the bathroom door. Hubby has vowed never to do another 45% angle, but I do like them so much more than the blocks. Next step - frame in the bathtub. There's a warp in the wall that is giving him some problems, so he's been dealing with it by not dealing with it. Long weekend coming up - we'll see.

Left to do in the bathroom:

- Frame in tub
- Decide on cabinets and mirror above sink
- Hang said cabinet and/or mirror
- touch-up paint
I am actually thinking something like this for functionality. Easy to clean, cabinet is recessed, and no handles. I also have a wooden mirror that won't fit there. We were thinking about putting it above the toilet, but I may just leave it in storage until another day.

Getting this far is no small feat. It was labour day 2006 that I took the kids out of town for the weekend so hubby could tear out our old bathroom. We feared major mold issues, but it turned out to be surface, mostly. He put in a new 3-piece tub, new toilet and new pedastal sink. Word to anyone considering pedastal sinks - save it for the half-bath. You lose your counter, under-counter storage. I now have toys, magazines, bottles, etc everywhere else but in the drawers and cupboards that they used to be stored. He doesn't seem to mind that it has taken almost 2 years to get to this point - and in fact it may very well take the rest of the summer to motivate him to finish this. He's definately not a full force ahead until complete kind of guy. The plumbing is done and the floor is laid - I think he would have quit there.

Speaking of positivity, the girls both complimented on Sunday night supper so much so that hubby decided to try for a similar effect last night. Sunday we went to mil's and I made pork loin, boiled potatoes, boiled carrots and spinach. Last night he was motivated to try to please them in similar fashion with some chicken breasts. They liked it, but I have a feeling Sunday may have had more to do with the fact that we were at Nanny's. Anyway, a compliment goes a long way, and that's important stuff.

Anyway, I am so excited and really want to buy a new, vinyl bathroom door as well, but I'll wait until the other stuff is done first.

The Movie in Review

The Movie: IronMan

The results on the movie: Good

The results on the ending: Dumb

The results on the actors: Very good

2 Steps Forward...

1 Step Back. You're going in the right direction, so it's all good.

I decided to go to weigh-in last night at the Dartmouth location. I'm up 1.4 from last week to 145.2. I'm still 4.8 less than goal so it's all good. Could be I ate more food yesterday than last Wednesday, pants were heavier, whatever. I don't stress - Just re-commit.

The message this week was Weight Loss Bargain. What did we spend on exercise equipments, foods, fad diets or other programs before joining WW. What have we spent as members? Why do we freak over the cost of lettuce, but don't question the cost of a round of drinks, often tipping more than the lettuce would have cost. What is the cost of not buying healthy foods?

I never really spent a lot on trying to lose weight before joining WW. I bought books and can list them here: "Fit for Life", "A New Way of Eating", and Dr. Phil's book on weight loss. I actually like the idea of Natural Hygein (Fit for Life and A New Way of Eating) and find it co-incides in a lot of ways with Core - I just wish the recipes were less time-consuming (if you read me regularly you'll know how much I love cooking - not). I didn't make it very far into Dr. Phil's book, but made lots of notes about my psychological issues;0)

I think I've spent more money on health items after starting this journey. Still, I bought my weights second hand, my elliptical was free and my yoga mat and ankle weights were from Winners. Maybe $100 in total. Plus the gym I joined this winter. The joiners fee was quite low and I only joined for 2 months - another $140 or so.

Do I spend more on groceries than before? I don't think so. If you plan right healthy eating doesn't have to cost a fortune. I also look at the cost of food in more than 1 way now as well. Usually I try to buy lean ground beef, but last week I hesitated because it was expensive. Turns out ground chicken was on sale so I picked up 4 packages. I swing by the fish section every time I'm in the store to see if there are any marked for 50% quick sale. I then freeze it as soon as I get home. Last night I enjoyed Tilapia that was purchased as a result of a quick sale sometime last month. Sweet:)

So - why can I relax and not get excited about a 1.4 lb gain. Is it because I'm already under goal? No - I'd still like to get to 140. Moreover it's because I've been here before. In October I charted a 3.8 lb gain one week. I know this isn't a race. It's a lifetime. And that's what last nights message was all about. I'm glad I made the time to go to the meeting. Can you believe I felt more rejeuvinated after than 1.4 gain than last weeks loss? It's true.

YUMMMMMMY!

What is the protocol for sharing recipes that you paid for? I'm never sure about that. Anyway, I suppose it's OK as long as you made the recipe, tell people where you got it, and encourage them to buy the publication. So, I'm going to share.

First off, if you haven't picked up a copy of the recent Clean Eating Magazine, do it now. Wow, I am so impressed with this. I've tried 2 recipes so far and heard the term 'gourmet' coming from the hubby over chicken soup and 'delicious' coming from the picky eater 9yo over lasagna (although this recipe did put dairy in her system, I figured it was OK for a single serving every few weeks as long as she stays away from sneaking her sisters cheese strings).

Adendum: The 9yo dislikes ground beef and will not eat pasta with tomatoe sauce - yucky, she says. She does, however, like tomatoes and tomatoe juice - hmmm. So, for this to be a delicious choice is huge.

So, without further ado, a sample from the current publication. I think I'll be tempted to subscribe to this magazine...

Pasta with Turkey and Spinach:

1tsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1lb extra-lean ground white turkey breast (I used ground chicken 'cause it was on sale last week)
3/4tsp ground cinnamon
1/4tsp ground nutmeg
1 28-oz can whole tomatoes in juice
1tsp sea salt
8 sheets dried high-protein or whole-wheat lasagna noodles (I used PC whole wheat noodles)
1 10-oz box frozen spinach, thawed
1 15-oz container low-fat ricotta cheese (I bought a tub in the deli but couldn't find low-fat - think 500 ml)
1 egg
3/4C shredded reduced-fat mozzarella cheese (no name, low-fat)

1. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over med heat. Add onion and cook until softened (about 5 mins). Add garlic and cood another minute. Turn heat to med-high and add ground turkey, breaking it up. Cook until meat shows no sign of pink. Stir in cinnamon and nutmeg, then add tomatoes with juice and the salt. Reduce heat to med-low, stir, cover and let simmer for 20 mins, occasionally stirring and breaking up with tomatoes with a wooden spoon.

2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to boil. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, rinse and allow to cool in colander.

3. Preheat oven to 400 deg. Squeeze all remaining moisture from thawed spinach and place in a large bowl. Add ricotta cheese, egg and 1/4C mozzarella to bowl. Stir until combined.

4. Spread 1C of cooked tomatoe sauce into bottom of a 9x10" casserole dish. Lay a cooked lasagna noodle flat in front of you. Use your fingers to spread 1/8 of ricotta mixture across the noodle and roll it up (a little over 1/4C of mixture per noodle). Place rolled pasta, seam side down, into the casserole dish. Repeat with remaining noodles. Spread remaining tomatoe sauce over roll-ups, then top with remaining 1/2C mozzerella.

5. Bake, covered with foil, for 20 mins. Remove foil and broil for 5 mins or until roll-ups are browned and bubbly.

NI/serving: 234 calories, Fat 3g, Sat. fat 0g, Carbs 27g, Fibre 5g, Sugars 7g, Protein 28g, Sodium 508mg, cholesterol 76mg.

So, be you a calorie counter, weight watcher, or clean eater, this should be everything you need. As a Weight Watcher, I love whole foods. To me, clean eating just gives me another focus on what I'm already trying to do - eat healthy. The fact that this was easy to make, freezes great for lunches later in the week, and is family approved makes this recipe a perfect fit for my meal plan. 2 thumbs up.

Goal Updates

It's been a crazy week I tells ya. The 4yo broke a fever again Sunday night, so I've been with her the past 2 days. Daddy took off work today to stay with her as Mommy needs to get caught up at work. But first:

The 9yo was in a dance festival last weekend. Her group took gold for their jazz routine and silver for their hip/hop routine. GO Sissy! This week she is at a Music festival with her school. I've never actually been able to see her at the music festivals, but will get to see them sing at their school soon. She's packing for the trips with brownies, pro bars, almonds and water. Not able to eat on the trip the say - ha! She hides the foods in her jacket citing that she just can't go that long without eating. And I agree. I couldn't either.

J is going on day 3 with this fever. I just called Mark to make sure her contacts the doctors office today. Hopefully he's there now. She's starting to get lethargic and has had very little to eat since Sunday mid-day.

GOAL#1: Project Manipulation.
Updates on this: I have really been focusing on asking the family to do simple tasks and making sure I thank them. I must admit though, that I've gotten grumbly a few times and let them know that the requests did not have optional answers. Gotta focus on NOT doing that. However, they have helped a few times with getting ready for dinner and putting some things away. The 9yo drew up a schedule for brushing the dog. Mark put my bench together. I've been focusing on being grateful to them. It's a work-in-progress.

GOAL#2: Operation Debt-Down.
GROCERY BUDGET: This is always a trouble spot for us with several small trips at $20-40 per trip plus the weekly trips. I managed to stick to my grocery budget. We did a really good menu plan last weekend involving treats, awesome suppers, etc. I'm testing the waters of batch cooking. I made lasagna Sunday night (serves 8) so there were left-overs - with a salad. A large chicken cooked in the crock Monday had enough meat for a couple sandwiches, lunches, and soup. Ground chicken was on sale so I bought that and did up a large batch which later was divided in 2. I mixed half in a small casserole dish as the base for sheppherds pie and the other was drained and returned to the pot and I added most of what I need for chili. When we want chili it's just add the beans and adjust the spices. Honestly, I think the only thing I'm running out of is milk for coffee. I even cautioned the 9yo that I made/bought her 12 snacks and when they're gone, that's it until Saturday. She's been a little more careful about eating them all up and is saving them for school snacks when she needs them, rather than wants them - hoping this kills 2 birds with 1 stone.

BUDGET PLAN: I drew up a base budget with all my monthly payments and monthly income. I called most of the credit card companies to get balances, due dates and minimum payments due and documented everything and made sure they were up-to-date. This is still in its infancy and I will need to work on this for a while. For now the student loans are just fixed monthly payments even though the balances are quite low. I think they're paid off next winter but don't want to check on that just yet.

EMERGENCY FUND: This is where I'm starting to waver. I put my money in the emergency fund last week, but realize that there is enough there to eliminate the HBC card (28%). Also, I have $1,000 room on the Visa if I need it. I guess the idea is that, as long as I have access to my emergency fund, does it matter if it's cash saved? Or am I running with the mindset that got me here in the first place?

GOAL#3: 28 inches.
Ab routine: I have not focused on that this week.
Strength training: I am thinking about dropping out of the Fast and Furious challenge at PnP for now and focusing on doing 2 ST/week plus 2-3 cardio session/week. I think that, right now, expecting myself to do more leaves me feeling guilty for not doing it. I may mean that the results won't come as quickly - or maybe it'll mean that I will actually stick with my routine and get there more quickly.
Menu planning and journaling: As mentioned in the budget message this is going very well. I know they grumble when I want to sit for a half hour and document meals for the week with their input, but this is such an important part. I need to know that I can stick to budgets and provide healthy, well-rounded meals that everyone will EAT. So, with the roasted chicken we also needed to provide canned gravy for the 9yo for dipping. Important information. I haven't been doing as well journaling - or measuring. Call it an emotional break. Will re-focus after weigh-in tonight.

Measurements

Seems like a good month overall. Kind of mucking around with a lot of quarter inches, which are subjective (did you measure the same spot as last month, pulling the tape slightly harder one time over another, etc.). I am pleased with the fat reduction in my upper body - arms and shoulders. The loose skin, etc in my arms is reducing nicely.

My thighs aren't overly large in my opinion, so I'm not really concerned at this time. I'm also please with the waist reduction, as you can imagine. Below 30 - WOW!
As an NSV, I donated one of my bathing suits from last summer. It was a blue 1-piece and, although it still fit through the body (I could still get away with it because it wasn't stretched out) it was loose and I felt the chest wasn't supportive and the style left much to be desired. My black one, the top still looks good, but it was designed to hide the flab, so I'll likely get rid of it, too. The bottoms? I wore them so much the past 2 years that the arse was stretched out. The elastic in the waist and tummy still work, but there's loose, stretched material in the arse. So, I'll need to pick up a couple of new bathing suites. I'm very pleased that these are 'required' purchases so I don't need to justify them to my new budget. Hubby and kids all need a new suite too so we'll hit Wally-World when the stock comes in. The current selection leaves much to be desired.

I've been lurking and will try to get some comments out in the near future. Oh, and if you haven't been yet - go congratulate Barbie. She's having a baby (or babies) and I've never been happier for anyone to spend 3 months feeling lackluster, tired and yucky - then another 6 months getting big an uncomfortable. Steph - you so deserve this and all of the happiness it brings. While you're at it, pop by and see Amanda and her new baby - ahh, it just seems like yesterday that I popped on and her meeze was preggers. And I can't be talking babies without mentioning Mandy who is now in 2nd trimester. Check out her belly - there's 2 in there. Babies, babies everywhere. I must make sure that no other members of the Barbie Brigade are pregnant.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Weigh and Measure

This is what keeps us accountable everyone. You don't have to post it, but do it for yourself.

Isn't it loverly that at first the scale loves to co-operate, and then we become complacent and can't figure out why the scale isn't moving anymore. Yeah! Measure your food. Weigh your food. The scale will then co-operate. Hey - so will the tape measure. I love the tape measure when the scale stops showing me some lovin'. I regret not having taken more measurements and pictures when I first started this. I mean, at the time I just didn't want to know - I could see my reflection as I walked by windows. Wasn't that enough? I was the woman that swallowed a beach ball.

Anyway, since meeting goal my weight has been dropping regularly. I struggled for so long - since October - with the last 11-12 lbs and now I'm dropping and am down 6.4 from goal weight. Granted, I haven't returned to maintenance mode since week 1 of maintenance, but since Easter I've had a real mental struggle to stay on track and I'm surprised at the scale and its continued downward movement. I knew I had a good week, and maybe April 16ths 0.2 lb gain was an illegal gain (ALL my gains were illegal since I started this, you know).

SO - MINI GOAL ACHIEVED>>>>>>LESS THAN 145>>>>>>>143.6

Slept in this morning, but pinky promise to post measurements tomorrow.