What's for dinner?

What is it you say, how about Rob's World Famous Hungarian Goulash!!! I would consider this one of the reasons I fell in love with him - seriously. He made it for me on one of our first dates and I was HOOKED. And hers's the recipe for everyone to try. Enjoy!




Hungarian Goulash

A drier goulash than traditional, this is great served over wheat egg noodles.

3 sprays of canola oil
2 large onions, thinly sliced
1 lb. cremini mushrooms
2 tbs. paprika
1/2 tsp. salt
1 clove garlic, minced
2 lbs. lean beef (you can use turkey or chicken as well)
2 cups drained canned tomatoes
2 cups of frozen peas
1/4 cup fat free sour cream, at room temperature
Half a package of whole wheat egg noodles
Chopped parsley (optional)

Spray canola oil inside of a casserole pan with a cover. Add the onion slices and cook gently for 10 minutes. Stir in the mushrooms, paprika, salt and garlic; cooking for 2 more minutes. Remove the onions with a slotted spoon and set aside. Turn up the heat and brown the beef (or other desired protein), a few pieces at a time, in the pan juices. Return the onions & mushroom mixture to a crockpot with all the meat and add the tomatoes. Cover and set on high for 3 hours. Add peas and wait a few minutes for the peas to heat through. Add a bit of the broth to the sour cream so that it doesn't curdle, and then add that to the crockpot.

Cook the noodles using the instructions on the back of the package. Serve the goulash over a quarter of the noodles (add a bit of chopped parsley on top) and enjoy.

Serves 4
10 points per serving (includes the noodles)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

10% down - on my way to 32%

So Friday was a fantastic day to cap off a great week. Let me run it down for you:

1. It was a short week with the 4th of July being on Monday. It gave Rob and I a whole day to spend together - we got some coffee, quick bite for lunch and then topped it off with burgers, baked beans and potato salad. All in all a great American Holiday.
2. I was able to run twice for a total of almost 6 miles
3. Then Friday started with great news - as Weight Watchers FINALLY listened to me and adapted their incredible iPhone Tracker AP into an iPad friendly masterpiece. It is truly wonderful and I am quite impressed.
4. And it didn't stop there - oh no! Debbie, Leslie & I were off to our weekly WI where I lost4 lbs. for a total of 31.4 in 18 weeks and putting me beyond my 10% goal of 29 lbs. IT WAS AMAZING! The only thing (and it really doesn't bother me too much) is that the token you get for reaching the 10% goal is a key chain. But not just any key chain - a pink platedkey chain. WW really need to keep updating their tools and sell thisprocess to men, and they have started marketing that way - but let's start making these things more gender neutral. There I said my piece - I mean I am using it, I earned it!!!
5. Then if that wasn't enough - I had my PBM (fancy acronym for our performance review process) with my boss Mr. Katz. So twice a year we sit down with our supervisor and take a look back at the last 6 months and decide what the goals of the next 6 months will be. And let me tell you - when I left his office roughly an hour after going in - I felt like I was floating on air. He helped me look back and realize that I had many accomplishments to be proud of.

And so now Rob and I are lounging - getting ready to head down to my parents for a dip in the pool and some BBQ. And I look forward to working had for the next 5 weeks before we head out to Barcelona to start our stay on the Celebrity Solstice, with my new goal of 12 more

lbs. by then. Keep you all posted.

Not every idea is a winner - just ask Mr. Sheen!

Some ideas stick. You think them up, plan, execute and enjoy the spoils of your labors. And then some just don't. You try and evolve and rework your idea - but in the end there is just one piece that doesn't fit. Just doesn't work. The following are 2 of the latest ideas that Rob & I (or sometimes only me) have come up with and experimented with.

1. Our Urban Garden
2. The City Kitty
   

So our garden is doing AMAZING - can't wait for the next harvest. We toiled and hoed and cultivated. We pull water for the rain barrels, and cut back the old growth for the new growth to start. We nurture the plants and give them love and attention - they can't meow back and are not stubborn, so it's pretty easy.

Now unfortunately the same CANNOT be said on the City Kitty front. I tried and tried and tried to be patient - and Reggie just held out strong. She cried and wined and just wouldn't jump onto the toilet and try. I just wanted her to try, give it a good old college try. And then there it was - poop on the bathroom floor only 1 foot away from the f'in City Kitty contraption. I mean I followed the instructions, step by step and she just wouldn't budge.

Oh well - I may try again after the cruise.

But back to our Urban Garden - we've had TONS of tomatoes and jalapeno peppers. And blueberries - honest to god blueberries (well only about 18 of them - but they were tasty!) And so a week or so ago we ripped out all of our beans and peas; replanted and now have the signs of life. We decided to give up on watermelon, cantaloupe and pumpkin - I mean for all the hassle it's just easier to buy them when you want them.

We have cucumbers coming as well as carrots, beets, potatoes (sweet & russet), lettuce, artichokes and asparagus. I little oasis on our roof - I'll post some pictures when I get home.

Kitty on Krack!

- Posted from my Mobile

City Kitty :: Week 2

On to the next stage. So we remove the litter box from the bathroom and install the City Kitty contraption on the toilet - and then put the ring down on the CK (City Kitty). Then you take the cat(s) and place them in the center of the CK, "letting them know that this is their NEW litter box".

Now this would work great if one one our precious angels (Reggie) wasn't a mildly ferrel, skittish, cry kitty. I mean SHE will decide when you will touch her or pet her or pay attention to her. So what then happens with Reggie & the CK is that you have to grab her and place her (TERRIFIED) onto the toilet. She thinks that she is being punished, or captured, or abused.

Alex, the other attention whore cat, seems to have no problem being introduced to and use the CK. So here we are again with our neurotic cats (see the "Fat Cat" blog) needing to improvise. So how about this - we take the CK off of the toilet and place it NEXT to the toilet. Whatever! So now we are trying to get little Reggie to find the CK and use it - instead of the laundry or WORSE, our bed. Looks good so far. And that has been City Kitty :: Week 2!

16 weeks = 112 days = 2,688 hours

16 weeks ago I made a decision. 112 days ago my good friend Debbie and I walked into a meeting. 2,688 hours ago we stepped on a scale, weighed in and started a journey - we joined Weight Watchers. I started this journey weighing in at my all time high - 293.4 lbs., and knew that I was unhappy at this weight and needed to change.

I had done WW before and love the fact that there is no special food to buy, you can eat carbs and drink wine and ultimately loose weight eating what you like. The program is all about portion control, give & take, making good choices and moving around. As they say - "Eat right, Be active & Repeat"! And that's what I've done - and over the last 16 weeks I have gotten rid of 29 of those lbs.

And I have to say - I feel proud, I feel strong and I feel like I still have a long way to go. And I would like to say that I am an advocate of feeling proud of yourself at any weight, shape or size; but there are also health concerns that come with being overweight. I'm glad of the choices I have made over the last 2,688 hours and look forward to the next at least 438,000 more!!!

The product of harvest # 1

My first EVER batch of completely homemade sauce - or as my friend Suzanne would say, gravy. Recipe to follow.


- Posted from my Mobile

In Good Company - Review

IT WAS AWESOME!! I felt like I was in a Broadway theater watching a live performance. Neil was amazing, Martha was incredible and "The Ladies who Lunch" was a show stopper. There were only 2 things that were very weird to me:

1. People were clapping at the end of EVERY song. Really!?!?! There weren't ACTUALLY actors up there. They couldn't hear you. I found it odd, maybe it was me.
2. Even if this is your FAVORITE musical EVER! DO NOT SING ALONG! As much as you may think you are as good as Neil Patrick Harris & Patti LuPone - I can assure you that you are not! I mean really - I paid to hear them, and right next to me was a guy singing "The Little Things you do Together" and not good. Thanks to the guy on the other side of said offender for saying "could you please NOT sing" and the situation was squashed

All in all it was completely terrific - Christina I love the curves. I want them to revive this on Broadway! Kudos to whoever came up with the idea to do this staged concert!

City Kitty :: Week 1

So as previously stated, Rob & I (but really me) are trying to potty train the girls - Alex &Reggie. So thanks to a coworker I was finally inspired to give it a try, what you ask? Well City Kitty of course.

So we started with the first stage - and that is simply moving the litter box next to the toilet. Simply enough.

In Good Company

About to see Stephen Soundheim's Company @ Regal 24. Stay tuned for the review.


- Posted from my Mobile

No loss, No gain.

I guess things could be worse - at WI today I was EXACTLY the same. And I'm actually content with that, cause here's what did and did not happen. We had BBQ at my parents on Sunday, Pizza with Rob on Wednesday and then a wonderful Goose (prepared by my sister-in-law) yesterday. And then with the crazy week I had, I only made it to the gym once (last Saturday) and only ran once for 2.5 miles.

It's a new week and I am going to make it happen for a nice loss next week. Tomorrow is homemade sauce time and the journey of teaching our 2 cats (Alex & Reggie) how to use the toilet - YES THE TOILET, using City Kitty. I will keep you updated as we go along.

Recipe Share - Leg of Lamb!

Today I thought that I would just share one of my new favorite recipes. I never though I could do it - but then I'm starting to think that I can do a lot more if I just try.

Ingredients:

• 1 leg of lamb, bone in (about 6 to 7 1/2 pounds)
• 2 sprigs of rosemary
• 4-5 sprigs of thyme
• 4 tablespoons fresh oregano
• 3-4 sprigs of sage
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper
• 16 cloves garlic, whole

Sauce:

• 2 cups diced onions
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup red wine

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
In a food processor combine the rosemary, thyme, oregano, sage, vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper and chop into a paste. Using a sharp paring knife - poke 16 holes and insert each clove of garlic. Then using your hands, rub the lamb all over with the herb paste and place the lamb in a roasting pan. Place the lamb in the oven and roast for 30 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and continue to cook for about 1 hour longer for medium-rare, or until a meat thermometer inserted into the center of the roast registers about 145 degrees F to 150 degrees F (be careful that the thermometer does not touch the bone.) Remove lamb from pan and allow to rest for 10 to 15 minutes before carving.

Position the roasting pan over your stove burners. Add onions to pan, and stir to combine with pan drippings. Add chicken stock and wine to deglaze the pan, scraping the bottom with a wooden spoon to release any bits and pieces. Reduce over high heat until sauce consistency. Strain before serving, if desired. Slice lamb and serve with sauce drizzled over the top.

Pair with a couscous salad or roasted root veggies. Enjoy!

Songs to run by!

So I know that when I was just starting to get back into running last May, one thing was certain - I HAVE TO RUN WITH MUSIC. I really do, I guess in some deep dark crevice in my mind I pretend I'm that one thing I always wanted to be - A Janet Jackson backup dancer. But I digress.

So then the search was on for the right beat to run by and I googled, and googled, and googled. I found several blog with tons of songs - but there was one problem. They were too fast. I mean I'm just starting here, trying to break a 12 minute mile - I'm not some Olympic athlete who's trying to win GOLD. So then I did the next best thing and it was SOOOOOO hard (just kiddin') - I listened to music. I set my iPhone on song and then shuffle - so there I was listening to every song in our library, scanning the radio an even getting a few off of "So You Think You Can Dance" & "American Idol".

Don't judge!

I found my perfect BPM (beats per minute) was from 142 - 155. So now I give you a list of some of my favorites - and again, don't judge! Just enjoy.

• "Animal" - Neon Trees or Glee version
• "So Much Better" - Legally Blonde: The Musical
• "Mr. Brightside" - The Killers
• "Veronica" - Elvis Costello
• "Falling for the First Time" - BNL
• "Hey Ya!" - OutKast
• "Head Over Heels" - The Go-Go's
• "Shake It" - Metro Station
• "Dirty Little Secret" - The All-American Rejects
• "Come Dancing" - Kinks
• "We Got the Beat" - The Go-Go's
• "Dog Days are Over" - Florence + the Machine or Glee version
• "Thnks Fr Th Mmrs" - Fall Out Boy
• "C'est Impossible" - Catholic Girls
• "Pump It" - The Black Eyed Peas
• "Love Drunk" - Boys Like Girls
• "The Time (Dirty Bit)" - The Black Eyed Peas
• "New Shoes" - Paolo Nutini
• "Vacation" - The Go-Go's
• "Legally Blonde (Remix)" - Legally Blonde: The Musical

Urban Farmers 2011 :: Harvest #1

So over the weekend the day finally came - harvest #1. TONS of tomatoes, TONS of jalapeno peppers and BUSHELS os Basil! As I stated earlier in my blog, Rob and I are in our second year as Urban Farmers. And after all the lessons we learned from last year, we struck gold. I finally have enough Roma's to make a homemade red sauce. I have been google-ing recipes and am looking forward to the adventure.

If you have a great recipe for red sauce - post it, it may help me out!

The Tree of "how can I bill Brad Pitt for the $23?"

OMG - Rob and I spent a wonderful day together. We did some cooking therapy, gardening, and then decided to cap it off with a bit of shopping after a viewing of the movie that received the Palme d'or (Best Picture) at Cannes.


Well I just have to start by saying that I will NEVER get those 2 hours and 18 minutes back. NEVER!!! From the very beginning, when the whispering started to the "creation" the world - we knew that we should have followed the 4 people that actually got up and walked out. I mean we could have spent more time at the Apple store.

I am all for art pictures and for thought provoking story lines, but when the dinosaur showed up and people started floating in their front yards, well I was lost. We started thinking about why we were actually viewing this, how did this movie even get made? Was this a colossal joke, like "let's see who tries and literally explain this movie", or maybe they are trying to be the first movie to win the Oscar for Best Picture with the fewest spoken words (maybe 100, really.)

By the end (and when it came I was crossing my fingers) people were laughing out loud, LAUGHING. It was probably the weirdest experience I have ever had when at the movie theater, and the first time in my life that I felt stupid for sitting through the whole thing.

Now this post is not intended to stop you from seeing it for yourself, please feel free - but I really don't care to discuss the under themes or tones. I get it - I just really didn't GET it.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Be Prepared!

Today - Rob and I decided to do some prep for the week ahead. We took some time (about 2 hours) and made a tortellini pasta salad and a Mexican - Style Brown Rice Casserole. That way when I get tempted at work to do something bad - like go to Grindhouse Killer Burgers, I will have a nice prepared lunch that is filling and yummy!

Now we're off to see Tree of Life and to do some well deserved clothes & shoes shopping!

Mexican-Style Brown Rice Casserole

Recommit, Redevote & Reinvest!

So I have decided to start fresh and recommit to my blog. I was urged by family members (thanks Diana) and my partner Rob to get back in there and tell my story. I promise to at least one post a day - whether big or small, in depth or trivial. We all have something go on in our lives and I have decided that you need to hear about it :)

Well today was a GREAT day, and an ending to a GREAT week! I had several successes at work this week, like finishing the redesign & reconfiguring of our parking lot (HUGE win for me) and also kicking off our Performance Review period that is one of my largest projects at work. I spearhead the performance reviews of 140+ people in 4 weeks.

Then there was today - my WW group went to weigh in (WI) on our new day (Fridays) and we haven't been in 2 weeks. I decided that I would accept whatever the scale has to say and start again. But even before that moment I was at ease - after I got dressed for work, Rob said to me with his groggy eyes "You really are looking good, babe!" AND THAT - made my day even if the scale said I had gained. Then it was time, I took off my belt and shoes, took out my wallet and phone and removed my watch (every little bit helps, right!)

And there it was,... -4.4 lbs!!! This not only gave me another 5 lbs down but put me at a loss of 26 lbs. since the start. So here's the picture of then & now - you can be the judge. I was extremely happy and it was a great way to re-motivate me in my journey. Thank you all for your support!!!

Eating on the go - can you really eat right on vacation!

So my partner, Rob and I are taking a bit of a break by hoping the Amtrak Crescent to New Orleans for the rest of the week. Right now we are sitting in our Superliner room playing cribbage and enjoying the leisurely ride across the south and into NoLa. Started out great with a egg bagel sandwich for breakfast and our morning coffee (aka-5 shots of espresso over ice with a touch of half-n-half). Then we get onto the train at 8:15am and take a bit of a nap, I mean seriously we were up at 6:30 am which in our household is unheard of.

A bit of a snack around 11:00 of whole grain goldfish and then it was time for lunch in the dining car. WTF!!! The menu was horrendous and extremely limiting, here were my choices 1. A salad with salmon on it, 2. A burger that I'm sure was not made with 93/7 beef, 3. Clam chowder and a side salad, 4. The chef's special (which I'll get to in a minute), and what I ultimately decided on 5. A turkey and cheddar sandwich on a multigrain bun with chips. And I hear you out there - all of the choices seem OK but I am here to tell you that there is no, NO altering any of the choices.




No chicken for the salad, no salad instead of chips, no turkey burger, and the chef's special??? It was chopped pork and beans over rice with a roll and salad. It looked like prison food or something you would get at sleep away camp. I couldn't say much about it as this is what Rob had for lunch, but I wouldn't even know where to begin tracking it. So here's what I did, I ate the sandwich with some mustard, would have taken the cheese off if it wasn't melted on there like some orange plastic bag on a hot burner. I ate about 10 chips and the pickle.




I think I did well on points, but I mean I will be having dinner (and for those of you who know me - drinks) in NEW ORLEANS!!! So I sit here with my snack of an apple, and wait for the next 5 days. How can you really eat well on vacation? I try, but French fries and vodka call me name on a regular basis. I think that they are following me on twitter. I will try and keep you all posted as these days go on. This is an adventure in numerous ways and I can tell you one thing fo sho - I do not want to fuck up the great progress I have made over the last 6 weeks.

Wanted to give a shout out to my WW gang - hey Debbie & Leslie! Keep up the good work and get KT to join us on Monday. I will certainly be nervous about THAT WI.

Urban Farmers - Take 2

So last year Rob and I began our newest adventure - planting the ultimate urban garden. We have an upper balcony, 7' x 25', and have never really known what to do with the space. We've tried hammocks and outdoor dining, ultimate sun tan lounge to almost making it an outdoor bocce ball court. Then in a stroke of genius we came up with a great idea - an urban garden. So we bought some raised beds online and started to plan.

We decided that last year would be our experimental year. We would try to grow EVERYTHING we wanted. So we went to Home Depot to buy our herbs, fruits & veggies as well as the most dirt I have ever seen in my life. Seriously!!! I mean it took about 5-6 40 lb. bags to fill up EACH box, and there were SEVEN boxes. Talk about earning activity points. So after cussing him out as we carried the 42 bags of soil up the 2 flights of stairs to our balcony, we began our cultivating. We planted the following: 7 kinds of peppers, 5 kinds of tomatoes, zucchini, squash, watermelon, cantaloupe, pumpkin, cucumber, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, sweet potato, red onion, sweet onion, white onion, raspberries, blueberries, rhubarb, lettuce, okra, garlic, shallot AND corn.

OK so I absolutely understand - kinda ambitious, huh? Well again I said it was our experimental year. So out of all those goodies here's what we harvested - Roma tomatoes, tons of peppers, cucumbers and sweet potatoes out of our hiney holes. And we also learned several lessons - 1. in order to make anything substantial out of the tomatoes we needed to grow several plants of 1 kind, 2. the trouble to grow zucchini & squash IS NOT worth it, 3. blueberries do not grow in the south and 4. trying to grow corn on a patio is completely ludicrous. But all in all - we were extremely proud of what we had done, what we had learned and that we FINALLY came up with a great use of that space.

So here we are, a year wiser and a year older. Thank all that is

holy that we didn't have to bring any additional soil in, but we did have to start a bit earlier with planning and really think about what we wanted to do this year. We decided to trellis all of the vine plant (watermelon, cantaloupe, pumpkin, cucumbers and potatoes) an also pair back the quantity and variety of what we planted. We also agreed that we would plant some basil in between the tomatoes and cilantro between the peppers. So out of the 7 boxes and assorted pots, we use 6 for things that we had grown before and to use 1 for experimental veggies. Things that were added to the mix were: carrots, betts, snap peas, green beans and (he tried to talk me out of it) artichoke. Things that did not make the cut this year were: afore mentioned zucchini & squash as well as onion, garlic, shallot, broccoli, cauliflower, okra (neither of us really even like it) and of course CORN.

I will keep you posted as the season goes along and let you know how it all turns out. OH by the way, almost forgot. Today was WI and I'm down 2.6 more - I'll keep you in the loop on that as well. If you have any vegetable garden questions - let me know!

I'm at my last hole!

So here we are - another Monday, another weigh in (WI). OK so not exactly what I anticipated, I mean I was able to fit into jeans a size down AND I am at the last hole on my belt. The feeling is so exciting and so the anticipation was that I would be down at my WI today, right? Well wrong - I had actually gained .8 lbs. CRAP!

And it is amazing how much it messes with your mind. You go from this streak of feeling really good about yourself, about all the progress you are making and excited about the journey to feeling bummed out and disappointed. A reality check of sorts - reminds you that this is a journey that will take time. In a world where instant gratification is so very prevalent, it can be hard to accept that it took time to put the weight on - and it WILL take time to take the weight off.

Then you realize that all this frustration and disappointment came from a gain of .8 of a pound - NOT EVEN A POUND! So it's time to put that in perspective and be honest with myself that I did not do everything that I could to do well this week. It's also time to look at the small victories - jeans that I couldn't even put on 4 weeks ago and a belt that needs a new hole.

So .8 - I accept that you are here, but I feel sorry for you because you won't be here for very long!!!

Pizza and French Fries and Chips - Oh My!

Trigger foods - as much as we would like to think they are not out there, they are. Those foods that if we eat just one, or even smell them - we will actually eat then all until they are gone. For me, these foods are (in no particular order):

• Pizza - thin crust with chicken, onion and jalapeno with extra sauce and well done is preferred
• French Fries - seriously, if given a thousand I could probably finish them off (ketchup needed)
• Cool Ranch Doritos - what in the world makes them sooooo good?
• Reese's Cups - lets just say I'm glad that there are only 2 in the package (Do not leave me alone with a bag of the mini's)
• Movie Popcorn - why is it so different than microwave popcorn?

So these are just a few. What is it about trigger foods that turns us into an out of control maniac? Like we've been on Survivor and been eating coconut husks and unripe plantains. 2 Doritos and the who bag is gone before you know it. So we just turned our heads and stay away from those things - not putting us into temptations way, right?

See that is why I really like the WW plan, the life style. You can have those things - all of them if you want, even all at the same time. The key - tracking what you eat. Being aware of exactly HOW MUCH you are putting in and figuring out how you are going to plan it out. You can have anything you would like - but the idea is portion control and give & take. Pizza for lunch and a salad for dinner. Light lunch and Doritos as a snack. It's all possible.

So trigger foods beware - I am learning how to take the control back and as Mr. Sheen has said over and over again, "WINNING!"

Week 3 :: So far, so good.

Well yesterday was weigh in day, and as always - I was a bit nervous. I mean I have been doing quite well, but have continued to imbibe in my fair share of vino. I have been earning numerous Activity Points through Valhalla, running and this past weekend - gardening. This weekend I will start the story of 2 Urban Farmers in the Big City.

I digress, so there I was with my friend Debbie getting ready to stand on the scale and - there we were again, down 4 lbs. So that makes 11.2 over the past 3 weeks. My online tracker keeps saying that I need to watch out because I'm loosing faster than is recommended - but geez. What am I supposed to do? Start eating cheeseburgers and fries? Pizza by the box? Quarts of ice cream? I have been eating good with a few indulgences here and there - well who knows.

Oh - one last thing - GO BUTLER!!!

Fat Cat - how did this happen?!?!?

So on Friday my partner Rob took our 2 cats to the vet. Reggie and Alex were kill shelter rescues that we adopted back in 2005. Alex is older and she is NEEDY, where as Reggie was a kitten when we got her and she has always been very skiddish. And as much as we find them sometimes annoying and bitchy, we love them both dearly and would do pretty much anything for them.

Which leads us back to last Friday - We have always known that Alex was large, OK she's fat, but we never really though it was that big of a deal. I mean Reggie was the one that has to be fed special food that requires a prescription. When we got the food for Reggie we decided that we would just feed it to both the cats because the last thing we wanted to do was become THAT cat owner that has to separate the cats in different rooms and feed them different things. Cats are supposed to be easy and the idea of some sort of tedious feeding regimen was a bit too much for us.

So imagine our surprise when the vet told us that not only was Alex fat, but that she was on the verge of getting Diabetes - and if we didn't start getting her down in poundage, we would be giving her shots daily and these would cause her to NEVER loose the weight. So not only had I let myself go - I had passed the bad eating habits along to my child. It was quite an awakening situation.


The solution - the Egg-cercizer! Seriously! The vet recommended this device that forces the cat to hunt and forage for their food, which not only gives her a limited amount of kibble but is making her exercise. So we went to 3 pet stores and received looks ranging from curiosity to lunacy. We finally went to The Pet Set and wallah - there it was. So the idea is that you put the kibble or treats inside and dial the level of difficulty from easy (3 open holes) to hard (1 open hole).

So we get home and Alex is already pissed at us. Her normal bowl of food that we leave out all day for her grazing pleasure was gone. It was now replaced with a turquoise plastic egg with precisely 2 oz. of food - exactly what the vet had told us. Well she was not happy - giving us the look as to say "Excuse me - what the hell is this? You have GOT to be kidding!" So all day we tried to get her to understand exactly what she was supposed to do - bat it around and it would release her treasure. Nope, she was not having it. Meanwhile we had to figure out how to feed the skinny one, Reggie, without William "The Refrigerator" Perry swooping in and scarfing it all down.

So here we were - the people that we didn't want to become. One cat the WILL NOT play to get her food, and one cat running away from us as we are trying to catch her so that we could put her in the downstairs bathroom shower stall in order for her to get nutrition. Where had we gone wrong. So as we are sitting there watching TV - Reggie approaches the "egg" and starts to knock it around and nibbles on the delights inside. Really, REALLY!!! She can do it but the other one could care less. Then the idea that just seemed stupid - letting Alex (the one with the issue) eat her 1/4 cup from her normal bowl and how to keep her from eating her sister's food? Well we will just put Reggie's in the contraption that we already know Alex thinks is beneath her! Problem solved. And I Just can't wait to see how this whole thing plays out...

To be continued...

Planning ahead isn't just for EMERGENCIES!

One great tool that my partner and I have been doing is planning. We sit down every other week and plan out what we will be having for dinner for the next 2 weeks. He is a pharmacist and his schedule calls for him to work a set schedule of - on M/TU, off W/TH, on F/SA/SU and then vice versa the next week. So we like to make out menus for the days that we will be cooking and eating together.

We both LOVE to cook and after he made an honest woman of me, we started down the road of indulging in the finer things in life. Before I know it I had packed on some significant poundage. I have always really struggled with weight but the older I got - that metabolism thing just wasn't able to keep up with me. I was never really embarrassed but was definitely conscious that I was bigger than most. 8 years later I found myself 40 years old and the heaviest I have ever been.


It was time to SHAKE THINGS UP and start this journey. So I joined WW (again) and I began planning (with the help of the love of my life - Rob) what my days/nights would look like. We sit down with our WW cook books and my handy dandy iPad WW Kitchen Companion app and iCal and plan out for about 2 weeks. We take into account dinners with friends, theater outings and the like - and what this gives me is a great snapshot of what I will be spending (PointsPlus wise). I know what I will be eating each night and how much I have for the rest of the day. I plan on the days that I will be imbibing and make sure that I save some points for that.

We usually make recipes that have 6-8 servings and will immediately package those up for lunches or those night's that Rob works. I've found that it helps me make better choices and I feel that I am less likely to cheat. Fit in some healthy snacks, plenty of water and there you have it. So I am here to say - PLAN IT OUT!

Portion Distortion - does SIZE matter?

So the subject of Monday's WW meeting was portion distortion. There was our leader, Dee and she ask "who likes wine?". Hands shot in the air. She then held up 2 different glasses, one was a wine glass and one looked like an Irish coffee type glass mug. "Which one would you rather drink your wine out of?". Well I felt safe with my choice for a few reasons, #1 it was a wine glass and I'm a purest, and #2 - the other one looked much bigger and I felt that I was making the responsible choice. So the outcome?

SHOCKER! She filled up the Irish coffee mug with water and then poured it into the wine glass. Exactly the same! Really!!! They held the exact same amount of liquid. The she took out a prop plate with food on it and it looked full, a healthy meal. Then she pulled out a larger plate with the same amount of food and it really looked different.

I have heard before that when you use a larger vessel, we want to fill it up. We've all been there. Using the big 6 cup bowl you serve a family salad in for an ice cream bowl. Or a cereal bowl.

By using smaller plates and bowls we can actually trick ourselves into thinking we're eating more. We also, as Americans, are used to eating out and getting these plates just over flowing with food. We have been conditioned into thinking that we need all of that. We want to get the most for our money - but holy cow. One shouldn't eat 6 cups of french fries or a sandwich with 2 pounds of roast beef.

Bigger isn't always better, and I for one can say that I am now teaching myself to take my time when I'm eating and let myself tell me when I'm full.

-3

Down 3 more :)

Nail Biter

Nervous about weigh in today. I'm not sure why though. I followed the plan better than last week, I ate better than last week, I exercised MORE than last week - so why should I be nervous? Well I'll let you know in an hour what happens...

Off to the GYM!

On my way to Valhalla and a 2 mile run. Let you know how it goes.

So it went great - we did lower body Valhalla and then I did 25 min on the treadmill. After that I did something completely for myself - painting. It's been a while since I took the time out to be creative.

C25K and beyond!

So here's the one that I have been promising you - how a 40 year old, overweight man stopped watching reruns after work and began running!

It all started back in May of 2010, when I dear friend from work, Jenn A, exposed me to the C25K app for the iPhone. I saw a post of hers and was incredibly intrigued. So I did some research and talked to her about the specifics of the app and what it has done for her. So then after spending $2.99 in the App Store - I was off on a journey I hadn't even considered I would do again.

See back in 2000, when I was much younger - I started to run. Never had since I was forced by my own Sue Sylvester back at Riverdale Senior High. I mean why would I? Running just seemed at the time to be an exercise that went no where. Where was everyone running to? So I had just talked to a few friends that were interested and we started a Saturday morning running club. Then, while playing a game of Co Ed community softball - **SNAP** I broke my Tibial Plateau in 3 places and my running career was over.

Flash forward 10 years - and here I was, about to start running again. The C25K app was just what I needed. A controlled and easy way to build endurance and get myself running, ACTUALLY RUNNING! It's a nine week program that has you start with different intervals of brisk walking and jogging, and the best part is that it talks to you. Really! It tells you when to run, when to walk, when you are almost done and congratulates you when you have completed that day's run/walk. You can also upload your own music to listen to while you exercise - it was great. I mean I didn't think I would actually make it to run 3.1 miles, but it was just great to be getting some physical activity. As the weeks went on, it became more and more challenging (as I guess it should) and then my dear friend AGAIN gave me some great advice - DO NOT be ashamed to repeat a week once or even twice. Keep going and when you think you are ready go to the next step.

At this point I had done all my training at the gym on the treadmill, and had come to the realization that I could do this. I COULD RUN A 5K! So I signed up for my first run and set my mind towards that goal. Then I tried to start running outside and YIKES how different that is - whew! I felt like I needed to start back at square one, but all I did was just take a step back. I ran as far as I could and then walked for 60 seconds, then back to running. And then after about 2 weeks there I was, running my way to a 5K.

The I found a NEW app, the Nike + running trainer. I went out and got new Nike running shoes that would house the transmitter and I was in LOVE! Soon followed the GPS version and I had fallen in love for a second time. This app would do everything, house my music, track my runs via GPS, let me do timed runs or distance and a whole lot more.

I ran my first 5K last fall (picture to the right - I'm # 1263 on the left) and have been running ever since. Outdoors, indoors it doesn't matter. There are days when I can't wait to get out of work to get in a 2 mile run. My next 5K is in June and I'm very excited.

So if you are out there and are thinking that "wow, sounds like fun but I could never do that" YOU ARE WRONG! Start by spending as much as you would spend at Dunkin Donuts on the app - and start running! Till later :)

Looooooong Day!

OK so it was a long day, a 2 mile run and then grocery shopping for the next 2 week. I'm beat and will blog tomorrow. Hope my friends had a great time at Crazy Bitch Bingo!!! Promise an extra long post this weekend.

I did a great job making excellent choices, now for Wino Thursday!!!

Saying goodbye to sweet friends...

Today is the last day at work for 2 dear friends of mine (Natalie & Cecilia) and I went to lunch with a LARGE group to wish them well - or at least one of them. Which one I will never reveal ;)

So there I was, sitting at the table and in front of me were margaritas, chips, salsa and the dreaded CHEESE DIP!! I HATE cheese dip - absolutely hate it! OK, so that is actually a lie, if I could bathe in cheese dip I just may. I certainly like to partake in my fair share so what did I do??? Well I made the sensible choice of no cheese dip so that I could have a glass (or six) of wine tonight. I also took out a few chips and limited myself to those. I was quite proud of myself for not over indulging.

As for the margarita, well let just say I turned my head away and imagined it was some toxic sludge from a BP spill. I had 6 chips, some salsa and 3 chicken tacos. Not bad for lunch out at Las Margaritas.

So tonight we have Idol, Survivor & Top Chef - quite excited and looking forward to Raosted Garlic Beef Stew, tell you about that tomorrow.

For now - Nat & Cecilia, you will definitely be missed. BOTH OF YOU!

Las Margaritas!!!

The D6 Gang @ Las Margaritas on Cheshire for the going away lunch for Natalie & Cecilia. You will both be missed. Make sure to keep in touch and don't get into any trouble.


- Posted from my Mobile

Location:Cheshire Bridge Rd,Atlanta,United States

I feel sorry for Tuesdays

I mean even Monday gets to be the start of the week, then you have Wednesday (Hump Day), Thursday (or as it's known in my house Wino Thursday), Friday/Saturday/Sunday - I mean seriously. Unless you are in retail those are pretty awesome days. Then you have Tuesday...Tuesday. Even weird to say.

Well this Tuesday has been very good to me. Great start right out of the gate with 14 minutes of snuggles (my fave) and then off to work and was even here early. Then a busy day, which I love; the gym at lunch - "VALHALLA!!!" and then I'll run after work. All in all a good day.

So the Valhalla thing is what my trainer Jason abuses me with 2 days a week. Some sort of Viking workout - but I have to say that he has gotten me bench pressing and squatting more than I ever have, or even could when I was 20. Some times it makes me feel like I want to pillage a village or dive into the freezing ocean or something. I've never felt stronger and look forward to seeing where this takes me.

I still owe you the running (C25K) story and I promise to let that one out soon.

OMG!!!

So here it was, the dawn of a new day. One week down and I just knew that I would be paying for NOT following the plan 100%. My friend and I drove to the meeting discussing how my 40th had just jacked up our week of tracking and exercise and making the RIGHT choices. We swore that this week would be different!

So we got to our meeting and prepared for the reality of where our new goal would start. We discussed with Dee, our Meeting Leader, what had taken place and how we were going to change. She led me to my station and there I stood on the scale, she clicked her button and then...

WHAT!?! I LOST 4.2 LBS!!! Holy crap, I was grinning from ear to ear. People were talking to me and I couldn't hear a thing! I had just LOST weight! I then took a look back and realized that because I had prepared myself to "eat bad" because it was my birthday - I had actually made sure that I balanced that with some good choices and some exercise. The system works if you work it!

Ok so here we are at the 2nd weigh in, birthday parties behind me and serious work ahead. I feel like I need to PAY for the nutrition sins from last week. What would a good penance be?

Birthday Party!

So the big party is tonight. Last night had dinner with my parents, my brother and his wife - was a great time and nice to catch up with my family. Tonight is the party with the gays! Homemade spaghetti & meatballs with all the fixin's.

Started the day at the gym, Core Body Decatur, Core Body Decatur with my trainer and a medicine ball - YIKES! Then I did 25 minutes on the treadmill at 5.0! I'll talk about my journey to the 5K in another post, but safice to say Nike Plus is my new best friend.





- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Atlanta,United States

Here We Go!

So I decided to start a blog to document my journey from HUGE to not so huge! I turned 40 yesterday and took a look at myself and didn't care for what stared back at me. Over the years I have "struggled" with weight and of course now that my metabolism is shot - I find myself at the heaviest I have ever been (293 lbs.). I have done Weight Watchers Online over the past years according to MY rules and decided that it just wasn't working for me.

So I talked to a friend at work and we decided to go back to basics and started attending meetings - Mondays @ 11:00 am seems to be our meeting right now. And in addition to that I wanted to have a place where I can document what happens, so here we are.

I have not been at my best this week and I am convincing myself that it's my birthday and I deserve it. So we'll see what the scale says on Monday! I'm going to try and make this a daily thing - so WELCOME TO MY BLOG. I hope maybe it's entertaining, helpful or even interesting.

BTW - the name comes from a strategy of a card game my family plays called flume. (http://www.billhathaway.com/flume.htm) The idea is, as the name states - you need to cut the cards "thin to win".

I also decided to include 2 previous posts from earlier this week.

Location:Atlanta,United States

Good Bye 30's

So here we are on the edge of darkness and mystery - my mother's baby boy will be turning 40 tomorrow! I am quite excited and proud - I decided to recommit to WW the week of my 40th birthday. WHAT WAS I THINKING!!! But I have to say I have a plan to indulge in the things I want and still maintain a sense of reality.

We bought our plane tickets for our cruise in August and I want to be a different me when we go. Not personality wise you understand, just silhouette wise. I am looking forward to this weekend and the summer.

BYE 39 - HELLO LOVE!!!

Day 1 :: WOW!

Went to my first meeting today (with a friend) and weighed in to start this whole thing off and... *BAM*

293.4 (and no that is not a radio station or how many miles a bee flies before it dies) This is my starting weight. Heaviest I have ever been and not very proud of that. I am excited about the beginning of this journey and know that there are hundreds of successes and wins to come.

On track for today but what a week to start - MY 40th BIRTHDAY IS ON THURSDAY!!! I will be good and true to the program and I will track everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) I eat/drink. My goal for next Monday is 1 pound - if I can just loose 1 pound for the week it would be awesome.

WW Meetings here I come...

Around and around I go and where I stop - well how about 70 lbs. lighter for a start!!! I will be 40 in 6 days and am feeling that the time is upon me and I have to quit f**king around and start. A co-worker and I have signed up for and will be going to our first WW meetings on Monday 2/28!!!

I need this time to be different so I will document every step of the way. I hope some of you will read and help if you can - I love my life but jeez, enough with the tight pants and shirts!!!

Can't wait to see what happens!!!