Kitty on Krack!

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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.


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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.


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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.


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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!!!