See you in September

Hi Friends,

Well, I've survived some really hot summer weather, an earthquake, and a passing hurricane since I was here last.  We are all fine and really enjoying the cooler weather that comes with this new month.   My summer was up & down & up again on the weight loss front.  I kept going to WW every week, but did not make any progress toward my goals and added a couple to the overall total.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

See that?  That's my line in the sand.  Yesterday after WW, my BFF and I sat down and planned a weeks worth of meals.  We used three recent cookbooks for inspiration and came up with some very good ideas.  Here are the cookbooks:

Eating Well 500-Calorie Dinners Cookbook
Cooking Light Mix and Match Low-Calorie Cookbook
Cooking Light Fresh Food SuperFast 

                                    
I know, I know . . . after I get my eating and exercise reined in, I'll need to start the 12 step program for excessive cookbook collectors!

Here are some of the recipes we chose for delicious meals.

Sage Pork Medallions with Maple Glaze
Sweet Potatoes with Brown Sugar Cinnamon

We had these last night.  Basically good lean, nutritious foods with 3 WW points added for flavor.  This got an A from my guys and I liked it too!

Lemon Chicken Stir Fry is on the menu tonight.  This is from the Eating Well 500 Calorie book. My copy of the book is due today (thank you UPS tracking!).  I don't remember the exact recipe, but I know I need to pick up some snow peas and some shitake mushrooms.  I think I had all the other ingredients on hand.

Upcoming menus include Chicken Breasts with Mushroom Sauce, served over whole wheat egg noodles,  Chicken Cacciatore,  Grilled Corn with Jalapeno Herb Butter, and Grilled Peach Barbecue Pork Chops.

DH is totally onboard with this.  He's a WW lifetime member, but wants to lose a few pounds to get back to his happy range.

We continue to enjoy twice weekly bike rides, Tuesday and Thursday nights at the gym, and late night walks.  Tomorrow we're starting the holiday weekend early and starting a two day Bike Holiday along the W&OD rails to trails bike path.  We're starting at the very beginning of the trail, in Purcerville and doing a couple 15-20 mile sections broken by a nice overnight at a local hotel complete with a swim in their pool, dinner out, a movie, as well as a late sleep in the next morning.  The hotel has an in-room fridge so we can have our own sumptuous breakfast--our favorite cereal with a great peach from the farmer's market.

I'm hoping to turn around an off plan summer and get back to that good healthy happy place.

Ciao!

Weekend Wrap-up

It's hard to believe it's already Sunday night.  Tomorrow in our county the teachers go back to work.  When I was teaching I loved the beginning of school.  Putting new ideas to work.  Meeting the new students.  Introducing the kindergartners to the wonders of the library.  Now, though, that I've not taught for a couple of years, I really am happy not to have to go back tomorrow.  I really love getting to take care of the grand babies a few days a week and I love my free time.  A lot of my time and thought and energy are now devoted to getting myself in shape.  When I taught, I'd usually lose 10 or 15 pounds each summer and gain them back during the school year.  It was hard to find time for me.

I am so impressed with how well those of you who are working outside the home are able to do getting exercise, watching your diet, and coming here for mutual support in blog land.  Kudos.

I woke up sore and achey this morning.  :(  I felt about 100 years old going down the stairs.  It must have been the kettle bells. Things eased up a bit as my muscles warmed up, but I wasn't sure if I'd be able to bike tonight.  I decided to give it a try and we had a fabulous ride.  We added about 20 minutes to our usual hour and I wasn't sore at all.  At the far end of our ride, we loop a couple of miles in a beautiful little park.  There was band concert and we could hear the band playing for most of the loop.  It was so nice that we added an extra lap. I'll tackle the kettle bells again tomorrow.  Maybe while the children are napping.

Tomorrow we're going to take our bikes into the "bike spa" to get them all tuned up for our weekend trip.  I'm getting excited about the trip and the bike ride(s) we're planning.  I've got to spend some time with the book Lori recommended to me,  A Woman's Guide to Cycling.  If I can overcome the falling, I think that biking is going to be a really good exercise for me.  I love having an alternative to running.  Basically I like choices.  It's all good.  Tennis, running, biking, hiking, strength training, kettle bells, my DVDs, and the Wii tennis and yoga.  Biking and hiking are activities I can do on fairly equal terms with DH, though and that's fun.

Today's picture: With my siblings a year ago.  We got together (from TX, GA, VA and Japan) to take our Dad up to his 70th reunion at West Point.  My sibs all got the skinny gene.  I was feeling fairly trim at just about my current weight.


My eating was right on target today.  Cereal with 1/2 a banana for breakfast.  Cottage cheese with mandarin oranges for lunch.  Snack of almonds and 1/2 oz of dark chocolate.  Grilled scallops, whole wheat orzo, lettuce, and mango avocado salsa for dinner with a WW  strawberry froyo bar for dessert.

Tomorrow I plan to run early and then do the kettle bell workout during nap time.  I'll stop by the store on the way home from my run and pick up some fresh veggies to have with salmon for dinner.

Do you have a plan to keep yourself on track?