Wednesday's Child is Full of Woe

My oldest child was born on a Wednesday and I decided the day she was born that the old saying quoted in today's post title is full of malarky.  Our Laura has always been overflowing with joy and happiness and optimism.  So no Woeful Wednesdays in our household. Today was no exception.


I didn't sleep well last night.  We made an offer on a very nice house that we want to buy as an investment.  We offered, they countered, and we counter-countered yesterday, ending up with the ball in their court at 10 pm last night.  I  was thinking about all this, a little excited,  a bit anxious about my WI today, and generally just not sleepy, so I got up and read for a couple of hours.  Then I went back upstairs, still not sleepy, and tried on clothes in my closet for about 40 minutes.  I found a few nice "new" outfits that fit again and finally went back to bed at 5 am.  I woke up about 8, had my usual un-frosted mini-wheats, a sliced peach, and skim milk breakfast.  I ran along the river (and Sharon, the trail you described is exactly where I love to run) for about 50 minutes.   When I got back from the run, I got an e-mail from DH letting me know that the sellers accepted our offer on their house!  We gave them a generous time to find and purchase a new home, so we probably won't close for three or four months, but I'm already itching to get in and start working to get it in tip top shape so we can rent it out.  The house is actually in very nice shape, but I want to put my own stamp on things like paint colors and landscaping.

At the end of yesterday's post (in very small print) I wrote that I do believe in magic.   Not really magic, per se, but in happy endings, in optimistic outcomes, and in miracles.   My belief was rewarded today at my WI.  I was down two sticks o' butter!   Take that, Paula Deen!  I'll work hard not to take this as some validation of out of control chocolate indulgences.  I've lost 7 of the 12 pounds I set as my goal in the Summer Diet Buddies Challenge (see red box link in right sidebar). I've got just 4 more weeks to lose the remaining 5 pounds, but, maybe, without the excess chocolate baggage, I can do it.  I definitely like seeing the number on the scale go down, feeling slimmer,wearing clothes with smaller numbers on the labels, and being able to exercise and feel fit.


I'm a dyed in the wool optimist.  How about you?   Do you focus on the positive accomplishments or on the length of the journey still to come.

184.2

Do you believe in Magic?

With a nod to the wonderful Lovin' Spoonful for their great oldies hit,  I'm hoping for a little bit of magic. My WI is tomorrow and my scale is doing its best to prepare me for the probability that I'm not going to lose or even maintain.  In fact, it's not only my scale auguring bad news; my food journal, too, is doing its best to show me, in black and white, just why I probably won't lose tomorrow.  I'm in Trouble.  Trouble with a capital "T" and that rhymes with "C" and it stand for CHOCOLATE!   Yes, I've gotten into some Trouble with my old nemesis, chocolate.

It started with a picture.  It seems to me that several of you (yes, you--all you slim, successful, sensible, talented, bloggers that I follow) have built in a dark chocolate snack often luringly featured in a photo in your posts.   Well, I'm trying to learn to eat the way I plan to eat for the rest of my life.  I like dark chocolate as well as (or, truthfully, much better than) the next person.  Dark chocolate is actually good for you. Why don't I add in some dark chocolate to my daily menu too.  So a week or so ago,  I bought a small, 3.5 oz bar of dark chocolate with orange peel added in.   I portioned it into 4 pieces (less than an oz is a good portion size, no?). The first bite was heaven.  Absolutely amazing.   I had one each day for four days.  I lost at my WI last week; my clothes are fitting better.  This is great! I thought, all this and chocolate, too!  


So, when the chocolate was gone, back I went to Whole Foods.  They have at least 12 linear feet of aisle space devoted to chocolate.  I couldn't find my wonderful dark chocolate with orange.  So I got another kind--well, I got two other kinds, trying to find the one closest to my beloved orange bar.  And when I got home, I tried kind #1, but it wasn't nearly as tasty as, "orangie," so I opened up kind #2 and tried it, too.  No good.  But not so "no good" that I didn't have 1 oz of each kind for the next 3 days.  And then I went back, still in search of my long lost "orangie."  


This time I ended up buying 3 bars.   Well, there's an inevitable sad ending to this story.  I woke up this morning and weighed myself.  I compared it to my weight on the day before WI last week and, instead of a nice drop in weight, this week's weight was UP!   Then I really WOKE UP and realized how foolish I've been.    Sigh.


I'm destined to fall victim to the First and Second Laws of the  Law of Physical Diets as knowledgeably enumerated by Charlie in Back to the Fridge this morning:

Law I. Weight returns at five times the velocity at which it was lost.
Unfortunately, most of us are all too familiar with this law. In some ways, this seems impossible. “How can it take five days to lose two pounds and only one day to get it back!? That’s not fair!” Well, unfortunately, life isn’t fair and this is just the way it works. Why? Because you can’t eat fewer than zero calories per day but you can eat five thousand or more if you really put your mind to it. What to do: If your diet is going well, here’s a helpful tip: don’t blow it. How? Well if I knew that, I’d be king of the world.

Law II. Any dietary straying, no matter how seemingly insignificant, causes instantaneous Diet Reversal.
Oh, we’ve all experienced this. You do well all week long then on Friday night you figure you deserve a little treat. So you have pizza. Oops. Does your body forgive you? Are you allowed to take a mulligan? Of course not. What to do: Giving yourself a food treat for losing weight is a lot like winning a Million Dollar Bake-Off and then shredding the check to celebrate your win. What’s wrong with you?

Go to Charlie's post to read all FOUR laws.  He's a gifted writer and quite insightful about this whole weight loss scene.

I've learned my lesson--yes, a little (<1 oz) chocolate is okay occasionally, and NO, don't go tasting every chocolate bar on earth trying to re-create that first, great bite of "orangie." I'm the 'sadder but wiser girl' today.     but I do believe in magic . . . .  




tune in tomorrow.

Monday, Monday

Is it really Monday already?  I had a full weekend. I ran 4.5 miles on Friday and 5.9 miles on Saturday. Our weather was fantastic (on the hot side, but relatively low humidity) and I wanted to take advantage.  My older brother (who lives in Tokyo) arrived for a 10 day visit on Friday.  He's a pretty easy guest.  He's very interested in eating healthy food and so whatever I fix is appreciated.  We went to visit our Dad  in his nursing home.  Dad knew him and greeted him by name and said "long time no see," which is true since my brother can't get here very often.  


DH and I are thinking of buying a second house as an investment. On Saturday, our realtor showed us one that pretty much meets all of our requirements, so we're thinking about putting together an offer.  Yesterday,  my exercise was biking. to that house (5 miles away) We biked through that whole neighborhood, getting a good feel for what it's like.  


After church yesterday, I fixed a fantastic roasted tomato and corn soup.  My bumper crop of basil (it loves this weather!) provided the perfect garnish and a wonderful aroma and tang for the top.  I should have taken a picture.  I am working on getting together some of the recipes that folks have requested.  If you use Blogger and have any technical advice, I'd be obliged!  The request for my brownie recipe almost tripped me up.  I went so far as to go to the store to buy butter (a key, necessary ingredient for my recipe) thinking I'd make a batch so I could add a picture to my recipe.   That's a "primrose path" if I ever heard of one!  What do you suppose might have happened to those photo props after the picture was taken???   (hint:  I probably would have made them when there were no other adults in the house . . . !).  But I didn't.


My brother and I went to a funeral this morning.  A good friend of our parents (her husband was a West Point classmate of our Dad's) had her service at Arlington Cemetery.  She had a wonderful, full life and was a loving, vibrant person and was 89 when she died.  It's sad, though, when someone lives so long that they outlive their generation.  


I was able to wear a favorite, Ann Taylor LBD that hasn't fit me for a while.  I paired it with a linen jacket, formerly size 14, that someone thoughtlessly ran through the washer and dryer with all his gym clothes. (hint: his initials are DH and he's forbidden to ever do laundry again chez-nous, and I'm not telling him that it fits me even better now that I'm much smaller than I was.)  Wearing that dress helped me stay away from the carb-heavy buffet at the reception.  I talked with people and had a very nice stemmed glass of ice water.

My friend Patrick, Responsibility 199, presented me with this in his post yesterday!  Thanks, Patrick!

Only two rules for this one:

1. Sum up your blogging philosophy, motivation, and experience in 5 words:

Hopeful, Inspired, Community, Available, Amazing

2. Pass it on to 10 other Amazing blogs:  Check out these amazing bloggers and their amazing blogs!


Arlene        Adventures in Weight Loss, Cooking, and Life
Julia          Jewlia/Goulia
                 Diet buddy Daily - From Frumpy to Fabulous
Tonyne     The Unlikely Success Story - My Journey to Health and Wellness
Mel           Diet Naked
Sarah        Low Stress Weight Loss
Tami          Nutmeg Notebook
Jessica       See How She Runs
Cammy      The Tippy Toe Diet
Karen         Waisting Time


Thanks for all your advice on the ant war.  They are pretty much gone, now, my ant cocktail having done the trick.  


Want to see a cutie pie?  This is little J, with his kitty.

It's WAR

I heard on the news that  all factors combined to make this summer the worst in memory for ants in this area.  They've certainly found my kitchen.  I've declared war on them.  All out biological, chemical, thermonuclear war.  Well, maybe not thermonuclear war,  just the borax solution, but they are so no longer welcome or tolerated in my kitchen.  First it was two or three.  I even escorted them back outside without squishing them.  Now it's a never-ending trail of the little suckers,  busily taking reconnaissance reports back and forth to the mother ship about the best eating spots in Ticiaskitchenland.  Die, ants, die!  I did some google research and came across the perfect ant cocktail, so to speak.  I have placed two innocent looking baby food jars with said cocktail along their trail.  Happy to report, that since yesterday morning, they've discovered the joys of the aforementioned cocktail, become hopelessly addicted to it, reported its location back to the mother ship, and invited all their cohorts to come and sample its pleasures.  This afternoon there are far fewer of my little friends than yesterday.  Most of them are going towards the mother ship, to share samples of the cocktail with any of their cohorts who happen to still be living.   The most embarrassing part was having to point out the ant infestation to my team of cleaning ladies and direct them not to disrupt the trail.  They were suitably horrified, and though I don't speak Spanish, I think I heard something along the lines sof  "the most disgusting home maker del mondo."   I'm hoping that they are essentially gone by this evening when I get back from picking up my brother at the airport.

On the home front (as opposed to the front lines of the ant war) I slept late this morning and loved it.  I could get used to sleeping until 8!  After my usual shredded wheat and peach cereal breakfast (in the uninfested part of my kitchen), I went for a 4.5 mile run.  The weather today is less humid, so that was nice.  I need to catch a shower, fix my hair, do a last minute check on my guest room, and stop by the grocery store before I go to meet my brother.  Think I'll fix pan seared scallops with my favorite whole wheat orzo,spinach & tomato side dish for dinner tonight.   Maybe the avocado/mango/cilantro salsa for the scallops.  Yum.  I'm getting hungry!

Numbers Game, WI

0         The number of Splenda packets I use on my cereal these days

1         The number of days I will give myself to rest after 6 days of good workouts

1.6      The number of pounds I lost at my WI this morning

2         The number of pills I take each day (1 vitamin, 1 baby aspirin)

3         The number of months since I "got my groove back" in this journey

3.6      The number of miles I ran this morning

4         The number of times I eat fish each week, on average

5         The number of weeks left in the Summer Diet Buddies Challenge

5.6      The number of pounds left to lose to reach my goal in Summer DB Challenge

8         The number of cups of water I drink, at a minimum, each day

10       The number I'd like to see on the label in my clothes

11       The number of weeks until we leave for a vacation in Paris

14       The number on the label in my clothes that fit me easily just now

17        The number of minutes it takes me to eat dinner these days on average

21.6     The number of pounds to lose to reach my official WW goal

23        The number of pounds I'd like to lose beyond my WW goal

23.6    The number of pounds I've lost since I got my groove back

25       The number of followers on my blog (Thank You!)

29       The number of months since I started this journey, at my highest recorded weight

33.6    The number of pounds I've lost from my highest recorded weight

40       The number of pounds I (re)gained in 2009

45       The number of minutes I exercise 6/7 days of the week, minimum

47       The number my heart beats per minute when I get up in the mornings

74       The number of miles I ran last month

184.6   The number on the scale at my WI today

218.2    The number on the scale when I started this journey

911.1    The number of miles I've run since October, 2008

833,930   The number of pounds I've lifted with Fitlinxx so far in 2010


I'm thankful for those numbers and for your help and input in my journey.  


What number is on your mind today?

184.6

Thank You

When I opened my blog today, I was greeted by an award from Michele (Ruminations and Uncovering:  Toward a New Me).  Thank you, Michele!  Not only did I discover a new friend with whom I have a lot in common, but now I have a topic for today's post!  Here are the rules for the Versitile Blogger Award:

1.  Thank the person who gave you the award

2.  Share seven things about yourself

3.  Nominate 15 newly discovered blogs

4. Let your nominees know about the award.

Okay, 7 more things you might be interested in knowing about me . . .

1.  I love cookbooks.  I collect them and have since I was a teenager.   Lately though, I've gotten a little more selective about my cookbooks.   I like to have a beautiful color picture of the food for each recipe.  I also want to have the nutritional information at the end of the recipe.  And, of course, there's the food.  I want food that fits my life plan of eating.  I have multiple cookbooks from Cooking Light, Eating Well, Weight Watchers and Williams Sonoma.  Then there's the index--I want a really good index.  The WW cookbooks, which I love, used to have terrible indexes.  They've gotten a little better.  I use the index to circle the recipes I love.  If I want to make roasted red potatoes with rosemary, say, I'll end up flipping to the index of several cookbooks to find the recipe I want.  I've started getting rid of cookbooks that don't meet my needs.  I've probably given 60 of them away over the past year.  I try to copy my favorite go-to recipes to my computer as my friends and family often want the recipes for foods I make.  

2.  I'm the youngest of four kids.  Even though my older brother is 10 years older, my sister is 7 years older,  and my younger older brother is 3 years older,  since I became an adult I've always felt older then all of them.  Older in a good way.  Older as in wiser, more responsible, more in touch with the ways of the world.  

3.  I like to run.  I prefer running alone.  I like to set my own pace and not be slowing someone else down.  I like listening to my playlist (60s classic love songs with some classical mixed in), but if I'm with someone else, I feel like we should chat.  The best thing about running with someone else is the added impetus to get out the door, but, it can also be a bad thing if that other person convinces me to wimp out of going when I sorta really felt like going.  

4.  The only recipe I know absolutely by heart is the recipe for my mom's brownies.  The best brownies in the world.  I used to make them at least once a week.   Actually, it's been about six months since I've made them and maybe I'd better take a peek at that recipe before I make them again.  They're only for very special occasions now and only when there'll be enough folks around to get a sensible brownie/person ratio.  Gone are the bad old days of making a batch, nibbling all day, and then making a replacement batch so no one realized that I ate the whole thing.  (Unless, of course you consulted Mr. Scale--he realized it.)

5.  Our oldest, Laura, is a wunderkind.  She learned to read when she was two.  She was very shy.  She's beautiful.  She chose her college partially based on the caliber of their Ultimate Frisbee program (she went to Stanford).  She and her husband live near Seattle.  She is a children's librarian, but has chosen to homeschool her three children.  This is a picture of Laura with her youngest.

6.  I'm a chronic re-reader.  I read a lot.  I usually have a CD book in my car, an audiobook on my ipod, a paperback in my purse, and at least two books (a novel and a non-fiction book) by my bed.  I love to discover new authors  (M. C. Beaton's Agatha Raison series,  Dana Stabenow's Liam Campbell series, and Adriana Trigiani are among recent finds) and I tear through all their books until I'm waiting impatiently for the next one.  I love historic fiction.    My all time favorite book is Here Be Dragons (Sharon K. Penman).  I have reread this one at least once a year since I discovered it in 1985.  A library patron kept recommending it to me and finally put a copy on my desk.  I was put off by the title (I don't care for fantasy), but I decided to read 50 pages to give it a try. I was totally hooked.  It's not fantasy.  Anyway, I re-read this often and love it.  Other books I re-read are Gabaldon's Outlander series, Jean Auel's Clan of the Cave Bear series, Francine River's A Voice in the Wind series.  All really well written.  BTW, for that book in my purse, it's usually a re-read.  A paperback of one of my favorites so it's easy to get right into it when I have just a bit of "found" time.

7.  It sounds like a cliche, but I knew the very day I met him, that I wanted to marry DH.  We met our senior year in college, at a birthday party for a mutual friend.  We were singing and he was standing near me.  He complimented me on my voice and we started talking.  He called me that night (just as I was telling my roommate about him) and invited me to go dancing in Sausilito the next day.  That was January 27, 1973.  He proposed in April and we were married the day after graduation.  Thirty seven years and counting.

Hmmm, 15 Newly Discovered Blogs--I'm going to fail this one.   If you haven't gotten this award yet, please consider yourself awarded!

Just curious, what's your favorite novel?

Onward and Downward

I'm still in the midst of my re-charging, bachelorette long weekend and, let me say, it's great!  I took DH and B to the plane on Friday morning.  Note--Jay is still home, but he's pretty self contained and very undemanding.  That day our weather turned great (much lower humidity, lower temperatures too).  I did a leisurely shop at Whole Foods, concentrating on their wonderful produce section.  My meals have been wonderful--and delicious.  The best, so far, was pan-seared scallops with a splash of lime, mango-avocado-cilantro salsa and corn on the cob.  I've been able to  avoid former alone-in-the-house pitfalls (such as buying a big bag of lime tortilla chips)--thanks, Patrick (Responsibility 199), for the idea of working for an "A" on my report card--I always was a grade-grubber.  On the exercise front, I biked 14 miles on Friday and I scored an 8 mile run (with a generous sprinkle of walking) on Saturday.  I took yesterday "off."  Who was it that posted over the weekend about the "newbie tendency" to try to work out every single day??  I may be ready to tweak that goal of 7/7 days of workouts in favor of a 6/7 schedule.  I ran an easy 3 this morning and, if the thunderstorms hold off, I may bike this evening, too.  I've gotten about half way through my new book (To Defy a King by Elizabeth Chadwick--really good historic fiction) and plan to hop into bed early-ish again tonight so I can read in bed again.   Tomorrow I get the babies again and I'm ready for them!  We're going to walk to the Farmer's Market and get some tomatoes.  I'm craving great, "real" tomatoes.  Our two plants gave us a good first harvest, but slacked off on production when the weather was so hot last week.

It's hard to believe it's already August.  A new page on the calendar, full of possibility.  This August I'm going to take advantage of all 31 days and move ahead toward my weight loss goal.  Like Karen (Waisting Away), I'm going back to my basic diet plan for a push start.  I use the WW CORE plan (yes, I know, WW doesn't acknowledge the CORE plan anymore, they call it Simply Filling, but I still have the book and the CORE plan is a plan I can use to lose and continue to use for life).  I'm going to re-read the book today and look for any areas  I need to tweak.  I still have 7.2 pounds to lose by September 7th to meet my goal for the Summer Diet Buddies Challenge.  I'm gonna do it.

I am adding one goal to my list this week.  This one is guaranteed to make me look slimmer, younger, and better.  I don't have to change any of my eating habits to accomplish it.  I don't even have to add anything to my exercise routine.  The goal?  I want to work on my posture.  Head up, shoulders back, tummy in.  I always admire people who stand up without slouching.  I practiced in front of the mirror this morning.  I look way better when I stand up straight.  Like a before and after picture.  My goal:  I will leave a note on my bathroom mirror to remind me.  I will use good posture on the walking bits of my runs.  I will walk around my block (1 mile) every other day using good posture.  Maybe I'll throw in a bit of my Wii Yoga, too.


How's your August shaping up?