It's been awhile, crocodile

I'm still alive! (in case you were wondering)

Sorry for the lack of posts. Work had gotten really busy and then life took over.

I've been a bit of a WW slacker ever since my meetings at work ended. I haven't been tracking my points on paper. I've just been trying to stay mindful of what I eat, which means I'm probably eating more than I'd like and my weight loss progress (or lack of) shows it. I've been good about sticking to my usual breakfasts and lunches, although I do cheat a bit more on weekends than I used to. Dinners are where I have been bad. :-(

I haven't lost any weight in at least 2 months. I haven't gained any either, which is great... but then again, I haven't weighed myself since last week and today my pants are feeling tighter than usual.

Anyway, in the hopes that it would give me the motivation to lose those last couple of pounds, I re-joined WW. I've only been to one meeting in the last 3 weeks though. :::blush::: I don't enjoy it as much I enjoyed our on-site meetings, and I still haven't re-started tracking my points.

ok, I must be more disciplined! Please make me accountable.

So, in order to start tracking points, here's what I've eaten today:

breakfast:
low cal English muffin with 1/2 T pb (2 pts)
coffee w/splenda and non-dairy creamer (1 pt)

lunch:
Smart Ones lasagne (6 points)
5 cucumber slices and ~10 baby carrots (0 pts)
1 nectarine (1 pt)
1 WW chocolate/pretzel/caramel bar (1 pt) (these are SO yummy! I bought them on sale at the WW meeting)

snack:
I'm having chocolate cravings. AF must be on her way!
1 snack-size twix bar (1 pt)

"A light at the end of the tunnel..."

I've had a crazy week at work. TGIF!!!!!!!

I was in a workshop all week with colleagues from the UK and Germany. That meant I was holed up in a conference room from 9am-5pm all week without any internet surfing breaks. My brain hurts.

On top of that, we had to be hospitable hosts so twice this week I had to go to dinner with our out-of-town colleagues.

On top of that, we had an ISO inspection that I had to participate in so I was running from one conference room (workshop) to another (ISO audit) for most of Wednesday.

On top of that, performance evaluations were due this week and I always procrastinate on doing them because I HATE THEM, so on the days I didn't have to go out to dinner with my colleagues, I worked late trying to get the performance evaluations done.

On top of that, the next upgrade for a database that's used globally in my company is supposed to be issued Monday morning and they had asked me to perform four test cases for it so while I was in the workshop, I was also running test scripts.

On top of that, I had two 7am conference calls this week with my colleagues from Japan... and I am most definitely NOT a morning person.

Anyway, I just got out of my last meeting for the day and I bumped into my VP in the hallway. My poor VP travels overseas every other week and looks absolutely exhausted and I tried to encourage him by saying "there's a light at the end of the tunnel" and he responded with,"yeah, and it's a train."

LOL!!!!!

I guess I should be scared, but I'm too tired to be scared.

What I ate last weekend (a lot!)

I've been terrible at updating my blog! :-( I've been really busy lately but I'm still trying to stay on WW. I haven't been as vigilant as I used to be about tracking points, but I'm always mindful of what I'm eating... even though that doesn't mean I've been eating smart. :-(

Having said that... I was a mess this weekend. I went up to NJ again to visit my friend so it was hard to stay strictly on WW. Let's see if I can remember what I ate.

Saturday, February 20:

breakfast during the car ride:
low cal english muffin + 1/2 T pb (2 pts)
coffee w/splenda and non-dairy creamer (1 pt)

breakfast #2 when we got to NJ:
1 pancake
3 slices of thick-cut bacon (the regular pig kind, not turkey)
blueberries

snack
chips and salsa (~5 chips)
Baked Ruffles (~ 2 oz)

late lunch/early dinner:
1 cup mac and cheese (not a WW recipe. Very buttery and cheesey and bad for me)
1 cornflake and pecan crusted chicken tenderloin (Cooking Light recipe... awesome!)
salad (mixed greens, spinach, carrots, beets, cukes, tomato)

post-late lunch/early dinner appetizers (after eating with the kids, we went out for drinks... and ordered appetizers so the waitress wouldn't give us dirty looks):
mussels and clams steamed in beer and garlic (yum!) ~5 mussels, 3 clams
1/2 cup fried calamari
small slice of bruschetta
3 thin toast crisp things
mint tea


Sunday, Feb 21st:
snacks during car ride home:
1 small slice homemade banana bread
2 slices asian pear
1 coffee w/splenda and non-dairy creamer

lunch
Lean Cuisine (6 pts)

dinner (book club at Hard Times Cafe):
chili nacho appetizer (~10 chips w/chili)
Chili Mac (cincinatti chili over spaghetti w/onions and tomatoes)


I weighed myself this morning and surprisingly I'm still at 122.2 lbs. I wonder if my scale is broken.

What I ate yesterday (Thurs, Feb 25)

Breakfast:
low cal English muffin w/ 1Tb lowfat pb (2 pts)
coffee w/splenda and non-dairy creamer (1 pt)

Lunch:
WW beef and bean chili (6 pts) I'll post the recipe soon! I loved this recipe!
cucumber slices, green and yellow pepper slices, carrot slices (0 pts)
7 lowfat Triscuits (2 pts)
handful of blueberries (0 pts)

Dinner:
I met my high school BFF for dinner at Cheesecake Factory (eeek)
1 slice french loaf
1 slice dark loaf (darn that bread basket!!)
2 1/2 Vietnamese summer rolls
2 lettuce cups w/grilled chicken and veggies
1/2 cup fried calamari with cocktail sauce

I can't even count all the points b/c I don't know how much it all was. I tried to pick healthier items but my friend said she HAD to have something fried to eat or else she'd feel like she hasn't eaten at all. She's one of those ridiculously skinny girls who never ever gains weight. I'm not kidding, she probably weighs 90 pounds soaking wet and she's my height.

Of course, it's not like she held my jaws open and shoved fried calamari down my throat... ::::blush::::

Hellooooo!!! :-)

I'm still alive!!

It's been a busy few weeks. I won't bore you with all the details, but in a nutshell... my 14-yr old nephew and 21-yr old niece stayed with us for almost a week b/c of a family emergency, we dug ourselves out of two major snowstorms (30 inches for blizzard #1, 18 inches for blizzard #2), I missed a week of work b/c of snow and other person business...

personal business such as... WE HAVE A BABY BOY!!!! :-) Well, he's not actually with us, he's still in Korea and won't be home with us until this summer... but we were matched and we accepted the referral!! He just turned 6 months old and has the cutest chubbiest cheeks and I can't wait to get my little hands on him!!

Once we officially accept the referral (lots more paperwork and papers to be notarized) I'll share pics of our Samuel. :-)

We are naming him Samuel because the name means "God hears" and God heard our (and our friends' and our family's and many strangers on the internet's) prayers and answered them. God is good!! All the time!! :-D

Plus one of the most famous infertiles in the Bible is Hannah and when God blessed her with a child she committed him to God and named him Samuel b/c God heard her prayers too.

anyway, so we've been busy busy busy!!

I'm back at work now but am totally swamped with work so I haven't had much time to keep up with my blog. (it's bad that I usually update my blog at work, I know...)

As for WW... YAY for Shana that you're almost to your 5% mark!! That is so awesome!!! You can do it, girl!!!!!

Our weekly work meetings are over now and I'm on my own. I'm finding that not attending meetings means I'm slacking off more. I haven't eaten strictly within my points the last couple of weeks, but I haven't gone nuts either. I still weigh myself every morning and I've been fluctuating between 122.2 and 122.6 pounds for the last couple of weeks, so I'm not complaining! I guess my current consumption rate is good for maintaining, but if I want to take off the last few pounds, I'll have to bite the bullet and start monitoring more closely again.

anyway, I'm off to NJ again this weekend to visit my friend who is recovering from surgery. I will probably not be eating as cleanly as I would like to, but I'll try to be good!

oh, and I also started exercising... at last!! I'm alternating 30-Day Shred workouts with treadmill runs. I've only done it for 4 days though so I'm not patting myself on the back just yet.

My running class starts in 3 weeks though! eeek!!

Hope everyone has been well!!

WW Recipe: Chicken, Sausage, and Capers

2 tsp olive oil
3/4 lb skinless boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 lb hot Italian turkey sausage, cut into 1/2-in slices
2 T red wine vinegar
2 green bell peppers, seeded and cut into strips
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp dried oregano
2 1/2 cups canned crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
2 T capers, rinsed and drained
2 T grated parmesan

1. In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, heat the oil. Saute the chicken until golden and cooked through, 6-8 minutes. Transfer to a bowl with a slotted spoon.



2. In the skillet, cook the sausage, stirring frequently, until cooked through and browned, 8-10 minutes. Pour in the vinegar; cook until the liquid evaporates, 1-2 minutes. Add the bell peppers, onion, garlic, and oregano; cook, stirring until the peppers are tender, 4-5 minutes.



3. Stir in the tomatoes, broth, and capers; bring to a boil. Return the chicken to the skillet and sprinkle in the cheese. Reduce the heat and simmer until the sauce thickens slightly.

Per Serving (about 1 1/2 cups): 220 Cal, 8g Fat, 1g Sat Fat, 0g Trans Fat, 73mg Chol, 633mg Sod, 13g Carb, 2g Fib, 24g Prot, 98mg Calc.

Points Value: 5



I poured my serving over 1/2 cup of white rice. I think it would be better over pasta, so that's how I'll eat it tomorrow for lunch. :-)

This recipe was good, but not great, and I probably wouldn't repeat it just b/c there are so many other recipes I'd like to try.

I also added a couple of teaspoons of salt (it was really bland) and a couple of shakes of red pepper flakes b/c I like my food spicy! :-)

Week 11, Day 6: What I Ate

breakfast
low cal english muffin + 1/2 T pb (2 pts)
coffee (1 pt)

lunch
Lean Cuisine (5 pts)
grapefruit (1 pt)
7 lowfat Triscuits (2 pts)

snack
2 cinnamon ginger cookies (2 pts)

dinner
WW Chicken, Sausage, and Capers (5 pts)
1/2 cup white rice (2 pts)


Total Points Consumed: 20 points (2 flex points)