Say Hello To Salads

One of my favorite things, right?!  Well, Yes!!  As much as I loved our trip to New Mexico, salads were not a big part of it.  Since our fridge wasn’t working properly while we were there, I couldn’t really stock up and have a bunch of veggies at hand.  I did make one big salad when we first got there, but after that, no fridge=no salad… 😦

I did get up and going on Thursday.  I got my hair cut early (photos to follow if they turn out decent) I got to Aldi for some groceries ( there was truly nothing in the fridge except mustard, ketchup, mayo and water bottles!) I then headed to the produce market and shopped with restraint.  Under the circumstances, I could have gone hog-wild, but I decided that I would keep my control.  It was difficult, because I was dazzled by all of the veggie goodness! 😉

When I got back, Ralph was ready for lunch.  I decided that since I would be facing weigh in at Weight Watchers today, I’d try to make a good choice.  Since Picasso’s is right around the corner from us, and I know they have things that are good choices, I suggested that.

I decided on their mixed cheese salad again.  I really can’t go wrong with this, it’s filling and very tasty with the balsamic vinaigrette added.  I love that they always give me extra.  Hello dinner salad!

I actually couldn’t wait to get to my dinner salad.  It had been So Long since I’d had one. 

I’m so out of practice, that I forgot to put the tomatoes in the photo!  But of course the romaine, celery, green bell pepper, shredded cheese and veggie burger made it!

Happiness is a Big Purple Bowl filled with veggies!!  I enjoyed this so much.  Ralph joked that if I said “mmmm” one more time he was leaving!!  It was very good and was just what I needed.  I think there will be many more of these in my future! 😉

I’m off to weigh in at WW in a little while.  I’m hoping I have an acceptable result.  I’m pretty sure I’ll have a gain, just hope I don’t have to pay!  We’ll see how it goes…Hope it’s worth not having my coffee this morning!

Happy Friday!!

Wading Through Molasses

The title is not the title of my next novel…Next?  It’s the way I’ve been feeling since returning to New Jersey…Slow Motion.  Everything I try to do seems to take twice as long.

I seem to be getting back into the Eastern time zone.  Only slept until 7 am today.  Good because I have a lot I need to do.  More on that in a few minutes.

Ralph and I did a decent job of getting the car unpacked and cleaned out.  When we were finished you’d never know that a bird got trapped inside, the trunk was bathed in bourbon or that it traveled over 7000 miles!  On a product note, the Febreeze commercials tell the truth…that stuff is amazing! 

We still didn’t get back to the rental agency until about noon.  We have become good friends with the guy who runs it and we chatted for a Long time.  He wanted to know the various routes we took on the trip so of course Ralph pulled out his handy fold up, laminated map of the USA.  We both had our cameras with us so we showed off lots of photos.

We realized that we had been talking to him for nearly two hours and it was time for lunch.  Ralph gave me the choice.  I decided on Subway.  Even though there’s a Subway in Silver City, we never got there.  I just never thought of it.  Duh!!

I had my favorite veggie…pepperjack cheese, spinach, tomatoes, onions, jalapeno, sweet peppers, green peppers and black olives with chipotle sauce.  I forgot how much I missed it. 

I am NOT looking forward to Weight Watchers. I’m going to weigh in on Friday because if I don’t, since I didn’t make it to any meetings in August, I would have to pay.  I may have to anyway considering how I’ve eaten over the last month.  Then on Saturday I’ll go to my regular meeting to catch up with all of my WW buddies.  I’ve really missed them.  So glad that many of them are on Facebook so I know what’s going on with them.

Today is shaping up to be busy.  I need to get my hair cut first thing this morning.  I should probably be walking out the door right now, because if I don’t I have to wait.  The salon I go to now doesn’t make appointments, but I get a good haircut and they only charge $8.00.  Guess I can’t complain too much.

I also plan to Finally get to the grocery store and the produce market.  I need some SALAD!!!  Can’t wait.  I know what’s on the menu for dinner tonight!  I will be a happy veggie then.

Wish me luck on accomplishing all of this.  Hopefully, I can wash off the molasses and get myself going! Now if I could just get my sneakers on and start walking!  I think that will start on Monday, even though it is a holiday!

Happy Thursday!

WIAW~What State is This?!

I think it’s the state of confusion!!   I talked about being confused on day and time when we got to New Mexico…A MONTH AGO!  Now back in New Jersey and another time change, I’m really confused!

But not too confused to participate in the fun food party of all time…What I Ate Wednesday!  Of course  that’s the food fantasy created by Jenn at Peas & Crayons.   I actually have some food pictures this week, what a novel idea! Not many, but some. 😉

We arrived back in New Jersey at 7am on Monday morning.  I only slept about 3 hours and was up and going again.  I was working in slow motion and didn’t get as much accomplished as I would have liked, but the car is almost unpacked (better be since we have to give it back today!) and got what I did bring in unpacked and mostly put away.

I was just getting out of the shower when my sister Ele called asking if I’d like to go for coffee.  Ralph and I were about to go to the diner, so we invited her to come along.  I was hungry but had that sort of sick, tired feeling in my stomach.  I decided on breakfast…comforting and filling at the same time.

A mushroom and cheese omelette with sliced tomatoes and rye toast.  It was very good and just what I needed at the time.

When we took Ele home, we picked up our mail which she had been gathering for us during our trip.  I should have taken a photo.  It filled an entire shopping bag from Olive Garden!! It was heavy, too.  It took a lot of sorting to weed out the real mail from the stupid credit card offers that need shredding and the catalogs.  Ele was bemoaning that the quality of our catalogs has gone down hill in recent years.  I guess we’re not on the good lists anymore! 😉

I never realized how much work that could be, but I’m glad I got through it right away, now I can handle the bills and the shredding (why don’t they just take me off THOSE lists?!?)

We realized we were hungry so I called in an order to Picasso’s and picked it up.  I got my favorite…their mixed cheese salad with balsamic vinaigrette.

I usually doctor it up and add things, but I didn’t have anything to doctor with.  It was good and tasted better than it might look. 

Today promises to be a busy one.  Complete the car emptying, clean it up and return it.  I MUST get to the veggie store and possibly the grocery store.  I’ve got to get back on track for the sake of Weight Watchers, What I Ate Wednesday and myself!

Be sure to go over to Peas & Crayons to read up on some of the other terrific food bloggers who participate each week.  Be sure to leave some comments.

On to a productive day and getting my head cleared!

Happy What I Ate Wednesday! Eat something Healthy!!

New Jersey Welcomes Us!

Well, actually, it didn’t officially welcome us.  Unlike so many of the other states, I didn’t notice any sign from New Jersey offering a welcome.  Maybe that’s because we were too bleery eyed to see it!

If you’ve been following me on Twitter, you’ve heard me rambling on about our trip back to New Jersey from New Mexico.  We left Silver City at 7:30am on Sunday and made it to Joplin, MO at about 12:15am.  We left Joplin at 9:30am on Monday and arrived in the door here in New Jersey at 7:00am Tuesday! 

After a quick trip to the necessary, I was in my jammies and out like a light.  Ralph chose the option of having a cigar outside first.  I woke up at exactly 10am!  What is wrong with me?  Ralph is still sleeping peacefully and I’m happy to see it.  He did all of the driving on this trip back. 

It was a bit of a tough trip too, especially when we got to the Pennsylvania turnpike.  It was like someone turned on a hose as soon as we went through the toll plaza!  It rained like crazy for most of the trip back.  There was such an incredible amount of construction going on, too.  That’s something that we noticed during this trip…Construction!  If I had a dollar for every orange striped barrel and cone that we saw, I could turn right around and go back to New Mexico!

I am moving a bit in slow motion but I do have a plan for the day.  While Ralph sleeps, I’m going to try to get as much out of the car as possible.  We have to get it cleaned out and returned to the rental agency.  I’d like to get it back today to avoid another day’s charge.  We’ll see how that works.  They’re open until 6pm. I think we can manage it.

I also need to stock up since there is NO FOOD in the house.  I cannot WAIT to get to the produce market.  I am seriously in need of some fruits and veggies and I long to fill up my Big Purple Bowl with one of my creations.  The issues with our fridge in New Mexico put a serious damper on my salad consumption.  I have a lot of catching up to do…in a lot of ways. 😉

In an effort to get that catching up started, I’ll get out of here and get going.  I do believe there will be need for a nap later today.  I think I’m allowed!

Thank you all for all of your comments while I’ve been away.  I realize I haven’t been able to comment very often on your posts and I do appreciate you not forgetting me!  I’ll be back on track starting tomorrow!

Happy Tuesday!!

The Last of the Best

So here it is…the day I have NOT been looking forward to.  By the time you read this, we should be on the road heading back to New Jersey.  As I write this, I’m almost totally packed.

Not as many suitcases as I came with, one at least is going back empty because it carried a set of dishes I brought with me.  The black bag full of books only got three new companions.  I think that was admirable of me to keep the limit to only three!

Nature did us the favor on Friday night of giving us a wonderful sunset.  I actually took a wonderful panoramic video of it, but can’t figure out how to post it.  Need a tutorial for that!  But I’ll share some beautiful photos with you as a send off.

Remember, you can follow me on Twitter while we’re on the road.  I’m not sure whether I’ll get the opportunity to post.  Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Happy Sunday!

Making the Most

Friday was a day for catching up with a few things we needed to do around the house and starting to pack up.

In the morning, I cleaned up a lot of things in preparation for leaving and because we were expecting a short visit from our friend, Marcia from Java the Hut in the afternoon and I wanted things to look good.  She had never seen the house and I wanted things to look nice.  I got started packing up all of the food type things…things I had brought with the intention of doing a lot of cooking, but then with  our lack of a truly functional fridge, I couldn’t use.  Things got packed back into the reusable shopping bags that are so great to use when we travel out here.

In the afternoon, we drove down to Java to meet Marcia so that we could show her the way to the house (it’s a bit of a zig zag to get here).  I took advantage of the opportunity to take a few photos around the shop to have memories of one of my favorite places.

This is Patches.  She belongs to Marcia’s daughter in law, Ann and is the sweetest thing.

Ann, Me and Marcia.  They are both such sweet ladies!

Here are a few shots of the beautiful flowers around Java the Hut and the Hub in general.  A delightful man named Ward takes care of all of the flowers.  He is a Silver City native.

 

Sadly, I forgot to take any photos of Marcia’s visit.  She loved the house, and was fascinated by our view of Silver City from our deck.  She thinks she can probably see us from her house which is across town.  She said she was going to try when she got home.  That’s one advantage of being so high up on a hill.  It’s easy to see the house from several spots in the city!

That’s about it for now. I have some last-minute laundry to do.  I’m mostly packed except for my toiletries.  Now I get to help Ralph pack!  Now there’s an adventure!

Happy Saturday!  Trying to make the most of our last full day here!

I Can Count On One Hand

Ok, Folks, now we embark on the melancholy portion of our trip to the Land of Enchantment.  I can count on one hand the days remaining here.  I can actually count on two fingers.  We’ll be leaving on Sunday, hopefully early because the later we stay the less inclined I will be to actually get in the car.  Take me out when it’s still dark and I guess I’ll go… 😉

Our Thursday was spent at a semi-surprise birthday party for our friend Craig.  I can’t believe that I spent the entire day with my camera in my pocket and took NO pictures of anyone!  There’s another reason to get a new camera…if it’s bigger it’s harder to forget!!  That will be one of my projects when we get back to New Jersey.  Don’t know how I’ll work it, but I’ll figure out something!

We had a wonderful day chatting and eating (too much as has been my habit on this trip.)  My major project when I get back to New Jersey will be getting back on track with Weight Watchers.  I feel so off track and I truly am.  I am seriously lacking in veggies and fruit and as I said before, I long for a salad in my Big Purple Bowl.  That and getting back to my walking will set everything right.  I may have to keep my eyes closed when I get on the scale for my first weigh in back at WW which will be September 1.  Can’t believe it’s almost September!

I did take a few pictures yesterday. Our friends Tonja and Craig have a home that is a Garden of Eden, filled with trees and flowers.  Filled with birds also, as I showed with all of the hummingbirds the other day.

I’ve always loved water lilies and Tonja has a little “pond” that she’s created in what is actually meant to be used to water cattle!

Again, the photos could have been clearer, but I think they’re still beautiful.

Today we’ll be starting our pack up/clean up in preparation for our departure.  We’re going to try to see friends that we’ve missed several times during our stay and this evening, our friend Marcia from Java the Hut is stopping over for Coffee!  Talk about a busman’s holiday!  We’re looking forward to showing off our house to her.  I’ve got LOTS of work today!

Happy Friday!

Land of Sky and Clouds

One of the things that Ralph and I always marvel at about New Mexico is the skies and the clouds.  When we’re in New Jersey and get a perfectly blue sky we often say, “It’s pretty, but it’s not a New Mexico sky.” We’ve also wondered if people who have grown up here or have lived here for a while are effected in the same way.

Our friend Craig has been known to say, “Oh, well, just another Silver City sunset.”  Just joking because he still appreciates it after 15 years.  Then we met our neighbor who moved in since the last time we visited.  We shouted our hellos from the front step and asked if we could come over to introduce ourselves.  We said we hoped we weren’t disturbing her.  She said she was just watching the clouds then pointed out a dragon in the clouds.  She is new to this neighborhood, but was born and raised in Silver City. 

I guess that we’re not the only ones mesmerized by the sight.  Last night a big thunderstorm was trying to happen.  It probably did rain somewhere in the area, but we saw no rain, only some incredible sights.

I’ve mentioned my intention to load up all of these on my Facebook page, but I’m still having issues on getting an album to load properly.  I’m sure it’s something simple I’m missing.  When I get this figured out I will do that.

For the time being, these are my two favorites…

I think he looks just a little bit at home, what do you think?  I’m very happy to see him looking so content, here in the Land of Sky and Clouds.

Happy Thursday!

WIAW~No Really…What Did I Eat?

I’ve been participating in What I Ate Wednesday for quite some time now.  At first I thought that we actually had to post “what” we ate on Wednesday and couldn’t figure out how that worked.  Then I realized it was what we “ate” and didn’t have to be from Wednesday, that was just the date we posted it. So since I’ve had that figured out, I’ve had great fun doing it!  I don’t think I’ve missed one since I started (although unlike some bloggers, I don’t actually know how many times I’ve participated.)  Of course, WIAW is the fun day thunk up by Jenn at Peas & Crayons.

I love being able to show my healthy, tasty choices every week.  However, one of the issues we’ve had to deal with since we’ve been visiting our home in New Mexico, is that the fridge is not working properly.  The fridge itself is not cold…the freezer is about as cold as a fridge usually is.  So all of our water, milk, butter, et al has to go in there.  I can’t tell you how sad I am because my plan was to cook healthy for us while here and in the process be thrifty rather than eating out all the time. 

Sadly that hasn’t happened and I can’t tell you how I’m craving a salad in my Big Purple Bowl.  I have a big green bowl here that worked great, but I only used it once.  It’s not easy to find a decent salad here that doesn’t have some form of meat in it and even if you ask for it left off, it’s not much of a salad.  So for that reason alone I’ll be happy to get back to New Jersey.  The foods I have been eating have been catch as catch can and not really photo worthy (Too much Taco Bell and Veggie Burger King.)

I have made a new friend and her name is Stella.

I met her at Java the Hut and she is adorable and friendly.  Of course, when I decided to take her photo, she decided she needed a nap!  She’s so sweet!

 Something that is worth showing is the scenery and the sunrises and sunsets. Here’s a sunrise from Tuesday.

I feel a little bit like a fraud posting this on WIAW this week, but I figure, I deserve a little slack under the circumstances.  Please be sure to go over to Peas & Crayons to read about some real food and of course leave some comments. 

Next week for WIAW, we’ll either be on the road heading back to NJ or we’ll actually be there depending on how soon we get on the road. But as I think it shows today, I hate to miss WIAW! 

Happy What I Ate Wednesday! (The Non-Food edition!)

 

 

…Because They Don’t Know The Words!

The title is the answer to the question, “Why do Hummingbirds hum?”  Ok, my brain is too tired at the moment, so don’t make fun of my goofy jokes!

Monday was a frustrating day in some ways and good in others.  I was up WAY too early, 4am, which I thought I had left back in New Jersey.  Regardless, I got up and got myself together.  I was going to be visiting with my friend Tonja to help her coordinate her wardrobe for her trip to Croatia.  Turns out, she didn’t need help with that, she just wanted us to have a little time together to talk and relax.  She made Croatian coffee, we had some sweet snacks (I’ve got to stop all of this “extra” eating!!) and sat out on her patio.  It was very nice and I enjoyed the chance for just the two of us to talk. 

While sitting there, I decided to try my hand at taking photos of the many hummingbirds that come to her feeders.  When we were in California, we spent a lot of time watching the hummingbirds at my cousin Kim’s house.  But I wasn’t able to catch any photos of them.  I think I did better here.

I think they turned out pretty well.  Now if only I had gotten a photography tip from my friend, Patti, before I had taken these.  She told me I need to use the “running man” setting on my camera for speed and movement.  I have to check the camera now to find that!!  Guess I’ll just have to go back and spend another morning looking at the hummingbirds!

Oh yes, there were humans involved, too.

Me and Tonja when she brought me home.  Yes…she IS that tiny!!  She’s a great lady and we had great fun!

Since we’ll only be here a few more days and since we can’t seem to find someone to fix the fridge, we’re just going to forget about it until our next visit (Which will hopefully be soon AND will be when we actually move here!)  Then we also realized that our wonderful air mattress bed that we love so much has a leak!  So one of today’s projects is finding the leak… 😦

Happy Tuesday!