Snapshot Saturday~March 30

One day until Easter and the order of the day is Snapshot Saturday, the link up created by Alyce at At Home With Books.  Be sure to visit there when you are finished here to see what everyone has to show you!

One of my favorite things in Spring is the appearance of the first Spring flowers.  Since I was away, then here and very sick at the same time that more cold weather rolled in, I never got to share with you my favorite flowers.

Crocuses!  I like them especially because the ones in my yard were ones my Grandmother planted many, many years ago.  The fun thing about the crocuses is that over the years, they’ve migrated.  Well, I guess I should day they’ve been migrated.  Many generations of squirrels have dug them up in the mistaken belief that they are acorns.  When they realize their mistake, they toss them aside and move on.  I’ve actually seen them do this!  So the crocuses are not exactly in an organized garden.  In fact, they’re all over the place.  That’s half the fun.

Due to being sick, I missed the opportunity to take any photos of them when they first came up.  I was sad.  However, today I got my second chance.

 

The first one I found was a white one almost in the middle of the yard…at least 10 feet from where it should have been.

The second one was tiny and purple.

 

This one was harder to see and I might have missed it if Ralph hadn’t spied it.

This one was at least 15 fee from where it should have been, under a bush and almost buried under left over leaves.

Now that I’ve actually documented the fact that there are flowers in my yard, I almost feel like Spring is here!

Be sure to visit At Home With Books and see what everyone else has shared.

Happy Spring!!

Strange But Good~Quick and Easy

If there were no other reasons to love Friday, I would still be excited to be participating in Strange But Good!  This is the fun link up created by Laura at Sprint 2 The Table.  I obviously make strange choices that I consider good and it’s great to be surrounded by Other Strangers!

Not really sure if this qualifies for Strange But Good, but some people think it sounds odd.  I started eating something like this when I was in Florida with my best friend, Gail.  It’s her idea really, so I need to give her credit.    🙂

 

Sorry for the messy counter…I’m still working on things since being sick.

Anyway…start with a glass measuring cup.  Spray with non stick cooking spray.  Add 1/2 cup of liquid egg substitute and 1/2 cup of liquid egg whites.  I get these at Aldi, but they don’t always have them.  I stock up and put them in the freezer when they do have them.  So much less expensive than name brands!  A handful of cut frozen asparagus which I had cut and put in the fridge the night before.

Cook for 1 minute 20 seconds.  Give it a few seconds and then give it another 1 minute 20 seconds.  If you do it all at once, it can overflow.  Can’t chance losing anything.    😉

 

It comes out in sort of a lump.  That’s actually good, makes it easy to get out of the measuring cup. The cooking spray helps with that.

When I cut into it, I realized it was still a bit liquid in the center.  The times I gave were for the egg mixture with nothing else in it.  For future reference, I’ll know that when I add veggies, it requires a bit more time.  I put it back in for another 30 seconds.

 

Cut up and with some ground black pepper (always!) added, this was delicious and filling.  Adding the veggies made it even more satisfying.  The regular egg substitute counts for 2 Points, the egg whites and asparagus count for 0 Points.  This does not look as big in the photo as it did in person.   Great breakfast for my Weight Watchers purposes!  Also 22 grams of protein!  Ok, by me!

I ate this early, because I needed to eat before taking my LAST dose of antibiotics.  So happy about that.  They certainly have done the trick for me.  I’m feeling so much better and even added some exercise back in yesterday…a Very Slow 30 minutes on my exercise bike.  Gotta get moving again, I’ve been feeling like such a Slug!

That’s Strange But Good for me, today.  Be sure to check out Sprint 2 The Table to see what other strangeness you can find there.  I love getting ideas and suggestions from the other linkers.

Happy Friday!  It’s Strange But Good!

WIAW~Things Are Looking Up

Good Morning and Happy What I Ate Wednesday! Of course, WIAW is the wonderful link up created by Jenn at Peas & Crayons. Be sure to stop over at P & C when you’re finished here.  Drool over some great food and leave some comments.

I’ve been fighting this dreaded bronchitis (was it always bronchitis or did it start just as a cold?) for way, Way too long.  I am starting to feel better but yesterday I had a coughing spell that even had Ralph worried.  I like to think that spell was all of the evil humors giving up the ghost and leaving my body. As I write this on Tuesday…I’m feeling pretty good, fingers crossed.

My WIAW posts seem to be very breakfast heavy lately, but hey…it is the most important meal of the day, right?!

 

I’ve been taking antibiotics for about a week.  I need to eat something before taking them.  I also have to be careful to try to counteract the bad effects of antibiotics so I thought that yogurt made the perfect choice.  The yogurt cultures add back in the Good bacteria that the antibiotics kill off along with the Bad ones.

 

For a change, I had cottage cheese with apple butter…with antibiotics.  If you’ve never tried the combo of cottage cheese and apple butter, you are missing something.  The sweet spiciness of the apple butter combined with the creaminess of the cottage cheese actually makes it taste decadent.  One of my favorites.

 

A mixed cheese salad from our local pizzeria along with their tasty balsamic vinaigrette.

Saturday, Ralph decided we needed to eat Chinese.  I’d had a good day on the scale at Weight Watchers, so I said Ok.

 

Started with egg drop soup…yum…

 

My usual…Veggie Delite with brown rice.  This was also on the lunch special menu so it was a deal.  Delicious!

We had to run some errands on Monday and we agreed that breakfast at the diner would be a good idea.  I had never ordered an egg white omelette in a restaurant, but since the Point count for WW is lower, I figured I’d give it a try.

 

It had green peppers, tomatoes, onions, broccoli and asparagus.  Sliced tomatoes on the side.  This was really good.  I do have to check the Point value on this.  Egg whites in general count as 0 Points and it was filled with veggies, but I know they must have cooked it with something else, oil or butter so I’ve got some math to do. (Oh, Joy!)  Regardless, I know it was a good choice and I enjoyed it very much.

I realize I haven’t mentioned lately how I’ve been doing at WW since I came back to New Jersey.  Saturday I lost 1.6 pounds.  That puts me at 8 pounds below my WW goal and even 2 pounds under my personal goal.  Not sure if I can sustain this but I’m working hard to make good choices.  When I’m finally feeling good enough to go grocery shopping and start cooking again, I think I can keep myself on track.  At least I’m going to try!

That’s it for me today for WIAW.  Be sure to stop over at Peas & Crayons and see what all the fun kids are eating today.  I always enjoy it!

Happy What I Ate Wednesday!

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?~March 25

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?  Presented by Sheila at Book Journey.  Let’s get started!

Boy am I out of things with reading lately.  Went to Florida and was very busy there with little time to read.  Then while I was there, I got very sick and didn’t feel like reading.  Came back to New Jersey to find out I had bronchitis. No reading for about a week.  Finally finished a book today.

I’m liking Lisa Scottoline, but this is one of her earlier ones and I think I like later ones better.  This was the first book I read on my Nook.  It does take some time to become comfortable reading on the Nook.  It’s just a strange feeling. This may have colored my feeling about the book.  I’m sure as time goes on, I’ll become more at home with it.  In general, I’m liking my Nook.

Having not really been reading lately, I’m not even sure what my next up will be.  I have no shortage of books here to start on.  I just can’t even remember what’s in the pile at the moment.  I realize that I am terribly behind in my book average for the year so far.  My plan is to read several short books to get myself back on track and pump up the average.

When my friend, Gail comes home from Florida, she’ll be bringing my bag filled with books that I got during our wonderful days of thrifting.  One of which is Le Miserables.  I was so excited to find a really nice paperback copy of it for 50 cents.  I couldn’t believe how inexpensive books were at some of the yard sales we found.  My friends were all laughing at me, knowing the collection of books I already have at home.

When all of the books get here, I’ll let you know what they all are…I can’t even remember!

That’s It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?  Be sure to visit Book Journey and check out some of the other bookie bloggers who link up.  I always get good ideas from them.  I could use an idea right now about where to start…I guess I’ll just dive in and hope the piles don’t smother me!    😉

Happy Monday!!

PS:  I started reading The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart.  last night.

Looks interesting so far!  Feel so much better now that I’m reading again!

Snapshot Saturday~March 23

It’s time for Snapshot Saturday.  This is the wonderful link up started by Alyce at At Home With Book.  Everyone comes up with wonderful and interesting photos and I think I’ve got something interesting today.

During my trip to Florida, we visited Boyd Hill Nature Preserve in St. Petersburg.  It was an interesting trip in many ways, not the least of which was the 84-year-old tram driver who nearly tipped us over.  But she was delightful and full of info about the Preserve.

One of the strangest and most unique things was a statue that we came upon.

 

 

 

Unfortunately, I don’t know who the artist is.  I’m also not sure what the materials are, except that it does look like car bumpers and gears.  Oh, yes…it’s an armadillo.  I thought it was so cool and we stayed there for about 10 minutes inspecting it and taking photos.  It was fascinating!

That’s it for me for Snapshot Saturday.  Be sure to check out the other photographers at At Home With Books.  We all love when you visit and leave comments.

Happy Snapshot Saturday!!

Strange But Good~March 22

I am really glad to be back participating in Strange But Good, hosted by Laura at Sprint 2 The Table. I’ve missed several weeks to do being away with computer problems and then being sick when I got home.  I’m back and I’m on the mend, so I’m pretty excited to be here.  Be sure to stop by at Laura’s blog to check out the strange things going on there!

As I said, I’ve been sick so there wasn’t a great deal of cooking going on here. However, I was blessed with left overs from our St. Patrick’s Day dinner at sister Ele’s house on Saturday, so that helped add to the strangeness.

I actually have 2 meals to offer you.  The only thing I did get around to doing was making a crock pot full of black beans so they helped out.

 

Ok, this looks and probably sounds pretty strange.  In the center is some of Ele’s best ever mac n’ cheese.  She really does make the best.  It’s surrounded by leftover cabbage (yum) and topped with black beans.  Of course, I ate around and on top all to leave the mac n’ cheese for last.  This was tasty and filling.

My second dinner was this…

 

This was leftover salad from Saturday as well as the last of the cabbage (yum.)  I added a cup of black beans and cut up some Weight Watchers cheese sticks.  Topped with Catalina dressing.  That really is the last of the bottled dressing I have in the house.  Now I’ll be forced to make my own, which is what I’m hoping to do.

I think I’ve outdone myself with strangeness this week.  Hope you will all stop by at Sprint 2 the Table and check out more strangeness and leaves some comments.

Happy Friday…Hope yours is Strange But Good!

WIAW~Battling the Plague, Still

Today I’m armed with more food photos so I don’t feel like such a dud when I link up to What I Ate Wednesday.  That’s the great link up created by Jenn at Peas & Crayons.  Be sure to stop by when you’re finished here to check out the other great blogs that link up there each week.

First, just to let you all know, I went to the doctor on Tuesday and the verdict…I have bronchitis.  Yuck.  I’ve never been sick for this long before.  I hate it.  I don’t get sick. In fact I saw Ralph’s doctor today rather than my doctor in the practice.  The doctor looked at my chart and said, “You don’t get sick very often, do you?”  Well, no I don’t.  Now I’m on antibiotics.  Hopefully, this will fix me up, because I’m SICK of being sick and all this coughing.

On to the food!

I’ll have to warn you that it’s heavy on breakfast.

 

This was one of our favorite breakfasts when I was in Florida.  Morningstar Farms maple sausage along with a mix of a quarter cup of egg substitute mixed with a quarter cup of egg whites.  The egg combo only counts as 1 Point and the sausage 2 Points.  Very filling breakfast for 3 points!

We were celebrating St. Patrick’s Day at my sister Ele’s on Saturday. Dinner was traditional…

 

Of course everyone else was eating the corned beef.  For me it was cabbage with ketchup (learned that from Ralph) potatoes and the centerpiece…Ele’s macaroni and cheese.  So good.

 

Of course there was also home-made chocolate cake.  So good!

This was breakfast last weekend at some point.  I’ve been feeling so yucky for such a long time that I’m not sure when it’s from.  Mushroom and spinach omelette with sliced tomatoes.  Very good.

Tuesday after my doctor’s appointment, we went out to lunch, but I opted for breakfast again.

 

It was a pepper and onion omelette with sliced tomatoes.  Helped to make me feel better for a while before I started coughing again.

So that’s it for me today.  I’ll get back on track soon and I can tell you, that can’t happen soon enough for me.

Be sure to check out the other blogs at Peas & Crayons and join in the fun!

Happy What I Ate Wednesday!

Healing??

Well, I can’t guarantee anything, but I think I’m feeling a bit better today.  I think I’ve scared it out of myself by promising to call the doctor for an appointment today.  Can’t call until 1 pm so I’ll see if this upturn continues until then.

Ralph and I spent a lovely afternoon with his family celebrating St. Patrick’s Day.  We went to the Adelphia and I didn’t really take any photos.  Major reason being that the place was Mobbed!  I don’t remember ever being there on a Sunday now that I think about it, but this was bedlam!  The fact that it was St. Patrick’s Day could have something to do with it.

Once, I got in my seat which was right next to the railing where the brunch buffet was being served (also right next to a vat of bacon I might add, which made my day…eye roll)  I couldn’t move around to get to take photos.  I was also feeling kind of punky and decided that if I could keep myself from coughing my way through the lunch that would be my job for the duration of the time we were there. So no photos not even of my lunch.  It was my usual Greek salad and was delicious once they removed the anchovies I had requested kept away to begin with (second eye roll.)  I judged how bad I was feeling by the fact that I didn’t finish it and I usually finish every bit.

In truth I haven’t been eating much since I’ve been home, just not even feeling hungry.  That may or may not reflect well on my weigh in next week.  So many times if I don’t eat everything I’m supposed to, I gain.  Crazy but it’s true.  When I was leading my classes, that was one of the hardest things for members to believe.  But when they could wrap their heads around the concept, they usually had better progress.

I have a new “thing” with Weight Watchers to tell you all about but that will be for another day.  One reason being, I could only get it working today after being back from Florida for almost a week.  It’s my computer’s fault not Weight Watchers.

I’m off to drink some tea, probably go back to bed and to sleep.  My one accomplishment other than posting today is my crock pot full of black beans working their magic in the kitchen.  They can do their work without my help, thank goodness.

Happy Monday!

The Plague Continues

Ok, I hate to be a quitter.  I hate to give up and say I’m beat, but I think I am beaten this time.

Saturday was two weeks that I’ve had this dreadful cold, and it doesn’t really seem to be getting any better.

I’m planning to call the family doctor tomorrow to see if she has any suggestions.  I’m following the instructions that she gave to Ralph in the fall…take Zicam and some kind of over the counter cold medicine.  I had a quick version of the cold that held on for weeks for him. Of course he was giving up smoking at the same time, which made it harder for him. It worked for me then, but doesn’t seem to be working this time.

I planned to dig right in to projects when I got back but that hasn’t happened.

On the other hand, Ralph has made a big chunk of progress on his cleaning out projects.  I’m very proud of him for that.

We’re off to a St. Patrick’s day lunch with Ralph’s sisters, brother-in-law, aunt and cousin.  We always have a good time together.  I’m looking forward to it…just hope I don’t have to leave the table to cough up a lung.  That’s disgusting and I do apologize for the crudeness, but that’s the way I feel just now.  If it really bothered me, I’d delete it.    😉

I’m drinking a big cup of tea/green tea with honey and lemon (bottled juice is all I had) and I know that helps.  I should make some of that mix I made in the fall…lemon, ginger and honey and then put it in my tea.  Ok…gotta buy some lemons.  I think that was a help back in the fall…hopefully it will be this time.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Everyone have an enjoyable and safe day!

Snapshot Saturday~March 16

While I was in Florida, I was having trouble posting photos to my blog.  The most obvious loss in all of that was Snapshot Saturday.  I really enjoy participating and I missed it.  Be sure to go to At Home With Books, Alyce’s terrific blog to see all of the other wonderful photos being shared today.

While in Florida, Gail and I went to Heritage Village.  It’s a wonderful place where old buildings from all over Florida have been moved to create a wonderful living museum.

When we were in the old school-house, there was a wonderful old map on the wall dated 1909.  Of course, I was drawn to the Southwest and New Mexico.  New Mexico did not become a state until 1912.  It took some searching because the state boundary wasn’t there and old print was pretty dim, but…

 

Sure as Shootin’ as my Mom used to say, there’s Silver City.  The place I long to be.  The place I’ll be going soon if all the stars align properly.  I’m looking forward to it which I suppose you can tell since I talk about it so much.

Don’t forget to go over to At Home With Books to check out the other great snapshots for today.

Happy Snapshot Saturday!