WIAW~On My Best Behavior

If it’s Wednesday…It must be What I Ate Wednesday!  What is that you may ask?  Well, no one who is familar with BCDC will wonder.  It’s the wonderful, weekly to do put on by the lovely and clever Jenn at Peas & Crayons.  When you’re finished here, please be sure to hop on over to P & C to look around read some blogs and please be sure to leave some comments.  It’s what we all live for! 😉  Here we go!

You’ve all heard me go on and on about how I’m staying on track regarding my Weight Watchers plan.  I’ve been doing this for nearly 25 years…I shouldn’t have to think or talk so much about it.  But I do.  Why?  Because it’s important to me. 

I’m sharing a whole day of my food choices.  Not exciting perhaps, but all figured out and added into my food tracker to be sure I’m on track.

Started out with something that doesn’t happen very often…

Overnight oats in a jar (OOIAJ) in a real sunflower butter jar!

Yum!

All gone… 😦  The really sad part is I have no more sunflower butter!  It’s hard to find.  I did find it at Target but it was Really expensive.  Guess I do need to make a pilgrimage back to Trader Joe’s.

Lunch was one of my favorites.  I used some of the leftover salad from Sunday night’s visit to my sister Ele’s house.  Topped with light cottage cheese, lots of ground black pepper, dried basil and sugar-free sweet pickle relish.  This is so tasty and filling.  I forget how much I love it until I make it again.  Especially easy when you have already made salad.

Dinner started with what was left of the salad.  I should probably make my big bowl with pre prepared salad.  I’m always so happy when it’s in the fridge and so sad when it’s finished. 😦

The completed salad with shredded cheese and light balsamic vinaigrette.  Accompanied by a MorningStar Farms spicy black bean burger topped with shredded cheese on a sandwich round with Dijon mustard.  Very tasty.

Dessert was something different for me, but something I had come to enjoy during my 2 weeks in Florida.

Chopped apple topped with lemon Jello and fat-free vanilla yogurt.  It was really good and satisfying too.  I didn’t have any other snacks. 

So this is me being on my best behavior.  Am I good all the time?  Of course, not.  Do I always try?  You bet.  That’s all we can do is try and I will keep trying to stay on track because I know the Weight Watchers program works. Excuse me while I get down from my soap box! 😉

Remember to head on over to Peas & Crayons now to look around, wish you were where all the good food is and leave some comments.  We love it when you do that!

Happy What I Ate Wednesday!

Sunday Confessional

I have to confess what I did Saturday night.  Ralph was camping in Mullica Hill.  Early in the week, he had brought me home an apple fritter…the ones I’ve talked about before that qualify for bigger than my head.  I survived all week until Saturday night.  I had actually been pretty good so I didn’t feel too bad.  Sunday, however didn’t help as you will see.

The morning started with a happy visitor.  My sister Ele has company this weekend.   Who could that be?!?  My favorite co-star, Little Michael!!

He couldn’t be any cuter if he tried!  He loves to visit BCDC!!

Of course, we went to his favorite breakfast spot, Dunkin’ Donuts and Michael met this fellow…

This was a very cool promo thing.  It was like the blow up decorations you see on lawns.  Very cool!

Two portraits of Grummy and Aunt Fran by our favorite young photographer…

One, Ok, One really good.  He loves taking pictures and he really does have a knack for it.  Finally a decent photo of my new hair cut and the 9-year-old has to do it!! 😉

My only treat was pumpkin spice coffee (Oooo…I have my free coffee coming tomorrow!!) But I forgot to take a picture…I was having too much fun with Michael!

Happy Face with coffee stirrer…

Sad Face with coffee stirrer…

After visiting for a while, I headed back down to visit Ralph at Mullica Hill.  I stopped to get us both breakfast sandwiches again from the local convenience store.  I shouldn’t have but I was hungry.  Oh, well, I’ll get back on track again.

An adorable brother and sister whose picture Ralph drew.

I must confess that Ralph and I shared this HUGE pretzel.  It was over a foot long.  I probably ate about a quarter of it.  I don’t feel too bad, it could have been worse! 😉

One last treasure I wanted to share.  I love old Mason jars.  I especially like the ones that are squared off.  You don’t see them very often.  I was happy to find this one at our friend’s shop, The Old and New Shop.

I have quite a collection of them.  When we get to New Mexico, I’m going to be using them to store all of my beans and grains.  One more reason to look forward to getting to NM!!

So that’s Sunday for you. 

Monday I have to get my act together and get some things done around here.  I have to get back to the sorting and packing and to getting some exercise.  So much to do. 

Happy Monday!!

 

 

Under The Ancient Cottonwood

Saturday morning was a unique and somewhat inexplicable experience for me.  As part of the Gila River Festival here in Silver City,  I attended a writing workshop called Writing From Place.  It was conducted by Mary Sojourner, author and NPR commentator.

The workshop was held in San Vincente Creek Park, under a beautiful, ancient cottonwood tree so big that it’s branches spread out to cover the space occupied by my house back in New Jersey.  We hiked into the spot, carrying our chairs and writing materials with us.  Because of that I have no photos of the park or the spot where our circle existed. 

Ralph and I hope to hike in there later in the week and I’ll get some photos then.  I have no photos of the circle because I felt it was a private thing and I didn’t want anyone to feel uncomfortable. I’m not even sure at this point exactly what to say about it.  I need it all to settle in, first and then I’ll be able to write more clearly about it.  We were a group of 12 teenagers and adults and I know we all left feeling a special bond with each other and with the beautiful spot where we gathered.

I also feel a particular bond with Mary. She asked me to keep in touch, she wants to see more that I write.  That is a wonderful gift and I am so grateful for that.

I called Ralph as I was hiking back to the parking area so that he would be able to pick me up at the Visitor’s Center.  He was there when we got back and was talking to one of the park rangers.  The ranger told him that where we had been in the park is actually part of the park that we can see from our house.  If I had kept hiking that trail, I would have been home.  Hopefully, I’ll get to do that some day.

Our friends Ed and Del from Anthony, Texas had driven up to visit us for the day and they were waiting at home when we got back.  We were all hungry so we went to The Drifter again, because that’s one of Ed’s favorite places.  I really need to get myself under control.  This was my breakfast…

Huevos rancheros with green chile sauce, hash browns, refried beans and a tortilla on the side.  I ate all of the eggs and some of the beans.  I am happy to report that I did not eat all of it.  Actually, that was my only meal for the day, so maybe I’m doing better than I thought.

Oh, yeah…I ate this too..

A cherry struedel that I’m sure qualifies for Bigger Than My Head!  Ralph made me eat it…His Fault!

It was such a long, emotional day that we ended up going to bed early.  I wanted to leave you with one last photo.  This is Midget, Ed and Del’s little furry friend…

She’s so cute, she doesn’t actually look real!  So glad they got to come for a visit.  We’ve been wanting them to see our house.  We’ll be stopping to see them as we head home next week.

Not sure what the day holds for us…it’s always an Adventure here.

Happy Sunday!!

BTMH Thursday

Ralph and I were both up early Thursday morning to get ready to go to a funeral.  Funerals are sad and this was no different except that it celebrated a wonderful long life.  Of course, as we left our house, the skies opened up again and we were drenched just getting to the car.

Ralph’s friend, Bob from his days in the detective bureau had always treated us as part of the family.  Because of that we got to be very close with his parents.  When we would go to their parties, Bob’s parents would always grab Ralph and Me to sit with them.  It was always a good idea.  They were both wonderful, gregarious people and I loved listening to their stories.  His Dad passed away a few years back and we were so sorry to hear of his Mom’s passing this weekend.  She was 96 years old and she will be missed.  I feel that it was such a privilege to know Her and Her Husband.  They were the best.

Ralph and I had previous plans to meet his sisters and cousins to celebrate his cousin, Kathie’s birthday.  When we left the visitation, it was too early to go to the restaurant and we didn’t think we could wait for something to eat.  We thought we’d stop at the Gateway Diner for some coffee and a quick snack.

We each had a bagel that definitely qualifies for BTMH (Bigger Than My Head) and cream cheese.  A bit pricey (Point wise) for a Thursday, but I didn’t want a full breakfast.  With coffee, it hit the spot.  Next time, I think I’ll choose an English muffin!

We made a quick trip home because we were still too early.  Lunch was planned at the Adelphia Restaurant for 12:30pm.  As I’ve mentioned before, I have a sort of love/hate relationship with this place.  It moved to the love side yesterday.

Unfortunately, this is not on their regular menu, just the lunch menu.  I think I’ll whine the next time I go to see if I can get it again.  It was a caprese salad.

It was so big…second contender for BTMH today!!  Lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, fresh parsley, fresh mozzarella cheese and balsamic vinaigrette.  It was so good, I almost licked my plate!  Tough trying to figure the Points on this, but I did my best! 😉

Kathie with her Birthday cake!

My slice…again BTMH

Yikes!!

But I only ate this much.  Again, how do I count this?!?

The whole gang- George, Me, Kathy, Ralph, John, Maddie, Kathie-the Birthday Girl and Lynne.

Ralph and I were both full and didn’t even think about regular dinner.  Lucky for me, I had made overnight oats but didn’t have time to eat them in the AM.

Perfect for a light dinner!!  I love it!! 

Something legitimately Bigger Than My Head…Kathie’s Happy Birthday balloons.

All in all a good day.  No clue what’s up for today.  Time will tell…

Happy Friday!!

A Diner I Don’t Know About?!?

To celebrate my success at Weight Watchers on Saturday, my lovely friend Eleni from my WW meeting invited me to lunch to celebrate.  I thought that was a great idea and we made plans for Wednesday.  I thought we’d go somewhere nearby but I had forgotten that Eleni’s parents own a diner and so we were off to The New Berlin Diner in, where else, Berlin!

I used to pass it on the way to meetings when I was still working.  I recognized it right away.  I never had the opportunity to stop.  So glad I had the chance this time!

Eleni with our little partner in crime, 2-year-old Yianna!  She’s SO adorable.  I think she was very well-behaved for a 2-year-old.  The big tub of crayons that Ya Ya gave her helped a lot!

Yianna with her Ya Ya, Eleni’s Mom, Mrs. Haloulos.  What a sweet lady!  Eleni gave me a tour of the kitchen and I got to meet her Dad who was cooking away.

An interesting item that Eleni pointed out on the menu,  vegetable and egg white omelette with sliced tomatoes!! Someone stole my idea!!  I think it’s great that they have such a healthy offering.  Great minds think alike?? 😉

The menu is extensive and there were a number of choices I could have had but I figured I should stick with my Greek Salad Tour of North America and have…Greek Salad!  Luckily, the menu stated there were anchovies so I was able to ask for them to be left off.   

When my salad came I had to stand up to get a picture of it, that’s how big it was!  (Bigger Than My Head??)  Chock full of all the good things you expect: tomatoes, romaine, red onion, hard-boiled eggs, cucumber, Greek olives and feta cheese.  No potato salad…:-(   Eleni was asking me about the potato salad that I encountered in Greek salads everywhere in Florida.  I suppose I need to go back so I can find out where that tradition originated.  Research is necessary! 😉

I also got to taste a wonderful side dish that Eleni’s Dad had just freshly made: zucchini in tomato sauce with dill!!  It was just delicious!

I learned something important during that lunch.  Greek families are a lot like Italian families…They like to feed you!  Since I couldn’t finish my salad, I was taking that home, but they also insisted I take something for Ralph (a turkey wrap with fries which he later declared yummy!) and a container of the zucchini. What a great time we had.

Dinner for Ralph was his turkey wrap, for me my left over salad.  I just realized I didn’t mention the dressing.  So many times when you ask for the dressing on the side with a Greek salad, it’s either too much vinegar or too much oil.  This was perfect and perfectly seasoned.  I still have some left which will be tasty on my next home-made salad!  I have to think of what to do with my zucchini!  Can’t wait!

You know it’s hard for me to resist cuteness, so I’ll leave you with one more photo of the star of the day, Yianna…It was hard to get her to hold still but this turned out pretty well…

It was a great time and a great celebration.  If you’re in this area, you should definitely go to The New Berlin Diner…It’s the Best!

I hope to get to see my own package of cuteness today or tomorrow…Little Michael is coming for a visit!  So excited to see him!

Happy Thursday!!

I’m Melting…..

Up early today, so I thought I’d post early rather than waiting until after my Weight Watchers meeting.  Only problem  with that is, no report on my weigh-in until tomorrow. 😦

I’m almost glad about that because I realized an error in my ways.  I was enjoying my “grilled” veggies so much this week, I forgot one thing.  I was adding a little sea salt as I grilled them.  I rarely add salt to food and this week probably wasn’t the time to start.  Salt tends to make you hold fluids.  With all of this heat and humidity, my little body is probably doing a fine job of that all on its own!  😦

I remember having that discussion with my WW members when I was still leading my meetings.  We tend to hold fluids when there is a lot of humidity in the air.  We don’t really have any control over it. 

Ele told me I shouldn’t worry.  Since I don’t eat  many processed foods, I’m not getting salt that way, so the addition shouldn’t hurt my weight loss efforts.  Plus the fact with all of the sweating that comes along with all of this heat, I need to replace the salt I’m losing.  We’ll see in a few hours!

I did get myself out to exercise on Friday morning.  The walk from the car was so hot that by the time I got on the treadmill, I was already worn out.  I did 25 minutes but it was like hitting a wall of heat when I walked into the parking lot…Slam…right in the face!  Terrible.

I made a quick trip to the produce stand to replenish my romaine supply along with some eggplant and yellow squash for “grilling” (without salt! Hello Mrs. Dash!)

I had a lovely breakfast when I came home.

Fat free vanilla yogurt topped with the beautiful figs I bought on Tuesday.  I also added some Fiber One but I thought the picture would be prettier without it! 😉  First time I’ve used figs that way, but it was delicious!

It was too hot to go out anywhere, so I busied myself with laundry and reading.  Good combo!

Later in the afternoon came a text from Ele asking if I wanted to go for coffee.  I dreaded the thought of going into the heat, but I had actually been thinking about coffee.

Off we went to Dunkin’ Donuts.  I had a rendezvous with my new love interest…

Captain America…who else… 😉 I suppose we really should go to see this movie since I’ve had so many of these iced coffees lately! We sat and chatted for a good long while because it was cool and amazingly quiet in there.  I resisted the temptation to take a photo of the muffin Ele ate which was Bigger Than My Head!  I had my 2 Point iced coffee and was happy! 🙂

Ralph decided we should go to the diner for dinner rather than cook.  I just ordered the house salad because that was all I really felt like eating.  It was just ok, but got me through the evening.  I did have popcorn for a snack followed by a Tootsie Pop.

That reminds me, after all the fanfare of the Caramel Tootsie Pops, I forgot to mention that I ate one!  I am going to use them sparingly until I find a supply line.  The verdict…Well worth the wait!  It was delicious!  I called Gail in Florida to tell her.  I told her I would share them and mail some down to her.  She told me I should fly them down in person since she and Alice will still be there until the end of August.  I’m thinking about a quick trip down, but it will depend on a lot of things.

That’s my Saturday up until this point which is officially 5:40am!  Wish me luck at WW…I’m hoping I’ll hit my goal.  If not, I’ll just keep trying which is all I can really ask of myself.

Happy Saturday!! Try to stay cool!!

Back Home and Ready to Go

I just checked and I can’t believe I haven’t posted since Tuesday!  I guess that’s not very long for some people, but I do try to post everyday.  The last few days were busy and it will take me a few days to catch up on everything we did in Florida let alone catching up with real life.

There will be a bit of jumping around in my telling of the tale so stick with me, Kids! 😉

We had a relatively easy trip home.  We got to the airport on time, got to the RIGHT gate and even had time for a snack since we hadn’t had lunch.  I cannot believe how limited and expensive the food was at the Tampa Airport.  Philadelphia has so many more choices. 

Gail and I had a hard time find anything that was vegetarian friendly and ended up at Starbucks with huge, quite delicious cinnamon raisin bagels with cream cheese.  No photo, but along with an iced coffee, I was in heaven.  I realized that I might have been going through coffee withdrawal on this trip.  Not caffeine, just coffee.  No one else really drinks coffee just because they like it.  I’m doing much better now! 😉

Whenever I return from a trip, I’m always happy to see this sight…

The Philadelphia Skyline.  Not a great photo from a moving car, but I knew I was home again.

Our last full day in Florida, we went to visit the Ringling Mansion , Ca’ D’Zan in Sarasota.  It was just incredible!  The pictures don’t do it justice but here are some of them.

Gail at the front gate heading into the visitor’s center.

Ceiling in the Ballroom…

That’s what I want in my house in New Mexico!  Just kidding but it was unbelievable!

Even the bathrooms were amazing…

The inside of every medicine cabinet was painted by a famous artist!  I must have taken about 100 photos so I’ll share some of them in the next few days.  There are too many for one post.

Tourists!!  Me, Gail and Alice

Me on the Tower…what a view!  Clearly, not a good hair day! (it was very windy up there!)

After a long day of touring we were all starving.  We decided that for our last day in Florida we’d go somewhere a little more special.   We went to Johnny’s Italian Restaurant in Clearwater.

This is the kind of place that makes you hungry when you walk in the door just because it smells so good!  The food was delicious too!

Johnny’s amazing bread served hot with herbed olive oil.  Trust me, although I had been trying to be good on the trip…I ate my share!

A very tasty salad that I was able to get with just balsamic vinegar.

Ziti Primavera.  Oh My Gosh!  This was wonderful and a bit spicy so I really enjoyed it.  It had mushrooms, zucchini, yellow squash, broccoli and garlic.  Delicious!  Probably qualifies for Things Bigger Than My Head!

We declined dessert because we couldn’t finish dinner!  An interesting thing about Johnny’s…there is a huge video screen and they run amazing aerial videos of Italy.  It certainly helps set the mood!  A very enjoyable dinner!

A few last photos of Ca’ D’Zan…the stove in the kitchen…

I could cook on that!!  (not so sure!)

Another shot of the front gate…I love this one…

Now to make a valiant attempt to get back into the routine of real life.  I’ll catch you all up on the rest of the adventures in a few days.  Now I have to focus on my most important task…getting sorted and packed and ready for the move.  You’ve heard that before, right?  The process must move faster!!!

Happy Thursday!!

Psychedelic Sneakers and Great Tootsie Love!

I had hardly slept at all on Sunday night…no particular reason why, so I was up early working on BCDC.  When Gail woke up, we had our breakfast and waited to hear from Alice that she was up.  When she came over we decided we were all up for the pool.

We got there a little later than we like and there were more people than we like so it was a little tricky trying to do laps.  I was proud of myself…I did six laps for my first time in the pool in a long time.  We didn’t stay long because it turned out that Monday in Pool Cleaning Day! 

After quick showers all around, we were off for the day.

First stop Taco Bell again for a quick lunch.  I did have the hard taco this time to bring my Points down a little.  I’m beginning to realize that keeping my Points down is going to take concentration and perseverance on this trip.  Keeping up my exercise will help, but…

Dinner was at The Island Outpost again.  This time I had the Greek Salad.  Forgot to take a photo when it first came, but the photo  I remembered half way through will give you an indication of how big it was…

Think it qualifies for Bigger Than My Head?!?  It was very tasty!  There is a strange quirk with Greek Salad in Florida…they put potato salad in it!  I had noticed that at another restaurant a few years ago…big old scoop of potato salad in the middle of my Greek Salad!!  I asked our waitress and she said she wasn’t sure but it was a Florida thing.  One good thing because of it.  The dressing came on the side and I didn’t even need to use it because there was enough from the potato salad.  I was certainly satisfied afterwards…I’m still trying to figure out the Points!!

Our afternoon adventure had also included a trip to Beall’s Outlet. It was a fun place with lots of good prices.  I had the most fun in the shoe department.  Lots of crazy sneakers!

Great Fun…but the best…?!?!?

Yes, Folks…they are PURPLE PAISLEY CORDUROY sneakers!!!  Just what every girl needs in her wardrobe!  I love them, they’re so odd I just had to have them!

Another stop on our trip took us to a Dollar Tree where we have been experiencing Great Tootsie Love lately.  We found something new and exciting.  Tropical Tootsie Pops!!

 

They look like bunches of broccoli all lined up there! The flavors are watermelon, purple passion punch, tangerine!! Pineapple!!! and LEMON-LIME!!  The flavor they told me was only available at Costco!! 

We each bought 4 but since we think they may only be a Florida thing…we’re going back for more!

This is a photo of a happy woman…

I call it Girl With Lemon-Lime Tootsie Pop!

Gail and Alice have promised to give me all of the lemon-lime ones from their packages.  I’m so excited. 🙂

I’m off to find more “Florida Things” and more of these…

Happy Tuesday!!

What a Buzzard of a Day!

How many Buzzards does it take to get our attention?  Five? Six?  I’m not sure how many there were, but for some reason there was a whole flock of buzzards in Gail’s yard yesterday.  She thinks she saw a dead squirrel there, but had no idea it would draw this crew!

These are NOT pretty birds, but they are interesting.  I think there were 6 of them total.  It sort of seemed like an Alfred Hitchcock movie!!

Gail and I went down to help Ele work on the Rummage Sale prep at the church.  Another church donated the leftovers from their rummage sale and we had loads of stuff to sort and display.  There was a huge amount of stuff, but we put a good dent in it.  We have a few more days to work on it and I think we’ll be ready for Saturday.  We’re excited that part of what we got were some racks that we can use for clothes and books.

Dinner was quick and easy.

Some of all the salad fixin’s I bought over the weekend and MorningStar Farms California Turk’y Burgers.

Very tasty with Locatelli cheese added.

I had stopped back at Gail’s after finishing at the church.  We’ve been trying to get a lot of fruit in.  It’s a big help that fruit is now 0 Points on Weight Watchers!  It’s a really healthy choice of snack and tasty.  But what I’m about to show you is amazing…

A strawberry, not quite As Big As My Head, but very close! 😉  It was delicious.  I ate this after a whole lot of watermelon!  Yum…love summer for the fruits and veggies!

A busy day ahead…I’ll be doing Rummage Sale duty again this afternoon.  Am I allowed to say that I’ve already found a few things that I “need?”  Well…it’s for the good of the church AND it’s not expensive AND the book will be helpful AND the insulated tote will work well for road trips AND the bowl is purple… 😉

Trying to use my time well.

Happy Wednesday!!

Recovery Day

After all of the fun, excitement and rich food on Saturday I crashed early and slept well.  However, I woke up feeling like I had a hangover! 😦  I think it was all of the rich food which I’m not used to.  I had a headache and my head was in a real fog.  Ralph and Ele said they felt the same way. In spite of lots of coffee throughout the day, it wasn’t until Sunday night that I started to feel like myself again.

In spite of my fog, I got up with a plan.  I know that I need to get myself back on track after my gain Saturday morning at Weight Watchers AND all of that food on Saturday.

My plan started with…

Black beans!!  Soaking and ready for the crock pot!  Just knowing I’ll have them to use all week  makes me feel back on track.  Got on my exercise bike for my 30 minutes, too!

Our plan was to take Ele to breakfast for Mother’s Day.  When she got home from church, we headed to The Gateway Diner.  We’ve had several good experiences there lately so I think that will be our diner of choice for the forseeable future.

I was very happy with my choice (Ele ordered it first… 😉  )  Spinach and feta cheese omelette with sliced tomatoes.

So yummy!! I like getting the omelettes with the sliced tomatoes so much that I don’t even miss the home fries.  I also had rye toast, no butter.  I’d rather have jelly with it…if only they had orange marmalade. 😦

Of course, Ralph drew a little something for our waitress…

So cute!

Happy Mother’s Day, Ele!!

Me and Ele!  Both of us visions in grey…guess we both got the memo! 😉

Ele and I went to Barnes & Noble later in the afternoon.  Just iced coffee for me with the sugar-free cinnamon dolce syrup.  Very tasty.  I didn’t even buy any books!

Then I stopped at Gail’s to take her Mom a Mother’s Day card.

Unfortunately, I encountered this…

A creme donut that could probably be listed in the collection of things Bigger Than My Head!  I only ate half of it, but then…I ate half of it! 😦

Another reason for me to get my sorry self back on track.

Happily my black beans are crocking away in the crock pot.  Since I had another early morning (up at 4:30, beans in the crock pot by 5:00 and on the exercise bike by 5:10) the beans will be finished by about noon.  I also rode the bike for 45 minutes instead of 30.  I’m going to try to do that now.  I really need it this week and it wouldn’t be a bad idea on a regular basis.  I’m up, I might as well do it!

I’ve got to get my focus back and get on track.  I know I can do it.  I need to track all of my foods, which I confess I did not do this weekend.  (Confession is good for the soul, right? Not for the hips, but at least for the soul! 😉  )

Extra exercise, focus and beans!  Sounds like a game plan.  Off to see what the day holds…

Happy Monday!!