Finding My Collar Bones

[JeffInJax]

My girlfriends family has the biggest loser for the 360 and it wears them ragged. A lady at work has....hmm, i THINK its wii fit, and she liked it a lot cause it has a lot of different activities for exercise, but she didnt like the fact the game would get mad at her if she hadnt worked out in a while, or she wasnt pushing herself enough. I guess people take motivation in different ways! Each system has a few workout games, even the ps3 with the new move system. Also Dance Dance Revolution is a good workout, they have it for all the systems, it even has a workout mode where it tells you the calories you likely burned for each song depending on pace, speed, length ect. I know after doing it for a while i tend to be tired and my legs sore. I think working out should at least sometimes be fun so its a nice change of pace from the dreadmill or elliptical ect.

[Kyan]

Hey Smay - I have to ask.... how is your husband's grandmother doing?

You said you lost your aunt and your grandmother after falls - same thing with my mother! She fell off of a step and kept complaining about the pain - but they didn't see a break to her hip on any scans or xrays - within 2 weeks she died. That was 7 years ago so I am ok about it now - but you are right... falls are scary!!

[smay]

My husband is going to visit her tonight. She's thankfully only 45 minutes away. She ended up fracturing the ball on the hip socket, and had a partial hip replacement last night. Actually, I'm amazed they did surgery, as she is in her 80's. She seemed so frail last weekend when I saw her at the wedding, that I didn't think they would do a surgery. I am pleased that they considered her strong enough to do one. She will be released on Monday to another facility for rehab. If she bounces back from this, I don't think she'll be able to move back home. She fell outside of her house, and luckily a neighbor found her. Honestly, I still don't think this is going to end well. It seems like falls are just a catalyst for the body to start shutting down, or something has already started shutting down which causes the fall. At least by him seeing what I went through last year, he has a more realistic outlook on what may happen.

I know that my aunt and grandma's passings were blessings for all. They were both in poor health, and been in nursing homes for years. My Grandma was 93, had dementia setting in, and hadn't been able to see for years due to macular degeneration. Her quality of life was just not there. My aunt's was harder for me, since she was only 2 years older than my Dad, but her body was failing due to uncontrollable diabetes and liver failure. I was a mess for both, partially because I was involved in the majority of the funeral planning. At least my husband will be spared from that, since his Dad's family is very large, and with my Grandma and Aunt, it was just my parents, brother, and myself.

Okay... enough of that! I don't need to get myself crying. I did enough of that last night courtesy of Grey's Anatomy. That show makes me cry ever single week!!

Crazy weekend again. In-laws are visiting Grandma tonight as well, and then coming here to stay. Tomorrow we go to the cities for my nephew's baptism. I need to bake and the cake for it and make a triple batch of coleslaw as well. Want to get to a few stores too while up there. We need to hit up Penzey's and use our coupons that we just got in the mail, and there is a yarn shop right next door... I have a yarn addiction! I need to get some nice navy wool for my husband because he wants a new winter hat. Also need to get some wool wash there. And I just like to go in and squish all the pretty yarns!

Food will be up in the air most of the weekend. Last night I made a buffalo chicken chili. Really liked it too, and will be making it again once and a while to change things up! Scale is still staying happy. I'm back to the excited to stand on the scale state of mind, instead of dreading it. Still waiting to see a new low, but feeling like it won't be long. Having groceries delivered today since I don't want to shop with both kids. After they come, then I will need to get to baking.

I will let you know what I end up buying fitness related for the Wii. I was looking at Zumba, but the Wii reviews aren't as good as other systems. Sounds like it might be too sensitive? Really, I just need to get back to running on a regular basis.

[smay]

Food wasn't the greatest this weekend. Busy with company and baptism, etc. I have a ton of laundry to fold today, and more grape jelly to make. Haven't stood on the scale all weekend either. Probably should do that and then have some breakfast.

[JeffInJax]

Buffalo chicken chili sounds yummy, sorry the rest of the food wasnt the best this weekend. Stay strong and this week will be better i know it!

[chefk]

I'm sure your weekend food was better than mine! We had our big bonfire bash this weekend.

The nice thing is, I got to give my best friend a couple jars of pickles. It made me think of you immediately. She was like, Who does this??!" And I said, you do!

[smay]

I am so tired of canning right now, it's not even funny! A bunch of my green tomatoes are ripening up, and I really should do another salsa or spaghetti sauce, but the idea of chopping tomatoes and onions makes me want to curl into the fetal position and suck my thumb or something! I enjoy it, but I'm glad I don't need to do it to survive the winter!

I finally hauled my sorry rear to the gym last night. I knew I couldn't pick up where I left off on my running program, because it had almost been a month since I had made it to the gym. P1 doesn't make me want to exercise, and then there was the weddings, making wedding gifts, canning, and Grandma's fall. I am the queen of excuses, but they ran out last night! Ran W5D1 of C25K and it was rough. It is a 5 minute walking warm-up, 5 minutes of running, 3 minutes of walking, another 5 minutes of running, 3 minutes of walking, 5 more minutes of running, and a 5 minute cool down. I didn't dare do a higher day on the program. Even though I had completed it through W6D2, and I could run for 20 minutes straight before doing my P1 reset, I knew I couldn't do that after such a long break.

Kids drove me to my wits end yesterday afternoon. I'm hoping for a better day today. I was supposed to have a girls morning getaway on Friday with a friend, and now my husband has to work at least the morning. His PM said that their supervisor is talking possible mandatory OT and a freeze on vacation. And no, that does not mean extra $$. The joys of being salaried! And the kicker to it all, is that his project doesn't implement until end of 1st quarter next year, and they won't budget in any more resources. It's times like this when I am glad to be home. I don't miss the 50+ hour weeks without even a thank you.

[chefk]

I just read your signature...planning to lose another 20??? You look so teeny now in your pictures. Mind me asking where you're at?

[smay]

Thanks, but I'm far from teeny! I guess I do hide my weight okay, and I've had people think I weigh about 20 lb. less than I do! I'm bouncing in the upper 170's right now. I can wear some 10's in jeans, but mostly 12's. My dresses are primarily 10's now too, and most of my shirts can be mediums, if it works in the chest area. I would like to be in the coveted size 8 though.

I know I have some body issues still from when I had the extra 50 lb. on me. I don't see me for how I look, and I tend to try to compare myself to others to figure out how "big" I really am.

This picture is from Labor day weekend. I think I look pretty chubby in it.



I really do want to lose at least 15 lb. and would be very happy with 20. I don't think it's going to happen fast by any means though, because I cheat too much now! Once I get back into running on a regular basis, I'm hoping that will help.

Yesterday was only so-so. Mini Halloween snickers attacked again. Also, it was high on starches. I made whole wheat apple muffins with the kids (they were really good - and I did take a picture too) but I had a muffin and a half, as well as toast with breakfast, egg salad sandwich with lunch, and a tortilla with dinner. Carbs galore... The scale reflected it too, as I was hoping for a lower number and that sure didn't happen! Going to try get out and run tonight, so that will hopefully help.

Also have a sick little girl. She's running a light temp and has the sniffles. We cancelled dinner plans tonight with friends because of it. Not much else going on. I need to figure out dinner, since we are eating at home now. I should throw something in the crock pot and be lazy, but I'm too lazy to do that right now!

[smay]

100% Whole Wheat Apple Muffins (based on Apple Muffins from allrecipes.com)

Swiper no swiping...

DSC00330.JPG (244.77 KiB) Viewed 734 times

2 c. King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 c. brown sugar Splenda
3/4 c. unsweetened apple juice
1/3 c. canola oil
1 egg
2 c. diced apple (I would have/should have diced mine smaller than in my picture, but I had a 2 and 4 year old helping, so I didn't have the time or patience! Little fingers near my cutting board always freaks me out)

Stir together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and splenda in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together apple juice, oil, and egg. Add the wet mixture to the dry and stir until moistened. Fold in apples. Fill 12 muffin cups, and bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

[chefk]

Well I think you look great! Your face has completely thinned out...arms too. I know that was a biggie for you. My "dream" weight sounds about the same as yours. I'd like high 150s, but I'm honestly good anywhere in the 160s. I think that may have been my problem when I hit the upper/mid 180s...I didn't feel comfortable, but not "fat" anymore so my drive was gone. I'm crazy @ss determined to go flying by my plateau weight this time around. My next mini-goal is right where you're sitting.

Muffins look yummy BTW.

Your husband looks way thinner too.

[smay]

Thanks for the lovely compliments. I still hate my arms, and probably always will. I swear they are still 2 sizes larger than the rest of me.Husband has gained back a bunch of his weight, and he's not too happy about it. Of course, all he has to do is think about losing weight, and he'll take it right back off. One of these days his metabolism is going to catch up with him! 30 was a death sentence to mine.

One of these days you're going to need to post a picture too! Maybe while vacationing on the east coast?

I'm still bummed that I had to miss my girls morning today. I think I'm going to take a few hours this afternoon and run away from responsibility. Leave the kids with the husband and go to the outlet mall! I don't really need anything, but I think it would be nice to just leisurely shop for a bit. I think I'm going to do a crock pot soup for dinner. Dinner was a total cop-out last night. Had the husband pick up a rotisserie chicken on the way home from work. Veggies were a little on the sparse side with that meal too.

We actually have no official plans for the weekend. I wonder how long that will last!

[chefk]

I'm making minestrone tonight. It feels like soup weather. I know what you're saying about men's metabolism. My husband will spend the weekend eating bacon blue cheese burgers and guzzling beers, then on Monday he'll say damn, that was a rough weekend for the scale. He'll eat chicken wings and veggies all that day to "be good" and drop weight instantly. It's crazy. Unfair. Ridiculous.

I still don't have the courage to post a pic. Maybe in email, but not on the web. It seems easier to make my confessions when I don't have a face attached to my journal. Not logical, but true.

[smay]

A soup weekend it was! Been making the taco soup with shredded pork. It's quite tasty. We also did some major eating out. Famous Dave's for lunch on Friday and Red Lobster for lunch on Saturday. Dave's has a "healthy" menu now, which I actually quite enjoy. I can get naked ribs, broccoli, and grilled pineapple and it is all under 600 calories. I figure it's a decent compromise. I know the ribs are too fatty and pineapple isn't that beachy, but I figure it's better than sauced up ribs, beans, and slaw. Had a salad at Red Lobster with woodfire grilled shrimp on it. So overall, not too bad for eating out.

I have a venison roast in the crock pot with the rest of my chili ingredients, so dinner will be chili. We also had over 1/4 of our green tomatoes ripen up on us quickly, so it was more canning yesterday. I didn't want to do it, so I made the husband do all of the chopping and prep. He doesn't really do the "canning" part, except for putting on lids and screwing on bands, so I had to prep all of the jars and get the pressure canner ready.

Scale is kinda in a holding pattern. I wouldn't have been surprised to see it up a bit since we ate out multiple times, and that usually means major water retention, but was happy it wasn't. I need to get some more gym time in this week. I've just been exhausted/burnt out lately.

Chefk, no biggie on the pic! I was actually kinda pleased when the ones I posted pre-crash got scrambled!

[smay]

Yesterday was a very bad day, but today will be better! Made pb cookies with the girl in the afternoon, and overindulged. At least, I did you KA White Whole Wheat flour and natural pb. Also, not nearly enough veggies.

Going to run tonight, and we have 3 new windows being installed this morning. Don't really have meals planned either, except for leftover venison chili for lunch.