WW Stuff

Well, one of my new friends here has also decided to do WW and wanted some tips on breakfast. So I told & gave her some links to favorite recipes for breakfast foods. But I thought I would share that with all of you as well.

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We tend to eat the same weekly menu for breakfast, but some of that has to do with the classes we have, so they need to be quick to make.

Mon: Yogurt (Roundy's FF kind), Weight Watcher toast with fruit spread (I buy the bread at Brownberry), and fruit (often it's a orange, peach or berries, since they lower in points that some other fruit)
Tues: Some kind of homemade muffins & fruit
Wed: Eggs, toast & fruit spread, Turkey Bacon
Thurs: Homemade pancakes or Old Fashioned Oatmeal w/ berries or banana
Fri: Waffles (can't remember the name, as I throw out the box after I open it and put then in a freezer bag, anyways, that are flax ones in the frozen organic section @ PNS) & fruit

A couple of other things to note is that I usually use Smart Balance Light and I have Sugar free syrup. Andy & Isabel use butter & light syrup and other whole grain bread. I use egg beaters for my eggs and A&I have whole eggs. I also top my eggs with hot sauce or salsa to give them more flavor & kick, although I have always done that regardless. And OF oatmeal has more fiber than quick cooking or instant, so I always use that. It only take 5 minutes to cook after it starts boiling. I usually make 1.5 servings for each Andy & I (& Isabel has a little out of it). And I add some frozen berries the last 2 minutes it cooks. I put Splenda in the water while it boils to help sweeten it.

Weekends I usually make homemade breads and pair it with some eggs and/or fruit or pancakes or crepes. I also bake primarily with whole wheat flour because it has a higher fiber content, which helps lower the points, plus I like whole wheat flour.

Often I will drink peppermint tea if I am feeling hungry. The water will fill me up and peppermint helps curb your appetite.

Here are some of my favorite breakfast recipes:
** 100% Whole Grain Pancakes: http://weightwatchen.com/2007/06/ronis-whole-grain-pancakes-v02.html
** 100% Whole Wheat Banana Muffins: http://weightwatchen.com/2007/06/ronis-whole-grain-pancakes-v02.html These 2 recipes are from the same site, I still need to try other recipes from her site as I love both of these.
** Moist Pumpkin Bran Muffins http://greenlitebites.com/2007/11/21/moist-pumpkin-bran-muffins/ This site takes a while to load
** Low Fat Crepes http://lowfatcooking.about.com/od/breakfastandlunch/r/crepes.htm


And here is a fabulous slow cooker oatmeal recipe:

Slow Cooker Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal (Make Overnight)

I found this recipe, then altered it when I was doing WW so that it was even more friendly on the waistline.

Slow Cooker Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal

Makes 2 servings
2 WW points per serving

* 2.5 C water
* 2.5 tsp powdered creamer
* 1/4 C Splenda
* 1 tsp molasses
* 1/4 tsp salt
* 1/2 tsp cinnamon
* 1 1/4 C old-fashioned oats
* 1 C peeled, chopped apple
* 1/8 C raisins

***DIRECTIONS***
Spray the inside of a 3-4 qt. slow cooker. Combine all ingredients in slow cooker and mix well. Cover and turn cooker to "low" setting. Cook overnight or for about 8 hours. Stir well before serving. Tastes great topped with a little whipped topping.
>>NOTE>> If your slow cooker is larger than 3-4 qts, double this recipe. Size matters with this recipe. The ingredients should fill the cooker at least halfway, but no more than 2/3.

All the recipes are so yummy that Andy likes them even when I am not on weight watchers.

Hopefully some of these are helpful. I also keep veggie dip that I made with a mix & FF sour cream in the fridge & chopped up veggies. Isabel & I tend to eat veggies & dip as a snack in the afternoon after her nap.

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A couple of other things......I was a little bummed because I had only a -.3 weight loss this week. Bah! But we have weeks like that. I should just be happy that I didn't gain.

Allison - did you get my email with links to those recipes. I sent it the day after (I think) that you posted asking for them. Let me know. I just wanted to make sure it didn't end up in your junk mail.

WW Update #3

Well, here are the losses in total through today:

Weight: -11.5 pounds
Chest: -1.5 inches
Waist: -.5 inches
Hips: -.25 inches

I was surprised at the loss in my chest. I don't think it is my boobs too much. I think it is back fat that is going away. Woohoo! And I was very happy to see my waist go down. My waist is really where I was seeing it as a trouble spot and making me have to wear a larger size. For the first time in my life I was living with an apple shape and I am trying to get back to that healthier pear shape.

So, I am happy at how things are turning out so far. I started WW at the first of the year, so it has been a month now.

A Dollar For A Dream

No hopeful leads on the house yet. I try not think think about it because it can really be an emotional roller coaster.....one day someone wants a tour and I get excited and hope that it is it.....then it turns out to be a dead lead and I get all sad and think we have to move back (Andy looking for a job was very stressful on all of us and I don't look forward to that happening again) and then I go buy a lottery ticket and hope I win (even a small lottery) so that we can afford a down payment on a new house and 2 mortgages until the MN house sells.....but then I don't win and I forget about it all again until we get that next call.....

Sometimes I get too many people asking me about the house and I get really stressed and go buy a lottery ticket. I only buy one and it's only $1, but it at least picks me up a little bit so I can day dream for another day or two about being able to move on & out......and the low after losing the lottery isn't nearly as bad because after a couple days of holding onto that ticket I forget about it until I come across it in my purse.....and then check the numbers and I am usually lucky if I even match one.....and then I throw it in the recycling and it's done....

Some people need crack for their pick me up......I just need to dream a little bit, and buying that $1 lottery ticket allows me lots of dreams for that dollar.....I know I'll never win, but the dream helps.....really, I've spent less than $20 on lottery tickets since we listed the house 8 months ago....depressing....eight months on the market.....It will have been on the market for a year if we move back.....It just twists my stomach all up.....

It's a great house and I really loved it, but it's time to move on -- just seems like the house won't let go of us....

Anyways, I think I need to bundle up the kid now and go buy a lottery ticket....although I don't get to dream very long since the Powerball drawing is tonight....bah! Maybe I'll just uncork some wine and read a sad book and keep the low going until I can buy one tomorrow and then my dollar will buy a few days of dreams rather than a few hours.

**Note: This was originally an email to my dear friend Kendra, but I thought it summed things up well for people and thought I should post it

WW Update #2

Well, Monday is my weigh-in day and I am down another 1 1/2 pounds. Woohoo!

Some new recipes I am going to try this week are:
* Crockpot Ham, Corn & Potatoes
* Chickpeas & Pasta
* WW Pumpkin Muffins
* Blueberry Squares (dessert)
* Sweet Puffy Omelet
* Honeyloaf

I found a recipe for WW pancakes & WW banana muffins that I really like, as well as a recipe for Crockpot Peking Pork (Isabel & I just ate the leftovers for lunch).

I went to Spinning class today, but I am tired because the class felt REALLY hard today. Maybe it was really hard, but I think I was tired anyways.

WW Recipes

So, I am finding all sorts of new recipes to make. I bought a Weight Watchers Cookbook (although not the newest one.) I do have a couple other WW cookbooks, but they are back in our MN home.

So, some of the new recipes I have tried are:
* Meatloaf (online, uses beans for half the hamburger, needs tweaking but is a good recipe)
* Veggie Lasagna (online, need longer cooking than recipe called for to throughly cook & soften veggies, but otherwise a very good recipe)
* Fish Chowder (p.89, I like this, Andy thought it was only ok but he doesn't care for fish much)
* Chicken w/ Apples & Cider (p.147, Andy said to make this even when not on WW. It tastes very German. Excellent recipe!)
* Black Beans & Rice (p.292, I made it too spicy for Andy & Isabel, but that is my fault not the recipe)
* Raspberry Scones (on my food blog, quick, easy & light)

Some recipes still to make this week are:
* Mahi-mahi w/ lime & cilatro (online recipe)
* Mushroom hamburger (p.194)
* Crepes w/ fruit sauce (I made these last time on WW and these are Excellent!)
* Cranberry Bread
* Blueberry Cobbler (online, but modified to be more WW friendly)

If you want the recipe, let me know.

Deer in the Yard

I took this before it got really warm. The quality is not the best, but it was cool to see the deer eating the bushes in the yard. It was twilight, so it was hard to figure out what I needed to do with my camera to make it turn out decent, plus the deer were kinda far away.

WW Update

Well, when I got on that scale on Jan. 1, I was not exactly pleased. It had been about a month since I was on the scale and I have packed on 5 pounds of Christmas cookie & candy pudge. There is no other way to describe it. So, I started WW again and it is going well. I worked out 4 times last week and lost my Christmas pudge. Woohoo!

This week I have two different people tell me that they can tell I have lost weight from exercising. All I can think is that I must have been kind of bloated from my Christmas pudge.

Tonight I start my Group Power (weights mixed with cardio) class. I had the orientation for it on Saturday and I think it is going to kick my butt and make me sore. I think I may need to plan to get to the gym tomorrow and walk around the track with Isabel so that I can loosen up some muscles.

I do know that the 5 pounds is a freak occurence and fully expect this week to only be 1-2 pounds, and every week from here on out.

Now I have a weight loss goal in mind, and ideal weight, and a desire to fit in some closes still in MN, but I mainly want to feel good & look good and not feel so frumpy. Although, I will not be airing my starting weight & probably not my ending weight.

Book Club

So, over the years I have been asked to join several book clubs. I did do an online book club once, but since it was more about reading the book and less about socialization I think it was not successful because people just did not take it seriously. Anyways, I have the opportunity to join another book club and even though I would welcome the socialization I just can't read a book if I am not interested in it. To me, having to read a book you are not interested in is like school.

Now, I liked school. I loved the social aspect of school and I enjoyed learning. What I didn't enjoy was reading stuff I was not interested in or found hard to interpret. I did well in school, but for some classes it was more short-term memory use rather than actual processing for possible future use.

As a member of a book club, I would be one of those people who would expect others to have read the book and participate in discussion. I wouldn't wan to attend if I didn't read all of the book, and I wouldn't want to read the book if I did not find it entertaining or it did not have applicable knowledge for me.

I know for some, book club is not about the book at all, but about drinking wine and eating fun finger food. And I would love the oppotunity to hang out, drink wine & eat yummy snacks; I just can't do it under the false pretence of reading a book.

I do enjoy reading and do not need a club to motivate me to read, but I have set a goal for myself to read more. I actually do have a specific goal to read a book a month. Whereas, that might not have been much a few years ago, now when I am reading about 20 toddler books a day, I just don't always have the interest to read an adult book. I bought 4 books last week and read one of them already. I am very happy I did read a book and am about 2/3 dones with a second one. It felt good to read an adult book and I look forward to reading more.

Who Should You Vote For?

Andy sent me this link to Glassbooth that will help you figure out who share the same views on issues as you do.

I have to admit that I don't pay that much attention to the candidates until it comes time to vote. But this year, I actually want to know more. I am so curious which democrat is going to get the democratic nomination.

Anyways, my results were:
78% John Edwards
75% Hillary Clinton
74% Bill Richardson
71% Barak Obama

Obviously I am strong for a democractic vote. For me, the first republican candidate to come up is John McCain at 65%. But when I look at where we (JMcC & I) are similar & different there are issues that I do not want to me very different on. So - a democractic vote will be coming from me.

Finished Living Christmas Tree

Here is our finished living Christmas tree with all the ornaments I created out of the paper cards we got. The photo cards are on the fridge, but for the ornaments cards I cut out the part of the picture I liked and then cut out where they signed their name and glued it to the back, hole punched the top and ran some yarn through & tada! we have ornaments.

Piture for BIL J

Published Photographer: Our Friend Tim

Our dear friend Tim has recently published a book of his photography. It is called: Documenting Life: 100 Images of Humanity & Nature. He is a wonderful & talented photographer. Check out the link to his book and buy a copy. I don't think you will be disappointed if you appreciate looking at the beauty of life & love in print.

Puppet Projects

I was watching Martha Stewart Crafts again and she made these bug finger puppets that were very cute. So, I searched her site to find them and found lots of other puppet directions as well. As soon as I have my sewing machine with me again, the bug finger puppets might be fun to do.

In the meantime I could make these felted finger puppets because no sewing is needed, just felt & fleece, soap, water, & glue.

And these origami puppets seem kinda fun to do. Although, I really think she would destroy these now. It might be better to do when she gets older (with her.)

And here are some cute paper bag puppets.

Fun, Fuzzy Sock puppets seem kinda cool.

She did have a few other puppet instructions, but I didn't care for them as much.

There was one pattern on her site that used the leftover mitten/glove from a missing pair, but it didn't make them permanent. I thought it would be neat to actually have mittens that were puppets. She might think those are fun. So, I started a search online to find something.

This pattern turns store mittens (or you could make your own if you wanted) into puppets by knitting pieces to add to them to make them into a dog, cat, girl, boy, or mouse puppet mittens. I was thinking I should try to convince my mom to make these for the grandkids next Christmas. She reads this blog, so if she likes this idea, maybe she will think about doing it. I was trying to find something that was all knit or crocheted, but I was unable to find a free pattern online for that. But the one I did find was cute and less labor intensive.

Winter Holiday Traditions

I just thought I would blog about some of the litte traditions we are doing as our own family.

* Advent Calendar - neither Andy nor I ever did this growing up, but I thought Isabel would really like it, but we don't just open the little door & get candy every night. Before we do that we say what we are thankful for that day. Although, when Andy did it one night I heard him say they were thankful for chocolate.

* St. Nick - Neither of us had this growing up, although I did it for my siblings for a few years. I hated going to school the day after St. Nick came and hearing about what the other kids got. St. Nick is pretty big in WI, and even bigger in the Mke area. We didn't give her much, but we used it as the time to leave Santa her letter and told her that he would come & get it and check on her and if she was being good she would get treats in her stocking. Although, the next day after the she opened her treats she did want to check again.

* Christmas pajamas - every year we will give each other new pajamas to wear. This wasn't really a tradition for my family, but I remember getting some in my stocking a few times and how much fun is it to wear new pajamas to bed. I thought it would be nicer to get them before Santa came so that we could wake up & open our stockings in our christmas pajamas. We started this last year already.

* Santa - Santa brings stocking presents for all of three of us, not just the child. But Isabel will get one big present from Santa. I know some people think that Santa should be bringing all the toys & fun things, but I'm not working like that. See, there was this winter when I was in 8th grade & my mom asked me on the way shopping if I had written my letter to Santa yet. Yes, 8th grade. I finally had to break down & confess that I didn't believe and neither did my brother or middle sister. My mom asked me why we didn't say anything and I had to tell her it was because we were afraid that we wouldn't get as many presents. She told me they would, but they would say that they were from them instead of Santa. Although, my youngest sister still believed that year yet, so Santa still came. I actually stopped believing in Santa when I was about 5 or 6. I came across this list in my mom's handwriting that said presents that my parents were getting each of us and that Santa was getting each of us. I saw the list before Christmas, adn what do you know - on Christmas that is what we got from each of them. Now, how would my mom & dad know what Santa was getting each of us?
Oh! Santa also brings a gift for the family to do/play together and share. This was something Santa did for my family and I thought it was nice. Some years it was a video to watch together and other times it was a game to play, etc. I just thought it was nice to do something together rather than just playing with your own gifts.

* Meals - Well, our Chrismas tends to take a good 10 days. My in-laws take the weekend before and my parents take the weekend after, and as long as xmas falls in between we are good to go. If it falls on a weekend, then there is some negotiation as we don't want Christmas to go on for 3 weeks. So, the day we celebrate with my in-laws we do an appetizer meal. They need to make appetizers that are hot & meaty. Now, my family still likes to do and "eve" & "day" even if it is not the actual days. So, on the "eve" (and we do it in the evening) we have appetizers, which in my family tend to be more dips & spreads & sandwich stuff. Then on the "day" my mom makes the big Christmas dinner & usually my paternal grandparents come over. Now for the real eve & day, it is the three of us. We do take & bake pizza on Christmas Eve and then on Christmas Day I am making a Ham dinner with all the trimmings (my mom tends to make turkey usually (although sometimes she does both), but I like Ham and welcome to oppotunity to have it.

* Gift Exchange - Andy, Isabel & I wil all exchange our gifts to each other on Christmas Eve...day is reserved for presents from Santa. Our gift exchanging has changed among our families this year. For Andy's family, everyone is just buying for the kiddos & his parents. And for my family we'll buy for the kiddos & my parents & then those who wanted to have exchanged names.

* New Year's Eve - For several years now, we have been celebrating New Year's Eve by having dinner with friends. We like that. In years past, we have been invited to a friends' house, but since we have moved we needed to do it at our house. So, we have invited another family over (we spent Thanksgiving with them) to have dinner with us at a kid-friendly hour (they have three boys, actually the twins are Isabel's age and she has then as her two boyfriends -- she prefers them over the oterh boys in our playgroup -- anyways, at Thanksgiving she was sitting on the couch with one watching Dora & holding hands, and then at our Cookie Exhange & luncheon she was eating lunch by the other and he was feeding her grapes -- I've never had anyone to feed me grapes!) So, we'll have dinner & maybe Andy & I will watch a movie afterward, but I am pretty sure we'll be in bed before midnight. We got old.

* Church - I don't want to be C&E people, but I do think it is important to go to church on those holidays. Actually, church on Christmas Eve was the reason we started our pizza on Christmas Eve tradition. Last year we had an hour to drive to get home from church and knew we wuoldn't have time to cook anything & have time to open our presents, so we got take & bake. I'd liek us to go as a family, but I am not sure how it will work out with Isabel right now. So, I might just need to go by myself.

What am I missing? We don't do anything for the Winter Soltice, but I think it would be neat to at least dine only by candlelight on that night. We watch Peep and have watched the episode several time where Paz & his mom celebrate the winter solitice. I send out Christmas cards & usually try to write some kind of creative letter (this year I scanned in a drawing of Isabel's & did our ABC's of 2007 on top of that.) I like to get the tree up the weekend of Thanksgiving & decorate it. We did that this year, but because all my xmas stuff is in MN we did some different things this year. I also like to put out my manager & figurines that my great grandparents made/gave to me, but that too is in MN & it probably is wise not to have that out this year otherwise Isabel might have broken some of the figurines. Although this year, I did by a small figurine that is harder to break that has Mary, Joseph, & baby Jesus and we have been reading xmas stories from her Children's bible and talking about baby Jesus. Usually I bake a bunch of cookies & make a bunch of candies, but this year we did the cookie/candy exchange with our group.

The New & Revised Plan

WW worked well for me when I did it before getting pregnant. I have been working out a couple times a week and that is going well for me. But now I need to step it up. I have been trying to eat more by reading labels once again and making healthier choices and stocking the house with more healthier choices. But I just love all the holidays sweets so much and the holidays get-togethers are yummy. So, after the new year I am going back on WW. I am also adding in another day of exercising.

I will be taking three classes with other moms. The social aspect is a huge notivational factor for me. The classes I am taking are: Spinning on Monday, Group Power (weight lifting) on Wednesday, & Yogalaties on Friday. The GP class is a new one for me and is in the evening so Isabel can stay home with daddy. All the classes are an hour long. I don't want to tak any more classes than that (because 1- I can't afford additional classes & 2- I don't want Isabel in kid care more than 2 hours a week and there are other things we want to do together.)

So, that's the new plan. Basically just an extra class and starting WW again.

I do this the current classes are working well. I certainly do feel stronger, which is a nice feeling.

Hairclips & Bows

I buoght some alligator clips and bought a bag of ribbon & trim scraps and made some pieces for Isabel's hair and some to give. I made a few sets of the purple pom-poms and we are giving two sets away as gifts. I really like how the adrk green bow turned out. She will wear that with her Christmas outfits.

Snowy Day Collage

These are just some pictures I took out the bak door yeaterday. We go near 6 inches of snow here yesterday. Plus rain & sleet, so we stayed indoors all day. Most schools around us were closed for the day.

I Can Hear the Bells on Christmas Morn....

How well do you know your Christmas songs? Take this quiz to find out. I got 10 right and 1 wrong. I shuld not have followed my gut on the one I got wrong and instead should have went with my second choice. I didn't really know the song I got wrong.

Things to Make/Do for Isabel

Hair Bows
So, I was looking at buying some on eBay and decided I could try to make my own. Then I saw the "pay" patterns on eBay and I knew I could find them online somewhere for free. This website is the jackpot. There are so many bows on there. My favorite are the boutique bows & pinwheel bows. I am going to try to make a couple as stocking stuffers. I thought I would share this with my fellow crafters. The instructions are step-by-step with pictures -- which is REALLY nice. And it doesn't look at that hard for some of them.They even have a pattern for scrunchies......I remember making my own in high school (as I wanted many different ones and just couldn't afford to buy them all and just buying the elastic and using leftover fabric I made MANY scrunchies for less that I would have paid for 1.) I will only be able to make the pinwheel kind (if I have time) as I don't have my glue gun here. I may have to remember to bring that back with my during xmas time.

Paper Dolls
I printed this off for her and I will cut it out some night while she is sleeping and take this out when we need something to do. Although, last time we went to the book store they gave us these paper dolls punch-outs. So I can add to her collection (although this is more flimsy since it is just on regular paper, it would have been better if I had card stock to print it out on.)

Salt Dough Ornaments
I don't know that we will make these this year as we already decorated some ornaments, but it is a good idea for next year. I made these when I was in kindergarten and my Aunt Mary still has a couple of them. We're talking that these things are 25 years old. So, they do hold up if they are well cared for.

Cinnamon Dough Ornaments
I actually made these with the kids I used to work with. It made the room smell so great. Although it can get pricey to make since it needs so much cinnamon.

Here are a couple of crafting blogs I am going to start checking out:
Sew, Mama, Sew
WeeWonderfuls

And one final things - Doll Patterns - I haven't looked at too many of the links yet, but I wanted to post this page here so that I remember.

Sunrise in the Morning

I am normally up in time for a sunset, but rarely do I get more than a couple seconds to look at it. Every morning when I get up I look out the window at the lake & when I go to bed too. It is very calming. But usually a look is all I get. I was up earlier than Andy & Isabel by 2 hours this morning. So I did get to enjoy it much longer & got a few things done. Lazy bones were sleeping in.