There's no room at the Library

     Can you believe it?  I couldn't find a parking spot today at the Library!  I felt a bit like a stalker driving around until I saw someone walking to their car then snagging the spot.  As if that wasn't enough when I walked up to the doors I saw there was actually a line going around the building?  A sense of pride washed over me as I realized these people were standing in line on a chilly Tuesday afternoon so they could vote early!!
     With the election just one week away I am not going to jump on the political bandwagons out there.  There are enough people spewing sharing their views one way or another and my voice, as glorious as it is, isn't needed.  All I want to do is encourage you to vote.
       I remember when parents headed to the local school all hours of election day; which is probably why we had off that day, to vote.  I first heard of absentee ballots while I was in college.  The reality was in the 80's there wasn't a real push to engage college aged voters and getting absentee ballots weren't all that easy so I missed the 1984 presidential election. Since 1988 I'm proud to say I've never missed a presidential election and very rarely have I missed any opportunity to vote.
    This will be the first presidential election that my two oldest children will be able to vote in.  I love how engaged they both are seeking out answers to their questions and discovering which candidate is best for them.One will be voting by mail from Alabama and the other wants to wait until election day to vote.
     Here in Florida I can't imagine the Supervisor of Elections making the process any easier (note me swiftly side-stepping all the voter id issues). We have 7 days, including a Sunday, to vote early.  You can vote anywhere in your county, at which site is most convenient for you.  Don't think you can make it to the poll? You can request an absentee ballot up until 5pm on October 31st~ no questions asked.  As far as I am concerned nobody has an excuse for not voting in the Sunshine State.
     What does amaze me is that not every state offers early voting.  According to the National Conference of State Legislators (check out their cool map) 32 states and the District of Columbia offer early voting.  Two states, Washington and Oregon do all of their voting my mail (learned something new today). As far as absentee voting goes 27 states and DC will mail a registered voter one no questions asked while the remaining 21 require a qualified excuse.  Finally 7 states offer permanent absentee voting for their residents who meet qualifications.
   So whether you consider yourself Conservative, Liberal, Republican, Democrat or simply confused like me please be sure to cast your vote in this presidential election.  'Cause like my Dad used to say:

 If you don't vote you can't gripe

What more do you need?

I really do not understand drivers today.  Not too long ago I shared my bewilderment over the clueless folks I see on a weekly basis getting pulled over in school zones.  Today I have to add that well simply put some people are just plain STUPID.  

Honestly that has to be the reason because what more do you need than the sign above to make you obey the speed limit?   I can't even cut any slack because 3.5 miles later there's another sign warning you:

I have yet to pass though Waldo without seeing some idiot receiving a ticket!  The city of Waldo (it is so tiny calling it a city seems much) ranks as Florida's Worst Speed Trap according to National Motorists Association.  Personally when driving through this town I go 5 mph below the speed limit, I do not change lanes unless I have to and if I do my signal is on before crossing lanes.  

This got me thinking though ~shouldn't we be driving this vigilantly all the time?  I'm not saying we should drive in fear of getting pulled over for the slightest infraction.  However shouldn't we be as cautious as possible at all times?  In no way shape or form can I say that I always obey the speed limit.  I'm a stay in the flow of traffic kind of gal.  I'll admit to having received a speeding ticket while driving through Emporia, Virginia years ago which I deserved but not at the rate the officer wrote, the worst part is I knew that was a speed trap area but it was late at night and well getting to NY for an emergency was heavy on my mind.  

I strongly believe that texting and driving should be illegal.  Not so sure where I stand on the cell phone issue if using a hands-free set.  Currently neither is illegal in the state of Florida despite multiple attempts to pass a bill. For some reason these bills continue to die after being read in the Transportation and Safety Subcommittee but then all are referred to the Economics Committee (gotta love politics)

So readers please please please I beg of you.  Should you have to travel on FL301 through the town of Waldo please heed their speed limit signs. You really don't want their favorite souvenir.

Losing Fat Loving Food Fridays 10/26

     Think I have finally settled on a name for this weekly post that I like ~ hope you do too!

    I am very excited to share that I have crossed a threshold on my weight loss journey.  As of yesterday's weigh in I am down:

To try and give you an idea of what thirty pounds is ~

Cocoa a cow from Stonyfields Organic Farm weigh 30lbs when she was born.

I didn't discover any new glorious food to share with you this week. However last I did try a new breakfast recipe that was a huge hit.  I, of course, tweaked it a bit and think you'll really enjoy it:

Italian Pepper and Egg Sandwiches

Original version 5 PP+ Updated 7PP+

2 tsp olive oil canola oil

1 large green pepper sliced

1 large red pepper sliced 

1 tsp minced garlic

4 6 large eggs

3 6 egg whites (fed puppies extra yolks)

salt and pepper to taste

1 TBSP Italian seasoning

4 low calorie hamburger buns

6 ciabatta rolls

• Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and pepper; saute until tender and light golden, about 7 to 9 minutes. Add garlic; cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Set vegetables aside.
  
• In a medium bowl, beat together eggs, egg whites, salt and pepper. Scramble in same skillet over medium heat until almost cooked, about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Add vegetables back to skillet and gently mix; continue scrambling until eggs are set but not dry, about 30 seconds to 1 minute more.
  
• Divide filling onto 6 buns. Yields 1 sandwich per serving.

Don't Let The Skinny Girl Cook

    I don't know about you but when I plan on going away for a girls weekend the last thing on my mind is making sure everything I eat will make any nutritionist jump for joy.  Not that I am saying every meal should be a feast reminiscent of Thanksgiving however people I want some food I can grab onto.  Especially if I am spending the day pretending to be an outdoorsy type person.
     OK yes I am currently on weight watchers ~ and doing quite well I may add.  No where in my plan did I expect to come back from a 4 day retreat in the mountains with 9 other husband-less/childless for the weekend women having lost weight.  Heck if I came home having gained less than 2 pounds my plans were successful.  In fact when I told my WW leader where I was headed she admitted that every time she spends time in the Helen, GA area SHE gains weight enjoying local fare.
   You should have seen the food that we brought this weekend in addition to the supplies for dinner.  A pack of hungry teenagers would have been impressed with the amount of snack foods we amassed.  We had all major food groups covered: Chips, Chocolates and Cookies. I actually felt guilty that all I had brought was a  bag of butterfingers.  In addition to the 3 C's there were even healthy snack choices with a variety of fruits, granolas and such to choose from as well.
***At this time it is important for me to just come right out and say that I was the heaviest person on this trip.  Most of the remaining 9 women are incredibly healthy and active.  I admit that chances are my views on the food are maybe not coming from the healthiest standpoint***
    The plans were to spend the days out enjoying all that fall in North Georgia had to offer.  The first day my group hiked Tallulah Falls, which was incredible ~ more on that adventure another time.  We then hit a farmer's stand, enjoyed lunch in town and walked around the annual Oktoberfest.  The other group had spent the day zip-lining and hiking.  We were to all meet back for a dinner of Brunswick Stew and cornbread.  The crock-pot that was brought along should have been my first clue that things were going to be interesting.
     Before I go any further I have to acknowledge how incredibly generous it was of Skinny Minnie to offer to not only do all of the basic food shopping for our trip but to cook all 3 dinners and our picnic lunch.  Skinny Minnie's family lives an incredibly healthy lifestyle and her shopping/cooking reflects that.  I am quite confident that I will never see her grace the inside of a weight watchers meeting.
     When we returned Friday evening none of us were incredibly hungry which wound up being a very good thing. The group of 5 that had arrived earlier nearly ate all of that evening's stew.  I'm guessing that when Skinny Minnie was planning to feed 10 women she was thinking about the portions she serves and eats at home.  No one was minding portions this weekend.  It didn't take long for the grazing of the snacks to commence.
     Saturday while packing up for the picnic lunch it was evident that healthy snacking on fruits and veggies had taken a back seat to their unhealthy counter-parts.  The plan that day was to have a picnic at Unicoi State Park park followed by an intense hike.  After submitting my body to a hike on Friday and wanting to be able to drive home Sunday without the aid of life-support I opted out of the hike and volunteered to use up the untouched healthy snacks to make salads to accompany the night's dinner of Chili.
     Chili is one of those foods that is truly reflective of its' cook's style.  Depending on where you live your chili may or may not have beans in it.  Fresh tomatoes verses canned verses none at all.  Some cooks' chili require a personal fire extinguisher others seem a step above ketchup.  One thing I think most people will agree upon is that chili should be something that is thick, hearty and warms your soul. I'll be honest I've never really thought about making a lighter version of chili, Skinny Minnie did.  I have the same crock-pot that she does.  When I make Chili in it I'm lucky to serve my family of 5 (OK I have a teenage boy which counts as two I guess) 6, and have enough for hubby to take for lunch twice.  I make a rich meat and bean chili, while I use fresh vegetables you really can't find them once everything gets going.
     I stopped on my way back to get supplies for homemade bread so the chili had been cooking for a few hours when I got back and did smell wonderful when I returned but not what I expected.  Skinny Minnie's version of Chili and mine definitely were not lining up.  The crock-pot, not even full,  was bubbling with what I would consider a rich soup.  Bits of veggies were floating on top of a flavorful broth.  When I stir my chili my forearms are getting a work-out, not so much Saturday night.  I thought maybe if I put it into a pot and cook it down some it would get thicker, however I quickly discovered that if I did that there wouldn't be enough to feed 6 people not 10 hungry hikers so I left things alone.
    Do you know how hard it is to respect someone else's cooking?  I'll admit I had never thought about it before.  Years back while working during a church camp I was so lucky to be assisting a woman whose kitchen talent was incredible.  She taught me short-cuts, recipes and tricks that I rely on to this day.  I'd like to think that she even learned one or two things from me but I'm hard pressed to think what they could have been.  Working with her and following her recipe was easy b/c she was right there if I had a question or suggestion.  So when I found myself wanting to doctor Minnie's chili Saturday I really struggled with those thoughts.  In the end I decided not to change anything because in the long run it was her Chili we were serving that night, even if I did think it was more of a soup LOL.
         Did anyone complain about the food? What are you nuts of course not!! It was good and nutritious and most importantly someone else did the cooking. Next time I hope we had let the fat girl do the cooking ~ oops that would be me!!
   
   

 

Losing Fat Friday

     Well I am not sure this title is any better than last week's. What do you think?  I am sure that there are going to be weeks that the scale is not always going to be headed in the right direction and boy would that title hurt then... moving on.

     Amazingly I actually lost 1.2 pounds this week. Old habits die hard and I'm a stress eater. This week was absolute proof that this is something I am going to struggle with for a long time to truly get under control.  Monday I ate not only my allotted daily points (43) and all of the 49 extra points we get every week but also the 3 activity points I earned and beyond.... think I was stressed?  It isn't as if we can plan on when we are going to stress eat and Monday proves just that. I had scheduled a roasted veggie salad for dinner ~ very low in points.  So before I even walked through the door at Chili's half of my daily allotted points were gone between breakfast, lunch and a snack. Despite drinking most of the points that night (dang those Long Island Iced Teas will get you one way or another) I was a bit proud of how I handled the food.  We didn't take the free unlimited chips and salsa, as I knew that would just add to my being even more out of control with the food.  Even though Chili's does offer a couple of entrees under 750 calories I did NOT want salad or grilled chicken.  We started off with our favorite Appetizer, their Triple Dipper, which came with 2 sliders, 3 loaded potato skins and 8 boneless buffalo wings.  That dish, including the three dipping sauces that come with it, is over 60 Points and for those unfamiliar with Weight Watchers over 2500 calories!! I'll admit that in the past we would have that and then split an entree.  Monday was no different. We ordered the Fajitas for our entree and when it came I didn't even want it.  Michael, who wasn't drinking one for one with me as someone had to be the designated driver, could barely finish the small one he made.  The kids were certainly happy when we brought home, which was almost a complete Triple fajita dinner that they gladly consumed quite quickly despite having eaten dinner, ah to be a teenager  So despite my completely blowing the day it wasn't as bad as it could have been,
     I wouldn't recommend anyone to eat like this on a regular basis and expect to lose weight weekly.  What I do believe is that this proves even when you do have an absolutely horrible, throw the plan out the window, points who cares about points day, the week is not a total loss.  The important thing is to get back on track the next day you can and will be successful.  That's the wonderful thing I am loving about Weight Watchers~ every day is a fresh start.

     This week's food find was a personal creation.  I absolutely loved the Strawberry Poppy Seed Chicken Salad that Panera had this summer and with it being only 6 points (w/o dressing) I ate it at least twice a week. I was recently crushed to learn that it is seasonal and no longer being offered :( Their fall offering is a Roasted Turkey Harvest Salad. I have now eaten this twice and just can't embrace it.  To start off with I'm not a huge Turkey person.  I dislike turkey so much that the only day I cook one is on Thanksgiving and then it's usually the smallest I can find.  Secondly the salad is 14 points!!! HOLY SHAMBOLI!!  The reason being they've added cheese and dried fruits to this salad which are high in points.  However it was not a complete  loss as I absolutely loved the dressing they used ~ cherry balsamic vinaigrette.
     I recently learned that Target carries Panera dressings, however this flavor I couldn't find.  FYI you'll find the dressings in the refrigerated section.  Not to be dismayed I was determined to create a version of the harvest salad at home for dinner.   Thinking that this was probably no different than the raspberry vinaigrette we all love I went to the frozen food section and grabbed a small bag of frozen pitted cherries.  Once home I made my basic balsamic vinaigrette, OK it is actually Emeril's. I then added half the bag of cherries and placed it in the microwave for 5 minutes @ 50%.  I removed the dressing and smashed the cherries a bit and cooked it for another 5 minutes @ 50%.  I'm a big low and slow cooker even with my microwave.  I then placed the dressing in the blender and blended until smooth.  This yielded almost 2 cups of dressing.  Knowing we wouldn't eat it all and not sure how well it would keep I used 1 1/2 cups as a marinade on the chicken.  I prefer to cook with skinless chicken thighs and this was more than enough to cover the 6 pieces I had.  I'm proud to announce this was very successful, so much in fact the family would like it to be a weekly salad night offering (woo-hoo).
     I also wanted to mention my new fascination with froze as a whole.  Like many households I usually have some frozen fruit on hand for smoothies and other various (possibly alcoholic) drinks.  These last few weeks I've been using them regularly for my morning yogurt and granola breakfast.  Chances are many of you are shaking you heads thinking DUH where have you been and I totally agree it was a duh moment when I realized what I was missing out on.  Instead of putting the fruit in the freezer when I get home it goes straight into the fridge.  Over the next couple of mornings I get to spoon juicy, glorious berries into my bowl!  After my success with the Cherry Dressing I am considering playing with other frozen fruits and seeing what I can come up with.

   So all in all a pretty good week.  I'll admit to being a bit disappointed when my loss was 1.2 but that's only because if it had been 1.4 that would have meant I hit the 30 pound mark!!! Here's to getting another 5 pound star next week :)