Not So Random Ramblings

Just keep tracking, just keep tracking, just keep tracking, tracking, tracking - what do we do?  We TRACK!

Aaaahhhh.  Life is good.  I love being refocused!  :)  It just feels so good and so empowering!  The past few days have been a bit helter-skelter as far as eating right; mostly because I have not been tracking as I should.  Today, however, is a new day and I have committed to track everything.  If I bite it, I write it.

The simple act of taking ownership of what I put in my body is absolutely transforming.  I am happier, I'm more motivated to do everything!  Also, today will be the first day of the Fast Food Free Reboot.  Today will be Day 1 of no fast food!  Well, actually...sort of.  I plan to go to Chick-fil-A to get one of their Grilled Market Salads for lunch.  Those things are outrageously yummy!  And the salad itself is only 4 PP and Fat Free Honey mustard dressing is only 2 PP.  Win! 

I will even post a picture of the receipt so that you all know that I didn't fudge...by eating fudge. 

My goal is to lose weight and keep losing it.  None of this willy nilly back and forth garbage.  I can't take it anymore!  This flub has got to come off! 

I am so grateful to the readers and encouragers of this blog and its writer.  You guys are awesome and you help me keep it real.  Thank you for your comments and likes! 

So, I've realized that I am addicted to blog buttons.  If I stumble upon a blog - even if I don't love the blog - I immediately look for buttons to put on my own blog!  It's insane!  But, rest assured that all the blog buttons currently on my blog are for blogs that I love.  All except for the Keep Calm and Eat Veggies button.  I just really liked it and wanted to display it.  :) 

Yesterday at work it was All Rude Customers Call Roly Day.  I didn't enjoy it.  It seemed like all the grouchy customers in the CSRA had it in for me!  But I ate my Wheaties this morning, so watch out!  Actually, I ate a banana and low sugar oatmeal, but my figurative wheaties have been eaten; trust me.

Have a great day!  Make it so!  :D

Yup. 'Nuff Said.

This is my new mantra!  I am going to kick this fat in the teeth!  I will!!!  You haven't seen committed until you've seen me, people.

Oh Crud! >:(

It's official!  You can all start calling me Ms. Cleo.  Yes, yes...I predicted the future!  I KNEW I would not do well on my weigh in and I was right.

I gained 1.8 pounds.  Ick.  That means that I have escalated past my start weight!!  Embarrassed?  Uh, yeah!! 

At times like this, I think of dear Anne Shirley (Anne of Green Gables) who said, "Tomorrow is fresh with no mistakes."  I also think of President Thomas S. Monson (President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) who said, "Sometimes courage is that little voice that says, 'I'll try again tomorrow.'"

This weight loss journey is just that - a journey.  I won't get there today or tomorrow or next week.  But I will get there if I keep going. 

To celebrate my refocused mindset, I'm going to the grocery store to buy lots and lots of veggies. :)

Toodles!

Good Gravycakes!!

This post is not about gravycakes...contrary to what the post title may lead you to believe.  This is merely an update on the life of Roly (me) and LTRH (long, tall, redhead - formerly the Hunk). 

Goodness!  Life has been topsy turvy lately.  LTRH and I have moved from a big empty house to a cozy apartment that we absolutely love!  It has carpet!!  :)  When it's all decorated and not a catastrophe, I'll post pictures.

This week's weigh-in will not be glorious, I can tell you that.  The stress of moving has driven me, well, through the drive thru more times than I would like to admit!  But I have to be accountable to the masses - I can't lie to you!!!  It's difficult to stay on plan when half of my household is one one residence, the other half is in another residence, and there are pieces in transit on highway 25.  This next week, though will be better.  I'll be settled in and can reacquaint myself with Jillian Michaels.  I promise.  You readers out there, hold me to it!

I have received a request for the Greenberry Muffins recipe. It is coming soon.  When I can find my way around my kitchen again, it will be the first thing I make!

Since creating this blog, I have just launched myself into blog world and it's so fascinating!  My favorite blogs are foodie blogs and those that are DIY sewing project related. I can't wait to sew maxi skirts and all kinds of stuff!  

Life is so great!  Heavenly Father has truly blessed me, despite my many, many shortcomings.  I'm eternally grateful to Him for His tender mercies and for his enduring love.

I hope y'all are having a great day!  :)  

The Shooting Academy and Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

Hello!  I am convinced that thin crust pizza is of the devil...it's so good and it just disappears whenever I'm around it!  Oh well, another food addiction to overcome.  :) 

So I haven't talked a whole lot about my sweet Hunk.  Consider this the beginning!  My sweetie is a tall redheaded thing with blueberry eyes.  He was in the US Marine Corps for four years and served in Iraq for seven months in Public Affairs.  He's an awesome guy and I'm so blessed to spend eternity with him (starting in November!).  The other day, we were riding around running errands and such.  He put his hand on my leg and very seriously said, "Thank you for doing this with me."

"Doing what?" I cluelessly asked.

"Life," he responded with a smile.

Isn't he the best????  I can't wait to see little tiny versions of him running around!

Anyway, Hunk's father teaches South Carolina CWP (Concealed Weapons Permit) and Utah CFP (Concealed Firearms Permit) classes.  Yep.  This lady can handle some heat.  His classes are held on Saturday morning and I have the distinct privilege of making and serving breakfast for those classes.

I've been doing this for about two months now and have had interesting success.  For the first few weeks, I made homemade, completely from scratch blueberry muffins.  They are insanely good.  Like, totally.  Only thing is...they come out green.  I think it's the blue of the berry with the yellow of the egg yolks...Greenberry Muffins.

Because of the natural person's aversion to green baked goods, I decided to try my hand at from scratch lemon poppyseed muffins.  I had always enjoyed the stuff that comes out of the boxes and packets, but I wanted to be authentic and make it all from scratch. 

Do you want the receipe?  Well, too bad!  You're getting it anyway!

Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

Ingredients:

3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup butter (softened)
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1/3 cup lemon juice (I used bottled)
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup poppyseeds
1 tsp lemon zest

This recipe yields anywhere from 24 to 30 muffins, depending on how big ya make 'em.

Sift your dry ingredients and set them aside. 

In a large bowl (I used a wannabe KitchenAid Stand Mixer), cream together the softened butter and sugar.

 

 

Add the eggs one at at time and beat well after each addition.  I sound like a serious recipe writer, don't I??  :)  Add the dry mixture and the sour cream alternately. 

 

 

 

 

Add in the lemon juice and vanilla and beat at a low speed until blended.  Fold in the poppy seeds and lemon zest.

 

 

 

Scrumptious, no?

 

 

Fill muffin cups about 2/3 full and bake at 375 for 18-20 minutes.  My oven cooked them perfectly at about 15 minutes, so adjust for your own oven.

 

 

They should come out looking like this:

 

 

Up close and personal muffins!!!

 

 

I use foil muffin cups because they are so easy to peel.  No paper mess is left clinging to the muffins.

 







So overall, this recipe was the bee's knees.  The only glitch is that they were not NEARLY as lemony as I remember the ones from my childhood.  I used more lemon zest and lemon juice than were actually called for, but the increase of lemonness was not significant.  :(  Maybe lemon extract, next time?  What are your thoughts on the situation?

Preacher's Wife Don't Lie

I forget how much I love eating vegetables until I start actually eating them again.  Bell peppers are really good friends of mine right now!  They're so nice and crunchy.

You must be wondering about the title of this blog post.  :)  Well, here's the scoop.  Last week, as you know, I was religious about exercising with Jillian Michaels, eating my vegetables, and tracking 98% of what went into my mouth.  This is known as "being on plan."  This past week was the most on plan week I've ever had!  I was PUMPED about weighing in yesterday.  I thought that I would lose at least 2 lbs for all that hard work.  So, naturally I was veeeeerrry shocked when my meeting leader said, "Yes!  You did go down!  By .2 pounds!" 

I couldn't believe it!  All that work and not even half a pound to show for it!!!  During the meeting, I griped a little bit about it and my leader (a preacher's wife) assured me that if I give it one more week, I should see results.  She says my muscles are most likely holding onto water, so I just need to keep going.  Someone piped and said, "She's a preacher's wife!  She don't lie!"

So, there you have it.  Keep a goin'.  This girl don't give up. 

Weekend Hills and Valleys

Hello!  I hope everybody had a great weekend.  :)  Mine was pretty good, but it wasn't without fast food challenges!  Ugh! 

Saturday was a trying day, mostly because of the weather.  I think the city I live in should be renamed...Seattle, South Carolina has a nice ring to it.  In all seriousness, I didnt' know that the CSRA had a monsoon season.

So, I was at home most of the day, feeling lousy because of the barometric pressure.  I had decided that I was going to just slump onto the couch, watch a zillion episodes of 24 and that would be that.  All of a sudden I was seized by an overwhelming urge to just exercise!!  And so I did!  I felt so physically strong and in control!  I was on top of the world.  :)

I did have some fast food slip ups this week, however.  I'm not perfect, I know!  Sit down and take a deep breath to recover from the shock.  Go ahead.  Something terrible happened, though.  Remember how I felt so gross after having fast food last week?  I didn't feel as gross this time!  My body is trying to reacclimate itself!  I can't let it happen, I won't let it happen!

So now I'm trying my hardest to stay strong and eat my veggies.  Thanks for the support from all of you!  :)

Exercise and the Rewards System

All day long, my poor leggies have been complaining about the torture that I put them through everyday via Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred.  Meh.  They can just get over it!  This exercise thing is good and I'm going to keep it up!

One of the things that is helping me to get fit is my dear husband.  He is my Weight Loss Nazi Extraordinaire.  He and I devised a rewards system to help me along my journey, and the important part is - the reward is not food!  For every pound that I lose, I earn $1 toward a manicure (a luxury that we cannot afford right now).  For every week that I go without eating fast food, I earn another $1 toward that elusive manicure. 

Fast food is/was a weakness of mine.  It was something that my family relied on a lot when I was growing up.  Therefore, I relied on it when I began to make my own decisions about what to eat.  And I became addicted.  Sometimes I would even eat it when I wasn't really hungry!  How bad is that!? 

I would eat fast food almost everyday, multiple times a day.  I would also try to hide it from my husband.  NOT A GOOD IDEA!!  Never keep anything from your spouse!  We had a little intervention and he said, "Call me whenever you're tempted to get fast food."  Great idea!  And it worked!  For one week I have been fast food free!  But here's the best part...

A few days ago, I was on my way home and I was STARVING.  So, I stopped off at McDonald's and ordered a McDouble (10 PP), a Small Fry (6 PP) and a small Diet Coke (0 PP).  This is stuff that was well within my daily Points Plus allowance. I ate it, and I was satisfied - a shocking discovery by itself.  As the evening went on, however, I just felt gross and sick.  See!  I went without it for a while, tried it and didn't like the way it made me feel!  Yay for my body giving fast food the stink eye.

Things I Like

Check out my friend's website!  It's got all kinds of crafty stuff that will blow your mind! 

www.laurelandwren.com

First Post - My Story (Dramatic Music in the Background...)

One of my online Weight Watchers buddies asked me what my story is. Boy, I hope it can fit in one blog post! 

My name is Megan and I'll be 26 soon. I married the sweetest, cutest man almost 9 months ago and I can't get enough of him. This is my upteenth time on the WeightWatchers program and THIS TIME will be the last, by golly!

I first joined WW after coming home from a vacation in Hawaii with two of my best friends in 2009. The pictures of myself made me gag. So, my mom suggested WW and off I went. This was back in the olden days before PointsPlus. I still remember how much I lost my first week: 5.2 pounds! I was ecstatic and I lost almost 20 pounds in about two months. Then I went back to college and bleh.

Fastforward to 2011. I'm fat again (not that I ever wasn't!) and so I went back to WW because I knew it worked. PointsPlus has emerged and I was disappointed because I wasn't loosing weight nearly as fast, but I still lost and I felt good. I continued WW when I went back to college for my final semester and got as far as earning my 10% loss.

And then bleh. Bleh means that I stopped going to WW and gained weight. FYI :) So, I started...again and didn't go for long before I moved to another city to attend graduate school and had no way of attending meetings. I'm a meetings girl - I have to be accountable to the group, so online doesn't work for me. Also, I don't trust my own scale. Then I met my husband and eloped. :) That's a whole other blog post for those of you who want to hear it!

So, marriage can make you fat. I have learned this the hard way. I am now heavier than I've ever been and I hate it. I'm struggling to fit into my fat clothes here!! So, for this round of WW, I've been a member since early April. I lost a total of 4.6 pounds in about two months (argh!) and slowly crept back up to my STARTING WEIGHT!!!! I was SO upset. I sat on the back row of the WW meeting and cried. I cried all the way home. I cried all night at home. It was terrible. 

But, I emerged from that experience a new and committed person. I realized that I wasn't trying to lose weight for myself, but for other people. I was concerned about what other people would think of the plump little brunette roly-poly with the long, tall redheaded hunk. No, not anymore. After that harrowing experience, I am doing this for me. Because I want to be thin and healthy.

So, that's my story, y'all! Everyday, I write another page. :)