Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanuka, Merry Kwanzaa, Glorious Solstice, Blessed Yule...

Holiday Greetings, whatever path you choose to tread. I hope it is a beautiful experience with loved ones gathered around you, and that you all stay safe and warm.

The weather here is keeping my husband and I from our families, but we are grateful beyond expressing that everyone is tucked safely away in their homes. Over 11 inches of snow fell in the Oklahoma City metro today - setting a new record for snowfall in a 24 hour period. Winds were gusting up to 65 mph, and whipped up quite a blizzard! Michael and I stayed tucked in the house, but it was impressive to listen to the snow and wind beat at the walls as the blizzard blew out its fury.

Regular blogging will continue very shortly... :) I appreciate your patience!

ACK!

Okay - my life is officially gone insane. I am so sorry for falling off the blogging wagon for more than a week now. It's that lead up to finals and final critiques, and I'm staying so busy I barely have time to sleep, much less blog.

I have been tracking, but not keeping as strictly to my goals as I'd like. I gained .6 when I weighed in last Saturday, but I'm going to call that water weight - I'm so stressed that my body is doing everything it can to cope.

Should be back to daily blogging very soon though! Thanks for bearing with me... and thanks for reading!

Tuesday recap...

Sorry I didn't update at all yesterday... not that I was THAT busy, but I had a really bad day. I tried my best to eat good food, but I don't know how successful I was - let me know what you think.

• 1 pts - Silk Light Vanilla Soy Milk
• 1 pts - 3/4 cup Special K Protein Plus
• 1 pts - apple
• 3 pts - grand Starbucks skinny vanilla latte (recycled pic, sorry!)
• Breakfast Total: 6 pts

• .5 pts - salad with 1 tsp ranch dressing
• 9 pts - 1/2 single-serve cheese pizza
• Lunch Total: 9.5 pts

• 5 pts - Jason's Deli Red Beans and Rice
• 2 pts - Big salad with spring mix, artichoke hearts, peas, mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, about 2 Tbsp lowfat cottage cheese and 1 Tbsp Joe's Italian dressing.
• Dinner Total: 7 pts

• 6 pts - hot fudge sundae
• 1.5 pts - 1/3 "dark chocolate bar"
• Dessert Total: 7.5 pts

Daily Total: 30 pts

It was actually a good Monday...

I know, it's an oxymoron to say Good and Monday in the same sentence... but it has been! I got some good news in class this afternoon - in late October I applied for a spot in the semi-private studio space on the fourth floor of the school of art. They only give four people space in the studio, and the space is yours to do what you want with for the entire semester... paint the walls, bring in shelving, leave stuff out, whatever. It's a coveted space for everyone in the advanced and intermediate programs, so I put in my application with little expectation that I would get a spot. Well... today I learned that I got it! Next semester I will have a space to leave my pieces in progress without constantly worrying that someone will mess with them or take my supplies. I am so psyched!!

On to the foods... after my morning class, I ran around taking care of errands and shopping. I really didn't buy much, but I got a pair of diamond earrings at Kohl's for just $24 (including tax)! I should probably give them to someone for Christmas, but I'll probably keep them. I grabbed lunch at Qdoba quickly before I headed to class for the afternoon... a few tortilla chips with salsa...


and a Naked Chicken Burrito (means no tortilla)...


then I stopped for a bit of coffee to keep me awake for the rest of the day...

• 9 pts - Naked Chicken Burrito (rice, black beans, chicken, salsa and lettuce)
• 1.5 pts - tortilla chips and salsa
• 3 pts - Starbuck's Venti Skinny Vanilla Latte
• Lunch Total: 13.5 pts

I forgot to grab a snack out of the car before I headed to class, so after staying late to finish a project, I was starving. I fixed myself a huge plate of Thanksgiving leftovers...


then swiftly worked my way through two pieces of dark chocolate and 6 (yes, SIX) of the double dip mint dessert sticks... *blush*

• 4.5 pts - 4 oz turkey breast with 1/4 cup gravy
• 1 pts - 1/2 cup low fat Green Bean Casserole
• 1.5 pts - 1/2 cup sweet potatoes
• 2 pts - 1/2 cup herb seasoned stuffing
• 1 pts - 2 Tbsp whole berry cranberry sauce
• 2 pts - 2 squares dark chocolate
• 2.5 pts - 6 double dip mint dessert sticks
• Dinner Total: 14.5 pts

Late in the evening I found myself craving vegetables... so I fixed myself a mix of Green Giant Just for One Cauliflower and Broccoli & Cheese.

And munched on an apple...

• 0 pts - Green Giant Just for One Cauliflower & Cheese
• 0 pts - Green Giant Just for One Broccoli & Cheese
• 1 pts - small apple
• Snack Total: 1 pts

Daily Total: 32.5 pts
I ate a lot today... but it was all good food. And I stayed within my budgeted flex points for the day. :) It was a good day, even though I'm still not feeling particularly well. I guess Mondays aren't ALL cursed.

G'night interwebs! Until tomorrow... thanks for reading!

Countdown to Christmas...

To me, the last day of November always symbolizes that downhill run to Christmas and New Years... every year it seems that those 3-4 weeks just get shorter and shorter. This year, I have so much to do in the next few weeks that it's hard to fathom how I'll make it through without losing my mind. But I'll do it, and I truly am grateful for the opportunities I have been given... they're just overwhelming at times. :)

I haven't been feeling well for the last few days, probably brought on by sleep deprivation over the Thanksgiving holiday. I went to bed at 8pm last night, and woke up with a headache and some muscle aches at 4am today. I've been up getting some stuff taken care of here at the computer, and reading a little ahead for my classes. I've always enjoyed early mornings, whether I am still up from the night before or up very early. Even when I don't feel well, the quiet and peace of the time just makes it feel so... special. I'm about to go take a shower and get ready for class, but I wanted to let everyone know that while the holidays and the end of the semester can get kinda crazy, I am going to continue to post on a regular basis. If I fall behind a day, I promise I will catch up - and you'll see everything I eat and how I feel about it. I know I've been a little lazy lately, but going from not blogging at all to blogging every day hasn't been an easy transition for me. :) I will get better as time goes on, I hope.

Breakfast was quick and filling - an egg beaters omelet with spinach and mushrooms sauteed in a little olive oil spray, Jarlsberg lite cheese (if you haven't tried this "Swiss" cheese... you should, it's amazing!), and three small clementines on the side.

• 1 pts - 3 small clementines
• 2.5 pts - omelet (1/2 cup egg beaters, 2 slices Jarlsberg lite cheese, 2/3 cup each fresh mushrooms and fresh spinach, spritz olive oil cooking spray)
• Breakfast Total: 3.5 pts

Thanks for reading! I leave you with this thought... Ten Tips for Coping with Holiday Stress

School again tomorrow... ugh!

I took Sunday as a sanity day. I wasn't feeling particularly well, so I kinda babied myself... breakfast was vaguely nutritious:


And I didn't eat all of this whipped cream! My favorite waiter at IHOP did that to make me laugh... I love their pumpkin pancakes, but always want just a little more whipped cream. :)

• 4 pts - 2 poached eggs
• 4 pts - 3 pieces bacon, crisp
• 5.5 pts - pumpkin pancakes
• 2 pts - whipped cream
• Breakfast Total: 15.5 pts

Lunch was leftovers from Thanksgiving! A monster turkey sammich with miracle whip and cranberries...


And some of my low-fat green bean casserole...

• 4.5 pts - 2 slices whitewheat bread, 3 oz turkey, miracle whip free, cranberries
• 1 pts - green bean casserole
• Lunch Total: 5.5 pts

Around 3 pm, I was starving... so I fixed myself a plate of fruit.


Then had a couple cheeses...

• 2 pts - fruit plate
• 2.5 pts - 2 mini Babybel lite cheeses
• Snack Total: 4.5 pts

I had a bit of a late dinner, and took it easy on my tummy since as the day wore on, I was feeling worse and worse. Just a can of Progresso Lite vegetable soup with some fresh spinach, shredded turkey and salsa thrown in...


and a couple fresh crescent rolls...

• 2.5 pts - Progresso Lite Vegetable and Noodle Soup with spinach, turkey and salsa
• 4.5 pts - 2 crescent rolls
• Dinner Total: 7 pts

After dinner, I found myself craving something sweet... so I had a couple double dip mint dessert sticks. For the record, these are a hard mint candy stick coated with dark chocolate. :)


and then dug into these... I had one of each flavor...

• 1 pts - 2 double dip mint dessert sticks
• 5.5 pts - Liberty Orchards Berry Delights
• Dessert Total: 6.5 pts

Daily Total: 39 pts
I'm going to have to take it easy the rest of the week after this weekend... I've had a few really high points days. I also need to get back to exercising, as soon as my body will allow me to do so.

I went to bed at 8pm last night... and so I'm up really early getting caught up on the blog. Thanks for reading!

Saturday Evening Recap

I waited ages for my mom to call me, and around noon I gave up and had some lunch. Homemade veggie soup (for the potluck) and a grilled cheese sammich...

• 1 pts - veggie soup
• 5 pts - 2 slices whitewheat bread, 2 tsp olive oil, 2 slices Jarlsberg lite cheese
• Lunch Total: 6 pts

After spending some time watching Michael replace my mother's garbage disposal, we eventually found our way to the scrapbooking store. It was a potluck "dinner"... and I will admit that I grazed all night. It started on the way - when mom and I picked up coffee...


and as soon as we got there, we were greeted with chocolate-dipped strawberries...

• 4 pts - Starbucks Decaf Nonfat Peppermint Mocha w/o whip
• 1 pts - Chocolate covered strawberry
• Snack Total: 5 pts

From there, it just got worse. I will preface this and say that we were there for almost 6 hours and it took me that long to eat all this... I only ate part of what's on the first plate (which was smaller than the picture makes it look) - my eyes were much bigger than my stomach!


Then I grabbed another bowl of my veggie soup...


But when I was offered a fresh burger, how could I resist?


I topped everything off with a mint instead of any of the desserts folks brought... I was too full for anything more!

• 2 pts - 2 meatballs
• 3 pts - 1 oz cheese cubes
• 1 pts - baked beans
• 1.5 pts - crackers
• 1.5 pts - 1/4 cup pasta salad
• 2.5 pts - Mexican casserole
• 1 pts - veggie soup
• 7 pts - small cheeseburger
• Dinner Total: 19.5 pts

Daily Total: 39.5 pts
Holy Cow! It really adds up at a potluck crop... gotta watch the grazing.

Ahhh... Saturday...

After such a crazy day yesterday, I was ready for some comfort food this morning. However, I needed to go to Weight Watchers and make it to one store to get an item they'd sold out of yesterday by the time we got there. I grabbed a small handful of almonds...


and a banana...


and a pear (which I only ate half of) to tide me over...

• 1.5 pts - banana
• 1.5 pts - almonds
• .5 pts - 1/2 pear
• First Breakfast Total: 3.5 pts

After I got home from running my errands, I fixed soup to take to the potluck crop today and then prepared myself some breakfast. I call these "Thanksgiving" oats...

• 1.5 pts - 1/3 cup uncooked old fashioned oats
• .5 pts - 1/3 cup Silk light vanilla soymilk
• 1 pts - 1/3 cup leftover mashed sweet potatoes
• 2.5 pts - 14 gm chopped walnuts
• 0 pts - 1/2 oz pomegranate arils
• Breakfast Total: 5.5 pts

Now I'm off to prepare my stuff for the crop... I'll do my best to post this evening! Until then... thanks for reading!

Wait... you want to know the results of my weigh in, you say? Here ya go... :D

Black Friday

Alright... so, Mom and I went shopping after she got off work Friday morning. It was INSANE! Because of our late start, we didn't get most of the stuff we were looking for. In fact, out of the 7 or 8 stores we went to, we only got what we wanted at ONE. We stopped at the Starbucks in Target for a coffee... which I didn't get a picture of.

• 3 pts - Starbucks Grande decaf Skinny Vanilla Latte
• Breakfast Total: 3 pts

I woke up way too early for me to eat, and we didn't stop until almost noon, so I was starving. We stopped at Cheddar's for lunch before I took Mom home to sleep for awhile. We ordered onion rings and I had four of this huge stack...


and I got their Dijon Chicken lunch... I only ate one chicken breast, half the mushrooms, about two Tbsp of the corn and all the broccoli. Everything was just too rich. I brought the leftovers home for Michael (which he will probably eat today or tomorrow).

• 6 pts - 4 onion rings
• 7.5 pts - one chicken breast with Dijon mustard sauce and mushrooms
• .5 pts - corn and broccoli
• Lunch Total: 14 pts

Michael and I fixed a traditional(ish) Thanksgiving dinner for my mother that evening... sorry I didn't get a picture of everything, and was already partway through my plate when I remember to take a pic. *blush*

• 3 pts - turkey
• 3 pts - herb seasoned stuffing
• 2 pts - whole berry cranberry sauce
• 1 pts - Green Bean Casserole remix
• 1 pts - turkey gravy
• .5 pts - mashed sweet potatoes
• Dinner Total: 10.5 pts

After dinner we watched Angels and Demons - good movie! Since we didn't have any pie... we did a little munching... and I didn't take pics again. I really am getting lazy... need to fix that starting tomorrow!

• 1 pts - Double Dip Mint Dessert Sticks
• 2 pts - 2 pieces Dove dark chocolate
• 2 pts - Kashi oatmeal dark chocolate cookie
• Snack Total: 5 pts

Daily Total: 32.5 pts

Giving Thanks

I am thankful for many many things in my life... I'm just going to list a few here...

I am thankful for my husband, Michael - there are so many things that I love about this man, that I thank God every day that we somehow ended up together.


I am thankful for my parents - as I grow older they just seem wiser. Thank you guys for being there for me and being amazingly patient when I was being an ungrateful brat as a teen. Thank you for the tough love that I hated, but which made me a good person in the end. Thank you for being my friends now... it means more than you can know.


I am thankful for my best friend, Katie - She may be bossy and she may be hard on me, but she is the most honest and caring sister a girl could ever have.


I am thankful for my kitties and my bird - the give love and accept all the love I want to give in return. ;)



I am thankful for the opportunity of going back to school (and the fact that it's almost over for awhile)
I am thankful that I am well (maybe too well) fed, clean, have a roof over my head and many extra things that are NOT necessities - even though we feel that way sometimes.
I am thankful for my health - and I aim to take better care of myself so that I can continue to say this for years to come.

Michael and I went to Marie Calender's for dinner... They had a special Thanksgiving menu, where you could pick an appetizer (potato soup, vegetable soup, or salad)... we had salad w/ bleu cheese...


and they brought you all the cornbread you could eat... Michael and I split this piece...


Then you chose an entree (turkey or ham), which included cranberries, mashed potatoes, stuffing, seasonal veggies and yams... I chose turkey, and ended up eating all the meat, the veggies and just bites of the other stuff. The yams were... well... disgusting. Gritty with sugar, then topped with some kind of crumble that was very sweet - WAY too sweet.


And they gave you a piece of pie - either pumpkin or apple. I chose pumpkin, but took it with me since I was STUFFED!

• .5 pts - salad with 1 tsp bleu cheese
• 4 pts - cornbread
• 5 pts - turkey
• 2 pts - 1/4 cup stuffing
• .5 pts - 1/8 cup mashed potatoes
• 0 pts - carrots and green beans
• Dinner Total: 12 pts

From here on in the evening, I was a bad blogger (and eater!). I didn't take pictures of food at all... We took my mom dinner and pumpkin pie around 8 and wound up staying until after midnight. Her new hospital is just awesome... the people are so nice and it's MUCH more laid back. I ate a slice of pumpkin pie... and I had a cup of chili and some french fries from Braum's since I was hungry again.

• 8.5 pts - chili
• 4 pts - small french fries
• 5 pts - pumpkin pie
• Late Night Meal Total: 17.5

Daily Total: 36
Over for the day - but not by much. :) I used all of my weekly points this time though... we'll see how my weigh in goes!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is such a strange holiday to me... The myths and traditions that we celebrate every year are mostly based on fabricated stories rather than truth and real facts. I think it's great that this holiday gathers family and friends together to give thanks, but the commercialization is really bothering me as I get older. The whole Black Friday frenzy has spread to the days leading up to Thanksgiving and some stores are even open and have special sales the day of Thanksgiving. I guess it's the same problem I have with Christmas now too... the entire holiday season is being taken over by the stores pushing materialism and giving the best gifts or giving the biggest feast. Forgetting the (mostly) pagan origins of many of the traditions we celebrate - these holidays are supposed to be about bringing people together to celebrate a bountiful harvest and the renewal of the world (no matter what religion you cling to, this is true). The giving of gifts is secondary to all the other aspects of this holiday season, but we have convinced generations of children that the entire focus should be presents, gifts, goodies and candy. *sigh* Enough of me on my soapbox.

Michael and I are going to be cooking Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow so that we can share the evening with my mother - who agrees to work the night before and the night of the holiday so that people with children and family who come into town for the holiday can spend time with their loved ones. We have always had dinner at odd times to accommodate her schedule, and with dad gone to China, we're making a special effort to make sure to include her. My mother is one of the primary things I am thankful for EVERY day... not just this one time a year. :)

Anyway... I slept in today until about 9:30 and didn't really feel at all hungry until after noon. When I did get hungry tho', I was dying for one of those spinach and mushroom omelets from IHOP. So I made my own... with some whitewheat toast with Brummel and Brown spread sprinkled with a little splenda and ground cinnamon.

• 4.5 pts - 3/4 cup egg beaters, 1 cup spinach, 1 cup mushrooms, 3 slices Jarlsberg lite, olive oil cooking spray
• 2 pts - 2 slices Nature's Own Whitewheat bread spread with 2 tsp Brummel & Brown, Splenda and Cinnamon
• Breakfast Total: 6.5 pts

I think I'm going to watch some YouTube videos, do a short workout, shower and then see if I can convince Michael to take me to the movies today... :) I'll be back later with more food... and with a list of things I am thankful for. :)

Wednesday... too tired!

• 10 pts - french fries
• .5 pts - 1/8 cup ketchup
• Breakfast Total: 10.5 pts

• 3.5 pts - Turkey with Jarlsberg Lite cheese on a multigrain sandwich thin
• 1 pts - apple
• 4 pts - 1 1/2 cups Amy's Fire Roasted Southwestern Vegetable soup (organic)
• Lunch Total: 8.5 pts

• 9 pts - leftover Chicken with Snowpeas stirfry
• 4 pts - pocky sticks
• Dinner Total: 13 pts

• 2 pts - AdvantEDGE Carb Control Protein shake
• 2.5 pts - 2 mini babybel cheeses
• 1 pts - apple
• .5 pts - 2 clementines
• Snack Total: 1.5 pts

Daily Total: 38 pts
AP earned today: 3

Tuesday!

• 2 pts - Fiber One Bar: Oats & Strawberry with Almonds
• 1 pts - Coffee with 2 Tbsp Silk Creamer
• 1 pts - 3 small clementines
• Breakfast Total: 4 pts

• 2 pts - green beans with mushrooms sauteed in olive oil
• 7 pts - Honeysuckle White Roasted Tomatoe & Garlic turkey sausages
• Lunch Total: 9 pts

• 3.5 pts - Boca burger on multigrain sandwich thin with Jarlsberg Lite cheese
• .5 pts - 1/2 bag of 94% fat free popcorn (100 calorie bag)
• 3 pts - 3/4 grande Starbucks nonfat cafe mocha (no picture, sorry!)
• 4 pts - pocky sticks
• Dinner Total: 11 pts

• 2 pts - Spinach & Artichoke Dip
• 3 pts - 12 tortilla chips
• 1 pts - romaine lettuce with about 1 Tbsp parmesan and 1 tsp Caesar dressing (dipped fork)
• 5 pts - chicken breast
• Late Night Total: 11 pts

Daily Total: 35 pts
Activity Pts earned: 3

A case of the Mondays?

Nah... not really. I got my paper turned in and had a great critique with a visiting artist... so over-all my day was good. Unfortunately the visiting artist's presentation lasted over an hour and half (crazy long!) and as I was walking to my car I was almost run over by a police car. :p Do you call 911 if a cop runs you over??

Breakfast was quick and yummy... Hungry Girl's Choco-Monkey oatmeal...


and some clementine slices...

• 3 pts - 1/3 oats cooked with hot cocoa and water and a banana
• .5 pts - clementines
• Breakfast Total: 3.5 pts

I grabbed lunch on the go again at Jason's Deli... A bowl of red beans and rice...


and a BIG salad with artichokes, mushrooms, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, olives, peas, sunflower seeds and Leo's Italian dressing...


and dessert was a few of the mini cornbread and gingerbread muffins...

• 5 pts - red beans and rice
• 3.5 pts - salad w/ all the fixins
• 4 pts - cornbread and gingerbread muffins
• Lunch Total: 12.5

After getting home LATE after the artist lecture, I fixed a quick stirfry... chicken, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, snow peas and ramen noodles with just a touch of sesame oil and soy sauce.

and for dessert I roasted some chestnuts that I bought in the produce section of my local grocery store... I didn't really like them when I tried them in Germany last Christmas, but I always try things twice just in case the first time was a fluke (good or bad). The verdict? I LOVE chestnuts!

• 9 pts - Chicken Snowpea Stirfry
• 3 pts - 10 fresh roasted chestnuts
• Dinner Total: 9 pts

After dinner had digested a bit, I called Katie and we went for our second couch-to-5k training session... and it was actually so much easier than the last time. I didn't think it would be, so I was shocked and pleased. I refueled with a protein drink (from powder) and my last kashi chewy granola bar.

• 2 pts - Kashi Chewy Granola Bar in Dark Mocha Almond
• 3 pts - Six Star Muscle whey protein powder in 6oz water
• Night Snack Total: 5 pts

Daily Total: 33 pts
Now I'm really ready to go to bed... it was a good day. And tomorrow I only have class in the morning and then we're done for the week! I seriously love holidays, even when I'm not doing anything special to celebrate - because we get a break in classes.

G'night interweb! Until tomorrow... thanks for reading!