The Mutant Tree in progress

My part of the lights and garland is done. Just waiting for the kids to get home from school so they can do their part with the ornaments!

Merry Freakin' Christmas

So this year we opted for a real tree for Christmas. We stopped down at the lot around the corner from our house last night after doing some more last minute shopping and bought this baby. I am pretty sure it took some steroids sometime between when we picked it up and this morning when we woke up cause it sure as hell didn't look THIS big at the lot!!

Marjorie Evelyn (Fitzpatrick) Waddington - 1916-2011

In memory of my grand-aunt Marjorie, sister of my beloved Grampy, who passed away October 31, 2001 in Ontario. Reunited with her beloved husband Tom, brothers, Ralph and Lloyd, and parents Percy and Helen.

Thursday's Thoughts

I'm a blogger. Have been for quite a few years now. They were much more frequent back when Yahoo360 was up and running and when they shut that down I tried a few before settling on this one. I don't use it often but try to when I feel I have something to share or need to get something off my chest that is making me have thoughts of hiding rolls of pennies in my pillowcase and then challenging my husband to a pillow fight. As a blogger, I have also been a reader of many and I have to wonder at what point did "expressing yourself" become permission to be a malicious bastard?

For years and years and years people have preached love and acceptance of others, can't we all just get along, be kind to your neighbor, do unto others as you would have them do onto you, and I have to say, these people obviously don't surf the web! Or maybe they do and they are just hypocrites hiding behind the freedom to express themselves while claiming "It's MY page and I can say/do whatever the hell I want!"

This doesn't just apply to blogs. It applies to any place on-line you post really. Chat rooms, your facebook, myspace (do they even still have that?). Anyplace you can access online and hide behind the anonymity of the internet. Or should I say "feel" you can hide behind.

Anytime you post anything, and I mean ANYTHING, on-line there is a chance it will come back to bite you on the ass. HARD. Sharing parts of yourself can come with high consequences. Consequences you better be willing to accept when putting fingers to keyboard and typing out the secrets of your world cause sometimes what you think is anonymous or "just your opinion" can be hurtful, hateful and just possibly may cost you things in your life you hold dear like a job, spouse or some other loved ones respect (there's a wellknown blogger who now makes her living off it after she got fired from her job after posting about a co-worker).

We all have bad days. Sometimes get angry with someone/something and say things in the heat of anger we wish wish wishhhhhh we didn't say and could take back. If you are arguing with someone face to face and say it you just pray they have a memory like mine and eventually they forget (or the pain of those words dwindles some), but you put those angry thoughts down in type and blatantly spell out who they are towards, that is out there for good! You see it. Your friends see it. And usually the person you were being a "malicious bastard" towards sees it. And while at that moment you too may have wanted to hide rolls of pennies in your pillowcase and challenge them to a pillowfight, eventually you calm down and sanity kicks back in. That is, of course, until your "friends" and other readers start the comments. The comments that I "hope" are made in the attempt to support you and not made in an effort to egg you on and get you even more riled up. The comments made based on their own opinions of the one-side of the story they have been getting but cause they are your "friends" may feel it is their DUTY to jump in there and ALSO be a malicious bastard towards whomever you were pissed at. Ahhhh "gang mentality".

As I mentioned, many of us likely have days where someone makes us feel homicidal thoughts. There have been some ongoing issues in my own world the last few months that could open up a verbal floodgate that could quite possibly never close, but out of respect for people I LOVE. People I don't want to hurt (other then the occasional penny pillowfight or half-sized rolls for those under the age of 16), I keep that crap off-line and discuss it with the person it SHOULD be discussed with, not the billions of people on the internet who have no part in the issue.

As a parent, I feel, it is my responsibility to try and teach my children that while you are certainly entitled to your opinion on things there is definitely a way to relay that opinion to others while trying to cause as little hurt, hate, or offense. After all, I certainly don't want anyone purposely hurting, hating or being offensive to my child so why would it be okay for THEM to purposely be hurtful, hateful or offensive to others?

Sometimes, a swift kick in the arse is EXACTLY what you need!

So it has been a little while since I have done a blog and an even longer one since I have done a WW one. I'm still going, but have been struggling for quite awhile now. I could sit here and say it has been due to this or that but when you come right down to it, any reason I could give for NOT doing what needs to be done would be just an excuse. All this became abundantly clear during a recent conversation (that's a nice way of putting it) between my husband and myself. I don't even remember how it all came about, I just remember me being pissy and saying something about not feeling like I had any support (which really is a big crock of crap) and him calmly telling me that they (him and the kids) do support me. Now since I'm miserable and pissy, the last thing I want is for you to be calm and happy damn it so I said some other stuff which I can not even remember and he replied without a not so calm reply of "Nanc, we DO support you but when was the last time YOU wrote anything down? Weighed/measured out what you were putting on your plate? I can't make you do it or do it for you!"

It was like he bent me over and gave me a good swift kick in the arse with his steel-toed workboot.

He was right! (God I never thought I'd see me type that ever - and if you ever tell him I said it, I will deny it)

You either have to "shit or get off the pot."

In the past, a part of the WW spiel has been about positive self talk and while great in theory, sometimes the "there-thereing" you get from others and even yourself when people are trying to be supportive, really isn't as helpful as a bitchslap to the side of the head and a smarten the F up! And while I'm sure I was pissed off but what my husband said, I knew he was right somewhere deep inside, so decided against killing him in his sleep and hiding the body. (Although I bet I could get a load of activity points dragging him around and digging a hole)

Needless to say, last week was a really good week (each and every day which is something I haven't been able to say for awhile) and when I stepped on the scale Tuesday I was down 2.8 pounds (I'd skipped the week before) bringing my total FINALLY past the 25 pounds marker to a grand total of 26.3 pounds lost!

Hurray for kicks in the arse!

Sunday Outting

Just wanted to share some recent photos of the drive we took on Sunday, July 3. Hubby wanted to go check out the new aquarium in St. Andrew's but it isn't finished yet so we drove up to St. George to check out the St. George Gorge (and grab a pic of an ancestor's gravemarker). It's a shame that they do not utilize the old building you see on the lefthand side of the photo. We went up to the top part but you can only get so far before it is locked up and fenced in.

My kids who, of course, weren't to keen on the idea of jumping in a vehicle and spending the day with their *GASP* parents really enjoyed the scenery and according to my son "this is awesome!"

Since we had to pass it to come home, we stopped into Lepreau on the way home to check for some other ancestors and came across this little spot.

For you family tree trackers

Until July 4, 2011, Ancestry is offering FREE access to the US Sons of the American Revolution database

http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=2204&o_iid=48528&o_lid=48528&o_sch=Web+Property

Out of the mouths of husbands!

After supper tonight, hubby, the kids and I decided to head on over to the Nature Park for a walk. By the time we got there it was about 7:30 so we decided to park outside the park entrance and walk the Squirrel Trail, think it's something like 35-40 minutes? We are probably about three quarters of the way done when we notice something on the path ahead of us...

Husband to son: STOP! Look up in front of you on the path! A porcupine!

My son, who apparently thinks he is Porcupine Dundee, proceeds up the path to get a closer look.

Me, the freaky mother hen that I am, yell at him to back away from it incase he gets to close and it feels threatened!

Son: What will it do?

Me: Well he "could" turn around and come at you and try and stick you with his quills!

Son: What do we do if he does turn around?

Husband: We turn and run the other way. All we have to do is be able to outrun your mom! (since I'm obviously the slowest LMAO)


I love family outtings!

Genealogy - Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, BC

http://vancouver.ca/commsvcs/nonmarketoperations/mountainview/burials/index.htm


A distant cousin passed along this site to me and I had to make sure it made it into a blog incase I ever have to reformat my computer again cause I ALWAYS forget to note my fav websites for genealogy and keep losing them!

Out of the mouths of babes! And Husbands!

So yesterday I get out of the shower and am in my room getting dressed. I hear my daughter, who is in her room, shift in her chair and thinking she might be about to come into my room I say to her -

Me - "Don't come in here! I'm topless"

Her - "Gross Mom!"

Me - " If you think hearing about it is gross imagie if you walked in! Don't forget kiddo, you were breastfed for awhile!"

Her - "That's why I gummed ya (she bit me so hard as a newborn even the nurse cringed)! That was my way of telling ya to keep them things outta my mouth!"
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So hubby and I stopped at the Walmart garden center yesterday afternoon on our way home cause he was looking for vegetable seeds. He just built a pergola on our backdeck so he wanted to take a look for another grape plant to grow up over it.

Me - (seeing something to the side as we were leaving) "Hey, is this them?"

Me - "Oh wait, never mind. It's them other viney creeping thingies starts with a C "(the word clematis not coming to me).

Him - "Yeah! It's Chlamydia"

I'm pretty sure that while I was rolling on the ground laughing the garden center guy peed himself a little!

Free Marriage Record Access - Genealogy

For anyone researching family members who married in Canada or England, I just noticed ancestry.ca is offering free access to these records ONLY until May 1st! Hurry and check it out while you still can!

Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice....I'm an idiot!

So about a year and a half ago I had a fall outside a local grocery store. We were coming out of the place, walking across the parking lot to the van. It had rained earlier so the pavement was still pretty wet. Hubby is up ahead of me abit, with the cart and here I come, trailing behind in my fugly crocs. (Now I know, crocs have got to be about the ugliest shoe ever invented, but when you have battled Plantar Fascitis for over a year at that point, putting your foot into something that makes you feel like you are an angel walking on clouds is heaven. ) Out of the corner of my eye I notice a taxicab coming towards me so I "think" I decided to speed up a bit cause frankly, some of them are crazy bastards behind the wheel. I say "think" cause I don't recall making a conscious decision to try and SWIM in the many puddles in the Superstore parking lot by doing a faceplant onto the pavement, in full view of the cab, AND in front of the front doors of the store, which is exactly what I did. Eventually the moans, groans and squeals of pain made my husband turn around at which point he says "Nanci, what the hell are you doing?" After thoughts of ways to kill him and hide the body left my mind, he picked me up off the ground and home we went. Few hours later I had him take me to the hospital when I moved and "felt" like bone shifted against bone and I damn near passed out in the lazyboy chair. After a 5 1/2 hour wait in emerg I came home with a wrap on my foot, pain killers in my belly, and the diagnosis of torn ligaments (not to mention more thoughts of ways of killing a spouse that didn't require movement of my leg). One would think that lovely adventure would be enough to make me realize that crocs, while comfy, are NOT the most sensible shoe in wet weather.

I'm not a quick study........

So it's been raining here all damn week. I've got a busy morning with taking the boy to school and then coming home, showering, eatting, breakfast and getting to the garage with the van for 10am. Drop off the demon....oops....darling....pull in the yard, out of the van I get take one step onto the back stairs YES WEARING MY CROCS, and have an out-of-body experience! My damn croc -wearing foot slips on the wet wood, slidessssss off the step and under the riser above it DRIVING my shin up into the underside of it and down I go!!! Let's just say if we had a "Swear Jar" in our house, I'd have enough money to take you all to the Bahamas for a week. So while I am now wearing a very sexy purple bruise complete with softball-sized swelling on my shin, I am NOT wearing my crocs.

Relapse

I AM an addict. There are no two ways around it. My drug of choice isn't beer or wine. It's not heroin or crack. It's not cigarettes. It is food. Glorious food. Delicious, mouth-watering, make you drool flavors. And as someone who has been a past smoker and past excessive drinker (never touched narcotics) I can tell you in my own personal experience, the addiction to food is something that is MUCH harder to overcome.

I am sure some skinny bitch is sitting out there reading this thinking "Just put down the twinkie fatass!" and since I have never had a twinkie that is something that is easily accomplished. What I think people that haven't had weight-issues fail to understand (and likely don't care TO understand) is that the "food" itself isn't the whole issue. There is a mental/mind thing that also needs to be worked out to overcome this.

"Excuses! That's all you are doing is making excuses!" And while I can understand how someone on the outside looking in might see it that way I say to you, "Look around you." Most of us know someone - a friend, family member, or even yourself who has battled some type of addiction -cigarettes, booze, drugs, whatever. If you took that addict and MADE them have whatever it was they were addicted to, but in smaller quantities are they no longer an addict? How are they "kicking the habit" if they are still using? A smoker can quit smoking and live. An alcoholic can quit drinking and live. A drug addict can quit smoking/snorting/shooting up and live. A food addict.........well, that doesn't quite work so well. We "quit" our addiction and we don't live. Failure to eat results in this pesky little thing called death. A food addict has to learn to manage their addiction and let me tell you, it is no easy feat.

The last few weeks have been a huge struggle for me. I don't know why. I don't know what has changed in my mind that has allowed me to relinquish the control I had when I began WW in January, but I have definitely not been where I need to be mentally. As a result, the long-anticipated weight gain reared its ugly head last night at weigh-in. All-in-all, the gain was nothing, only 1/2 a pound but it isn't so much the number as it is the meaning behind it. Why, when I have been waiting for a gain the last few weeks, have I not been able to mentally refocus myself and get back on track before the anticipation of a gain became the reality of one? If I couldn't kick my ass back in line before, can I now? All this time I thought my greatest fear was creepy crawlie things, but could my greatest fear be success?

Out of the mouths of babes

The Boy - Mom, why do monkeys have hands on their feet?

Me - They are their toes buddy. They do look like hands with their long toes don't they?

Him - Why do they have them?

Me - Well, they need them to be able to climb trees. They have to be able to climb good to escape predators.

Him - We should have them too!!

Me - We don't need to climb trees to escape predators buddy.

Him - Yes we do! Lawyers!

Week 13 WW

So, last night was weigh-in, I went expecting to see my first gain since starting Weight Watchers. It definitely hasn't been one of my greatest weeks, certainly was better than it was pre-Weight Watchers, but figured I was about to get smacked by the hunk of metal and told to smarten the hell up. I guess my body was happy I went apeshit last week and was in such a state of shock it fought extra hard to lose cause I lost more last night then the two earlier weeks when I had been better. Last night I lost a further 1.1 pounds bringing my current total loss to 20.7 pounds!! I feel like I just got a stay of execution from the governor and better make some better choices before that stay is taken back!

Missouri Death Records

If anyone has people who were in the state of Missouri just found a great site that has an index of Missouri deaths WITH images of the records. Records run 1910-1960 Check it out!! http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/resources/deathcertificates/#searchdeat And don't forget the free Civil War era records search ends in a few days on ancestry.com

Week 11/12 WW

Down 0.9 a week ago and down another 0.7 this Tuesday for a total of 19.6 lost.

Week 9/10 WW

After a small mental breakdown (focus-wise) a few weeks ago, am pleased to say I am back on track and have had two more losses over the last couple weeks. Last Tuesday I was down another 1.9 pounds and this week at weigh-in was down 1.1 giving me three pounds over the last two weeks. This brings my total loss to 18 pounds! Very pleased.

I was just commenting to my husband the other day how "not hard" it seems to be this time with the new way points are calculated. Since it has changed, the points given to a person has increased so this time, for me, it doesn't seem like I am having to totally eliminate things that I like, it is just making me look at HOW MUCH of those things I have now. Not feeling deprived or like something is forbidden is definitely something that is good for me. Tell me NOT to, and you knowwwww that's the first thing I am gonna do! Going back to WW has also made me go back to some of the things I used to have and LOVE and now makes me wonder, "why the hell did you ever stop having that?" Personally, I think they need a 12-step program for smoothie addictions! I love, love, love LOVVVVVE raspberry/banana and strawberry/banana smoothies!

Who would have thought that the girl who used to eat something fruity maybe every few months couldn't go without a day without it??

Week 7/8 WW

Another 2 for 1 post.

I never got around to posting last week's weigh-in result cause it was so minor I didn't feel like wasting my time posting about a .2 loss. Yeah yeah, I was still down, it all adds up yada yada yada. I know "why" it was only the .2 cause I stopped tracking a couple days before weigh-in so was actually half expecting to see a gain so while a loss of the .2 was a pleasant surprise it also was a mini-disappointment. Enough of a disappointment thankfully to kick my ass back into gear for the past week and at last night's weigh-in I was down another 1.6 pounds bringing my total weight loss to 15 pounds. Woohooo!!

It's pretty incredible how you can look in the mirror and see the difference losing a bit of weight can make. I carry my weight around the hips and waist and have actually been noticing the difference since as early as 7 pounds lost, so now double that and I can see and feel a big difference already. Hubby said he notices it around my face too and my lovely daughter told me "Not to sound to Kingston-like, but your butt is getting smaller mom." (My husband is from the country and the standing joke in our house is that it's a good thing he found someone outside of that community or he'd likely be married to a relative).

My poor husband, it's like there are two of me in this house!

Week 6 WW

So I've completed my sixth week on Weight Watchers. Up till this past week, it has been "smooth sailing." This past week though, ROUGH WATERS! Even though technically I stayed within the total allotment of points I have to work with (the target and extra allowance, that extra49 scares the beejeebus outta me) I honestly was preparing myself for my first gain due to a stress-eatting week. Hitting another car on your way to Weight Watchers then waiting a whole damn week, worrying about whether the cost to fix your vehicle is going to be to high that the insurance company says WRITE OFF really threw me off this week. Some of my decisions over the past week have not been the greatest and a little to "pre-WW" for my liking, but I journalled it all anyway and decided to buck up, go to weigh-in Tuesday and accept the responsiblity for the choices IIIIIII chose to make. Imagine my surprise when I stepped on the scale Tuesday and had a bigger loss then I did the previous week??!! (I still think seeing only a 0.8 loss the week before was cause of having the crap scared out of me from the collision on the way there!). So my grand total of weight loss over the last six weeks is at 13.2 pounds! Wooohooo!

I made the committment to myself to start fresh yesterday (my weeks runs Wednesday to Tuesday), had a good day yesterday and now that the insurance company finally called this morning with the news that they are gonna fix the almost $1800's in damage to the truck the stress of having that possibility is no longer hanging over my head!

Out of the mouths of babes! And Husbands!

A couple months back I was watching "Remember the Titans" on TV. It's based on the true story of two schools, one black one white, which are closed down in 1971 and the students all integrated into one and focuses on how the relationships and trust have to develop between the black and white players on the football team. My 11-year old was watching some of it with me. Kids, unless of course TAUGHT to discriminate people who look different from them, he didn't understand why alot of white people in the movie were angry. I tried to explain to him segregation then, he still thought they were a bunch of morons and we continued to watch the movie. Throughout it, every once in awhile he would say outloud OBAMA! After about the tenth time, I looked at him and asked,

Me: "Do you even know who Obama is?"

Him: "Yeah."

Me: "Who is he?"

With the best "mothers don't know anything look on his face" he says, "A boxer!"
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One night as hubby and I are cleaning off the table after supper (kids have retreated to the dungeon a.k.a the basement) hubby says if we don't have any plans, he thinks he will go lay on the couch and watch a movie.

Me: "Whatcha gonna watch?"

Unbeknownst to us, our 15-year-old had come upstairs and was just coming down the hallway towards the kitchen......

Him: Gonna watch Borne, wanna watch it with me?"

Her: ACKKKKK!! OMG PORN!!???? OMG MY EARS! I SO DIDN'T NEED TO HEAR THAT!!
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Being pretty tight with the purse strings, when things go on sale that we normally use, I tend to buy a few to have on hand cause there is no damn way I am paying full price when I know it will likely go on sale a couple weeks down the road for about half! This is definitely the case for toilet paper. Sobeys had a brand on we normally wouldn't buy about a month ago, Charmin Ultra Soft double rolls. After my son plugging the toilet AGAIN last week (he has this thing about toilet paper), the topic came up after supper.

Me: "Hey John? Can you plunge the toilet? "The Boy" plugged it again and I tried but the damn thing is blocked right up! I can't budge it!"

Him: "It's no damn wonder! Using that toilet paper is liking wiping your ass with a blanket!!"
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The abovementioned 15 year picked up some tickets for a concert she is going to in a couple months. Being a teen, she of course purchased the floor seats I told her I wasn't comfortable with her buying, so hubby was going to call Harbour Station and see if we could turn the tickets in for ones with assigned seating.

While flipping through the white pages of the phone book,

Him: "I don't know why the hell they can not put it in here under H-A-B!"

Me: "Try H-A-R, since it's Harrrrrrrbour Station, not Habour Station" (No, he isn't from Jersey!)
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While discussing a mutual acquaintance who is not "well loved" by his inlaws, I mention that I've never found him to be mean or not nice, I just think he is a quiet person, who isn't into being phony by kissing up to people he isn't comfortable around (like really, how can you be comfortable around people you KNOW do not like you?)

Husband: "I like him. He's a nice guy. He just really likes his smokes, booze and pot."

Me: "He smokes dope?"

Him: "They both do."

Him: "I think she smokes it for pain. He does it for the moral support!"
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God I love my family!

And the waiting begins....

Have you ever felt like all the forces in the universe have gotten together and said "Hey, how can we *#*# with (insert name here) TODAY? Well, I am pretty sure there is some cosmic comedian laughing his ass off at us this morning, lemme tell ya!!

Hubby comes home from work on Sunday all stressed out cause AGAIN something is wrong with his truck. He thinks it is likely a wheel bearing going in the truck, and knowing how freaky I am about money, is probably wondering if tonight is the night he goes to sleep and I beat him to death with my pillow! We have the "and how much is THIS gonna cost" discussion (okay, so discussion might be a nice way of saying it), and being the tightwad (and hoarder of monies that I am), to his surprise, I don't go ninja on his ass! He takes the vehicle to the garage Monday morning, I pick him up and he says they aren't sure if they can fix it that day, that he might not get it back till Tuesday. Pain in the ass for me, but no biggie. He drives the kids to school and off to work he goes. Few hours later he calls me, and by the sound of his voice I almost toss my cookies.

Him: "So, the garage called me."

Me: "Do I need to sit down?"

Him: "Might be a good idea."

Me: "Do I need a bucket?"

Him: " A Bucket?"

Me: "Incase I puke!"

Him: "Oh! Well anyway, there are two different ones they can use, an econo with 12mth warranty and the good one with 36 mths. Since I plan on having the .....

Me: "How much?"

Him: "Blah Blah Blah, Yadda Yadda Yadda"

Me: "How much?"

Him: " More Blah, Yadda (My pillow-swinging abilities can make a grown man shake!)"

Me: "How f'n much!"

Him: "Well I told him to go with the 36mths and it's gonna be 602 takes and installed"

At this point, if he had have been in my house, I probably would have loaded up my pillowcase with rolls of quarters and challenged him to a pillowfight cause this was the price we had discussed the day before and I was prepared for. Many words were said, by ME, that I can not post here cause my daughter creeps this page and I would never want to teach a kid bad bad words! Crazy ass had me thinking it was over a thousand by the voice on him when he called!

Fast forward to yesterday around 10 a.m.

Hubby calls, truck is done (they tore it apart Monday afternoon before they closed), its about 70bucks cheaper (misquote on part price) and can I go get it? This truck is to me what my pillowcase is to my husband! It scares the beejeebus outta me! To me, it is like a big friggin tank and I am NOT G.I. Jane!! We agree he is just gonna have to leave work a bit early and pick it up.

Close to five hubby's coworker pulls in the yard with my van, hubby not far behind in his truck! Yeah! Hubby drives coworker home, comes in for a bit, grabs a quick bite to eat and we jump in the NEWLY FIXED TRUCK to run me to Weight Watchers.

When they say accidents happen only a few kilometers/minutes from home, they aren't kidding ya!

We are coming down Somerset, about to go through the Paradise Row intersection, straight through the GREEN LIGHT, when the chick coming the opposite way decides to make a lefthand turn through the intersection AFTER her green light has stopped flashing (as she stated to us and to the officer). I see her beginning to make the turn, let out a huge gasp (likely a bad bad word) and CLOSE MY EYES! (Thank god I wasn't driving huh LOL). Next thing I know THUD BANG tossed forward a bit (thank you inventor of seatbelts!) and look up to see my husband's Chevy Silverado making out with her Chev Malibu. As she was exiting her car, it was at that point I noticed movement in her backseat as her two VERY young children shifted in their carseats. And it was at THAT point I almost puked chili all over the interior of our NEWLY FIXED TRUCK! As a mom, I damn near dropped dead thinking of this other mom and the fear she must have felt knowing her two babies were in the car! THANKFULLY NO INJURIES! My biggest concern was if her kids were okay. (My neck was a bit sore last night and I had a headache, but it was the stress of it! I'm fine now.) The kids were fine, the older of the two (maybe 3 years old?), according to the mom, kept saying SEE MOM I knew this was gonna happen! Told you we shoulda just went right home!! I told ya! (She said they were in a car accident last year, so he has been through an accident before). Police were called and while we waited for them an ambulance happened to be driving by and checked on us, tow truck got there for her car (which I am figuring might be done based on the way her front passenger wheel seemed to be leaning in for a high 5 to the front drivers side wheel) the tow thingy wouldn't go down on the tow truck LOL, they finally got that working, put her and her kids in the back of an unmarked car, and we all finally were able to move out of the middle of the intersection (sorry supper hour traffic people!).

Phone call has been made to our insurance and now I am just sitting here waiting on an adjustor to get back to me sometime within the next couple of hours.

Cosmic comedian........you're an asshole!

Week 5 done

Just a quickie to report last night's results, was down another 0.8 pounds. whether that was all I was supposed to lose this last week or not is unknown. Somehow I would imagine the stress of being in a car accident on your WAY to weigh-in could affect that.

Onward we go......

2 For 1

Realized I never got around to an update last week on how WW is going.

Last week I had a loss of 1.6 pounds

Tonight was a loss of 2 pounds

Bringing my four weeks total to 10.6 pounds lost!!

Week 2 done

I am alive. Haven't thrown in the towel, got side tracked with program or anything like that. Just have been fighting another cold so haven't felt like doing a recent blog update. Program is going well. I'm still getting in that water, making CONSCIOUS food choices as opposed to unconscious ones. No mindless nibbles. I'm following my plan and am happy with the progress I am making. I don't mean the weightloss, although that is great too, but am very happy with how I am making decisions to do things and am sticking with those choices. Reminds me of the quote they used in the closing of Tuesday night's meeting,

"There are only two options: Make progress or make excuses. " Ellen Mikesell

As a result of the pre-planning and hard work, happy to report another 3 pound loss this past Tuesday bringing my total to 7 down, earning me my first 5 pound star.

Week 1 done

So my first week back at Weight Watchers is now done. It's been a great week all week. Gotten in loads of water, tracked ALL week, including the weekend which has always been where I have fallen off in the past, managed to not go over my points so didn't have to dip into the "allowance" and LOST 4 POUNDS! Wooohooo me! The 4 pounds is great, but even more important to me is the nonscale victory I had on the weekend.

Even after my meals were all counted, after supper on Sunday night I still had quite a few points left that I am "supposed" to eat. Hubby asked if I wanted to go to Dairy Queen and get a blizzard to use them up. Normally, I woulda been in the van, raring to go, before he even had his shoes on, but I got up from the kitchen table and came into the computer and checked out the DQ nutritional info on-line for my favorite blizzard treat HOLY SMOKES!!!! Even the small was something like 22 points! I checked out the others, trying to find something I felt more comfortable with (even though I could have had that 22 point sucker, just would have meant dipping into my allowance). Even though there were some that were less points, they just were not what I would have wanted enough to warrant giving up that many points on, so I opted for something I would have been satisfied with ( and was delish) later when we sat down and watched AFV together. So very proud of myself!

Dear Weight Watchers

While I do realize you have only recently changed your program and the way food points are now calculated, I don't think it is to much to ask to make sure YOUR frozen food products available in grocery stores are showing the CORRECT points values!! At the very least send out a little sticky thing the retailers can affix to the freezer doors telling newbies NOT to trust the number on the packet!

Now that I got THAT out of the way........

Had another good day yesterday. Journalled, got in my water and stayed within my allowable points. I did have an A-HA moment too. I'm not much of a breakfast person. I DESPISE eggs, not even sure I have ever tried oatmeal, the look of the texture gives me the heebie jeebies but am going to give it a try (just have to psych myself up), and cereal isn't my thing, so figuring out what to have other than a yummy smoothie for that meal is going to be a challenge. Yesterday I decided to try half of one of my daughter's "Works" bagels. Topped that sucker with some lite herb cream cheese, threw in a couple of clementine's (mmmmmmm) and I was good to go. For lunch I thought I would have myself a ham sandwich with the Costco Kirkland Black Forest Ham (OMG that stuff is good) and was great. Until about 2:00/2:30. It was like someone had suddenly laced my 2L bottle of water I was drinking with a sedative. I'm calling it my Carb Crash! Felt like I could have pulled a Rip Van Winkle and slept for 20 years. Man it was baddddd. Won't be trying that one again.

An Awakening

So yesterday was my first day back on program and I am VERY pleased with how well it went and how easy it was! It was like the tastebuds in my mouth had been awakened after years in a coma. Just call them Rip Van Winkle. I'd forgotten how GOOD some of the things I used to eat tasted. I haven't made myself a raspberry/banana smoothie or had a clementine in I don't know how long and right now, I want to reach back and kick myself in the ass for denying myself their yumminess all this time. Thankfully, I'm not flexible enough to do that yet so will just have to make due with asking myself "what were you thinking?" This, I imagine, is depressing for the kids, who are home today due to a snowday, as I am sure the entertainment value of watching their mom try and kick her own butt, losing her balance and falling over (kind of like that skateboard incident a few years back) would be absolutely priceless!

To plug another awakening of my the tastebuds, see the recipe below this post for the new recipe I tried last night for our supper. Don't forget, that if you make it and change anything , to adjust your nutritional information.

So after yesterday's blog about me rejoining Weight Watchers and my concern about the points they now give you and now having gotten over the hump of the first day, I have to say, I now understand why they gave us all extra points. Because of the way points are calculated now, the foods you once may have enjoyed on WW for a certain points value quite possibly are NOT the same. (Sneaky buggars!) Yesterday's lunchtime crackers that I spread my laughing cow lite cheese on USED to be 4 points for the two servings of crackers, now they are 6 eek!! Something I didn't discover until late last night when I logged into their etools which you get access to FOR FREE when you buy a monthly pass. Oreo thinsations also jumped up one too (if I remember right what they used to be). Not really a big deal, but makes you have to go back and recheck everything you once knew.

Overall a great day! And I HAD to have earned activity points for all the back and forth trips to the bathroom after drinking 2 liters of water!

BBQ Roasted Chicken with Parmesan Potatoes

From kraftcanada.com


http://www.kraftcanada.com/en/recipes/bbq-roasted-chicken-parmesan-115138.aspx




This was a new recipe I made last night for supper for us. We all really liked it. Even Mr. Picky Pants, my son! Of course he didn't like that the skins were still on the potatoes, but other than that, we all enjoyed the flavor.

Ingredients:
1 pound (450 grams) Small Red Potatoes (about 8) quartered
1/4 Kraft Extra Virgin Olive Oil Aged Balsamic Vinagrette Dressing
1 1/2 tsp Chili Powder, divided
4 small boneless, skinless chicken breast (1 pound/450 grams)
1/4 C Kraft Original BBQ sauce
2 Tbsp Kraft 100% Parmesan Light Grated Cheese

Make It:
--Heat oven to 400F

--Toss potatoes with dressing in 13X9 nonstick pan; sprinkle with 1/2 tsp chili powder. Bake 25 min.

--Stir potatoes; push to sides of pan. Place chicken in single layer in center of pan; sprinkle with remaining chili powder. Drizzle with BBQ sauce.

--Bake 20 min. or until chicken is done (170F) and potatoes are tender. Transfer chicken to platter. Stir potatoes to evenly coat with pan drippings. Spoon around chicken on platter; top potatoes with parmesan.

Nutritional Information:
See the above link

**** I tweaked this abit for our family. Using 2 pounds of regular potatoes (seriously - 1 pound of potatoes for four people? Did you see how little that was in the above picture?), I cut them up smaller then the recipe called for based on some of the recipe reviews on the kraft site. I then microwaved them on a plate for about 7 or 8 minutes. I let them cool a bit then put them in a large ziploc bag with the dressing and chili powder and let them marinate for a couple hours. I used the regular calorie-wise Balsamic Vinagrette too. I also let them cook probably about 30-35 minutes. When it came time for the chicken, I subbed Bull's Eye Old West Hickory BBQ sauce on my not-so-small chicken breasts for the BBQ sauce the recipe called for. And of course, I remembered about three hours after we ate that I forgot to add the Parmesan to the potatoes when it was all done. Oh the smell's in my kitchen!!! MMMMMMM! A definite "do again" for my family!

Yeehaw! Giddy Up!

Well, I'm back in the saddle again. The weight-loss saddle. I've been throwing the idea around inside the far recesses of my mind for a little bit now about bucking up and going back to Weight Watchers. Finally grabbed hold of the reins and rode that pony back to my first meeting last night in I don't remember how many years. I forgot how scary it can be to make that first step through the doors on your own. In the past I have always had someone to go with, that first time, but this time, I was the Lone Ranger! Turns out though that I have a Tonto and a Silver there as I have an aunt and cousin who go to that same meeting (you guys have to fight it out amongst yourselves which of you is the horse!)

They've recently revamped their program and while I haven't really had a chance to read all my material yet to get a better understanding of the changes, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little concerned with the amount of points they now give you to eat within your day PLUS the added "extra" or "bonus" points you are allowed to use if needed for special occasions. I used to get around 25 points for the day then you had your "extra" 35 you could eat (or not, your choice) called Flex Points and if I remember correctly, the lowest (ie. those skinny wenches) got 20 base points. Now it seems to be that everyone across the board gets almost 10 points higher then add in the big jump in the "extra" ones you can use, if needed, and it seems quite scary from where I am sitting. Bonus though!! Fruit is now a 0 point item!

Motivational Quotes

If you can imagine it, you can achieve it; if you can dream it, you can become it. ~~William Arthur Ward


The thing always happens that you really believe in; and the belief in a thing makes it happen. ~~ Frank Lloyd Wright


Happiness if where we find it, but rarely where we seek it. ~~J. Petit Senn


It was a high counsel that I once heard given to a young person, "Always do what you are afraid to do. " ~~ Ralph Waldo Emerson



The only way of finding the limits of the possible is by going beyond them into the impossible. ~~Arthur C. Clarke


One joy scatters a hundred griefs. ~~Chinese Proverb



There is only one person who could ever make you happy, and that person is you. ~~David Burns



It is better to fall short of a high mark than to reach a low one. ~~ H.C. Payne



Happiness grows at our own firesides, and is not to be picked in strangers' gardens. ~~ Dougals Jerrold


The great and glorious masterpiece of man is to know how to live to purpose. ~~ Michel de Montaigne


Don't bunt. Aim out of the ballpark. ~~ David Ogilvy


When one door of happiness closes, another opens, but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us. ~~ Helen Keller