THE LIGHTER SIDE CAFE TUESDAY JUNE 16!

Hi Ann,

I'm with you.  This weather is so lovely!! Wish it would stick around.  Sunny, dry and fairly cool. All the windows open and so wonderful.   It reminds me of an Arizona winter! LOL 

I am off for an errand today to drop off birthday gifts for a special little 4 year old and his 6 year old sister.  They are my hairdresser's - aka DD2- children.  She had a birthday parade party for them on Sunday but I missed it, and just as well I think.  I saw photos and after the parade they gathered briefly outside her home. It all looked safe and distanced, but I don't know a lot of the people or where they may have been or what their ideas of social distancing are.  I can't chance it.  So, I will be happy to drop gifts and wave as they stand on their porch.  Hopefully, I'll catch a glimpse of the new baby - now three months! 

I have a few work Zoom meetings today so I will need to vamoose home quickly after the errand.  She lives about 30 min away in another town. 

Our Hello Fresh arrived a bit late last night so we splurged on a pizza. I kept my portion to 2 slices.  I'd eaten lightly all day, thank goodness.  The scale is the same today.  I went to my WW zoom meeting today.  One member was lamenting the days of GHG and she is a nutritionist so there are more folks out there who wish we had them again.  I do love my group and find it motivating and helpful.  I set a goal to drop 1-2 lbs this week. You heard it here and I really need the outer accountability.  So you can ask me - in fact, it will help that I wrote it and said it "out loud". 

BBL - Ann and others - enjoy the day.  Oh my, I should look at my ceiling fan, too! :-)  I am sure it is dusty. It's been a while. 


 

Good Morning, WW Friends ~

Happy Tuesday!! It was actually exciting to get up to my brand-newly cleaned (& straightened up) kitchen! DH was appropriately attentive when he got home and I wanted to show him the cupboard with the new stuff.  What a dear!!  I also managed to clean out several more cupboards along the way and since I packed away the Keurig and the pod carousel, it freed up one whole counter area.  I ran the dishwasher and got up and emptied it early this morning, and drank coffee from our freshly cleaned coffee maker (which started this whole cleaning spree), then DH made our breakfast of Egg-Beaters with cheese, fruit bowl and one slice of toast (Dave's Killer thin for me).  I have cleaned everything up and plan to get out of the house for a bit today.

Lunch is up in the air, but will probably be something very light and some fruit.  DH brought me home a slice of Steve's Deli cherry cheesecake yesterday - and I gasped! I have been eating it (seldom) for years - and this slice was easily less than half the size of previously!!  I guess that was their way of not raising the price?? In years past, I could eat the tip off the first time, then split the remainder in half to share with DH another day. Yesterday's piece was not even 2 servings, so I ate the whole thing. Good thing it is only a treat that I want once in a blue moon! Oh, it was the same price, just much smaller (like an abbreviated version).

I have a double batch of chicken breast tenders marinating in the fridge with FF Zesty Italian and assorted herbs and spices, and I have a can of chicken broth to use to cook them in the Instant Pot.  Then I'll have enough leftover for salad one night, and possibly one other meal?? This is my first time to do chicken breasts in the IP as I usually use the George Foreman. Speaking of the George Foreman, our hot dogs (made from brisket) came out delicious last evening. We had them on whole grain buns with pinto beans, coleslaw and corn-off-the-cob. DH was a bit later getting home and we ate out on the porch. The weather was perfect!! I have three (already grilled) leftover and we decided to cut them up in baked beans one night for another meal.

Ann ~ Good for getting the pollen all off the ceiling fan!  I had to do the same thing to our outdoor table and chairs yesterday before we could eat supper out there.  Enjoy your relaxing day!!

Judy ~ I agree about not putting myself in crowds of people (whether I know them or not). GFY for picking a number and sharing it with us. I find my accountability is increased when I do that.  I will certainly join Ann with the pom-poms for you.  You have been working very hard at this, and deserve to see the scale move.

I better get moving. By the time I get out of here it will be lunch time. I need to grocery shop at Meijer and I want to go by Ollie's and Big Lots in search of an additional wind chime for my front porch. One of mine bit the dust and I miss it!!  I also need to gas up my car, but that can be any time. I want to do Meijer so I can make my broccoli & grape tomato & feta salad for tonight's supper. Also I want to make another salad for the fridge and need one ingredient for that one as well.

BBL.  Make a great day!!

Good afternoon!

I got a slower start than intended this morning but still managed to get my walk done before the temps got unbearable. I didn't feel energetic today, so I just went with the flow and my pace was down quite a bit. I got a full 8 hours of sleep last night, so I don't know what the problem was.

I finished my Julie Garwood book while I cooled off and then got up and sweat some more cleaning and mopping floors and cleaning the kitchen. It's all done now, so I plan to have a shower and a sandwich and fresh tomatoes for lunch. Breakfast was fruit, yogurt and seeds and dinner will be eggplant lasagna, since DH picked eggplant from the garden today. At 3:00, I'm planning to go to church for a rosary recitation and prayer service. Then DH and I will have our evening visit in the green room, or if it's too hot, on the patio swing with a fan.

Tomorrow, after I attend a Lunch & Learn Zoom webinar, we plan to drive down to the camp and get all the sea rack left by Cristobal cleaned up and burned, so the lawn guy can mow. DD2 says she burned some of it while they were down there last weekend and had a campfire going, so we're hoping it won't take too long. It should be dried out and burn quickly. We will bring a steak to grill for dinner.

Wonder of wonders, DH asked me last night how he could access the WW program he was successful on a few years ago. Apparently, the wound care doctor pointed out that if certain behaviors don't change, he is prone to more wounds, as well as being very high risk for Covid. I pointed him to the iTrackBites Carb version, which is the same as Points Plus. Talk is cheap and I will believe it when I see some action. He did very well with Points Plus and had his A1C in the normal range for the first time in years. He was also able to reduce the amount of medication he was on. Then Christmas came and a "temporary" lapse became permanent. I try not to obsess about his eating habits because I can't control them and it only makes me stressed and bitter.

Ann - I let DH do the shopping today, too. I just didn't feel like going and had plenty to keep me busy here.

Judy - I believe in goal-setting and will cheer you on, too. Just remember, our bodies are fickle and don't always respond to our WL efforts quickly. We will keep up the good fight no matter what, since we know where the alternative leads.

Sue - I hear you on the shrinking cheesecake! I think shrinking sizes is the new marketing strategy, to keep from raising prices. Have you noticed that most bottles and jars now have a big dip in the bottom? This allows the company to put in 1/2 oz. or so less, without seeming to change the jar size. Boxed stuff still has the same size box, but the weight and contents shrink. I noticed this when using old recipes. The recipe will call for 16 oz. which used to be the size, only the current size is only 12 oz., so you have to buy more, or adjust the recipe. So frustrating!

Have a great afternoon!

Hey all,

Thanks for all the encouragement! 

I am off to vote - very cautiously - and to get a couple things at the grocery.  I will write more when I return.

Ann, the Nora Roberts book is called Shelter in Place.  Appropriate, right? :-) That is why I bought it! 

No walking for me today.  After finishing up around here, then grocery shopping .... I came home and put everything away and then started food prep for tonight's supper, cleaning up as I went along. DH got home shortly after I finished, then we enjoyed a really good supper.

Ann ~ The hot dogs that DH brought home were Private Selection (I believe a Kroger brand) All-Beef that said "made with brisket" which happens to be a favorite of his.  When we ate them they were very good and did not taste at all like hot dogs.  We really enjoyed them, and I am glad he found them!  They came 5 in a pack, so we made a plan how to use the remaining (already grilled) three by cutting them up in baked beans. Oh, BTW, GMTA .... I picked up three cans of Rotel tomatoes at the store today:-)

Judy ~ Hope you were successful in voting - and in your shopping! 

Pam ~ I am so glad that I am not the only one who noticed the shrinkage of products!!  I must say that I missed the "old days" when I could eat the point off the piece of cheesecake, then share it with DH.  It made three nice size servings!  I bought it a couple of times and took it to DH's VBF's house for supper as his DD loves cheesecake! I took her to Steve's Deli once to try it and she agreed it was very much the best!!  Since DH's VBF was not a dessert eater, one slice made three nice servings + a taste for him.  Good that you DH is looking into doing something for himself.  I know how it is to want to get in there and direct, but it is usually more frustrating than helpful.  I know you'll find your way ....

I am all ready for bed and headed in to watch some TV with DH first.

Sweet dreams, all .............