Blogs and Birthdays

Happy Wednesday friends!  Now that I am back at full speed after 6 weeks of surgery recovery and then a fabulous Italian vacation I am ready to concentrate back on my goals of getting in shape and being healthy.  I am back in the gym and my food choices are back on track!

The extra fabulous news is that the husband wants to join me on this journey and possibly do a little blogging of his own.  So, we decided to launch a new blog, Wells Live Well.

We are still under construction on the new site, but I will update you when we are live!  All of my recipes and weight loss posts will migrate over to that site and Ema's Grand Ideas will be my spot for crafts, decorating, and style.

As I have been working on the new blog site I have been contemplating lots of fun motivational quotes that I have seen out and about in social media.  The one that has taken up wallpapering my phone is this one.

I. Love. It.

And finally Happy Birthday to my dear friend Roberta...

Have a lovely Wednesday friends!!

Wonderful Wednesday

Happy Wednesday everyone!  I for one am happy it is Wednesday because I am already ready for the weekend.  I spent last weekend sick in bed for the most part, so I am ready for a weekend where I get a few things done around the house.  Don't tell anyone, but our very crisp Christmas tree is still up in our house!  Also, don't mention that I still turn the lights on when I am in the living room.  :)

How are your new year's resolutions?  Mine are still intact and I am happy.  As much as I enjoy the holidays, I am happy to be back in a routine.  I love coming home and cooking dinner and I have been doing a lot of that the past two weeks.  Yay.  I have already seen 3 lbs melt off and I am happy about that.  Last night for dinner I made chicken, roasted broccoli and a big old Caesar salad.  Let me introduce you to my new friend...

I found this guy in the produce section at my grocery store while I was shopping on Monday.  I bought it in hopes it might be okay, well it is great.  The bonus?  It is only 1 weight watchers point + per serving and the serving size is 2 tablespoons!  Now if I could just get my gym routine back down, I would be in business!

Speaking of tasty things, I wanted to share a new recipe with you.  I made Zucchini Squares on New Year's Eve and I thought they were great.  I found the recipe in an old holiday appetizer magazine that I had.

Thank you Kathy Lewandowski!  Your zucchini squares are yummy!  I created the recipe on Weight Watchers online and they are 2 points plus per square.

Zucchini Squares on the NYE table.

As far as Wednesday goes, that is all I have to report.  Enjoy your day!

Wonderful Wednesday and Weigh In

Do you know what's great about a three day weekend?  A four day work week.  It is already Wednesday and I am more than okay with it.

I have been very reflective last night and this morning.  As the fall begins I am noticing that I have many friends going through huge life changes.  Some of them very exciting and some scary and sad.  There are deaths, twins on the way, divorce, apartment hunting, child support issues, wedding planning, and several new homes to warm with parties.  Life has all kinds of twists and turns.  It makes my September calendar picture more than perfect.

Thank you Mary Engelbreit

I like plan B.  I know most people's lives don't go according to plan.  If they did, we would all be much more boring.  However, with faith and patience you seem to always get to where you need to be.  To all my friends no matter what life is challenging you with currently take a deep breath and have faith.  Love and hugs to you!

Wednesday is now my weigh in day since I am back to logging everything online with Weight Watchers AND since my scale has been located and unpacked. 

Good deal.  I am down 5.3 lbs since rejoining weight watchers.  Slow and steady.  I did make a couple of drive through visits this week, but I watched portions and even ordered a kids meal at one of them.  Imagine what kind of progress I can make if I cut those out entirely!  I know the beauty of a weight loss plan like weight watchers is that you can allow for those indulgences.  I still like to wonder what if.  :)  I have been great about the gym.  I have gone at least 3 times for the past few weeks.  Let's see what this weight watchers week has in store for me.

As you might know from yesterday's post it was my niece's birthday.  My sister shared this fantastic picture of her on Facebook yesterday and I of course stole it, ordered a print of it for my house, and must share it with you today.

My seven year old.  Yes, mine.

I was talking to Chelsie on the phone yesterday evening wishing her a happy birthday and hearing about her day.  I always joke with my nieces about what grade they are in and how old they are.  I do the how old are you now?  20?  16?  You get the idea.  Last night while I was talking with Chelsie I was doing that to her and she was laughing and right after I guessed 16 she says, "NO!  Seventeen!!" I laughed and she said, "No, seven!"  It was funny.  We are silly girls.  She reported that she had had a wonderful birthday and she got to choose what was for dinner and she and the family were going for sushi.  Good choice, Chelsie, good choice.

I hope you have a wonderful Wednesday!  Anyone else doing any fall reflection?

Weekend Recap

I mentioned in Friday's post that we were celebrating our anniversary Friday night.  We had a fabulous date night.  We went to Fleming's Steakhouse.  If you have one near you try it...you will love it.

Outside of the fabulous food they have an extensive selection of wines and the service is amazing.

I have never once felt rushed when visiting...they are perfectly happy for you to relax and sip wine and spend time with whoever you are with.  This is our go to place for celebrations.  They really go the extra mile for you when you are celebrating.

Truffles and a gift card.

On Friday this surprise came in the mail to my office.

Sweetest anniversary wish ever - my friend's twins

On the kitchen front...we could be cooking in as little as two weeks!  I am so excited I am beside myself.  I have a whole list of awesome vegetable filled healthy recipes ready to go.  The kitchen cannot be finished fast enough.  I am ready to get back to normal!!  I am ready for my weekend recap posts to also include good news on the weight loss front.  Patience is a virtue right?  Okay.

Have a lovely day!  We might be rain free here in Houston today...weird.

How was your weekend?

Weekend Recap

Well, we moved.  Not last weekend, almost two months ago.

This has been a hard two months.  We are still living with an incomplete kitchen, so the eating habits are not the best.  What's worse is that work has been super busy so I haven't been making it to the gym at lunch time like usual.  What's even worse than that?  I haven't been picking up the slack by doing a work out in the morning or evening.  I have been overwhelmed and a little lazy (just being honest).  The good news...yes there is a little good news...my clothes are still fitting so I haven't been doing extra damage, so I will take my small win.

When we moved in we were not able to unpack a lot of boxes, the kitchen and dining room are still not unpacked since they are not finished, so we have what will be the den as the designated box room.  The sofa that will eventually be in the den is in the living room so we are fairly cramped.  We have finally called uncle and had some contractors out to give us bids on helping us finish the kitchen.  I am just fine with that...I hope they give us good bids and can start soon.  I am ready to get back to normal life.

Toward the end of last week I started thinking about things that I could do now that would improve our living situation and my mood.  I called it my happy now list.  I might not have a complete kitchen, I might be living in essentially 2 rooms of a 3 bedroom, 2 bath house; but there are things I can be happy about now.  Like my whimsical blue hallway.

I sweet talked the husband into climbing around the box room to find this picture.  I was floored when I realized the color I painted the hallway matched the text on the bottom of this picture almost exactly.  It looks like I took the print in with me and asked the store to match the paint.  Crazy.  This might be my favorite little corner of the house right now.  It is not finished, but it is on it's way.  I have a runner rug on order and I want to put some bottle neck vases on this table.  I am very happy about this.  :)

The other things on the happy now list were not all that pretty to photograph, like finding the box with the Pledge so I could give the furniture a good dusting, but they are getting scratched off one by one.  On the happy now list for this evening: a healthy dinner from Zoe's Kitchen and a bike ride around the neighborhood.

Oh, and I know you are wondering about Sammy.

She is very satisfied with the move.  She has a yard.  She could care less about a kitchen, her food bowl still gets magically filled in the morning and evening.  She is content.

And she gets to have friends over.

Today the pen color will be yellow.  Yellow makes me happy now.  :)

Have a wonderful Monday!

Holy Chobani

I have always heard good things about Chobani yogurt, but I hadn't tried it for myself until today.  Holy cow is it delicious!

I wish I had tried it sooner, it is SO creamy and not too sweet like some yogurts.  It is a little more expensive which is why I hadn't tried it before, but it was on sale this weekend so I picked up a couple.  I am glad I did.  If you have not tried it, find a sale, buy you some, eat it.  You will not be sorry.  I had the non fat apple cinnamon flavor which was 3 weight watchers points +.

When I logged my weight online yesterday I got this notice.

I love that notice!

Have you discovered any awesome new to you foods lately?

TGIF

Yes, that is my whole title today.  I am too lazy to think of anything more creative.  I am super happy it is Friday and I am looking forward to the evening already.  I am ready to relax.

This week has been weird...weather wise, allergy/headache wise and my energy level has been very low.  I know this will not be a week I have lost any weight.  I keep stressing a little about how slow this is going for me right now.  I know I need to keep on trucking, take a deep breath and just be happy that there is positive progress no matter how small.

Daisies make things better. (source)

So, I will concentrate on the positive today.  I ate a healthy breakfast, I packed a healthy lunch and I am as ready as I am am going to be to take on this day.

Next week my goal will be to move more.  Maybe my body needed the rest I have given it this week and that's why it was telling me to slow down on my activity and sleep more.  I hope I have created the balance it needed.  My mind is ready to go and get some awesome workouts in next week.

(source)

I missed my yoga class this week.  I am already looking forward to yoga next week.  I wish my yoga classroom looked like this picture....that would be cool.  I am also planning on getting to the gym in the morning with my workout buddy and neighbor, Rebecca.  I have missed out this week.  Sorry Rebecca!

(source)

My plans for the weekend are to relax, get some work done at the house we will be moving into at the end of April, take a few walks and plan some great healthy meals for next week.  I hope you have a wonderful relaxing weekend!  What are your plans?

Happy New Year and Weigh In

I am back from vacation!  I know you are very excited.  I am very excited because I got on the scale for the first time since my December 12 post and I only gained .4 pound!  I decided that over the holiday I would continue with my workouts, indulge a little and be mindful of what I was putting in my body...but take a break from the scale.  I was so happy with my weigh in this morning.  In years past I have put on a lot more holiday weight, so I will take a .4 gain as a victory.  Here are the details:

Previously:  -5.0
This Week:  +0.4
Total:           -4.6

We just returned from vacation in Carefree, AZ...I did a few short posts from Arizona, but tomorrow I will be posting more pictures and my review of the resort where we stayed which was called The Boulders.  I will give you a small preview of the review and tell you we thought the place was pretty awesome.

My favorite cactus

Small cactus fact for you that I learned on my trip.  These cacti live for hundreds of years (some up to 300) and they grow for 50 - 75 years before they begin to grow their first arm.  Crazy right?  So this cactus I am with is much older than the one in the background on the right.  I found it very interesting since I had no idea cacti lived for so long.

We had such a great time that it was hard to leave, but I am happy to be home.  There is no place like home, right?! 

I am pretty sure Sammy felt the same way.  She got to vacation at Bed and Biscuits Pet Spa here in Houston.  She loves it there (and I love for her to be there); she gets to play with all the other dogs during the day at day care and they have a doggie pool...she loves that part.

Yes, that is Friends on in the background

She looked happy to be home too, don't you think?

Weekend Recap and Weigh In

Friday night the husband and I had a date night to have dinner and go see White Christmas at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts.  We had dinner and drinks at Artista which is located in the Hobby Center.  The pan seared scallops were amazing.

Yum.

Excited for the start!

The musical was nothing short of awesome.  The cast had amazing voices, especially the lady who played Betty...I wish I could sing like that...actually I wish I could just carry a tune...I would settle for that at this point.  At the end of the show it snowed in the Hobby Center.  Seriously, how awesome is that?!

Pretty decorations

I love being out at Christmas time.  The Hobby Center was decorated so beautifully.

And their gift shop apparently has a direct line to Santa.

I didn't touch, I swear.

Saturday night we went to a wedding down near Seabrook, Texas.  Natalie and David got married and they looked so happy!  We were very happy for them.

 

 

All the best to Mr. and Mrs. Weekley.

And now for the weigh in...

Previously:  -3.9
This Week:  -1.1
Total:           -5.0

Slow and steady is the way to be.  YAY!

Weekend Recap and Weigh In

We had a super weekend!  Our Friday Funday involved a trip to the Saint Arnold's Brewery.  Let's start there, shall we?  Beer is always a good place to start.

Loved the front doors to the brewery.

Every week day afternoon Saint Arnold's opens to the public at 3:00 for happy hour.  It costs seven bucks a person, but that includes a tasting glass, 4 tokens for beers and an optional tour of the brewery.

Where they make the good stuff.

Mmmm...beer.

We took the tour, which was cool, but I wish they took you in to where the bottling happened as well.  The tour included the making of the beers only.

Brock Wagner one of the founders of the brewery giving the tour.

Saint Arnold's is Texas' oldest craft beer. They told us that on the very first tour of the brewery they had two people who wanted to attend.  There were a few more of us on Friday.

Kevin adding hops.

Yum.

I like it.

I am sorry to tell all of you who do not live in Texas that this beer is only distributed in Texas.  I guess that gives you an additional reason to visit.

My favorite beer of the day is a new one that I had not tried before called Santo.  I not only liked the beer, but the art on the label is awesome too.  I had to purchase this pint glass because I liked it so much.

On Saturday we went and picked out our Christmas tree!

So many choices!

Home.

Beautiful.

Yes our star is crooked.  We will fix is eventually (maybe).  My mom came over to decorate the tree with us and we had a lovely dinner of creamy mushroom chicken over egg noodles and green beans (recipe to come).  It was a wonderful Saturday night!

Sunday I got all of the Christmas presents wrapped.  I just have one more present to buy and that is for my mom...she is so hard to shop for.  I am waiting for an awesome idea to come to mind...or even just a good one.

And now the weigh in...

Previously: -2.6
This week: -1.3
Total:          -3.9

I will take it.  I have been stressing about losing weight during the holidays.  As you might remember, I skipped the weigh in last week so this is actually a two week loss.  I realized that my stressing about whether or not I would be able to lose over the holidays was fueling some extra snacking.  I have made the decision to keep moving and keep tracking...even if I have an off day here or there that is much better than an off month!  So here I go!

What are your biggest challenges with staying on track over the holiday?  And who is the most difficult person to shop for on your gift list?

Weigh In

You can find the weekend recap in a separate post...I didn't want my pity party to take away from good news.

Let's start with the weigh in.  I started not to get on the scale this morning and just post that I had gained.  I knew I had, I stopped tracking about Wednesday last week and I knew there was no way I hadn't gained, plus (skip ahead to the next paragraph if you wish to avoid TMI) I was PMSing like a crazy person and I am still feeling bloated this morning.  Anyway, I thought it would be better to just face the music, put on my big girl panties and deal with it.

And what did I find?  Well, that I am dealing with a 6 pound gain.  Awesome.  I have considered that some of that is probably water weight, and I am sure it is.  Great.  It doesn't change the fact that I did not listen to my body or my mind for that matter last week.  I was lazy, my workouts were not super strong and they were not as consistent.  What makes it worse?  I knew that moving more would make me feel better; but that didn't get me off my butt for a workout.  It is SO frustrating and discouraging to me...I know that working out makes me feel good, but I was still lazy.

Then there was the eating.

There was some that was thoughtful fabulous indulgence, for example Daniel and I had dinner at Canopy on Saturday night.  I ordered the herb seared scallops with asparagus and butternut squash risotto and balsamic reduction.  It was delicious and worth every calorie.  I ate until I was satisfied, but not too full and then stopped.  It was great and I felt good about it.

There was some eating that was thoughtless and useless, like a stop for fast food after a party (and a few too many cocktails) on Saturday.  Did I enjoy it while I was eating it?  No, not really.  I was actually thinking about how I wouldn't be happy with myself later.

Now, what do I take away from this?  On the positive, I am learning.  I was right about how I would feel about the fast food...I felt terrible Sunday morning.  Not from a headache and hangover, but because my stomach was so unhappy with me.  I can walk away from the experience knowing that once I make the connection to actually listen to my head and my body that I will have made leaps and bounds of progress.  Right now I am still at baby steps, but at least in my mind they are steps in the right direction.  Now just to master the listening to myself.

What's my plan for this week?  I plan not to be intimidated by Thanksgiving.  I do not have to overload my plate and there will be healthy choices to make.  I plan to focus on my family.  My nieces are in town, there is a lot of opportunity for activity points to be had with three energetic gals.  I plan to take it one day at a time.  I am heading for yoga at lunch time, I am excited...yoga always makes me feel good.  Tonight I am making my baked tilapia for dinner.  It's easy, delicious and HEALTHY!

Here is how the weigh in broke down.

Previously: -8.6
This week: +6.0
Total:          -2.6

All I can do is move forward and continue to improve, right?  Right.

Weekend Recap and Weigh In

I worked on Saturday, so there is nothing interesting to report about it, but our Sunday was a lot of fun.  We went down to Surfside and took a walk on the beach.

This is why I love living near the coast.  The temperature was in the 70s in the morning and there was a nice breeze.  We had to watch our step since there were jellyfish everywhere.  Yuck.  We did get to see a squished one that had been run over by a truck.  I didn't take a picture of it because I didn't think you would want me to gross you out.  You are welcome.

We did see a very cute baby seagull, he is in the center of this picture...he was very fast and hard to photograph.  We picked up a few shells and discussed the joys of living in the south and being able to walk barefoot on the beach in mid-November.

I love the beach.

We had lunch on the beach at Pirate's Alley Cafe. I had a bacon cheeseburger because I had the points and that's what I wanted.  It was good.

Pirate's Alley also had a cat.  We called him beach kitten and it was fun to watch him chase sand crabs.

He was very sweet.

After lunch we went from Surfside to The Strand in Galveston to visit La King's Confectionery. I napped on the way over...so unlike me, I know.  La King's is a fabulous candy store that Daniel's grandmother used to take him and his sister to when they were kids.  They would always have white chocolate.

I think La King's feels a little like stepping back in time with their soda fountains and homemade ice cream.  We had a scoop of ice cream and then got Daniel a little white chocolate and me a couple of chocolate covered pretzels for later.

So much candy.

And now for the weigh in...

Previously: -2.8
This week: -5.1
Total:          -7.9

Yay!  Proof that if you track your points and eat smart you can still have bacon cheeseburgers in your life.  In other weight watchers news...my weight watchers online weight tracker says I am down 8.6 pounds from the start, so I am guessing that somewhere along the way in the blog I have done some bad math.  I will go with the weight watchers total loss since they have graphs and can do math.

New Total:   -8.6

Deal?  Deal.  Okay, awesome.


The pen color today will be lavender.

Happy Monday, I hope it goes by quickly for everyone.