Parenthetical like whoa

[The original title of this post was to be “Rods ‘n’ balls.”  Just shake your head and keep reading.]

I’ve got parentheses up the wazoo in this post, probably due to how scattered my thoughts are at the moment…I’m sooo tired.  I’ve been working on these for the past 4 hours:

 

I’ve got to finish the cake pops tomorrow…they’re going to miraculously turn into trees – cantcha tell?  At least I had some help on the pretzel rods.  Catherine came over for dinner and debauchery domestication.  My ginormous family is having our annual Christmas get-together at our lakehouse this weekend, so I’m making the pretzel rods for snacking and the cake pop trees for place cards.  Stay tuned for how they turn out when they’re all decorated and stuff…

Last night I made a pretty darned good dinner, something I’ve already got plans to tweak for the future.  I took boneless pork chops and pounded them thinner, then topped them with some pepper, some garlic, a bunch of baby spinach, and some brie.  Then I rolled it up (as best I could) and baked it.  I also made butternut squash “fries” with salt and cinnamon, but I don’t think the oven was hot enough…they just turned out soft, which is fine by me.

This morning I woke up semi-early and headed out to go Christmas shopping.  For four and a half hours.  I’m looking for a very specific thing for a very good bargain, and – surprise, surprise – can’t find what I’m looking for.  I’m having one helluva time this year trying to think of things to get my parents…Dad is THE WORST person to shop for.  Seriously, the consensus usually is that our fathers are difficult to shop for, but my dad doesn’t like anything.  Clothes are hit or miss, he already has every tool imaginable, I get him DVDs and they are left unopened, even when he watches the shows or movies over and over again on TV (I’m stealing back the SNL seasons 1-2 DVD I gave him last year…he won’t miss it)…I have no idea what to do.  I can’t make him stuff like I can my mom (knitting, jewelry, stationery, etc.).  For Father’s Day I used my trusty Dremel tool and made him a neato plaque with his monogram cut out of it, and I stained it and everything.  For what?  Who knows.  Where would he put it?  No clue.  But I made it and it took a long time, and, truth be told, it’s stupid.  But I’m at a loss as to what to try next!!!

[End whining]

Although my usual shopping hot spots were crazy busy this morning, everyone was fairly pleasant.  I smiled at people walking by and they smiled back, and most of the cashiers I encountered were cheerful and polite.  It put me in a jolly mood.     However, jolly or no, at hour 4, I got HANGRY.  I stopped by Publix looking for the Celestial Seasonings holiday teas (which I JUST discovered you can search for on the website…I’ve found my nearest store and will visit tomorrow!!) and picked up a sorry-ass salad.  I shouldn’t have paid 6 bucks for it, but I was desperate for something interesting.  It was a “buffalo chicken” salad and had buffalo chicken (yes, fried, though there wasn’t much chicken anyway), blue cheese crumbles, celery, and carrots (which I ditched – not on the plan.  Why is butternut squash (while infrequent) ok but carrots aren’t?  Dunno.)  I added more veggies in the way of cucumbers and red peppers, then added like 3x the greens as a base.  Plus some of my yogurt ranch dressing and green Tobasco sauce.  (Someone asked about my yogurt ranch dressing the other day – Laura, mayhaps?  It’s by Bolthouse Farms and it’s flippin’ sweet.  You find it in the refrigerated section, usually right next to the bagged salads.  They also make some AMAZING fresh smoothies/juices.)  Where was I?  Oh yeah, Hugh Jass…

There was a bit of chicken down in there, I promise!

This afternoon, I was hungry and knew I’d want “cocoa” (a shake) after dinner for “dessert,” so I had some leftover butternut squash as a snack.

This stuff was so amazing – no added sugar, but it was so sweet all by itself! 

One last funny thing before I PTFO.  My intention is to make tree-shaped cake pops a la Bakerella:

(her image, her expertise, her talent)

…so I got white cake mix and white frosting and tinted both green.  Well, the batter was a pretty minty green color (took pictures after the fact, so we’ve only got traces as proof)…

…but baked up looking like the Grinch after a vacay in Cabo.

…interesting, eh?

Catherine’s a damned good sprinkle-er.

Sunday Boring Sunday

I’ve been waking up later than I want to and it’s very disconcerting.  I need to start enforcing a 10pm bedtime more strictly!  I hate feeling like I’m wasting time in the mornings!

Yesterday morning when Mom got home from church, I made us both a couple of “Hugh Jass” salads containing Romaine, spinach, spring mix, cucumbers, red peppers, rotisserie chicken, and some balsamic vinaigrette dressing.

We spent the rest of the day doing things around the house, including more decorating…

…I think we’re finally done with the tree.  Maybe.

Then we braved the crowds and headed to Target where I got the cutest little set of mixing bowls!

And then we headed to A.C. Moore (craft store) because we had a “20% off your entire order, even sale items” coupon, and we STOCKED. UP.  Though I just tried to start knitting a hat with some circular needles I got last night, but I was a doofus and got too-long ones.  Boo.

I feel so bad for my mom…I was SO hungry and SO cranky that I was being a complete and utter bitch there at the end.  I don’t deal with crowds well, I had opted to forego my afternoon shake so I could have it after dinner as “dessert,” I jumped the gun on the celebratory weight-loss clothes overhaul and was wearing a too-small bra that was making me angry, so all in all, I was a heinously bad shopping partner.  When we got home, I quickly nuked dinner and wolfed down an entire field’s worth of green beans with my leftover chicken, and I was finally a happy camper as we watched shows about outrageous Christmas light displays. 

Booooo-ring.

I lived the utter definition of “hangry” and don’t want to do that again.

This afternoon, I’m meeting up with some friends to go to a visitation/memorial mass for our dear friend’s step-dad who passed away a few days ago.  I pulled out some awesome tweed pants I haven’t been able to fit in in a looong time, and they fit!  They look awesome and feel good when I’m standing up.  Sitting down is a different story, though…I’ll have to find something else to wear. 

10 Things about Me

The loverly Laura over at 100 in 12 completed a biographical-type survey over on her blog yesterday, and I’m gonna give it a shot over here.

1. Who are you?
I’m Katherine (my friends call me Kat…no “grownups,” though, just friends).  I’m 25 and have a BS and an MA from Clemson – public health and professional communication – and am looking for a job.  Both of my degrees were kind of jack-of-all-trades degrees, so there’s a pretty wide range of things I’m capable of and interested in.  I’m a crafter and aspire to be a feminist domestic goddess.  I’m single…dunno if I’ll ever find love or have kids, but I’m enough for me for now.  I love animals and have always had a bajillion pets.  I’m an only child and my hair color is natural.


2. What is your current health/weight status?
I weigh around 235…at my highest I was around 270lbs at the end of grad school.  I’m currently on a diet prescribed by my endocrinologist – essentially low-carb.  It kinda bums me out because I have to eat meat on this diet, and I was a lacto-ovo vegetarian for a year and a half prior to starting it.  I’ll go back to being a veg-head when I reach my goal weight, because overall I was doing a good job of maintaining my weight when I was meatless.

While I’m doing a good job of losing weight on this plan, I’m looking to start an exercise habit and to force myself to enjoy exercise.  I’ve always hated it, and getting used to exercise, getting to enjoy it, getting to crave it, are goals of mine.

3. What does being "healthy" mean to you?
(I started writing out things that would indicate I’m “healthy,” but then looked and realized I was answering the next question about my goals!  Good sign, eh?) 

• Eating real, whole, close-to-the-earth foods as a majority of my diet
• Having normal blood chemistries (cholesterol profile, blood sugar, insulin, etc.) 
• Having a low-to-normal blood pressure and resting pulse
  
• Listening to my body and eating what I need when I need it, not putting myself through the cycles of hunger/stomachache)
• Being able to do a reasonable activity without getting winded (like climbing stairs, doing basic yoga)
• Having a “normal” BMI (I know the system isn’t perfect, but it’s a pretty good indicator of healthy weight)
• Not always feeling tired and run-down…there are so many more!

4. What is your ultimate goal?
I don’t want to say have a BMI of X or weigh X or fit into size X because that’s unreasonable.  An ultimate fitness goal is to run.  If that means a mere 5K, that’s cool.  If I’m able to run a half marathon (can’t even fathom a marathon), great.  An ultimate eating goal is to be so comfortable with eating that I can easily go from events with lots of people to eating lunch by myself and not make my weight fluctuate too much.  I want to know my body well enough to know how it responds to certain foods, and to be able to maintain a healthy weight fairly easily through eating habits.
Smaller goals include:

• Being able to climb a few flights of stairs without getting so winded I need to take a breather before talking to someone
• Having strong, toned muscles
• Not sweating the first 5 minutes of exercise
• Not sweating so much, period
• Being able to buy clothes at regular stores and not cry in dressing rooms anymore
• Being able to go sleeveless
• Being able to wear shorts
• Being able to consider taking a trip somewhere without being scared I won’t fit in the seats on the airplane
• Being able to flirt with a dude and not be afraid of him flirting back
• To not have this freakishly weird roll on my left arm
• Wearing a dress without needing Spanx
• Do jumping jacks without a shaking bowl-full-of-jelly stomach to rival Santa’s
• Do 20 pushups (and not with my knees down, either)
• Being able to attend a class at my gym without wanting to hide in shame
• Being confident to do things I’m too scared to do now.

5. What is the biggest obstacle on your way to your goal?
MYSELF.  I think a majority of weight loss is mental.  You have to WANT it bad enough and be STRONG ENOUGH to make good decisions.  You have to get your ass up and get active, even when you don’t want to.  I’m a lazy person, and I have to change my whole PERSONALITY if I want this to work.  Things don’t happen TO you, you MAKE them happen.  I can say all these things, but internalizing them and LIVING them is the hardest thing ever.

6. Who or what do you look up to the most, in regards to your goals?
There are so many bloggers out there who have done what I want to do and who are living examples of how to balance healthy living with everyday obstacles and occasional indulgences.  To name a few, Jen, Jennette, Roni, Michelle, Kayla, and Jenny are strong women with wonderful personalities who have lost huge amounts of weight the hard way and who continue to live healthy lifestyles.  They’re still working hard to either continue to lose or to maintain their losses, and they don’t pretend like it’s easy to lose weight and keep it off.

7. If you could take a magic potion, instead of working for it, would you?
Haha, now that I’ve waxed poetic about the importance of working hard for it and earning it, hell yeah I’d take a magic potion!

8. What do you look forward to the most?
Pretty much my entire list of goals up there. 

• I can’t wait to get rid of all my fat clothes and fit into all the pretty stuff I wore when I was slimmer. 
• I can’t wait to go shopping with my friends in little swanky boutique stores without having to sit in the “husband” chairs and get dirty looks from the size-0 employees
• I can’t wait to jump in front of the camera instead of offering to hide behind it. 
• I can’t wait to “go for a run” to blow off steam instead of stewing in stress and eating more. 
• I can’t wait to look for a relationship and be comfortable in one. 
• I can’t wait to visit Emily in Colorado and be comfortable in a plane seat and try skiing and snowboarding without being scared of fitting in ski gear or collapsing from exhaustion. 
• I can’t wait to visit Joy (and Layla soon!) in NYC and wear cute peacoats and not compare myself to everyone else on the street. 
• I can’t wait to seek out a blogger meetup or attend a conference without fear of judgment
• I can’t wait to go to the gym and rock out 30 min on several machines without batting an eye or feeling paranoid that people are staring at me. 
• I can’t wait for a normal-sized towel to wrap around me. 
• I can’t wait to wear a simple sundress with flip-flops in Charleston.
• I can’t wait to attend a family function without ending up separating myself to cry and feel sorry for myself.
• I can’t wait to go out on the lake in a bathing suit and not constantly tug and pull and try to cover myself
• I can’t wait to cry big fat tears of victory as I cross the finish line
• I can’t wait to choose a seat at a restaurant without having to consider how my largeness affects other patrons
• I can’t wait to wear a cute dress without grossing people out
• I can’t wait to have small boobs again
• I can’t wait to earn the title of “healthy living blogger”
• I can’t wait to stop hiding behind self-deprecating humor

9. What is the biggest lesson you've learned so far?
This shit ain’t easy.  You can’t go back to eating like you want to 24/7 after you lose the weight.  Plus, I put this weight on one bad decision at a time, and I’m having to take it off one good decision at a time.

10. Do you have any big rewards planned?
The first time I went on a weight-loss plan like this, my dad promised me a $1000 shopping spree to replace my fat wardrobe if I got to my goal.  That’d be nice, but I doubt the offer still stands.  I’d love to go on a cruise if anyone wants to foot the bill!  Never been on one!  A trip anywhere would be awesome, really.  

Christmas is officially underway!

Last night, Mom and I attended the Living Christmas Tree performance at my grandmother’s church.  This is always the official start of the Christmas season because we go at the beginning of the month and it’s (mostly) an upbeat, happy performance.

That’s just one of the two “trees” in the background.  Here’s (almost) the whole set.  My uncle is an “angel” at the tippy top of the left one!

I’m so proud that my grandfather designed and helped build these trees.  He worked on them each time they changed the set, and these particular trees were one of the last big projects he undertook before he passed away a few years ago.  I swear Mom and I didn’t plan to dress exactly the same.  A fact which is even funnier when you see the unplanned outfits of Mom, my aunt, and me. (Both of these pics are slightly fuzzy enough to give us a seriously wrinkled look.  Bleh.)

Right before we got to the church, we stopped at a McDonald’s (I don’t remember the last time I ate at one of those places) and each had a salad.  I was sooo hungry on the 1hr 15min drive and knew I’d get cranky and lightheaded if I sat through the performance without eating.  I had a southwestern salad with grilled chicken, and didn’t even think to bring my camera inside.  We already stuck out like sore thumbs as it was, being dressed up and alike.  I probably would’ve gotten knifed if I whipped out a camera and started taking pictures of food.

When Mam-ma, Mom, and I got back to Mam-ma’s house, I made us all hot chocolate (well, mine was a protein shake) and we got in our PJs to watch a movie.  I had seen Four Christmases once last year at the theater and couldn’t remember how racy it was.  There was only one part where I cringed a little, but I think I heard my grandmother chuckling.  Neither she nor Mom had seen it, and they both loved it.  Movie night success. 

This morning when we got up, we visited with Mam-ma a bit and then each went our separate ways – she had a luncheon to go to, and Mom and I had to get back home to do some stuff around the house.  On our way out of town, we stopped at Atlanta Bread Company and had salads – I had a Caesar with chicken (and only half a container of dressing), and it was SO GOOD. 

We walked through a local craft show where I found a little something for Christmas gifts (yay!) but nothing else (boo).  We actually discovered that there is a Starbucks in Mam-ma’s smallish town (albeit stuck in a grocery store, but it does the trick!).  I got a tall nonfat gingerbread latte, and it so wasn’t worth cheating for.  It was really watered-down-tasting.  I did some heavy yard work this afternoon to make up for it, though. 

So at home, we worked on adding more ornaments to the tree and putting up decorations outside.  Four of these on lampposts…

And two of these on the front porch (it’s totally appropriate to have pumpkins under Christmas topiaries, right?)…

…in addition to the icicle lights we hung on the back deck last week…

We even decked the dog with boughs of fleece…

…and had a good laugh over my awkward cat.

For dinner, I made us foil packet-baked chicken with dry onion soup mix as a dry rub.  With a pile of steamed broccoli and a too-big squirt of yogurt ranch dressing, it made a pretty goshdarned good meal.

Mom and I screamed our hearts out while watching our Clemson Tigers in the ACC championship tonight, but they just couldn’t pull off a win against GA Tech.  It was SUCH a good game, and CJ Spiller is an amazing football player and deserves his title of 2009 ACC Player of the Year (and the Heisman, IMHO).  I just wish our quarterback had a faster reaction time.  My heart was seriously broken at the end of that game, but it’s slowly being mended by The Holiday on TBS.  One of my all-time favorite movies.  I love the cast, I love the story, I love the sets, I love the score.  It’s frickin’ awesome.  Night, all!

Santa’s pitiful little helper

We finally decorated our tree last night!  I mentioned yesterday how a section of lights at the top was out, and I was really dreading taking that whole section down to replace, so I made the executive decision that I’d just redistribute the lights at the top to fill in the gaps.  I’m lazy classy like that. 



Please disregard the pile of old t-shirts in the lefthand corner.  But you can’t now that I’ve brought them to your attention.  Awesome.



Santa’s pitiful little helper.  I wanted to buy her a Christmas sweater from Target, but A) I don’t need to be wasting money on something like that, and B) they were out of her size anyway.  A Christmassy green t-shirt did a good enough job, though. 


For dinner last night, I made Mom and me Taco-Less Taco Salads.



Back to the icky flash…sorry, y’all.  I had a bunch of romaine lettuce to which I added some rotisserie chicken we got on sale, some scallions and red bell pepper, a few spoonfuls of salsa, and a dollop of FF sour cream.  I added green Tobasco to the top of mine. 




I tweeted last night about wanting some red wine (which is sooo not on my plan), and Nicci asked me to enjoy some for her, too.  Mom and Dad had just opened the table wine a few days ago that we got for Halloween, and the bottle was upstairs.  The glasses were downstairs.  I knew I’d pour too much if I actually poured into a glass, so straight from the bottle it was.  Nicci, this is for you.  I had a sip for myself and a sip for you. 


We have two trees in our house – the main one in our great room has multicolored lights and all our sentimental family ornaments, and Mom has a tree with white lights and white and gold ornaments in our formal living room – y’know, the room nobody ever goes in, the one where you keep all the boxed-up stuff that used to be in the kitchen before it was gutted?  Yeah, that room.  We keep on doing it because you can see that tree from the road, and it makes us seem more normal if we show evidence of Christmas cheer to passers-by.  We haven’t put that tree up yet, but our family tree is almost fully-decorated.  On it, we have picture ornaments…





…handmade-in-preschool ornaments…



…and Hallmark ornaments that say a lot about my character…






 



I love our tree. 


So far today, I spent way too much money at Hallmark and walked empty-handed out of 2 retail stores and 2 grocery stores.  I’m frustrated, but I’ll try again online and in other places on Monday.  I was ravenous by the time I got home and made The Most Boring Lunch Ever in the History of Eating.  Amen.



The last of the pork tenderloin + dijon mustard + a pile of green beans.  I shouldn’t make fun – it did the trick. 

Tonight I’m headed back to my grandmother’s for the night, but this time Mom is tagging along.  Every year, her church puts on a Christmas concert where the choir sings from risers built into a giant Christmas tree.  Over the years, the church has gotten HUGE and the performance has gotten more complex.  They do little vignettes between songs, and it’s really a good performance.  It’s close to my family’s collective heart because, besides my uncle and his sisters and niece singing in it, my grandfather always designed and helped build the Christmas tree risers, and my aunt and grandmother always installed the greenery.  The year he passed away, they dedicated the performance to his memory, and they still credit him in the program for the set design.  None of us can sit through a performance without shedding a few happy tears for the legacy he left behind.

I hope you all have had a wonderful Friday and have an even more wonderful-er weekend!

Home again and catching up

It seems like every third post is about me catching up.  I’m rapidly losing creativity.  Let’s hope it’s not tied to my weight…I’d hate to be skinny and dull. 


So last we left off, I was about to pass out from exhaustion at my grandmother’s house.  And PTFO I did.  The next day, we went shopping for gifts and decor and various unnecessary things.  Pretty, but unnecessary. 



Tuesday afternoon after shopping ‘til we dropped, we went to Atlanta Bread Company for lunch.  I tried to stick to my plan, but I fudged a little.  I had a garden salad with vinaigrette on the side and French onion soup, minus the good stuff – croutons ‘n’ cheese.  I know, it was still a terrible choice, laden with butter and whatnot.  I didn’t finish it though – it’s amazing how salty it was!



I had a teeny bite of that bread.  Slap me.  AND a bite of Mam-ma’s HOLYCRAPAMAZING turkey/cranberry/supposed-to-be-brie-but-swiss-instead sandwich.  Slap me harder.

When we got home, my aunt came over to help us get Christmas decorations out of the attic.  She climbed up in there and lowered giant Rubbermaid boxes down to me.  God, that was the scariest thing I’ve done in awhile.  Some of those boxes were heavy, and it was so awkward for her to climb down the ladder a little ways, try to finagle the giant boxes through the little opening in the ceiling, then lower it down to me in a way that wouldn’t make her topple over or drop them on my face.  It made me so dizzy to reach up and grab them.  Speaking of dizzy, that’s why I didn’t offer to climb up in the attic myself (though I totally could – I’m below the weight limit on the pull-down ladder to the attic now!).  My blood pressure is finicky now that it's getting more normal and sometimes drops when I stand up/lean over quickly.  Nothing out of the ordinary, but I didn’t want to take a chance of getting lightheaded and falling out of the ceiling and cracking my face open on my grandmother’s garage floor.  You understand.

That evening for dinner, I used a packet of fajita seasoning and liberally sprinkled it on two chicken breasts, then wrapped them up in packets and baked them for about 20 min.  Then I de-foiled them and baked them about 15 min more.  On the side, I sautéed some squash, peppers, and onions, and I made Mam-ma some white rice to go with hers.



The next day at lunch I repurposed the leftover veggies by throwing them in a frittata with some cottage cheese, cut-up ham, and fresh red pepper bits.  Mam-ma got cheese on hers.



We got her new skinny tree all put together and well on its way to being fully ornamented…



…and I finished the little craft project she needed me to do.



I had to rush home (through rain, which sucked balls) and take a 5-minute shower, because Mom and I were meeting a friend to go shopping for a family in need.  I picked out a blouse, something the 14-year-old girl had asked for, and I wish I could’ve bought her several things, because one measly top doesn’t seem hardly enough.  While we were out, we went to Panera for dinner, and I had a Chopped Chicken Cobb salad and stupidly forgot to ask for dressing on the side.



After picking through the icky tomatoes and hard boiled eggs and trying in vain to shake gobs of dressing off each sad little leaf, I devoured the whole thing.  I don’t want to know how many calories, fats, or sugars were in that dressing.  I’m just gonna leave it alone.

So far today, I’ve been weeding through emails I let go while I was away and trying to get my Google Reader to say the magical words, “you have no unread items.”  Lots of people have some pretty awesome stuff to say, though (and lots of giveaways!), so it’s hard to skim through them all in a short amount of time!  I broke for lunch around 1pm and had a piece of leftover pork tenderloin alongside some roasted asparagus and squash, onions, and mushrooms.  When we make this pork tenderloin, Mom makes a sauce to go on the side – equal parts dijon mustard, mayo, and sour cream.  I lightened up a quick version today with just dijon and FF sour cream.  It tasted just the same!  I’ll have to make my own version from here on out!



(and no, I didn’t use all my sauce!)

When you’re losing weight and someone compliments you, do you find it hard to say a mere, “thank you?”  Although I know that’s the socially acceptable answer and the only thing people *need* to know, I find myself saying more than necessary, especially considering I don’t want to divulge exactly how I’m doing it for fear of judgment [damn it, Katherine, get over the whole “judgment” thing – it’s tired and stupid].  Though so far, it’s only been with family.  I hope by the time an acquaintance says something, I will have trained my lips from flapping too much.

Last night, Mom and I put lights on our tree while listening to the Christmas music channel on the TV, and this morning when I woke up, I turned them on to see a blackout at the top.  The stupid lights are mocking me.  After I get that all squared away and the tree decorated some more, I’ll post pics!  For you Christmassers, do you have your tree up yet?  Do you get a live one or artificial?

Exhaustion leaves no room for creativity

My contacts are sticking to my eyeballs, and I’m tired from doing god knows what, so my post title sucks donkey teat.  Meh.  I’m currently at my grandmother’s house…she needed some help Christmasing, and I’m always glad to help in that department.    Tomorrow I’ll be doing some light crafting, putting up her tree, and doing a little shopping – which I haven’t even STARTED yet.  Oy vey.

Over the past few days, I made a pretty awesome frittata…

(eggs + egg whites + ricotta cheese + onions, mushrooms, zucchini, spinach, bell pepper + salt + too much pepper)

…earned a new weight-loss reward (down 30lbs!!)…

(Sewing basket.  I’m a nerd.)

…got a Christmas tree (and a skin pigment-ectomy, apparently.  Orange is wicked unflattering in that light)…

…and put ‘er up.

I left for my grandmother’s before we got a chance to put the lights and ornaments up, so it’ll have to stand naked until Wednesday.  Poor thing.

I feel so bad for my grandmother, because it seems like every time I come to see her, I have a different set of dietary preferences.  Last time it was meat-free, now it’s carb-free.  At least it gives me an excuse to cook for her!  She JUST got back from a weeklong beach trip with my aunt and uncle, my cousin and her husband and kids (the reason we were on our own for Thanksgiving), so she didn’t have many groceries on hand.  For lunch I made us scrambled eggs and steamed broccoli.  I was ravenous and didn’t take time to take a picture.  It sounds like the most random meal, but it was perfect! 

We ran out to the store to re-stock her kitchen, and I got hungry again, so I had one of my diet shakes when I got home, mixed with coffee (whoopeee).

Dinner was more interesting though!  I made a chicken and veggie stir-fry (I made some rice for my grandmother’s, but mine was plain).

Chicken + canola oil + garlic powder + teriyaki  + soy sauce + bag o’frozen veggies = stir fry.  It was pretty good!  One lesson that really sucks to learn is that I don’t need something sweet after every meal.  I enjoyed having a piece of dark chocolate after each meal to cleanse my palate, and sugarless gum just doesn’t cut it.  I’m very thankful for the weight loss I’m seeing, but I’m also thankful for the opportunity to step back and re-evaluate what I was doing right and wrong.  I still am craving sweets, so I’m hoping that goes away fast…

Back to randomosity, Mam-ma and I were sitting here watching a Good Eats Christmas special, “Twas the Night Before Good Eats,” when I almost let out an expletive.  One of the dudes on the show went to high school with me!!  Good Eats crew often appear in front of the camera as characters and personalities, so I did some investigation and found out he was/is a production assistant – I think that’s SO COOL!!! 

I’m gonna go PTFO.  Night, y’all!