Trim the Fat Thursday

I have been reading. All about Shannon and Brandy becoming paralyzed by Jillian Michaels. About Carrie and her losses with Weight Watchers (she has two really low points - and yummy - recipes posted - one for Spanokopita and another for pizza dough). Rachael reached a huge milestone in losing 20+ pounds. Angie has been trimming the fat. Aubrey is on the bandwagon. And I am too. I just haven't told anyone about it. Until now.

I have so much to lose it's overwhelming. But I took that first step about 6 weeks ago and joined Weight Watchers online. I just this week got to the five pound benchmark. I am quite convinced it goes beyond a slow metabolism. I think that mine has deserted me entirely. So, to help with my motivation. And accountability. I thought I'd bring you into that inner circle. And tell you how it's going. What I need to be doing. What I am doing well. And maybe. Just maybe. Inspire us both.

My plan is to tell you about something that is helping or hindering me each week. Followed by some sort of goal. So...this week. I thought we would talk about food. I am all about what I can eat a lot of. For as little points as possible. But. I am not a veggie person. I cannot just grab a handful of mini carrots and enjoy. I wish my tastebuds leaned in that direction.

Here are some things that are yummy. Low in points. And make this journey much easier.

1. Weight Watchers Chocolate chip cookie dough sundae.My kids cannot believe I won't share these with them. But they are all mine. My issue is to try and not eat both sundaes in the same day.

2. Edy's Whole fruit bars

Now these I am willing to share. And they are oh so yummy. And oh so low in points.

3. Pirate Booty and Smart PuffsAnother healthy snack that I am willing to share. I love it when the kids want these instead of chips. They are good. And you get A LOT for little points.

4. El Monterey soft tacos.This is my favorite lunch. These all natural soft tacos are only 2 points each. They are flavorful. And have a great kick. I also like to have them with my bean dip (which is only 1 point a serving!). It helps my wimpy taste buds deal with that kick from the spice.

5. Wholly Guacamole 100 calorie snack packs.Another food that my girlies refuse to try. I think I learned my lesson and will not be encouraging their taste buds on to one of my favorites. These are great to have with those soft tacos. Or just with some baked tostitos. And besides being uber delish...they are already portioned out. I don't have to measure. I just enjoy! And on that measuring note...

Goal for the week:

I have been pretty good about writing down what I eat in my WW log online. Where I am failing. I think. Is that I don't measure. I eyeball it. But my stomach may be influencing my fingers as I type the information. So. This week I am actually going to measure what I am eating. And type out the actual information. And see if that can equal a better number on my scale for next week.

Be sure to go over to Angie's spot to see how everyone else is doing this week. Get on the bandwagon yourself...and link up so that we can support each other.

So...what about you? Have you discovered a food that is making your weight loss journey easier?

A Bowl of Cherries

It's cherry season. Somewhere. Somewhere far away from the 'burbs of Atlanta. Because I know how much I am paying for cherries. They must trek far and wide to land at my local Publix.

I love my cherries. And I say mine. Because I could eat them all myself. No sharing.

The girls refused to even try them. Because they think that they must taste like cherry flavored medicine.I don't even begin to know what possessed me to encourage them to try my beloved cherries. The heat must have baked my brain. A moment of temporary insanity. A total lapse in judgement.

Because they finally did try them. They discovered the joy that is a bowl full of cherries. The girls now know that cherries taste not a thing like cherry flavored medicine.

And now. I have no cherries.

So....what about you? Do you have a favorite fruit? A food that you love - but that your children refuse to try?

Random bits and pieces

Well, all that angst last week about the right shade of beige has paid off. It turns out that "parchment" was a pretty good match for our siding. Not Little Linda. This is the before: With the drab green shutters. The horrid brown trim. And the sassy red door.

It all just seemed to meld into the house. So...on the spur of the moment (meaning, I found out Monday that he was coming on Tuesday - and had to make a quick paint color decision!)...we had a painter out to fix it all. And make the whole thing sassy. Our painter had fun with the kitties as they tried to help him paint.And now...the big reveal! What a difference. The black and cream just makes everything come alive. And that red door is still in place. The transition of the landscaping is pretty impressive, too! Of course the first one was taken in winter. I wish I had pictures of the house right after we moved in. With the...uhhhh...interesting landscape choices the previous home owners had made.Last week both girls were at sleep away camp. And what did I do with my time? I got a pedicure. Did you notice that I blogged four days in a row? I read several book. And Michael won yet another prize. This time a cell phone. Isn't it pretty? And do you know what this means? It means that for the very first time. In my entire life. I sent a text message. I sent several. For no reason. And now that I have this phone. Katie thinks that she needs one.

Anyway...this is how I sent my children off to camp:

And this is how they were returned to me. Stanky. Unshowered. Sinus infected. And with crispy hair. (Ummm...when did my daughter get so tall?)

Last Friday, my friend Kim came over to watch "Twilight." She has read the books, but not seen the movie. Yeah...it wasn't good the second time around either. But. Still. Even after we dissed the movie. We were still on you-tube looking at the "New Moon" trailer. And feeling like dirty old women as we checked out Jacob and company.

The whole reason I set up this blog...was to write about our homeschooling experience. I was pretty good about doing that the first year. And then this year. Well. It was my intention to at least do a weekly review post. So. Be warned. A homeschool post is forthcoming. Sometime. Eventually.

I have read a million and one several blog posts about the time suck that is facebook. I have been there for a while. But only recently has it become a time suck. And it's all Lizzy's fault. Because now. I am addicted to the game "Farm Town."

Now that Michael can drive. We got him a new car. After going over 250K with the old one...it was time. And now for the first time. His car has less miles than mine. And I have new car envy.

So...what about you? What random things are going on in your life?

Shades of Beige

A few months our next door neighbors had the trim and siding to their house painted white. What an amazing difference it made. Naturally, I began to plot and plan my way to new trim. I wanted white, too. But really...did we want to paint our cream siding white? And make upkeep when we didn't have any?

The answer is no. But...I wanted to get rid of the horrid brown trim. And lighten things up with a cream color to match the siding. And maybe paint the shutters. But my first step was to match the color of the siding to the new trim color.

And this matching. Well...do you know how many shades of beige there are?

I think it just might be an infinite number. There are beiges in the green family. In the blue family. In the pink family. In the orange family. In the yellow family. Not too many just in the beige family.

And they all have great names. Like Parachute silk. Riviera Beach. Venetian Mask. Cafe Cream. Heavy Cream. Deep Cream. Plateau. Little Linda. Tuolumme. Which I can't even begin to pronounce. Coastal Beige. Eternal beige. Architectural beige.

So many choices. I wonder who has the cool job of coming up with color names. And why they felt that Little Linda was a shade of beige.

So...what about you? What color is the trim of your house? What about your shutters and front door?

Can you get any closer?

The day lilies are in bloom in the yard. And they are just gorgeous. Begging me to take their pictures. But for some reason, I cannot just take a picture of them. I must get as close as possible. And then...closer still.So...what about you? Do you take close up pictures of the flowers in your yard? What is the strangest thing you have taken a picture of for a blog post?

Quite quotable

"Reading is one form of escape. Running away and screaming is another." -- Lemony Snicket

I have always loved a good quote. And just the other day I had such a moment of nostalgia as I ran across my journal from college. Where I listed all of my favorite quotes of the moment. It is full of poetry. Everything from Ogden Nash to Shelley. Blake to Poe. It has lines from books. Lines from movies. Including this gem from Woody Allen's "Love and Death:

"To love is to suffer. To avoid suffering, one must not love. But then one must suffer from not loving. Therefore, to love is to suffer. To suffer is to suffer. To be happy is to love. To be happy then is to suffer. But suffering makes one unhappy. Therefore to be unhappy, one must love, or love to suffer, or suffer from too much happiness."

I could easily quote Woody Allen way back then. Now I think that all my movie quotes are from Pixar. Or "Steel Magnolias."

I had editorials. Far Side cartoons. This is my all time favorite:And other cartoons. That were just as appropriate then as they are now.

And I even wrote down things that my roommate said. Like: "I have to take my own panties off sometimes. Especially after he's tried ten times with his teeth." I have lots of things I wanted to remember. Forevah.

Here are my top five favorite quotes of the moment:

1.“You can lead a horticulture but you can’t make her think.”–Dorothy Parker

2. “Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.”–Albert Einstein

3. "I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use." --Galileo Galilei (This one is the signature line of my emails.)

4. "Non scholae, sed vitae discimus" - Seneca (We learn not for school, but for life. I am a Latin teacher. I have to have a Latin quote.)

5. "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." - Eleanor Roosevelt.

So...what about you? Did you keep a journal? Do you have a favorite quote (s)?

From my hometown...

I signed up to participate in Shannon's My hometown Swap. The idea being that you would be matched with someone from an area of the country that you had never been to - or that you would want to visit. And then you would send things that represent your hometown.

Who knew that this would be such a challenge?! I live in the suburbs. And the only thing that distinguishes us is our traffic, mcmansions, and good schools. And those are rather difficult to package. So, I broadened my hometown. For about five seconds I thought that Emory University hospital might qualify. Then I moved on to Atlanta as a whole. Dismissing the idea of sending a bottle of Coke and a peach. So...what did I send? It's a surprise! But if you know anything about me...you know that books were included.

And then what should I receive in the mail on Saturday? But my very own package! The part of the country where I have never been is the Pacific Northwest. And I was matched with Rachael - from Bellingham, Washington. Let me tell you...I am one very lucky receipent. First, she sent this whole guide that explains what she included and why.

Why didn't I think to do that? And look at that handwriting. I am getting envious.

She even sent chocolate. And you can't really see it in the picture, but they are shaped like salmon. If chocolate is fish shaped...it has less WW points, right?

I got a very cute re-usable bag. That can go into this tiny bag. So I can throw it in my purse for all the times I forget to get out one of the other 25 reusable bags that we have. Do you all do this? Have a collection of them...and then never remember to grab them?

A very cute Washington Apple box. I wonder if I can hide my earrings in here so that the kitties might stop stealing them.

A pottery flower. Isn't it gorgeous? I have my iced tea spoon resting in it right now. I think I have turned it Southern.

A water color of the old court house.

And this very cool Ski to Sea t-shirt. I am still mesmerized by the possibility of snow skiing. On Memorial Day weekend.

And let me tell you. By the time I had pulled all of this out of my box. And thought about just how wonderful Rachael is...I was slapping myself on the head as I thought about all the things that I could have included from here. But never even thought about. So...many, many thanks to Rachael. You sent some amazing things. And have just made me wish even more to get to see your side of the world for myself!

So...what about you? Is there a part of the country that you would like to visit or live? What things would you send from your hometown?