A day at the zoo

November 12 being our seventh wedding anniversary, I took Monday and Tuesday off work to spend time with my family. We decided to spend Monday taking Emmy to the San Diego Zoo. We had a wonderful time. Emmy especially enjoyed the Petting Paddock in the Children's Zoo, where she climbed on a log bench and petted goats, sheep and bunnies. They even had kid-sized sinks for washing hands afterwards, which was also very exciting.

Among the many pleasant experiences of the day, we found Morning Star Gardenburgers for sale at the snack bar (who knew?), which made for a yummy lunch.

Emmy loved all of the animals, but her favorites were the elephants, peacocks, and ducks. She also loved the orangutan exhibit, but mainly for the smallish trees planted in the viewing area close to the plexiglass which she made a point of hugging repeatedly. It was a blast to see her wonder and excitement at every new experience. Another highlight of the day was taking the "Skyfari" back to the entrance at dusk - the view was truly lovely!

I had lots of fun snapping photos throughout the day - some of the animals seemed as if they were posing for me. Here are a few of my favorites.

Trick or treat!

This Halloween was Emmy's first to wear a costume and trick-or-treat. Since we had zero trick-or-treaters at our place last year, we thought we'd try Ryan and Shari's neighborhood this year.

She's had a thing for stories involving lions and tigers recently, and is especially fond of Tigger (from Winnie the Pooh), so when I found this adorable Tom Arma white tiger costume on Ebay for about half the normal price, I snapped it up. Our friend Tracie (who, like me, has a sick mind) suggested that Peter and I dress up as Sigfried and Roy (preferably post-mauling), but as Peter pointed out, we don't own any leather clothing - and that stuff's expensive!

After initial protest getting her into her costume, Emmy had the time of her life going from house to house, ringing the doorbell and/or knocking on the door, saying "Trick or treat!" or "Happy Halloween!" in a tiny, timid voice, reaping "awww"s wherever she went and raking in the loot like a pro. Peter told me that this morning the first thing she wanted to do was get into her costume again, and you'll never guess what she wanted to do when she woke up from her nap! Thank goodness that she hasn't yet made the connection that the candy is edible . . .

Here are a few pictures of Emmy in her costume, living it up. Enjoy!

Princess party paradise

On Sabbath afternoon we attended Lacy's third birthday party. Since it was a costume party with a princess theme, Grandma Jean came up trumps and bought Emmy a beautiful Cinderella costume, complete with the most adorable "glass" slippers (which would not, unfortunately, stay on her feet!). Although she screamed bloody murder while I dressed her and was grumpy for a little while afterwards (she didn't get a nap that day), she eventually got too interested in the toys, balloons, and other children to mind the dress.

When she wasn't whacking things with a plastic hammer she'd found or trying to drown herself in the pool when no one was looking, she especially enjoyed riding a tricycle (Mommy or Daddy had to push it - she couldn't get the hang of the pedals) and exploring Lacy's playhouse. Lacy appeared to be having a ball, jumping tirelessly in the bounce "castle" rented for the occasion and looking adorable in her pink Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) dress. She was especially enthusiastic about her Disney princess birthday cake, and glowed with pleasure as we sang "Happy Birthday." Cousin Caden seemed even more enamored of the cake, if you count the amount he lovingly plastered on himself and the chair on which he sat. After watching Lacy open her enormous pile of presents, we trundled on home with an exhausted but happy little girl.

Tea with Lacy

On Friday we paid a visit to Grandma Jean and Gramps, who were taking care of Lacy for the day. We had a lovely time. The garden and patio were so pretty (as usual!) and Emmy had a blast playing outdoors with Lacy - kicking and throwing a ball, picking flowers, and especially having tea. Pouring water from one container to another made this a fascinating (if wet) pastime. The heavy involvement of Emmy's tongue as she poured was hilarious to watch. Here are a few of the many photos I took throughout the day.

Losing again

Good news - this week I weighed in 3.6 pounds lighter than the previous week, and although that's only a net loss of .8 pounds in the last two weeks, it feels good to be on the downward swing again. This makes a total loss of only 7.8 pounds in four weeks, but if I can manage that every month, I'll be doing great.

Peter has been supportive of my efforts, which definitely helps. He's been trying his hand (very successfully, I might add) at pumpkin pies for the past couple of weeks, but was kind enough to make lowfat pumpkin pie filling in a separate pan for me - without the fat-laden crust, made with lowfat milk instead of evaporated milk, and served with a couple of tablespoons of light whipped cream, the "pumpkin custard" is a yummy treat at only 3 points per serving.

Another recent discovery is that Tostitos salsa con queso is only 1 point per serving (2 Tbsp) - served on a baked potato topped with chopped tomatoes and green onions or drizzled on southwestern egg beaters, this cheesy sauce is extremely tasty and makes me feel like I'm "cheating" without the negative consequences.

If any of you have Weight Watchers-friendly recipes, please share them. As the weather turns cooler I get more interested in cooking, and I'm especially interested in finding some decadent-tasting but low-point substitutes for traditional holiday foods.

Thanks again to all of you who are being so supportive. Please continue praying for my success on this program.

Warming up to the Wozencrafts

We spent this afternoon and evening with our friends Devin and Julie and their adorable three-year-old twins, Lukas and Leilani. When we arrived Emmy had just awakened from a nap in the car, so she was a bit bashful at first - but the Little Einsteins toys and pint-sized pianos (not to mention the gregarious twins themselves) soon had her out of her shell.

The number of instruments and music-related toys at their house is truly impressive. At one point in the afternoon, Devin played the organ while Leilani delicately picked out notes on the Steinway and Lukas and Emmy pounded on their kiddie-sized keyboards - creating what I'll charitably call "an untamed cacaphony of sound." The highlight of the afternoon was inflating the "bounce house" that miraculously fits in their family room - but unfortunately Emmy was too intimidated to try it out for more than a few seconds before bursting into tears. I was surprised by her reaction - we thought she'd go nuts for it since she loves to bounce every chance she gets (our bed is a favorite bouncing spot, and Tigger and Roo are her idols!). We hope next time she'll feel more adventurous.

For dinner, Devin and Julie treated us to a fabulous barbeque dinner at Lucille's. I pretty much blew my weekly points in that one meal! The biscuits, beef ribs, cheese grits, grilled corn and tri tip were standouts, but it was all scrumptious. We ate far too much, and enjoyed ourselves immensely.

All in all, it was a terrific day. Emmy had a wonderful time getting reacquainted with Lukas and Leilani, and we adults had a lot of fun catching up as well - trading the latest news of old college friends, and in the case of Peter and I, obtaining valuable potty training advice from parents who are "in the trenches" so to speak. We hope we'll have the pleasure of seeing the Wozencrafts again very soon!

Capturing the moment

Once in a while, you get lucky and manage to capture a mood, expression or moment in time with a camera. After arriving home from Sabbath School today, Emmy was ecstatically playing with the balloons we purchased for her yesterday, and I took the opportunity to snap a few photos. Here are a few of my favorites - the last one made my day. :)

Gaining frustration

So I counted my points all week like a good girl and weighed in Wednesday night to find that I'd gained 2.8 pounds! This roller coaster thing is disconcerting. I don't have a clue what I did wrong. I suppose it could simply be water retention, or perhaps the unusually big dinner I'd eaten the night before . . . or it could even be that I'm not drinking enough water (high fiber diet + low water intake = clogged pipes, if you get my drift). I'm trying not to be discouraged - reminding myself that it's the long-term results that matter. But it's hard not to feel disappointed. It would help if I knew what to do differently . . .

I've noticed that my tummy is definitely accustomed to less volume when it comes to meals. Since I've been on the program, the couple of times I've eaten too quickly I've felt uncomfortably full for hours afterwards. I have to keep reminding myself to eat slowly. This can be a challenge when I get home from work at 8:00 p.m. and still have to clean the kitchen, cook dinner (sometimes for Emmy and Peter as well as myself), feed the munchkin and then myself, do the bedtime routine (jammies, teeth-brushing, story-reading, singing, water-drinking, and if all goes well, sleeping), check e-mail, pay bills, do laundry and get some shuteye before it's time to get up and start the cycle all over again. I hope that once my November event is over, I'll be able to get home earlier, cook more, and enjoy some relaxing evenings with my family.

In other news, poor Peter is still looking for a job. There are a few leads, but they're taking their sweet time developing into a face-to-face interview, let alone a job offer. This whole thing has been quite a blow to his self-esteem - he hates not being able to "bring home the bacon" after investing so much time and effort into getting a degree. Please keep praying that the right job will come along soon.

Well, gotta go - it's a gorgeous day, so we're taking Emmy to the park for a little fun in the sun. Have a lovely weekend!

The great weight update

OK, OK - I know I promised a weekly update on my Weight Watchers progress, but last week was so dang discouraging I couldn't bring myself to blog about it. After one week of faithfully following the flex plan, I weighed in and found myself nearly two pounds heavier than when I'd started. Needless to say, this was not the direction I was hoping for.

(warning to male readers: the next paragraph briefly and unexplicitly mentions female-related things - if this grosses you out, stop reading or grow up.)

The first question they asked was "Are you on your period?" and when I answered in the affirmative, they assured me that the gain was likely just water weight, and that I'd lose it in the next week or two. I stuck with the plan, and this week when I weighed in I had lost 8.8 pounds! Whoohoo!

The coolest thing about this plan is that (thus far at least) I truly don't feel deprived. Because I'm so heavy, my daily point allotment is pretty high (as I continue to lose weight, this will gradually drop), and since I'm eating healthier foods with lower point values, I can eat quite a bit of them if I so desire. These foods are often quite filling, so I don't have to eat very much to feel full. In fact, it's sometimes a challenge to eat all of my points for the day (until I remember the presence of chocolate covered pretzels in my pantry, and then it's a cinch!). I've also noticed that I feel hungrier than I used to before meals (since I used to eat only once or twice a day), but it's actually pleasurable to feel that hunger and then satisfy it with something healthy and delicious.

Here are a few of the yummy things I've made/discovered in the past couple of weeks:

One point chili (one point per cup)
Grilled cheese, carmelized onion and apple sandwich (6 pts per sandwich)
Vegetable curry (potatoes, onions, cauliflower & peas) made with Trader Joe's masala or korma sauce and served with brown rice (1 cup brown rice = 4 pts, 1 cup curry = 4 pts)
Kozy Shack no sugar added puddings - chocolate and tapioca (one pt per serving)
Trader Joe's Cinnamon Graham Toucans (100-calorie packs = 2 pts per pack)

That's all for now - I'll keep you posted on my progress. Have a terrific weekend, everyone!

This one goes out to all the moms out there . . .

I'm indebted to WonderGirl for this terrific video - two minutes and fifty-five seconds of hilarity. Enjoy!

One point goes a long way

As y'all know, I'm a newbie on the Weight Watchers program. Last night, my friend Shari and I made the chili that everyone was raving about at my first meeting - and I have to admit that it's very good and VERY filling! For those of you who want to give it a try, here's the recipe:

One Point Chili

10 oz. extra lean ground turkey (we substituted vegetarian Morning Star crumbles)
1 medium onion, diced
2 28 oz. cans diced tomatoes
2 medium zucchini, diced
2 medium yellow squash, diced
1 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 15 oz. cans fat free beef broth (vegetable works as well)
4 stalks celery, diced
2 bell peppers, diced
1 package dry chili seasoning mix

Brown turkey and onions (about 5 minutes). Add remaining ingredients; simmer 30 minutes.

Makes 20 1 cup servings (each serving is only one point!)

Just a note - since we didn't use real meat and the crumbles didn't have enough fat to cook on their own with the onions, we added just a tad of olive oil. Also, one packet of chili seasoning didn't cut it as far as we were concerned - so we added a little more salt, garlic and onion powders, ground cumin (adds a nice depth), chili powder and a dash of cayenne. Yum!

I'm going to continue experimenting with this recipe - it's a tad low on beans, so I might add more black beans or some kidney beans next time. I think fresh chopped garlic would be wonderful added to the meat and onions as they cook, as well as some Worcestershire sauce for a little extra depth of flavor. If you have any ideas or have other low-point recipes, please share them!

Shy Welsh phone salesman sings Nessun Dorma

I'm indebted to Roy Williams' Monday Morning Memo for this gem - if you haven't already heard of Paul Potts, you will. Make sure you've got a Kleenex handy . . .

Fun at Grandma's

Here's a few photos from a recent trip to Gramps' and Grandma Jean's house - among other delights such as kicking back in her adirondack chair and taking her "smart car" for a spin, Emmy had the rare privilege to host a tea party for Uncle David, Aunt Renee and Uncle Joel. The end of the day found Aunt Renee sacked out on the couch and Grandma Jean snoozing peacefully with Mickey and Bear cradled tenderly in her arms.