Friday Fun Foto's...Downtown

We spent the day downtown at the World of Wheels show. I was reluctant at first, but I did have a pretty good time! Besides I am always up for testing out my camera! I was able to get some shots inside and even night ones outside, unfortunately my batteries were going dead so the night ones were not as crisp as I would like them to be. The show had some BMX riders and some wrestling (heehee) so I was also able to test out my "sports mode" on my cam!

Blogger is slow slow slow tonight so i uploaded a few of the ones I like then I just uploaded the rest on a slide show. So if you want to see almost all the cars you will have to watch the show!

The first picture here is just odd to me haha! We do have fun together!

My hub is growing a beard!

(shot from the car) The Bat Mobile, this was very cool!

Jeff really wants to be a race car driver!

The drag car from The Munsters!

Miss Boop!

These 2 were my favorite paint jobs!!!

Um nice shorts! These were the wrestlers!

They were pretty entertaining!

A few outside pictures.

The museum.

Blurry skyline (sorry)

The water looked like it had icebergs in it. Click to zoom if you like.

Enjoy your Sunday!

~PEACE~

It's Wednesday!

That means a quick update, I made it through my 10th week (WW) on to my 11th!

I am now down 21.6 pounds!!!

My knees feel so much better already!

My thin favorite jeans are looking more attainable everyday!!!!(photo courtesy of my blog friend Curt )

The P's...

I must do a little bragging about my parents:
They have also started WW @ home and they are doing so well 2 weeks into it and Dad has lost 12 POUNDS and Mom has lost 10 POUNDS!!! I am so proud of them!!!

The next time you see them, you will see a whole lot less!!!

This picture cracks me up!

Have a great week everyone!

WW...

Well it is no secret that I am focused on losing weight, so I will probably be talking about it while I am on this little journey. So today I thought I would share just a little bit more about my personal struggle. I use this blog site as well sort of an on line journal, not quite as personal as my little paper pocket journal but none the less as important to me.

I have been overweight pretty much my whole life. The last 5 or 6 years have been the worst as far as my weight control. There has been so many struggles. My fathers many ankle surgeries, both of my parents surviving cancer (hooray!) and my 3 pregnancy losses. All of which contributed to my emotional eating, because that is what I do. It has always been my drug of choice!

I have tried on three different occasions to have some sort of Bariatric surgery and have been denied in some way each time! Go figure. I believe in signs and that God has plans mapped out for our future, so when something life endangering does not fall into place I simply do not push it. Hind site is always 20/20!

So back to WW (Weight Watchers) I go...maybe this is my 7th time? BUT every single time I have not been able to make it past week 10!!! What is the deal??? At week 16 you get this little key chain, it is not studded with diamonds, jewels or gold, but dammit I want that little key chain!! LOL! SO I am proud to say that as of yesterday I am on my week 10! Six more weeks to go for that little symbolic goal achievement! Then on to filling the key chain with more achievement charms! I feel like just breaking things up into small goals is so much easier then the BIG picture.

I created a little place on my side bar for my goals along with a weight loss "ticker" that is fun to update every week! The best way to achieve your goals is by writing them down. Somehow if you can visually see them you can achieve them!

So, keeping in the spirit of my topic I would like to recommend The Biggest Loser Workout, Weight Loss Yoga DVD. I got it on Netflix before buying it just to see if I like it...well I do! I used to love YOGA!!! I haven't done it for sometime, although I can't do all the positions as well as Bob, but it is nice that they have some of the old contestants on there doing the modified poses. I will tell you now I felt muscles that surely must have been on vacation over the last few years!

I think I will just have to buy my own copy soon, I don't want to keep my Netflix copy too long.

Hey who watched Bob explode on the show this week?!? NICE!!!

So that must be it for now, there you have it my unsolicited opinion and DVD plug, haha!

Thanks for reading!

~Peace~

Breakfast, The Most Important Meal of the Day?

YES!!!

I also believe that you eat with your eyes first! So mine at least has to look pretty. Keep in mind that Jeff doesn't eat half the stuff I cook, however it is important to me to take the time to "fancy up" my plates.

I have found through talking to customers, coworkers and friends that women do mot take enough time to make things special for themselves. While I realize I do not have the task of tending to children (for now) I do believe that the 10 minutes it took me to throw today's breakfast together for myself would be way doable with kids in tow! Besides unlike their father...my future kids will learn to eat vegetables and fruit!

As a self proclaimed food addict I am trying to kick the habit! I will instead try to focus on what I like better which is art and try my best to focus on healthy pretty alternatives. For example:

Today's breakfast consist of, 1/2 c. egg beater substitute, 1/2 c. chopped mushrooms & green peppers, 1tsp olive oil (saute the veggies), 1oz fat free feta (yum), 1 whole wheat english muffin, 1 small ripe and juicy plum, 2 moderately sized slices of cantaloupe (that was so sweet I am glad I ate it last it was like candy!), also to top off my eggs I use 2 tbls fat free sour cream. I put lots of seasonings in my eggs, pepper, crushed red pepper, garlic and just a smidge of curry just for that "what's in this factor"!

Then it is all about the plating. I eat all my meals on my china. We don't have fancy dinner parties so I figure why not use them all the time!

I also use mostly small plates, makes my food look like more!

To top it off I sprinkle a little parsley and crushed reds on it just for color.

It is not only pleasing to my eyes but it tasted FANTASTIC
so it is pleasing to my buds! For those of you WW...
5 points entire breakfast...yum!

I hope everyone is having a nice Sunday, I am going to dig my way through my craft room to make up some kids Valentines Day cards. My blog friend Pat has pledged to send 1,000 cards for a children hospital in Michigan. The cards are to not only give one to each kid but also for the kids to hand out to their friends and family. Isn't that sweet! So she has asked a few of her blog friends for a little help. I am hoping to post what I come up with on my Pixie too... blog.

It is too cold for the outdoors today (18) This flip flop/croc shoes wearing girl should have invested in some warm ugly-ass boots...maybe it isn't too late, seems we are in for a long cold winter!

~Peace~

Two Dish DeeEEE-lish!!!

Oven-Baked Eggplant Rounds

POINTS: 1

INSTRUCTIONS

1/2 medium raw eggplant, or 1 small, peeled

1/4 cup(s) fat-free mayonnaise

1/4 cup(s) grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup(s) chives, fresh, or 1 tbsp dried

Slice eggplant into four 1-inch slices.

Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. Spread mayonnaise on both sides of eggplant rounds and arrange them on cookie sheet.Sprinkle each slice with some Parmesan cheese and chives. Bake at 475°F for 15 minutes.

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Wild Mushrooms on Polenta Rounds

POINTS: 2

17 oz cooked cornmeal, in the form of a prepared polenta log, sliced into 16 rounds

2 spray(s) olive oil cooking spray

8 tsp grated Parmesan cheese, divided (Parmigiano Reggiano recommended)

2 tsp olive oil

1 1/4 pound(s) mushroom(s), shiitake caps and Baby Bellas,

sliced2 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp rosemary, fresh, chopped

1/4 tsp table salt

1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly ground

3 tbsp 1/3 less-fat cream cheese

1/4 cup(s) water

2 tbsp parsley, fresh, chopped (for garnish)

Preheat oven to 450ºF. Line a baking sheet with nonstick foil (for easy clean-up) or coat pan with cooking spray.Arrange polenta on pan in a single layer. Lightly coat polenta with cooking spray and sprinkle each with 1/4 teaspoon of cheese; bake until cheese is lightly browned, about 15 to 18 minutes. While polenta rounds bake, prepare mushroom topping. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and cook until softened, stirring occasionally, about 7 minutes. Stir in garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper; cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.Stir cream cheese and water into skillet; cook over low heat until cream cheese melts and mixture looks creamy, about 2 to 3 minutes.

To assemble, place about 2 tablespoons of mushroom mixture onto each polenta round. Sprinkle each round with 1/4 teaspoon cheese; sprinkle with parsley to garnish. Yields 2 polenta rounds per serving.

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These low fat/low cal recipes were so yummy!!!

I substituted a few things, and left out what ever I didn't have already in the kitchen.

This was my first eggplant & polenta recipe that I have made...I will make it again and again!

After I cut the eggplant and skinned it as well I seasoned both sides and brushed it with low fat mayo. I added ceyenne pepper (I add it to almost everything).

I only had white onion instead of chives so I added a little chopped parsley for color!

I have been on Weight Watchers and I have been very portion and point conscious. So to measure the polenta the best way I know how I just scored it in half, then half of those halves and so on till I had 16 somewhat even portions. Then I cut all the way through.


A few quick sprays with the oil and some Parmesan on each side and toss these in the oven!

On to the topping, I only had button mushrooms so I added green bell peppers, onion and crushed red pepper. I also did not have low fat cream cheese so I used baby bell low fat swiss cheese spread, 2 wedges were equal to 3 tbls. Then little water to make a sauce.

It turned out so creamy and good!

This is the eggplant out of the oven....oh my the smell in my kitchen!

and here are the polenta rounds!

Little did I know till now that it was 2 servings of polenta for 2 points, not just one! the eggplant is one point per round! So 3 points for what you see on this plate! Good thing I went back for seconds!

Oh my it was so good!

I am going to make it for Mom & Dad to try on Monday....Jeff wouldn't touch it haha...he said "I don't eat things like that, I don't even know what it is!"

Have a great weekend!

~Peace~

Friday Fun Foto's

Don't let the bright blue sky fool you, it was a high of 25 today! The sun feels so nice and warm on your face, but the air is just down right bitey!

Off we went to one of our favorite trails. I really wanted to get out and take some shots with my new toy! Winter photo's can be a bit challenging especially if there isn't a lot of snow, everything can seem a bit brown. However along the fox river I was able to get some great pictures. Here is some of my favs...

(click on any photo to zoom in or enlarge)

We genuinely love to spend a lot of time together. Jeff is my best friend. We have been through so much and yet we always seem to grow closer together!


If you look at the end of the branches where they are stuck in the water you can see that there is ice that is just hanging on despite the pretty good current.

There are many large trees that have fallen over through the years, which just makes that landscape so interesting. I was hoping to maybe catch a beaver hanging out over there, it seemed like a good beaver hang out...maybe in the summer.

If you stood very still you could hear the awesome noise of the river flowing and the ice along the shore gently cracking, it was such a tranquil sound.

It amazes me that there were still ducks swimming! That water is COLD!!!!

Time to go back to the car for a warm-up! Jeff brought his RC car along to drive it a bit, but it was too loud, so he only drove it for a few minutes....
while I thawed out in the car!!!!
OK back out for some more exploring!

Awww look at this chubby buggar,

(the squirrel not me, look down, haha)

He was so darn cute!

This is a picture looking down on the inside of a tree stump.

I was able to find some soft little flowers that were

preserved by ice.
This little flower was about the size of a pea!

Among all the brown I spotted some tiny red berries! I was shocked that they were still hanging from their summertime stems. How on earth have they been able to withstand our already harsh winter?

It was lovely to see these little spots of color! You really had to look for them though, these are as small as those tiny flowers in the above post that I mentioned, about pea size.


Sometimes you just got to hug a tree! This big old tree was so beautifully strong! I just loved looking up at the winter blue sky behind its high branches. I wondered if anyone else has ever hugged this particular tree in all its long life?

Ah, yeah, sometimes he thinks I am nuts...

but loves me anyway!~PEACE~