The Great Snail Rescue



When you are 8 years old, nothing can interrupt the fun of zipping around the house on a toddler-sized car with your little cousin, taking turns being the pusher and the passenger. Not your mother hollerin' at you, not the aroma of pizza hot from the oven, not the yelp from your little cousin when you accidentally run over her foot... nothing, that is, except for the sight of a microscopic-sized baby snail in your path. How it somehow survived that car turbo-ing around and little feet running past it at a hundred miles an hour, we'll never know.

The kid immediately launched herself from the car, enlisted the help of her cousin, picked up the snail, ooh-ed and aah-ed over its cuteness, contemplated keeping it as a pet, then finally took it outside to release it into the wild. Under the lemon tree? Too exposed- birds might see it as a snack. Around and around they went until they found the perfect spot. Then back inside to terrorize the adults continue the fun.

Weight Watchers Update - Week 2

Greek yogurt (100 calorie size), hard-boiled egg, & an apple.
My weekday go-to breakfast. Keeps me full until lunch.

Week 2 kicked my double-digit-teetering-on-the-edge-of-having-to-shop-in-plus-sized butt. In Week 1, most of my weekly 'extra' points went unused. But this week each one of those suckers was obliterated! Poor points - they never saw it coming.

When I stepped on the scale this morning:

I lost 1 pound!

Phew! Not bad considering that I happened upon some yummy Filipino-style empanadas this weekend & didn't stop at just one... or two... or...

I'm halfway to my first mini-goal of 10 pounds. I have a lot to lose so this 5 pound weight loss isn't reflected in my mirror just yet. I wish I could say that my clothes are fitting looser. But I know that will come. And I can't wait to finally go shopping for new clothes when I go down a size... or two... or...

Weight Watchers Update - Week 1

Hmm.. probably not ideal  for a
weight loss update but this was so
dang delish that I just had to share!

I survived my first week on Weight Watchers! I stayed within my daily point allowance without snatching food out of other people's hands & I kept the crying to a minimum. Fairly easy & guess what?
  

I lost 4 pounds!!!
(4.2 but I don't want to brag or anything)

I'm using the Weight Watchers iPhone app to enter food selections and calculate points. A little Zumba action, a couple of walks, & resisting late night snacks... now there's a little less chub in my world. Hooray!

By Saturday, I hadn't used any of my extra weekly points, so off we went on a foodie adventure to Umami Burger. Pictured here is the Umami Burger with parmesan crisp and shitake mushrooms... burgasmic! Totally worth the 45 minute wait to get a table. Thank goodness the burgers are normal sized (not like the massive monsters at some places). Check out their website & try not to drool on your keyboard.

Blondie (that's the BFF), will you join me now?! Let's see how much closer I can get to my first mini-goal of 10 pounds. Please check back next Tuesday for my second week's results.

Friday's Five

5 things I loved this week:

1. Celebrating another trip around the sun!

2. Deciding to join Weight Watchers online. This is Day 4 and it's been smooth sailing. First week's results coming soon.

3. Stayed home with the (sick) kid & played Monopoly again & again & again...... I didn't love that she wasn't feeling well but I do love spending time with her.

4. Painting little fingernails neon green for St. Patrick's Day.

5. Laughing & commenting with my husband while watching our guilty pleasure tv show... Jersey Shore! Yeah, that's right. Jersey Shore. G-T-L & shirt-before-the-shirt mean something to me. Love it!

Weight Watchers - Day 1

The lemon tart that pushed me over the edge.

After various birthday celebrations this past week, I've had more than my share of Hello Kitty banana-filled cake, parisian chocolate cake, & a lemon tart (or two). That'll be enough sugar, fat, and carbs to last me 'til Winter!

Yesterday, a friend told me that she's been using Weight Watchers online for a few weeks with good results. I've been going at this Back To Better goal on my own and while I have lost a couple of pounds, I know that I need more structure in order to be truly successful.

So here I go... I just signed up for Weight Watchers online - the 3 month plan. I can then continue month to month as needed. Day 1 is underway. I'm one hour into it and, so far, doing great! Haha! I like the online tools offered by Weight Watchers - there's a point tracker for the food you're eating, it also calculates your exercise for the day, and keeps track of your water intake, etc.

I've set my first goal at 10 pounds. My BFF is thinking about joining but has challenged me to have a perfect first week on the program so that I can give her a good sense of what following the program can do.

Challenge accepted!

A Burger & Booty Shaking Weekend

As I took photos this weekend, I thought... perhaps you've all (and by "all" I mean all 9 people reading this) been wondering about my photos. Shouldn't blogs be replete with beautiful, natural-lit photos taken with DSLRs? Sorry, folks. You've wandered into the wrong neck of the blogosphere if that's what you're looking for. I'm a rebel, you see, and use my (gasp!) iPhone for convenience. Had a quiet weekend - no traveling, no parties. Here's a snapshot summary:


Friday night:  Wishing at a fountain (above was after a particularly long coin toss), 

breath-holding contests, enjoying cool evening races in the grass, & a delicious Mexican dinner.

 

Saturday:

Art lessons.  Rango. Then Father's Office. 

My husband had been raving about their burger so we

ventured over to Culver City to try it.

Oops! Other families were also turned away.

What to do? Tether the kid to the railing while we scarf down some grub?





My husband to the rescue! He placed a to go order,

I grabbed a spot on a shady bench, & the kid played on the grass.

15 minutes later... hooray!

Sweet potato fries with garlic & a bleu cheese aioli.

Nom nom nom.

Spanish mushrooms. These were so good.

The Father's Office Burger with caramelized onions, bacon compote, 

bleu cheese, & arugula. The plate's a mess because I had started disassembling 

the burger so I could share with the kid. The flavors worked so well together.

One warning - do NOT ask for ketchup. They don't have any almost take

offense at your request. Besides, it really doesn't need it. In fact, if you are

anywhere near Culver City or Santa Monica, go now to Father's Office.

Don't bother reading the rest of this blog entry. Please just go.

After our fill of burgerliciousness, we spent a little time at this 

fountain which reminded us of Rango's adventure. 

Sunday:

Errands, chores, a movie. Then an impromptu family get-together - we shook our rumps to Zumba for wii.

Lively Latin beats, fun moves, & graphics like Just Dance. Definitely broke a sweat (which is good because

 you saw the burger & sweet potato fries from Saturday, right?).

Kiddo Loves Her Mama

This cheery little card appeared on my nightstand recently. Colorful hand-cut paper confetti hearts spilled out upon opening it. The kiddo confessed that her big plan was to build a micro machine that would make the paper hearts explode like fireworks when I opened the card. To her dismay, she wasn't able to figure out the making-a-machine part of it, so I received a slightly lower-tech version. Don't you just love lower-tech?

The 4 o'clock Battle Plan



Cupcake-sized turkey meatloaf for Tuesday's dinner



My new plan to avoid the what's-for-dinner panic is to cook at night for the following day's dinner. I'm only 2 days into it & love it already. While watching the Oscars on Sunday evening, I made pasta con tonno e spinaci (pasta with tuna & spinach) - an easy, flavorful recipe I learned to make while in Italy. With Monday's dinner ready to go, there was no dinner planning panic. Hooray!

When we got home Monday, I made a quick side of asparagus. Reheated the pasta & dinner was ready. Later that night, I made Tuesday's dinner. I've never made "real" meatloaf but since we occasionally make meatloaf-style burgers, I felt confident that I could wing it. I don't have a loaf pan so I used a cupcake pan. I meant to add a couple of tablespoons of ground flax seeds (great source of soluble fiber & omega 3 fatty acids) but forgot to include it. Next time for sure.

Mini turkey meatloaf:

1 1/2 lbs lean ground turkey
1 egg, beaten
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup shredded carrots (I used bagged shredded carrots then diced them)
1 cup chopped fresh spinach
3/4-1 cup bread crumbs
parmesan cheese (a generous palm-full)
salt & pepper
red pepper flakes (a generous pinch if you like a little heat)
1 small can tomato paste (for topping)

Preheat oven to 375. Mix together all ingredients (except for tomato paste) until combined. Fill each opening about 3/4 full with meatloaf mixture. Spread a tablespoon or so of tomato paste on top of each mini-meatloaf. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until cooked through (I used a meat thermometer to check for doneness). A quick taste test proved these are yummy. Instant portion control too. I'll simply add a side of veggies and a dinner roll tonight.

Take that, 4 o'clock!