Goodbye Summer!

Hello to all of my friends. Sorry I have been absent this week. Work has taken up so much of my time, and then we had this lovely four day weekend, and we were down at the shore house with some family. Just getting back from there, unpacking some stuff, and watching the rain pour down here.

I thought I'd share some photos and update you on what I've been up too. I celebrated a birthday a week or so ago when we were down for a week's vacation and also my 30th wedding anniversary shortly after that. All of my boys were home for my birthday which was nice. We spent some nice days on the beach together, and went out for some nice dinners.

This past weekend my middle son John was down with his girlfriend Eve. My FDL ( future daughter in law) Meg, also came down. Her fiancee, my son Ryan, has already started his final year of grad school in Indiana so he wasn't around. My baby Mike, also is back at his college in Connecticut.  We  had some other family down.  All in all I think I did ok with the eating. I skipped my usual Labor Day ice cream cone, but I did over do the carbs alittle. I also did indulge in a skinny girl margherita that my sister-in-law made and brought down to the beach. It is prepackaged, and I'm sure it had some splenda in it, although I never saw the bottle. It's not really my thing, because I am a wine or occasional beer girl. However I decided to try it and it wasn't too bad. Not sweet at all. I only drank half, and I think 4oz was about 100 calories.



We put each drink in a mason jar, and then in a cooler filled with ice. This was a great idea and would work with any beverage or just ice watef with some lemon or lime. No spills either.




Hubby and me dancing at the local bar after dinner. Fun night!




Labor Day weekend. Walking home from dinner with Meg and Eve.

 



Birthday dinner out with my boys and hubby.

 

My three sons!







John has gotten himself into a real hole!

   The weather this weekend was glorious and we had some wonderful beach days. We will probably be going down a few more weekends, weather permitting. Fall is such a pretty time at the beach. The crowds are gone, the weather is still nice, and the beach is beautiful. Then that will be the last of our visits.I don't really like it down there in the winter. Too gray and dreary. Plus, we have a trip planned to one of our favorite places on earth, California wine country, the first week of October. Can't wait for that. You know how passionate I am about my wine!




Still digging that hole.  I am in front of him deep into my book!

  

Late afternoon on the beach is the best time!

John and Eve. My nephew is to the right looking bored with the photo taking!

 I am going to try and catch up on all the blogs. I read some of them while on the beach, but it makes it so hard to comment on my phone in the sun. I usually take a break from the computer, but keep up to date with my smartphone. Loving twitter these days. If you haven't tried it, please do. I think you will really enjoy it once you get the hang of it.

So I didn't post my weigh in last week. I was down a little bit, only .2 of a pound. But trending down is still good. I am definitely a slow loser, and perhaps my choices perpetuate my slow loss. But I am going to work harder to make good choices this week, set smaller goals and tighten up with those carbs and fats. As Dawn said, "too much of a good thing is still too much!"

Lastly, I am loving the lemon coconut bread. I eat it like Rosalie does with some cream cheese and natures hollow preserves. Such a great combination. I almost feel like I'm eating cake!

Thought for the day: Summer is when laziness finds respectability!

BFC Breakfast Ideas - 20+ Ideas to start your day right!

I love reading all the blogs and facebook posts and get so many new ideas and recipes from them. The problem is I often forget where I read something and find myself skimming over blog posts and facebook discussions to find that one recipe or tip I was looking for.

I started cutting and pasting them into a word document and thought it might be a great idea to post them according to meals and snacks. So if you are ever in a hurry or stuck in a rut, you can turn to one place for some new ideas. I am not going to post where each idea came from because it would take too much time. Alot of these ideas and tips are from our blog sites. Hope this gives everyone some new meal ideas or reminds you of some you had forgotten.

Since breakfast is the most important part of the day, I'm going to start with this first. If you have been eating the same thing and are bored, or if you just need to mix it up a bit, I think you will get some inspiration here. Leave your own comments and ideas and I will add them to the post.

So here are some of the ideas that you all like to have for breakfast.

1) French toasted coconut bread!  I sliced up a loaf of coconut bread (each slice was a little over a half an ounce) and soaked it in 1 egg and 1/4 cup almond milk, along with a packet of stevia and come cinnamon. I fried the slices up in a pan with loads of butter, and ate 4 slices (3 ounces) with a bit of peanut butter and jam. S/C value 1/1. ( for coconut bread go to Rosalie or Dawns blog to get the recipe)

2) 2 poached eggs and 3 pieces of bacon on a toasted sandwich thin.

3) Oatmeal made with water, Uncle Sams cereal dry with a few blackberries or uncle sams with greek yogurt

4) a couple of eggs with melted cheese on toast....or 2 slices of WW whole wheat toast. And sometimes a couple slices of bacon with the eggs and cheese on the WW toast for an egg sandwich.

5) a cheese stick or some nuts. Doesn't have to be breakfast food!

6) Protein shake 1 scoop — Nature's Factor Whey Protein powder
                          1 − 1 1/2 cup — Almond milk (unsweetened)

                          2 tbs. — Flaxseed oil

                          2 tbs. — Probiotics

                          1/2 cup — ice

                          1 packet of Stevia

Try adding a cup of fresh spinach leaves sometime. You won't know it's in there, but it will turn the shake green.

7) peanut butter and jelly ( use the BFC approved kind) on toasted ezekial bread

8) saute some baby spinach,  mushrooms and a few onions. Add some eggs, scramble together, top with shredded cheese  and cook until melted.

9) toasted exekiel english muffin, topped with baby spinach, chia seeds, some grated cheddar, and 2 poached eggs,

10) uncle sams cereal with the unsweetend Chocolate almond milk and a bit of xylitol ....... feels like I'm eating coco puffs!

 

11) Cinnamon toast with stevia

12) Greek yogurt and a small handful of berries

13) Plain oatmeal, Tblsp pureed pumpkin, water & cinnamon. Micrwave for 2 mins

14) Cheerio's and unsweetened vanilla almond milk.
 
15) Oatmeal, unsweetened almond milk and cinnamon. Can also add a tbs of peanut butter and swirl it in.

16) Rudi's English muffin sandwiches with turkey sausage patties, cheese and eggs

17) 2 small smart and delicious tortillas with spinach artichoke cream cheese, baby spinach, small amount of diced tomatoes and 2 fried eggs

18) 2 chocolate coconut bread w/peanut butter and blueberries on top

19)  Jay Robb Whey protein shake with unsweetened almond milk and xylitol (0/0), and NOW adding Chia seeds is AMAZING !!!!

20)  1/4 c dry quinoa w/zuchinni, mushrooms, onions, chicken bullion, and 2 scrambled eggs all together in a bowl

21) 2 oasis toast w/cream cheese and natures hollow sugar free preserves, 2 eggs scrambled w/baby spinach, cheese, and a handful of jimmy dean sausage crumbles

So hope these ideas will inspire you to try something new. Thanks to all of you creative people who cameup with them. Please post any others in the comment section and I'll add it to the post. I'm going to print it out and keep it nearby give me some new ideas!

Thought for the day:  All happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast. ~John Gunther

Storm's a Comin'

A perfect beach day!

Hello all. Back from the week at the beach. Had to leave alittle early ( Friday instead of Sunday) because  Hurrincane Irene is coming. Who invited her anyway??We had a mandatory evacuation in Longport, NJ. We are just a small little town, nestled between Margate, and the bridge to Ocean City. My house is not beach front, but we are a block away and have nice ocean views from our third floor deck. I told my husband we may be beach front after this storm! It was such a nice peaceful, sunny day there yesterday and I didn't want to leave. However it was hard to ignore the warnings coming over these loudspeakers..."WARNING, LONGPORT IS UNDER A MANDATORY EVACUATION". I never knew they had speakers like that. I think they are mounted on the tops of telephone poles at strategic places around the town.

So we pulled up the awnings, brought in what outdoor furniture we could into the garage. We couldn't bring it all in, so we had to pile some of it up. I kind of feel like the media is hyping this storm up a bit, but I guess we will have to see.

Our awnings. Hope they make it through the storm!

It's raining hard in PA right now. They are calling for between 6 and 10 inches. New York has closed it's subway system, Philly has stopped all transit. The stores are out of bottled water, and I'm going out to dinner tonight! If this storm wants to come, so be it, but I'm still enjoying the rest of my weekend.

The storm begins here in PA.

Late tonight, and early tomorrow will be the worst of it I think. I plan to make the coconut bread and the peanut butter cookies from Dawn's blog post while I'm stuck inside. I have been on the go so much lately and I know I need to tighten up a bit regarding how well I'm following the plan. It's rare to be stuck inside, so this will be a good project for me. We get those snow days once in awhile, but it's unusual. I'm also going to use my "rain day" tomorrow to revisit alot some blogs, the bfc book, and plan for my upcoming week so that I will have everything I need. There are so many tips and good meal suggestions and I need to refresh my  memory a bit, because it will be back to the beach next weekend for the Labor Day weekend. That means houseguests, tempting food, and a change of schedule. I will need to have all my ammunition in place to get by!

So that's it for today. I hope the sun is shining in your neck of the woods. Let's hope Irene has a short visit, and leaves us none the worse!

Thought for the day: Into every life some rain must fall!.

The Day The Earth Trembled!

Yesterday the earth trembled, and shook, and trembled some more. I wish I could say that it is because I reached my goal weight. No, that wasn't it for sure! I'm at the beach house this week, and I am holding my own, no loss, but no gain. Remember the tortoise and the hare? Well I am surely the tortoise in this weight loss game! Slow and steady, but really, this slow?????

Anyway, I am savoring the lazy, hazy last days of summer. The beach is glorious, the sand warm and the breeze just right. I'm into the final pages of a great beach read ( Summer People, by Elin Hilderbrand) and just about to find out the sex of Beth's  illegitimate grandchild, fathered by her teenage son, who has had a summer romance with Beth's, former high school lover's, daughter, while she is coping with the loss of her husband, who died in a plane crash, while returning from a visit to a prison, where he is defending a woman, who murdered her sister, whose son is now spending the summer on her Nantucket family home, while forming a relationship with her teenage daughter....following me so far??? Hope I didn't spoil it for anyone!

 It was just a nice summer read, and I was enjoying it....when.........my......... beach......... chair.......... started.......... shaking......I looked up.I looked over my shoulder, thinking someone I knew had come up from behind to teasingly shake my chair.I looked over at my husband who had just been awakened from his nap.Then I looked at other people on the beach. Everyone knew something was up. What we didn't know was that an earthquake of a 5.9 magnitude had occurred in VA. I opened up twitter on my phone and the tweets were pouring in. People felt if all over the east coast and even up into Canada.

Some of the damage!

Now I know you west coasters are giggling a little this morning. I saw the tongue in cheek posts showing damage, where a yogurt cup and spoon are turned on it's side, and a wall picture is askew. I read the posts that said this is just  a regular Tuesday on the west coast. And the photos of the chair on its side with  someone saying " we will rebuild" even made me smile. But we are amatuers at this sort of thing, and it gave us a scare for a minute....or really a few seconds.

 Here was a tweet that I saw:

Dear sassy California people: Now might be a good to remind you that you freak out WHEN IT RAINS.

 And another funny post: Of course, the tables might just turn if a freak snowstorm ever hits San Francisco.
I know this is all my fault. I have had earthquake insurance on my homeowners policy for years. My agent said there is a fault that runs through PA. It didn't cost much, only a few hundred dollars. But when the policy just came up for renewal, I said to myself, this is silly. I told my agent to take it off. So blame this one on me!

Thought for the day: I feel the earth move, under my feet!

The Little Engine That Could!

Good morning from Longport, NJ .Spending a week at the shore with the family. My oldest son is coming home from a quick trip to London tonight. My other two sons and fdl ( future daugher in law) are here now. We used to always plan big summer vacations, either to an island or a few times to Italy. But now that we have the house at the shore, it makes sense to gather here and get some use out of our investment. Plus everyone is going in such different directions these days. It's hard to get everyone together. It's nice when it happens. A few days of togetherness and early next week one son will be heading to college in Connecticut, one to his MBA grad school in Indiana, and one to New York to continue job hunting.

I was sitting on the beach yesterday when I read Rosalie's post. What a wonderful accomplishment to meet her goal. Then this morning I logged onto blogger and was going through my dashboard, and saw post after post of good news from all of you. I really felt motivated reading everyones blogs. All so different, but so much good advice. Everyone on a different path of the journey, but all heading towards the same goal of weight loss and better health.

For some reason while thinking over all that I had read, I thought of a book that I loved reading when I was little, and loved reading to my kids. It's called The Little Engine That Could, by Watty Piper.

Here is a quick version I took from Wikipedia in case you don't know the story.

A little railroad engine was employed about a station yard for such work as it was built for, pulling a few cars on and off the switches. One morning it was waiting for the next call when a long train of freight-cars asked a large engine in the roundhouse to take it over the hill "I can't; that is too much a pull for me," said the great engine built for hard work. Then the train asked another engine, and another, only to hear excuses and be refused. In desperation, the train asked the little switch engine to draw it up the grade and down on the other side. "I think I can," puffed the little locomotive, and put itself in front of the great heavy train. As it went on the little engine kept bravely puffing faster and faster, "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can."
As it neared the top of the grade, which had so discouraged the larger engines, it went more slowly. However, it still kept saying, "I--think--I--can, I--think--I--can." It reached the top by drawing on bravery and then went on down the grade, congratulating itself by saying, "I thought I could, I thought I could."

I thought of this book because I have often doubted, and sometimes still do, whether I can reach my goal. I know we all have. It's part of the journey. But all those that did reach their goal, just kept trying and trying, like the little engine, trying to pull that train uphill when it was never sure it could.  It started slowly, but gained momentum and accomplished what it set out to do.

While looking at all of the success I see, and evaluating why I'm the slow loser, I had to ask myself, am I trying as hard as I could? Yes, on most days, but no, on the weekends. For some people like me, that may be the reason their loss is slower. It can also be genetic, hormonal, thryoid disorder or whatever. But it could also be adherence to the plan or lack of it. When coupled with the other issues beyond our control, it can lead to a slower loss. That's where I'm finding myself these days.

 But today I woke up, put on a pair of shorts that were tight in the beginning of the summer and they zipped right up. So there are other ways to measure progress too, even when the scale is inching down ever so slowly. Also another measure of success for me is not having those crazy sugar cravings, or constant feelings of needing to eat something. I am convinced those were swings in my blood sugar that caused those feelings. I really feel so much more control now that sugar is pretty much out of my life.

So I am keeping my goal of climbing up that mountain, just like the Little Engine. It's so nice that I have all of you who have made it over the top or are almost there to guide me along. I think of you often when my motivation is waning. For you it happened. I think I can, turned into I know I can,and it happened. The train reached it's goal. It didn't know it could, but that little train tried and tried, and it did. Just like you!

Thought for the day:  "I--think--I--can, I--think--I--can." It reached the top by drawing on bravery and then went on down the grade, congratulating itself by saying, "I thought I could, I thought I could

Life in a fishbowl!

I have to admit I love to blog. I discovered when I started this blog, that I really enjoy writing. This blog started out as a way to journal and connect to others following a low sugar, low carb eating plan and trying to lose weight. But besides that, I'm finding that I want to talk about other things going on in my life. I hope you will indulge me when I do because I that's part of who I am too. I love reading all the blogs I follow, and besides the great tips and motivation I get, I really like feeling connected to what others are doing in their lives.

This was weigh in week and I am up a pound. I realized when you are trying something different, people look to you to see if what you are doing is working. Many of you can claim to have not just talked the talk, but walked the walk as well. You've lost weight and succeeded. I struggle and sometimes I feel my credibility isn't so good because I'm not showing how well this program can really work. I struggle, fall off the wagon, get back on, fall again. All the while I am still heading towards a goal, but my, it's a long journey! People are watching what I eat, what I don't eat and looking to see if this time I can really do it. Can I really follow this type of eating plan and make it work?

So I'm thinking that must be how Admiral Bubbles feels most days...like he's being watched. Admiral Bubbles is my fifth pet. He's a fish. I didn't really think of a fish as a pet before. Not a real pet anyway.  But he needs me to feed him, clean his water, and keep him alive. He's dependent on me....so he's a pet.

He didn't start out being mine. He belonged to my son. But then he came home from college break. The trip in the car from Connecticut to Pennsylvania was hard on him. He lost his color for a long while. And that's how he ended up with me. He just couldn't make the trip back. He was stuck in PA, stuck in a fishbowl on a kitchen counter, and stuck with me!

 I tried to spruce up his domain. I added some rocks,  and a little plastic plant I found at Wal Mart. I tried to make his new home comfortable. I figured maybe I would include him in a clever arrangement so he would fit in with my kitchen decor better. I took a tray and put it on the counter. Put some flowers near him, and  a candle. He was now part of a centerpiece!

 So two years later, he is not only still alive, he's thriving. He just got upgraded to a bigger bowl. For him that was like moving from an efficiency apartment to a one bedroom condo.  He watches me and I watch him. He could probably tell me all the things I'm doing wrong. He sees when I sneak alittle extra something here and there. He knows when I overdo the bad stuff.  I wonder if I can teach him how to keep a food journal?

Thought for the day:   You can see a lot by just looking. ~Yogi Berra

Good morning!

 Good morning everyone. Back from the beach. I had such a good week before I left, but those shore weekends tend to really challenge me. Got off track a little over the weekend. Had a big family dinner last night to welcome my son home from Chicago. He just finished an internship there and is home for a few weeks before he starts his senior year of grad school. Meghan, his fiancee was here, as well as my parents. I made some homemade pesto and we had fresh mozzarella, tomatoes and italian bread. Then it was on to bacon wrapped shrimp. Dinner was made by my Mom, and it was a delicious lasagna and meatballs. Salad and fruit completed things, as well as the delicious wines we had with all of the above. I'm not even going to try and figure out how many carbs were in that meal. But that was then, and this is now. Yesterday is in the past. Today is a gift and that is why it's called the present. So as Monday dawns, I renew my commitments, and plan for a great week ahead.

 One of my favorite breakfasts is poached eggs over an ezekial english muffin or toast. I top off the toast with some reduced fat cheddar cheese, a little baby spinach, a tbs. of Chia seeds, and top it off with the poached eggs. 



The ingredients



Break your eggs into a bowl

 Poached eggs are very easy. You don't have to have alot of time or get very fancy. Some people add some vinegar to the water, swirl the water before putting in the eggs and other little tricks. I keep it simple and just add some water to the pot, bring it to a low simmer, crack the eggs into a dish and then gently add them to the water.

I like mine very runny, so I time them for about 1 minute, 15 seconds and then drain them. You have to figure out how large your eggs are and how you like them. It takes a little practice, but for me, I never go longer than 1 1/2 minutes.  I use one of those spider things to drain, them, but a colander, or mesh strainer will work as well.

Gently pour them into the simmering pot of water.

Drain them immediately after timer goes off.

While the eggs are simmering, toast your bread or english muffin in the toaster. Top the toast with some baby spinach leaves, some shredded cheddar and some chia seeds. Top this with your poached eggs. I also like some fresh cracked black pepper, and sometimes alittle hot sauce.

The finshed product. A great way to start the day!

Wishing you all a great week ahead. Start it off with a good breakfast!

 Thought for the day: Welcome every morning with a smile. Look on the new day as another special gift from your Creator, another golden oppotunity to complete what you were unable to finish yesterday. Be a self-starter. Let your first hour set the theme of success and positive action that is certain to echo through your entire day. Today will never happen again. Don't waste it with a false
start or no start at all. You were not born to fail. Og Mandino