The good news .... I am coughing a little less.

The bad news .... I am coughing a little less, and I think that is the only exercise I've gotten for the past three days .... hee hee hee. (Ahh, if only I could log it on the activity meter!)

This afternoon, my wonderful DH and I are visiting the County Fair. Yes, that cinnamon-roll scented, fried-twinkies, delectably good fat-filled mecca of junk food that visits our fair city once a year each October. To give you a flavor of what the Fair people think of "health food", let me just say that each year they hire a guy to come and sculpt something out of butter. This year, he's sculpting a life-size COW made of creamy butter. EEEK! I shudder now to think back on what I ate LAST YEAR at the Fair ... I distinctly recall deep-friend artichoke hearts (my guess is that they were 1500 calories), a corn dog (300 calories), fried clams (600 calories), and a waffle cone (600 calories). YIKES!!!  Keep in mind I ate other food that day, too!

Anyway, this year, we have a plan. (Insert music from Mission: Impossible here) First, we are going to the doctor's office to get a flu shot. That's not really related to the fair, I just wanted to remind y'all it's flu season. Then we're going to lunch at Panda Express where, for 360 calories I can have steamed veggies (80 calories), Mushroom Chicken (130 calories) and Broccoli Beef (150 calories). I may or may not eat the 30 calorie fortune cookie.  I am also taking sugarless gum and a 100-calorie snack bar with me, to fend off the fair "munchies."  And I plan to just drink water, too.... no diet sodas for me (especially not at ridiculous fair prices!)

Wish me luck, I'll need it!

=^..^= MOLLY

Oh!!!! I feel you on the state fair!!!!! it was definitely my cheat day, our fair is in august. but I wanted a within realm of reason cheat day- so we limited the splurge to unbuttered corn on the cob (I am pretty sure we were the only "freaks" to visit wisconsin and NOT BUTTER CORN!!! the insanity!), 1/2 a bratwurst (my trick to portion sizing is to make my dude eat the rest of the non-portion allottment unhealthy food, thus allowing me to really enjoy my 1/4 of a dairyqueen sundae and only work it up to 150 cals) and some popcorn. it was soooo hard to pass up the fried cheese curds, cream puffs (wisconsin state fair legacy) and all the other once upon a time treats! but I managed, and you know what? that half of a brat was more delicious than any of the memories of years past in gorging!

Molly, be brave.  (My bete noir...funnel cakes...swirls of bleached flour batter fried in possibly rancid oil then sprinkled with over-processed powdered sugar, yet absolutely wonderful if eaten while they're still piping hot!)  What else do they have at your fair?  One year the Budweiser Clydesdales were here and the kids and I were enchanted.  Those horses are so huge and so beautiful. 

JJ 

YAY! I survived the Fair.

The only thing I ate was part of a grilled chicken soft taco (chicken, onion, tomato, cabbage, lime juice and hot sauce) ... and I only ate 1/2 the tortilla! (DH ate the other half with some of the "innards"!)  YUMMY!  DH had a beef taco from a different booth that didn't look as tasty ... and then he devoured the most scrumptious looking cinnamon roll, ever!

I must admit I did spend a few, witsful moments watching people eat deep fried avocado, deep fried artichoke hearts, deep fried dill pickles, and garlic fries .... (sigh) .... but I decided that if I want fried food as a cheat day item, I'm holding out for KFC where at least I can log the darn calories, ya know?  And I was pretty tempted by the giant turkey drumsticks one place had ... but didn't want to spend $12 for just part of one!!!

I think I liked seeing the newborn lambs, pygmy goats, and piglets best! (Plus the fluffy yellow chicks!)

=^..^= MOLLY

What a pretty Autumn Saturday morning here in California .... I really did NOT want to get out of bed this morning since it was soooo nice snuggling under the covers, covered by purring kitty cats. (Heh heh heh ... assuming you like cats ... if you didn't, that would be pretty dreadful, huh?) Eventually, I decided to brave the cool air in our bedroom (we left the sliding glass door open all night and it was in the 40s last night!!!) and skedaddled to a toasty-warm shower. Ahhhhhh.... I came out of the shower ONLY when the hot water ran out!

I can't decide if my breakfasts are a nice routine, or I am in a rut. There's a fine line between "rut" and "routine" ... and a lot probably depends on whether or not I have PMS, huh?  My basic breakfast (most mornings) is a cup of cereal .... lately it's been Kashi 7 grain honey puffs, a 1/2 cup of unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze, 2 slices of flax seed toast, and some sort of protein (cheese or turkey or ham).... it comes to about 300-325 calories, depending on the cereal. (Some Kashi cereals have more calories than others.)  Anyway, I was at the store last night and picked up some Thomas' Light multigrain English Muffins ... just 100 calories each... and decided that they'd make a nice substitute for the flax seed toast.

Let me just say, YUM!!! There's nothing quite like a hot-from-the-toaster English muffin with melty butter (ok, melty ICBINB spray), and then two slices of melty sharp cheddar cheese (Kraft Fat Free Singles in my case) .... happy sigh. I had it last night as part of my dinner, and again this morning for my breakfast! Oh, yum!!!!  Maybe this will be a NEW rut, er, ROUTINE for me! hee hee hee

Oh, and why do they call them English Muffins, anyway? And will it cause some sort of International Incident if I put Canadian Bacon on my English Muffin? Really ... we need some sort of NATO-approved warning labels on these food items!

Have an awesome Saturday, peeps! Eat Healthy!

=^..^= MOLLY

OK, I'm totally fed up...the scale refuses to move although I exercise, count everything I eat and try to drink a gallon of water a day (which is pretty hard to do if you actually want to do anything but visit the potty all day!).

I had half of my thyroid removed in 2003 and have been on thyroid replacement since 2004. My doctor who is absolutely wonderful (and noticed the lump on my thyroid gland before anyone else did) is very conservative med-wise (which I completely understand and totally respect) but I wonder if the "normal limits" of the thyroid tests are realistic. According on one expert I am well within normal limits while another says my thyroid-stimulating-hormone results are too high and I should have my thyroid replacement dose upped. My doctor thinks I'm fine. I'm tired all the time, which, of course, he puts down to (a) overweight, (b) age, (c) menopause, (d) depression (I want to shake him and ask him wouldn't he be depressed too it he were old and fat!). (I apologize for the grammar and syntax but I'm ranting here so, please, be kind!) He's usually right so I am reluctant to go in and lobby for increased thyroid meds. (And we all know a guy would not be afraid to talk to the doctor!) I'm afraid if I say "I found this on the internet..." he'll think I'm a nut! I've got to go talk to him...so, please, wish me luck.

JJ  

amheint ... ick. I hate being hot! You have my most profound sympathies. Get a squirt bottle of COLD water, and just keep misting yourself in front of a fan. (It really does help!)

stayonpiste ... I'd be happy to call your doctor for you. Wouldn't THAT be a hoot??? If there's anything less credible to a doctor than saying "I read this on the Internet", it's GOT to be "I met this person online, and she thinks you need to adjust my meds. A doctor? No, she's not a doctor. She's a housewife."

ratinhat .... post a photo of ME!?!?! *THUD* Do you want me to scare people?!?!? Sheesh, woman! Get a grip! Actually, I can post one in my journal ... that will still let me keep the lovely photos of my furkids in my gallery ... since we only get 12 photos.  Or maybe I'll add one to my profile. Let me see what I can do.

* wanders off to look at my photobucket account ..... *

=^..^= MOLLY

EDITED ... I've now posted a photo of me and one of my wonderful DH on my profile page .... all the way at the bottom. Let me apologize now for my inability to downsize photos!

Good morning, fellow ranters and rantees!

Let me just say that I had a delightful, nutritious breakfast this morning ..... we whipped up a scrumptious Garden Vegetable Eggbeaters scramble with lots of onion and real bacon bacon bits, and added a toasted Thomas' multigrain english muffin with scrumptious sugar free blueberry spread. Oh, yummmmmm.......

Let me also just say that our doofus neighbor across the street, who goes MONTHS between mowing his knee-high weed-infested lawn, decided to mow and edge his at 7:10am this sunny, SUNDAY morning. AUUUGH!!!  The high-pitched whine of the edger set every dog in a 2-block radius to barking and howling, and even our well-behaved little inside dogs joined in with a few inquisitive "yaps." 

So much for sleeping in, huh?  So ... I got up and had my weekly weigh-in, and was moderately disappointed.  Still, I lost about 3.5 pounds since last Sunday ... bringing my total weight loss to date to 31.6 pounds.  I know its silly, but I rather wanted a 4 or 4.5 pound loss for the week ... silly overachieving me.  It's been 7 weeks of dieting, though, and my average is 4.5 pounds per week, still.... so I need to just stop whining, huh?

Did anyone go to my profile and check out my photo?

=^..^= MOLLY

Molly, great new pics. I'm so glad your DH made it home safely from Iraq. We've lost some great guys from this area although, thank God, many more have made it back. 3.5# in a week is great, especially since most people lose big at first then taper down to just a pound a week. You're doing really well. I can't believe your neighbor decided to do yard work at 7 on Sunday morning! Doing him in with his own string trimmer would probably have been justifiable homicide or maybe you all could have him committed...he has demonstrated that he's a danger to himself and others, right?  And, thanks for the thyroid support!

amheint, poor baby, go to the Mall or a movie!  Or go to the Mall and then to a movie. You could count the mall-walking as exercise.  Sneak a bottle of water and some air-popped popcorn into the movie and chill in comfort.  It's amazing you all are still getting hammered with such warm weather.  

JJ :-) 

We're supposed to see temperatures of upper 80s/low 90s over the next 10 days.

 I THOUGHT summer was over.

EEEK! I refuse to pay to use my air conditioner in OCTOBER!

(end of rant)

=^..^= MOLLY

Awwww...... thanks.  I agree that my DH is a cutie-pie!!!

I think I ate so much pumpkin today, I'm turning orange!

=^..^= MOLLY

Hmm, am feeling particuarly grumbly today...my main rant would definitely have to be the general existence of Mondays and why I have to come into work at the crack of dawn but that is a tad off topic. Diet Rant? Why oh why, when you request decaf coffee from the cafeteria at work they look at you like you have 2 heads before scurrying off into the back kitchen to find a dusty sachet of 6 year old instant?

 Grrrrr....

Molly- I'M SO SORRY TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR UP-COMING WEATHER!!!!!  Try to stay cool!  I think it is going to finally start cooling off here tomorrow (highs in the low 80s i think)  Okay- I must be dumb but I didn't see any new pictures.... I'll try looking again.

 Well I wasn't too bad on Sunday.  I went to a pumpkin patch and picked about 7 pumpkins.  Anybody have any ideas for what to do with the left over stuff I take from inside of them- I've heard of people baking the pumpkin seeds... but i don't know how--- figure i paid for them i might as well get something our of the whole thing... and not just a festive decoration.

(start of rant)

In general why can't food that is good for you taste just as good as the food that is bad for you??? I know that I'm asking the most obvious and stupid question- but come on-- if we were meant to eat healthy all the time then high fat beef and cake would have never been created.  and I know, I know, all in moderation right??  But really who can just eat a 2 in by 2in brownie or piece of cake- and even that 2 x 2 piece has enough calories to take up about 1/2 your day.  I want my cake and to eat it too!

Oh- and why in heavens green earth would the powers that be make it easier for men to lose weight than women???  Really- we already have so much to deal with- hair, skin, nail maintenance (enough to take at least an hour EVERY morning), breasts (need I say more--- they are heavy, constantly a distraction, and just in the way!), GIVING BIRTH (aka- pushing a very large object through a fairly small hole), and on top of all of that--- we have to work that much harder to lose the tiniest bit of weight.  Not that I'm saying that it is easy for men to lose weight- I'm just saying it is easierfor them.  In general I'm just bitter that their bodies are created in a way that allow them to build muscle easier and therefore burn more calories throughout the day (and in turn they get to eat more  )  Life is just not fair!!!

(end of rant)

Sorry I just went off the deep end- just feeling very hungry and bitter today!  Sometimes I just think being a guy, cat, or dog would be a much easier life (not that i'm saying there is much similarity between the three)--- Actually if i could choose i think i would choose a cat (come on- lay around all day- get pampered occasionally- it would be great!!!)  and i would live with Molly- that is if she promised not to attack me with hard boiled eggs

Arghhh! I got on too late to see Molly's photo

Sure am glad to have an updated one of myself though!

Diet rant for today: going out to lunch with a friend who recently had gastric surgery! Hey, need I say more??

My photo, and that of my cute fighter pilot husband, is still posted on my profile. It's not in the gallery .... just read my biography .... keep scrolling down. (Prepare to be scared .... hee hee heee)

Pumpkin seeds are yummy when roasted. Clean off all the pumpkin "goop" (now there's a technical, cooking term for you) ... then lay them out on foil on a cookie sheet after you've dunked them in a mixture of ICBINB spray, garlic salt, and worcestershire sauce. Then bake those little suckers at 350-375. Remove from oven before they (1) turn black; (2) start smoking; or (3) burst gloriously into flame, causing the smoke alarm to go off and a truckload of cute firemen to show up at your front door. (Trust me on this, k?)

Bird issues .... Ok, we feed the neighborhood birds. We have a dozen bird feeders, a few bird baths, and the chubbiest/happiest birds in a 3-block radius.  It's always a battle chasing off neighborhood cats (our cats stay indoors), and I actually feed the squirrels to protect some of the bird seed. But lately a FALCON has taken to showing up on the big pine tree across the street, and he dive bombs the doves or other birdies, (usually catching one with an impressive display of screeches and flying feathers) .... and scares the PANTS off me every time he does this. AAAUGGGH!!! Bird watching and bird feeding is supposed to be calm and meditative and relaxing and tranquil .... and now we have Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom going on in our front lawn.  First we were invaded by POSSUMS, now FALCONS!  (And can I point out that we live in the middle of a CITY!?!?!)

And I totally agree that it's JUST NOT FAIR that men can eat more than women without the weight issues we have. Yesterday, my DH had the Steak and Cheese Ciabatta Burger and fries from Jack in the Box. It contained the same amount of calories that I am allowed for an ENTIRE day. And my DH also ate breakfast and dinner and icecream ..... and he probably LOST a pound.

After staying home as a happy housewife for 2 years, I've decided to make my peaceful, happy life a teensy bit more interesting, so I'm applying for a job. I've submitted my application/resume online and go next week for fingerprinting as part of the extensive background check. Sheesh .... who knew getting a simple, part-time seasonal job could be THIS complicated?

=^..^= MOLLY