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May 31 UPFantastic! Fantabulous! Freaking Amazing! It was a heavy piece, a great story and substantial - but you know, even with some scary points, it is the first movie I can remember tht held both kids attention all the way through. We laughed we cried and we enjoyed it a lot.....I think I cried the entire movie either in sadness, laughter or just plain moving tought. Very nice! And at a kid's cartoon - amazing. Seriously - worth the money to see with the kids on an outting - but save the dough on 3-D what a racket - this movie really was not enhanced by the 3-D experience....at least IMHO Quote YouTube - Up -- Trailer for Pixar's New Movie SurvivingThe last survivor of the Titanc died today. She was 97. She was only a few weeks old when the ship went down and she, along with her Mom and older brother survived, but they lost her Dad in the sinking. Here is her story - I fear that with her the story will fade too - the end of quite an Era...
May 30 Sweet LaiaThis is a sweet little story out of Iraq - you dont hear that often. Especially when it involves roadside bomb, the death of a decorated Major and euthanization...but this is one in a million. Having just watched Hotel For Dogs today with the kids s part of family movie night - it seems a fitting end of the day share:
Welcome to the USA Laia...welcome home. BIG CHEATOk I am TRYING to do a liquid diet for a few days. Course I am HUNGRY because for the last few days I have not kept anything down because I was too tight. I endd up having 2.5 cc's taken out of my band and I am HUNGRY and not held back so I gotta be careful. I had my meal replacement shake for lunch and was still SO hungry. I WANTED a sandwich. I cannot have one...ever...but that is what I wanted so I tried to cut the craving. I pulled ot a slice of long bread and butter pickle and placed it on a slice of bologna and rolled it up. HEAVEN. That was my BIG CHEAT. A slice of bologna and a slice of pickle. Not catastrophy ridden, but not exactly liquid either....sometimes you gotta live on the edge for fear of jumping off a cliff.... New Favorite ThingI bought a book yesterday and have fallen deeply, madly and irrevocably in love. Yes with a book. Not just a book a cook book. Just reading some of these recipes is a treat! She has included nutritional info (a must for me as I am still charting daily) and these are family friendly (also a must, I have no time to cook just for me....I have kids anda hungary hubby to contend with!)
Cooking healthy for kids is in some cases easy. They either eat or they dont, my kids dont have a lot of options. That said, noting says "FAIL" like the crest fallen face of a 4 year old or 6 year old when you feed them some "healthy crap" that you barely tolerate. I have had some real bombs on my journey as well as some serious successes. Salmon, for instance, is a weekly special. My kids eat salad every day and love veggies (except those pesky tomatoes - theyHATE them, why I am notsure but that seems to be a concensus - they will eat tomato sauce though).
So today I added the following to my diet support group - I hope you enjoy this possibility recipe! This book is AMAZING - what is it called????
Hungary Girl 200 under 200 - 20 Recipes Under 200 Calories by Lisa Lillien
Remember that book I wrote about yesterday? Hungary Girl 200 for 200 (200 recipes for under 200 cals)? Well, I guess I like to torture myself. I was reading it this morning over coffee with my kiddos. If any of you have kiddos in your house, you know diet food is not always easy to get by their palets. We have to compete with WAY better versions of fatty crap that their friends eat, etc. Someone once turned my babies onto fried zucchini insisting it was better for them then fries. Maybe, but if you order the fried zucchini at Carls Jr. even if you only eat a third of them you are consuming 12 grams of fat! Yuck! This book had an amazing recipy that I think I will let the kids cook with me t onight as a "treat"....
Here is the recipe:
per serving (1/3rd of the recipe): 78 cal, 0.5 g fat, 578 sodium, 20g carbs, 9g fiber, 4g sugar, 5g protein Ingredints
2 lage zucchini, ends removed 3/4 c. Fiber One bran cereal (original) 1/4 c. fat free liquid egg sub. 1 tblsp dry ranch dressing/dip mix **(BTW I have learned to use this alot on my diet - great instead of the salty worchestershire sauce in a burger patty too...just a side note buy the box of 4 packets to have handy) 1/4 tsp plus 1 dash garlic powder 1/4 tsp plus 1 dash onion powder 1/4 tsp plus 1 dash oregano 2 dashes pepper 2 dashes salt Directions
Preheat oven to 350
Place Fiber One in a blender ir processor. Add ranch mix and 1/4 tsp each of garlic powder, onion powder and oregano. Add a dash each f salt and pepper. Grind to breadcrumb consistency/ Transfer to a medium sized bowl.
In another medium bowl, combine egg sub. with a dash each of garlic powder, oregano, salt, and pepper (*I might also add a dash of cayenne pepper because we like it HOT here even my kids). Stir thoroughly.
cut zucchini intp 1/2 in. wide circles. Blow away extra moisture with a paper towel. Spray a large baking sheet with non stick cooking spray (I use the omega 3 added type olive oil version) Toss zucchini inegg sub. till they are evenly coated. One by one, give zucchini a shake to remove excess egg sub. and coat in breadcrumbs and lay them flat on the sheet.
Bake in oven for 10 minutes. carefully flip over and bake for 10 additional minutes.
I would also heat some marinara sauce to g with it - be careful to check the cals on that and add them into your charting...
Just thought I would share. I am very impressed with this book! Full of happy recipes that will help me and teach y kids healthier versions of things I KNOW they will eat and if you have a 4 year old or a 6 year old you know they can be finicky...
Julianne May 29 Living in the danger zoneSo my band is a fickle bitch. Sometimes she lets me eat and other times, usualy when I am most hungry, she slams the door down leaving me gasping and throwing up (yesterday in a parking lot! GROSS!!!!) WTF? She is just that way. Stress induces her slam the door refkex and lets face it, in the past few weeks I have had some stress up the old wahzoo....
So here is my current plan - having just dropping Patrick off for his first EVER field trip without Harry or I (and believe me that was harder than I ever imagined) I am picking up the house in the few minutes of quiet I have before racing to get Riley from school. I will be the school nurse today as well, so I am headed to the store for some milk and I will have a few liquid meal replacements for a few days. I know it is date night tonight - I am going to get soup. Dont worry, I know where good souplives in this town - that was a ncessity starting out the gate with my little girlie band...honey I am gonna win! :0)
Whe this happens, usually I have had stress, and in my eating anyway (never more than allowed, but still) it irritates my new fickle friend. When She is irritated She tends to fight back. That is why nothing in the last day has stayed down (and occasionally gotten a tad violent if you ask me...hardly called for) SO what I need to do is soothe Her again. That means soft, liquid food, TLC and caution because when yu drink (or soup) your meals you can end up in higher calories than you intended because it goes straight through the little sucker negating its responsibility to help you recognize the sensations of being "full". SO, that means I take a tracker with me, I write down what I drink, eat, etc. and total it. It is tough to remember that even a non sweetened Latte has calories, y'all - and just because you did not add sweetner, that milk comes plenty sweet. Ask us old diabetics we will tell you. :)
So - wish me luck! My hope is to get into the 180' this week.....here's hoping! I want to be in the 170's by June's end because that will mean that in a year my journey will see me loosing 100 pounds! Wish me luck!
May 26 Not Missing Ice CreamHey all - as the weather heats up I have noticed my old love affair with Ice Cream is calling me again....alas I must make it an unrecuited love after all the sugar does me NO good. So I am pleased to share with you a new favorite treat that is almost as good and certainly far less hazardous to my diet goals. At Costco they have these Yoplait smoothies. It is just frozen fruit. You mix it in a blender with 1 cup of milk. That is it. It is amazing! Now, to be fair, you could just buy frozen berries (though this mix has bananas in it which make it creamy) and add your own banana - but this way I know how many calories I am getting. One packet plus 1.5 cups of milk will make enough for me and both my children to enjoy as a special treat. So it is one serving divided by 3 even better! If I made it with a little more care it would easily yield enough for my husband and both kids and I if I used small tea cups to enjoy it in. It is fantastic and with it, no more ice cream woes for me. I have also learned that if you freeze Crystal Light into ice cubes and then put them in the blender - no one has to know you are not having a "real" margharita. Let the others enjoy that, by the pool this makes a great treat, zero guilt and it is even fun for the kids - win win... NOH8 Campaign PSAHow is my beloved California still so far behind in tolerance, equality and acceptance??? How did Prop 8 ever make it through? How is it still standing? How??? f being FAR behind states like Iowa in tolerance, equality and awareness is not enough to make my old 'hoodies crazy and pro active I dont know WHAT will...there is an activist meeting on San Vicente tonight....I SO wish I wee still in LA to go... Quote YouTube - NOH8 Campaign PSA STRESSEven with all the stress of late - my Mom's surgery, Riley's asthma attacks as the plants wake up, Harry getting some weird health stuff last week - all that - and I STILL have not gained weight. And that, Ladies and gentlemen, is why I love my band. Even if I wanted to(and believe me I DID want to) over eat I just cant. I HATE being sick so I stop. Now - to be sure, the band does not do all the work, I am in charge of what I putin my mouth and when and how often I move my body....but still. All that and I woke up this morning at 190. I know to many that is still dangrously obese but last year at this time I was 260. In Marchof last year I was 275 - thyen down to 265 this month to go to 248.8 the ay of surgery a year ago last June. Now here I sit almost a whole Nicole Ritchie down! YAY!!!!
Today I am walking with the doggie and drinking it in. Last year this time I was a size 24/26 right now I sit between a 12 and a 14. Whew. I am still truckin' though. I would like to be a 9/10 by Christmas. Cheer me on please the last 50 is gonna be harder than the first....
Still one noticable difference - instead of sweets I crave spicy. Instead of FOOD at night I want herbal tea. What a difference! May 25 All About The SaladThis weekend we have started the BBQ up again. I was SO scared because, well, I have never done BBQ without the bread, potato, rice, side dishes etc. I realized though if I substitute a salad for the bread I hardly miss it! So, I thought I would share some tricks that have made my diet easier this weekend and have been real crowd pleasers....so much so that we had some friends over last night (one is a professional chef....no pressure cooking for her, huh?) and LOVED my Ranch burgers. These are easy recipes that my kids (and admittedly dog) LOVE. Eeryone is eatting better without the bread! I love my band....it has seriously saved my life...even if I MUSt find a way to commit to myself more, I know without a doubt I would still be struggling over 200 pounds and unhealthy without her...
Ranch Burgers
1 lb ground lean beef
1 Tbsp crushed garlic 1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch powder 1/2 cup shredded mexican blend cheese Mix ingredients together and form patties and grill (or broil). Serve a top leafy salad with cut tomatoes, avacado, red onion cut into thin rings, sprnkled mexican blend cheese and light ranch dressing (VERY sparingly). I served this with sliced watermelon and strawberries - it was a HIT!
Salmon Burger Salad
Salmon Patties (I use the Costco brand)
Kraft LIGHT Toasted Sesame salad dressing 1 choped fresh firm pear 1/2 red onion diced pine nuts or almond slivers (I only had pine nuts) diced tomato 1/2 c mozerella cheese shredded Grill (or broil) the patties and place a top the salad. Again I served with the left over watermelon and strawberries from the night before.
Cheers! Here is to not missing a thing and enjoying my meals! No cardboard dieting for me or mine!
Julianne 275/255/248.8/193/150 or 135?? Start/conference/surgery/no/my goal and my Dr's goal which I admit sounds more fun....smaller clothes are calling me May 23 Lucious Lucious Sun - How I adore theeToday was brilliant. In the 70's, bright, crisp in the morning and burning all day. It was a lazy day yet filled with sunshiny fun and love. I am writing this while making seasone mahi mahi, garlic/parsely,pine nut and tomato Cous Cous and a field green salad with feta and red onion. Delish.
Today we ran errands, Harry took a nap, I took the kids and dog to Dog Park (Hello Marymoor - how have I lived here 9 years and NEVER been to your loveliness??) and let the puppy play. ittle slut had the entire park wagging for her - ha ha ha - but note to self I cannot go again tillhe is fixed. Seriously. It was HILARIOUS to see a dachsound (sp?) try to"mate" her. SHE IS A ST. BARNARD honey....fuhgetttaboutit. She had her little loverboy Grimm the - he is a black lab mix. By the end of the day though she only had eyes for a beautiful HUG at least 135 pound Silver Back Husky. Grimm wasnone too pleased about th Husky walking in to HIS playdate and the cool as a cucumber Husly just broke her heart by saying, "Oh yeah I COULD have you, but I dont wanna" and walked away. I watched her watch him with eyes that had only been for him for the entire day. Sweet. MUST GET FIXED. Though Husky/St. Bernards would be less funny than a dacsound mix....
We are wored that Harry might have MS. We are getting our affairs in order. No dignosis yet, but that i who we have been refered to, and it makes some sense based on friends with the same diagnosis. So, before it is "official" we will get more life insurance, health insurance and such so that these things are in order. Not smart to leave everything in one basket anyway. But Harry is sared, which I understand, and feel helpless about. No matter how often I wish I had made SURE he had had his vitamins, or whatever, I know there islittle I could have done if it is. Just frustrating and scary and I wish I coul take it away from him.
Till w know though, he is taking it easy....SO I am making him a seriously yummy meal, watching the bunnies play in the last of the sunlight in the yard and encouraging my kids to run around in their shorts and soak it all in before the rain comes back....tomorrow we might actually return to the dog park just because it was so awesome and distracting. May 20 Dear MommyToday Rileyanne worked for what seemed likhours on a little note. She scribbled and swirled and dew stuff. Finally, VERY proud, she brought it to me and said, "Will you writ these words I tell you?" of course sweetie....
"Dear Mommy,
Thank you for coming to my fairy birthday party and for kissing me on the cheek.
Love,
Riley"
And that ladies and gentlemen, is now up on my desk wall for all time. It will be in a frame soon....just you wait.... May 19 HAPPY!You know, little things make me happy. Puppies, rainbows, the usual...sure...but today it was creamer. I LOVE love LOVE cannot live without my silly cup of coffee with Vanilla Caramel creamer. I like to try other flavors, but I am consistently only happy with this flavor. Every time it is on sale though at my store, 2 for $4 instead of the usual $4.95 for one, I get happy. It is like being able to try on a new day, just see what it is like outside my happy little box for a minute. I always try one new flavor and of course my happy gal pal "the Usual". Today was n exception, b ut Vanilla Cinnamon was not at all as happy as I had hoped. Not bad just not "IT".
So it is with a light steop in my boots I skip out the door with my coffee n hand to take my sister back to the airport. Silly that a sale on something as trivial as non dairy creamer would make me skip home or make giving my sister up for months on end again easier but it does. I wish we lived closer. Watching her with my kids, reading to them, playing with thm, knowing I could take a weekend off watching my Mom so closely was just a HUGE gift. I miss her already and she has not even left yet!
The good news is, over a pedicure and a cuppa tea at my club we decided that we would ave a party for my 40th this November and she will come back. My brother will come up too! I may even need to send word to my brother in Germany and see if he can come out but that is a LONG shot. Now I have something to day dream about after I drop her off....until November then.
Sniff sniff....non dairy creamer happy can only soothe so much.... May 16 And Now I KnowSo all these years I have always wondered how it is that I am a HUGE Jimmy Buffet fan, listen to him ALL the time, but have never joined my friends at a show. I looked on line today and my heart pounded FAST when I saw he was coming to the Key Arena in October! WOW! What a fun way to ring in my 40th birthday this November....yes 40...I am ancient....get on with it....ANYWAY I was super excited! I did not need great seats but maybe I culd get in the nosebleed area and have a weekend of margaritas and fun with my hubby - fantastic....then I looked at http://www.jumbotickets.com/ResultsTicket.aspx?evtid=1006696&event=Jimmy+Buffett and realized THIS IS WHY I HAVE NEVER BEEN.....$125 for nosebleeders seats? $1000 for floor seats??? WTF??? I thought this was supposed to be a laid back event....Well...I know what I will do...which is what I always am left doing when my pals get a limo and spend obscene money to go to his show leaving me behind - he sounds GREAT on my stereo and I have a blender damn it...Margaritas and Jimmy in my livingroom sounds wonderful! Hell I may dig DEEP and sit in my jacuzzi and crank him up...Ha THAT will show 'em!
So in case you are wondering....I would MUCH RATHER save the money and go to Mexico or Hawaii or California with my family tickets RT are around $200 a piece - that is a ticket to a show in downtown Seattle! I would so rather "Change my Latitude ; and ; Change my Attitude" and get the hell outta dodge for my birthday and see some SUN in the dead of Winter than sit in cold seats at the Key Arena and worry that I just spent my kids' Tuition money for a cold plastic seat, muic I can barely hear because I am so far away and a bad stale beer...
And there you have it.
As a consolation prize I found out that there are Sea Kayaking classes on Lake Union - REAL KNOWLEDGE at rates better than a Jimmy Buffet concert - http://www.nwoc.com/classes/skclass.asp?page=classes I will be checking intogetting tothese with my Hubby this SUmmer....I did not loose almost 90 pounds for NOTHING....Get me in the water....ANY WATER....and safely please.... Out Of The Cloud's SHadowThere has been a dark cloud of doom over my head. Hospital trips, sick kids, all alone, the dog giving me a run for my money, the house, stress over load and oh yes family visiting. I mean it has been a hard wild ride. That said, I woke up this morning, the sun was shining, my wysteriahas bloomed and the grass is green. My flowers smell amazing and while I STILL hae a migraine thanks to being in my Mom's apartment yesterday with smoke so thick you could cut it like in a cartoon, I am feeling inexplicably good. Call it Summer Wonder Lust. Today I am watching a friend's boys from like 12 noon - 8 pm. BIG day - but hey, SUmmer weather, all day play date with friends, (for the ids anyway) and flowers blooming? That dark cloud can suck it. Get thee behind me, I got kids to play with.... May 14 DISTRACTIONUp all night - no literally - between the coyote outside that teased my dog mercilessly to a sick child who finally had me give up on the bed and go sit in the reclyner downstairsso she could drain...now I am behind in the housework and distracted....because I am tired... made the eternal mistake of looking at Facebook wich admittedly is my adult contact while I am home with sickies and sawthis add for Kayaks on sale... http://www.coloradokayak.com/ a few clicks later and I am the idiot on their mailing list because oh yeah, in economic times like these what you NEED is a kayak! Ha ha ha...no ever since we moved here I have begged for one. Even an inflatable on from Costc - I am not picky - just hopeful;....ahhhh kayaks.......keep the dream alive! You CAN rent them from the local waters - I did o in the San Juan Islands last Fall and had the unique opportunity to kayak while lightning was off in the distance and whales swam nearby it was like a dreamscape set up by a hypnotist...now I am stuck "Chasing the Dragon" I KNEW it would be magical...findingout it really was only made the desire stronger....ahhh kayaks....wait I must go do dishes! ahhhh kayaks.....wait laundry....ahh kayaks.....GET YOUR CHILDREN TO SCHOOL! Inner conflict really is a bitch, huh? May 13 ROCK THE RED!Entir family dressed in Red to cheer on the Caps tonight - Go Caps Go! Go Caps Go!
Patrick packed his Capitals lunch box and for snack even chose everything RED he could find (red jello, red yogurt, etc)....
With ths kids of spirit thy better ROCK THE RED! ExhaustionThe kids have been sick all night. I have had VERY little sleep. My hands are swollen and everything hurts. My fingers look like little sausages the are swollen too much to even think of putting on my rings (good thing I took my rings off yesterday to do the dishes!). I am making coffee...I know it wont help hydrate me but it is what I need - must be addicted....and then I will drink water the rest of the day and hope to bring down the swelling.
Otherwise - ff to the Dr for Riley's 4 year check up and Patrick will come too so they can give him the go ahead to go back to school. Then to Moms then more cleaning. I wish I could convince a certain little girl to take a nap - I ould do it RIGHT NOW at it is only 6:30 am!
Harry will be home Thursday night and I know he will be exhausted to, but I think I will offer him first shift with the coughing crying angels...his turn to bat! May 12 SNACK TIME!Patrick stayed home sick from school again today. It is the tail end, he will go tomorrow. However, I enjoyed a quiet morning with just him. I never get that anymore. We did some dishes, he picked up his legos and then he asked if he could take a break. "Sure - what cha wanna do?" I ask...."It's a surprise Mommy..."
And a few minutes later he presented me with snack. He made me a snack! It was stale graham crackers (because someone put the old ones in the box without a zippy - DADDY!), fruit leather and a fruit juice. I passed on the juice, but I ate every bite of my gourmet meal. "How did you find this recipe" asks me, the clueless Mommy...
"Oh, You know Mom...I am a chef! Everything comes out of my head and onto the plate...did you like it?"
You bet I did....you bet I did.... May 11 My Sisters Keeper - Official Trailer [HD]I just I mean JUST finished this book. I just read the last word, closed it and cried...again....it was a beautifully hard read. I could only do a few pages at a time most days. It has taken me from November to now to finish it because it was just so painful. Beautifully written, you understand everyone in it and no on at the same time. In the end it was heartbreakingly hauntingly beautiful. It will become one of my favorites, I can tell. I was so moved that I looked up the trailer for it. I was told while at the hospital, sobbing while reading it in a lounge (admittedly a worst time EVER to read a book about a sick child, but hey that is me...macabre does not even begin to cover it sometimes) that they were making a movie about it. So, after I finished it, kissed each cast member in my head a few times, I sat down to watch it. The cast is different than I would have chosen, but every time a book is made into a movie that happens, right? I hope it is all that the book was, and I dont see how they will get the beauty of the page but I hope...Wow this was a journey, this story...if you can stomach it, and believe me it will test you a lot to finish it especially if you ARE a parent...you should try. Dont give up on it....I think it needs to become mandatiry High School reading....the classroom discussion alone would be astounding... Quote YouTube - My Sisters Keeper - Official Trailer [HD] |
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