Weigh-In 5/28/09

We’re actually going to skip right over my weigh-in for this week, because it really isn’t worth mentioning (yes, it was that bad).

So instead, this is going to be another mish-mash of things that I’ve been doing or things that have been happening to me over the past week.

• Last Saturday, I had a neat experience at the gardens I love.  My mom and I were just walking along and saw that a woman and her young daughter were walking towards us.  I heard the woman say something like “she will love that you picked that for her.”  As we passed, the little girl looked up at me and said, “this is for you,” and gave me the beautiful flower she was holding.  Now, I know she actually originally picked it for her grandmother or someone else, but it left a smile on my face for quite a while.

(yes, I know it is a dandelion, but it is pretty just the same)

• While we were at the gardens, we checked out the newly blooming flowers.  It just gets prettier and prettier!

• In further proof that people can do something just to be nice, I had just lifted the last bag of groceries out of our grocery cart to put into our car and a man walked by and asked if we were done with the cart.  I said, “we are,” just assuming that he was going to use it in the store.  But no!  He said, “well, then I’ll put it away for you” and told us to have a nice day as he walked it to the cart return.  Occasionally, there are moments that give me hope for the future of humanity.  And no, he didn’t work for the store.
• While I was running errands on Saturday, I had to go to Office Depot to try and find an ID badge holder for work.  Not only did I find the perfect one, but I ended up spending a good hour in there just perusing the aisles.  I love office supplies.  The only other things I bought were a faux leather journal and two sharpie pens.  I love pens.  I adore pens.  I haven’t collected quite as many pens as my friend, Shawna, but I have quite the collection.  So seeing the following image was like looking at a little bit of nirvana (sorry for the blurry quality).  Who knew they made Sharpies in so many cool colors?!  The only two I bought were in a turquoise color – my favorite color.

• I was a bit concerned when I got to the parking lot of another store when I saw this:

• I also ran to Lane Bryant to pick up a couple of things I needed (underwear if you must know).  Of course, since it was Memorial Day weekend, they were having a sale.  Yes, I have sucker written all over my forehead, because I did end up buying a couple of things.  I got a cute top that ties in front and a really pretty sleeveless dress with a jacket.  The dress is black and white and in kind of a ring print and the jacket is black with a bit of white piping.  I adore it.  The only problem is that it doesn’t fit quite yet.  I figured it would be good motivation to get my ass back on track.
• Yes, folks, that’s right.  The party my stomach has been having for the past couple of weeks must come to an end!  Haagen-Dazs, Freschetta, I must say goodbye.  No more will you tempt my tastebuds with your gooey goodness.  While I was visiting my friends in California, they got me hooked on a couple of ideas.
  • First, I hate oatmeal.  Okay, I really more like despise it.  At least, I thought I did.  Every time I made it or tried it (usually the instant kind, but I even disliked the regular kind when I tried it), I would eat a few bites and then not be able to take a single bite more without wanting to gag.  While I was in CA, my friend made me some Irish Oatmeal.  She added cream and maple syrup to it.  I fell in love.  So I went to Whole Foods when I got back and bought a box of Steel Cut Irish Oatmeal.  I finally got around to trying it last weekend and still loved it!  I used a bit of 1% milk, about a tablespoon of maple syrup, and a tiny dab of honey and it was scrumptious!  I even put it into my WW Recipe Builder and it was only 4 points.  The best part is that not only does it taste good, but it’s good for me and very filling!
  • Next up is homemade salsa.  My friend had me taste some that she made while I was there and I really liked it.  I don’t know why I didn’t think of making it myself before.  I guess I figured it would be harder than I thought.  I decided to try to make my own.  I pretty much just started throwing stuff in and I have to say that it turned out pretty good.  I’ve tried a couple of different versions.  This past time, I used tomatoes, various bell peppers, jalapeno pepper, yellow and red onion, black beans, garlic, cilantro, basil, chili powder, cumin, cinnamon, and probably a couple of other things I’m currently forgetting.  The best part is that it has low sodium, unlike the store-bought brands!

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  • Now my friend also mentioned banana bread while I was there and I thought it sounded good.  I do like banana bread.  I love bananas, too, but when they start getting really ripe, I usually pawn them off on my mom to eat.  This time, I had two bananas that were pretty darn ripe and I knew I would never eat them straight that way.  So I decided to do a Google search and see if there were any recipes that only used two bananas.  I figured they would require more!  To be honest, I used the first one that I found that mentioned two bananas.  The article and recipe can be found here.  I was all set and had it all mixed up and then read in the article that it would be a bit drier than recipes that use oil instead of butter.  Well, I like my muffins and bread pretty moist, so I decided to add a bit of canola oil to the batter.  They were absolutely delicious!  I have proof of this since my dad snatched the last four when I wasn’t looking.  I didn’t have the exact recipe items on hand that the recipe called for (no real butter, just some vegetable oil margarine sticks that my mom uses and bleached flour (instead of unbleached)), but it turned out just as good.  Of course, if I was going to be making these more often, I would probably get better quality products (including whole wheat flour).  Instead of making loaves of bread, I decided to make muffins using cupcake tins instead.  Portion-sizes, people!  But I put exactly what I used into the WW Recipe Builder and it comes out to only 2 points per muffin!  I think I need to go shopping for better ingredients, because I will probably make these again. It also kind of makes me want to experiment.  Who knew I’d get excited about cooking?

• I’ve been in the spring-cleaning mode lately, trying to de-clutter my existence.  So, in that regard, I guess it’s getting to be more of a “throw shit out” mode.  One thing I will never throw out is books!  Never, ever, ever!  My first plan of attack last weekend was to just go through the books that I had in my bedroom.  God, I had no idea.  I mean, I knew they were piled high, but it was ridiculous!  They ended up filling four paper boxes and that doesn’t include the books I left on my bookshelf (of my favorite series) and my to-be-read pile (which right now is a massive green tub of books).  It also doesn’t factor in the other 10+ boxes in my storage unit or the other boxes in the basement/garage.  Library of Congress, look out!  You got competition. 
• Oh, and don’t you think this is seriously the saddest looking corndog you’ve ever seen??