So, Noah has discovered the computer. With Jake, I was able to put it off until he was about 6, but Noah has obviously seen Jake using the computer and wants to use it too. At 6 a.m. he’s ready to go online and play games on the Hot Wheels Web site. A click here and a click there and he’s playing his favorite game. It’s OK, I guess but I try to limit the time he spends online. I’d much rather see him playing with his Legos and Playmobil. He’ll be glued to a computer monitor for school and work soon enough.
Month: March 2010
low carb and loathing it
So I’ve made it through Day 4 of SB Phase 1. I actually cheated this afternoon, but aside from the lone snack cake I’ve been sticking with the program. I’m very cranky, but it hasn’t been that bad. I’m just being a baby about it. I guess on the upside, at least I don’t have to concern myself with lipozene side effects — just ignoring that box of granola bars in the cupboard 😉 I’ll finish out the two weeks, but it will be nice to have my morning toast back in my diet.
a summer in lace & trim
Earlier today I was going through my box of rick-rack for a sewing project I’m planning. The majority of it is Wrights brand, which takes me back to the summer of 1995 when I worked as a picker-packer (yes, that was my title) in their West Warren, Mass. mill. My department was Lace & Trim and the machines spun all sorts of rick-rack, bias trim, and decorative trim. It was quite the cast of characters and far more entertaining than any episode of “The Office.” We even had one of those signs with the number of days since any kind of accident. During the few months I worked there, I don’t recall any major injuries but I’m sure there were some. I have to imagine a few workers sought a disability appeal at some point, too. I had heard stories about the dye house; working there was more dangerous than my floor. I’d love to know what some of those men and women are doing now.
menu plan monday, feelin’ beachy edition
I was away all last week, totally overdoing the breads, pastas, and desserts. While I loved every minute of it, I now feel a little off considering I don’t usually eat like that on a normal basis. (And the scale tells me much the same — eek!). Since Drew wants to lose a few pounds, we decided to start South Beach Phase 1 on Monday. A few years ago I lost about 20 lbs. by following the program! This time I really just want to get rid of the sugar cravings and get myself back on track to healthy eating. I like to think of it as a pseudo cleanse (a carb cleanse that is — watch, now I’ll have all kinds of searches on colon cleanse reviews just because I typed the word “cleanse.”) At any rate, I know how hard it is to find South Beach menus, so I wanted to make a point of sharing mine. Breakfast is the most boring, but I’m going for simplicity. I’ll channel my creative energy into SB dinners. I remember that the first three days are hard, but they got easier after that. Having everything written down will no doubt help. So here we go, with Week 1.
Monday:
B: Microwave scrambled egg with 1 slice boiled ham, low-sodium V8 juice, coffee or tea
S: Celery sticks with peanut butter
L: 15 bean soup, salad, SF jello
S: Turkey pepperoni, sliced green pepper, string cheese
D: Baked chicken oreganata, salad, steamed broccoli & cauliflower, vanilla ricotta creme
Tuesday:
B: Microwave scrambled egg with 1 slice boiled ham, low-sodium V8 juice, coffee or tea
S: Walnuts
L: 15 bean soup, salad, SF jello
S: Cucumber slices with hummus
D: Turkey & bean chili, salad, cocoa ricotta creme
Wednesday:
B: Microwave scrambled egg with 1 slice boiled ham, low-sodium V8 juice, coffee or tea
S: Celery sticks with neufchatel cheese
L: 15 bean soup, salad, SF jello
S: Ham slice and wrapped around string cheese, dipped in mustard
D: Chopped steak smothered with LF cheese, onions, and mushrooms; salad; broccoli, vanilla ricotta creme
Thursday:
B: Microwave scrambled egg with 1 slice boiled ham, low-sodium V8 juice, coffee or tea
S: Walnuts
L: Turkey & bean chili (leftover), salad, SF jello
S: Turkey pepperoni, pepper slices, string cheese
D: Turkey cutlets, sauteed squash & zucchini, salad, cocoa ricotta creme
Friday:
B: Microwave scrambled egg, low-sodium V8 juice, coffee or tea
S: Celery sticks with peanut butter
L: Vegetable soup, tuna fish “wraps” (use lettuce leaf), SF jello
S: Hummus and cucumbers
D: Lemon-herb tilapia or cod with herbs, sauteed squash and zucchini, cole slaw, vanilla ricotta creme
Saturday:
B: Western omelettes (ham, pepper, onion, tomato), low-sodium V8 juice, coffee or tea
S: Ham & cheese roll-ups with mustard
L: Southwestern chicken salad (greens, beans, jalepeno, onion, green pepper, grilled chicken, black olives) with fresh salsa and LF ranch dip (LF sour cream + Hidden Valley ranch mix), SF jello
S: Walnuts
D: Grilled filet mignon, steamed asparagus, steakhouse salad, mocha ricotta creme
Sunday:
B: Microwave scrambled egg with 1 slice boiled ham, low-sodium V8 juice, coffee or tea
S: Celery sticks with neufchatel cheese
L: Cobb salad (greens, tomato, onion, hardboiled egg, grilled chicken, avacado, shredded cheddar, turkey bacon) w/ LF ranch dip, SF jello
S: Tomatoes and mozzarella with balsamic drizzle
D: Chicken curry over cauliflower “rice”, vanilla ricotta creme
good morning
I know I’ve been MIA all week. I just haven’t had the time for blogging this past week. I did, however, somehow find the time for having a really bad eating week and overindulging in lots of delicious food. So tomorrow Drew and I are going to start South Beach Phase 1 again as a kind of cleanse/carb detox. I haven’t tried many weight loss programs aside from SB, but it really worked great for me in the past. This time I am not doing it so much as a way to jump start weight loss, but I really need to curb the sugar and carb cravings. I’ve been drafting up ideas for snacks and meals and I’ve found that as long as I’m not scrambling for ideas, the plan is not hard for me to follow. Then I’ll start adding my good carbs back in and hopefully keep my sweet tooth at bay.
So today we’re going food shopping. I also plan on hitting up Target because they have the Shark steam mop on sale. Last summer I started researching steam mops and I’ve been holding off on buying one until there was a good price. The model on sale at Target is one below the model I really wanted, but I’ve decided that it’s good enough. Who thought a girl could be so excited to wash her tile floors?
digging out
Luckily, we did not get quite as much snow as our friends and relatives slightly further south. Half the county was without power for days, making the measly 8 hours ours was out look like nothing. I wonder if the people who work for utilities have higher life insurance rates because of the risk involved with their work? There were certainly a lot of downed wires all over. Even yesterday it was pretty windy. I just keep telling myself that spring is only a couple weeks away. Soon the birds will be chirping, the crocuses will be poking through the ground, and winter will be left long behind!
mallrats
We had a nice, relaxing weekend in spite of all the crazy snow. We did a lot of just hanging around and relaxing, which was nice. March is going to be a really busy month, so it was good to have the downtime. We walked around the mall a bit because Noah’s been asking to. Unfortunately, in his mind he was thinking of the Danbury Mall with the carousel and the Service Magic kiosk that gives away balloons as promotional items. Still, he liked hanging out in the food court for some reason. Ah, just a glimspe of what it will be like as a teenager perhaps, LOL!