Boo Y'all!

Happy Halloween Weekend Y’all! I am just going to jump right in to what will most definitely be a Halloween centered blog. I would go ahead and brace myself for my next blog to include a lot of Halloween stuff too.

First, I posted a picture of the pumpkins that my brother (middle), his girlfriend Lisa (right) and I (left) carved.




Aren’t they cute? I messed mine up a little but I usually do…it seems like I always botch my pumpkin in some way. I also posted a picture below of what I’ve been calling a “Snake Sandwich.” My mom gave me the idea and helped me make them for work. You use crescent rolls and roll them out and then the sandwich is filled up with ham, salami, bologna, Monterey Jack cheese and Dijon mustard. After you roll it up, you try and shape it kind of like a snake and then you put egg wash on the top to make it shiny. You can add food coloring to the egg to give it more of a snake color. You use green olives for the eyes and cloves for the nostrils.



It was SO good and it was a HUGE hit at work today…it got eaten almost immediately. It’s so yummy! Below are some pics of costumes from work…I was Pepto Bismol and I got 3rd Place! The winners were other people in my department who definitely deserved to win…they were Pac Man and the ghosts.






There were some decent costumes. The Oompa Loompa got second place. I was very happy to get 3rd because that equals money! I have had a very fun and fattening day. I can’t wait to dress up tomorrow and go to Birmingham for a Halloween party with Jordan! I won’t count but I feel like I’ve used A LOT of exclamation marks in this blog.

I will definitely post pictures on Tuesday from tomorrow’s party. So, there is no Alabama football this weekend which is kind of nice because the team needs rest and it’s good for me because I simply don’t have time tomorrow to get stressed about watching a game.

I am not sure what night you will be celebrating Halloween or trick-or-treating but when you do, I hope you have a safe and fun weekend!



Bye!

“I was working in the lab late one night
When my eyes beheld an eerie sight
For my monster from his slab began to rise
And suddenly to my surprise

He did the mash
He did the monster mash
The monster mash
It was a graveyard smash
He did the mash
It caught on in a flash
He did the mash
He did the monster mash

From my laboratory in the castle east
To the master bedroom where the vampires feast
The ghouls all came from their humble abodes
To get a jolt from my electrodes

They did the mash
They did the monster mash
The monster mash
It was a graveyard smash
They did the mash
It caught on in a flash
They did the mash
They did the monster mash.” Monster Mash-Bobby “Boris” Pickett

"It's Like It's Halloween Every Day Here..."

When we arrived in Tennessee Saturday afternoon, my Dad goes, “It’s like it’s Halloween every day here.” When he said it, there was a tone of disgust. I have to say I don’t agree with his tone because I would LOVE it if it were Halloween every day but I did understand what he was saying. There is something about seeing a sea of about 80 thousand people all wearing a fluorescent orange color…it’s almost blinding really. Dad and I had a safe trip to and from Knoxville which is really miraculous considering the hostile environment you experience wearing crimson around Tennessee fans and also the giant screw I discovered in my tire yesterday. As you may have heard, Alabama had an awesome win in Rocky Top and we had an even better time singing Rammer Jammer to the Tennessee fans that were left after the game. Someone offered to take a picture of me and Dad…



I thought it was a pretty good one! It was quite an experience. Neyland Stadium is only the third SEC stadium that I have been to on my SEC stadium journey and now that I’ve been…I don’t think I will be needing to go back anytime soon. The Alabama-Tennessee game is intense to say the least and when they were keeping it close the first half, I was a nervous wreck but it was very apparent in the third quarter that we had the game in the bag.

I weighed Saturday morning before we left and I didn’t lose weight…I was pretty much the same as the week before…there may have been an ounce difference but I didn’t even bother recording it. I shouldn’t be surprised…I’ve been completely off Weight Watchers on the weekends. I also ate like a mad woman this past weekend…I’ll just say there was a Steak ‘N Shake Butterfinger Milkshake incident AND I ate at a Denny’s in nowhere, Tennessee at about 1 am Sunday morning. I didn’t feel great Sunday night because of all of it but I’m back on track now. I know that I will be cheating this weekend for Halloween and then the week after next I go to Vegas. My goal is to maintain for a while and I think if I’m good during the week and continue exercising, I should be OK. I WILL MAKE IT THROUGH THE HOLIDAYS!

Last night was recipe night…



I made a pork chop and green beans to go with Au Gratin potatoes which was the actual recipe. My mom made a non-Weight Watchers Au Gratin Potato Dish on Sunday night so it was interesting to compare the two. My mom’s were obviously more buttery and cheesy but I have to say, mine were not bad at all. You use fat free milk and cheese but you use a half tablespoon of butter and Yukon Gold Potatoes and it turned out to be nice and creamy and tasty. The only problem I have with potato dishes is that if they are baked in the oven, they take FOREVER. I am very impatient and these potatoes took over an and a half with preparation and baking time…but the dinner was filling and I enjoyed it.

Friday, I will definitely post pictures of my work costume and let you know for the 300th time how excited I am about Halloween. We are having soups and chili Friday at work and I’m bringing a sandwich shaped like a snake that my mom is going to help me with. I am going to try not to be terrible on Friday but I know me and I know that isn’t a safe bet.

Have a great week!

Holla!

“It's close to midnight and something evil's lurking in the dark
Under the moonlight, you see a sight that almost stops your heart
You try to scream but terror takes the sound before you make it
You start to freeze as horror looks you right between the eyes
You're paralyzed

'Cause this is thriller, thriller night
And no one's gonna save you from the beast about strike
You know it's thriller, thriller night
You're fighting for your life inside a killer, thriller tonight

You hear the door slam and realize there's nowhere left to run
You feel the cold hand and wonder if you'll ever see the sun
You close your eyes and hope that this is just imagination, girl!
But all the while you hear the creature creeping up behind
You're out of time

'Cause this is thriller, thriller night
There ain't no second chance against the thing with forty eyes, girl
Thriller, thriller night
You're fighting for your life inside a killer, thriller tonight.” Thriller-Michael Jackson

Headed To Beat The Vols At Rocky Top!

We are one week away from Halloween Weekend! Obviously, I am SOOO excited! I hope the next week goes by fast! One thing that will help is that I still have a lot of work to do on costumes AND I am going to the Alabama/Tennessee game this weekend in Knoxville with my Dad.



That picture still brings a smile to my face. That block was part of the most exciting few minutes of football that I have EVER seen…probably THE most exciting. Honestly, as awesome as that moment was, I am really hoping for a much less close game. I always want to win but I especially want to win because A) It’s Tennessee and we always want to beat them and B) We are driving all the way to Knoxville for the game…we BETTER win. We are driving to Chattanooga after the game and spending the night so we can have lunch with the family on Sunday so it should be a nice weekend.

I am hoping to lose a little this Saturday because I know that Halloween will be rough…I plan on consuming more than one tiny Snickers…I’m just saying…so I’ve been extra good this week in preparation. You know, a girl at work and I were talking about how you can look in the mirror and see yourself one way when everyone else sees you differently. She told me she saw a show where someone asked a girl to draw an outline of herself on the ground…she drew a very large figure on the ground…then she laid down and the lady with her drew an actual outline of her and the real outline was MUCH smaller than what the girl drew. It’s amazing how people (especially women) have a totally negative outlook on their appearance. I have lost a good amount of weight and I am proud of that accomplishment but not a day goes by that I don’t find something to take away from my weight loss. I always joke about how sad it is that I’ve lost 78 pounds and I’m still really chubby. I also have a running internal dialogue that is constantly analyzing and worrying about my stretch marks, wide hips and hanging arm fat. I rarely ever let myself just enjoy my successes. Why is that? Why do we belittle the good things we do and magnify the things we don’t like? I’m not sure why we think the way we do but I will vow to TRY to stop picking out all of the small things I don’t like about myself and focus on the good.

It has been a ridiculously busy day so I don’t really have much else.

Please keep me and my Dad in your thoughts…hope that we have a safe/successful trip to and from Tennessee this weekend.

Have a fun/safe weekend!

Roll Tide!!!

Fat bottomed girls you make the rockin' world go round .” Fat Bottomed Girls-Queen (I'm on a Queen kick.)

Point Taken

Hello Everyone! Since I’m terrible at intros, I will jump right into my weekend. I weighed on Saturday morning and I had lost 1.8 bringing my total loss to 78.4. I can’t believe how close to 80 I am. This was an especially good week because that loss brought me down another point so maybe that will add some momentum. The point that I’m losing also may help make up for the ridiculous amount of food I ate this weekend. I never thought that I would say this, but I will be glad when football season is over so I can stop slipping up on game days. I seriously doubt that one less point will help me totally recover from the damage but I am also changing up my exercise this week…I’m working a little harder and might have a new project to report on soon. Maybe the combination of exercise and less food will help me get closer to 80 this weekend. I really don’t expect to lose much the next couple of weeks because I sort of allow myself to let go on Halloween…I don’t think anyone would want to be around me on Halloween if I couldn’t enjoy it to its fullest. Jordan and I nailed down our primary outfits for Halloween this weekend and I have to say, I am getting more and more excited. We just need a few accessories a piece and we will be ready to go. I am still a little behind on my work costume but I made some progress on it last night. I plan on recruiting my mother to help me at some point. I also put up some Halloween lights on our deck last night to one up the neighbor…I am not kidding…I rarely see these people but they just happened to be outside when I did it and she looked at the lights for a whole minute…whispered something to her daughter and wrote something down. I guarantee that she has something else up her sleeve…but don’t worry…I haven’t pulled out the strobe light yet…there’s still time.

So, this weekend was Alabama’s homecoming game against Ole Miss. I posted a few pictures from the festivities and the game…





We won but it was an ugly win…we play Tennessee this weekend and I just found out that me and dad are going! I’m excited! My goal over the next few years is to go to a game in all the SEC stadiums. I have quite a ways to go because the Tennessee game will only be my 3rd SEC stadium…but you know…one step at a time. I really hope Alabama starts to play better because…it will only get tougher after Tennessee. LSU and Auburn are no joke and now it looks like we might even have to be concerned about Mississippi State…so…they need to get their ducks in a row.

Last night was recipe night…



This was called Beef and Vegetable Cheese Casserole which I personally didn’t think was a very creative name but whatever. I know it's hard to see because it's dark...I also made toasted everything bagels with spray butter to go with it.This casserole has 3 layers…the bottom layer is a mixture of sautéed beef, tomato sauce, onions and garlic. The middle layer consists of roasted tomatoes and zucchini. The top layer is a mix of fat-free cottage cheese, egg yolk, cheese, salt & pepper. After you put it together, you just bake it. I have to say that it tasted great. I wasn’t sure because of all the fat free stuff but the beef, tomato and cottage cheese mixed together gave it a lasagna-ish feel. Even though I liked it, I probably won’t make it again because just that tiny portion is 7 points. That’s way too many points for too little food. If I do try to make it again, I may use turkey instead of beef.

Ok-I hope you all have a great night/week!

Bye!

“She keeps Moet et Chandon
In a pretty cabinet
'Let them eat cake' she says
Just like Marie Antoinette
A built-in remedy
For Khrushchev and Kennedy
At anytime an invitation
You can't decline

Caviar and cigarettes
Well versed in etiquette
Extraordinarily nice

She's a Killer Queen
Gunpowder, Gelatine
Dynamite with a laser beam
Guaranteed to blow your mind
Anytime.” Killer Queen-Queen

Busy Blog, Busy October.

Well, hello everyone! I hope you have had an awesome week and that you are excited about the weekend! I know I am pretty happy that it’s Friday. It is homecoming at the University of Alabama this weekend. Hopefully we will beat Ole Miss with no problem…we need a spirit lift after the game that must not be mentioned from last week. Whitney, her husband Xay, their awesome daughter Mya and I all went walking around campus after work yesterday to see if we could look at any of the homecoming floats but they were still covered up…it was all good though…I got a cute picture of me and Mya who I let borrow my sunglasses for the photo shoot…



She’s so cute. It should be a fun day tomorrow with a parade and hopefully a not-too-difficult game. So, I don’t know if you know this about me or not but I am pretty sure it is safe to say that Halloween is my FAVORITE holiday. I love to dress up, I love the decorations and I mean…my goodness…its main purpose is to eat and pass out candy…of course I love it. I dress up in at least two costumes every year (one for work and one for a party) and this year will be no different. I am not revealing the costume ideas until after Halloween. At this point, I have no really great reason why…in fact…several of my friends know but whatever…I’m still keeping it away from the internet until after the fact. Just know, that the costumes I have chosen are AWESOME and require much more work than I have put in yet but I will get them done. I would even love to go to another event the Friday before Halloween or the actual day of Halloween just so I can get a 3rd costume but I haven’t really heard of anything else going on. Anyway, I tell you all of this because I bought some ultra cute decorations to put up outside our apartment…they are subtle, yet adorable and festive…



Cute right? Well, less than a work day later, our across the way neighbors tried to show us out…



I am a firm believer that they were trying to make a statement. I blurred apartment numbers because frankly, it’s none of “ya BINNESSS” where I live and as Antoine Dodson says, “they rapin’ erry body out here.” Anyway, I personally don’t love their taste in decorations…I feel like we have a bit more taste but that’s just my personal preference. I will say however, that I will not go down without a fight. Cassandra has already planned on digging up some cobwebs and potentially a strobe light…so watch out neighbor…it’s ON.

Watch out for this transition…The Halloween decoration battle is not the only battle I’m dealing with right now. I am also battling with the “in between sizes” disease. I know that having clothes that are too big for you is what we consider a “good” problem but it is also kind of annoying. I heard once that for every 10 pounds you lose, you lose a pant size. Well, this is not the case for me. It took me 30 pounds before my clothes even got too loose. I haven’t gone down that much but right now…I am EXACTLY in between two sizes. I don’t exactly have the money to buy clothes for every size so lately, I have been getting the clothes a little snug and then wait until they are falling off before I buy new ones. It’s just especially problematic right now because I have a severe lack in clothes I can wear in cooler weather. I am in the mode of buying one thing every once in awhile…that’s the only real solution I can think of right now. I won’t complain too much about that because I’m glad I’m needing new clothes but I feel like I gave away half my wardrobe and maybe now the thought is…baggy clothes are better than no clothes? Yah, too little, too late. I just thought I would vent about that for a minute.

Anyway, I wanted to remind you of one more thing. This month is Breast Cancer Awareness month…please keep those battling with breast cancer and those families who have lost loved ones to breast cancer in your thoughts and prayers. Wear your pink in support and donate if you can.



Tomorrow marks the one year anniversary of the death of Angel Pittman Burnette, a loving mother and wife. She was the aunt of my Jordan and she was an amazing woman. In her honor, I wanted to just take the last part of my blog to ask you to remember those affected by not only breast cancer, but all forms of cancer. Cancer is a terrible illness that should be stopped by whatever means necessary! Let’s help those affected by fighting! Wear your colors, donate, pray and NEVER GIVE UP HOPE!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and keep my mom in your thoughts as she is taking a VERY MUCH DESERVED weekend beach trip. She is with her friends…they are going to see Bon Jovi in concert. Be safe Mom! Wish me luck on the scale tomorrow! I’ll report next week!

Roll Tide Y’all! Bye!

“Up where they walk
Up where they run
Up where they stay all day in the sun
Wandering free
Wish I could be
Part of that world

What would I give
If I could live
Out of these waters?
What would I pay
To spend a day
Warm on the sand?
Bet'cha on land
They understand
Bet they don't reprimand their daughters
Bright young women
Sick of swimming
Ready to stand

And ready to know what the people know
Ask 'em my questions and get some answers
What's a fire and why does it
[What's the word?] burn
When's it my turn?
Wouldn't I love
Love to explore the shore up above?

Out of the sea
Wish I could be
Part of that world

What would I give to live where you are
What would I pay to stay here beside you
What would I do to see you, smiling at me
Where would we walk
Where would we run
If we could stay all day in the sun
Just you and me
And I could be..
Part of your
world..[gets distracted by dog]

I don't know when
I don't know how
But I know something's starting right now
Watch and you'll see
Someday I'll be
Part of your
world.” Part of Your World-From The Little Mermaid

Football & Phyllo Disasters.

I’m sure you have heard [if you care] by now that Alabama fell hard to South Carolina on Saturday. This was our first loss in 19 games and our first regular season loss in 2 seasons. South Carolina played great and we…didn’t. When I was in college from 02-06, Alabama had some pretty tough years and you never get used to losing but there isn’t such high expectations to win. I was pretty upset on Saturday. It stung really bad to experience it but I have to remember that A) there are more important things in life than football and B) there is a chance for redemption. There are times during football games that I worry we will lose or that we aren’t great but those are just nerves I have during the game. There are some people out there though that are fair weather fans and that are saying we suck and will lose 2 more games and don’t have a chance of winning out. These people drive me crazy. Until we see how Alabama reacts to the loss, we should be optimistic. You can’t win every game and you certainly can’t win every national championship. I don’t think Alabama is as good as they were last year but we are still a very solid team and I believe we can recover from the loss…if not…then there is always next season.

I’m not sure if I believe everything I just typed but I think it’s time to move on either way. I know that I normally talk about one recipe a week but I have several to show today. If I’m being honest, I was actually a recipe ahead of myself. I had made two one week awhile back so I got ahead and the recipes I was showing were ones that I had eaten the week before that. Instead of continuing that trend, I’ve decided to go over two weeks of recipes because they all have one common theme-Phyllo Dough.






These are all the recipes I made from the pastry. You know, I have nothing against the Greeks…I really don’t. They have excellent salads and olives…I hear they have nice beaches and I can’t thank them enough for all of the wretched math I was forced to take in high school and college but I am not too happy about Phyllo Dough. The truth is, 3 of the 4 recipes I made were quite good and I would definitely eat a dish with Phyllo Dough in it that someone else prepared but I will say that it is highly unlikely that I will ever purchase and/or work with it again. In case you don’t know, Phyllo Dough (according to Wikipedia) is “paper-thin sheets of raw, unleavened flour dough used for making pastries in Greek, Middle Eastern and other regional cuisines.” The one descriptor that sticks out to me is “paper-thin.” That is no joke. If you make one wrong move with this stuff, it breaks right off. The first recipe I made was a Bacon and Swiss Quiche. I noticed that night that it was going to be difficult to work with but it wasn’t that bad because for the quiche, all I really had to do was lay it in the bottom of the pan to serve as a crust. Whenever I buy an ingredient, I don’t like to waste. I only needed 2 sheets of Phyllo for the quiche so I looked up other recipes to make so I could use it and not waste it. It turned out quite good though and aside from the Phyllo, I would make it again. The next recipe I attempted was probably when I decided that it wasn’t for me. As you can see, it looks like a big pile of straw and fossilized corn husks. That is a pretty accurate description if you add an overpowering garlic flavor. This was supposed to be parmesan twists. If you ever take Phyllo on, THE MOST IMPORTANT thing to note is that when it tells you to coat each sheet with butter or butter flavored spray…it doesn’t just mean a light coat…it is very important that you drown the dough in it…otherwise…you get a big pile of flaky, papery stuff that is actually dangerous. I could tell the twists weren’t working because the dough was breaking apart so I just said screw it with the rest of them and made one big roll and put the cheese in there. Because I think garlic makes everything better, I piled it on…the middle didn’t taste bad but the garlic was way too overpowering and the edges were awful…it was like the dough had dried completely and made sharp little daggers that cut into your throat and mouth. I brought them to my Dad and brother and they wouldn’t eat them. It was a total failure on my part but you can’t win them all. I was so embarrassed of them that I threw them away before my mother got home to see.

I decided to give the Phyllo one last shot since there was still some left. I made two recipes last night (the last two pictures). The first was these spinach and cheese triangles. The filling just consists of spinach, cottage cheese, feta cheese, onions and garlic. I had learned a lesson this time and sprayed the ever loving crap out of the Phyllo Sheets making everything all goopy but I knew that they wouldn’t dry out and that was the important part. I served them with a thin pork chop. I know that doesn’t look like very much food but that plate is only 6 points and trust me…I ate more than that…I actually ate an embarrassing amount of those…they were pretty good. The last Phyllo recipe I made last night (and probably ever) was a dessert cup. The recipe I had actually included a recipe for a filling where you make your own pudding and add berries but I just made the cup (by placing layers of very heavily Pam sprayed Phyllo into muffin tins) and put frozen whipped cream (tastes surprisingly like ice cream) in it with a few miniature chocolate chips on top. That was very tasty…I prepared the dough right so having that mixed with the cold whipped cream and chocolate was quite tasty.

I know that after 4 recipes, I finally did start to understand how it works and how to prepare but I don’t care, I think I was way too traumatized to buy it again. Even after knowing the trick of soaking it before you can do anything with it, it’s still too messy and fragile for me to ever want to work with it again. I do encourage you all to try it though…I hope it doesn’t give you near the trouble that it gave me.

Other than the football and Phyllo disasters, my weekend was OK. I didn’t gain or lose weight really. I weighed about 50 times and I was either up .5 or down .5 from last week…and down .5 is .1 away from being enough for me to go down a point so there was no real progress made last week. I’m OK with that, I just don’t want to gain. The next few months are going to hold many challenges so my two major goals are to get rid of this .1 pound so I can go down a point which will help my second major goal and that is to not gain any weight during the holiday season so I can have an easier time losing beginning January 2nd…if I happen to lose weight in the process of the next few months…that’s going to be awesome. I’ve done well so far this week so maybe I will have some luck.

Ok-that is all for today! I hope everyone has a great week and good luck with any recipes you try!

Roll Tide (Win OR Lose!) and Bye!

“Oh, it looks like rain tonight and thank God
'Cause a clear sky just wouldn't feel right.” Come Round Soon-Sara Bareilles

Skinny Cow Love!

Happy Friday Everyone! It took long enough for the weekend to get here but I am just happy that it finally made it. I actually have a pretty laid back weekend coming up. Tomorrow, Alabama plays South Carolina…



This will be another tough game because they are pretty good and it’s in South Carolina. I think if we do well in this game and win…it says a lot about our team this year and I will feel even more confident going into the rest of the season but…we have to win first. Lol…I know talk like I’m on the team but I certainly feel like I am sometimes. I plan on watching football and just relaxing most of the day tomorrow. I will exercise of course but other than that…there won’t be too much activity. I will weigh tomorrow morning. I am hoping to see a loss…even if it’s just a slight one…I’d be happy…I’ve been good this week so unless Savannah decides to suddenly catch up with me, I should be good. Sunday, I plan on cleaning a bit but my main plan is to meet Jordan in Bessemer so we can eat lunch and go see a movie! I am excited about the movie and getting to go see him but there is business to attend to as well. Jordan and I have yet to decide what we are going to be for Halloween. We dress up every year and usually, there is a theme but this year, we aren’t sure. I love Halloween…if I’m being honest, it’s probably my favorite holiday. I love to dress up and really get into making the costume. I usually have two, one for work and one for Halloween night (we usually go to a party). I am kind of a Halloween diva because I refuse to wear the same costume twice. I have my work costume all planned out (it’s kind of a secret)…I have the stuff for it so all I have to do is make it. In years past, I’ve been a priest, devil, tea party person and many other things. This year, since I’ve lost weight, I do feel the need to be a little cuter than in the past. I look at all the costumes at the Halloween store and I’ve NEVER been able to wear one…I don’t want to be quite that “revealing” but I do want to accentuate the work I’ve done…if that makes sense. So anyway, I guess I’m rambling on about this to see if you have any ideas? Have you heard of anything cute? It’s OK if you don’t have ideas…Jordan and I have decided that on Sunday, we are making our OFFICIAL decision so there isn’t much time. Ahhh! I’m kind of stressed. Anyway, that’s my plans for Sunday and then as always, I will eat dinner at my parents on Sunday night…sounds like a nice, low key weekend.

Ok-so I recently discovered Skinny Cow…



I know that some of you are already on board but until last week, I thought they were only about ice cream sandwiches and I don’t like ice cream sandwiches. Then I heard from my mom and a lady at work about some of their products so I tried one of the new (may not be that new but it’s new to me) ice cream cups…I got the Caramel Cone flavor. It was SO delicious! It was creamy and only 3 points. I’m not sure how they are so low in calories and still taste like real ice cream but me and my mom decided that it’s because it’s a small serving. I have to say though, there is something about eating right out of a carton that makes me feel good…so I like not having to scoop and when I was done eating it, I really didn’t feel cheated…it was plenty. I later found out that the Caramel Cone is the only flavor that’s 3 points…the rest of them are only 2 so I will definitely be trying those. I went on Skinny Cow’s site for nutrition facts and to look at the fudge bar my mom told me about (she said it’s delicious) and I noticed that aside from the ice cream cups, all of the other treats have Weight Watchers points listed. So-this is my official endorsement (means nothing) of all Skinny Cow products and I give them a big ‘ol thumbs up on their website. I will have to let you know what I think about the rest of the flavors…I may try the fudge bars too.

I didn’t have too much else for today…I know my blogs have been slacking lately so I will try to give them a steroid shot and give you more stories and info…I think I have a regimen now (Tuesday I talk about a recipe and Friday I talk about my weekend or something random) and that has made me become a little lazy. I apologize for that…this blog is not the only thing in my life that could use a little boost so I will start working on that.

I hope you all have a great weekend and Roll Tide!

Bye!

“I feel these four walls closing in
My face up against the glass
I'm looking out... hmm
Is this my life I'm wondering
It happened so fast
How do I turn this thing around
Is this the bed I chose to make
Its greener pastures I'm thinking about hmm
Wide open spaces far away

All I want is the wind in my hair
To face the fear but, not feel scared

Wild horses I wanna be like you
Throwing caution to the wind
I'll run free too
Wish I could recklessly love, like I'm longing to
Run with the wild horses, run with the wild horses!
Oh yeah yea

I see the girl I wanna be
Riding bare back, care free along the shore
If only that someone was me
Jumping head first headlong without a thought
To act and damn the consequence
How I wish it could be that easy
But fear surrounds me like a fence
I wanna break free

All I want is the wind in my hair
To face the fear but, not feel scared.” Wild Horses-Natasha Bedingfield

Fall is HERE!

Greetings Y’all! I am SO happy about the return of cooler weather. It could not be more of a perfect weather situation than the past few days. It’s crisp in the mornings, breezy and slightly warm during the day...UGH...it’s AWESOME! I hope you all had a marvelous weekend. I have to say that mine ranked pretty high up on the weekend scale. You know how I was all scared to weigh because of the Savannah Binge Fest of 2010? Well, when I got on the scale Saturday morning, it was the first time in a few weeks that I had weighed because I had a couple rough patches and wanted to make sure there was some time in there where I was spot on. Somehow, I ended up being down 1.6 pounds from the last time I weighed bringing my total to 76.6 pounds! I’m not sure if the weight will catch up with me this weekend or if I just got lucky but I was definitely not complaining about those numbers. I only have less than a pound before I have to get rid of another point so that will help give me a little boost.

Saturday was also awesome because Bama beat the mess out of the Florida Gators! I stopped by my friend Whitney’s tailgating spot and took a picture of her daughter Mya (LOVE HER) who was all about some school spirit!



She’s so cute! The game was awesome. Aside from Florida’s first drive, there was never a time in the game that Alabama didn’t totally dominate. It was actually surprising how terrible Florida played. We have a pretty tough game on the road this Saturday so I will be watching nervously from the couch in my pajamas...I’m not going to lie...I like an away game from time to time so I can relax.

Sunday was nice too...me, my Dad, brother and his girlfriend all made my mom dinner for her birthday. We had steak, baked potatoes, sautéed mushrooms, bread and grilled corn. For dessert, I made a Paula Deen cheesecake recipe:



Instead of using the topping Paula suggested, I set up a “cheesecake buffet” of sorts since people have different taste preferences. I provided several options so people could create their own cheesecake masterpiece. You could choose from fudge, caramel, strawberries, Butterfinger and pecans. It was SO DELICIOUS. It was definitely not a Weight Watchers friendly dessert...the crust alone had a stick of butter in it...but hey...you gotta splurge every once in awhile right?!

Since I posted a picture of cheesecake, I figured I better balance it out with a picture of this week’s recipe:



This was a Bacon-Cheddar Turkey Burger & Cheese Fries. Some of my favorite Weight Watchers recipes are those that play with food that we all love. I love burgers so it’s always nice to get one and not feel bad about eating it. The bacon and cheese get mixed together with the ground turkey so the patty has everything you need in it when you cook it. I know the picture is a little dark but you can see that it’s a pretty thick burger and I used my delicious new everything bagel thins as a bun. I also made my favorite baked cheese fries that I think go with everything. It was a really tasty dinner!

That’s pretty much all I had to share today...I am doing well so far this week which is good...I feel like I have momentum! There are a couple of people I know that are getting on the bandwagon again and sometimes they talk to me about it...I won’t call them out but I will say to them and anyone else who is trying to get healthy: good luck and I KNOW you can do it! Have a great afternoon/week! Bye!

“I see your blue eyes
Every time I close mine
You make it hard to see
Where I belong to
When I'm not around you
It's like I'm alone with me

But I never told you
What I should have said
No, I never told you
I just held it in

And now,
I miss everything about you
Can't believe that I still want you
And after all the things we've been through
I miss everything about you
Without you.” I Never Told You-Colbie Caillat

Happy Birthday Mom!

That’s right! It’s my mom’s birthday today. I called her at 7:30 this morning to tell her happy birthday and the woman was already at work...on her birthday! Crazy...but she obviously has an awesome work ethic...which is why she makes the big bucks...right mom? ;) Anyway, we are going out to eat tonight and then Sunday night, me, my Dad and brother are going to chip in and make a yummy dinner to celebrate. I hope you have a great day mom! You deserve it. I don’t think my mother is quite the birthday diva that I am but I wanted to give her a shout out.

Since I didn’t report on a recipe Tuesday, I will tell you about one now...



This was Turkey Enchilada Pie. It doesn’t look too appetizing but it was pretty good. I have to say it wasn’t my favorite recipe but only because it called for chopped tomatoes and peppers so I just used Rotel since it’s the same thing...well...they didn’t have mild Rotel at the store so I just got the original flavor thinking it wouldn’t be too spicy. I don’t know if it’s because I didn’t have sour cream or a ton of cheese to cut the heat or if I’m just a wimp but it was WAY too spicy. I am not a fan of really spicy food...I just don’t usually think it tastes that great. The recipe had a lot of Rotel in it so if it had been even a tenth spicier, I don’t think I would’ve eaten it. I will definitely remember in the future that I HAVE to have mild Rotel to make the recipe. It was pretty easy to make. You just sauté some ground turkey and onions and then you layer whole wheat tortillas, the turkey meat mixture, fat free cheese and then the Rotel...kind of like lasagna...and then you bake it for a little while. I think I would have definitely liked it much better had it not been so spicy.

So, I am going to weigh tomorrow morning for the first time in a couple of weeks and I’m pretty nervous about it. I have been fairly flawless this week with Weight Watchers but I know my body hasn’t forgotten the four day southern binge fest from last week so I will be assessing the damage. I am hoping it won’t take me more than 1 or 2 weeks to get back to my down 75 pound mark. Like I said before, I am itching for that 100 pound mark so I am full speed ahead. I have almost a whole month and a half before I do anything cheat worthy again (I’m going to Vegas in November!) so that will give me time to make a couple more small dents in the 100 pound voyage. You know, it is crazy to think that in about 6 months (hopefully), I will have lost 100 pounds...and rest assured...I will still be a chubby girl at that point...lol...with a ways to go but I can’t even lift 100 pounds...I’m looking forward to it but...man...I had really let myself go to have the need to lose 100 pounds. Ok-I’m done harping on that now. : ) I will have to report on my scale experience next week. On to other important things...



Alabama is playing Florida tomorrow. If you aren’t into football, you may be tired of hearing me talk about it (or see me writing about it) but you will have to skip this part for the next several weeks because that’s what I do from September to January...I watch football. Alabama had a close call last week playing Arkansas...I hope they got themselves together so they can DESTROY Florida. Florida’s fans have been talking so much trash...BASED ON MY EXPERIENCE...there are MANY Florida fans that are no fun to be around. They are bitter and mean and sometimes violent. This is not to say that Alabama doesn’t have their share of crazed fans but I choose not to talk about them...lol. Anyway, ROLL TIDE! I fully expect us to win (I hope).

It is my wish that everyone has a safe and fun weekend! Bye!!!


“Life is a mystery, everyone must stand alone.
I hear you call my name and it feels like
Home.

When you call my name, it's like a little
Prayer. I'm down on my knees, I wanna take you
there. In the midnight hour, I can feel your
Power. Just like a prayer, you know I'll take you there

I hear your voice, it's like an angel sighing.
I have no choice, I hear your voice, feels like
Flying. I close my eyes, oh God, I think I'm
Falling, out of the sky. I close my eyes, Heaven
Help me.

When you call my name, it's like a little
Prayer. I'm down on my knees, I wanna take you
There. In the midnight hour, I can feel your
Power just like a prayer. You know I'll take
You there.

Like a child, you whisper softly to me. You're
In control just like a child, now I'm dancing.
It's like a dream, no end and no beginning.
You're here with me, it's like a dream. Let
The choir sing.” Like A Prayer-Madonna