Stay tuned for this encouraging word. . . .

It constantly amazes me that I am now in a place where (#1), people ask my advice about health and fitness and food and (#2), they come to me to seek encouragement in their own endeavors in these areas. As an overweight person, I am used to being overlooked, overjudged, overwrought, over it, and sometimes over sensitive. . .I am not used to being a positive center of attention. I am not used to being sought out, valued, admired. . . .so the steady streams of compliments have been a bit heady since school began. Almost every day, someone new notices, "You look different." "You look great." "That is a gorgeous outfit." "You look very pretty today." "Did you do something different with your hair?" "Where are your glasses?" With this newfound focus on my looks from others, I feel a responsibility to look my best. Now, those who know me, know this has NEVER been the case for me (Maybe for a short time as an arrogant and self-centered teenager, but no other time in history. . . ). If it were a special occasion, I would get dolled up, but otherwise, what you see is what you get.

Now, however, it is gel in the hair, blow-dry or scrunch and air dry, skin care, make-up, contact lenses, no dumpy outfits. . . . . . .I tell you . . . being even remotely cute takes work!!!!!!!! And some days I feel a bit resentful about the time it takes to present myself well, so that my efforts are not hidden under a bushel. But, can I also tell you that it feels doggone good when a co-worker who has never really had too much nice to say to me stops and tells me how great I am looking and asks for my help for her own struggles. Or when I walk in at my mom's in denim shorts (a little shorter than I normally wear them, though not scandalous) and she says, "Wow, don't you look great???"

I do understand that great, gorgeous. .. .are relative adjectives. Not everyone would get it. Someone who didn't know from whence I've come would simply see a fat, forty plus, fading fast, female. . . But to those who saw me at 236 and see me now under 200, it is great and gorgeous and amazing. And really, it's much too late to turn back now. . . .:~)

So, if someone you know is struggling with their weight, give them a little compliment, a little encouragement, a little word of hope. It could truly make all the difference in the world for them!!!!!!!!!

Tonight's recipe is Cheesy Chicken 'n Shrooms

Monday night when Shane was in class, I came home to fix dinner. We had cooked some chicken breasts the day before (which we had BBQed), but I wanted something different. So I sliced one thinly, sauteed some onions and mushrooms in the pan (seasoned with salt, pepper, and oregano), removed them once done, tossed in the pre-cooked chicken, let it brown up a bit and reheat. Then I served up the chicken, topped it with the mushroom onion mixture, and sprinkled a little mozzarella cheese and parmesan over the top. I served thinly sliced sweet potatoes, brushed with olive oil, sprinkled with salt and baked in a 350ish oven for 30ish minutes, and a side salad with a pineapple vinaigrette. It was so good I ate the whole chicken breast, half an onion, half a package of mushrooms, a whole sweet potato and a small salad!!!!!!!!!!! Really really delicious, and a definite keeper -- It will be one I come back to again and again!!!!!!!!!! Of course, you could totally switch out the oven-backed sweet potatoes for another favorite veg. Give it a try -- it is yum-m-m-m-m-m-OOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!

Under 200!!!!!!!!!

With a new school year starting and other things going on, I have woefully neglected my blog. Much has happened that I had wanted to share, but now I hardly remember . . suffice it to say that I am NOT going to make my goal of 190 by this weekend. However, I am not discouraged. The pounds aren't dropping as quickly, but they are still disappearing slowly. This morning was a massive milestone for me. For the first time in my teaching career I am less than 200!!!

Since school has begun and the weather (nights, anyway) have turned cooler, I have struggled to fit in time for my workouts. Shane and I created a beautiful schedule, but somehow it looks so very different on paper than in real life :~) This week, however, some of the girls at work have begun a Wellness program. I am so excited. I have lots of afternoon activities, so I won't always be able to participate, but at least on Mondays, it will jumpstart my week! We began this Monday. The plan was to do Hip Hop Abs, but the DVD player wouldn't really cooperate, so we walked and danced instead. Dancing is one of my favorite work-outs, so it was great for me. Yesterday was day 2, and we walked, then did Hip Hop Abs!! That was really fun -- sweaty, tiring fun. . . (Then Shane and I came home and rode bikes about a mile.) We skip Wednesdays -- Wellness days are Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, so I'm looking forward to another good workout tomorrow! The workouts this week helped me get under my latest plateau, as my scales read 199 this morning!!!!!!!! I cannot tell you how happy that makes me. . . .

So far, it's been quite a journey, and the positive comments from colleagues and friends have been very motivating!!!!!!!! I still have a way long ways to go, but 37 lbs is nothing to sneeze at either!

As summer has wound down, I don't want to miss a chance to share my favorite summer soup "recipe". Usually, it's a family affair. Mama, Daddy, my brother, Shane and me and my sister and her hubby (when they're around) all join together to shell beans/peas, cut onions, okra, shuck corn and cut it off the cob, etc. It is one of my favorite meals ever -- and thankfully something I can still eat in my new life!

Garden Vegetable Beef Soup

Plethora of veggies straight from the garden (okra, potatoes, butterbeans, string beans, sweet peas, corn, tomatoes,etc.)
1-2 lbs. ground beef
salt pepper

Brown ground beef and drain. Put meat in a HUGE pot :~). Add 1-2 onions (sliced or chopped). Add several potatoes, diced (or larger chunks if you're like my hubby and prefer huge pieces of potato). Add 2-3 carrots, sliced or cubed. (If you don't have these in your garden, do what I do and buy them at the grocery store! :~)Celery is good, too -- slice a couple of stalks into the pot. Chunk up 5-6 large garden tomatoes(or more if you like your soup chock full of tomatoes)Cut the corn off 3 or 4 ears of corn and add them to the pot. Snap a 1/2 pound or so of green beans and add them. Shell 1/2 pound-ish of sweet peas and drop them in. Shell 1/2 pound of butterbeans and put them in the pot. Slice up 6-8 pods of okra and add them to the mix. If you have other veggies you want to try, feel free. Add salt and pepper to taste and let it simmer as long as you have time for.

You cannot go wrong with this recipe! Add what you like -- leave out what you don't! Serve with cornbread, healthy crackers, or my family's favorite -- peanut butter and syrup sandwiches (NOT on the new eating plan[normally creamy pnb mixed in equal parts with your favorite pancake/waffle syrup, blended and slathered on soft white bread. . .], but could be modified as follows. . . Organic peanut butter blended with enough pure maple syrup to be slightly sweet and good spreading consistency. Slather onto Ezekiel bread or English muffins. Enjoy!

BTW, if you're not a gardener or if gardens are out of season, you can still make a reasonable facsimile of this soup (though it's not quite as good). Brown ground beef. Add carrots, onions, celery from produce section. Open 2-4 cans or jars of diced and/or crushed tomatoes and add them. Add chunks of 5-6 white potatoes from the produce section and 1-2 bags of frozen "vegetable soup mix" veggies. Add salt and pepper to taste! It is still really yummy this way. Feel free to experiment with other spices, such as thyme, oregano, garlic, etc. My mom is a purist regarding spices -- salt and pepper are her spices of choice, and I think it's really delicious that way.

It's a really delicious, hearty and healthy meal -- and perfect for a night like tonight -- cool and rainy -- wish I had some right now!!!!!!!!!!!!

A Missed Goal is Still Progress

~ Take care of your body with steadfast fidelity. The soul must see through these eyes alone, and if they are dim, the whole world is clouded. ~ Goethe


I started this journey in April -- officially and completely in June. That's 4 months altogether, and in that 4 months I have lost 30 lbs!!!!!!!!!!! I am so excited about that!!! I've dropped over 3 inches in my waist and over 5 inches in my hips!!! That is pretty significant. It is tremendous progress! And yet, I did NOT meet my goal. My goal was 200 lbs by Aug. 15, and I missed it by 6 lbs. I knew it was a lofty goal, but I wanted to aim high. The problem with aiming high is that you've got to be willing to accept if you miss it. And while I am slightly disappointed not to have met that goal, I have come so far! So I cannot begrudge myself the positivity that should come with this milestone. Neither can I get complacent, because there is so much left to do -- so far still to go. I am trying to decide about my next goal. My class reunion is coming the first weekend in October -- about 6 weeks from now, so that would make a great goal. I've been averaging just over 2 lbs a week since I started in earnest. That would be 194. I wonder if I could make it to 190. . . . It's a high (or rather a low :~) goal, but I think I'm going to try for it! 190 by class reunion . . .16 lbs to go!

Losing weight is awesome! But I need to remember that I'm doing this for lots of reasons -- #1 is simply to be a better me -- healthier, stronger, and, hopefully prettier, too. #2 is to balance my hormones to maximize whatever chance I might still have at this late date to conceive. #3 is to lose weight -- for a million different reasons (and I won't list all those :~) But there are some very good ones, including the new BMI restrictions for insurance.

I love Goethe's quote at the top of the page. . .this is the only body I'm going to have -- the only legs, the only ears, the only eyes. . . I need to take care of them so I can enjoy this journey in its fullness -- until the ride ends! Here's to 30 lbs closer to the final goal!

Today I'm going to share a recipe I made up on the spur of the moment last night. I had some ingredients I needed to use -- namely fresh spinach and cottage cheese. I thought about doing a lasagna, but I didn't have any lasagna noodles -- nor any mozzarella cheese. So I modified. Here is what I came up with. It was pretty good.

Green Cottage Pasta

1 lb. brown rice shell pasta
1 T olive oil
2-3 handfuls of fresh baby spinach, chopped
1 cup cottage cheese
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 onion, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to package directions. In the meantime, heat oil in a skillet. Toss in chopped onion and garlic. Then add the baby spinach, sauteeing until wilted. Add in half the parmesan cheese. Add the cup of cottage cheese, salt and pepper. When the pasta is done, drain it well and add it to the spinach mixture. Add the rest of the parmesan cheese, stir well and serve. If you wish, garnish with a couple of fresh spinach leaves or a shaving of parmigiana reggiana. Serve alone or if you need a heartier meal, add a small green salad or steamed veggie and/or a piece of Ezekiel garlic toast.

Further Than I've Been Before

Shane and I are in GA currently -- visiting his family. We've had a lovely visit and found ourselves without plans today, so we enjoyed a day to ourselves (after some intrusions by work and other responsibilities. . .). We began by heading up to Amicalola Falls State Park. It has always been one of our very favorite places to go. When we lived here, it provided a solace that nothing else could. We enjoyed picnicking, hiking, nature walks, and just hanging out there more times than I can count. Since my fitness level is not everything it could be (read here -- "understatement") hiking to the top has never been within my range. There is a trail (along with about 400 steps to the top, but I will save that for another day. Today, however, I walked up to the first level (where I often stop). It took me a couple of breaks as my body is not used to this mountain walking, and it was a pretty good incline. I went a little further, to the first observation deck, and took a long rest there. Shane encouraged me to go further, but I was intimidated by the sign that said, "Strenuous: 175 Steps". With Shane's encouragement to at least try to go further than ever before, I decided to try -- and made it up all 175 steps -- and back down all the way! This is further than I'd ever made it before, so I was very proud and happy. Then I came back to Shane's mom's and did my pool workout, too! Go me! By the way, I've currently lost a total of 29 lbs!

For today, I'm going to share our southwestern hash browns from this morning. It made enough for two.

Southwestern Hash Browns

2 potatoes
1/2 cayenne pepper (ribs and seeds removed)
1 jalapeno (or hot banana pepper)
1/2 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 T olive oil

Heat 1 T olive oil in pan. Add chopped garlic, diced onion and shredded potatoes. When potatoes are soft, add peppers, diced and salt and pepper to taste. Cook until edges are crispy or to desired doneness. Serve with scrambled eggs and 1 slice of Ezekiel toast with all-fruit spread. Hot and spicy and delicious! (If you don't like hot foods, leave off the cayenne and be sure to take seeds and ribs out of jalapeno.)

Misery Shared Is Joy Doubled

You already know how I feel about exercise. (If you don't, see my earlier post :~) This week we are spending family time in GA with Shane's parents. I am very blessed to have a cool mother-in-law. Not that we haven't had our ups and downs -- we are both imperfect people and have made mistakes in the relationship, but we have worked through all that and our relationship is probably stronger now than it's ever been. Regardless of how she feels about you, she is one of the world's greatest encouragers. And she is a joiner -- totally fearless. I watch her jumping on the trampoline and swimming in the pool with her grandsons and I think back to my own grandmother, and I just have to laugh. The thought of MY grandmother on a trampoline or in a pool is just totally laughable. . . .At any rate, Sheryl has been so supportive of this effort that Shane and I are in the middle of. So while we've been here, we've been working out together -- mostly in the pool, but the other night we had missed our window and it was really too dark to get in the pool, so she suggested pilates (she has a DVD). Always feeling a little self-conscious, my first question was "How hard is it? Can I do it?" She said she thought so. So we grabbed some mats and began. OK -- it wasn't easy. And some of it I couldn't do. But some of it she couldn't do, either. Most of it we both could do. At one point Shane came through and said he thought we were getting more exercise from our laughing than from the pilates. :~) My abs begged to differ over the next two days! Still, it was good -- and much more fun together than it would have been separately! I guess there's nothing like bonding over workout videos. . . .When we got into the pool last night we both felt the after-effects of our earlier-in-the-week pilates session. But we pressed on, sharing exercises that we have been using in our own workouts, and doing line dances in the pool. Truly, misery shared is joy doubled!



Today, I'm sharing one of our favorite breakfast staples. Growing up, we always had "eggs and rice". Now that we've cut white rice out of our diet, we've had to make some slight changes, but it is still one of our favorites. You can jazz it up all kinds of ways. It is a marvelous way to use up a little extra brown rice if you made too much. (We often make a little extra so we can have this during the week.)

Eggs and Rice

Melt 1 T of butter in a saute pan. Crack enough eggs to match the amount of rice you have left over. Scramble eggs until almost done, then add the brown rice in to blend and heat through. If you want to make it beautiful, add some parsley or cilantro on top as you serve.

You can also jazz up the dish as you're cooking by adding whatever is in your eating plan. Stir in ham, sausage, bacon. . . peppers, onions, mushrooms. . . .chunky tomatoes. It's great for breakfast, but equally good for lunch or dinner. Add Chinese veggies and some ginger and garlic and you've got a fried rice! Quite versatile and quite delicious! Try it! You might like it!

Stretching a Buck!

I am newly in love with polenta! I had never tried it until last week. . . It is the greatest way to use 1 cup of cornmeal that I can imagine. . .it is smooth and creamy and hearty -- a veritable blank canvas! There is so much you could do with it.AND, it is such a cool way to stretch a buck -- you can take 1 cup of cornmeal and water, and make 4 - 6 huge servings! If you're in a budget crisis, this is a great, inexpensive meal stretcher! I've tried one recipe already (It will be a post for another day :~), have another one to try as well, but I'm most excited about just experimenting with it! It could easily substitute for mashed potatoes in any meal. I can't wait to add a plethora of herbs to give it a wonderful fragrant flavor of its own. You should try it, too!

Here's how:

Creamy Polenta

1 cup cornmeal
1 cup water
a dash of salt
3 cups boiling water

Mix 1 cup of cornmeal and one cup of water to create a loose paste. Gently stir the paste mixture into the 3 cups of boiling water, along with a dash of salt. Bring it to a boil. Reduce heat, cover for 10 minutes or so and serve as desired.

Experiment and have fun -- it's the tastiest blank canvas you'll eat!

Meeting Goals

"I may not be there yet, but I'm closer than I was yesterday." -- Author unknown

I can so relate to this quote! And it is so true. . . there's always some new goal, some new place -- but whatever the goal is we're closer today than yesterday. Today I am 25 lbs. lighter than I was in mid-April!!!!!! Yes, 25 lbs. I even got on the scales twice this morning because I didn't believe it -- down 2 from yesterday! Both times it said 211 -- now it may say 212 or 213 tomorrow morning, but that's okay because I know I am well on my way! It makes it all worth while when you are seeing results. My goal is 200 by the time school starts in mid-August. It is almost doable. . .no point in having a goal if it's not a lofty one. We'll see how it goes. But for today I am happy with my progress.

Today's recipe is for an awesome veggie stir-fry. And, like many of my recipes, it's not really a recipe -- more of a method, really. You can add ingredients, alter ingredients, add meat, etc.

Veggie Stir-Fry


In a large skillet or wok, heat 1 -2 T olive oil. When it is heated, drop in 2-3 cloves of pressed or finely chopped garlic. Let it saute just for a minute or so -- if it browns, it tastes a bit bitter. Add a plethora of chopped veggies (see suggestions below). Add a liberal sprinkling of ground ginger (or about 1 inch grated fresh ginger), and a tablespoon or 2 of sesame seeds. When veggies are crisp-tender, add a tablespoon or two of soy sauce. If you like a little heat, you can also add a nice sprinkling of crushed red pepper flakes. Fresh, delightful veggies with a little spice! Great alongside grilled steak, pork or chicken or by itself for a meat-free meal.

Great stir-fry veggies:
shredded cabbage
yellow squash
zucchini
cauliflower
broccoli
carrots
celery
onion
mushrooms
green or red bell pepper
snow peas
water chestnuts

Meats to add in:
sliced beef
shrimp
boneless chicken

Enjoy!