Down a Size!!!

I never did get around to talking about my great accomplishment during Black Friday shopping! Last week, I went Black Friday shopping with my Mom and I ended up shopping for clothes. I needed new clothes as all mine are 12s and too loose and annoying the heck out of me. Well, they had good deals on suits so I tried on a suit jacket (size 10) and a skirt (size 10). The skirt was TOO LOOSE! I had to have my Mom go back and find me a size 8 and guess what -- it fit! Granted everything else I bought that day was a size 10 including my jeans (and those are a little tight!). Just goes to show you how clothes run differently and also depends on the material. Jeans aren't as forgiving as say rayon. But I am definitely down a size to 10s and even a few 8s!!! Wahoo!!!!

Lunch 12-04-09

Upcoming Review For CSN Stores

I was contacted by the nice people at CSN Stores to do a review of cookware sets that they offer for sale at cookware.com. Wow, how cool is that?! So stay tuned for a future review. I will of course make it weight loss related since my blog IS weight loss related. =D In the meantime, while you wait for my review, check out their website. They have lots of items from pots and pans to crockpots and in every price range imaginable!

Tex-Mex Meatloaf & Potato Packets

Serves 4

4 sheets 12x18 inch foil
1 medium onion -- thinly sliced
1/2 cup salsa -- divided
1/4 cup finely crushed tortila chips
1 tablespoon chili powder -- divided
1 teaspoon garlic salt -- divided
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin -- divided
1 pound ground beef, 92% lean
1 1/3 lb potatoes -- cubed
4 1/2 ounces diced green chilis, canned
1 cup 2% colby jack cheese, shredded -- optional

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F or grill to medium-high. Spray foil with nonstick cooking spray or use nonstick foil.
2. Center 1/4 of onion on each sheet of foil.
3. Combine 1/4 cup salsa, tortilla chip crumbs, 2 teaspoons chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt, 1/4 teaspoon cumin; add to ground beef.
4. Shape mixture into 4 meatloafs, flatten slightly. Place one loaf on top of onion.
5. Spoon remaining salsa over meat loaves.
6. Combine potatoes with chiles and remaining spices. Place besides meat loaves.
7. Bring up foil sides. Double fold top and ends to seal packet, leaving room for heat circulation inside.
8. Bake 30-35 minutes on a cookie sheet or grill 18-22 minutes in covered grill.
9. Sprinkle with cheese before serving, if desired.

Nutrional Info per Sparkpeople (without the cheese):

Calories: 352.6
Total Fat: 9.5 g
Cholesterol: 65.0 mg
Sodium: 915.8 mg
Total Carbs: 34.8 g
Dietary Fiber: 4.9 g
Protein: 28.1 g

This was my dinner last night. And it was oh so yummy!!! A little bit of work in the beginning but worth it. I actually prepped everything the night before and had the foil packs sitting in the refrigerator for dh to put in the oven when he came home. They ended up being ready right after I got home. =)

For more recipes check out Gayle @ The Grocery Cart Challenge.

A Challenge to Get Me Moving!!!

So Annie over at The Amazing Shrinking Girl is going to restart her P90X & Chalean Extreme videos December 13th and complete the 90 days. She asked if anyone wanted to join her and I said YES! I don't have those videos but I do have Turbo Jam which I just HAD to purchase and have used maybe for a combined 2 weeks. Ugh. So I am joining Annie and going to start waking up at 4am (ah!) which is 30 mins earlier than usual and getting my workout in starting December 14th. Plus, if I do this for 90 days like Annie pointed out, I'll miss the heavy New Years Resolution crowds at the gym. =D Win win!! So I'm going to call this my 90 day Turbo Jam challenge! Yeah!! Anyone else want to join???

Book Review: The Laceyville Monkeys: Say the Right Words

I read The Laceyville Monkeys by Harriett Ruderman to my 4 year old son and he really liked this book. I did too. It has a catchy rhyme that flows. Some books have rhymes that just don't flow but this book is NOT one of them. The words flowed throughout the entire book. Not only did the rhyming flow but the message in the book was a good one too. Make sure you are nice and use nice words. When you are nice, then people will do things for you and treat you nice. The illustrations throughout the book were eye catching too. Very beautifully done and a great read to any aged child!

Vineyard Days by Gene Pisasale

I started to read Vineyard Days by Gene Pisasale but I just couldn't get into it. The premise of the story is what intrigued me. A couple goes on vacation and stumbles upon a mystery. And while it was interesting, I just found myself not liking the style of writing Gene did. There was lots of .... at the end of sentences and I found that distracting and hard to read. Although I did not particularly like this book, I think if you have been to Martha's Vineyard, you would really enjoy it. His descriptions were phenomenal and really brought you there. The mystery portion of the book was also good. I just couldn't get past the writing style.

Meals 12-02-09

Breakfast:

Arnold Thins' with 2 Tbsp Reduced Fat PB & a Chocolate Covered Strawberry (someone bought a basket a fruit and left it out for everyone to enjoy!)





Lunch:
Leftover Chicken Chili Quesdadilla insides over lettuce with fat free ranch & BBQ sauce and pretzels. And yes that's a soda. I needed to break a $20 so I went to the snack bar a bought a soda.

Meals 12-01-09

I'm trying to get better at taking pictures of what I eat. It's not hard since I have my phone, it's just I can only e-mail one picture at a time so I might have three different posts one day (or 6 if I start doing snacks too LOL!) But this way I can remember what I ate too if I didn't journal! LOL!

Lunch -
Crockpot Chicken Taco Stew (leftover from the week before) & 2 servings of tortillas chips. I did not have any soda today either. =)

Dinner

Chicken Chili Quesadillas - These were YUM. I used the La Tortilla Factory tortillas for mine. I probably would have been satisfied with ONE it was that filling with the chicken inside! And so easy to make.

Too bad I never took a picture of my breakfast. It was just oatmeal though so nothing spectacular. LOL!

The Aftermath!

And drumroll please . . . . WI after Turkey Day is



154.6



Well I will not complain. A maintain after T-day is a feat in itself!! (I never did come in here and say I lost 1.2 lbs LAST week. Was busy with Disneyland and going on the roadtrip to my parents!) I have come to the realization that I cannot lose weight in the month of November. With four birthday's AND Thanksgiving it's just not gonna happen. So in the end, I lost 0.6 lbs this month. That's not bad. I didn't gain weight! That's what's important right? So I am back on track today. I did NOT meet my goal of 150 today but that doesn't mean I can't still shoot for 145 by the end of December. If I start exercising and watching my portions and journaling EVERYTHING again, I can and WILL rock it again. There really isn't much going on in the month of December. I am working every day except the 24, 25 and 31, 1 so I should be able to stick to a halfway decent schedule so I can get back on track. That is my goal this month!! And wow, I cannot believe there is only 3 weeks left in the GAG challenge! Yikes! I better move my butt so I can win this thing. I am poised and ready but I know at any time there are several ladies ready and WILLING to take my top spot from me. Not gonna happen without a fight I tell ya!! Not gonna happen. =D

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope everyone is having a wonderful day and spending it with the
ones you love. Think of everything you are thankful for today. I am
thankful for all of you joining me in this weightloss journey. I hope
you all enjoy yourselves in moderation and are able to just enjoy this
day!!! Talk you all next week!!!