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Tuesday, July 29, 2008

No gripes, either.

While Tal logged a loss this week, I wasn't quite so lucky. 1.2 pounds found me again. But I know it's my own durn fault. Too much "it's my birthday and therefore I'm entitled". OK, so I did enjoy my birthday - the free 1/2 rack of ribs and sides (potato salad and baked beans) from Sticky Fingers for lunch - of course since they were so generous with the free ribs and such (a $13.99 value) I felt almost obligated to purchase something - like, dessert. And the apple almond crumble with vanilla ice cream was delectable. HEY....it was fruit (apple) and whole grains (oats), so it couldn't have been TOO bad, right???

Then Friday night we went to Bennigan's. I was pretty good there. I had their Guinness-glazed grilled chicken and shrimp with mashed potatoes and green beans with unsweet tea. I had not eaten a lot that day for breakfast or lunch, either. But the bad part was when I got home and started decorating that cake. It was too easy to grab a bit of the chocolate cake bits that I'd cut off and dip them in a bit of the chocolate ganache frosting - especially when it was approaching 3-4 o'clock and I need a bit of a sugar rush to continue on. But I justified that with - "Hey, I walked a WHOLE HOUR Friday!!"

And Saturday - Logan's yeast rolls, steak, baked potato, and grilled veggie skewer. Still not so bad, I didn't think, so I got one of the little dessert things - nutter butter delight served in a teeny little pail that looks like the pails the peanuts come in. It wasn't that big, so it couldn't have been too bad, right? Oh, and the peanuts - I didn't have but maybe 4-5.

Couldn't have been the pint of Jack Daniels and Diet Coke I put away this weekend, could it? I mean, I drank it with Diet Coke for goodness sake! (Have I mentioned that I love Jack Daniels and Diet Coke?)

Then we had Chinese food Saturday night - steamed shrimp and veggies, little (1/2 cup?) container of white rice. And.....crab rangoon. With sweet and sour sauce.

OK....birthday is over. I let myself go a little nuts this weekend, but it's time to get it together again. I really do need to start planning ahead more. That's been my trouble. Just not planning ahead, planning things out, and I've been especially bad about tracking my points. I really do need to get it together.

So, we now know why I gained 1.2 instead of losing this week. And we know what to do this week to remove that 1.2 for next week. And I'm SO close to my 10% goal. I didn't reach my "39 by 39". My second goal was "Laboring for 50" - 50 pounds removed by Labor Day. That's in 5 weeks. 18.8 pounds in 5 weeks - 3 3/4 pounds per week. Not an impossible goal, but maybe a little unreachable at the rate I've been going. I may have to re-configure all my future goals!

But, you know, even though I did gain this week I'm really not letting it get me down. I mean, right now I weigh 31.2 pounds less than I did 3 months ago. I've lost an average of 7.8 pounds per month in the 4 months I've been on WW. That shows me that I HAVE done it, and I CAN continue to do it. As Annette put it so well, "Don't let a lapse become a collapse." And I won't. It's a minor setback, but setbacks only serve to steel my resolve. I WILL succeed at this. I'm too stubborn not to. No more excuses.

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Watch out doughnuts.........

......there's a new pastry in town!

I think that the police department in Richmond Hill, GA and surrounding areas may give up their Krispy Kremes when they get a load of my latest creation:

















This was a groom's cake for a RHPD officer getting married today. I work at the college with his mother, and just so happened to walk into her office at school when she and another co-worker were discussing trying to find someone who could do a replica of his police cruiser. Here is a picture of what his car looks like:

I think I got it pretty close, eh? :-) There are some details on the actual car that I left off the cake, simply because by 4 a.m. Saturday morning I was just wanting to get this cake DONE and go to bed. I started on the decorating about 7-8-ish Friday evening. By 8:45 a.m. Saturday, I finally had the cake boxed and fell into bed, covered in chocolate icing, shortening, and icing coloring. Two hours later, I had to wake up to get ready to go deliver the cake to the church reception hall.

But I tell you....the lack of sleep, that's just part of my suffering for my art. It's amazing how quickly the fatigue melts away when you deliver that cake and how thrilled your customers are with it. I only wish I could have been there for the moment when the bride and groom saw the cake! Although, I was there when my co-worker called the bride in the cell phone and said, "The groom's cake is here and it looks GREAT!!" and could hear the bride squeal over the phone. I was promised lots of pictures of the big moment. Can't wait to see them!

After Tal and I delivered the cake, we went out to Logan's for a belated birthday dinner and then did a little shopping before I finally needed to go home and get some sleep (with a short stop at the little package shop at the county line). I promise you all that, when I finally get sober.....I mean, awake.........(have I ever mentioned that I LOVE Jack Daniels and Diet Coke?)......I'll catch up on my posting comments to you other folks "Memory MeMe's" since many of you posted such lovely memories to mine! (Just in case you were wondering why I had not done so yet. It's not that I don't love you, I just been otherwise preoccupied, ya know!) :-)

Man, I do love Jack Daniels and Diet Coke.

Hasta luego!

Seraphim "I Heart Cake......and Jack Daniels and Diet Coke........yeah, Talmadge, too." Gleck

Friday, July 25, 2008

A memory MeMe stolen from Susan, who stole from Manda.....

This is something a little different. Almost reminds me of the SLAM books we used to have in junior high.....only I hope you leave nice memories about me. :-)

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn’t matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It’s actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I’ll assume you’re playing the game and I’ll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don’t want to play on your blog, or if you don’t have a blog, I’ll leave my memory of you in my comments.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

The irony was not lost on me.

In this day and age of $4/gallon gasoline, I am making an effort to slow down. I've developed a new motto - "Lower MPH = Higher MPG! Yeah, Baby!" I feel a little sanctimonious as I'm putting down the Interstate at the posted speed limit - 65 - as others whiz past me. "Nanny, nanny, boo, boo. I'm the one saving gas and $$$, not YOU!!" I even heard a report on the news yesterday that fatal traffic accident rates have been down, too, possibly due to the fact that people are either not out driving as much or slowing down. If there's at least ONE benefit to the higher gas prices, it's THAT!!!

So, anyway, this morning I was heading to work on the Interstate at my now-usual 65 MPH clip when I happen upon a Corona truck going just slightly slower than I was. I thought, "Good for you, just cruising on at a casual (and gas/life-saving pace)." There was a "How Am I Driving?" telephone number on the back of the truck and I thought for a moment of calling the number to commend the driver. That was the same moment I realized I had left my cell phone sitting on the counter at home - @*&$%#!!!!!

Since the Corona truck was going slower than the 65 MPH I had set my cruise control at and didn't want to mess with, I changed lanes to go around. I just so happened to glance in the rearview mirror after I changed lanes and noticed a brightly decorated van approaching at a breakneck speed in the left lane (I was in the middle lane). As it passed, I saw the letters and graphics on the side of the van......RED BULL. Apparently the driver had been sampling his product and got his wings.

So, for a very brief moment there I was, nestled between the RED BULL and the Corona vehicles with my styrofoam cup of coffee. I couldn't help but chuckle.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Fishing with Father

My mom, dad, and grandmother came for a visit this past weekend. Mom, Sis, and the nephews were here the weekend before over the holiday, but Daddy couldn't come because he had to work.

It's been at least 2 years since Daddy and I had been out fishing and crabbing, so I had planned for the two of us to do so on Saturday. And so we did. It was a lovely morning, overcast and not too hot. We left the house around 7, I think, stopped by the Gate station for some coffee for us and ice for the coolers. We caught Tal coming in for a Diet Mountain Dew before departing for the wilds of Tuckfroy and I got to say a proper goodbye to him! (He was just stirring as Daddy and I were getting ready and leaving.)

I had decided to try a new fishing spot this time. My old favorite had been the Moon River pier on the way out to Skidaway Island. It's a nice, peaceful place - if you can tune out the cars whizzing by behind you on the bridge crossing the river (the piers run alongside the bridge as you can see in the picture below). I didn't have much luck the last time I was out there with my friend/co-worker Rosie, as you can see:

Yeah, that's a striped bass I believe. Too small to keep, but it got stuck in my crab net and died so I decided to keep it and use it for bait to hopefully catch a bigger fish. No such luck.

Anyway, since I had such rotten luck there I thought maybe we'd try a different location. I decided on the Lazaretto Creek fishing pier because it was right across from where they launch shrimp boats and dolphin tours, so I figured if the fish and crab weren't biting at least we'd have some entertainment. Little did I know WE would be providing some entertainment as well!

Here's the pier:
It's a bit of a hike from the parking area to the end of the pier, but the view is awesome. There are several big advantages this place has over the Moon River:

1) As you can see, the bridge is far enough away that the traffic passing over isn't as loud.

2) It has porta-potties!!! (they did install a porta-potty at the Moon River once upon a time. One fishing trip it was there and new and beautiful. Yes, I did use it. The next trip, I found nothing but a big puddle of melted green plastic where it once stood. Some butthead came along and burned it down. And stole the Moon River sign.) The Lazaretto potties are back near the parking area, so you DO have to hike a bit and hope you make it after 4 hours and a liter strawberry-flavored fizzy water. I almost didn't. And then when you get inside, it's like a big stinky sauna. By the time I got the pants to the ankles I was sweating so bad that I nearly slid off the potty seat (didn't help that the porta-potty was leaning forward slightly). TMI, I know, but I was sitting there giggling the whole time trying to do my business without sliding out the front door!

3) Dolphins are shrimp boat groupies. Pelicans, seagulls, and sea turtles are, too. I only saw one dolphin when we were out on the Moon River. And a few seagulls. At Lazaretto, we saw pods of dolphins following the boats passing by. A lady on a passing party barge was standing on the edge of the boat feeding them some bait fish, they were jumping up out of the water to get them. It was like being at Sea World! And the pelicans and seagulls....let's just say we could have filmed a sequel to "The Birds".

4) It's closer to the ocean, and I was hoping the bigger crabs would be, too.

So Daddy and I get there about 8:15-ish, after making a stop at a convenience store to go potty (not knowing whether or not there would be facilities, ya know). We drag all our equipment down to the end of the pier and get all set up, and get the nets and lines in the water, and wait for the first bite. Daddy spent the majority of the time trying to untangle fishing reels and replacing my hook/sinker setups a couple of times when they got hung up and lost to the briny deep.

It was fun even though we didn't catch much. I got 2 blue crabs and a stone crab, caught a small sting ray and a couple of those ugly dang dogfish. Daddy got a couple of croakers, an eel, and more of those ugly dogfish.

When I caught the sting ray, the guys around me were telling me to hold the line away from me so the tail wouldn't get me. I got it up on the pier, and one of guys grabbed a knife and cut its tail off then looks at me and says, "You want to keep it." I take a look at the now-tailless ray bleeding all over the pier at my feet and said, "I don't think so." So he kicks it and it's tail off the pier. I felt sorry for the little fella, swimming around out there with no tail - if it didn't bleed to death.

When he caught that eel, I was squealing like a tweeny girl at a Jonas Brothers concert! "Kill it, kill it! Hit it in the head with something.......but don't lose it, I want to use it as crab bait!" And he's going, "Hit it with what? I don't have anything to hit it with!" So he starts flinging it around like a whip, beating it on the deck while I'm running around squealing again and ducking. Finally, one of the guys out there fishing (after he picked himself up off the dock after falling out laughing at us...) came over with a towel and held the eel while Daddy took the hook out of its mouth. Then the guy took off with my eel saying something about it tasting like chicken. I was miffed because he took my crab bait, but Daddy said just let him have it if he wants to eat it. (GROSS!)

We finally had to pack it in, as it was getting late and Mama and Grandmother were waiting for us to get back so we could go out for supper. Good times, but now I'm peeling like a snake and have a monster fever blister from all that fun in the sun. Note to self: never buy that Target brand Sport Sunscreen again!

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Frozen in time?

I know you've probably been wondering why the numbers on my Pound-O-Meter have not budged. I just decided that I would not change it until I'm actually BACK to that number again. Yeah, I went nutso again and gained 3.8 pounds after losing a total of 12.8 pounds the 2 previous 2 weigh-ins. Although, after the July 4th weekend, I was sure that I had gained but I actually managed to lose .2 pounds when I was SURE I had gained. And then last night's weigh showed I had lost 2.2. One more pound to go until I'm "Back In Black" - or am actually truthful on my Pound-O-Meter. :-)

I've been enjoying the fruits (and vegetables) of my labor lately. I've got green peppers and tomatoes out the wazoo, and just this weekend picked the large eggplants that were ready and waiting. Sunday, I made eggplant parmigiana using the recipe on the WW website - to the sauce I added peppers, tomatoes, and ground turkey breast for a bit of substance and protein. OMG, it was YUMMY!! And I still have a lot of it left over in the freezer for lunches! Oh, and I've got a good couple of meals' worth of okra put up in the fridge.

For my cakes classes, when I start out a new Course 1 series, I usually bring in cake layers and show the students how to prepare the cake, level the layers, ice the cake, and a few decorating techniques. For last Tuesday night's class, I used an easy recipe that our WW leader had told us about - just one box of cake mix and a 12 oz. can of any flavor diet soda. I used yellow cake and one can of Fresca, and then I added 2 snack-packs of applesauce and some nutmeg and cinnamon. It smelled SOOOOO good. It made me think of the cinnamon pecans they sell as you walk into the Christmas Made In The South that we have here annually in early November.

I had to use the class buttercream recipe for the cake I used in class, and I did take a couple of small slices with me afterwards because it just smelled so good! But I left the rest of the cake for the store's staff to eat.

I'm going to make another cake like that for my birthday next week, but instead of using class buttercream icing I am going to mix together some fat-free cream cheese and Cool-Whip Free to make a cream cheese-like frosting for this cake. Yum! Will have to work on the Points Value to see what that turns out to be. Heck, I'm sure it would be a LOT better to have a big slice of that cake rather than just a sliver of a regular birthday cake, right?

I'm also going to try that brownie recipe I sent some of you. If I didn't send it to you - all you do is get a package of brownie mix and a can of black beans, drain and rinse the black beans and put them back into the can then refill the can with water until the beans are covered. You then pour the beans and water into a blender and puree them. Mix the bean puree and brownie mix together (do not add oil or eggs) , pour in a 9x9 brownie pan and bake according to the brownie mix package directions. Makes 20 servings (that seems like pretty small brownies - hmph) at 2 points apiece. Beans and chocolate seems like an odd (and gross) combination, but the people commenting on this particular message board raved about them! I guess I'll have to judge for myself! :-)

OK.....back to the grind. I'm still rooting for 39 by 39! I think I'll be pretty close, but I don't think I'll lose 9.1 pounds in the next 9 days. But, who knows? I mean, I DID lose 9.8 in one week last month and that was after yet another significant gain. :-)


Go 39 by 39!!! (Eccch....am I really going to be 39???)

Next.....we'll be "Laboring for 50". Going for 50 pounds removed by Labor Day!