Eureka!!!

Experiment complete, evidence conclusive. Results: possible overdose of estrogen?

Stepped on the scale this evening and the numbers came back in the negative (which is a positive for me!). 7.2 is what I am down - making the total loss of the last three weigh-ins -9.1 (-6, +4.1, -7.2).

And I know that this must be right because I have not been very good this past week, somewhat on purpose, and still lost a lot. I can't wait to see the doctor to discuss this with her. I've decided from this point on I will just go with one patch instead of two, changed twice a week, and see what happens until I see my doctor!

The proof is in the (sugar-free, fat-free) pudding!

If I didn't have any reassurances before that there has been a change in my appearance since I've been doing Weight Watchers, I've got it now.

We went over to have new school ID's made today. I just got mine renewed in March (about the same time I started WW) after about 5 years because I knew my old one was outdated and I was going to need to borrow some AV equipment from the library to use at my Grandmother's 90th birthday party.

So, here's the comparison - then and now:



I can tell that my face is a bit thinner, I actually have a neck, and instead of a double chin I've got a chin and a half! Hair looks better, too. I was obviously having a bad hair day back in March....... or hat hair.

Well, it's Wednesday - weigh-in day. I haven't plastered a patch on my body since Friday morning. And, according to the scale at home, I've dropped back to about the weight I was two weeks ago. So, I am thinking I may have proved my theory and will be talking to my lady stuff doc in Nov. about this. I'll report the actual results either this evening or tomorrow morning!

I also went for my Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT) on Monday. I'm waiting on pins and needles to find out if I've crossed over the diabetes border or not. I vote NOT. I hope I hear something before the weekend.

See....I told ya!

Yep, as I predicted in my previous post, Wednesday night's weigh-in had me up 4.6 after my magnificent loss of 6 pounds last week. OK, so combined that's a 1.4 pound loss in 2 weeks so I really can't complain much.

So today starts the Big Experiment. I removed my "Patches" this morning and did not replace them. I am going to go all weekend without them, and we'll see if my theory holds water......or if *I* hold water. LOL.

I did go to my regular doctor yesterday, I felt I needed to because my blood levels for cholesterol, sugar, etc. has not been monitored as closely with this new doctor I had started seeing at the beginning of this year as my previous doctor (who would see me every three months) had been. I've also been having some foot issues lately that have had me concerned.

I have a bony growth on the back of my right heel that has been affecting my walking due to it being quite painful. My previous doctor said that I had plantar fasciitis and gave me some exercises to do to stretch my Achilles tendon. She didn't even LOOK at the "knot" at the back of my heel as I had mentioned to her. I asked my new doctor about it, she took a look at it, and right away said, "Do you know what that is? That is a condition called "Haglund's deformity." Which, in essence, is a bony protruberance at the back of the heel bone. There are some treatment options from simple exercises to surgical removal of the bony growth.

However, there is another concern that has taken precedent over my heel problem. The other foot issue has affected both my feet and could be a symptom of something more serious. I have been having some numbness in my toes, mainly when I am walking or have my feet on the ground when I am sitting. I mentioned this to my doctor yesterday, and she decided to have me tested for diabetes, as the toe numbness could be diabetic neuropathy - or nerve damage. I have been borderline (termed insulin-resistant or glucose-intolerant) for a long time. This is what had caused me to have PCOS which eventually led to the hysterectomy last summer.

SO, on Monday I go to the lab to have a 3-hour Glucose Tolerance Test done. I had this test done several years ago after Tal and I got married, which diagnosed my insulin resistance and PCOS. If you're not familiar with it, first they draw a blood sample, then you have to drink a glucose solution (think overly-sweetened uncarbonated Coke), then they draw blood samples at intervals for three hours. My doctor wanted to test to make sure that I had not "crossed over", or developed full-blown diabetes. Let's pray that has not happened.

If it is not diabetes or diabetic neuropathy, then it could possibly be nerve damage just from hauling my nearly 400-pound butt around. That's a lot of weight on these poor feet of mine! In any case, this has really bothered me. I've been trying to get more walking in, and it really has helped me to lose weight. But it's hard to walk when you can't feel your toes, so I end up stumbling a lot.

I love this new doctor - she's a little bit wacko, but she's MY kind of wacko. I mean, how many doctors give you a hug and kiss (on the cheek) when she's done with your exam. (Please.....don't answer that.....and get your mind out of the gutter.) She's sweet, and smart, and she also has a bit of meat on her bones so she certainly wouldn't be one to get preachy about one's weight. And, good grief, would you believe she's a big fan of Mr. Talmadge Q. Gleck??? I swear, at my very first visit with her, when she found out he was my husband she was so excited that she high-fived me. And then when I told her that he was planning to see her too, I thought she would just turn inside out!

Needless to say, Tal and I truly love having her as our healthcare provider. :-)

So, anyway, that's what been up with me this week. :-)

W....T......F.....?!?!?!?!

OK, I have the most puzzling thing going on. I think I MAY have figured it out, but then again it will take more experimenting and consulting with my doctor to prove my theory.

I have the most yo-yo'ing weight loss ever, it seems. I'm down one week, up the next, BAM! big weight loss then it's like, "Oh, wait, we accidentally took away too much weight and we're going to give you some back."

Saturday morning, my pre-shower Nekkidweight® was 352.6. Monday morning, it had crawled up to 358-ish and then this morning it was 357.2. I just can't figure it out - it's not like I went totally wild this weekend, I didn't eat any worse than I did the weekend before and I lost 6 pounds after last weekend.

Then I got to thinking, the last time I had a big drop (over 5 pounds) like that was after the weekend with my cousins in August. And then the next week I had a gain. What did the two weekends and subsequent weigh-ins have in common?

Well, see, after I had my reproductive plumbing removed last year, my doctor put me on Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT). I use the Vivelle Dot patch - 2 transdermal patches changed twice a week, worn on either the lower abdomen or lower back hip region and alternating sides with each change. My patches - I have this song that runs through my head as I pull the old ones off and replace them with new ones "Patches" by Clarence Carter......"Patches, I'm depending on you..." LOL.

But I digress. What the two weekends have in common is that I did not have my patches on. I probably removed them and forgot to replace them, and therefore went the entire weekend without. I'm just wondering if the lack of estrogen during that time is what caused the significant drop in weight? The patches supply estriadol, for whatever that's worth.

That's just a theory, which I am going to pose to my doctor when I see her again. Unfortunately I can't get an appointment until November. So, until then, I will experiment. I am going to try to go weekend or two without and see what happens. It may be that I am getting too much estrogen - I mean, two patches? And they are both of the highest dose available for Vivelle.

I welcome any insights into this theory if you have any.......... :-)

Seraphim "how the hell do you remove transdermal patch adhesive??" Gleck

Here comes Ike - let the party begin.

I was looking through the slideshow on Yahoo News at some of the pictures of people in Texas preparing for Ike's arrival. Most of the pictures were showing flooding in some areas where Ike is pushing the surf in, getting plywood, generators, etc. in preparation, etc. But there were a couple of pictures that really caught my attention:

This first picture is of a tow truck driving along a sea wall in Galveston - LOVE the sign. The second picture is captioned," Customers prepare for Hurricane Ike in Angleton, Texas on September 11." I love how they prepare. Look at what the middle guy is holding:

I don't know about you guys - but I'm totally with this guy, and his friend behind him holding the bags of Fritos (or Cheetos, I can't really tell). I mean, after all beer is the perfect survival essential, isn't it?. You've got your water for hydration, and the grain, hops, etc. provide nutrition. And the alcohol, well it just kind of makes you chill out so you don't freak so bad when you come home to find your car in your living room. In my perfect world, I imagine the guy at the counter is buying a bottle of Jack Daniels, a 3-liter of Diet Coke, and a box of Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pies. Oh...and some boiled peanuts for Tal. Now THAT's a hurricane party. :-)

Seriously, though, let's pray that the folks in Ike's path fare the weather safely. It's been stated that if those living in the low-lying areas do not follow the mandatory evacuation orders, they will face certain death. Let's just hope they are smart enough to heed the warning.

Deja-PUKN

So I was leaving work yesterday, and parked 2 cars down from mine was the infamous "LIL PUKN" car. All I could do was roll my eyes as I passed it.

Water you up to?

Yesterday, our WW leader mentioned that to achieve good weight loss you should take your weight number, divide it in half, and that is how many ounces of water you should drink every day.

OK....I now weigh(brace yourself, this is the first time I've actually revealed the true number) 353. Divide that in half - 176.5. How in the heck am I supposed to drink 176.5 ounces of water a day?? That's approx. 22 8-oz cups of water.........5 1/2 quarts......1 1/4 gallon.

The water bottle that I've been drinking from at work holds 36 ounces. I would have to drink 5 of those a day. I just finished the second - so that's 72 oz., plus the 16 I had this morning before I got to work - that's 88 oz. so far. I've been to the bathroom three times already before noon and looking at a 4th trip before I head out for lunch and owie (allergy shot - yay). And I feel bloated. Ugh. Good news is that I'm not hungry, so I guess that's the big benefit. :-)

I'm only 90% the woman I used to be!

Yay! Last night I finally reached my 10% weight loss goal. It took a little longer than I'd hoped to get there but I GOT THERE!!

Last week, after a 1.2 gain, I was hoping I would at least have lost that plus the 0.9 that would get me to my 10%. As I stepped on the scale, I told the receptionist, "Well, here's hoping that I at least get to my 10% goal." And she looked up at me and said, "Well, you did that plus some!" The scale showed that I'd dropped 6 pounds! That brings me to a total loss of 43.6!

I certainly didn't expect that, but it certainly was nice after a month and a half of yo-yo'ing. I was hoping to have lost 50 by Labor Day, but that didn't happen either. But that's OK....I'm still losing!

I hope that after such a big loss I don't start with the yo-yo'ing again. I'm not quite sure what I did right this past week - I did make sure to drink my water, tried to plan ahead and track ahead (I think that helped a LOT, I have noticed that on weeks that I was lax in my tracking is when I do my worst at weigh-in) and stick to what I tracked. Tal and I also did a good bit of walking last week.

I have been working really hard this week on my portion control. I also have started doing the "eat 1/2 and then see how I feel before I clean the plate" thing. That seems to be really working for me. For example, the elder Mrs. Gleck made spaghetti for supper Saturday evening. I did dish myself up a rather large plate of it, but then I only ate half. I also had a pretty big salad with Newman's Own lowfat Sesame and Ginger dressing. I did eat almost all the salad. But never fear, the remaining spaghetti did not go to waste - we had a very big and happy pup on our hands afterwards (Smokey - Tal's canine "brother").

And on Sunday, Tal and I stopped at Cracker Barrel on the way home from his parents' house this past weekend. I had the grilled chicken tenderloins with mashed potatoes and some white gravy on the side, baby carrots, corn, 2 corn muffins, and 2 biscuits with butter and apple butter. And I washed it down with some unsweet raspberry tea. I decided I would eat half of everything, and I did. Then I boxed up the rest and had it for breakfast (biscuit and apple butter w/ an orange) and lunch (the remaining half of the chicken, potatoes, corn, carrots, and corn muffin).

I did the same thing Monday night, only eating half of my meal and boxing the rest for lunch the next day. Tal is not practicing this method but then again he really doesn't have to because his method seems to be working well for him! :-)

Speaking of Tal and his weight loss - he and I did something rather unconventional last week in order to solve a problem that he had recently developed. Our wedding bands are the same type, and so I had an idea for us to exchange bands since mine was a couple sizes smaller than his and I have the engagement ring to hold the band in place. And so we did. As Tal stated, he has not removed his wedding band since the day we were married. I can't make that claim, as I have had a few surgeries that required me to remove all jewelry - and as a woman I am also known to slather hand cream on and don't want to get the rings all goopy with lotion. Tal has stated that the only time he would allow his ring to be removed, it would be removed by me and replaced by me. And so, upon exchanging our rings, we did so rather ceremoniously. I removed his ring and he removed mine and I placed my band on his hand and he placed his on mine. And so they will stay until both of us start having trouble keeping the rings on.....THEN we will take them to be re-sized. :-)

Next mini-goal: 1.4 pounds for next week. That will take me to 45 pounds removed!

I would do anything for cake.....

.....but I won't do THIS.

File this under "WTF were they thinking????".

That's just scary. What's next - exploding pinatas???

Butter Spray (because Oleomargarine has WAY too many Points!)

Whew, what a week it's been. I can finally catch up on some blogging.

So, this week classes started at the good ol' university and we've been busy as all get-out selling books to the students so they can get learned good. Compliments of our employer, we got to wear the coolest T-shirts:
It says,"got receipt? (good. keep it. you'll need it!)" I'm not complaining about wearing the T-shirt - I think they're pretty cool, plus I've never been one to refuse a free T-shirt. It's just the principle of the thing that bugs me. We have the return policy printed on the back of the receipts when a student buys a book - and you have to have a receipt if you need to return the book within 2 weeks of buying it. This way we know that the person returning the book is actually the one who bought it, and not some person in the habit making a profitable business of returning books that don't belong to him/her. It's just the fact that we have to wear T-shirts with this printed across the front to put the return policy right in their faces. Another fine example of the dumbing down of America.

During this busy time, we are usually too busy to leave for lunch so we bring in potluck. Mostly sandwich stuff and other goodies. Since chocolate is the perfect energy food, I brought brownies. I also brought in some light white bread and Potluck Pasta Salad from the Weight Watchers website. It's very good - 3 points for one cup of the salad. The recipe calls for a couple of shapes of whole-wheat pasta, but in honor of "Rush Week" and our school mascot, the Pirates, I made Pirate Pasta Salad:
















I came across some Pirates of the Caribbean shaped pasta the week before in Kroger and thought I HAD to get it and make something. Although the picture is a little fuzzy, you might be able to see what some of the shapes are. There is a skull and crossbones (top left), a pirate (top right) - I suspect could be Captain Jack Sparrow but a co-worker said it could be Captain Barbosa. It's hard to tell. Oh, and bottom left is a ship - we'll call it The Black Pearl. :-)

The pasta salad was a good choice to do, and I managed to skip all the sandwich fixings and stuff. However, once I took a bite of brownie it was all over for me. And so Rush Week for me became a feeding frenzy - I was a total P.I.G. - PIG!!! Bagels with cream cheese, brownies, cookies, coconut cake, an assortment of pizza, and the huge red velvet cake I made for the boss's birthday. OK, so I took a short vacation from Weight Watchers. And today I made myself get back on track. I didn't post that I had gained .8 at my last weigh-in (8/11) and I haven't had a WI yet (missed Monday because of working late), so I don't know what the damage has been. Guess we'll find out next Wednesday - I've got a little less than a week to get in gear!

Last Thursday, I decided I wanted something different for lunch. Most days, I usually take my lunch and eat at my desk. But on Thursdays I have to go out and get my allergy shot at lunchtime so I'll usually just grab something on the way back to work. So this day I thought I'd give the Indian restaurant up the street a try. And discovered I'm not that fond of Indian food. I got a mixed vegetable curry with basmati rice. First few bites were pretty good, but after a while I just wasn't crazy about it. Maybe because it just looked funky to me:
Plus, it was really spicy. So I ended up filling up on water trying to put out the fire. So now I know....... :-) I'm glad I went with a vegetarian dish - especially after I saw the braised goat on the buffet bar. LOL.

I spotted this cute car in the parking lot at school the other day. We'd seen it on the road before - a bright orange Cooper Mini. Now, the car itself is memorable enough, but you just can't forget the tag:
Which is kind of how I felt after eating the Indian food. A co-worker suggested that perhaps the driver was bulimic. However, we just know it was a little Southern girl trying to be all cute but failing abysmally.

Well, I think I've just about caught up. I know I'll probably think of something later, and will post it as I can. So on that note I bid you good night!

But it's my birfday!

Wow!!!

Well, folks, as you can see by the Pound-O-Meter®, I'm down quite a few. At Monday night's weigh-in, I found that during last week I had somehow managed to remove 5.6 pounds!!

I'm not quite sure how I did it. I guess maybe I was REALLY good during the week, because I didn't do that great over the weekend. Well, I mean, maybe I wasn't as bad as I thought. Friday, I drove up to just north of Atlanta (Woodstock) to my cousin Coleen's house. I left work about 10-ish, stopping at Mickey D's for 2 Egg McMuffins. I had some water with me so I didn't get anything to drink. When I reached Dublin, I HAD to stop for one of my favorites - "trucker coffee"from Pilot. My recipe: Grab a 24-oz styrefoam cup from the dispenser, open six of those little individual servings of Coffee-Mate Hazelnut flavored non-dairy liquid creamer, fill the cup 1/2 way with super-extra-caffeine-charged mocha cappuccino, fill it the rest of the way with super-extra-caffeine-charged coffee. Did I mention that I'd only had about 4 hours of sleep the night before?

I sipped my "trucker's coffee" and munched on some fat-free pretzels through Macon, stopped in McDonough for gas and a Diet Coke. Spent 20 minutes in line at Chick-Fil-A before I got my grilled chicken sandwich, and ate that on the way to my Coleen's. I got there about 4:00-ish, visited with Coleen and her husband, Michael, and played with the kids. We ate dinner - Coleen made some Bertolli shrimp scampi and linguine and some edamame. (Yummy!) And then after dinner the little girls and I decorated the baby cakes I brought for them.









































And then they munched on their creations........























And then we went and played with the Barbies and stuffed animals in their room.After that, we were all tuckered out. So the kids went to bed and us big kids watched a bit of TV. I snacked on some of the fat-free pretzels and a bag of Right Bites Sandies. I started feeling the effects of the day's driving and frolicking with the munchkins, so I went to bed. I was put in the basement for the night (yes, they have a guest room down there - they weren't trying to hide me away!). I guess Friday wasn't too-too bad, foodwise. I mean I really didn't have a lot, and the worse thing I had was my "trucker's coffee". Plus, I did make a few trips up and down the stairs at Coleen's.

Saturday morning, I got up and made my way to Duluth for my meeting. They had blueberry and banana nut muffins and coffee at the registration table. I helped myself to a blueberry and some go-juice, then just before we got started I grabbed a banana-nut muffin. For lunch, we had a fajita and taco spread. I had some of the chicken fajita, skipped all the cheese sauces, rice, and refried beans, loaded up on salsa, tomatoes, and lettuce, and had a huge dollop of guacamole. Oh, and a couple of flour tortillas. We had unsweetened tea at the tables. All in all, a pretty healthy day so far. But then here's where it all went awry - for dessert we had key lime cheesecake AND coconut cake - I couldn't decide, so I had some of both. Oh, it was SO good.

For break later on, they served chocolate chip cookies, brownies, the leftover coconut cake, and an assortment of sodas and water. I had a Diet Coke. That's it. I was eyeballing the Right Bites Mini Fudge Stripe cookies I had in my purse, but decided that I wasn't really hungry.

After our meeting was over, and we all left loaded down with all our goodies (we LOVE the annual meetings because we get full-sized samples of some of the new products they came out with during the year!) and the small cakes we decorated, I headed back to Coleen's. I had passed by a Whole Foods store on the way to the meeting, and decided that I was going to stop on the way back since we don't have one of these in Savannah. But on the way back I was just ready to get there, plus I had the cake and stuff in the car. Didn't want it to melt, because it was SO HOT!!!

Once back to Coleen's, we had some pizza and I showed off the samples we'd gotten and presented Coleen with the cake I had made. Her birthday is in a couple of weeks, so I made her a small birthday cake. (sorry, don't have a picture handy - will add it later at home) After the kids were in bed, we started watching "True Lies" but I once again petered out early.

The next morning we got up and went to church. I ate a CocoaVia crunchy almond bar and more Right Bites Mini Fudge Stripe cookies after I got dressed. I rode with my cousin, Steve (Coleen's brother) and we parked way out in the parking lot and rode a trolley in. Yeah, the church is so big that they have a trolley system in place to cart the congregation to the church's door! My aunt (Coleen and Steve's mom) calls it "The Civic Center"! After the church service, Steve and I walked with Coleen and family to their mini-van. They had parked MUCH closer. Steve and I decided to hoof it back to his truck rather than catch a trolley. I almost regretted that - even Steve, who is a trainer at a local gym and in great shape, was huffing along with me as we hiked. Boy, I am glad that I wore sneakers! (yeah, I wore sneakers to church. Hey - there was a guy there in shorts and flips flops, and I saw a lady in a Harley Davidson T-shirt in the lobby!) We got in the truck, and Steve cranked up the A/C. Did I mention that it was HOT???

We met the family at Longhorn and had a good dinner. I had a tiny bit of the chili cheese fries they ordered as an appetizer and a slice of the multi-grain bread they serve. My meal was the Lafayette Chicken & Shrimp -Twin grilled chicken breasts topped with sautéed shrimp, onions, mushrooms, sweet red pepper strips, melted Pepper Jack cheese and a spicy Cajun cream sauce. And I had a side of steamed vegetables. It was delicious!

After dinner, Steve and I went over to his gym because he needed to pick something up, then we drove around and Steve showed me some of the million-dollar homes in the area. Whew, why would someone want a house so big?? I know - because they CAN!

Back at the house, the kids were getting ready for a nap, but waited up to say goodbye to me (awww). Before long, I was on the road again. I decided to go back the way I went the day before and hit Whole Foods, then get on I-85 into Atlanta. At Whole Foods, I got some cut watermelon, a small variety of yogurts that our stores don't carry, some water, and Odwalla juice. I left there, headed for Alpharetta and I-85. As I got into Alpharetta I decided I might need to top off the gas, and found a Wal-Mart with gas for $3.68. I also noticed a Carvel's Ice Cream shop across the street and was dying for a scoop (have I already mentioned that it was HOT???). After I gassed up, I got a scoop of Chocolate Explosion, and hit the Interstate. All was fine and good until I got closer to downtown HOTlanta and found that they were re-paving the three left lanes of I85-75. Let's just say that I spent the next hour and a half taking pictures of the Turner Broadcasting building and TBS, the Olympic Torch, the Ga Tech sign, the Varsity sign, and various and sundry street signs, including some that explained why were were stuck in this parking lot. By the time we were going more than 20MPH, I had polished off the juice and watermelon - oh and the green tea I had bought - and a package of the Right Bites Sandies.

Reaching Forsyth on I-75, I came across a DQ sign and decided that the Carvel's just didn't satisfy the ice cream yearnings. Plus, I was hungry for something non-sweet to go along. So DQ served me up a chili-cheese dog and a medium X-treme chocolate blizzard. Oh....MY.....GAWD. As I was licking the last of the chocolatey goodness off my lips, traffic came to another standstill as we made our way around a terrible accident between Forsyth and Macon, and then on to I-16 and home. I didn't make any more stops, and just drank my water the rest of the way. I put on the audio book I was listening to, and zoned out on what has GOT to be the most boring stretch of Interstate in the country! Although, it is nice that you can set your cruise control and get lost in the story you're listening to.

So, we went back to our house after work on Monday, and you KNOW Tal and I had to empty the ol' bladder and then hop on the scale to see what the home scale said in comparison to the WW scale. I can't remember what mine said, so I was completely bowled over when I saw the numbers on the WW scale - 5.6 pounds lost!

So, this brings me within 2.7 pounds away from my 10% goal! Fingers crossed that I make it on 8/11! Maybe I need to spend another weekend in Atlanta, LOL!

BTW, this morning my nekkid-before-my-shower weight showed me at 39.6 pounds lost - that .1 less than my 10% goal! Woo hoo! Now, if I can just improve on this over the weekend so that the WW scale will show this number!

- Seraphim "Melting Away" Gleck

What Kind of Cake Are You?

There are so many of these personality quizzes out there, but you KNOW I had to do THIS one......if I were a cake, what kind of cake would I be?

You Are a Chocolate Cake

Fun, comforting, and friendly. You are a true classic, and while you're not super cutting edge, you're high quality. People love your company - and have even been known to get addicted to you.

What Kind of Cake Are You?

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.

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

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.

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.

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!

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!

Awe-some!

So this week brings me another good loss - 3 pounds! I don't know what's going on. Last week's loss after 3 weeks of yo-yo'ing was a shock but I'm glad it got me back on track. I was really good with tracking points and keeping within them last week, until Saturday.

Saturday morning, I got up to head over to Albany. I was picking up my younger nephew to spend a couple of weeks with us and go to day camp at the Arts, Music, and Theater department on campus. I didn't have any time to make breakfast, but figured I'd pick up something on the way. As I left the house, I was looking for my cell phone in my purse and couldn't find it. Went back to the house and looked around, even used Tal's phone to call mine. Nope, wasn't anywhere in the house. SO, I had to drive all the way into Savannah to the college to see if I left it in my office. I was thinking that the bookstore would be open at 10 (we usually aren't open on Sat. but the were having New Freshman Orientation and would be open for that) and it was 11 by the time I got there. I was thinking wrong - the store didn't open until 1:00. SO, I would have to wait until hopefully 12:30 when someone would arrive to get the store ready for opening, and decided I'd just go ahead and get some lunch.

SO, I figured I had not had any breakfast and still had my weekly flex points, and I wanted to try some of that new KFC chipotle chicken. And so I did. A leg and thigh with mashed potatoes and gravy, corn on the cob, a biscuit, and sweet tea. The horrible thing about all this was not the fact that I had fried chicken, but the fact that KFC is right next to The Devil's Living Room. Yeah, you know what I'm talking about - it comes complete with a "HOT NOW" sign. My car, completely on its own with no help from me, crossed over the drive and straight to the Krispy Kreme Drive-Thru. Then a voice that didn't belong to me ordered three chocolate-covered, cream-filled beauties. Then the car drove up to the window and forced my hands to pull out a 5-spot to give to the evil woman in the window. It then drove away from KK with me clutching the change and a wax-coated bag with green polka dots printed on it.

When I regained conciousness, the car was parked in a shady spot in the college parking lot, I was covered in fried chicken crumbs and the waxy, polka-dotted bag was empty. Yet, I didn't feel bad at all. Yeah, I didn't exactly make the best food choices there but I had no regrets - just knowing that while I did just have a lapse in willpower I have the power to get myself back on track again.

I love that watermelon is low in points, but I hate that's so darned expensive! I bought two little seedless "personal" watermelons for $5 today. They'll be gone in no time. It's so good. My nephew ate 1/4 of one just now, slurped it up good.

Well, that's it for now. I just wanted to post this that I've been working on for a couple of days now! Been pretty busy at work lately. End of fiscal year stuff - fun! And it's HOT - outside, in my office. I sure would love it if they could get the air/heat in my office regulated. It's always freezing in winter and boiling in summer in my office. I'll be glad when they get our new building built and we move in. Don't know when that will be - they haven't even broken ground yet.

Good night!