a late Wednesday night check-in

Just a quickie to apologize for not being around! I miss you guys! I've been busy at work and at home with numerous projects- and with the Christmas rush on top of that, I've just not been doing my blog thang.

This week I'm trying to get my gifts in the mail and Christmas cards made AND we have a big partay this Saturday that I must start planning for. (I should try a Cooking Light app at it- and I'll share it if I do.)

I promise to catch up with you guys much better once the actual holiday hits- especially after the 25th. I'm sadly NOT going to make my Christmas challenge ( go figure ), but I hope you guys are doing it! Go bloggers for healthy habits! I know I'd feel a lot better if I was on program. Eating right really is the better way to go for more reasons that just a number on the scale.

I finished up boot camp this week and intend to start a new activity in the new year. My secret Santa at work gave me chocolate last week and that kind of set me off in the snacking department. *sigh* I'm asking the real Santa for my will power back, I know it's around here somewhere...

Needing a little help

As one of my friends recently pointed out, I have not posted on my blog for a week. Yikes! You can always tell when I'm getting off track: I'm usually not around. What helps me stay on program? Being around. Being around all of you for inspiration (reading your blogs), being around tracking my food intake online @ww, being around and not being too busy with real life rushing- leading to eating out, not preplanning food, festive specials at Swiss Chalet, etc. etc.

In exercise news, I didn't crack open the step videos ( I know!!) - and the gym where I hold my step classes has suddenly been closed for gym renovation ( peeling gym floor tiles which may, or may not have asbestos ), but I haven't skipped boot camp. yeah! My last two sessions were very exhausting. lol. Guess I gotta step up the workouts in between, eh? In other good news, I didn't take the videos back to the library and "plan" to do them this week. It's not like Christmas- with all its busy activities, is just around the corner or anything. ;)

Hope you all are doing better with your HCY check ins, etc! I'm hoping to catch up on all my blog reading these next couple of days. I need the motivation!

p.s. the pic is of me on the bike, held up by my sister (on the left), Susie and cousin, Julie.

chinese food and cake, cake, cake!

This is either a late Monday check in or a timely one for Tuesday. Part of the reason I'm late is probably the lack of anything worthy to share. I only have my crazy eating activities over the weekend ( including one movie night out, two lush birthday dinners) and the other "part" is 'cause rl has been real busy.

so to recap my last few days...

For those of you interested in the Twilight movie, we did enjoy it. It was fun- and unintentionally funNY in certain parts and made for an entertaining night out. We did go an HOUR early and still had to sit in the very front section- *sigh* Going on Opening Night is apparently a tad crazy. Who would have guessed?!

I think it helped having read the books to really "get" the movie's. kwim? Lots of stuff breezed over for the uninformed- as is kind of usual in movies based on books, I think.

sidenote: We were actually surprised at the groups of young men who went to the movie- without dates even. Not that there's anything wrong with that (as they say). The boys sitting next to me in the front section were very well behaved and seemed to enjoy the movie. They even clapped at the end. very cute, eh? I was worried about how they'd be at the start what with their cell phones out, texting and all.

On Saturday, my inlaws had us for Chinese food (low point food indeedy!) and a Bailey's cake (next to nothing in points, I tell ya!) for a belated bday celebration. The evening ended with a family skate at a local arena though- so that was fun (and more WW worthy). We hope to do family skates more often this winter. Hopefully, we're not all talk. Sometimes we're all talk.

On Sunday we went to TO to my sister's for yet another bday dinner. She is an amazing cook and made a lovely spread (roast pork with stuffing, mashed sweet potatoes, delicious salad, cake with ganache...) that wasn't lacking for points either. I enjoyed every mouthful. :) We did go for a walk briefly before dinner, window shopping. Does that help? not really?

I was better on exercise on Monday (step and boot camp). Boot camp was especially tough. A different instructor did the warmup, which was more WORKOUT than warmup. I do feel my clothes fitting me better even with my yoyo-ing weight due to party cals- and I think it's the boot camp that's helping. So yeah for boot camp!

My pic is of 2 videos I picked up at the library tonight. Fitness Fig's favourite fitness lady. I'm going to make myself add in more home exercise this week. Plus, stop all the bday celebrating. Enough already people- I know you love me! At this rate there will be a lot MORE of me to love by Christmas. ;)

It's colder than Edward Cullen...

out there and yet we're braving the cold to go to the Twilight movie tonight on the official Opening Night- us and many screaming teens, probably. Our newspaper ran a movie etiquette list suggesting that it was ok to scream for Edward's FIRST appearance- after that, not so much. lol.

Nothing much to report here in healthy lifestyle news, but I thought I'd do a quick check in as I've not been around much this week! ( It's been a busy life offline week. ) I did have a great boot camp work out tonight. Lots of running drills, then a 20 station circuit twice, followed by some ball work- push ups mainly, and stretching. I like muscle work in that you can definitely see you are improving over the weeks. I love how muscles improve- even if they're tired and rusty like mine!

I had a Quiznos sub for lunch. Note to ww girls: the honey bourbon chicken sub (small, of course) is 6 points. Not bad for a tasty sandwich and I find it really big enough if I take the time to eat it slowish- giving my body time to get the "I'm full" message sent to my brain. It has a bit of a kick to it (the sub, not the points) with its bbq sauce, that I quite enjoy.

Well, hope everyone is snuggled up in a warm house tonight, unless you are venturing out to see a very cold vampire.

You say it's your birthday...

...it's my birthday, too, ya! Yes, the muffin top is one year older- just like the rest of my body. Dh and the girls are taking me out for dinner shortly ( will have to go to Dottie's to check on Outback points, since I think that's where we're going ), so I thought I'd do a quick Monday check in and share the soup I made last night.

This soup Udon Noodle Soup with Chicken and Shrimp was loved by me, but pretty much despised by the rest of the family. Luckily, I knew it would be a hard sell going in, so I made them a full "other dinner." Anyway, the family is not big on soups, except very plain chicken noodle or tomato types, but I would like to work on that- so carrying on...head up and all that. ;)

The link with the recipe doesn't give credit to Rose Reisman of The Complete Light Kitchen, but it is exactly the recipe from her book except for the shrimp: the book copy calls for more shrimp- 8 oz. Another change that I did was not to put the sesame oil on any one's except for mine. The dh and I were the only ones with the floating parsley ( though dh was sarcastic and took it off immediately ). har.

All in all, I would definitely make it again ( halving the portions basically making it for myself ) and I'd probably add more seasoning. I didn't find it had much of a kick spice wise and if I'm having it solo, might as well, eh?

If you are a weight watcher kind of girl, a bowl counts for 5 points. I actually had it as a main course. It's pretty substantial especially when your family leaves lots of leftovers.

In check in news, I think my Wednesday wi will be good: IF I don't go crazy on the bday cake tonight. I'm back down to the basement bottom of the 160s and hope to be at the bottom of the 150s come Christmas. That will be my bday candle wish tonight! Posting this doesn't count as telling, does it? I didn't think so. :)

Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Sunday evening and the weekend has sped by yet again. *sob* Anyway, we started off the day sweetly with the chocolate chip pancakes from The Most Decadent Diet. Mine are pictured above with the called for single tsp of maple syrup, dd's have considerably MORE syrup looking at the picture. lol.

Anyway, they were good. It worked out to 4 points for 2 pancakes. It called for the oat flour again ( like the Godiva brownies from the same cookbook ), which I again grinded using my coffee grinder. The cookbook's author, Devin Alexander, makes of point of using mini chocolate chips, so it seems like more. They did seem, overall, pretty chocolaty and pretty easy to make, though you have to pause in the middle of it to let the batter sit for 10 mins. ( Not a problem for us as everyone was doing something else while I was making them. ) The recipe calls for 2 mins of cookin' on each side- mine were pretty brown after 1 minute on each, so I cut it down a bit.

In exercise news, I did manage to get my lazy ar*se downstairs for a bit of a workout: DDR2 dancing. I try to do it for about an hour- if I have the time- and keep bouncing around in between songs. Luckily no flies are on my basement walls and the spiders are not talking.

I am thinking of cracking out a few video exercise tapes this week to supplement my working out. Fitness Fig is inspiring me to get back into that home video tape groove again. I preordered a few tapes and picked up a hilarious punk aerobics book from the library. I will share if I manage to bust a few moves with them.

Have sweet Sunday night dreams!

Beef Fajitas With Sweet Peppers, Coriander, And Cheese

It was a rainy, mild Saturday- perfect for snuggling up and reading. I didn't get around to that, but I did manage to read a few recipes and buy the groceries to make them. Tonight we had this one from the library's copy of Rose Reisman's The Complete Light Kitchen: Beef Fajitas With Sweet Peppers, Coriander, And Cheese. We really don't have beef that often- we're mainly a boneless chicken breast family, but with the children's new love of steak, I thought I'd add one in now and again.

Anyway, I really enjoyed these fajitas. I loved the combo of the sweet red pepper, onion and the steak with the melted cheese. I usually make fajitas with left over chicken and haven't had them with the sour cream AND salsa warmed on top in the oven. Nice!

My dds are still not much for the combined foods ( they mainly like everything separated ), so it was a bit of a struggle getting them to finish, though eldest dd CLAIMED to enjoy it. She was distracted by a Twilight actor interview in the middle of supper, so that didn't help with dinner completion. We are looking forward to the movie on Friday!

Anyway, one will cost you 5 points and two, 9.5. Can you guess how many Janet ate? ;)

I had a really good workout at boot camp last night. I got a friend to help with piano lesson transportation, so I'll be able to continue on Friday (yeah!) Our trainer is really upping the difficulty/ intensity of the exercises now. One that totally had my muscled trembling: standing on the overturned bosu trainer while doing bicep curls from a standing machine. My legs were trembling all over the place just getting my balance. Another was doing a push up with one leg held through pulley and the other raised with your own core strength. oy.

Larabar Love

Thursday night= good tv AND moving closer to Friday and the weekend every minute! Yeah for Thursday night. :)

I don't have a recipe to share, but I thought I'd share my latest snack find at Costco. Probably, most of you know about them already, but they're new to me. One of the super fit people at work mentioned she loved the "Larabar" fruit and nut bar when we were looking through my copy of Shape magazine ( in which it was featured ) at a staff meeting. Yes, the attention wanes when the meeting gets long. :P

I bought the 12 Bar variety pack from Costco. It has 3 flavours: Key Lime Pie (4 pts), Cocoa Coconut (4pts) and Cashew Cookie (5pts). Anyway, I like all the flavours, overall. On days when I have step class or scrapbook club at lunch, I take them for a quick lunch with an apple or banana. They have that chewy and yet moist texture of a fruit bar, but they are thicker ( fluffier?) than the fruit bars I've tried before. Now if they were dipped in chocolate...

Tuesday's Triple Chocolate Brownies

Not too much new to report for my HYC check-in that I didn't share on Monday anyway. My official weigh-in isn't until tomorrow and I don't think the scale will be friendly like to me. har. I do feel pretty good muscle wise- the boot camp workouts are starting to show muscle wise. I just need to get back to more regular food journalling, water drinking- the usual stuff I know I need to do.

I didn't find much at the library tonight in terms of light recipe books ( other than reserving a diet/ recipe book by Prevention magazine that looked interesting and a couple of videos by Fitness Fig's favourite fitness lady ), but I did renew all the recipe books I already had out. This brownie recipe is from the library's Rose Reisman's The Complete Light Kitchen. It's Triple Chocolate Brownies and it caught my eye because the intro said she created it for the Movenpick restaurant in Toronto- and who doesn't love Movenpick icecream? mmmmm...icecream.

Anyway, it works out to 3 points for a piece. I don't know HOW they cut their pieces into perfect ( and large looking ) squares. Mine are little brownie fingers ( an 8x8 pan into 12 pieces- maybe my math is rusty?) Perhaps one could add a point or so and do 8 pretty pieces? Anyway, one finger IS a chocolatey delight- if you are into that kind of thing.

The recipe also suggested drizzling chocolate over the pieces and in the picture they use white chocolate which looks pretty. It's not in the nutritional breakdown or ingredient list, so I didn't add it. It did make for a pretty picture in the actual book though- what with the perfect 2 inch looking squares, drizzled and all. kinda like false advertising though? Airbrushing and now this. sheesh. ;)

Hope everyone had a great week! off to do a bit of blog reading before bed.

Loving to Move

Remember when you were a kid and you thought you could be the fastest in your class if you really tried? you could jump super high- almost close to flying? when you could play till your face was sweaty and you were just DYING for a drink of water? (dh has fond memories of Charlie Horses from day long games at the ball field sans H20- and he's proud of these memories, I might add, like water is for wimps or something.)

Anyway, this picture reminds me of that love of moving. It's of my dds and with a cousin at the bday party we went to this weekend. They were literally drenched in sweat and yet so happy. They really didn't want to leave or stop. I love that. :)

Anyway, I do still love seeing what my tired old body can do- lol- though I jump a little more gingerly, more afraid of what might happen if I fall on my face. Actually, one of the exercises at today's boot camp made me a little afraid. We had to duck under this bar resting across a mount, pick up the bar and then step up onto a high bench on one leg with the bar balanced across our shoulders. I was so worried about doing a face plant and taking out someone with the long bar, I was hesitating. Luckily, our instructor spotted me- so I was confident enough to do the first large step up. :) Quite a leg workout, btw and one that really focuses on a single leg- showing me that my right lead is way stronger than my left. Go figure!

It was a great workout yet again. We had more cardio tonight than usual with the dreaded floor ladders. We ran patterns over them for quite some time and then went to the other room for circuit, only to return to the cardio side for drills after each (of 3) circuit sessions. *whew*

In Monday check-in news, my weight was up a bit this morning due to certain female reasons *cough*, but I think I'll be down on Wednesday. I've stayed in the low 160s for awhile now- my own fault, of course. Gotta get back to tracking better.

Sunday Night and Chicken with Pistachio Pesto

Weekend: the fastest 2 days of the week. Tonight on day 2 of the happiest days of the week, I made another recipe from the Rose Reisman cookbook ( The Complete Light Kitchen ) that I got from the library. It was a simple chicken recipe- perfect for the rush of Sunday night dinner after skating lessons.



I couldn't find the recipe online, so I'll type it out here.

1/4 cup shelled pistachios
1/2 c basil leaves (well packed)
1 small clove of garlic
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp lemon juice
4 skinless boneless chicken breasts (about 1 lb)
1/4c flour
2 tsp vegetable oil

mix first 5 in a small food processor. (add water if mixture is too thick)

pound chicken breasts b/w pieces of waxed paper to 1/2 thickness. Dust with flour.

Spray non-stick pan and then add vegetable oil and place over high heat. Saute chicken 3-5 minutes or until lightly browned on both sides and not pink in the center.

Place on individual plates and serve with a dollop of pesto on top.

----------------------- 8 points per serving
Cals: 344/ fat:17g (sat2.7g)/ fiber 1.3g

In terms of recipe changes, I actually skipped the extra vegetable oil. I'm not sure what the flour added to the grilling. I usually just grilled without flour- I used a grill pan, btw- and the flour didn't "seem" to add a lot of new flavour. I might try it again without the flour. You could also probably cut back on the olive oil a bit, though the pesto didn't seem greasy in any way.

The pesto was really good and younger dd helped with the pistachio shelling, but other than that none of my family would have a part of the pesto. ( I personally LOVE pesto, but dh doesn't like basil for some crazy reason. Go figure, eh? The man misses out on some of the best flavours of life, I tell ya. )

Anyway, it was quick and tasty. The pesto was flavourful and I've never made it with pistachio nuts before.

In exercise news, this weekend has been pretty l-a-z-y with a day scrapbook crop for me on Saturday AND a kids' bday followed by a craft store open house- not a lot of movement over all for me (though the dds worked up a sweat at the playhouse bday party- adults weren't allowed on the equipment, though we had to take off our shoes anyway. lol.) Tomorrow's step class and boot camp will hopefully get me back on track exercisewise.

100 posts and a scary Chipotle Shrimp Taco picture :)

woo hoo! This is my hundredth post I noticed in logging on. Is there some kind of a prize for this? a release of balloons, perhaps? no? ok. moving on. :)

Sorry for my scary food picture. In looking at the picture of it on the Cooking Light site in comparison, I laughed. ( This Chipotle Shrimp Taco recipe is from my new copy of Cooking Light (Nov.2008)- which is full of Thanksgiving recipes, btw, too late for all us Canucks, BUT ok as early recipes for Christmas turkey feasts- so bonus there, at least. Anyway, this recipe was in the quick recipe section in the back. ) I guess they put their tbsp of green salsa ( or salsa verde )under the lettuce, as opposed to poured so attractively on top. lol. BUT the salsa tasted good anyway. :P

I did like this recipe overall, though my corn tortillas (that I found on my trip to Erie, PA and froze till now) were a tad small for the filling- making for a super messy taco to eat. I like to pick up my taco, as opposed to eating it with a fork and knife like dh, so I went through a bunch of paper towels. ( Lucky for you, there's no pic of that, eh? ) It is also pretty spicy with its combo of chili powder and chipotle chile powder. dh still doesn't care for the chipotle flavour (crazy man) while it remains one of my favourite flavours. The best part of this recipe, however, is the avocado slices. mmmmmmmmm...a nice, fresh cooling flavour amidst all the chipotle heat. I'm crazy about avocado.

In boot camp news, I went today after work- even though I had to rush the dds to their piano lessons and drive madly to get there. Sadly, their piano teacher doesn't want to carry on this new tradition ( she's kind of high maintenance ), so I won't be able to make the Friday class any longer. *sob* I'm going to attempt to make another class, as I don't think we can move piano. Anyway, the class tonight (boot camp, not piano) was super intense. The instructor gave us 7 (?) stations that were pairs of cardio and strength. You started with the cardio part and then switched to muscle- with 3 sets at each. It was uber exhausting and a very good workout. I think I will sleep VERY well tonight!

Checking IN and Checking OUT (Recipe Books from the Library)

Every Tuesday, the eldest dd and I drop off the younger dd at Brownies and then swing by the local library to pick up books ( dd loves to preorder online ) and assorted DVDs. I recently- on one of our visits- discovered a hidden shelf of new additions to the library including a circulating treasure trove of new recipe books. If you haven't already guessed, I heart new recipe books and how cool is it to check out new ones without spending a fortune on buying them- like I usually do? :)

The muffins pictured above ( I've been doing a lot of muffins lately, it seems, eh? ) are Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins from Rose Reisman's The Complete Light Kitchen. They are really good- moist and a perfect blend of banana and chocolate (mmmmm)- and will set you back 3 points for one.

There seem to be a ton of other recipes I want to try in the book, too. Rose does good books. Maybe I'll have to buy it in the end anyway. :P For now, I renewed it for another week.

In Tuesday check-in news, I've been Halloween-bad this weekend (see yesterday's post) and I'm up, of course. I doubt any of it will rub off before tomorrow's official wi. I feel back on track again though, so I might re-evaluate my Christmas challenge to make it more doable and get rid of the rest of the crack- er, Halloween candy.

Dagmar does Halloween

I have fallen under a bowl of Halloween treats and can't get up! I'm like a drug addict and my drug of choice is anything dipped in chocolate. help! I need an intervention.

annn...ny..way! Halloween was pretty slow trick-or-treater-wise. I think it was, in part, because all the teens were at private parties since it was Friday night and all. So bad news for me: lots of candy left AND not much doorbell interruption from snacking. You know sometimes I can be so in the zone and on program, and sometimes I can be so. very. bad. ( well, chocolate greedy rather than pure evil to be fair to myself. )

Saturday night we were invited to a dinner party at friends'- a dinner party with a German theme. The Germans are not known for their low-fat cuisine, apparently. *sigh* I could have been so much better- well, worse, too, but I ended the even feeling pretty full- in the Thanksgiving dinner fullness sense of the word. We all were given German names on place cards at dinner. Mine was Dagmar. Not a light eater- that Dagmar.

I did manage SOME sane eating over the weekend. I made this Cooking Light panko chicken recipe ( Crisp Panko Chicken ) that was very tasty. My children protested at first at the sight of it (they have an aversion to a coconut coating recipe and this looked a bit like that), but then my eldest- non- coating loving dd admitted that it was pretty good and ate all of hers.

I'd definitely make them again. I liked the crispy, not soggy outside to the pieces. I didn't make the salad, since salad was what I took to the German party ( thankfully not knowing the German theme at the time- I think most of their salads are heavy, too. ) and so I had a couple of salads ( sans dressing ) left over and we ate those.

Also in better fitness news, after work today I did go to boot camp for another tough workout. This time we started with partner exercises with HUGE rubber bands. I had the instructor as my partner so no slacking there. It was a lot of leg work with squating and lunging across the room whilst being held back by a large rubber band. lol. Our circuit afterwards seemed especially tough, too (crashing from a sugar high perhaps?), so it was a very good workout overall and now I'm pretty tired.

All in all if I can just step away from the candy, everything will be alright. Luckily for me, my dh is a bit of a choco-holic. So the bowl is emptying quickly, at least.

Happy Halloween!

May all your scares be non-scale related! bah-ha-ha-ha! ;)

HYC Halloween-is-Coming Check-In

I'm trying to get back on my regular check-ins, regardless of whether my news is good or bad. :P This week has been pretty good. My clothes are slip sliding around ( getting loose ) and I feel stronger, though my weight has been fluctuating ( down 2 pounds yesterday, up the same today). I should work (again!) on my water intake. I'm planning on staying cool (on program) over Halloween. That's my goal anyway! Hopefully, my dh will let me be the one to take the girls around the neighbourhood so I'm moving a little and NOT indoors surrounded with a lot of sweet smelling chocolate. ;)

We were invited out to a pumpkin carving party tomorrow ( yeah! ), so we started our planned Halloween cupcakes and cookies tonight. The ones pictured above are from a recipe from the Cooking Light site. They're Classic Iced Sugar Cookies- obviously not iced yet! My children definitely want me to wait for them for the icing part (and they had to go to bed), so we'll finish them tomorrow- a long with the million other Halloween tasks I have for tomorrow. har.

We tried a couple un-iced and declared them very tasty. (I just had one with my herbal tea and I just heard dh sneaking another). They are a little nit picky in the making. After reading the reviews (and another iced sugar cookie recipe), I cut down the prep time by (a) using a freezer bag instead of the plastic wrap (b) putting them in the freezer, instead of the fridge (since I was trying to get the kids to bed at a reasonable hour and (c) cut down on the baking time (I did 7 mins as suggested by most reviewers).

The freezer bag seemed to work pretty well. It was probably more of a struggle getting them out of the bag rather than peeling off plastic wrap, but it worked ok and I just ran the rolling pin over any torn edges before we had at the dough with our funky, spooky Halloween cookie cutters.

Hope everyone has a happy and sane ( in terms of eating ) Halloween! :)

Godiva Brownie Sundaes

How better to celebrate Monday than with a delicious Godiva Brownie Sundae from a new cookbook that I found at our public library? It's from The Most Decadent Diet Ever! by Devin Alexander (author of The Biggest Loser Cookbook) and it really is very decadent and delicious for 4 points- if you are a point counting kind of person.

When I was looking for the recipe online for you guys (click here), I also found this Youtube video of a promo for the book that is kind of cute and inspiring.

Anyway, in terms of recipe changes, I have a tip for the whole grain oat flour: just grind your own in your coffee grinder. All you need is regular oats. (Ok, I didn't have any oats on hand, but now I do for future oat grinding and possible oatmeal eating...no, probably not that. My dad kind of turned me off oatmeal with his constant thick, lumpy, oatmeal eating while I was a kid. Now you know 8 things about me. har.)

My coffee grinder got double play for this recipe actually, what with the espresso bean grinding in it too ( I just used a dark roast bean since my espresso machine is kaput and I didn't want to buy espresso beans- which might have led to the purchase of a new espresso machine- esp. tempting since those little espresso cups are so darn cute. kwim? This recipe was already expensive enough with the purchase of a big bottle of Godiva liqueur. Now I'm better prepared for my Christmas party, too. )

The whole family enjoyed this sundae immensely. (I skipped the Godiva liqueur on the kids', of course!) I could definitely see serving it at a dinner party. It tastes like a special treat. It was also pretty quick to make. I actually made it while my family was finishing up dinner. (They're slow eaters- being picky and all.)

Besides having a good sundae, I also had a good workout today. Boot camp involved 3 sets of 4 exercises (cardio and muscle mix) done 3 times in a cycle for each of 3 sections, followed by a larger group set of various squats and push ups. (So I deserved my decadent 4 point sundae!) :)

Seven Things

I was tagged by Lainie of Fitness Fig to post seven things that people don't know about me and since she gave me a lovely, burgundy Fitness Fig Tee prize and all, here goes...

# 1- I was once the (French) translator at a mayors' convention in Ontario (just because they learned that I was born in Quebec. Quel stress- lol).

#2- I'm a published scrapbooker (my other hobby) and even wrote 3 articles once upon a time.

#3- I can touch my tongue to my nose.

#4- I'm known for my cocktails at my Christmas party (by those who remember them).

#5- Someone in my family (by marriage) is soon to be on a reality TV show in the US. (yikes)

#6- I used to write songs and wrote one to perform at my hs grad. ( I played guitar. )

#7- I wrote a song for my dh and sang it at our wedding. (My most nerve wracking part of the day.) It made dh cry (in a good way).

#8- I enjoy a good reputation for my video game playing among my children's friends. :P

#9- In childbirth (with my first) I survived a complication that kills 90% of the people who have it.

#10- I was once briefly on TV- doing a news segment on step aerobics for the YMCA. (I spoke VERY fast and luckily never saw the show since my mother was in charge of taping it and she got too excited and forgot to press record. lol.)

so.......................Thanks for the shirt Lainie! It's super soft and comfy, too. :D

Getting Pump-kined

I'm falling behind on my blog reading AND posting lately. Life has been busy. I've also been really bad about checking in on my challenges and bad about tracking my food intake on ww online. I will strive to be better this week. I do WAY better when I'm actually tracking and checking in with my online groups. Accountability and all that.

In good Janet news, I did have a great workout at boot camp yesterday. He had us do 2 cycles of 19 stations across the two workout rooms without a break and then- finally!- we took a water break and did one more cycle of every other station. whew!

I feel like I'm getting stronger. My trainer said ( when he was assisting me with my positioning in one of the exercises ) that he definitely could see improved muscle definition in my arms. ( yeah! ) Since I have little upper body strength, I'm really happy to see any gains in this area. :D I love feeling stronger and fit- about as much as loose feeling ( non-muffin top impaired ) pants.

(( ok. The above post was saved from yesterday. I was having camera battery issues and then company ( my sister and child ) came. ))

The pumpkin muffins pictured above are from my Cooking Light Complete recipe book ( but you can get the recipe here ). I really enjoyed them (as did my children, company and dh ). I actually made them twice this weekend (Saturday AND Sunday morning). I still had a can of pumpkin left over from last weekend and there was enough in one to do this recipe twice ( possibly 3 times ). This morning when I made them, I realized that I didn't have the sour cream, so I replaced it with non-fat yogurt, which worked out just as well. I love the sugar blend crust on the top of these and the pumpkin flavour, of course.

Hope everyone is doing well! I will have to catch up on my blog reading tonight. We're off to a rainy visit to the pumpkin patch and my eight year old is really anxious to get going.

a rough week and a roadhouse steak

I had kind of a stressful week at work ( why can't people just do the right thing? and not be greedy for their own selfish ends? why? WHY- I ask you? Why do I take such behaviour to heart and get depressed? *sigh* ) and so you might think that Janet went off program- being disheartened, disillusioned and all AND having a "Roadhouse Steak" to suppress her misery, but indeed, she did NOT! Well, not with this steak anyway.

The recipe was Roadhouse Steaks with Ancho Chile Rub. I was checking out the Cooking Light site on Saturday and I noticed a link to the recipe under a suggestion for Saturday night supper- which I'm guessing is a weekly site feature. It looked so delicious with the spoonful of mashed potatoes next to it ( I made those, too), that I thought I'd try it.

We all enjoyed it, though it's QUITE spicy. I cut back on the spice for my tots. I couldn't find the ancho chile, so I just used regular chili powder. My steaks were a kazillion bucks, by the way, but they cut "like butter." Quite delish. I should mention that we never have steak or red meat often, for that matter, but my children just recently discovered that they like steak since it's on the kid's menu at Jack Astor's- which we've been to a couple of times recently with the birthdays (and we've continued going to even though I car was burgled there during one of the last times. (but that's another story)

The mash potatoes were really good, too, and something else we rarely have. The recipe was actually for Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes, but when I was making them I realized the rest of the dinner was almost ready and the garlic needs to be in the oven for an hour- so I skipped the garlic. dh has been complaining about garlic a lot lately. (Yes, the man is often painful to cook for. )

In exercise news, I've been going to boot camp and having really good workouts AND I started my step class at school today (for female students and teachers). So I'm really proud of myself today because it meant that I actually worked out twice. Can I get a "woo hoo?"

Having no shame.

Actually, having QUITE a bit of shame, but working through it! ;)

In spite of my Cooking Light cake looking horrible in this picture, I'm sharing a pic of it ( with my sister opening her bday present from us in the background ) and in spite of going up 2 pounds in one meal ( a very tasty meal- my sister and her dh are gourmet chefs :) ), I'm still checking in.

Anyway, in defence of the cake, it tasted really good. The frosting is really tasty: light cream cheese, icing sugar and fresh oj, but it made the cake super slide-y. I put it in a too large tote- the flip side of the cupcake base, so on our trip to Toronto, it slid all OVER the place. Now, if I'd read the cake reviews, I would have been better prepared for the top sliding off and cut back on the icing a bit AND if I was wise and talented like my sister or mother, I would have thought of spearing it with toothpicks before the car, but I didn't. Also, I should have been LESS lazy at 1 a.m. and actually chopped my pecan pieces. It would have made for a more attractive topping (though it tasted good). I also used more that called for- again lazy measuring and not wanting to put the nuts back through the tiny hole I cut in the bag to preserve freshness- ergo the nutty look to the cake, in more ways that one.

I do HIGHLY recommend this cake though- and it is perfect for people who don't want pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving. It's called Pumpkin Pie Cake and it's moist and delicious. We had a guest who didn't like pumpkin pie, but really enjoyed this cake. Actually, everyone who had it liked it a lot and that was after pumpkin pie and cupcakes. ( I didn't have the cupcakes. NSV? har. ) Any Americans wanting a dessert idea for your upcoming Thanksgiving, definitely try this cake. You won't regret it- especially if you spear it with a large toothpick while travelling. ;)

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving Monday everyone!

Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad and a new bowl

I haven't posted in a few days because, in part, I've still been kind of sick. In other parts, it's been the rush for visitors, Thanksgiving, more family birthdays and upcoming work events...and so here I am posting LATE my time, in the middle of making a Cooking Light pumpkin cake for tomorrow ( it's not cooling on the wire rack too quickly, so I'm standing by for the icing part ), but I'm posting. ( Better late than never? )

Today I made a delicious Cooking Light salad for supper- well, I really liked it anyway. lol. I've already spoken of my love for chipotle(s)? That love has not diminished. This was a strictly from the internet recipe- as in I didn't have the original magazine or cookbook version like usual. The recipe Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad was pretty easy to whip together and is very generous in serving size. It implies it's four servings, but it makes a ton. (dh didn't have a lot though- the picky man doesn't really enjoy salads with beans or (shocker) chipotle that much, so his serving was smallish. I made him take some and he claims to have liked it, though he didn't have seconds and tucked into tortilla chips and salsa instead. :P

Anywhoooo, I loved it, as did mil and my visiting mother, (though my mom didn't like the cilantro in it- not everyone's favourite as I think I've discussed here before as a topic. It's a strong little herb. I like it in some things. I actually enjoyed it in this salad. You chop it in the dressing, btw. If you don't enjoy cilantro, skip that part.)

I'm trying to work beans into my diet a little more, so this was a tiny step forward, too.

Ok! off to check my cooling cake. Have a nice Thanksgiving tomorrow for those celebrating. I'm not going to worry too much about my points, BUT I'm going to try for reasonable portion sizes. Wish me luck, please. :)

p.s. I got my new bowl on super-sale at Homesense. It makes me happy just to look at it AND adds no extra calories!

The long and winding road ( to weight loss )

Here it is HYC check in again. I feel super tired, but good overall. I'm hoping to get a little work out in tonight and follow my workout pledge for the week, but tiredness kills my workouts. Should have done it right after work- but it is Brownie night tonight: so a rush to eat. ergo, no working out before dinner.

I snapped this picture on Sunday during our walk through the conservation area. I really have no excuse (well, I have plenty, but I SHOULDN'T have excuses ) about exercising. We are super close to beautiful trails and what is better and more beautiful than a walk or light jog through conservation area? OR I could ride my still new bike! But I digress. I'm aiming to get outside to exercise a little over the next month. I hope to keep up a family hike at least once a week, too.

My weight levelled off (thus far) at a 3 pound loss for the week, so I'll take that and hopefully keep on track through Thanksgiving weekend. We're bringing the pumpkin pie (to my sister's ), so I HOPE to make a Cooking Light one to take along with the decadent one from our local bakery. Hope everyone does well through turkey eating this weekend- well, the Canadians anyway!

Panko Pork

...fun to say (alliteration and all ) AND fun to eat. Well, at least I enjoyed it. Dh can't get behind pork being the OTHER white meat, though he loves bacon well enough.

I finally cracked open my panko crumbs that I bought weeks back and made Panko-Crusted Pork Chops with Creamy Herb Dressing from the new Cooking Light. I really liked it. The panko makes the dish really crispy, eh? In this recipe, you brown the panko-crusted pork in a non-stick frying pan and then you bake it. The side dressing pictured above looks more than a little sad, but it was quite tasty with it. ( I find I'm usually rushing by the sauce preparation time, and my side sauce never, EVER looks as pretty as the one in the magazine picture. er well. lol. No food modelling here!) The whole dish will cost you 6 points.

sidenote change: The recipe is supposed to cover 2 chops, but I actually did 4- one for each family member. I gave the last chop- with the least coating, to my dd who likes everything plain and calls breadcrumbs and such "sand." Anyway, it seemed to be enough to cover 4 chops reasonably well.

Also pictured here is a new find from Costco- Uptime dumplings! They're available for a short time and are selling like hot cakes apparently (said the lady at the Uptime Dumpling Costco stand anyway). You get 5 dumplings in each serving. The ones I tried were 2 points for the Pork, Bokchoi and Shrimp ones and 3 points for the Chicken and Cabbage ones. The sauce isn't pictured on my plate here, but they sell that too. It's also pretty reasonable point wise. The dumplings are quite delicious. :)

My crazy looking squash in the picture has Splenda brown sugar (also from Costco). It tasted like the real thing, too.

In exercise news, we went for a nice long walk in the conservation area trails today. It was so nice out and beautiful. I want to make family hikes more of a regular thing...with less whining. We took a loop that took us an hour up and down hills, so I was quite proud of my family- in spite of the minor complaining.

Cupcakes Crumble too ( apparently )

After being up a couple of pounds last wi ( on Wed ), my weight has suddenly dropped. I have stayed on plan somewhat better this week ( though I have had treats- at a conference where treats were all over the place ), exercised a tad more, but I think mainly this drop is due to weight fluctuation (maybe I didn't really gain those 2 pounds last wi ) and because of the fact that I feel crappy. My older dd complained of feeling bad this week, so I think we have a wee bit of the flu- which makes me not want to overeat, at least. Mainly now my head feels full and dizzy. kwim? Not a good way to lose weight, but it's cutting down on my desire for extra snacks.

So, my two week goal of getting back to summer weight has happened in 3 days instead. I'm actually a pound lighter than my lowest summer weight. Will it stick till wi? have the Cooking Light cupcakes crumbled? Stay tuned!

p.s. I'm going to try to make something from the new Cooking Light tonight if I can muster it. I'll share the results later.

Dancing in the Rain

My weigh in went poorly as expected ( up 2 pounds ), but I'm moving on. Moving on and grooving on, actually! I didn't go to the boot camp outdoor session tonight because of the rain, so I'm off to try my brand new Dance, Dance Revolution 2 on the wii in our basement. I'll lyk how it is later.

I'm pledging to do a little something, something every day this week to burn off the last of the end of summer weight gain. I THINK I can do it over the next 2 weeks.

*sigh* Crazy how easy it is to go in the opposite direction of weight loss, eh? The summer feels a million years ago, but the extra weight is still here. ( Can't taste the poutine, but still can feel it. lol. )

Happy Hump day everyone! Now go to your basement and dance! ;)

HYC Check-in and Seafood Share

I don't really have a great HYC check in since the 2 pound gain is still on the scale as of this morning, but that's ok! I'll work it off this week, now that bdays end today with dd's actual 11th bday today on the last day of September. ( Happy Birthday, sweetie! :) )

(Note to misguided self: Out of cake season just in time for Thanksgiving and Halloween, eh?) lol.

Anyway, I plan on going to all my boot camp sessions from now on with 2 more weeks left to go, I believe? I missed a couple with the birthday party sleepovers falling on Fridays (the second boot camp day). I DO find that the boot camp is making me do much more than I'd do on my own. Monday, I was feeling especially tired, but was invigorated by the exercise in the end. On my own, I would have talked myself out of doing anything. I don't have the work out mojo going right now.

I thought I'd share the Seafood Fettuccine that I made for dd's family bday. I hadn't had seafood for awhile and this recipe was very easy, and delicious for a special treat. It will cost you 10 points, but with its Alfredo taste (if you like that kind of thing), it's well worth saving up the points for (or dipping into flex).

Cupcakes Cooking Light Style

Hey blogging homegirls! I survived the second bday sleepover party for the second weekend in a row and have come up relatively unscathed (though up 2 pounds as of this morning- oops! Hopefully, it dips back down by Wednesday wi! The party (movie premiere style) went well and I got lots of cute pictures (to supplement my other hobby: scrapbooking). :)

On Sunday, we had the family party for nearby relatives. I made two batches of different Cooking Light cupcakes. The ones pictured above are Banana Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting. The second were Chocolate Cupcakes with Peppermint Frosting. ( both 5pts ) They were both good, but I'd have to say that the banana ones were my favourite. The icing for both was actually similar- made with fruit powder sugar and cream cheese. It's pretty sweet, but good WITH the cake part. ( Can't imagine eating it by itself- kwim? ) Anyway, I'd make them both again.

I had a really good boot camp work out after work. We had an intense warm up with the rope ladder on the floor. The girls who do the boot camp are- as I've said before- pretty sporty types- like the play league soccer and beat teams in their 20s kind of girls. They really push themselves, so when you are running in a line over a rope ladder, you hustle a bit. The session wrapped up with 3 continuous circuits in alternating rooms- so it was pretty intense, too.

Hope everyone else is doing well! I hope things are ok with Wendy who has disappeared. That's the bad thing about the internet: losing track of how people are since you don't know them in "real life!"

HYC Check-in

Super tired and reporting from party planning central, but happy about a 1.5 pound loss (woo hoo!) in spite of 4 slivers of cake ( 2 Cooking Light pieces- see below, 2 posts down AND 2 high fat ice cream cake slices. side note: Both of my dds asked for Gold Medal Ribbon ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins. I, personally, enjoy the Jamoca Almond Fudge cake that they usually have on deck - when you are rush-buying a cake. mmmm...so I guess it's good they didn't pick that one, eh? I can just go with a paper thin slice of their choice and not feel bad about it. )

I have one last bday to do with 3 official birthday cake potential events this weekend and before month's end! We're doing the movie premiere bday theme this weekend for my older dd. We're planning on doing makeovers, activities around the red carpet and then having movies shown via an LCD projector and screen complete with a concession stand ( or kitchen table, depending on how you look at it ) with popcorn and candy on the menu.

Think my homemade oil popped popcorn will be as high in points as the movie stuff? Must. go. look. it. up. :) Hope everyone had a good week and has checked in. I'm always on the tail end of the check-in list!

Remember Fun Dips?

Aren't there just some candies and toys that take you directly back to your childhood? Anyway, dd got Fun Dip lip gloss and scented nail polish from my TO sister for her bday. Might have to try out some of the nail polish later for further childhood flashback. ( when she's in bed, of course. ) ;)

Anyway, I tried a couple of other CL recipes at the party. I did the Avocado Salsa ( that I shared before. Still love it. The bowl goes fast- it's just the right amount of hot and flavourful. ) for an appetizer with tortilla chips. I did two BBQ selections from my Cooking Light Complete binder- so people could have a choice, or have both: Chipotle-Marinated Pork Chops with Chimichurri Sauce and Mediterranean Chicken and Vegetable Kebabs. They both got favourable reviews. The pork chops were on the spicy side- marinated in the chipotle. I really liked them. I only had a bit of the chicken. I'd never bbq'd fennel bulb before. I like to try new veggies, since I need more veggies in my life.

I went to boot camp today- even though still hung over with tiredness from the weekend slumber party. It was an intense session. Our warmup (15 mins?) was all different maneovers with the skipping rope- using it the standard way, then leaping over it in a variety drills. Next we did a full room circuit of muscle and cardio- 15 stations or so? It felt good...to be done. ;)

The Birthday Cake Morgie and I Made

Well, I survived the Hannah Montana partay and sleepover (barely)- lol. It was a whirlwind of planned activities, loud little girl shrieking, fattening foods ( ice cream cake, buttered popcorn, candy popcorn, sugary drinks, Starburst candy- Hannah's favourite apparently, cinnamon rolls and bacon (for breakfast). I DID make them Cooking Light buttermilk pancakes in the morning, too. I was expecting few to eat them- as little kids are often big food wasters at parties, but they went like proverbial hotcakes with rave reviews. ( cute, eh?! ) We also did a big fruit platter and OJ, so SOME healthy stuff was put out there anyway.

Today, for the actual bday AND the family party, we made the Cooking Light cake pictured above. My dd decided that she wanted a chocolate peanut butter cake ( the apple doesn't fall far from the tree as they say- that being my favourite combo in life in general :)), so I did a search of the Cooking Light site and came up with a recipe for Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake with Bittersweet Ganache. Words cannot do justice to describe the deliciousness of this cake. *sigh* It is seriously one of the best cakes I've ever had AND it looks so pretty, too. The ganache is poured over the top and it kind of drips over the side making this perfectly even and glossy coat. Everyone was like "You made that?" It definitely has a professional "smoothness" to it for little effort other than spooning and pouring.

The cake does have several steps to it and you have to wait for things to chill in the fridge for chunks of time here and there. I kind of made other stuff in between. ( I'll share more CL recipes from the meal tomorrow. ) The peanut butter filling is made from melted pb chips mixed with Cool Whip. The recipe calls for a mixture of pb AND milk chocolate chips, but after reading the recipe reviews, I only used pb ones. The rest of the cake is super chocolaty, so you don't really need more in the center.

A slice will cost you 7 points, but they are well worth it for a special occasion, like when your baby turns eight. :)

Hannah Montana and lots of cakes

Hey HYC check-in-ers! How is it that the weeks are passing so quickly this month?! Anyway, I had a good week, overall. I "think" I'm down at least a pound, though the scale didn't show it this morning (like it did on Monday). *wah!* We'll see if the numbers dip back down again tomorrow.

I have been doing more weights with regular boot camp attendance, building some muscle hopefully, so maybe that will slow down the scale a little? in a good, fat busting way? I'm not sweating it, too much. I've been feeling back on track, more in control and feeling better in general. I do notice that when I'm waaaaaaaay off program, in the land of poutines and pizzas, even when I'm not gorging myself, I still feel sluggish and less energized. With weight watchers- after the first week on program anyway, I don't really feel deprived and I do feel much healthier and in control. I heart feeling in control of my eating. Yeah for self control! :)

So hopefully I stay on this downward trend. I AM heading into the land o' the big birthday parties- both my girls have September birthdays, starting this weekend with a Hannah Montana sleepover birthday party and ending next weekend with a movie star theme sleepover. This might very well throw off my workout schedule due to exhaustion and throw me face first into a number of tempting cakes and snacks. I'm resolving to stay strong though. Maybe I'll jump into the Hannah Montana dance competition ( a la Dance, Dance Revolution ) to earn some APs? ;)

On a funny side note, dd of the Hannah Montana sleepover wants an ice cream cake for her friends party, but wants us to make a cake for her family one. She said, "Can you make one of your Cooking Light cakes for it?" lol. See how I'm training my children? ;P

Janet was good today!

Janet not ONLY went to boot camp after work, but she even came home and tried a new Cooking Light recipe afterward! ( Does it creep you out when people talk in the third person? ) Anywhooo... boot camp was good. We did a warm up then 4 double circuits of 4 exercises at each station (one being cardio and one being mat work in each) and then one final run through all the exercises until the hour was up.

I think I'm getting stronger. 3rd person commentary: Janet has little upper body strength and would like to work on that- and firming up everywhere else of course, too.

The BBQ dinner ( that I shopped for on Sunday when I was buying the chicken burger stuff ) was Pasta and Grilled Vegetables with Goat Cheese. (Like the burgers, it was also from the Best of Cooking Light Summer Grilling issue.) The promise of goat cheese (which I already had in my fridge) caught my eye of course, and I liked that you sprinkled it over the dish with chopped basil- being a pesto loving girl. Otherwise it's a pretty basic recipe with no added oil (!) except for the cheese. (How oily ARE those goats?) I'd never grilled radicchio before (interesting flavour!) and I really liked the artichoke hearts.

Since we've been married so long, my dh loved all the same things that I did in this dish. He only disliked the goat cheese, the radicchio and the artichoke hearts. ( har. seriously, he said he didn't like the "look" of the artichoke hearts. Cause that's what's most important in vegetables. AND personally, I think artichoke hearts are very CUTE, what with all their layers? seriously one of the cuter pickled veggies in a can! )

Anyway, this dish will cost you 6 points if you are a weight watcher girl. I did enjoy it. I think I'd try some other veggies in it, too- like mushrooms. I'm NOT losing the artichoke though. :)

p.s. Our bbq ran out of "juice" ( as dh calls it ) during the making of this recipe. The veggies were cooked "enough", but I probably would have cooked them a little bit longer than how they ended up. :)

Anything with Peanut Sauce MUST be good.

I tried a couple new Cooking Light recipes today. One was Chicken Burgers with Peanut Sauce. I got it from the Best of Cooking Light Summer Grilling issue that came out last summer. It was really good. The peanut sauce was super!

The whole deal added up to 7 points, which I think is fine, but you could shave some of the points down easily by using a WW bun. (I actually trimmed off some of the overhanging bread since my bun was pretty big and I knew in my ww heart, I really wasn't supposed to be eating that much bread. :P

To explain: My children were "bun shopping" with me ( and shopping for OTHER things besides large hunks of bread. ) They actually picked huge white kaisers for themselves. I, at least, selected a smaller whole wheat number, so I was a better ww shopper than the tots anyway. Is there a prize? a smaller muffin top, you say? (The recipe suggests sesame seed buns, which my children don't like, ergo the individual bun shopping in the bun bin area). Ok. this explanation of the buns is running a little long, moving on!

You could also shave off some points by cutting back on the peanut sauce, but I'd advise against it! The peanut sauce was really, really delicious! It has dark sesame oil in it- I love the flavour of that and it's so good mixed with the pb and soy sauce, too.

The burgers themselves were interesting to make, because I've never ground up my own boneless chicken to make chicken burgers before. ( I tried to get the butcher at Fortinos to do it for me, but he said they don't do anything with the chicken- it comes packaged. ) Anyway, I guess it's good to know what is REALLY in your chicken burger *eep* and grounding it yourself, helps you know for sure. :P I just have a mini food processor, so I had to ground stuff together in little batches, but it all worked out ok. ...and I had dh bleach out the processor bits afterward. I am seriously raw chicken germ paranoid.

In the end, dh and I gave the burgers a big thumbs up. The kids were divided on them. It's probably, in part, because they wouldn't try the peanut sauce except on the teeniest, tiniest corner of their large kaiser rolls. I tried to tell them it was the best part!