willowraven's Friends

Art of the Season - Autumn. 

Autumn Landscape with View of Het Steen ~ Peter Paul Rubens, 1635

Bill and I had a nice visit yesterday.  He stopped at the store and got my milk and eggs.  I enjoy his company even more after all these years.  I had the windows wide open all day it was so warm and sunny. 

Plan for today:  Go to the produce market for a few fresh vegetables and salad greens, and maybe bananas.  I need to go to the bank yet again.  I'm feeling the pinch and want a readout of my account since the last statement to see what checks have cleared and how much is in there to the penny.  My Social Securitity doesn't come until mid month so it's important.  I might stop at the garden center and see if they have any bargain crocus bulbs left.

Menu for today:  Breakfast - Bran flakes and milk.  Snack - apple and almonds.  Lunch - soup and salad with cheese.  Supper - chicken, brown rice, french green beans and carrots with some kind of low fat cheese sauce.  Snack - Milk, rice cake.

I'm really going to make the most of this warm sunshine because I know it won't last.  I'll check on my car and make sure it's dried out inside.  I left a window cracked open so that when it heats up in the sun the moisture can escape.  No rain predicted so it's fine for today at least.  I swear, at least some of those bulbs are going to make it into the ground today. 

Bubba still is begging for me to let him drink from the bathtub faucet but he's having no luck.  At this point it's a battle of wills.  It's not like he's never seen a drinking fountain before - he had one for years before we moved.  He has drunk from it but probably not enough.  At least the noise has subsided and now it's just little begging squeaks instead of big baritone Mrrrowwws. 

Today:  Sunbathe! 

Update:  I have won the water war!  After shutting him out of the bathroom and any possibility of dripping faucets or toilet bowls, he took a healthy drink from his little bubbler this morning.  Since he never gets up on the counters in the kitchen, I wasn't worried about the kitchen sink at all.  I actually don't think he knows it's there.

After listening to Bubba complain all day and not use his new bubbler fountain, I gave in and let him drink from the bathtub faucet.  At lost the battle but at least I had a quiet night and the war is not over.

I did nearly nothing.  Again. I did bake a batch of pumpkin muffins just for something to do.  I'm so bored I became fascinated with my car insurance policy which arrived in the mail.  Nobody was around so I had no company.  However, I had no nasty symptoms, so maybe the rest is working.

Plan for today:  Bill will be here around 2.  He's stopping at the grocery store with my list again.  We have a bunch of videos we can watch, or, since it's going to be a nice day, maybe go for a drive if he feels like it. 

Menu for today:  Breakfast - fat free, low sugar pumpkin muffin, milk.  Lunch - turkey salad with tomatoes and cucumbers.  Snack - apple & peanut butter.  Supper - porkchop, brown rice, french green beans, pureed acorn squash.  Snack - milk, rice cake, maybe a hard boiled egg to get my protein up. 

It's a beautiful morning, expected to get to 65 F, 5-6 C with lots of sun.  It's a good day for a drive in the country to see the last of the fall color. 

Today:  Be glad for what's good. 

Week 3 weigh-in
Goal: 137
Weight: 139
Low: 136
Start: 140

Well.. it's up, but that's probably all the salt and crazy eating in the last couple days. I've been pretty good today, should go down.

Why exactly did I choose Saturday as a weigh-in day? It's always my heaviest day of the week. Really should switch to thursday - my lightest day.

It is however, one of those horrible worst acne ever days. I'm actually ashamed to leave my room. it is awful. A 22 year old girl shouldn't be dealing with this! That's what high school was for. grrrr

I guess ups and downs are par for life.  This morning is up I'm glad to say.  I slept great.

The little water bubbler I bought from the Miles Kimball catalog arrived.  I hooked it up thinking Bubba would react the same as he did when I got him the big Drinkwell fountain a few years back.  Instead he too one look at it and left the room. Then he refused to eat his dinner.  Now he's begging to drink out of the faucet in the bathtub and I even caught him drinking from the toilet.  I ended up letting him drink from the faucet so it would be quiet all night, but today the bathroom will be off limits.  He does seem to be getting used to the bubbler because I heard him in the kitchen crunching away at his food.

Plan for the day:  There is no plan.  I've been too tired to even think about it.  I need to go to the bank, so that might get me out of the house for a half an hour. 

Menu for today:  Breakfast - oatmeal with milk.  Lunch - leftover turkey from dinner and a salad.  Snack - tangerine.  Supper - dijon salmon, brown rice, peas & carrots.  Snack - milk, peanut butter.

It's a beautiful morning and I can tell it's not too cold because I didn't turn on the heat and it's not cold in here.  The past week I've had to turn on the baseboard heat in the bedroom in the early morning.  Since I'm on the top floor, I think I do get the rising heat from the lower floors.  Once it's really cold that makes no difference, but during the fall it does.  In the afternoon the sun streams in and really warms the place up.  It keeps my electric bill down.

There are more bare trees now.  I can see the distant houses and back roads going up the hill.  The sweet gums and oaks are still putting on a show.  I have to get out there and plant the last of the mystery bulbs before Thanksgiving.  Maybe this weekend will be the one.  I really should go to a garden center and get a few dozen crocus and snow drop bulbs too, but I don't last long when I'm gardening.  Half an hour is about my limit.  Can't get much done in that short amount of time.

Today:  Make the most of it because who knows how long it will last. 

Today, I had to take a points reduction test to get points off of my license.  I went into the room and it was like a high school classroom, with the desks with the L shaped wood slats that you write on.  

I didn't fit.  Embarassed, I told the proctor I was pregnant.  I got stuck in the seat and he had to hold the desk down for me to slide out and go sit at a table.

Worst. Fat moment. EVER. 

Feeling a bit better today. Scale went up 2 lbs to 138, but I expected worse. I feel like I got a binge that was building up for a long time out of my system and I hope that I can eat reasonably for a while now.

On a completely different note:

I want to get my mom a really nice Christmas gift this year. She always gets cooking supplies, and stuff for the house and whatnot, and I'd really like to get her something "just for her". She is truly an amazing woman, and I want to show her she deserves the world. But all the ideas I can come up with are the boring old cookbooks, etc.We have a family rule of no gift cards, and I'm really bad at guessing sizes/fit etc.

Please, anyone have any ideas?

she's 54, takes very good care of herself, dresses well, likes gardening and reading, is a big fan of coronation street and goes for a lot of walks. She's trying to lose weight, and only eats all natural non-processed food -- so sweets are definitely out.

Thanks everybody for the well wishes.  It did feel good to read them when I got back home. 

Blood is drawn, I'm referred to a big shot endocrinologist and my heart rythym is normal for now.  It comes and goes.  This morning I was convinced it was just not going to get better, then suddenly it calmed down.  It must have seen Dr. Kitteh coming.

This is going to be an "interesting" weekend I think.  I'm trying for a high protein, low carb day.  Usually that means higher fat, but I'm really trying.  I have a piece of roast turkey breast thawing, had a 2 egg omelette for late breakfast (after fasting) and will have tuna salad with tomatoes for late lunch.  Won't need a snack because of not eating until 11:30 am. 

Today:  Be a carnivore. 

2517/239.3

Fell so hard off the wagon last night, I had to check my ass for contusions. Started out innocently enough with a few mixed nuts. Snowballed from there. Seems like I've got to do this at least once a month.

I threw the last two brownies away at lunchtime, yesterday, in order to avoid the temptation, and congratulated myself on that decision. It's hard to convince yourself that in the garbage is better than on your thighs...

Proof that pride cometh before an orgiastic, unfettered snack fest.

On the plus side, I look fabulous today...I've got that nice healthy glow about me, like you get in a manic episode right before the crash.

Yee Haw Wardrobe Moment: new skirt (red and black houndstooth check, pencil) that was a bit too small when I bought it last year, fits just right now. This should provide a little inspiration to get back on the wain.

No journal entry today.  I'm not feeling well.  Headed to the lab for bloodwork and will try to come back later.  I hope the doc is not going to tell me to go to the ER yet again.

They're chewy or crispy, thick or thin, drop cookies or bars.  It's the ever popular and healthy oatmeal cookie.  Traditional oatmeal cookies are rich with butter, sugar and calories, but they don't have to be.  We can cut the sugar and fat, and make our oatmeal cookies nearly as healthy as a bowl of hot cereal.

Great nutrition is our goal.  Oats, oat bran, and oatmeal contain a specific type of fiber known as beta-glucan. Since 1963, studies have proven the beneficial effects of this special fiber on cholesterol levels.  Oats are rich in antioxidants and provide important nutrients too.  When looked at from a nutritional standpoint, oatmeal cookies make sense.

It's not hard to substitute more healthy ingredients if you understand what gives a cookie its texture.  Fat, such as butter, cause the oats, flour and sugar to crisp up, just like frying potatoes.  Eggs and flour bind the ingredients and make a cookie that doesn't crumble.  If we leave out the fat, we will get soft, chewy cookies that are just as appealing.  If we halve the fat instead of eliminating it, we can achieve the best of both with a little crispness outside and a softer interior.  We can use egg whites or egg substitute and also whole wheat flour to cut calories and increase the food value of our cookies without sacrificing quality.

Here are some general tips:

• Some of the texture of your finished cookies will come from the kind of oatmeal you use.  Old fashioned rolled oats are the chewiest and have the most texture.  Quick or instant oats are cut finer and produce a less textured cookie. You can use either according to your own taste. 
• What you add to the cookie dough provides variety.  Dried fruits, nuts and seeds allow you to use your own special touch to make your cookies different from any others.  A homely oatmeal drop cookie becomes a festive holiday treat with just the addition of a candied cherry and a little green colored sugar. 
• Use your imagination, but follow the recipe to insure good results.

The right bakeware is important for success.  Bake drop cookies on a good quality cookie sheet that is heavy enough not to buckle in the heat of the oven. The same goes for bar cookies - adjust your baking time to allow less time for dark colored pans and more for glass pans.  Spray with non stick baking spray, lightly butter or oil the pan, or line your pan with parchment paper to cut down on clean up.  Watch baking cookies carefully.  The point at which they reach perfection is just a few moments away from the point at which they scorch or even burn.  Turn the cookie sheet half way through the baking time to make sure they all brown evenly.  Cool the cookies on a rack until completely cooled, especially if you are going to freeze them.  If you freeze them, wrap in waxed paper and place loosely into a flat plastic freezer container to protect them from crumbling.

Great oatmeal cookie recipes abound.  Here are just a few from Calorie Count members who have entered them using the Recipe Analyzer and that we found using the Recipe Browser.

• Healthy Breakfast Cookie
• Oatmeal Applesauce Squares
• Oatmeal Fruit Bars
• Cranberry Orange Oatmeal Cookies