Pictures from Alison's

Thanks so much for opening your home to us. It was a wonderful night! Chris, you would be proud to know that Jen's brussels sprouts was the first dish to be completely eaten!

Marinade / Dressing served at Alison's

We got this from the South Beach Diet book.

Dill Herb Dressing
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

In a screw-top jar, (David did it in a food processor) mix all ingredients.

We thought a squeeze of lemon or lime would be nice after having tasted this. We took raw, deveined, thawed shrimp and sauteed it in some of the dressing and poured it all over salad. You could even stir fry veggies (peppers, onions, broccoli, etc) to add to the salad or just eat it as a stir fry. I rarely use fresh herbs but highly recommend it! We cleaned the rest of the herbs, chopped them and froze them in a zip lock so they are ready for next time.

I am not sure about calories since it depends what you do with the dressing. Whatever you do, I guarantee it will be yummy!

Thanks Coach Wendy!

Wasn't really feeling like exercising yesterday. I had the start of a migraine and cramps from it being that time of month (TMI?) so I stumble on an e-mail announcing that Zumba class is Thursday at 4:30. Delta is considering it as a regular class. I e-mailed Wendy to see if it was still on and how many signed up. As it turns out there are two of us! Anyway, by the end of the day the class grew to 6 and Wendy wanted to know if I was coming .... I said yes even though my body was saying no. We had closer to 10 and in the end I was glad I went and got it done .... no excuses, right?!?!? I went home to see dinner ready, thanks honey. I ate and took a migraine pill and went to bed. My day was complete on my check list for Chris! Looking forward to Allison's on Saturday hope to see you all there!

Yep that is my mountain of snow

I did it ... shoveled that evil white stuff off my driveway! Be careful out there!

Does shoveling count as exercise?!?!

What a work out this AM!!!!!!! We spent an hour and a half pushing, lifting and tossing many feet of snow! I can tell you, I was pushing an 8 or 9 on the old RPE scale! It is still coming down so I am sure I will have more 'exercise' ahead of me! Needless to say, I am home until we can get streets plowed. We hit the grocery store on Monday night so food is not an issue today ... no hitting the pantry for noodles or trying to scrounge a meal up in this house! If you are out in this stuff be careful ... if you are home enjoy the day!

Week one behind us

This is my second turn through the project and yesterday was the first time I attended the Saturday meeting. It was great to hear all the struggles and hear the enthusiasm in the group, it is really powerful stuff. If you have not had a chance to meet on Wednesday or Saturday with the group, I encourage you to do so. Reflecting on the week, I was not perfect but that gives me a few things to work on this week .... it is good to have goals and plans. I am ready for the week ahead.

Evaluation of the first day

Was I perfect? No but I tried and that is what counts in my mind. One of the girls at work was out with knee replacement through the holidays and she came back to work yesterday. Anyone that works at Delta knows that is time for food .... actually anytime is time for food! They brought in bagels for her return. I have such a weakness for that yummy, toasty, bread! I can say I am not a fan of the sugary cinnamon type but love the asiago, blueberry and thank goodness they only make the cranberry walnut during the Christmas holiday because those are the best! I did celebrate the return of a co-worker but I only had half a bagel. I pat myself on the back for only taking half and have vowed to stay out of bagel joints for 12 weeks. You see bread, rolls and yeasty concoctions are my down fall. Why is it that it is so bad for you?!?!? I did get my cardio in at lunch so I am proud of that.

Looking forward to what today has to offer .... my mind is occupied with the inauguration so perhaps food won't be such a challenge today. I am excited to see the change that our new president brings to us as a nation and look inward to the change that I can bring to myself through the next 12 weeks.

Today is the day

I am ready to go on the project. The food and plans are in place for a great kick off .... let's get this going! Looking forward to the journey with a great group of people!

The Plan is in place!

The new project members met last night and it was a wonderful kick off meeting. Chris did a great job and there were a number of the test pilots there too. I met one on one with Chris and my goals are in writing. No backing down now! I know where I am going and have the tools I need. The rest must come from within me! Looking forward to the eval on Sunday and might venture out with the brave souls for the mile walk which is part of the eval. Chris gave us the option to complete on our own due to weather .... I however have new fleece walking pants to try out! Thanks honey! Chat soon ....

What a range of New Year Emotions

We started off the New Year with my brother's wedding. It went off without a hitch and a great time was had by all! They are off in Hawaii enjoying the warm 80's weather while we are here with the sleet! It took most the weekend to recover from the two days of prep and partying with the wedding but it was all worth it.

I went from this high emotion to a low. I found out yesterday that a good friend of mine suffered a stroke. She is healthy and in her mid-40's! I am still stunned by this news and it is hard being two hours away where all I can do is pray. While I know that is what she needs as she undergoes tests and rests; it is still hard not to be by her side. The docs believe at this time that a small hole in her heart caused the stroke but they still have some tests results to read.

David and I will head north this weekend. My uncle is no longer able to garden and we have inherited all his stuff. We will get get stuff for growing to planting to canning. Needless to say David is really excited about this and I am too since I love to eat everything he plants! We had fun over the last week going through seed books as he wants to do everything from seed this year. It is a lot of fun for us! I will share the goods too which is fun as well!

We will make a stop to see my friend as well so that I can see for myself that she is ok. I guess God has his ways of reminding us every now and then to slow down, take care of ourselves and appreciate what we have right here and now. Take one day at a time because you never know what the cards hold for you or how long you will have with your loved ones.

I have devoted time to prep my mind for the upcoming weeks on the project. I will be at the Wednesday night meeting. I am having a hard time with our eval on Sunday since I have a number of things I want to accomplish up north. I feel in my heart that missing this is not the way to start the program however, I also want to have the chance to fit everything in up north. I also feel in my heart that a visit with my friend will help. She has always been motivational on my healthy lifestyle endevors and perhaps that is where I need to be at the start of this part of the journey. We will see .... I will meditate on this over the evening as it is a meditation day!

Take care and hug your loved ones often! Chrisitne