Full Moon

Caught the full moon rising over Cates Hill tonight.

An Email from Kylie

We bought her a netbook for her birthday and Christmas and she's learning how to use it.

A new semester began this week and I have all new kids.  I'm really enjoying them so far.  But the honeymoon isn't over yet!

SCHOOL ANECDOTE:

We started new advisories this week.  Yesterday, I had the kids fill out planners for Feb. When I passed out blank templates, one of the boys, who always has a twinkle in his blue eyes, said, "Hey, I recognize this.  We had to use them in Health class to figure out our periods."

We all died!  Then he added, "I found out I don't have one."  Such an imp!

Saturday and Sunday

I had fun taking lots of pictures on my walks.

We've got a 2-hour delay today because of icy roads.  Nice to be able to blog early on a Monday.

Happy New Year

Another postcard arrived this week and look at all the cool Chinese stamps!

Champagne

The name of the color that I used on the background was Metallic Champagne so I used bubble wrap to apply it.  It just seemed right.

Dawn: Portland, Maine

I took this last Sunday through our hotel window. 

It overlooks Portland Harbor.

More cool skies can be seen at SkyWatch Friday.

Wednesday

WEIGHT: 157.8

BREAKFAST: 1 slice WW toast with seafood salad and a banana

SNACK: Smartfood popcorn

LUNCH: ham and cheese in a WW Deli Flat with canola mayo and dijon mustard

SUPPER: We went to Sinibaldi's and my friend and I shared a large Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo pizza plus I had a glass of merlot.

EXERCISE: We got a couple more inches of snow so I had to shovel when I got home from school.  When we got home from the restaurant, I went for a walk for about a half hour.

Tuesday

WEIGHT: 158.0 Getting better

BREAKFAST: 1 slice of WW toast with Benecol, canola mayo, dijon mustard, Virginia Baked ham and swiss cheese, a banana, and a glass of cider

SNACK: a cup of Smartfood popcorn

LUNCH: seafood salad in a WW Deli Flat, carrot sticks, and an apple

SUPPER: leftover chicken casserole and a glass of merlot

EXERCISE: I shoveled when I got home from school and went for a two-mile walk after supper.

A-day-off-Monday

WEIGHT: 158.7  Yuck!

BREAKFAST: 1 slice of WW toast with Benecol and seafood salad, a banana, and a glass of apple cider

SNACK: a handful of Smartfood popcorn

LUNCH: ham and swiss sandwich on homemade WW toast with canola mayo and dijon mustard, an apple

COCKTAIL: a glass of merlot

SUPPER: One of the books I bought at borders was:

So, I made a couple of the recipes for supper: meatloaf and creamy rosemary potatoes.  Man oh, man!  Delish!  And I had another glass of merlot with it.

This cookbook doesn't feature low-cal foods...just cowboy-pleasing fare.  But oh, so good! 

What I love about the book is the humor and the photography.  I actually read the whole thing.  Even the steps to each recipe are funny.  And each step is illustrated with her own pictures.

She also added pictures of her husband whom she calls Marlboro Man because he looks just like the guy in the advertisement, and her four adorable kids.

EXERCISE: I changed my bed, vacuumed, shoveled our driveway, and walked around the block for about 2 miles. 

Two Firsts

It doesn't show in the picture, but the acrylic paint I used for the background is metallic.

I love how smooth it is and how easy it is to write on.

WEIGHT: Don't know and don't want to know after yesterday's splurging.

BREAKFAST: We went to the Standard Baking Company and I had a blueberry oatmeal scone with real butter.  Lots of butter.

LUNCH: When we got home, Gary made bacon and eggs and WW toast.  I had mine layered on the toast with pepperjack cheese. 

SUPPER: seafood salad sandwich with a glass of merlot.

EXERCISE: I walked for almost an hour.

Saturday's Eating Extravaganza

WEIGHT: 157.2  This is about to change drastically, I'm afraid!

BREAKFAST: We stopped at McDonald's in Gorham on our way to Maine.  I had an Egg McMuffin and water.

SNACK:  An hour later when we got to South Paris, we stopped at Burger King and I had a ham, egg, and cheese croissant.

LUNCH: After Gary's eye appointment at the Mall in So. Portland, we went to the food court and I had a turkey focaccia sandwich from Amatto's.  It consisted of turkey, lettuce, tomato, roasted red peppers, provolone cheese, and mayo.  It was huge and I ate the whole thing!

COCKTAIL HOUR: We went into the lounge of the Holiday Inn by the Bay in Portland and I had 2 Sea Breezes. (vodka, grapefruit juice, and cranberry juice)

SUPPER: We met a camper friend at J's Oyster House and she and I had the pasta dinner special of any two pasta dishes for $25.  I chose shrimp scampi and it was to die for.  It was served over angel-hair pasta.  I also had another sea breeze.

DESSERT: On the way back to our hotel, we stopped at Gritty McDuff's and I had yet another sea breeze but I couldn't finish it and for dessert I had a small order of sweet potato fries with maple sour cream.  After that I waddled to the Holiday Inn!

EXERCISE: In the morning Gary dropped me off at Ocean Park Beach for an hour while he went to the motorcycle shop.  I walked along the surf for a good half hour.  Then, while he was at the eye doctor's, I walked the whole length of the mall and out to Border's Books and back.  Once we checked into our hotel, we walked down to the Old Port about 10 minutes away and back again.

Postcrossing

I joined Postcrossing so I could get stamps from around the world.  Basically, I send a postcard to someone somewhere in the world and then someone else sends me one.  My first one went to a girl in Italy and the first one I recieved was from Gabbey in the Netherlands.

The collage on the left is just stuff I had hanging around my desk.

Friday

WEIGHT: 156.0

BREAKFAST: 1 slice of WW toast with Benecol and tuna salad, a banana, and a glass of apple cider

SNACK; Smartfood popcorn

LUNCH: turkey breast in a WW Deli flat with canola mayo and horseradish sauce, carrot sticks, and an apple

SUPPER: pea soup and WW biscuit that I made using Benecol instead of shortening and skim milk instead of whole milk.  Good!

EXERCISE: I walked for almost an hour.  It was so nice I even took my mittens and hat off and unzipped my jacket.  Such a bonus in January!

Thursday's Eating

WEIGHT: I was running a bit late and forgot to hop on the scale.

BREAKFAST: 1 slice of WW toast with Benecol and chicken salad made with canola mayo, a banana, and a glass of apple cider.

LUNCH: tunal salad in a WW Deli Flat, Smartfood popcorn, (Never had time to eat my snack during third block like I usually do because we went to the library and food is not allowed in there.) and a clementine.

SUPPER: I made a casserole with the leftover chicken.  It was not low calorie, I'm afraid, since I mixed up sour cream, evaporated milk, leftover Alfredo sauce, leftover cheese sauce, green peppers, mushrooms, tobasco sauce, garlic powder, and ground cayenne pepper, and the chicken, put it in a casserole dish and sprinkled cheddar cheese on the top, then baked it for 40 minutes or so.  Pretty darn tasty!  I also had a glass of merlot with that.

EXERCISE: I walked for almost an hour.  I needed it!

Northern NH Sunrise

If I stick my head out my classroom window, I can see the sun rise.

I love it when the first rays slice through the woods.

Go to SkyWatch Friday to see more skies from around the world.

Wednesday

WEIGHT: 157.0

BREAKFAST: 1 slice of WW toast with Benecol and chicken salad, a banana, and apple cider

SNACK: Smartfood popcorn

LUNCH: chicken salad in a WW Deli Flat, carrot sticks, an apple

SUPPER: We went to Mary's Pizza Parlor and I had homemade pasta with a white clam sauce and 2 pieces of garlic bread.  I also had a glass of merlot at home with Dottie first and a glass of chianti at the restaurant.

EXERCISE: I actually went for a walk.  It was cold but not windy.  I walked for about 25 minutes.

Tuesday

WEIGHT: 157.2  The rollercoaster continues

BREAKFAST: Spamwich:  2 slices of Spam, a slice of American cheese, 1 egg fried with the yolk broken on a WW Deli Flat, a banana, and a glass of apple cider

LUNCH: tuna salad in a WW Deli Flat, carrot sticks, smartfood popcorn (I never had a chance to eat it for my snack) and an apple

SUPPER: baked chicken, baked potato with Benecol and gravy, fresh broccoli with cheese sauce and a glass and a half of merlot

EXERCISE: No walk. Just normal everyday stuff but I did run around school quite a bit.  Okay, I got lazy!

Back-to-the-Old-Grind Monday

WEIGHT: 156.8

BREAKFAST: 1 slice of WW toast with Benecol, canola mayo, swiss cheese, and Virginia baked ham.  A banana, and a glass of OJ

SNACK: Smartfood popcorn

LUNCH: tunal salad in a WW Deli Flat, carrot sticks, a pear

SUPPER: I used the leftover spaghetti sauce from last week and mixed it with Alfredo sauce then spread it on a Naan and covered it with pizza cheese, green peppers, and onion then baked it in a 500 degree oven for about 10 minutes.  Delish!

EXERCISE: I walked around the block for about a half hour tonight.

My Weekend

Bits and pieces from my weekend.

I used the cardboard from the box my Kindle cover came in to stamp the red and yellow.

A Lazy Sunday

WEIGHT: Nope.  didn't weight myself again.  Tomorrow, for sure.

BREAKFAST: An egg, ham, and cheese sandwich on WW toast with Benecol.  2 cups of decaf with half & half and Bailey's.

LUNCH: a bowl of pea soup

SUPPER: BLT on WW toast with canola mayo and 2 glasses of merlot

EXERCISE: just stuff around the house.

I Love Saturdays

WEIGHT: I forgot to weigh myself before eating and dressing this morning.

BREAKFAST: 2 slices of WW toast with Benecol and tuna salad, glass of grape juice

SNACK: an orange from our own tree in Florida.  Yum!

SUPPER: a sandwich of freshly-baked WW bread, lightly toasted with Benecol, canola mayo, Virginia baked ham sliced extremely thin, and Swiss cheese, a glass of merlot

SNACK: candied pecans and half a glass of merlot.

EXERCISE: I walked up around the Russian church, quickly! because it was so darn cold.

The First Week of 2010

Some good.

Some bad.

That's life.

TGIF!

WEIGHT: 157.8

BREAKFAST: 1 slice WW toast with pork salad, a banana, and a glass of grape juice

SNACK: a cup or so of Smartfood popcorn

LUNCH: pork salad in a WW Deli flat, carrot sticks, and a pear

SUPPER:  Gary made it.  2 fried eggs on 2 slices of WW toast with Benecol, pepperjack cheese, crumbled bacon, and hollandaise, 2 glasses of merlot

EXERCISE: I jogged to the store twice.  That sounds a lot better than it is since the store isn't that far away.  Better than nothing, though, I guess.  Someone, kick me in the butt, please!

Thursday

WEIGHT: 157.3

BREAKFAST: 1 slice of WW toast with Benecol and pork salad, a banana, and OJ

SNACK: a cup of smartfood popcorn

LUNCH: pork salad in a WW Deli Flat, carrot sticks, a pear

DRINK: Dottie came over and we had a glass of the pinot noir that my daughter gave me for Christmas.

SUPPER: Dottie, gary and I went to Sinibaldi's.  I had anotehr glass of wine (merlot) and a small Chicken Broccoli Alfredo pizza.

EXERCISE: I ran up and down the stairs quite a few times and was fairly busy in school but, other than that, not much else.  By the time we got back from the restaurant, it was time for Two and a Half Men so I plunked myself in my recliner and stayed there.

Our Christmas

We celebrated Christmas in NH on Dec. 30th and had a great time.  My niece, Alissa, came up with her two boys, James and River.  Erin, Shaun and Kylie were there as well as my son, Nathan, and his girlfriend, Danielle.  My brother, Tim, and his wife, Sherrie, came over, too.

Franconia Notch, NH

I took this picture two weeks ago when we were on our way to catch a plane to Florida. 

The Old Man of the Mountain used to be here.  Kind of sad not to see him staring out into the perfect blue sky, anymore.

Check out SkyWatch Friday to see more awesome skies from all around the world.

Wednesday Woes

WEIGHT: 156.9  (This was okay)

BREAKFAST:  1 slice WW homemade toast with Benecol and leftover pork mixed with canola mayo, a banana, and a small glass of OJ.  (This was okay, too.)

SNACK: a cup of smartfood popcorn.  (Still doing okay)

LUNCH: More of that same pork in a WW Deli Flat, carrot sticks, and a delicious, juicy pear.  (Still okay!)

SUPPER: 2 glasses of merlot (not okay!)  seafood salad in a grilled WW Deli Flat (I used real butter) with lettuce and tomatoes.  (so so okay)

EXERCISE:  None!  I wanted to go for a walk but it was cold and windy and I got lazy because of the wine.  (Wicked not okay!)

Maybe tomorrow will be better!

Tuesday Eating, etc.

WEIGHT: 157.0

BREAKFAST: 1 slice of WW toast with Benecol and seafood salad, a banana, and OJ

SNACK: a cup of Smartfood popcorn

LUNCH: seafood salad in a WW Deli Flat, carrot sticks, an apple

SNACK: Triscuits with seafood dip

SUPPER: pork tenderloin, baked potato, and squash

EXERCISE: a mile and a half around the block

Back-to-Normal-Routine Eating

WEIGHT: 157.2

BREAKFAST: 1 slice of homemade WW bread with Benecol and tuna salad, a banana, and a small glass of OJ

VITAMINS: C, D, multi, Fish oil, and calcium

SNACK: a cup of Smartfood popcorn

LUNCH: seafood salad on a WW Deli Flat, carrot sticks, water

SUPPER: I made spaghetti sauce with hamburg, my niece, Alissa's garlic from her garden, yellow sweet pepper, onion, carrots, celery, basil, rosemary, oregano, red pepper, tomto sauce and a couple tablespoons of Alfredo sauce.  I had that on WW egg noodles with a tablespoon or so of grated parmesan cheese.  Pretty damn good, if I say so myself.  To drink I had water.

EXERCISE: I walked tonight for a mile and a 1/4 on snowy, slushy streets.

Sunday's Weird Eating

WEIGHT: 158.3  Up and down, up and down.

BREAKFAST: (around 10:30) 2 cups of decaf with half & half and Bailey's, an omelette with cheese, yellow and orange sweet peppers, hollandiase sauce, and spam.  (I know what a horrible food that is but, I love it once in a while.)

SUPPER: (around 4 pm) Chinese Pie.  That's the end of it, finally.

EXERCISE: shoveled snow and washed and waxed the kitchen floor.  Plus, normal chores around the house.

Christmas

I had to save a piece of the wrapping paper my sister Sally used for my gift since it is so typically Florida.

This is Kylie's first ever school picture.

And, yes, we're going to be grandparents again in the summer!  Yipee!

Saturday Eating and Exercise

WEIGHT: 156.1

BREAKFAST: 9:30 am 1 slice of homemade WW toast with Benecol and seafood salad, a banana, and a glass of water

SNACK: a cup or so of Smartfood popcorn and a glass of merlot

SUPPER: a turkey breast sandwich on WW homemade bread, toasted with Benecol, canola mayo, and tomatoes

SNACK: another one! seafood dip made with whipped cream cheese, sour cream, Knorr vegetable soup and seafood salad. A handful of Wheat Thins and a second glass of merlot.

EXERCISE: Just normal stuff around the house like laundry.  I also walked around Walmart.  That'll wear you out!

This Is Not a Diet!

I'm just going to continue to list my weight and exercise and what I eat to keep myself honest. I need this because...well, just look at what I ate today! I love vacations but, in a way, will be glad to get back to my normal routine of eating and exercising next week.

Weight: 157.7

Breakfast: 2 slices of homemade WW toast with Benecol and seafood salad, a cup of decaf with half and half and Bailey's.

Lunch: a helping of Chinese Pie (hamburg, creamed corn, mashed potatoes)

Supper: salad with ranch dressing, 2 potato pancakes, 6 chicken fingers, one glass of merlot

Exercise: Nothing! I was very lazy.