Mid Winter Muck Out

When I am heading back to school ( work) after a break, I like to look back at what I did so that I feel like I accomplished something. Breaks are not really vacations. Someone asked me recently how vacation was going. Vacation from what? While on break, I try to get all errands run and things in my life current and straightened out so I can go back to work full time.
So,what did we do this week? No crickets chirping here this time, here is the skinny:

Monday: free bowling at the local lanes, and a doc appt for Anna

Tuesday: Mid Winter Muck Out. Yes, caps here, it's practically an event. Mid Winter Much Out is when you go through closets, get rid of things that don't fit, shoes that are blown out, and then you go into the attic, get the next size up bins and tack stock so that on April break, you can do the Spring Sweep. That is when you move out heavy sweaters and move in the lighter clothes. Got to be ready for that event ( and don't confuse these with the Fall Fling when you gear up for re-entry to school). I spent an enrire morning on this, and feel good that it's done.

Wednesday- Shopping in Albany, lunch with Sandi and Aunt Lila

Thursday-catch up day, actually did housework and laundry

Friday-Snow tubing and car repair day. Was supposed to be an inspection, but something happened and many service lights came on, turns out I had a broken axel, and now I have a passed inspection and new axel ( minus 400.00 in the bank)

Saturday-Fire and Ice in Inlet. Skated, sledded, and ate at the Screaming Eagle. Didn't want to leave my beloved ADKs.

Sunday-Cleaned house, put away laundry, and shoveled newest foot of snow off the roof to get ready for the next foot of snow due tonight into tomorrow.


Maybe, just maybe we will get a delay......or dare I dream snow day????

This is Why

I often marvel at the amount of overweight people in the US. Myself included. According to the chart, I am 26 lbs overweight. I agree, by the way, because the weight that I am always trying to get down to is 20 lbs from where I am. I am a size 12, and I am forever trying to get to a size 10 ( haven't seen 10 since 2004/2005 before I got pregnant with Ava) I start the year off on weight watchers, every stinking year. I lose my fall and holiday weight. I typically lose 10 lbs before summer. Summer hits and I don't have to do WW because I am swimming, biking, hiking, walking the dog, and generally getting the exercise I need. I feel good, and look OK, but never quite where I want to be. Fall hits, I lose time, sit at my desk all day in school, and put that 10 lbs back on. So here I am again, on WW. I really need to break the cycle, but restaurants and companies are not making it easy. Take for instance Friendly's. We ate at one yesterday in the Albany area. I SHOULD have looked online before we went, but I wasn't quite sure where we would end up eating. I TRIED to make a good decision and eat decent. I got home, looked up what I had ( a wrap, of all things, hold the fries, I had coleslaw that I nibbled on), and man did I make a BAD decision. The wrap, without the fries it would have come with, was 29 WW points. Thats 1090 calories and 80 grams of fat. I should have spooned crisco out of the can and eaten it and I likely would have fared better. I blew it! ( Good thing Sandi and her mom shared the salad, it was also over 1000 cal and almost 60 grams of fat). How? Why? I recently made the same astonshing discoveries when I looked at Red Lobster's menu. Thankfully I had a plan when I ate there ( and skipped those desserts.......80 grams of fat, that is like a 2 day supply).
Today, Miranda made a no bake Jello dessert mix. She opted to put them into cup cake papers, instead of the pie dish. We got what we thought were 12 servings, and they were not skimpy, they filled the cup cake papers. According to the package, a serving is 2 of the cup cake papers filled with the dessert, for a total of 380 calories 17 grams of fat. Are you freaking kidding me? We each had 1, for about 190 cal and 8.5 grams of fat. ( that 4 WW points, instead of 8). How did serving sizes get so large? What the HELL is Jello thinking? Are they trying to clog my arteries and kill me early? It no wonder when I go the mall and people watch so many people are heavy. You have to take notice, check things out, read labels. It would be NICE if companies and restaurants would help out and get a little healthier for people, but in the meantime, I am taking things into my own hands.
On the bright side of things, my heaviest weight I have only seen once, 2 sizes larger then where I am now, and I have NOT been that size since the new millenium, 1999. I only own size 12's as my fat wardrobe, and when things get tight, off to WW I go. I would like to get rid of the 12's so when the 10's get tight, off to WW I go.

A February Break

I really envy those of you going South. I am sick of winter this year. I haven't felt this way towards winter in years. Enough already. PErhaps it's just everything else going on in my life, and my lack of time to play outside in the snow this year?
Anyhoo, a long deserved break is here! Hurray! School was crazy this past 2 weeks. Kids doing stupid things, parents and teachers overreacting, and not enough of me to go around. We all just needed to clear out and start fresh next week. It's always this way in Feb. Cabin fever I guess, that, and mid year grades will do it.
This week, south is not in the cards, but east is! Free bowling today at ADK Lanes ( thank you community ed), tomorrow I have to do some things for my parents, east to Albany Wednesday, and the rest of the week is unplanned. We need to sled or ice skate, scrap book, and maybe just a day to watch movies all day. It's not plam trees and beach parties, but it will be just the thing!
A nice start to my week too, I didn't cook for 3 nights! Friday we went to my parents to do some thigns and picked up dinner, Saturday was date night ( Red Lobster.....yum-o), and last night Brian made pizza, all I had to do was cook sausage and shred cheese. That was easy. Tonight? corned beef in the crock pot and salt potatoes. Just as easy.

I'm off to get ready to bowl with the girls.

The 840

The new road, the connector, the 840, whatever you want to call it, it makes my life much easier. A few years back, the Utica area finally got a connecting highway, quite like the 690 around the Schenectady area. Get on, go fast, shoot out in another area of the city. Yesterday, after I got home from an intervention at my parents house ( a whole different post......later), I had to grab lunch, all 3 kids, drop Miranda off in CLark Mills for dance, hop on the 840, shoot off to Vally Gym in NH for a birthday party, drop that kid off, back on the 840 to retrieve daughter number one, we then had to hit a store for some errands, back on the 840, pick up middle daughter from party, and over to Washington Mills for gas, car wash, and dinner pick up at Piggy Pats ( what? You think I am cooking after the week I have had......whole different post. Week from Hell. God Bless Piggy's! Long live the Pig). I finally arrived at home at 5:30. I was just thinking how funny it is that my car is a "Cross Country" Wagon. That pretty much describes most of my weekends.

I do thank the 840, without which I would have gone crazy yesterday.