It's Getting Cold Outside

Happy Halloweeny! 

While Pat and I were outside a couple of weeks ago raking the plethora of leaves in our yard, one of our neighbors stopped by to introduce herself. Somewhere in the conversation, she mentioned that Halloween is a little bit quiet around here because most of the parents in the neighborhood take their kids into town.  We live in a rural neighborhood where the houses are fairly spaced apart. But she said she makes her kids walk the neighborhood and they usually go with another set or our neighbors.  She said that they are usually the only ones out on Halloween night. So we took her advice to heart and only bought a couple of bags of candy, which is probably one too many. The bag of Kit Kats was opened about a week ago and the other bag hasn't been opened yet.  Halloween candy is a weakness for me but I think I'm doing pretty well this year.

Onto my main topic of the day. That's right, it's that time of the year when it gets cold outside. Daylight savings time ends next weekend so besides getting cold, it's also going to be dark by the time I get home at night. I don't really mind the fact that it's cold, I do mind that it's dark outside. Our new neighborhood is not well lit, well, it's not lit at all! There are no street lights around.  I am usually an afternoon/evening workout person so I am trying to come up with some ways to solve my darkness problem. I have thought about bringing my work out stuff to work and walking/jogging right after work in Verona where they have street lights. That would mean I wouldn't get home at night until 6 or 6:30. The other couple of options I've thought about include buying an Indoor Trainer. The other option is for Pat to help me move our elliptical machine upstairs. It's in the basement right now and I can't use it because the ceiling is too low down there. My head just works its way right up into the ceiling if I try to use it.

I've also thought of outdoor solutions. I'm one of those strange people that actually does enjoy the snow up here in the great north. I know nothing beats sitting inside on a snowy night with a cup of hot cocoa but I also love being all bundled up and making snow angels. So I was trying to come up with activities I could get into during the weekends or on my days off that involved winter weather. I've thought that I should get back into Nordic Skiing. That would require a bit of extra money for purchasing wax and such but not overly expensive. I haven't skied since high school so I have no idea what condition my skis are in and I don't really like to ski by myself and Pat doesn't have Cross Country skis. We could rent him some I suppose.

Snow Shoeing is the other outdoor winter activity I came up with. I haven't ever tried it but it could be fun and a great work out AND it can be done anywhere. I wouldn't have to find specific trails to do it on.

For today though, I think I am just going to bundle up against the 40 degree weather and go for a walk. 

Favorite Things

So I was going to do a post about how great of a day I had today, until I ate a role of Rolos. Food was great today.

Breakfast: Whole wheat bagel thin with some low fat cream cheese

Lunch: 40 minute walk, Lasagna Lean Cuisine, fruit cup (pears) in juice, low fat strawberry yogurt and some diet Mt. Dew.

Dinner: Pat and I didnt feel like cooking so we went to BW3 where I had grilled chicken buffalito (yummy) with a lemonade.

I felt pretty good at the end of the day. I wasn't tired like I usually get when I don't eat well.



So in respect to the fact that I am watching the Sound of Music reunion on Oprah, I wanted to make a great list of all my favorite things. These are things that make me happy. I find that through this journey of change that there is a lot of negative self-talk. So, on to some great positive things, that may be slightly random!

Pat
Alyssa
Mom&Dad
Friends
Kitty cats
Musicals
Snow(flakes)
Memories
Cozy Soft Old Quilts
Colorful Maple Leaves(pressed in Grandma's dictionary)
Rainbows
Strawberries
S'mores
Rice Krispy Bars
Watermelon
Love
Fiction
Photography
Great Teachers
Piano Music
Christmas Music (:P)
Austria
The Sound of Music makes me smile
Ice Cream


I'll add to this list later.

Changing Tastebuds?

Pat and I went to the grocery store tonight. I filled up the cart with good healthy foods. By the time we got home, it was after 8pm and I didn't feel like cooking.  It's ironic isn't it that I just went to the grocery store to stock my house and I didn't feel like cooking? So while I was cutting up a very delicious pineapple, Pat boiled some water to make some Velveeta Shells and Cheese, low fat addition.  I was weak and had some of his shells and cheese...and they made me gag to the point where I had to have Pat eat the rest of my bowl.  I used to eat that all the time in college, often with seasoned salt. I just couldn't bring myself to eat anymore than a couple of spoonfuls because they just didn't taste good. 

Don't shoot me but I also threw away a grande non-fat mocha from Starbucks this morning. I think I was dehydrated and all I really wanted was a big bottle of water. I feel like I wasted the 4 bucks I spent on that drink but it didn't taste good enough to me.

I wish I could get this way with soda (pop for all you MN people). I need to get to the point of it tasting like crap. Pat and I don't have it in the house anymore but I do find myself craving it often. I need to drink more milk as well. It will be interesting to see where my tastebuds take me.

I am planning on a few home cooked comfort foods this week. Beef stew is on the menu, as well as Turkey Tacos tomorrow night, and spicy chicken soup in the crockpot probably Thursday or Friday (let me know if you want the recipe, it's super simple). 

Should I go?

Trying to decided if i want to go to this.

They had a similar gathering this last weekend in the Twin Cities. I'm thinking about picking up a couple of tickets for myself and a friend but I really dont know if I can afford it or not.  I think it could be a lot of fun.

I will do another post later.

Friends

...Or lack of.

Tamara came to visit with her boyfriend Corey tonight. I haven't seen here since the end of July at Andrea's wedding. Tamara used to work with me at Anchorbank, but she has now moved on to bigger and better things and I miss her.

Truthfully, I don't have any very close girl friends here in Madison. No friends that I can talk about anything with, no girlfriends that I can tell my secrets to. I do enjoy times with Michelle (another former coworker) and Anne. And I do feel that I could have a close relationship with Jana and Kinsey has been reaching out quite a bit. But the girls I am closest with now don't live here. Four of them are in the cities now and Tamara has moved north as well and Alicia is in Milwaukee.

I wish I would have taken more advantage of the time I had with Becky while she was here in Madison. There were times I spent most of my time with Pat. And she's not here anymore and I miss our Thursday night dinners while watching Grey's Anatomy. I did manage a great day at the Arboretum and a great picture of her. She was also the crazy amazing personal attendant at my wedding. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to live up to her standards. Becky is one of those friends I can talk to about anything. So is Christina.

Becky


Christina has been my closest friend since, well we've been close since our junior or senior year in high school when we sat next to each other in Chemistry class (trying to listen) but I have known her since Jr. High. Even when I went away for college and then moved to Madison, we kept in touch, we told each other our secrets. I was there on the phone when she told me the news about her mom's cancer, I was there on the phone during the final hours before her mom beautiful soul left this planet. I was there on the phone throughout school, through new men, and then later when those men were making us cry. I feel horrible because I haven't talked to her in over a month. I miss our once weekly phone calls. Christina

Andrea and Tamara are both wonderful ladies that I used to work with at the bank. Like I said above, Tamara moved north to live with her boyfriend Corey. I know she misses it down here but every time I meet Corey, the more I like him. I think he is good for her. Andrea lives in the cities with her husband. They got married a couple of months ago. I'm excited for them. I really like Andrea and I think if she would have stayed down here, we could have had the opportunity to be much closer friends. Andrea and I have joked that her and I just need to switch lives because most of her friends and family are in this area and mine are up where she lives.Andrea and Tamara (my bachelorette party)

Alicia is in Milwaukee. Alicia, I met her at a party in college. She was in the sorority I was thinking about joining. We didn't become very close until her senior year, mostly because she and I were the only two that stuck around to clean up after events. Alicia and I spend most of our time now meeting in Johnson's Creek for some outlet mall shopping, switching off to drive between her house or mine and chit chatting about various things on the phone. I am her son's Godmother. She is another friend I don't call often enough and fail to return phone calls too.Me and Alicia

Then there is my sister. She's in the cities too. She's my sister. I know she'll be there the rest of my life. She is my biggest supporter on this journey of change and betterment in myself. We've had a pretty quiet past. We fought a lot when we were younger, like sisters are supposed to do and sometimes we still don't agree but she's still my sister and I love her.Me and Alyssa (I wish I could crop myself out)

What it comes down to is that I have made friends here but then they leave. I would never replace these ladies. I just miss having someone to be able to call up on the spur of a moment. I'm sure I'll find someone soon. Or someone I can be motivated with. Pat's good at that but it's not the same as having a girlfriend to do it with. I'm sure there will be someone else I just have to be patient.

Don Lee Farms

I was at my parent's house this weekend and I needed a quick meal while I was running out the door. So my mom warmed up a Veggie Burger for me that she had gotten at Costco. Now, I've had Boca Burgers and these were so much better. Theses are actually vegan as well. I was impressed. I had it on a whole wheat sandwich flat. Just the patty and the flat. It was extremely yummy. Now I just need to find someone who has a Costco membership so I can go get some soon! Oh and 170 Calories per patty! Great snack!

Eating Out

Pat has been a little stressed lately so when he got home, he didn't really want to spend time making dinner. So we went out, something quick and easy of course. Noodles it was. I have always thought that Noodles has some good food on their menu, good meaning healthy. I always order either their Pad Thai or Pasta Fresca. Tonight it was Pasta Fresca, no tomatoes and grilled chicken breast. I never remember that Noodles has a small sized bowl for all of their dishes. So I ordered a regular. I ate until I was full, leaving about 1/3 of my total meal there on my plate which is now in the fridge.

When I got home, I brought up their website on my computer and I pulled up their nutrition facts. I shocked at how many calories are in a regular bowl of Pasta Fresca, and then I added grilled chicken on top of that. Tonight's meal, had I eaten every last bite would have been over 900 calories. I have decided I either need to stop eating out or I need to do what Jen over at A Prior Fat Girl does. If she is going out for dinner, she pulls up the menu ahead of time and decides what she is going to eat before she even gets there. I thought this was an amazing idea! Now I just need to make sure I do it. Had I looked at their menu and nutrition facts ahead of time, I probably would have gotten a small size of some meal. Or their Tomato Bisque soup (which I hear is really yummy).