Baby News!!

No, not me. I have three children already.

My best friend, the beautiful yet anonymous Dr. B., had a beautiful baby boy yesterday!! He's sooooooo cute!!

Congratulations Dr. B. and husband!! "Little A" is a handsome little man!!

Weight Watcher Comments Follow-Up and More!

Thank you so much to those of you who made suggestions.

After checking out The Daily Plate site, I found that I really do prefer what I've been using: Fit Day. It's also an online food/calorie/exercise/etc. tracker like the one you all suggested. One difference I like so much about it is that you can enter custom nutrition information without having to pay for a subscription or membership. Example: I entered in the nutrition label from the Rich Chocolate Royale Slim-Fast shake. If I don't quite finish the entire 11 oz. can I can input that I drank 10 oz. and the site will calculate the adjustment for me and put it in my food diary for that day. It also has a huge database of foods in general, including condiments and even herbs and spices.

Yes, I am walking. I try to make it to the gym at least three times a week to do the treadmill thing. I usually average 3.4 mph inclined at "6" (whatever that means). When inclined at "2" or level I average 3.8 - 4 mph. I prefer to raise the platform because I hear it really targets the rump roast, which is what I would like to stop growing wider. Ha! Ha! I'm not doing any strength training, except the occasional bout on the ab machine, because I tend to gain muscle mass rapidly, which makes my weight go up. I'm going to lose the excess by cardio on the treadmill first, then I might do some body sculpting of my arms and legs.

The things I'm doing and choices I've been making have helped me lose 4 lbs. already in the last couple of weeks. Of course, I've also been sick with a wicked bad cold bug, which may have something to do with my two-pound per week average thus far. I'm sure it will slow down if this cold bug will ever take a hike.

FYI for you Texans . . . If you have a Randalls grocery store around you . . . They have their brand of diet food, such as crackers, ready-made salads in the produce department, TV dinners, snack bars, etc., called Eating Right. It's a branch of the Lucerne brand, which you know is Randalls' dairy products. Anyway, the TV dinners are quite high in things you really need, like protein and stuff, and they taste way better than Lean Cuisine or Healthy Choice and all that. There's microwave pizzas that actually come out of the microwave with a crispy thin crust. Crispy! From the microwave! My favorite is the garlic chicken pizza. Eating Right makes their own type of these new vitamin water beverages, and my favorite is the dragon fruit flavor. My husband likes the whole grain raspberry fruit bars, which are like Fig Newtons only with raspberries and whole grain cookie crust. Okay, enough of my endorsement for Eating Right diet food.

Another thing I like is the 100 calorie snack packs. When I want something sweet after dinner I grab a 100 calorie pack of cookies. Ben & Jerry's makes a lowfat frozen yogurt version of their Cherry Garcia and Chocolate Fudge Brownie Chunk ice creams. But a serving is just a half cup, so you should be able to eat four times from one single pint. It's all about self-discipline.

What it all comes down to is that I have choices. I can choose to eat healthier. Last night we went out for dinner at a local seafood restaurant. Instead of my usual fried shrimp, I chose the Cajun grilled shrimp. Instead of fries, I chose the sauteed vegetable medley. Instead of sitting there eating a ton of cornbread before our food arrived, I drank a ton of my iced tea to fill my belly. And you know what I discovered? The Cajun grilled shrimp tasted better than the fried ever did, and the vegetables had more flavor than some greasy fries. The cornbread wasn't even missed. So it's all about choices. I chose differently and wasn't disappointed.

I don't want you all to think I'm going to the extreme on this. I'm not counting my calories on weekends. Not to say I'm eating whatever the hell I want not matter how many grams of fat are in it, but I'm just not putting the lowfat pressure on myself two days a week. I still made healthy choices last night at dinner, but I allowed myself a coffee shop frozen mocha treat over the weekend as well. I'm allowing myself one coffee shop treat with whipped cream on top once a week. I don't even want to know how many calories are in a frozen mocha frapp drink -- probably like a thousand!

So that's my update. I know this post is kinda long. Oh well. Maybe I've inspired one of you with some of my doings. I know you all gave me some ideas in your comments on last post. Thanks!

Hope everyone has a super-great week!

Weight Watcher

No, not the actual diet program. But, yes, I have been watching my weight. Since I quit smoking, I've gained quite a bit of weight. To the tune of around 30 pounds or so. Yes, 30 pounds in nearly two months. Well, since right before Christmas when I had weighed myself last until a couple weeks ago.

I was 160 pounds three weeks ago. Nothing I own fits. I had to buy a size 10 pants just so I'd have something to cover my ever-growing ass. Now I'm more like 156 pounds thanks to eating healthier and leaving the tortilla chips in the darn bag!

According to several internet references, a person of my height should weigh between 115 and 130 pounds to be considered at a "healthy weight". Okay, so I still have at least 26 pounds to lose before I'm considered "healthy".

I found that what has made me gain has been tortilla chips and salsa (salsa is good for you, but not the entire bag of chips), Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie Chunk (half the pint at a time!), cheese (I can't eat just two slices of monterey jack, sorry), and a few other high-calorie items. So I've been slowing down. When I feel hungry I drink a huge glass of water first and wait ten minutes. The waiting is the hardest part. For my mid-afternoon snack I've been downing a Slim-Fast shake when I would normally dive into a bag of Mission tortilla strips. One shake is 180-190 calories, depending on flavor choice. One serving (not the whole bag) of tortilla strips is 140 calories, and I was eating more like 6-8 servings at a time. BIG difference!

Not to sound too much like a commercial, but those Slim-Fast shakes do a decent job of curbing hunger while giving your body nutrients. They just don't taste all that great. I mean, the chocolate royale (or whatever the flavor name is) and vanilla aren't too bad. But that cappuccino-flavored one is gross!

Anyway, so wish me luck on my non-diet diet. I'm not calling it a diet, I'm simply making healthier eating choices. I was eating out of boredom and emotional eating. I'll be sure to let you know of my progress.

Oh Great Google

If you don't know how to play this game, I'm sure you'll know by the end of the post. Last time I believe I did "Leslie needs . . ." Google is all wise and all knowing.

Leslie wants . . .

Leslie wants you to tap, put your hips into it, so on and so forth.
(Shake your booty!)

Leslie wants to get feedback from new and/or tech-savvy librarians.

Leslie wants to be interviewed and documented.

Leslie wants to be.
(Me.)

Leslie wants to replace the sagging boards but Tony refuses to help.
(Who is Tony?)

Leslie wants to start.

Leslie wants to break up with Connie but hasn’t yet.
(Who is Connie?)

Leslie wants viewers to know.

Leslie wants to keep the car.

Leslie wants to now tell the 'real story'.

Leslie wants to spend one of her final years in the WNBA tossing her cookies and binging on pickles and ice cream.
(Ha! Ha!)

Leslie wants to make it clear that this “ethical requiredness” is not “a replacement for God”.

Leslie wants you to visit.

Leslie wants them to play together again.

Leslie wants to do the show.

Leslie wants to replace it.
(Replace what?)

Leslie wants to be a part of it and to be the next great serial killer.
(This is from a book review, I think. No, I do not actually want to be a serial killer.)

Leslie wants a lot of notes.

Leslie wants to be just like them.

Leslie wants Leslie.

By the way . . .

. . . I'm still not smoking. Woo hoo! Go me!

Flash Flood -- No Warning

Last Thursday night I came in late to find my kitchen in the process of being flooded. The lady upstairs had dumped hot grease down her sink, and it clogged just past my kitchen drain. Then she proceeded to use her garbage disposal and run her dishwasher, all of which came up through my kitchen sink drain filling the sink and then pouring over onto the floor. The nasty wastewater, once an inch or so high in the kitchen, began to move its way over into my dining room and living room areas.

To say the least, I was very angry.

So I ran upstairs and knocked on the door of the lady upstairs. I wanted to tell her to stop her dishwasher cycle and not to use her kitchen sink until maintenance could fix the situation. No answer. So I knocked again. No answer. And I began banging loudly, knowing good and well she could hear me (she had her TV on and was just in her kitchen running her sink and disposal, so I knew she was awake). Still, no answer. I gave up and went back downstairs to wait for the emergency maintenance pager to be returned.

It took the emergency maintenance pager over 30 minutes to call me back. Then he tried to not have to come over because I was disturbing his beauty rest and he lived 45 minutes away. Three words: NOT MY PROBLEM. He had the emergency pager for a reason, and this was an emergency. Having someone else's wastewater flooding your home is a flippin' emergency!!

I realize he couldn't have everything magically fixed, but he was going to come over and at least try some Drain-O or something and start sucking all the water out of my home with the wet-vac. An hour later he calls back and asks me if I'm still flooding. He was still in bed and had never even got dressed to come over. It was well after midnight already. I got all in his face (over the phone) about getting his butt over here. He finally arrived close to 2:00 am and at least poured something called Liquid Fire down my kitchen sink drain.

He told us he had called the emergency carpet guys to come over and suck the water out and go ahead and rip up the carpet and padding to be replaced. He said they'd be here in an hour or two since they were coming from Houston. I stayed up and waited. They never came over.

Next thing I knew it was time to get my son up and ready to go to school on Friday. I had been up all night, and I was not a happy camper. The Liquid Fire had no effect on making the water in the sink go down, so I made a make-shift sink out of a dishpan/bucket thing I put in my bathtub for dirty dishes after breakfast. I took Jimmy to school.

When I got back the other maintenance man (the one who actually tries to get things done around here -- man, I wish it was his night to have the emergency pager!) was over removing a cap off the drain outside my kitchen sink. Now, whenever the lady upstairs or I ran my dishwasher or water it would come out the spout into the bushes outside. Not exactly a long-term fix, but at least I wouldn't flood anymore. He figured out the lady's grease got caught on an already existing problem underground near a tree where roots had damaged the drainpipe further down the line. So a plumber was called to come and fix that whole situation.

We haven't seen a plumber yet. Meanwhile, dirty dishwater and nasty food going through the upstairs garbage disposal is pouring out into the bushes outside my kitchen and stinking up this whole courtyard area of the complex. I'm still usuing my bathtub to wash my dishes so I don't contribute to the stinky puddle outside.

To say the least, I am still very angry.

Happy birthday . . .

. . . to me!

Today I am 27 years old. I keep getting closer and closer to 30 . . .

A month??

I suppose that since I've been 30 days smoke-free the counter says it's been a month. So it's going by every 30 days being a month. Well, to me, it won't be a month until February 1st. From 1st to 1st, right?

Dip Master Dips

After trying a few and finding some good ones, I've got hot dip recipes to share with you for when you break out the Dip Master, Little Dipper or Mini Crock-Pot. Enjoy!

Nacho Cheese Dip
Ingredients:
2-pound brick Velveeta, cubed for faster melting
1 can Ro-Tel mix, your choice of hot or mild
1 tablespoon taco seasoning mix
Directions:
Dump cubed Velveeta and can of Ro-Tel (do not drain) into dip warmer.
Allow about an hour for melting and stir in taco seasoning until well-blended.

Spinach Artichoke Dip
Ingredients:
2 - 8 ounce bricks cream cheese, softened and cubed
3/4 cup half & half
1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated
1 pkg. frozen spinach, thawed and well-drained, chopped
1 - 10 ounce jar quartered artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon onion, finely chopped
Directions:
Combine cream cheese and half & half in dip warmer, stirring occasionally until fully melted and smooth, about 20-30 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and stir well. Warm for about an hour or so until all cheeses are melted.

Hot Crab Dip
Ingredients:
2 - 8 ounce bricks cream cheese, softened and cubed
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated
12 ounces lump crabmeat, fresh or drained canned
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper (or to taste)
Directions:
Combine cream cheese and heavy cream in dip warmer. Allow up to an hour to melt, stirring occasionally. Add all but the lemon juice and stir thoroughly. Allow up to 45 minutes to fully melt, stirring occasionally to blend. Add lemon juice and stir well just before serving.