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~SAD~
These were taken in 2002 after my retina detached and I had the surgery to repair it. Not only did I feel like I had been punched in the face, but I looked like it too. It was a tough time for me, and I was very sad.
Okay, I know that you all have been dying to know how I did with my diet during my trip into Amish Country. Pennsylvania Dutch cooking is simple, homemade and just plain delicious. This is the kind of food that makes a Weight Watcher shake with fear!
And shake I did!!!
Now I tried to be good. I had packed Weight Watchers yogurt and Weight Watchers snack bars to keep me honest. On the first day I even made myself a turkey sandwich on diet bread. Oh, I was feeling strong!
Then came the dinner at the Angus Beef Steak house where I chowed down on Beef Wellington, which I sort of felt I could get away with because I didn’t have a baked potato with my meal, just a garden salad and no dessert. The next morning, however, I totally screwed up.
Pancakes, maple syrup and bacon!!!
Okay, I could get through this. I’d just make it up at lunch. What did they serve? Pulled Pork sandwiches, chips and cookies. I was good. I didn’t eat the cookies!
That night the banquet was amazing. The most delicious chicken cordon bleu ever, with baby red bliss potatoes in butter sauce, corn and green beans, salad and for dessert, triple chocolate mousse cake!
Yes, I knew then that I would burn in hell.
I also did not watch what I ate when we visited our friends in the Catskills. She is a remarkable German cook and I enjoyed every single bite of her cooking. Yes, every single bite!
So, what happened to me as a result? I gained a pound for all of my transgressions.
I’ve now hopped back onto the Weight Watchers train, and I am taking care of myself again. It makes me realize just how easy it is to slip back into old and bad habits.
Time to get out the carrot and celery sticks!
Okay, who stole the summer?
I was walking Emily back up to her house tonight and the air was cool and crisp and as the sun was setting, I noticed bright red leaves had fallen under my feet.
It’s Autumn. It’s really Autumn, and soon the winds will blow and the snow will fall and it will be WINTER!
When I was a little girl I remember thinking that each day was an eternity long. Each year, between birthdays seemed endless. I thought I would never grow up, never have a drivers license or get married and have children. I was going to be forever in first grade!
The time did pass and little by little these things all happened. I got my license, got married, had 2 beautiful children, and the days passed me by. Still, back in my twenties I felt that time was still going rather slowly.
Then one day I woke up and bam, I’m 49 years old! The year between 49 and 50 has flown by and soon it’s going to be winter and I’ll be 50!
So what happened? Does the world just start to spin faster the older you get?
Meanwhile, as I contemplate the time and space continuum, I remind you all once again that we leave tomorrow for the German Dog Show, also known as a Zuchtschau.
Anneliese is packed and ready to go. I’ll be writing on Saturday night to report in on how things went.
I’ve been consciously working each and every day to get to my goal at Weigh Watchers. Most recently I decided to watch my carbs a bit more and eat more fruit for the same number of points. I’ve been rewarded by two weeks with very good weight losses. Last week I was down 1.2 pounds and today, 2.2. What does this mean? It means I have just 4 pounds to go to my goal weight!!!
I’m pretty happy about this. That is probably a great understatement. You see a year ago I was really unhappy at the weight I was. I didn’t like the fact that my clothes were tight (and getting tighter) and my cheeks looked very much like a chipmunk! I also didn’t feel well. I had no energy and felt quite lethargic.
I’d thought about Weight Watchers for a while, but I felt like if I failed at one more thing, I would have a melt down.
Christmas came and New Years was on the way, so I looked up where the closest meeting was and I planned. Right after New Years I was going to go. I was also not going to miss a meeting unless I was in Intensive Care! And I haven’t missed one meeting.
It has not always been easy, and I have had weeks when I did everything right and didn’t lose an ounce! However, I kept going and I didn’t give up.
Now it is so close. My goal weight. The weight I have wanted to be for the longest time. It’s really happening!
I am the Incredible Shrinking Woman!!!
I got up today and started things off by burning my finger on the coffee maker. Don’t even ask me how I did this, as I am too embarrassed to tell. Let’s just say it isn’t a pretty sight and hurts like heck.
After that there was a series of unfortunate incidents that found me wanting to rush back to bed and hide there for the rest of the day!
Hubby joked with me about it all until he realized I was really feeling down. Then he asked me if I wanted to go out to lunch at the Chinese buffet before we did our weekly shopping.
He didn’t have to ask me twice.
I love eating at the buffet because I can always find a good selection of things to eat and stay within my points. Today they served Alaskan King Crab Legs, and so I was in heaven!
As we sat at the very end of the meal with our fortune cookies, I opened mine and this was what I read: “Very soon you will reach your goal”.
I smiled because I have just 7 pounds more to go on Weight Watchers and then I will reach my goal!
We shopped, fueled up the car, and then headed home.
The remainder of the day has been nice and a lot less stressful. I managed to cook dinner without burning myself again, and Hubby installed a great new light switch in our room that has a dimmer switch.
Five days until we leave for the Dog Show!
I think somewhere along the Pennsylvania Turnpike I became old. It was around then that I realized that I was really tired. You know, the kind of tired that makes you want to get into your softest pajamas, curl up in your bed, with your own blankets and pillows and stay there for say, a week!
Despite the exhaustion I did get up this morning, showered and then hit the road to go to my Weight Watchers meeting.
Was I an Angel during my trip? Ah, no. I did try, however, to eat at least two meals on the plan and then choose carefully what I would eat for dinner.
Of course the Mexican Restaurant Madness wasn’t exactly my finest moment. Re-fried beans, cheeses of all kinds and tortilla chips just jumped down my throat and all I could do to save myself was to swallow!
The next night I had a salad, and the following night sliced meats and salads. On Saturday Hubby and I went to Dan Dierdorf’s Restaurant and while Hubby had Prime Rib, I had ELK! Yes, ELK! I like game, and I’d never tried ELK before and if Sarah can eat it, then so can I! Actually, in the end, the ELK was stuffed with boursin cheese and then served with a Madeira sauce. What a delight.
The banquet meal consisted of rubber chicken (they also had a beef tenderloin that I hear was excellent!), scalloped potatoes and cheese cake. I can proudly admit to sending my cheese cake back after a few bites.
But I just knew I was going to gain ten pounds, and burn in hell for my eating habits during the trip.
**A note here, I ate breakfast in our room and had Weight Watchers yogurt and a Weight Watchers breakfast bar, and lunch was almost always a salad or point friendly sandwich.**
This morning I was rewarded with a 1.2 pound weight loss! Could it be all the walking I did? Was I really more in control than I thought? I am not sure, but I do know that somehow I turned my first big trip away from my safe kitchen into a positive experience!
So now I need to catch my breath and rest up a bit. In a week and a half we take Anneliese to Pennsylvania for her time at the German Dog Show. Hopefully she will do as well as her mother and brother.
Pennsylvania Turnpike, here I come!
********************
(If anyone in the Reading/Hamburg, PA area is interested in attending the show and meeting Miss Anneliese, who will be signing autographs, please e-mail me and I will send you the directions. The show is on September 27th at 10 o’clock in the morning.)
~Home~
We pulled in about 4 this afternoon. As we unloaded the car, we were greeted by happy, dancing, doggies!!!
Hubby is tired, but I am exhausted. Tonight is for relaxing, cuddling the doggies and catching up on some sleep.
~More later~
This will mark my 1500th post on Dackel Princess. When I started writing, I wasn’t sure I had enough inside of me to write 10 pages, let alone 1500. But, here I am, still writing and still thinking constantly, “Will this make a good entry on the blog?”.
It gets that way, you know. You are out somewhere, innocently shopping or walking, or whatever, and you see something or think of something funny and you begin to write the blog entry in your head. One time I even got out of bed and turned on the lights and the computer and wrote down my idea.
You just never know where or when it will happen.
Like today. We woke to hurricane-like weather in St. Louis. The rain was coming down in sheets, and the wind was blowing so hard that the rain was blown sideways into buildings and windows while the trees whipped back and forth.
So what did Hubby and I do? Did we crawl back into our nice big bed and sleep another hour?
No! We got up, had a light breakfast, and off we went to the St. Louis History Museum to view their Grant and Lee Exhibition on its last day in St. Louis.
This picture was taken yesterday when the sun was shining!
For my foreign readers I will tell you that General Ulysses S. Grant was the commander of the United States Army during the latter part of our Civil War, and his opponent was General Robert E. Lee, the commander of the Confederate Army. They squared off in many pivotal battles until Lee finally surrendered at Appomattox, Virginia, in 1865.
The American Civil War has always been one of the most interesting periods that I have studied, and Hubby shares my interest, so today we really wanted the chance to see what had been put together at the museum.
It was well done, with many photo’s, journals, and letters written by each man. The museum also provided a little color, by having a local militia come in full period dress for the closing of the exhibition. Well, you know me. Before I knew it I was talking to them all and having a great time.
(Perhaps the worlds worst picture of me!)
Tonight is our last night in St. Louis and there will be a banquet for Hubby’s Army Aviator’s group. Tomorrow we will leave and head back to our little part of heaven, also known as New Hampshire.
I decided to attend a Weight Watchers meeting on Monday, as I will not be around on Wednesday to go to my usual meeting. Even though it wasn’t a full week, I’d lost 1/2 a pound. I was glad that I’d attended. So far, since I joined Weight Watchers back in January, I haven’t missed one meeting!
After that Hubby and I drove to the big city and picked up our maps and guide books for the trip. We also popped into LL Bean, my favorite back woods clothiers. We actually found a few things, jeans for Hubby, a couple of new turtlenecks for me and a laptop sleeve to protect my new laptop.
We had lunch, and headed back home, where I made my Fiber One Muffins to take on the trip, and then made stuffed peppers with peppers from my very own plant!
Our doggy/house sitter came over for dinner and we chatted about life, the dogs and our trip. The dogs were so happy to see her that I really think they won’t be missing us too much.
Tuesday will be my “finish things up here, do laundry, and pack the car day” for me and Hubby. Our big plan is to have it all set to go Tuesday night and then we will just get up early Wednesday, get in the car and go!
A year ago, Hubby and I attended his Army Aviator’s Reunion, which was held in Washington, DC. I hadn’t reached my highest weight, but I was certainly on my way. There was a woman there who told me I could have a good figure if only I had the correct fitting bra.
Quite honestly, at that point a good bra wasn’t going to do the trick and I knew it.
It wasn’t that I didn’t know I was too heavy last year. I just wasn’t at the point where I could dedicate myself to a new and healthier lifestyle.
Here we are, a year later, and I am nearly to my goal weight. I’m wearing a size 8/10 and while packing my clothing today, I was actually smiling.
This years reunion is in Missouri. Hubby and I have decided to drive out and back. We wanted to spend a little quiet time alone. (You can read here: Didn’t want to go through the stress of flying in.) It will take us a day and a half to drive there.
Our house sitter arrives tomorrow to get the run down on all four dogs. She has been with us since before the puppies were born, and the dogs all consider her family. Emily will also be around after school to check on them.
I shall have my trusty laptop with me and hope to send reports from the road!
I wonder if anyone will recognize me? Long hair, slender body…..I may be smiling like this all week.