Observations and Ramblings...

I am weighing in today, back to WW. This week I have been focusing on eating three balanced meals and choosing healthier snacks. Other than one day I succeed, had one moment of irrational. On the exercise front I managed one day. This is a huge struggle for me, I have two of the days this week planned for exercise so need to incorporate another.

On the home/organization front much better. I was able to tackle a lot this week by making time to do it:
House tidied every morning
Organized the linen closet
Cleaned and organized three drawers in the kitchen
Crafty room cleaned (now organizing)
laundry done
Socks matched and put away
Medicine cabinet cleaned out and expired medicines gone
Washed down all the doors in the house and cleaned door knobs for germs

There were a few other items, but overall I feel better about the progress I made.

Goals for next week:
Maintain steady course on the clean/organization route
Exercise three days
Menu plan
Track all foods
Begin crafting again

So what are your plans for the next week?

Etsy Thursday

Added some new items to the store, I am pulling inventory so most of the stuff is set aside. I have these handmade badge holders up though. The Valentine Pins are handmade and painted. The adorable chicken pin is hand sculpted. Visit my website to view the rest of the items.

I will be adding the Valentine Pins this evening..

I am checking with my weekly weigh in.

As of 1/1 225.4

As of 1/6 223.6

-1.8

I weigh in with WW on Friday so will be using that number once I get that.

This week goals

exersise 3 days-1 day down

eat sensibly-going strong on this

be proactive, not reactive

Celery, Avacado and Walnut Salad

Celery, Avocado and Walnut Salad
from the Vegetarian and Vegetable Cooking book by Christine Ingram

8 Celery Stalks, thinly sliced
3 Scallions, finely chopped
2 oz walnut halves
1 ripe avocado, sliced
lemon juice

Dressing
1/2 cup light sour cream
1 tbsp olive oil
pinch of cayenne

Slice the avocado and sprinkle with the lemon. Add this to celery, scallions, walnut mixture. Lightly beat the sour cream, olive oil and cayenne. Fold carefully into the salad mixture.

I thought this was light and refreshing. A great side dish for meals.
(Having camera issues, will try to post picture later today)

Menu Plan Monday

One thing I have chosen to do that I saw from another blog was focus on one cookbook to use this year. I have a ton of cookbooks that frankly gather a lot of dust. I am going to incorporate at least one recipe a week from Christine Ingram's Vegetarian and Vegetable Cooking. This is a wonderful cookbook and hopefully by the end of the year I will have made everything in it.

Menu for Week

Sunday-Roast Asparagus Crepes w/Celery Avocado and Walnut Salad -CKBK

Monday-Corn and Potato Chowder w/Crusty Bread-CKBK

Tuesday-Bean, Vegetable, and Feta Bake-Weight Watchers Magazine

Wednesday-Gardenburgers and Homemade Fries

Thursday-Shepherdess Pie and Stir Fried Brussels Sprouts-CKBK

Friday-Tuna Panini's and Vegi Dip with Cucumber, Radish and Jicama-Weight Watchers Magazine

Saturday-Recipe Exchange-Sausage, Ricotta, and Spring Greens

I will post the salad recipe tomorrow for Celery, Avocado, and Walnut it was fabulous.

The Week Ahead,,,,

My strategy for the week ahead is to take it one day at a time. If I put too much on my plate than I end up feeling overwhelmed and give up.

I have my menu planned, did this while on road trip and will post tomorrow.

My goals to achieve this week if time allows are:

*Keep house tidied (Flylady is my hero)

*Clean up my craft room

*Clean up my etsy site

*Exercise 3 days

*Track food

*Finish Quilt

These are all attainable it is about utilizing my time in a more efficient manner.

Goal for January:

*No Fast Food-Big trigger for me

*Exercise 3 days a week

*Menu Plan and Follow

*Do something that makes me happy this month, more than once try to do something everyday.

Happy New Years

We had a fun night last night. We celebrated New Years with playing and rotating games every 45 minutes. We tally the points...1st place gets 5, 2nd gets 4,etc. At the end of the night the person with the highest points gets #1 and #2 for the white elephant prizes and the second place person gets the last choice. The trading continues until someone after the first round wants to keep their choices.

It was a lot of fun, I played Blokus, Syzzgy-crossword word game, Five Crowns, David and Goliath, and Lost Cities.

It is a great way to try new games and mingle with people. We had chinese food that was yummy and sparkling cider at the ring of midnight.

As the New Year starts I have been reflecting, today I am focusing on not going overboard. We are heading out for the night and I am not in charge of the meal which is always hard. So my focus is to drink lots of water and make sounder choices. Sunday I am going back to WW and I plan to take my journey one day at a time. I have beens on the programbut the last couple of weeks have not made it to the meetings, I feel I am just continuing the journey rather than starting over.

Have a Happy New Years Day!