Over the weekend we went to an old fashioned soda shop near home, and took the city’s new light rail to get there. It was a lot of fun, not just because the food was fantastic. The light rail was a neat experience for this small-town girl. The kids seemed to enjoy it, too. Here are a few pictures from our adventure.

First, Charlotte enjoying the scenery.

Katherine and the husband being silly.

Katherine and I at the soda shop. Katherine really enjoyed her giant cupcake with sugared frosting, as you can tell.

We went on an excursion across town to Trader Joe’s, the mecca of affordable healthy foods. I picked up a couple of yummy things I thought I’d pass along to you.

–Shrimp Pot Stickers. Delicious. One warning- do not get the Trader Joe’s suggested sauce to go with them. It’s very lemon-y and herb-y, and not in a good way.
–Mango and Vanilla Soy Cream. I thought this would be gross ( soy cream? sounds weird.) but it’s really delicious. No weird aftertaste like fat free ice creams have.

–Green Bean Crisps. Salted, crispy green beans. They are sweet and crunchy. Very, very good.

I also bought some carrot juice, hoping the baby would drink it. Katherine (4 years) and the husband turned their noses up at it. I can’t blame them. Charlotte sipped it but wasn’t totally convinced.

I picked up some Fage Greek Yogurt as well and look forward to trying that in the morning. I’ve heard it’s good paired with honey or some dried fruit, so we’ll see. I’m not a huge yogurt fan so I don’t expect that to go well.  The last “new” food I bought were dried, salted apple rings. I like sweet and salty, so it will be interesting to see how those are. I’ll keep ya’ll posted.

(And yes, we did just go to the store today. When we got home, I promptly took a bite of almost everything we bought. I had to taste it so I could let you know. It was totally for the blog, not just because I love to munch on food. I do it all for you, you know.)

Katherine:  “Mommy, Charlotte hit me in my heart. That’s where Jesus lives.”

[ A shocked look comes over her face.]

“MOMMY! CHARLOTTE JUST HIT JESUS!”

The Biggest Loser is casting near my home this weekend. Sounds exciting, right? The chance to be trained by Jillian or Bob would be cool. But then you think about the potential four months away from home, away from the husband and kids.

Nope. Not worth it to me.  I get the reasons why someone would do it- to be healthier for their family- but I just feel like I should be able to do that without leaving them behind.

Of course, I can’t wait for the next season to start. Our little town had a contestant on Survivor last year. Maybe this year we’ll have The Biggest Loser?

So, I’m feeling much better except for a nagging stomach ache that is accompanied by ravenous hunger. I’m torn between eating everything in site and not eating anything, for fear the stomach ache means I’m still sick. Hunger will likely win out because I bought some delicious looking stuffed mushrooms from the grocery store and the husband is grilling them as we speak. They are stuffed with lean ground beef and the plan is to have just enough to be full. Overdoing it could be dangerous to the diet, I fear. As hungry as I am right now, I still don’t want to go to the other extreme and stuff myself.

The official weigh-in this morning went well but it’s completely disingenuous.  I’m back to my most recent low weight,  which is great, really great, but I fear that some may rush back on as I start eating real food again. (I’m not publishing the weight right now. I’m not sure when I became uncomfortable with the number but I am. So if you are like me and like to know the exact weight of the weight loss blogger you are reading, just hang tight. I’ll be publishing it again soon.)

With the fear of a “post-bug water/weight gain”  in mind, I’m not weighing myself again until Monday morning. By then, things should have evened out.

I also returned to the gym today, but only at half my usual speed. I did some elliptical trainer ( 25 minutes) at a steady pace and worked up a good sweat. Then it was on to some wall sits, shoulder work, biceps, and abs. By the end of the week, I hope to be back up to full steam there.

So, that’s where I am this wonderful Wednesday– in between a stomach bug and a plate full of food. Where are you this week?

On a side note, has anyone seen/heard the commercials running for the New Kids on the Block reunion tour? The announcer says something to the effect of “The moment you’ve been waiting for is here at last!” The moment we’ve been waiting for? Were we waiting for it, really? I think maybe not.

An effective, but unpleasant, weight loss plan.

I’m foregoing the Monday weigh-in I had planned because I am sick with some sort of stomach bug. Any results I got from the scale today would surely be misleading. I’ll shoot for Wednesday instead.

It was a good weekend, though, so I’m expecting a loss. We ate out Saturday night and while I had a little too much bread I avoided the creamy pasta and enjoyed a grilled salmon instead. Yum. Last night was a party with appetizers ( my favorite food group). Lots of fruit, a few mini biscuits, and one ill-fated cupcake. It was good, but after eating it I thought “Eh. I could’ve done without that.”

No workout today ( being sick and all) but I did have several good workouts last week and over the weekend. Things are back on track, people.

How’s your week shaping up?

This is what happens about three hours after a four-year-old receives a bag full of brand new dress up clothes.

A quick note before bedtime. I made this insanely delicious dinner tonight. It was not terribly good for you ( in fact, my friend TPO pointedly asked “Is that in the Richard Simmons cookbook?” Probably not.) but I think in this case it’s all about limiting portions. I could have stuck my face in it and gobbled it up, but I had a sensible portion (not to mention the giant workout I had at the Y today. That helps.) Anyway, here it is for anyone interested in a quick/easy dinner.

Put two cans of pineapple chunks ( in their own juice- no syrup) into the crockpot, then add some brown sugar (half a cup, maybe?). Mix that all together, then put a boneless ham into the crockpot, cut side down. Cook on low for six hours or high for about four. Delicious, and fork-tender.

I served it with green beans and some wild rice. Again, there’s a lot of sugar which makes it not terribly healthy but go light on the ham/pineapple portion and you will be a-ok. I think you could also cut the sugar in half.

I’m trying two different things this week which I think will be interesting and possibly helpful.

One, I refuse to weigh myself more than once a week. That means that the next time I weigh myself will be on Monday. I think this is smart because several times lately I’ve noticed the scale go up and I do what I think a lot of people do- I get irritated and eat more. Or if it doesn’t move at all, same problem.

Second….I’ve totally forgotten what was second. Maybe work on portion sizes? Snacking? Going to the gym? All of the above?
Oh, well. It’s just one important thing, then.

PS: I am still totally off the Diet Cokes. Yay, me.