Plugging Along

This cold has really taken a toll on me. I was feeling really good before it hit so I’m not sure why it has taken over with such force. I keep thinking each day I’m on the downhill side but today feels worse than all the days combined. Hanging in there.

My activity is really low and I’m trying not to stress my January Activity Challenge. 

I cleaned house yesterday for some visitors after work and that told me I’m not 100% as far as trying to exercise. So, I’ll continue to listen to my body and rest. Since I’m training at work I am getting in movement so that is a plus. And, training is going well so that’s a relief.

My appetite is pretty non existent and until my stomach growls, I don’t realize it’s been a while since I’ve eaten. I haven’t reset my WI to Saturday so my points reset on Tuesday. I have plans on Saturday which I’ll be using some WSPA so I’ll just continue to roll with that and also not stress it.

I’m hoping to do my WI on Friday morning and am not sure how cold medicine will affect the scale. So, I’ll keep and open mind knowing I’ll be back at it with full force once I’m on the mend.

I hope your Thursday looks better than mine.

10 Years Ago

Where are all my Bachelor(ette) fans?  Are you watching Colton's season?  Against my better judgement, I have started this season and after Episode 2, I'm in awe of the "young" women and an overall fierce group of women.  Now, this is reality TV and always dubbed the most dramatic season each season.  So, you have to take it for what it is worth...entertainment.

There is one particular little lady named Demi which stands out to me.  She is 23 and while I don't want to classify somebody "younger" as being negative, I find I am shaking my head and saying out loud, oh Demi, Demi,Demi (sigh) you have so much yet to learn in life.  I suppose I have officially entered the old category since Demi refers to the 31 year olds as a cougar and I am 39.  What animal is older than a cougar?

It is no surprise that with age comes wisdom, but don't you dare try to invoke wisdom on somebody who isn't ready to hear it.  And lets face it, I was once youthful (and actually I am still young) and I didn't like to be told what to do.  Part of growing up is the culmination of your experiences all of which shape you.  The good and the bad are all part of the book of life and you are the author.  You are also in control of your life but that can be hard to see when you lack experience or knowledge.

The new excitement on Facebook is the 10 Year Age Challenge.  Have you seen this?  People are posting a photo of themselves from ten years ago and a current photo.  I haven't really posted anything but I was thinking back to 10 years ago and especially the last 10 years of my 12 year WW journey almost fearful to share photos of super skinny Lindsay who isn't super skinny anymore.  

Much to my surprise, I looked back in one of my photo apps and found the oldest photo was from our honeymoon along the Oregon Coast and Seattle.  

Okay the first thought was, Kenyon looks really young.  My second thought was, I look normal.  I know from looking at this photo that I wasn't at my goal weight but I also wasn't at my starting weight.  Of course I have all my WW records from the last 12 years saved so I dug them out and looked up my weight in June/July of 2008.  I was pleasantly surprised to see that I was hovering around the 200 mark and it was a little later in 2008 that I officially dropped below 200.  

Guys...that is so close to where I am now and that is an amazing feeling.  Also, I don't feel as though I look like I've aged that much from this photo.  Well, maybe except for the gray hair now.

I'm not afraid of aging and there is even more wisdom to be learned.  I've grown so much over the last 10 years.  I've had to take a very hard and very raw look at myself and make both physical and personal changes.  When we allow ourselves to be vulnerable is when we grow the most.  Over the last 10 years, I've changed houses, a few automobiles, and even police agencies a couple of times (that is a blog post topic I want to tackle).  

I have no idea if Demi is Colton's true love and if he will propose to her in the end.  But, I'll be watching each week to see how it all unfolds.  

New Recipe: Turkey Tater Tot Casserole

I tried a new spin on an old recipe. 

Have you ever tried Tater Tot Casserole? We had it a lot growing up and I’ve always love it. The traditional recipe is browned ground beef, cream of mushroom soup, and topped with tater tots. Pretty easy. I put my spin on it with ground 99% turkey breast, mixed frozen veggies, cream of mushroom, and of course, topped with tater tots.

I found a generic cream of muchroom at Albertsons that was 4 points for the entire can vs. Campbell’s Soup, which is 6 points. That helped keep the points down so I could have a full serving of tater tots. I scanned a bunch of packages and looked for one that gave me the most tots per serving. Unfortunately, I can’t seem to count correctly and the final count was 12 tots so I added one extra point. 

My 8x8 casserole was split into 4 servings which is 7 points per serving.

It’s really easy to make. Just brown your turkey and add the can of cream of mushroom, but don’t add any water like the can suggests for making soup. I pre-cooked the frozen veggies in the microwave and mixed those in. Transfer to casserole dish and top with tater tots. 

Cook at 375 for 30-40 minutes. You want the tots browned and the meat mixture bubbly. 

Enjoy!