Canyon County Fair

This weekend is the annual Cattleman's meeting/social hour/dinner/dance in Silver City. I had made sure I didn't sign up for any OT this weekend and had invited Phoenix along. Sadly she had to work early Sunday morning so it didn't quite work out. Instead we make plans to meet up and go to the Canyon County fair.

Phoenix and her daughter Kiki met up with me at my parent's house and we headed over to the fair. Other than the 100 degree heat, we had a good time. We got some cold beverages at the Human Bean before we walked across the street and found out they don't allow outside drinks into the fair. We sat in the shade and chugged 'em. The best laid plans...

Kiki really wanted to ride some of the fair rides and despite Phoenix encouraging her to play a few games instead, she talked us into riding the ferris wheel with her. The views from the top were spectacular.

We all voted that for $4 per person, the ride could have been longer! We also walked through some of the animal sections (STINKY) and through the Expo building to spot Phoenix's sister-in-laws winning entries.

Spooning Pigs

The plan was to stay for the Joe Nichols concert which was free with your fair admission. However, due to the crazy heat and no shade in the grandstands, we opted to cut out early instead. We went to Panda Express for a bite to eat and then back to my parent's house to visit. Once Phoenix's parent's got home we dropped Kiki off for a sleepover and headed into Meridian for some adult girl time.

We ended up at the Homestead Bar & Grill because we had heard it was the happening place to be. Um....maybe not on a Saturday night at 11pm? It was dead and honestly the beer selections weren't that good which is surprising since that had like 40 beers on tap. We sampled a few beers but never really liked the ones we selected. We shared a jalapeño cheese stuffed pretzel and some chips and salsa. The pretzel was very good but the chips and salsa not so much. I was interested in some of their menu items so I'm not sure if Kenyon and I might try it out sometime in the future. The music was a bit loud but that could have been because it was late at night.

I dropped Phoenix off just before midnight and headed home. Our energy was zapped from the heat earlier in the day. I took a nap in the wee morning hours. I have today off and plans to meet up with Janet to see the new Ghostbusters movie. With all the hours we have been working it is nice to have some downtime. I only wish Kenyon was also off work this weekend.

Mid-Week Check-In: On Track And Feeling Energized

I’ve been eating pretty low points this week.  It wasn’t planned per se but by the time I put together a meal plan it ended up that a lot of my meals were low in points.  That is the biggest difference between eating at home vs. eating out.  It is no wonder you can gain weight easily when eating out a lot.  I didn’t have any plans to eat out at the start of my week but that seemed to change rather quickly starting on Tuesday. 

My coworker sent me a text on Tuesday that she would be going to Texas Roadhouse for dinner if I wanted to join her.  She was a bit bummed she didn’t get the supervisor position so she needed her spirit lifted.  I felt like I should participate and since I’ve been declining a lot of social food stuff at work, I moved my planned meal to another day and said yes to Texas Roadhouse with the group. 

I did some pre-planning and looked up the points at various restaurants ribs as I love the half slab rib meal at Roadhouse.  I selected a Caesar side salad and a baked potato as my sides.  I ate half the ribs and potato and had the dressing and the butter and sour cream on the side.  Total points used for this meal was 20 SPV. 

Tuesday evening I got an invite for a MS talk/dinner on Wednesday to meet up with Jamie at Kona Grill.  I ordered the Ceasar salad with the dressing on the side and the macadamia nut chicken which was served with broccoli and mashed potatoes.  I halved the potato portion and only ate half of the very large portion of chicken sending the leftovers home with Jamie.  Kona Grill has nutrition info online (except for the sugar numbers) so it was easy to factor up the points.  Total points used for this meal was 25 SPV.

On Thursday, Kenyon and I went to Shari’s for breakfast before we meet with the realtor at the new house.  I was craving pancakes and bacon and since we didn’t have any bacon at home we opted to eat out.  I had one pancake with a small amount of butter and syrup, two slices of bacon, and two poached eggs.  Total points used for this meal was 15 SPV.

Tonight after I get off work from my four hour OT shift, Kenyon and I are going to dinner at Tucanos.  This was one of my planned meals out this week.  Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday just happened to end up that way.  Since it will be early in my day I should be able to off-set the points again.

For some reason I have been a bit nervous about using my weekly points.  The past two weeks I’ve gone into the negative and still had a good size loss.  So I’m not sure why I was so protective of my WSPA.  I actually ended up off setting my high points meals eaten out with my low point planned meals eaten the rest of the day and have used very few weeklies. 

I’m meeting Phoenix and her daughter for some fun at the Canyon County Fair on Saturday.  I’m pretty sure there will be some beer consumed as it is going to be over 100 degrees and we need to stay hydrated. 

 

 

My activity has been really great this week as well.  I made it to Curves two days and walked on the treadmill at work three days. 

I can’t say enough how much I love this successful feeling.  I am not sure why up until now I wasn’t quite ready but I am really happy that I am now finally ready to make positive changes.

Update On New Build: Meeting With Our Realtor Team

Our meeting with Christina, our realtor, and Tracie, our buyer’s agent, at the new house this evening went pretty good.  Based on experience, Christina is confident that once the last few days before the house is finished, CBH will bring out a crew of many to fix any last minute items.  While she is sure this will be the case, she is also hesitant to tell us not to worry about any of it.  So, we went over the list of items we have seen so far and Tracie will address a few bigger items with CBH and also our inspector for our meeting with him next week. 

We had our appraisal and the number looks good.  I think that made us feel a little better.  Overall, we are still very anxious for our new home to be completed so we can move in and get back to our own space.  We also locked in our interest rate of 3.75% and was able to see the final number for down payment, closing costs, and monthly mortgage.  All the number also look good.

We are almost in the homestretch.  Our house is scheduled to be completed in just one more week.  We still have to wait for closing but we are getting closer.

They have broke ground on building five more alley load homes in our community.  When we started this whole process the first part of February, there was one alley load completed and a second one in the build process.  Since then, seven more alley load houses have been built.  We are going to be the last of our group of seven to move in.  I sort of feel like I’m late to a party!  Waiting really is the hardest part.

I’ll let you know how the inspection goes next week.

An Example How I Combat Eating Out

I just came from a MS talk at Kona Grill before work.  Oh my gosh!!!  Talk about a points bomb!  I swear the Caesar side salad was half the points of the entrée.  Eating out sure can blow through your points quickly.  However, I've been off setting the rest of my meals and using my weekly points sparingly.  I should have taken a photo of my yummy entrée, which I only ate half of once I saw the chicken was breaded and pan fired.  But boy was it delicious!

I documented a meal out from last week.  I took a photo of my plate after I’d eaten and thought it might be a fun blogpost to show you what it looks like when I’m actually counting points and we go out to eat.  Here is my "empty" plate.

 

Please note: I didn’t have many points left for the day and I was in the negative for my weekly points.  I already knew ahead of time I would be order the club sandwich.  I love a good club sandwich.

I only substitution I made at the beginning of my order was to hold the tomato and sub a side salad for the fries or tots.  Here were some modifications I made so I could shave off some points.

·        I always take out the middle slice of bread in a club sandwich.  I figure that is an easy way to shave off points.  I looked up the SP for the Texas toast, cheese, bacon, and mayo before my food arrived.  It is 3 SPV for one slice or 7 SPV for two slices.  Since I was low on points I decided to double up on my meat and only eat one complete slice of bread.  Kenyon didn’t mind all my leftover bread pieces. – 3 SPV

·        Since I was doubling up on the meat, I ate all of the turkey breast and it is 1 SPV for 2 ounces – 1 SPV

·        The SPV for the Tillamook cheddar cheese is 4 SPV for 1 oz (it was a pretty thin slice of cheese).   I took out the slice of cheese from two of my four quarters.  This way I only ate half a slice of cheese. – 2 SPV

·        The SPV for three slices of bacon cooked crisp is 5 SPV.  I took some bacon off and gave it to Kenyon so that cut down on my points consumed.  Best guess is I ate at least 1.5 slices of bacon.  It was hard to estimate since it was cut up into smaller pieces. – 2 SPV

·        Mayo is 3 SPV for 1 Tbsp.  There wasn’t a large amount on it and I had cut down the amount of mayo I ate due to eating less bread with mayo on it. – 2 SPV

I ended up counting a total of 10 SPV for my club sandwich.

I gave Kenyon the croutons off my salad and dipped my fork in my ranch. – 2 SPV

12 SPV is a reasonable meal for eating out, even though it is on the high side.  I ended up going into the negative for the day by 10 SPV.  I had been to Curves earlier in the day and earned 5 Fit Points for my activity.

This is just one example of how I combat eating out as it is something I really love to do.  There are many ways to make this even less points and obviously many menu items that are even less SPV.

New Jamberry Wraps Plus A Manicure & Pedicure

Over the “weekend” I finally changed out my Jamberry nails.  I think I shared with you that a month or so ago I joined the world of Jamberry nail wraps.  I really love having fun colorful nails without the hassle of paint chipping shortly after you paint your nails.  As I apply them it gets easier even though it is time consuming.  Here my latest wrap.

 

And I also did my toes.

 

I like doing just the big toe with the wrap as it is harder to apply the wrap to the toes.  I really love this combo of paint and Jamberry wrap and I can’t quit looking at my toes.  So pretty.

I got an email from our realtor as a thank you for my many referrals these last few months, she is taking me to get a pedicure with her next Monday.  I am so super excited for this girl time.  I love our realtor.  I am sad I’ll have to take my Jamberry wrap off but…I can always apply again once my polish wears off.

I can’t until I have a Jamberry Party at our new house in September.  I really want to buy the gel overlay that will help keep the wraps looks fresh even longer.  I plan to buy in the gel at that time.

Week Two Complete: Smart Points And Tracking - Weekly WI

I completed Week Two of tracking using Smart Points.  I am really happy to have also earned another loss for all my hard work.  I lost another 1.8 pounds this week bringing my total to 4.8 pounds over the last four weeks since returning to meetings.  Yippie!

When I entered my weight into my WW app, I noticed it showed that I’ve gained 73 pounds “overall”.  I went back to look at when the first entry was put into the WW app.  It was on Feb 2, 2012.  So I have an average weight gain of about 18 pounds per year.  Clearly, that is a lot of gaining over these last four years.  I plan to make the end of 2016 look better than the years prior and continue striving towards routine losses.  I can’t stop thinking about how much better I’ll feel fitting into my clothes if I can lose 20 or so pounds.  Little by little I’ll continue to chip away at it.

 

I took a few days of rest and didn’t actually exercise Friday through Sunday.  I had good intentions but little follow through.  I think the break was good and after seeing the loss at my meeting earlier this evening, I am now on the treadmill at work logging some miles/calorie burn.  I also plan to hit up Curves both Tuesday and Wednesday this week.

I went to the store yesterday and made a meal plan for the week.  No plans to eat out until later in the week so I’ll be using my WSPA then.  I was a bit low on the points as far as food goes today so I decided to cash in a Star Reward at Starbucks for an upgraded drink.  I ordered a Venti Iced Non-Fat Chai Tea Latte with three added espresso (called a Dirty Chai).  I knew I should have looked up the points ahead of time but I didn’t.  It ended up being 13 SPV.  Ugh!  That sure does put a kink in splurging and just one more reason the new Smart Points program irks me. 

Needless to say, I was eating really low points today so even with my drink, I still have 10 SPV left for the day.  I suspect I’ll be hungry when I get off work.  When I try to cut back I am usually left feeling really hungry.  So I’ll make myself something when I get home vs. eating out.  That will cut down on points and help use up the last of my DSPA.

Onward to a new week….

Several NSV To Share This Week

I have some NSV (non-scale victory) to share again this week.  I am hoping the NSV will turn into a SV (scale victory) when I have my WI on Monday.  I love positive reinforcement.

I ran out of my WSPA (weekly Smart Points allowance) early in my week due to my evening out (BEER) on Sunday.  I have managed to keep my daily points low and within or close to my target.  So, I’m in the negative this week by just two points.

Here are my NSV:

·        I stopped at Sonic to pick Kenyon up a half priced cheeseburger on my way home from work Thursday morning.  No cheeseburger for me.  But I thought about it and looked up the points (24!!).  I even thought about getting one and eating half or a quarter but instead, I just passed all together.

·        I pre-planned a brownie treat for my supervisor's birthday.  I spent some time looking up the points (while waiting at Sonic) so I knew how much I would need/want to spend for a dessert treat.  I have worked really hard to stay strong with my sugar cravings all week in anticipation for DeLisa’s birthday Thursday.  It is a bit hard to decipher the points on a store bought brownie.  After I calculated my points for the day, I decided to eat half of the German Chocolate brownie and counted it as 5 SP.

·        I was sort of glad I dodged a bullet when I asked DeLisa if she wanted to order take out in celebration of her birthday and she said no.  When we came to work last night, several of my coworkers wanted to go to Texas Roadhouse for DeLisa’s birthday.  I took a moment to look up the points on ribs as that is currently my favorite food at Roadhouse.  But, I would also want the mashed potatoes, Caesar salad, and rolls, and all of that adds up.  So, I decided to pass up on the meal out as I wanted the brownie more than the ribs.

I still have several days left in my week and many more opportunities of food choices.  It makes me feel very good to evaluate if the food in question is worth the points.  Some days it is and some days it isn’t.  Also some days you just want something else more.

Update On New Build: Feeling A Little Deflated

I’m feeling a little deflated as I type this week’s new house update.  We started looking at the house a little more closely for issues that we need to discuss with our inspector in two weeks and what we need to make sure gets fixed before we move in (hopefully in four weeks).  When you look closely at things that are wrong, it is easy to get into a bad mood.

Kenyon described it best when he said “we’re getting C- work while we’re paying for at least a B+ house.”  I feel like our expectations just aren’t being fully met.  I’m not sure if we set our expectations too high or what.  I have reached out to our realtor and set up a meeting with her at the house next week.  I feel like we need a professional’s opinion and a different set of eyes.  We just want to know that our investment is a good one. 

This bad mood has put a little bit of a black cloud over the new home excitement.  I think part of that is due to me just feeling a bit rundown lately.  I really want this to turn out okay.  I don’t want to get so focused on the little things that we aren’t happy once we move in.  But I also don’t want the little things to slide and down the road they become big things or that we wish we had done something different.

I’ll check in next week after we meet with Christina.  I’ve cried over the phone to Christina several years ago at the end of our first home buying experience.  She was a huge help and very positive.  So I’m hoping she will rub off on us again.

I Broke My Activity Streak

After a 10-day stretch of meeting all three of my daily Apple Watch activity goals, I had a break in activity yesterday.
 

 

It wasn’t planned but I think it was needed.  After setting my alarm for 3pm and planning to go to Curves, I re-set it to 4pm and then again to 5pm before finally getting up so I could get ready to go to work.  I still had high hopes I might spend some time on the treadmill at work if that was an option.  It was as I ended up sitting on the side of the room for the first couple hours of work.  I just never felt like completing that activity.

Pretty soon midnight rolled around and my streak had been broken.  I’m hoping to feel more energized later today.  I just feel a bit rundown right now.  We are planning to pick up the key from CBH and tour the house.  I’m not sure yet of any formal activity plans.  I’ll wait and see where things shake out.  Saturday I work a 4-hour overtime shift and I hope Kenyon will want to take a walk with me after I get home and once the sun goes down.

My food as been great the last few days so I am really pleased with that.  I have a post coming about my recent Non-Scale Victories as I have a few to share with you.

In the meantime…I could use a nap!

The Ordinary, Mundane & Routine

As I was filling my water bottle before leaving the house to workout at Curves, my Dad asked me what I had going on the rest of the day.  I told him I was headed to Curves and then to work but that Kenyon was off work.  He said, “You are working again?”

Work has been my life lately.  And while I’m usually all in for the overtime and the extra money, it gets exhausting and even I start to feel the dread of getting up to go into work…again.

We are currently down eight dispatchers.  It was like this last summer with several people, myself included, jumped ship.  Since I returned to ISP six months ago, we have only managed to hire and train one person.  There were two people in training when I returned but they both ended up decided dispatch wasn’t for them (I know that feeling).  We have one in training and one that starts on the 27^th.  It appears we are having difficulty finding people that can pass our background check.  Of the six people that were offered a job, only one pass the background.  Oy.  If we can’t get people in the door we are in big trouble.

So, while we wait for more employees most of the rest of us here are working an extra ten hour shift each week.  Some even work two extra ten hour shifts.  There are people working a six-day stretch, seven-day stretch, and even an eight-day stretch.  So you can see why it feels exhausting.

While I was at Curves I was chatting with the gal working yesterday.  She asked what I did for work and I told her State Police dispatch.  She thanked me for my service.  I can’t say that I feel fulfillment in my job.  Perhaps that is why I had made the change to Nampa PD last year.  I was just looking for something different.  I was looking to escape the mundane.  Obviously my paycheck affords us certain luxuries so I’ll continue to stick around.

I think I’m also feeling a bit down because we haven’t been on any type of an extended vacation for a long time now.  We had to push back travel a year ago when I switched jobs.  Then I switched back.  Then we bought/built a house and had to push back our upcoming cruise this September to next September.  I will be taking 13 days off at the end of August/first of September.  I am so very ready for some time off.

I spotted this on FB just before I went to write this post. 

 

I guess I’m in the ordinary, mundane, and routine part of life right now.

Eye Opening Look At The Smart Points Program

I had mentioned in my last blog post that while there is some stuff with the Smart Points Program that sort of irks me.  One of which happened later that evening.

I had brought a chicken breast cooked in the crockpot to work both Friday and Saturday last week.  Later in the shift (after I’d eaten my chicken) I found some Chick-fil-A sauce in the drawer at the console.  It is a mighty tasty sauce and I love dipping my cooked chicken from home in it when I am lucky enough to find some kicking around.  I snagged the container for my use so I could enjoy it with my last container of leftover chicken I had in the fridge at home. 

I decided to look up the Smart Points of the Chick-fil-A sauce before I ate it and thank goodness I did.  This small container of deliciousness is A WHOPPING 6 SMART POINTS.  Are you kidding me!  I know why it is so high.  It is made with mayonnaise and has added sugar in it.  That is also why it tastes so good. 
 

 

I wasn’t about to give up my yummy sauce just because it was 6 SPV.  But I also wasn’t going to use 6 SPV either.  I did what any long-time WWer is accustomed it…I used it sparingly dipping my fork into the sauce and then eating a bite of chicken just as you would do with salad dressing.  I estimated I might have used no more than half the container so I counted my delicious sauce as 3 SPV.

 

Slowly I will eventually get used to the new (higher) point values of the new Smart Points program.  I feel like a kid throwing a tantrum…”But It’s not fair that it costs 6 SPV.”

Weekly WI: Spoiler Alert - I Lost 2.6 Pounds

I am excited to report that I lost 2.6 pounds for my weekly WI last night.  It sure does help boost my mood to have my hard work pay off.  It would have been a downer to have gained after working so hard.  We all know that can and does happen.

My weight-loss-happy-dance is due to one of the three things below, or perhaps a combination.

1)    Honest tracking: I tracked Smart Points everyday of the week

2)    Moving my body: I exercised everyday last week for at least 30 minutes

3)    Parsley Tea: I drank nasty Parsley Tea four days

In addition to honest tracking I also stayed away from sugar treats/dessert for the majority of the week.  I know by now that excess sugar can make or break a good week.

Our meeting topic lately has been talking about trying something new and rewarding with a Bravo star.  My share was that I actually tried the Smart Points Plan.  Do I think this is the best plan WW has had out there?  No.  It still angers me that there is such a dramatic swing on certain types of food.  That didn’t used to be the case.  Also, I could estimate the points pretty easily on a type of food and now I feel like I have to triple that on Smart Points.  Tracking my food, paying attention to the types of food I eat, and paying attention to the portion sizes is what makes weight loss successful.  So I’ll continue with the Smart Points program.

We all know the plan works if you work the plan.

Week One Complete: Smart Points And Tracking

I decided to start my WW week on a Sunday last week so I just completed a full week of using the new Smart Points program and tracking my food.  I went over everyday but one day.  I ended up eating all 42 of my Weekly Smarts Points Allowance and still ended up going over landing in the negative by 40 points.  I logged 34 Activity Points and while you aren’t supposed to be exchanging your points for food, I really only ended up in the negative by 6 points.

I ate out at least once a day up until I returned to work Friday and Saturday.  I learned quickly that eating out sucks your points up pretty fast.  But, as you all know, I love eating out.  And living at my parent’s house has made eating out even that much more convenient.  After a week of tracking though I see how important it is to limit those weekly splurges.

I only had a treat once this week.  I had a tiny ice cream cone at Sizzler on Wednesday.  Other than that I had fruit or some fat-free-sugar-free pudding made with 1% milk.  I have about two coffee shop splurges a day and that tends to add up quick.  I’m not ready to give up my coffee shop coffee though.

Here was the breakdown of my week.

Sunday: 65 points consumed

Monday: 47 points consumed

Tuesday: 49 points consumed

Wednesday: 76 points consumed

Thursday: 39 points consumed

Friday: 44 points consumed

Saturday: 45 points consumed

Wednesday was an exceptionally large day because Kenyon and I met for breakfast early in the morning and instead of tacking it onto Tuesday I started my Wednesday tracking with it.  In the wee hours of Thursday morning after I’d watched TV all evening, I had a craving for a hamburger.  Kenyon and I went to Sonic for a morning burger.  I looked up the points ahead of time and while I wanted to regular size cheeseburger, I got the junior size.  And I wanted to order an ice cream but didn’t.  So while my total day was 76 points, I felt no guilt and was happy about my decisions.

On my way home from work early Saturday morning, I picked up a Sonic breakfast toaster for Kenyon at home.  Something of the breakfast variety sounded so good but I knew the points for their food is very high.  And, if I am going to see results I need to be more stringent with myself.  Since I knew I wasn’t really starving I figured I just wanted one because it sounded good.  So the compromise was to just have a bite of Kenyon’s sandwich.  I also got myself a Coke Zero because I knew I wanted “something” and that was at least zero points.

I exercised everyday this week.  I am also very proud of that.  I earned an award on my Apple Watch.  I love to be rewarded for my positive behavior.

I’ll do my WI this evening before I head to work on overtime.  I had a get-together with friends (BEER) last night.  It was a new week so all new Weekly Smart Points Allowance.

Update On New Build: Laminate Flooring Photoss & Landcaping Completed

I didn’t know if I’d be popping in with a house update.  I drove by the new house on Wednesday and peeked in the windows to see the paper covering was taken off the laminate flooring.  I was anxious to get inside the house and look around so Kenyon picked up the key while I was at my hair appointment.  We had my friend Phoenix and Kiki with us so I didn’t get any photos to share.  Fast forward to Friday and we decided to go get the key so we could poke around more and get some photos.  Also, our landscaping was installed today.  Sorry the photos are so dark.  I need to get some when it isn't shaded.  I'll share them soon.

 

So far the sod is interesting.  There are some spots that look nice and green and some that looks a bit dead already.  We didn’t get a say on what shrubs they chose but that we got five shrubs, in season, and one tree.  The tree was placed in the center of the yard and I wonder how that will look down the road as it gets bigger.  It sort of blocks the view.  We also have a bit more grass than we were first told about in our Design Studio.  While in hindsight this will be good for future entertaining on our patio, it makes for more lawn to mow and we really don’t want yard work.  So that was a bit of a bummer.

I tried to take some panoramic photos inside the house.  It is hard to give you guys a full view of the house.  I just love how open the downstairs area is and I’m very happy with the laminate flooring we picked out.

Standing in the dining room.  Living room to the left and hallway to the garage on the right.

 



Standing in the living room.  Dining room on the right.

 

Standing in the hallway from the garage.  Living room straight ahead and dining room on the left.

Standing at the entry way.  Living room straight ahead and dining room on the left.

Entry door and closet double door

We were able to visit with our new neighbor Jennifer, who is building to the right of us.  She will close on her house August 3^rd.  It is funny because her house started the week our house did and yet we won’t close until August 19^th.  Either way….we will hopefully be in our new home in just five more weeks.  I can’t wait to meet all our new neighbors.