Mmmm Chicken

Tonight for dinner we had roasted chicken with potatoes carrots garlic and onion. This is one I my favorite goto meals. I make it both with a whole chicken and just roasting thighs and legs. Tonight was just parts.

Don't judge but my favorite part of the meal is the clean up. All the chicken drippings are at the bottom if the pan and are at just the right consistence to soak up with a slice o bread. For my non-meat eater readers you might want to skip this entry. The juice and the skin have always been my favorite parts of roasted chicken. It's the one food I never feel bad about eating afterwards. Yes I know the drippings and skin aren't the best part for you but to me they are worth it. I will be out on the trail tomorrow morning jogging my 1/4 mile and then walking a 1/4 mile the 2 and 1/4 mile hike Alexandra Angus and I walk everyday if it's not raining.

What to eat after a week of takeout?

After a week of takeout we had a wonderful tex-mex chicken salad for dinner. Even Alexandra liked it. Only 179 calories. Let me know if you want the recipe.

Time to get ready for Christmas.

Hello Happy Hour readers:)! Welcome back from the Thanksgiving weekend. I had a wonderful time in Jersey but missed my family very much. We have an Italian style Thanksgiving dinner when we head up there with lots of appetizers stuffed shells and then the turkey with potatoes corn stuffing carrots and rolls. I thought of my friend Anna Dawn while enjoying my stuffed shells knowing that was what she was having them in Ohio too). Of course we all went out the next night for more Italian food and had pizza for lunch the next day. So after all this food what do we have for dinner tonight? More pizza!!!!! So of course I've gained what seems like 20 pounds in less than a week. Next week we are back on our low cal. meals and walking everyday. Tracking what we eat too. It's time to get ready for the Christmas eating season.

Why do we have the two biggest food holidays so close together? It is impossible to maintain let alone lose weight the last week in November all the way through the first of January. I would like to lose 10 pounds before Christmas. Here's to an ambitious goal:)

Cheers
Katie

iPhone

Is anyone else out there way too attached to their iPhone? I am now able to blog from my phone when I should be working on getting my house cleaned an start packing. :) With all the convinces of modern technology is it really helping us?

Cheers
Katie

I'm Back

It's been over a month since I last sat down to write something. My baking entery was writen back in the begining of September.

So I'm working on getting back into my regular rutien. That includes getting back into lose it and working out everyday. Why are there people out there who can eat what ever they want and still not gain an ounce. They all suck. Since am not one of those people I will be on the trail or Just Dancing everyday. I would like lose 10 pounds by Thanksgiving. Is this posible? V.J. and I are only using my Weight Watchers cook books from now till Thanksgiving. So maybe. I just have to keep the work out part going.

The other rutien in my life that has started to disapear is my daily log of what I eat.

I started to write this a month before Thanksgiving and here we are the week of Thanksgiving. I lost about 8 pounds but gained 2 back because our refrigerator died and I was not able to cook the healthy meals I had been. So my Christmas goal is to be 10 pounds lighter then what I am on Monday when we are home again and I can stock up my fridge with healthy food again. Good luck to everyone traveling and struggling with weight this week. Allow yourself to relax have a drink and enjoy.

Cheers
Katie

More Baking

I never in a million years would have thought I would enjoy baking. I have made two batches of white sandwich bread and a batch of french bread. Each time I learn how to make the next batch even better. The best part is I haven't needed to buy bread in 3 weeks. OK I have needed to do some major planning a head but it has been worth it. I also made cookies!!! This might not be as impressive as bread. I use to make cookies from the sheet of snap off cookie dough you just have to place on a cookie sheet and bake for 12 minutes. I made my own cookie dough =). It was so yummy. I need to add less flour next time to make them a little softer.

Anyone else have baking stores or tips?

My quest to cook something different each night is still going strong. to make life easier I pick one cook book a week so that I just need to find a recipe in just that cookbook. So far we like the Rachael Ray recipies the best.

I do relize that it has been 3 weeks since I last weighed in. I decided to chance my weigh in day to Wednesday since VJ and I go to trivia on Wednesday nights and I really don't want to weigh in after drinking beer the night before. So Next Wednesday I promise I will weigh in. I just really hope it's down.

Cheers,
Katie

No Weigh in. It's My Birthday!

Good Bye 30 Hello 31!. I'm not where I had wanted to be weight wise but I am on the right path. I decided that for my birthday I would not weigh in today. I had a number in my head and if I dont' see that number I will be very upset and I dont' want to be upset on or around my birthday. So I know that I am only 2 pounds away from that number so all last week and the rest of this week I have and will continue to work out with Just Dance and stretch with yoga. I enjoyed my birthday and didn't want a silly number keeping me from having the Duck in blackberry port sauce and a second glass of wine followed by dessert nachos at the bar for trivia=). Today was yogurt for breakfast and lots of abb work.

I feel as women we try too hard to do it all. We also let numbers rule our lives and tell us if we are attractive or not. I was not going to let that number take over my birthday. My dress looked awesome as did hair and makeup. When I feel good about how I look I don't care what number I'm wearing. In my mind I could be walking down a runway full of confidence. The only thing that can take my America's next top Model confidence away is the number on the scale.

Birthdays, holidays and special occasions should be no scale weeks. Still weigh in the week before so you have a starting point, but give your self an extra week after the event to get at least back to that starting point. I hate seeing the scale go up  I become so depressed that I start to eat without really thinking about what I"m doing and then in the middle of the pot of mac and cheese (yes I said pot) I come back to earth and throw the rest of the mac and cheese in the trash so that I'm not tempted to eat anymore, and then go and do crazy work outs to burn off what I did eat. Anyone else know this cycle?

So anyways long rant about giving myself an extra week before weigh in and why I think it's OK to do that. Keep strong all my weight yo yo friends.

Cheers
Katie

Thoughts from Alexandra=)

` n/////Alexandra wanted to say hi,

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Cheers
Alexandra                             

Starbucks

Many of you know my love to Starbucks coffee. My favorite is a triple grande nonfat white chocolate mocha no whip. That's about 420 calories and it costs over $5. So when I became a stay at home mom I stopped my daily run to Starbucks (yes it was daily) and only went there as a treat if I was getting together with friends or walking the trail that happened to run behind a Starbucks. Sadly my favorite Starbucks closed that was by the walking trail. The only other ones that were in our area were inside Harris Teeter by the mall, or on the way to Alexandra's old school. I can't get a drink at Harris Teeter because Alexandra has figured out that it must be really good since I won't give any to her and spends the whole shopping trip trying to have one sip of my drink. The one at the mall has really bad parking and it just isn't worth it and the one by Alexandra's school I never really go on that side of town anymore.

Well today I took a coffee to a friend who just had her second baby (it was decaf) and treated myself to a coffee. Not my usual but a grande nonfat Carmel macciato (only 270 calories). This was my breakfast along with the other half of the banana Alexandra didn't want but it was so worth it =). I had actually forgotten how good their coffee is. I do have a gift card and a free coffee for my birthday so I might have to plan another trip to Starbucks very soon =).

Cheers,
Katie

Baking

Along with finding different recipes to make each night I'm am also experimenting in the world of BAKING!!!! I am not a fan of baking since you have to measure and really pay attention. The only baking I do is when you buy a box of Betty Crocker Cake mix and add the egg, oil, and milk and pour everything in a pan. If I make cookies I buy the sheet of already measured out cookie dough that I only need to break off and place on a greased cookie sheet and pop in the oven for 12 minutes or so. It is time for me to branch out and I want to give real baking a try. For our wedding my family dog MacDuff gave me the Better Crocker Bridal Edition cookbook.  So I am about to go down and start making dough for bread. I will let you know how it ends up when I am done.

Cheers
Katie

SUCCESS!!!!!! I made a very large loaf of Country Style bread. I think it's called Country Style because this was how they made it before they had bread pans or something. But It looks great and tastes like bread so yea!!!!!!! I think I'll have some for lunch with my sandwich=)

Weigh In

Tracking really does work for me. I am down 2 pounds and I'm concessions of what I'm eating. It's the same as WW except I don't have meetings. Love It.

So went to my doctor the other day and I am not having a UC flare up. I need to drink more water. This summer's high humidity and temps really dehydrated me and that's why I have been so tired, and bloated. I'll drink to that (water that is).

Has anyone read the Jacqueline "Jack"  Daniels Mystery series by J.A. Konrath? So good. Can get really gross and yucky but you can't stop reading them. I'm on the third book in the series. I am one of the few people in the world who still check books out at the library instead of reading them on a kindle, or other electronic book thing. Anyways it's a really good series.

Ok back to the weigh in. I've been doing Just Dance and it seems to be working. VJ keeps trying to beat my record on my favorite songs so I can't slack off. I hate that even thought I do all of the moves he still gets the points and I just get an "ok". Time to dance.

Cheers
Katie

Back on Track

Well I have been putting off working out due to the heat and not really keeping track of what I eat the way I did with Weight Watchers. Well enough if enough. V.J. has said he will join me in our own "weight watchers" and we'll work out together. We both have downloaded the Lose It app. Just like with WW we can set goals, track our weight, and write down what we eat. I can also look ahead at restaurants and make my decisions before I look at the menu.  It helps that we're doing this together and working out together as well. If you have the Lose It app I  would love to share recipes and work outs with you.

So I am working on this weight thing for the 3rd time this summer. Lets see how long I can stick with it. Starting Thursday I will weigh in and post on Facebook if I went down, up or stayed the same. I am also posting my workouts. If I don't post a work out let me know. Family and friend support is everything.

Oh keeping track of what I eat also allows me to have a beverage and not feel guilty about it.

Cheers
Katie

Leaving Comments

I have heard from a few people who have enjoyed the Happy Hour blog but can't leave a comment. I have had the same problems trying to leave comments on other friends blogs. I have tried to figure this out on my own but alas, I will have to have the "tech pro" my wonderful husband V.J. walk me through how to add comment. Until then you can just send me an e-mail at kdimizio@yahoo.com. I would love to hear from you.

Balancing Act

I knew when I became a mom I would have to learn a whole new balancing act much different from the "wife" balancing act.
So I have discovered a balancing act now that I'm at home. I can't just play and read stories to Alexandra all day. I did that the first week and after reading 5 little ducks for what seemed like the 100th time in one day I had to call it quits. Don't worry we still have our story times  at least two time a day. Alexandra is getting older and able to play independently on her own. So to encourage her to use her imagination and make self discoveries I have moved toys into all of the rooms that she might play in. This has allowed me to get things down around the house while she's awake so that when she's napping I can just relax.

She's playing with her tea set right now in our office. It is a cute pink and purple tea pot that has a numbers song and sound setting. It is on the song setting now. Alexandra is overjoyed that she knows how to make the tea pot sing. Yes I feel like I'm going to chuck the tea pot out the window if I hear the song "time to share a pot of tea, some for you and some for me. time to share a pot of tea and say please and thank you" but she is so excited when she hears it I'll try to keep my cool =). She just sits there bouncing up and down as the tea pot sings in a Mrs. Potts/Mary Poppins voice. If it makes her happy and encourages her to play on her own It's all good. It has allowed me to share with all of you and still take a nap this afternoon =).

VJ has said "I don't know how you do this all day" when he has taken over for me on the weekends so I can have some me time. All I can say is it's a balancing act. So to all the moms (stay at home and working) a toast to you and your balancing act.

Cheers,
Katie

Need Sleep

The last time I felt this tired I was pregnant. I know for a fact that I am not but I can't understand why I'm so tired even after 7 to 8 hours of sleep? Anyone else who is or has been a stay at home mom experienced this extreme exhaustion? At fist I did think I was pregnant again but I know that I am not. Then I thought I was having a UC flare up. I might be but I don't remember being this tired the last time I had a flare up. Then there's the heat. The heat index here has been in the upper 90's to low 100's for most of the month of July and August. So is this just heat exhaustion? Or could I just be experiencing the affects of being a stay at home mom?

Too many different variables. Any thoughts?
Cheers,
Katie

Stay at Home Mom

I have always been proud of my desire to teach the early childhood years. I remember my first education class at Ashland and the light that went on in my head. This was what I'm suppose to do. Yes the pay is going to suck, there will be those parents who drive you crazy as well as students who you just want move to another state. But even with those negatives I still loved the idea of being a teacher. I think that is why becoming a stay at home mom was such a hard decision. How will I keep busy? Do I have to watch Barney? How will she learn to socialize if she's not in school? When will I have "me" time? After all of these questions I am happy to say that I have the same feeling about being a stay at home mom as I did that first day in Ashland as an Education Major!

I love spending time with my other stay at home mom friends, however since most of them are expecting their second child I know how busy they will be, and getting together for coffee in the morning will have to wait. So I went on line and joined the South Durham Mom's group. Thank you Anna Dawn for reminding me what a social butterfly I was.  Alexandra loves playing with the other kids, and everything we try to do is mostly free. As for me time...that's what naps are for. Oh and cleaning the house in case someone wants to come and look at it.

It took 3 weeks but I can feel the stress of not working is just about gone. I still have dreams about teaching and have woken up a couple times thinking I had an early morning meeting that day.

I wonder who else has had a stress full time leaving the professional world to become a stay at home mom? Just a thought.

Cheers
Katie

Dinners

I love cooking. The feel of a knife chopping garlic was always a way to help me relax after a long day of work. Last night I tried Rachel Ray's Fish Piccata with talapia. It was so good. Alexandra loved it. She ate half of my fish. If you enjoy fish this is defiantly a recipe I would recommend. My goal for the rest of this year is to make something different each night and not repeat a recipe. I tend to make the same 3 or 4 things rotating about 2 of them around each week. That and I have so many cook books it seems silly to make the same 3 or 4 things all the time.

For those of you who like to cook what is your favorite thing to make? Same question for those who don't like to cook. I would love to hear some new ideas=)

Cheers
Katie

Getting Started

I have never been one to journal or blog, but with all the changes in my life I felt this would be the best way to get any questions, thoughts or concerns out for discussion. I picked happy hour as my title because growing up and even after I moved to North Carolina happy hour has always been the time when I have gotten together with family and friends to talk about our day, voice problems we might be having and just enjoy each others company. There was also usually a beverage or two involved and lots of good food. =).

Now that I am a stay at home mom, happy hour has been replaced with The Sprout sharing show or the Wiggles and getting dinner ready by 6:00. Getting together with friends is always in the morning between nap times and conversations are often interrupted with children crying, screaming, or trying to climb up the floor lamp. Lets just say we often forget what we were talking.

So here are my thoughts and concerns for the day.
Last night I read my friends  blog on weight loss and it really inspired me to get back on my program. Like her I left Weigh Watchers since I wasn't going to the meetings and we were trying to find ways to save money now that we have only one paycheck coming in. the Lose It app has really helped me and it's just about the same as the Weight Watchers App. My favorite way to work out is simply to walk on the trails either here in Durham or around Lake Lynn in Raleigh. The hard part is in the summer here in the south It's too hot by 9:30am. So to replace walking I am going back to my first love. DANCE! VJ got us the Just Dance game for the Wii and I love it. Alexandra also likes to dance (or just kind of wiggle around and wave her arms) along with me. My goal is to be down 5 pounds by my birthday August 24. I'm not sure about sharing my current number but lets just say 5 pounds will put me under a number I have seen too many times come and gone and would really like to see it go away for good.

Please add to the conversation if you like.

Cheers,
Katie