Queen Mother Blog

Monday- Thin sliced porkchops with shake & bake - 3 pts. for 4oz.

Tuesday- My old standby Springtime Pasta (I really do eat this almost every other week I think) It makes 6 servings at 6-7 points each (depending on which garlic & herb cheese spread you use)

Wednesday- The first Meatloaf recipe mentioned here except I use half ground turkey and half beef, eliminate the brown sugar and it's only 3 pts. per serving (6 servings)

Thursday- I'm going out to dinner with a friend (woohoo!) so Marc will be eating Springtime Pasta leftovers =)

Friday- Creamy Chicken & Mushrooms Macaroni casserole (While you are there, there are tons of great recipes on her site) 5 pts. per 1 cup serving

Saturday- Leftovers

Sunday- Bruschetta Chicken Bake (another old standby ;o) 6 pts.

Be sure to check out the other menu plans over at Menu Plan Monday!

This has been a busy week for me, shopping & meeting up with friends for the holidays. That combined with not-too-many great deals has made for a slow posting week. I thought I'd just type up one post with my WW updates along with a deal.

I really like the Entertainment book, and think that it is almost always worth its price. Right now, Walgreens is offering a $5 register reward (just like a CVS extracare buck) for any $25 purchase. The $25 purchase requirement is before all coupons. Also, there is a $10 off Entertainment book coupon in the Walgreens store circular. Purchase your area Entertainment book for $25, use the $10 off ad-coupon & get a $5 register reward for your next transaction, and it is like getting the book for $10! These also make good gifts; I think the movie theatre coupons alone make it worth it. I tried to hit up my local Walgreens on my way to meet a friend for lunch and they were sold out! I tell ya, I have NO luck with Walgreens!

So this morning was also my Weight Watcher meeting day and I have not been posting much about WW here, because almost nothing is going on. I lose 1/2 pound, I gain 1/2 pound, today I was down 3/4 lb...I think it is just because it is the holidays and I know that New Years will bring some more determination. So it is kind of like oh well for now ;) But I really wanted to make it today, because WW unveiled a new program called "Momentum", and now there is no more Flex or Core plans, it is all one program. It really still seems to be the same for people who have followed the Flex plan (counting points), except now they are telling you to eat more of the Core foods. They want you to use your points on more filling foods like whole grains, lean protein and vegetables rather than just eating a slice of pizza for 8 points and nothing else. Well, duh! But now you can also bank your activity points which is really good, because it never failed that the days that I would get in a big workout would be the days that I didn't feel like eating all of my points. So there are some good changes there.

That's it. Hopefully we get some more good deals popping up right before Christmas!

So this morning I had my weigh in. I didn't go last week, just because I was slacking a bit and it was pouring rain. Earlier this week I heard the weather forecast that it was going to rain again on Thursday, but this time I knew I couldn't skip. So I dragged cranky Rayna out to the meeting and...

...I was down 1.4!! What?? Over a lb.!!?? When I was off the wagon this week? It is a miracle, I tell ya. Maybe it was all my running around cleaning this week. Or maybe it is that when I don't journal what I'm eating, I actually eat *less* because I'm nervous about how "bad" I am doing.

So I am 2 lbs. away from my goal weight! Hooray!

On a side note, you know it's not cool to be a follower, right? BUT I added the "followers" feature to my blog, and that IS cool. I still thought "follower" didn't sound very nice so I changed it to "my loyal subjects"...hehe, like that is so much better! But seriously, please sign up to follow my blog. I would love you forever :) (It is down on the right below the post archive & labels, but it doesn't seem to be working right now. You can also just click here)...I think you have to have a blog yourself? I don't get it! But thanks for those who are trying!

Love, Bay

I had been a WW absentee for two weeks...well, I missed one meeting, but it was two weeks of being totally off the program. I was terrified of going in to the meeting and seeing the look on the receptionist's face when I gained 3 lbs. I was moving slow all morning, wondering if I should just have a week "OP" (on plan) before I went in again to weigh in. I knew that is not how it works; when a person feels they need to lose a little weight before going to WW it is like a backslidden person saying that she's just gonna get it together before she goes back to church. It won't happen!

When I got into the meeting of course I was glad to be there. People who try to lose weight on their own don't realize that there's something special about seeing the same people every week at Weight Watchers. You don't need to be friends at all, but it's reassuring to see them there.

So anyway, I weighed in and they are always very quiet and discreet at my meeting, even if you've lost. The girl says nothing and is shuffling around my paperwork. I'm getting nervous to hear the damage and I let out some kind of "oh no?"--"eek!"--a whimper, maybe? She's like, "huh? You lost! 1/2 a lb."

Haaaallejulah! You could knock me over with a feather. THEN she tells me that I am just a few pounds away from the goal weight and that once I get there I pay the "maintaining" fee that leads to being lifetime! Hooray! I'm most excited about not having to pay for WW, isn't that sad? lol.