Na Na Na Na, Life Goes On....

That was a song in the 80s if I remember correctly... Can't remember who by, but the line hit me today as I sat down to type this entry...

My daughter and her hubby and the baby have been here since Friday. She likes spending time "at home" and her hubby likes being out in the country, away from all the crap that goes on at the apartment complex they live in. I can not tell you enough that I can seriously appreciate that feeling! We've lived 20 minutes (or more) from town since 1991 when we bought our first home. She grew up that way as she was 2 years old at that time. Country living is all she's ever known. She's used to being able to do and have whatever she wants... Want a dog? Fine! As long as you can afford to feed it and can take care of it, there's no landlord telling you no. Want to add on to your home? Go ahead! Nobody to stop you! Want to tear the motor out of your car and replace or rebuild it? Hop to it! They aren't even supposed to work on their vehicles in the parking lot of that apartment complex, let alone do any sort of major repair. There are less than desirable folks living there too, as you can imagine. They've considered living with us for a while till they get themselves set up on their own finally. Yesterday, she commented, "Mom, you may have lots of company this next couple weeks..." By that, she meant that they'd be sticking around here for a while if I didn't mind. I point blank told her that was fine with me! And, it is about more than spending time with my new grandbaby... It is about knowing that they are all safe, happy, and healthy. Her Daddy worries about her and isn't comfortable unless he speaks to her each and every day of the week. If he can't get her on the phone when he tries her, he'll call me and ask if I've heard from her. I am not quite sure what he is afraid has happened each day, but he is not happy till he speaks to her... But, they've been glued to one another since that day in 1989 when we brought her home from the hospital!

From Eggy's birthday wish to my birthday gift...

Eggface has pushed me over the edge! But I mean that in a good way, I hope! I've read about too many of her protein ice cream concoctions. I couldn't take it anymore! I'd been selling off some excess bulk soapmaking and lotionmaking supplies on eBay lately. I sold a few bars of homemade soap to someone. I had some $$ sitting in my PayPal account.... Long story made short--I ordered a Cuisinart ICE-20 ice cream maker AND an extra cylinder for it last night from Amazon... I didn't even go with the refurbished one, I went for the gusto and got the new one... SO, I'm $79 poorer, but it will be my birthday gift to myself. I turn 41 on August 13th! That means that Eggy's "birthday wish" becomes my birthday gift! AND, coincidentally, the first batch of protein ice cream that I plan to try will be her strawberry cheesecake recipe! I'm going to include that here. Please remember that this is Michelle/Eggface's recipe! I get NO credit for this other than sharing it with you in one more place! You can go to her blog and read all about her protein ice cream concoctions and all the different varieties/recipes she's come up with so far!

Shelly's Strawberry Cheesecake Protein Ice Cream

1/2 cup mashed Strawberries
2 Tablespoons Whipped Cream Cheese
1 Tablespoon Sugar Free Torani Syrup (I used SF Vanilla)
1 cup Vanilla Soy Milk (or Regular Milk)
2 scoops Vanilla Protein Powder
1/4 cup chopped Strawberries

Mash strawberries, SF Syrup and cream cheese together. Mix together milk, protein, & strawberry cream cheese mixture. I used this gadget to mix it up. It makes it airy and lump free. Pour into ice cream maker. Follow your machine's instructions for freezing. 5 minutes before done add chopped strawberries. I put it in the freezer to set for an hour. Top with an optional squirt of Land o'Lakes Sugar Free Whipped Cream.

Never say never....

I never really said never, but I did say "rarely if ever..." I am referring to dumping... I rarely, if ever, dump. It is often unpredictable and never consistent. I dumped once on two bites of the tomato sauce in a Healthy Choice entree. I dumped on a teaspoon of KC Masterpiece barbecue sauce. I didn't, however, dump on fudge! Most times I eat them, I don't dump on donuts with gooey filling or cinnamon rolls with cream cheese icing. Now NO, I shouldn't be eating them in the first place and I know that 100%. But, when I eat them, they usually don't bother me in any way other than the guilty conscience!

Lately though, I have been dumping more frequently. I dumped on a cinnamon roll and milk last week. I guess the milk just pushed me over the edge. Then, the day my daughter was in labor, I had 3 sausage links, some hospital eggs (too clumpy to be fresh eggs, probably powdered) and 1/2 a blueberry bagel with cream cheese. I dumped 30 minutes after I ate the bagel and cream cheese. And, I dumped HARD. Then, I dumped intermittently for the rest of the morning--including while my daughter was delivering the baby! I would be fine for 1/2 hour or more and then start getting hot flashes and clammy feeling before my world would want to spin... NOT fun! It happened at least 3 more times. Yesterday, I dumped on Cheeze-Its! Now greasy ole Fritos making me dump I can understand--the fat is obvious! But, baked Cheeze-Its are hard to understand...

One thing that is clear from this post is that I am eating entirely too much CRAP! I tell you guys this for two reasons. 1) I don't want anyone to think that you either dump or you don't dump. It just isn't that easy... It can be very unpredictable! 2) I need the accountability that putting this out in print gives me. I need to eat less junk!

Just call me GRANDMA!!

At 12:37 pm this afternoon (7/17/08), my grandson--Matthew Lee McCord--made his appearance to the world! He was 21 inches long and weighed 7 pounds 3 1/2 ounces. So far, he's been a good baby with very little crying. I told my daughter--"just give him time!" Her mother-in-law said her hubby cried at that age just to hear himself! LOL LOOK at all that hair! His momma and aunt were both born bald as the proverbial cue-ball! No hair till they were about 18 months old. This little booger has a head full and it is about an inch long too!

Here's a pic of my daughter, son-in-law and their new bundle of joy!


And, of course, one of me (boy was I tired!) and Matthew as well...



And I really liked these too:






And then there was this one... This one was actually one of the very first pics that I took, of course. He was literally coated with that gooey white stuff to the point that one of the nurses shouted, "who ordered the extra cheese??" LOL So, I called that pic "cheesy!"


They don't get to come home from the hospital till Saturday afternoon... Just think of all the spoiling I have planned for next week!!

baby update!

My daughter goes in tomorrow and they are going to give her a pill that is supposed to thin her cervix and help prompt labor. If that doesn't do the trick on its own, they are going to put her on the pitocin drip on Thursday morning... SO, either way, we should have a baby by some time Thursday!! According to the ultrasounds, he should weigh between 7 1/2 and 8 pounds too!

Protein Ice Cream... Who'da Thunk It??

Eggface... That is who thought this one up! I don't know if you guys are familiar with Michelle/Eggface over at ObesityHelp.com, but she is one who posts WLS-friendly recipes on her blog VERY regularly...almost daily. And, they are usually VERY yummy concoctions! Lately, everyone is talking about her newest creation--protein ice cream. It is ice cream made in an ice cream maker with protein powder in it and they are RAVING about this! They are using different flavors of protein powder with various things mixed in to make different flavors of ice cream. Melting Mama made a version with Matrix's orange creamsicle powder... Check out Eggface's blog for recipes.

AND--Here's direct links to some of them:

peanut butter cup version is at http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2008/07/it-should-be-illegal.html

mint chocolate chip is at http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2008/07/mint-chocolate-chip.html

tiramisu... http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2008/07/tiramisu-ice-cream-sandwiches.html

black cherry http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2008/07/my-mums-birthday.html

apple walnut crumb with cinnamon oatmeal cookie
http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2008/07/american-as-apple-pie-err-crumb.html

Hawaiian Islands
http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2008/07/aloha.html

pistachio
http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2008/07/green-is-my-favorite-color.html

strawberry cheesecake
http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2008/06/my-birthday-wish.html

toasted coconut
http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2008/06/pizza-ice-cream-party-post-wls-style.html

chocolate caramel
http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2008/06/protein-ice-cream-sundae.html

I think that is all that she has up so far... I must say that I was having an easier time pushing this aside till I saw that strawberry cheesecake one... Heck, the only thing I don't have here for that one is the danged ice cream maker and that would be an AWESOME treat after working in the garden! So, guess what I just did??? I posted on my local Freecycle group asking if anyone had an ice cream maker stashed in the cupboard going to waste! LOL We'll see if I get a response! If I do, I'll have to assume it is fate that I am meant to try this!!

8/4/08 update
She's added more recipes for the protein ice cream! I am using this post to keep up with them, so here's some more links!
Key Lime Pie
http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2008/08/key-lime-pie-protein-ice-cream-and-tips.html
That one also has some good "tips" info!

Mango
http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2008/07/mmmmango.html

Carrot Cake
http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2008/07/carrot-cake-protein-ice-cream.html

Peanut Butter and Jelly
http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2008/07/peanut-butter-jelly-protein-ice-cream.html

Roasted Pear
http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2008/07/roasted-pear-protein-ice-cream.html

Lemon Meringue Pie
http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2008/07/when-life-gives-you-lemons.html

Root Beer Float
http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2008/07/root-beer-float-protein-ice-cream.html

Blueberry Cheesecake
http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2008/07/blueberries-fountain-of-yoot.html


Butter Pecan
http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2008/07/butter-pecan.html

Caramel Apple
http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2008/07/caramel-apple-protein-ice-cream.html

I think that is all of them so far... Wow, what a list! I have had my ice cream maker for a whole week now and, thanks to life (and 4-H) getting in the way, have yet to make a single batch! I am going to rectify that today though and finally make that strawberry cheesecake one!

8/8/08
She's at it again! If she keeps this up, we'll never run out of flavors to try!

Pumpkin Spice
http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2008/08/pumpkin-eater.html

Pineapple Coconut Cheesecake
http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2008/08/ice-cream-sandwiches-for-breakfast.html

That last one sounds like a winner! All I need is some crushed pineapple! Heck, I think I've got pineapple chunks... I could whiz those with the stick blender and have crushed!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana
http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2008/08/hunka-hunka-banana-love.html

Orange Creamsicle
http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2008/08/its-national-creamsicle-day.html


She just NEVER stops!! New ones still--updated 8/28/08
Protein Ice Cream Bon-Bons
http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2008/08/protein-ice-cream-bon-bons.html

Chocolate Coconut Cookie
http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2008/08/chocolate-coconut.html


Vanilla Coconut Cookie
http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2008/08/vanilla-coconut.html
I love coconut and I love vanilla ice cream... I may have to give this one a try!!

Kay's Naturals at 20% off!

As you may or may not remember, Kay's Naturals was offering us 20% off their wonderful crunch-craving-solution products. Then, their site became overwhelmed and they had to stop offering the discount for a while. Well, I am happy to report that they have a NEW site up and are offering us the 20% off once again! The new site is at http://www.kaysbariatric.com/ and the discount code is newsite. How simple is that?? The more people who use the discount, the longer they'll be able to offer it to us, so PASS IT ON!! They also still have the $7.50 flat rate shipping--whether you order one item or 101 items! This can really save you some $$!

I'd love it if those of you already familiar with their products would take a minute to comment on what your favorite is and how you eat it if you use it other than just as a crunchy snack. For example, I crumble up some of the White Cheddar Kruncheeze and pour chili on it and then top with some shredded 4-cheese Mexican blend cheese... Sort of a "frito pie" if you will!

Big time dumping...

Over the last two years, the frequency of dumping has become almost nil for me and I eat sugar, so it would happen if it was going to... Last month, I had an affair with cinnamon rolls with cream cheese icing. No after effects, but I finally kicked the habit. Well, I caved this morning and had one. And, to make it worse, I had chocolate milk (regular 2% milk made with sugar free syrup) afterwards. Well, within 15 minutes of drinking the milk (which doesn't bother me on its own), I was getting all clammy feeling and nauseous. I was feeling woozy and totally awful. So, I went back to bed for a while. Well, at 8:30, "a while" felt like I might need an hour to get back on my feet. Well, I woke up at 12:27 pm! WOW! I had the headache from you-know-where and was still feeling yucky, though the worst of it had passed. I sure hope that is enough to keep those danged things FAR away from me! We have to learn the hard way even on things of this import sometimes....

To make matters even worse, it set me on a bad eating track for the day. I mean the only real protein from that was in the milk and that was accompanied by tons of carbs between the carbs in the milk and the carbs (not good ones) in the cinnamon roll. My "lunch" of choice was generic Fritos and cheese. Then, later, I had an Atkins fudge brownie bar for snack. That was the only good choice all day... I did manage to turn it around for dinner though. I put a steak on the grill and grilled an ear of corn to go with it. Now if I can just stay on track and not snack later......... UGH!!

We'd do ANYTHING!

I was at my support group meeting last night and a conversation was started amongst the group with a new attendee who is looking into having surgery and is weighing her options. She asked a couple of "what if?" questions... Then, we got onto the subject of food tolerance. By food tolerance, I don't just mean becoming lactose intolerant or being a mega-dumper. I'm also referring to all the stories you hear as a preop person about all those foods you won't be able to eat after surgery. Another question this preop person asked our group was how we handled eating and dieting before surgery and avoided just eating to break the bank because of getting in one more time of all your old favorites before you have surgery and can no longer eat those foods--ever. Well, of course the first thing anyone told her was that it was not usually true that you can't eat those foods again... In many (heck, most!) cases, we've been able to eat about anything we'd like as a later postop, just in much smaller portions and some foods with less frequency...

This turned to a conversation about how things progress as you get farther and farther postop... Our support group leader said, "remember when we'd do ANYTHING!" She was referring to those first few months postop when you follow your surgeon's and nutritionist''s plan to a T. You do what you are told, when you are told and how you are told. You weighed/measured your foods. You charted everything you ate and/or drank. You didn't drink for 30 minutes before or 30 minutes after you ate. You exercised like there was no tomorrow! You made healthy snacks and toted a cooler with you when going out so that you could stick to your plan... Then, little by little and bit by bit, you started to change. You found restaurants where you could grab a quick bite while out instead of eating what you brought with you--even if fast food was a binge/trigger food for you. You started sipping while eating. You began to figure out what foods that you shouldn't really be eating would bother you or make you dump and in what amount you had to eat them before this happened. Again, you did this regardless of whether those foods (yummy cinnamon buns with cream cheese icing!) were perhaps part of your problem preop... Your healthy snacks became a bit less healthy... It began to feel like work getting that stuff ready... It was so much easier to grab something else. Chopping veggies to have something healthy and crunchy to snack on was much more work than just grabbing a big handful of those chips hubby snuck in on you. Boiling an egg takes time... You stopped tracking every bite you ate... "Normal" people eat that, right? Well, you did have this surgery to BE normal...

You come up with excuses to justify your little slips... "I had some chips this afternoon because there was nothing else where I stopped to grab a snack..." Yep, that may have been true, but it is likely you knew in advance that you'd be out today and need a snack while you were gone but failed to plan and pack something. And, for most folks, as you got nearer to your goal weight, you slacked off on your exercising as if it were something you only needed to LOSE weight, not just to keep it off. Don't forget, you had this surgery to be more normal and normal, healthy people exercise! I'm not criticizing you--I am guilty too!

The meeting moves on and we were talking about how many of us were doing okay, but would really have liked to lose another 15 or 20 pounds. One person had gotten down to a size 10, but was back up to a 14 and did not like it... What do we have to do to get those last few pounds off or to get back into those size 10s? We have to get back to the program! We left it, it didn't leave us! We know what to do. We know how to do it. It is within our reach. We just have to want it bad enough to DO it! We have to take the time to chop those veggies and have them ready. We have to boil a dozen eggs at a time and have them waiting in the fridge instead of making just enough for now or just enough for tomorrow's lunch... Eggs keep for a few days! We have to find better options even if it means carrying that cooler again! Find a snack food that is a good option for you and keep it in the car. Yes, during part of the year that food will have to be something that won't melt or spoil in the heat. But, that is part of the job we took on as postops... If we want to reach our goal weight OR even just maintain at the weight that we did reach, we have to be committed to it. We have to take the steps necessary and we MUST continue to exercise--even walking--on a regular basis in order to maintain...

Am I telling YOU what to do?? Heck no! (unless that is what you need! LOL) I am in a sort of a slump if you will... I reached my all time low of 197 pounds (down from 410) back in February of this year (2008). Before that, I wanted SO badly to get down to 185. I kept a vigilant food log. I exercised--not enough, but I did something every day. I weighed and/or measured my food. I carried a snack with me if I were going out for several hours. I told myself that I was going to see that 185 on the scale despite the fact that my loss had slowed to a measly pound or two a month and I had no hope for plastic surgery... Heck, as long as it was a loss and not a gain, it was all good! But, then I saw that magic number... I was at my support group meeting for February and though the scale had said 201 at home that morning, it said 198 at the doc's office before the meeting. I showed that baby to everyone! (doc's scale gives you a printed slip) HoooooAhhhhhhhhh! Then, at home that evening, it said--drum roll here--197.4. O M G!!! It wasn't just a discrepancy in the two scales! I went to bed that evening on TOP of the world! I had achieved onederland suddenly. For 18 months, I'd been telling people that my biggest goal in this journey was to get to a weight that began with a ONE and into a clothing size that began with a ONE... I had been into size 16 jeans for a very long time by February. Suddenly I had met both those goals--197 pounds (freaking right!!) and size 16 clothing... While a size 16 may not seem small to some, it was SO much smaller than the size 36W I started out in!

Life was good! And, for whatever reason, it was like a switch was flipped in my head. My goal of 185 pounds seems to have been vaporized from my head. It no longer mattered for some reason. Heck, it was like I never had that goal--though there it was, so plainly stated on my blog, my OH profile, in my siggy for OH... Suddenly, as long as I didn't gain, I didn't care if I lost either. And, I found myself setting a "safe zone" for my weight (197 to 205) and deciding that as long as I didn't fluctuate over that safe zone, all was right in the world and no reason for drastic change of any sort. Why, all of a sudden, was 197 to 205 good? Why was 185 no longer a valid goal? Who the hell knew... I stopped counting my calories and carbs. I totally stopped logging what I ate. I counted only protein grams to be sure I was getting in enough each day. I allowed the bad carbs (not just carbs in general, but WHITE, refined carbs--like the ones in cinnamon buns) to creep back into my food intake. I backed off on exercising and would have several days in a row where I did nothing of note to "move my body." Most days, that scale says something in the 205 pound range. Recently, thanks to water retention, I was all the way back up to 209. Was this cause for aggressive motion? Heck no! I'd still lost over 200 pounds... So, I consoled myself with that and changed nothing. Then, my ankles swelled up with the water retention (this was an issue preop for me) and I had to go back on the meds for it for a bit. Suddenly, as is the case when you get the water retention going back in the right direction, the scale that had gotten up to 209 pounds was down to 201 again! You see hope of maybe seeing a one at the beginning of that number again soon... And, if you are like me, you tell yourself that it was probably just water retention all along--ever since you got back over 200 way back in oh, May?? Or was it April? Yeah, it is now July!

SO, why was this lack of loss or, yeah, gain for some reason okay in my eyes? Who the hell knows! Why was I suddenly willing to stay over 200 pounds for the rest of my life? I wish I could tell you. Do I still wish to lose more weight? Well, yeah... Am I doing anything to move in that direction? Well, no... I know, deep in my heart, that I am not doing everything I could to lose or even maintain. I know that I could do more. I know what that "more" is too. Why can I not motivate myself to try--even a little? I want to get back that feeling of being willing to do ANYTHING to reach my goal! I'm just clueless as to how to get that feeling back...

Recipe: chicken and yellow rice

Okay, so I had chicken breast in the fridge for dinner... Wasn't really in the mood for any of the same-ole stuff. I chopped the chicken into pieces about 1 1/2 long and put them in the skillet with a bit of oil. I chopped in some fresh onion and green pepper. Then, I liberally sprinkled it all with Everglades Seasoning (a mix of spices that originates in a little FL town where I grew up but is available across the south), chili powder, garlic, and cumin. Then, I sauteed it all till the chicken was mostly cooked. Next, I poured in about 2 1/2 cups of water and brought it to a boil, scraping any chicken off the bottom, etc. After it was boiling, I stirred in a 5 oz package of Mahatma yellow rice dinner and a can of rinsed black beans. Cover and simmer for 20 mins till rice is completely done.
I will eat around the rice for the most part, but love the flavor. WITH the rice figured in though, this dish will be about the following for approx 1 cup of food:
calories--215
fat--1 gram (0 sat, 0 trans)
cholesterol--58
sodium--700
carbs--30 (4.5 fiber, 1 sugar)
protein--about 25 grams

Some folks do not do rice due to the carbs, etc. I do only in small quantities and after I've eaten the chicken, etc out of the dish. You could very easily saute just the veggies and chicken till well done and then add a can of diced tomatoes and the black beans and simmer it down a bit. That would be tasty too! It would greatly cut the carbs as well.... Another way to do it would be to add the black beans and about a cup of salsa after you sauteed the chicken and veggies and heat till hot all the way through.
Just thought I'd share!

We may have a baby this weekend!

Some of you are aware that my oldest daughter is expecting my first grandbaby this month. Well, her official due date is July 24th. However, today while at the doctor, they did an ultrasound and determined that her amniotic fluid level is a bit low. They are doing a more detailed ultrasound tomorrow and if it is TOO low, they will induce her labor and get that baby the heck outta there... SO, we may just see little Matthew Lee this weekend instead of two weeks from now! Stay tuned for details!!

Garden Progress 5

I gave up on weed control! I was so far behind the line on it after 4-H camp was over. I finally managed to get all the weeds pulled and then I spent an afternoon spreading about 15 bales of hay as a mulch cover over the whole garden to try to keep the weeds at bay from here on out. The garden looks really nice now too! I still need to do this to my second garden where I have the onions, pumpkins, watermelon, cantelopes, squash, and cucumbers.

In the meanwhile, as I spread the hay out, I noted that several of my corn plants were knocked to the ground as if a DOG has rolled in that part of the garden! If I figure out who did it, they are going on the tie-out! LOL