Cookie Making

One of my favorite things in the world are Penguins, reason I renamed my blog to "The Penguin Diaries" anyways Saturday my mom and I spent the day making cookies. Everything from sugar cookies, gingerbread, oatmeal raisin, and even some chex mix. I saw these cute cookies on-line and knew I just had to make them....We used a gingerbread cookie as the base but we think that next time we'll do sugar cookies instead. These little guys were not all that hard to decorate. Next time i'll do a step-by-step on how to make these cuties!

Weekly Wi

Since Saturday is my normal WI day I WI again this morning. I was still at 155 which I'm very happy with now. Since I'm back on track I need to go plan my menu for the week and look up what I'm going to eat tomorrow when I go out with my mom and grams. We'll probably go to Panera so I can stay within points there plus I think they have a good website for looking up their nutritional information.

 http://www.paneranutrition.com/

It's Been A Long Time

Wow I can't believe it's been so long since I've WI, tracked, and posted. I actually didn't do as bad as I thought knowing I had gone off track. I weigh-in this week on a random day but I was at 155..I can't remember the last time I've been at that number and it feels wonderful. My mom said the other day that she is gaining the weight I'm losing, its not true but she is doing WW too and needs to get back on track as well. We'll I will WI again on Saturday for my normal and and I will post as soon as i step off the scale..until then

Weekly Weigh-In

The weather has been amazing here the past few days and I'm so glad Fall Weather is finally here. I don't know if I could handle anymore 90 degree days. Plus the best part of fall is Football Season! Let's Go Colts!!!! Hopefully this year I get to go to a game.

So this week I gained a pound which I'm totally fine with it. My plans changed last night and Mom and I went to Mexican. I always eat more than I'm suppose to at that place. Mom and I haven't had Mexican together in years! But I'm getting back on track today and starting fresh.

The plan this week is to make sure I track everything and get more of my daily checks in. On top of that I'm planning on going to the gym on Tuesday and getting all set-up so that I can finally go workout after I get home from class.

New Idea

So I've decided that I will try and post everyday something on my blog. Well to make things easy on myself I figured I would just post my menu and maybe stuff I was going to be doing that day and say how I plan on staying on track.

Menu:
B: 8 oz. Skim Milk, Orange Bliss Yogurt
S: Special K Fruit Crisp Bar
L: leftovers from dinner: Steak on a bagel thin, peas, string cheese, a few potatoes
S: Pineapple
D: not sure yet - what mom is cooking

Today is my first Quiz in my Stats class hopefully I don't eat just because I get nervous plus I really have no clue what is going on in that class. So I'm going to spend the morning at work studying. Yes I can study at work perks of working on campus..haha

Blog Award!

So I received a blog award and If I would make this more of a habit I would of posted this sooner.

But Thanks AMY from Brand New Hoosier



Here are the 3 rules:


1. Post who gave this to you

2. State 10 things you like

3. Give this award to 10 other bloggers and notify them with a comment

My Likes:
1. Cooking
2. Colts Football
3. Reds
4. my VW Bug
5. Cupcakes
6. Miami most of the time
7. Friends
8. Pictures
9. Everything Fall pumpkin patches..festivles..farmers markets
10. My family


I'm giving this to:
1. Beauty is imprefection - Jeanne
2. Healthy Hoosier - Kelly
3. Making My Way to a New Me - Marie
4. Marshmallow Butt
5. Amanda's Cookin - Amanda
6. Truly Into Fitness - Jess
7. Woman Vs. Food - Jennifer
8. Craftiness is Happiness - Becky
9. Incredibly Sassy Sue Bee
10. Gettin' Skinny in the City - Kristen

You should definitely check these blogs out! They are my daily reads and give me so many good ideas and inspiration!

I did it!!!

So today I met my fist goal of losing 5 pounds! I did it in great style too losing a total of 3 pounds this week! It's amazing how WW works. So today I'm treating myself to my first reward of getting my nails done. I was surprised I lost so much this week because it was TOM and I'm still trying to get my school routine down.

The challenge this weekend is going to be to not over eat at the family cookout and on my date Sunday. I'm taking WW friendly cupcakes to the cookout plus we are having hot dogs and hamburgers plus whatever else the family brings. I'll update you on this hopefully before next Saturday.

Hopefully this week I will also start a gym routine and start toning up a little bit. I'm going to try and get there at least 3 times a week in not more and use it as a source to clear my mind and think about stuff. Since I moved home it's hard just to have some time to myself before everyone starts talking to me.

Well I hope everyone has a great holiday weekend!

-M

Keeping Up

Wow this week has been crazy. I thought I would be able to post at least once since last week but things have been crazy around here. Classes start and I'm trying to get the credit thing taken care of too.

Here is a picture from my fair experience last weekend. No I didn't eat the fried butter. I have no clue why anyone would want to either...I did have a corn dog and that's it. I was surprised I thought we would have had more food but we didn't.

But before we went to the fair we had fun going to the mall. I haven't been to the mall in forever. I didn't buy much since I didn't have my new check card but it was fun to see all the new clothes out there. I told myself once I lose another 5lbs I'll go shopping for some new fall clothes.

WI was this morning. I was down 1 pound! I'll take it. Last night we cooked out down at my grandparents campground and I have the best S'more...it was in the foodnetwork magainze. It was a mini york peppermint patty, chocolate chips, marshmallow on chocolate graham crackers and I limited myself to only 1..that's what I had planned for and I stuck to it.


Well hopefully I'll get to post again before next Saturday but if not the goals for the week is to drink more water and try to get some exercise in! Until Next Time

-M

WI DAY

This was my first week back on WW after the breakup. I was starting to actually eat again 3 meals a day and not feeling sick to my stomach. The good news I was down 2lbs!!!!! I haven't seen a number like that in awhile. Hopefully I stay on track today. I'm meeting one of my friends for lunch and going to the state fair if the rain holds off.

I'll update you on that tomorrow :)

REALLY?????

Well my first goal to lose 5 pounds in a month is off to a bad start.. I gained .2 pounds really???? I thought I tracked everything but maybe I missed some things from this weekend since it was a pretty jammed packed. Who really knows????

Goals for the week:
-carry my tracker with me and write down everything
-drink more water
-get in AP's


here is a picture of some of the food I'm eating today plus a few extra things I took to work with me in case I get hungry.


Menu Today:
B: 8oz. 1% milk & dole fruit crisp (1 check dairy, 1 check fruit)
L: Lipton Pasta Side Chicken & Broccoli and Steam fresh Sweet Peas ( 1 check veggies)
D: not sure yet..looks like I'll around around 10 pts to play with for dinner
Snacks: grapes, yogurt (1 fruit, 1 yogurt)

daily goals:
-drink 70oz of water (at least)
-track everything!!!!!
-stay OP
-get in some AP's

Why does Cold Stone have to be so GOOD???

LAST NIGHT WAS HORRIBLE!!!

We went to buffalo Wild Wings which I had already planned into my menu for the day but then my mom and grandma showed up and mom went and got us all ice cream. COLD STONE!
She came back with mine the Peanut Butter Cup Perfection in a waffle bowl, like it size. I DIDN'T eat the waffle bowl they really are not that great! So I saved a few points that way but I also shared a few bites with Adam, my boyfriend. Enough about last night it just makes me upset to even think about it.

I DON'T NEED FOOD TO MAKE ME HAPPY

Today I'm off to an alright start. I wasn't very hungry this morning so I didn't eat anything until 9:30

My menu today: which sucks
B: clif kid chocolate brownie bar ( 2 points)
L: havent really decided somewhere out
D: WG pasta with spaghetti sauce ( 6 points )

I hate PIZZA.. I LOVE PIZZA

Why can't pizza be one of those thing you can just eat and eat without gaining a pound? I could eat pizza for all my meals everyday but I can't. Last night I had planned on eating at home but we had to go to Target and ended up going to other stores as well and eating at a local place called Richard's Pizza and Steak Sandwiches...let's just say it was great. I have never had pizza taste so AMAZING!!!!! I counted and moved on

Today is a new day! But we are going out to dinner tonight again. I feel this is the biggest problem to why I can't lose weight all the time even if I count my point. You can order something light, fat free, etc but how do you know if the food they serve you is actually that way? Most of the time you can't tell if something if fat free or taste the difference.

One of buddies (Nicole) tried this out so I figured I would try it for breakfast...Thanks to Steph too for the honey :)

Menu:
B: 3 egg whites sprinkled with pumpkin spice heat in skillet until just about fully cooked. Add 1 banana and drizzle with honey. Fold one side of egg over banaa and cook until bananas are warm...and 1% milk ( 6 points)
S: Clif Bar or Apple (2 points for bar / 1 point for apple)
L: salad/fruit
D: out (probably wings) will update tomorrow on points


Hopefully today will be an OP day. Tonight we are going to an outside concert in Oxford, OH. It's where I go to school/work. Tonight it's the University's Steel Band. During the summer on Thursday night they have little bands come in and play for a few hours. This is the first one i've ever been too so we'll see how it goes. My mom is bring my grandparents as well. Hopefully it wont be to hot for them. I was looking at the weather and about the time the event starts its going to feel like 98 degrees! The only downfall I think tonight will have is you have to bring your own seats/sit on the ground. Here's to my mom remembering the chairs!!

Today Starts a Whole New Experience

So I have decided that today I'm going to look at my WLJ in a different way. I'm going to go 5lbs at a time I've set my own goals (over to the side) with rewards..Who doesn't like to rewards with themselves with something new once they hit a goal? Plus I'm going to start putting my weekly weight in as well. I feel if someone else besides me knows my weight maybe i'll try harder to lose this weight since I everyone will know what it is..If that makes any sense at all.

My menu today:

B: Arnold's select with 3 slices turkey bacon and 1 slice American Cheese and 8oz 1% milk ( 8points) ( 2 checks for dairy, 1 check for whole grain, 1 check for lean protein)

S: clif bar (2 points)

L: salad and fruit (salad 3 points, apples 1 point, approx: vegetable soup 3 points)

D: green bean/ smoke sausage, pears (8 points) (1 check for veggies, 1 check for fruit)

Recipe Review: HoBo's........not so great

I've made these before but I couldn't find my recipe so I searched for one on allrecipes.com and found this one....it was a little different then my old recipe but it was still the basic concept.

What you Need:

1lb ground beef

1/2 c. green peppers, chopped

4 medium red potatoes, sliced thin

1 lg. onion sliced thin

4 carrots, peeled & cut into strips

4 slices of bacon

What to Do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. In large bowl combine ground beef and green peppers, mix well

3. Place each patty onto 2 layers of heavy-duty aluminum foil ( enough to cover and close). On each patty place potato slices, onion, and carrots. Slice the bacon in half and place both slices on top. Seal the foil tightly and cook.

4. Cook in oven @ 350 for 45 minutes or on a campfire

I also ended up putting a little bit of Fat Free Shredded Cheddar on my burger as well

The first reason I didn't like this recipe was the bacon just didn't seem done and the potatoes could of been cooked longer. I should of tried to check the potatoes before pulling them out but I didn't since I figured they would of been done since you slice them thin! Other than those two things I just didn't care for the taste...it was kinda blah except for the green pepper in the burgers which I found to be to much for me!

So I need to rethink this for next time........no green peppers, maybe cook my own bacon and stick on top after they come out....potatoes check them before pulling out of oven

July 13, 2010

I did not want to get up this morning plus I didn't want to eat anything for breakfast. So I decided to just make a smoothie so I could bring it to work with me.

Menu today:

B: strawberry/banana smoothie made with 1% milk and 1 container Fiber One Strawberry Yogurt....this got in 2 of my fruit checks and 2 dairy checks.

S: clif kid Z Organic Bar Chocolate Chip ( never had one before so going to try them)

L: update this later...going out for lunch

S: popcorn

D: soup and a sandwich

Goals todays:

3. Get some Ap's in1. Stay within my points since WI is tomorrow morning

2. Get in most of my daily checks

4. (not WW) clean the apartment

Recipe Review: Oreo Cupcakes

After spending the morning looking for recipes to revamp my menu I came across this recipe and knew I had to try them. So off to the store I went...plus I needed to go grocery shopping to restock on fruits and veggies.

Oreo Cupcakes

1 box Betty Crocker's Supermoist White Cake Mix

1- 12oz bottle cream soda (I used diet)

24 reduce fat Oreo's

Preheat oven according to cake package instructions. Place cupcake l

iners into pan & lightly spray each wrapper with non-stick cooking oil.

Take out 24 oreos & half them like you did when you were a kid. Take the side with the most icing & drop into mixing bowl & place the less-iced side

icing-up into cupcake wrappers.

Next crush oreos in your mixing bowl. I smashed mine up pretty good, you don't want any huge chunks in there. Then pour in your cream soda &

add your box of white cake mix. Stir together until thoroughly mixed.

Pop in oven & cook according to package instructions. Once cool, top with fat free or reduce fat whipped cream and ENJOY!!!!

**3 points per cupcake**

I forgot to grab some whipped topping so I enjoy then without it and they were still wonderful! The best part is you can't even tell they are "diet" made. My boyfriend even loved them and he is pretty picky sometimes and think

s he can tell when things have been altered to become better for you..

Today is a New Day

Good Morning!

I'm back on track. Work is going by slow hint to way my previous post was super long.

Menu today:

B: Strawberry & Banana Smoothie made with 1% milk

S: fiber 1 Strawberry Yogurt

L: going to Kroger to make a Salad

S: soup

D: It's Wing Night if we don't go out Taco Burgers

Pictures to come later

Monday June 14, 2010

So the weekend went pretty well. Friday night we went out with friends to this place called Cheeseburger in Paradise they have the best mixed drinks.

I even did pretty well for dinner I think. Instead of getting monster burger with tons of stuff on it. I opted for the mini burger made with ground turkey. I ate only 2 of the 4 and the two I had I took off half the bun. I'm starting not to care for bread like I use too. I also was able to resist the all you can eat fries. If it was the old me I would have ate 3 baskets of fries!!!!

Today's plan is off to a great start. I already got in a 30 minute walk with my mom and hopefully will get a jog in tonight if it doesn't rain. The cereal I had for breakfast was amazing. I never knew I would like organic cereal but this stuff is great.

Menu:

B:Cascadian Farms: Cinnamon Raisin Granola Cereal, 1% milk, fruit 2day

S: apple

L: turkey on bagel thin, baked cheetos, sugar free jello pudding

S: fiber one bar

D: grilled chicken, green beans, strawberries

June 9, 2010

So for those of you who don't know me I work at the school in the ID room. So for the month of June I'll be working freshmen orientation and passing out their lovely ID's. One of the other booths at the resource fair has muffin tops YUMMY!!! But I resisted today. I lost at WI which is exciting. I've been gaining and losing the same few pounds for what seems like forever and I've finally gotten out of that. Lets hope it stays that way!

To keep myself in check I'm going to post my menu. That way we can also see how it changes as I lose weight and make it closer to goal.

B: fiber one cereal with skim milk (5 points)
L: plain cheeseburger happy meal (12 points) (mom got me this, love how she thinks about me I need to suggest having her get me a salad for the next time)
S: apple
D: soup

June 8, 2010

Good Morning!

So I have been on weight watchers for a year and a half now. I never really cared so I was always losing and gaining the same weight back I had even lost 10lbs and gained it right back and some more. But something this past week hit me and now I'm finally getting myself on track and I think if I blog everyday it will help me keep myself in line.

Hello World

I've tried to have other blogs before but I didn't keep up with them. Maybe this time I will. I need someplace to talk about my weight lose journey and my life. Things have been tough this past week and I'll probably see a gain this week but starting today I am kicking myself into gear. No more eating out is my first goal. I eat fast food way to much!