Dishing with Dev

New Home

2017-01-21T13:47:00.006-07:00

I've decided to try something new! Please visit me at dishingwithdev.com

Hope to see you there!

Down a Few - Woo-hoo!

2017-01-16T19:00:00.002-07:00

Still keeping keepin' on. I haven't "seriously" been trying, but I have been tracking what I eat. Yesterday was THE shopping trip - we stocked up on healthier options and made the resolution to cook more from home. Last night - tacos. Not that healthy really - except without a tortilla....maybe. I admit, I had the tortilla. But won't tonight.

267.8/266/140
B: GoNature 2% Greek Yogurt (WW 6)
Banana (WW 0)
S: None
L: Lean Cuisine Pomegranate Chicken (WW 6)
S: Orange (WW 0), Mini Peppers (WW 0)
D: Taco Salad (WW 10)
S: NSA Fudgesicle (WW 3)

Per WW, I'm allowed 37 points per day and have eaten 25. Will more than likely have to look at adding more proteins to my day.

Onward and upward!

It's Official: I'm Fat

2017-01-02T16:29:00.000-07:00

I was brave enough to step on the scale today - knowing it wouldn't be good. I was right - 267.8 pounds. Sometimes, I hate to be right. Half of me wishes I hadn't stepped on that Number Bully, but the other half is grateful. I have a starting place now. I have work to do, but I know I can do it. I've done it before - several times, as a matter of fact. It's the whole "maintaining" gig that I have trouble with.

For me, the easiest thing to do is just start. Start fresh. Start new. Not focusing on what's behind me, but focusing on what's ahead of me. I've taken baby steps this week - just by cooking at home. Which brings me to the reason why I'm thankful that our freezer broke down over Christmas break. I cooked. A lot! We still lost some stuff, but we did a lot of bulk cooking and I've re-energized my love of cooking and my love of reading & collecting recipes. My love of creating delicious foods and having people enjoy their meal. I've missed that. My thing though is that I don't really like measuring things out. I come from a long line of dumpers that are blessed with just knowing what tastes good. That being said, in order to be accountable for what goes into my body, I really do need to be more accountable about what goes into my meals.

I did South Beach Diet several years ago and lost over 100 pounds. I felt great, I had more energy. I smiled a lot. Then my heart got shattered and I just..........stopped. Before I knew it, the weight was back - all of it, plus an additional 30 pounds. I know it wasn't "literally" overnight, but it truly feels like it. I wasn't really aware, if that makes any sense. And when I realized what I'd done to myself, I was shattered all over again. I cannot describe the level of self-loathing and embarrassment that comes from gaining back everything that I'd worked so hard for. I just gave up. It feels like just yesterday, but it's almost been a decade since I successfully decided to change my life and followed through.

What's different this time around is I do have several medical conditions, some of which cause me to be in chronic pain on a daily basis. Others, however, I think can be corrected with mindful eating. Mindful living. Exercise though, will have to be on the back burner. I can walk - and I plan to, Anything more intensive probably won't be in the cards for awhile. I've had the talk with my doctor and she agrees with me, for now. Right now, we're focusing on the food and what I put into my body. For me, I think tying in the fundamentals with the original South Beach program, along with Weight Watchers is the best course for me. So that's the route I'll go.

To start, I'm just eating as normal, but I"m tracking my foods. I want a realistic idea of what I'm doing to myself. The thing is, even as I'm cooking the instant oatmeal, I know it's crap. I know I should just make a batch of homemade and go from there. Or even better yet, forego the carbs all together and make a batch of scrambled eggs!

I love collecting recipes and meal planning. Currently, I'm addicted to Plan to Eat and am enjoying planning our family meals and using the site to create shopping lists that I can either print off, or check off on my phone. It's easy and so convenient!

Tonight's dinner will be this Butternut Squash & Apple Soup recipe I found at Simply Recipes. It' looks delicious and will be something new for me - I've never tried making or eating a squash soup before.

I think I've rambled enough for today. If you're visiting for the first time, or revisiting me - thanks so much for stopping by! Hopefully, you'll come back and see me again. I'm planning on making updates at least a few times a week, so keep popping by :-) You're always welcome!

"Don't wait until you've reached your goal to be proud of yourself. Be proud of every step you take toward reaching that goal." ~~ Unknown

Fell Off (Again).........

2014-08-03T20:05:00.000-06:00

So, I fell off the face of the earth. Again. Not sure who all stops by here anymore - I'm a lot more active on facebook, pinterest, goodreads, or ancestry these days.

Cancer - My sister was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma a few days ago. We are still reeling from that little bit of news - trying not to over-google it...but still trying to research it just the same. We've joined a few support groups and are just trying to process. It's definitely a life changer. We don't yet know what strain or what stage she is in. There will be a bone marrow biopsy and a PET scan done within the next week. From there we'll know more and then the oncologist will come up with a course of treatment. The prognosis is good, so although we are scared, we are hopeful for a positive outcome. Your prayers are very much requested and appreciated.

Reading - Well, no surprise that I increased my reading goal this year to 110 books. I'm about 75 in so far....fingers crossed. It's nice to know I'll meet one of my goals this year! (ha ha).

Health - You would think that someone who was diagnosed as pre-diabetic would work harder at making better food choices for herself. I know what good choices are - I've gained and lost a lot of weight over my lifetime. For me, limited processed carbs works best. I do better with proteins, veggies, and fruits. I need to lose the weight - over 100 pounds, as a matter of fact. I need to cook more at home, less eating out, less convenience foods - more movements, less sitting around. I need to have more respect for myself and I need to get healthy. End of story.

Genealogy - Still plugging along. Still a lot of dead ends and roadblocks, but it is a passion of mine that I'll carry for the rest of my life. It is wondrous how connected I can feel to ancestors that lived generations before me.

Missing No More

2012-11-07T22:31:00.000-07:00

So, I've been on "hiatus" - not completely intentional, but I didn't completely fall off the face of the earth. I did however fall while rollerskating. In February. Here's the story - I took my 4-year-old niece to a skating party thinking that a) she wouldn't in a million years want to roller skate and b) on the off-chance she did want to skate, the party was with all of her friends from daycare so she would skate with one of the teenagers that she loves. That's what I get for thinking. Yes, she wanted to skate. No, she didn't want to skate with anyone but "Auntie". So, Auntie decided she'd take off her shoes and just walk around the rink holding onto J so she wouldn't fall. Auntie was quickly shot down by the powers that be at Skateland - evidently you can't be on that floor without skates. It's not safe. Evidently. So, Auntie put on skates for the first time in about 10-15 years (after signing a waiver that she wouldn't hold them responsible if she got hurt). Auntie and J did a few laps, had a few laughs, and then attempted one of the games. That wasn't a good idea. Auntie fell. Hard. Hurt her left hand. Auntie's left handed. It's Bad. But, I braved it through 'til the end of the party - then J and I buckled up in the car with the help of one of the kind teenagers and went to the Emergency Room. Nurse Practitioner working took a bunch of x-rays, gave me a bag of ice and said it was just a bruise - a bad bruise, swollen, but it should be fine in a few weeks. If not better, go see your regular doc. I was wrapped in an ace bandage, told to take aleve, then sent on my merry way. A few weeks come and go. Still swollen, still achy, and my hand still looks like a bunch of pork sausage links connected by a band aid. So I see my Doc. "Try a Spica Splint" he says. If it's not better, come see me in a few weeks. So, I got the Spica Splint. A few weeks come and go, and still not better. I still can't bend my wrist - I still can barely use my left hand. I can't do much in the way of cooking - I can't do much of much. So I go to the Doc. Doc takes another set of x-rays, but doesn't see anything significant, so I'm sent to an Ortho Specialist. A few weeks go by - first appointment, Dr. C has me remove the splint and tests my movements - which are none. I'm sent right away to Hand therapy. Weeks of this, combined with appts every 4 weeks. Therapy at least twice a week, home exercises everyday, specialist appts every 4 weeks....for about 3 months. It gets better, but still not healed. I have an arthrogram. Followed by an MRI. Now, the MRI? Piece of cake. I had to lay on my belly surrounded by pillows while they did a bunch of scans of my hand. I fell asleep. It was heaven. The arthrogram? Not so much. Even if you were one of my worst enemies, I don't think I'd want you to go through one. Or maybe I would. Repeatedly. While I watched. (ha ha). Anyway, verdict came in that I did have 2 tears in the cartilage and what appeared to be scar tissue under the thumb/wrist area. Shouldn't be significant, but I was still having issues. That was the first time Dr. C brought up the subject of surgery. I told him "not now" ...so we tried a topical cream of sorts that has the anti-inflammatory in it. Didn't do much. So we tried cortisone injections in August. It maybe helped a little bit, but not so much that I could see. So, more appointments. More talk about surgery. More praying, more waiting, talking to my family, researching - I finally decided to have the surgery. So it's scheduled for the 18th of December. We'll be doing a wrist arthroscopic surgery - 3 incisions. One on the left under my pinky to try and either fix or remove the torn cartilage, one in the middle of my wrist to try to get the cartilage, and one under my thumb. It's minimally invasive, but will still take approximately 6-8 weeks to heal. Then I get to start all over again with the hand therapy and the home therapy and the doctor visits. I'm only hoping it works because I'm in pain everyday that radiates from my wrist to the tips of my fingers and also down the arm to my elbow. It's not fun, and it's no good to take so many aleve on a daily basis. A good day is 2-4 pills; a moderate day is 4-6, and a not-so-good day is 6-8. Everyday. That can't be good on the kidneys. Anyway - I've never had surgery before so I'm nervous. And it's going to hurt. A lot.

Anyway, as a result of the fall I wasn't able to do a lot. I couldn't even open an easy pull bag of salad. I still can't do a lot of cutting - softer foods, yet; but pomegranates (which I love), pineapples, squash, etc., etc...forget about it. Doesn't work. So I wasn't able to cook for awhile, so I reverted to a lot of convenience food and takeout. And not the "good for me" kind.

So, part of the regiment for the surgery was a physical. Which is fine - I was due for one. Just putting it off because I didn't want to face the dreaded scale. The nurses tell me all the time "We really don't care what you weigh." Well, that's not the issue. I do - and there is a lot of shame when I'm not taking care of myself. It effects the whole psyche....add to the fact that I'm on anti-depression and anxiety meds, mixed in with some blood pressure meds for good measure and you can imagine what kind of hot mess I am when I have to face that dreaded scale. It's a lot of things - mostly shame, though I think. So, had my appointment last week. Still waiting on the results. Got my meds renewed for another year. Got my labs ordered for two weeks from now (has to be done less than 30 days from surgery) - Dr. P talked to me about taking some appetite suppresents short term to maybe help get me back on track. I said I'd think about it - I don't eat because I'm hungry, I eat to fill some sort of void. Also, need to get at least 30 minutes of exercise a day - or a minimum of 150 minutes a week, and I need to start immediately. So life went on - until Monday when I checked my messages and found a call from my doctor after my appointment stating they found blood in my stool. So I have to do stool cards at home for three days. And may I say there is really nothing more shitty than having to dig through your own fecal matter to spread it on lab cards? (Pun completely intended). It's absolutely disgusting. I also did decide to start on the tenuate at least for a few months to see if it gives me the boost. So far, I've made good choices - I've eaten lots of veggies and fruits, drank my water and even braved the scale. That was the most surprising part. I expected it to be worse than it was. Yes, I gained some back. But it was only 10 pounds - I can be happy about that and I can move forward from there.

I guess the last bit of news would be in my genealogy stuff. The adoption agency that we think handled my grandma's adoption has opened a file for me - if they do have records on grandma, I'll be able to get something - at this point I don't know what that something will be. They say they won't give any identifying information - but this adoption happened in 1919 - everyone that was involved has passed away. So, I've petitioned for all information. My father has even signed off on a letter releasing those records to me. So fingers crossed and say lots of prayers. This is something I would really like to discover!

Also - I took the new DNA test that ancestry.com is doing for $99. For the most part I wasn't surprised with the results. I'm 61% Scandinavian (well, duh! I'm mostly Norwegian, but I do have some Danish and I also count my German in this category since they were from the Schleswig-Holstein area and intermingled with the Danes quite a bit); but here's where the confusing part sets in. 24% Eastern European - Russia wouldn't surprise me, because my g-g-grandma Clara said she was part Russian although I haven't been able to find anything that validates that. Then again, Clara was raised by her Aunt Frances - her parents either died or just disappeared after she was born. So I really know next to nothing about her dad except he came from Manchester, England. I also wouldn't mind having some Greek in me - maybe that's why I've always been so fascinated by Greek Mythology and dream of seeing the ruins one day. Here's the surprising part -- 15% Southern European (Italy, Spain, Portugal) - have no clue. None whatsoever. What's also interesting is no British Isles? No Ireland? My Hughes are all based from Ireland; my Schofields, Farleys, Coes, Pyles, Gallups, Andrews, and Collins all come from England - so I have no clue. I might question the results a bit, but I've already discovered some new-to-me family connections with common ancestors, so there is a level of legitimacy. I guess that leaves me with more to discover.

21.9 Pounds

2012-02-21T09:03:00.000-07:00

I'm starting to see changes in my body now......my stomach isn't as big and my face is slimming down. Also - my pants are too big!! I'll be needing to head to town and pick out a few new pairs to wear until I drop a few more pounds :-)

In other news - those of you that are facebook friends know I sprained my left wrist rollerskating on Saturday. That'll teach me! The biggest bummer of the whole thing is I'm left-handed.

17.1 pounds

2012-02-06T08:48:00.002-07:00

I'm down -3.8 pounds this week, making my total loss to date 17.1 pounds! Woo-hoo!! Give me a moment while I pat myself on the back :-)

In other news, I seem to have found myself in a bit of a reading slump.....nothing wrong with the books I'm reading, just not holding my attention at the moment.

What is holding my attention currently is my genealogy - yes, I've been bitten by the bug again. Blame a distant Hughes cousin for that - I've now found about 25 "new" family members - descendents of my great-grandmother's sister, Viola.

January Reading in Review

2012-02-01T06:48:00.064-07:00

DNF:

Forever Mine by Elizabeth Reyes

Mature YA-romance

Seventeen-year old Sarah’s life is turned upside down when her single mom is sent to jail. She’s forced to move, leaving behind everything she’s ever known, including her best friend Sydney. Lost and bitter in a new school, her one goal is to save money and move back home. Then she meets Angel Moreno.

Enigmatic but gorgeous, Angel is almost too good to be true. Except for one thing, his archaic belief that guys and girls can never be “just friends”. The problem? Sarah’s best friend Sydney is not a girl.

With their unexpected romance intensifying to places neither ever experienced, how long can Sarah keep Angel in the dark about the guy waiting for her back home?

Unfortunately, this was a dnf for me. Perhaps I expected more, because I had been excited to read this series for awhile. Angel was a likeable enough character, but his obsessive behavior w/ Sarah was beyond my comprehension. (I even tried to remember back to when I was a teen - would I want someone that obsessed with me??) There was also the whole Dana thing, as well as the "Sarah-Sydney best friend but he's a male" secret.

I got 38% through before I just couldn't do it anymore. Not my cuppa and won't be reading the others.

2 Stars:

Fall for Me by Melanie Marks

When Zoey’s long-time boyfriend, Finn, cheats on her—kissing a girl he “just can’t resist”—he gives Zoey a “free pass,” telling her she can kiss any guy she wants. Finn is so cocky and sure of their relationship that the arrangement seems perfect. He’s not worried Zoey will fall for another guy, and he’s itching to get rid of his feelings of guilt.

But the thing is, Zoey knows exactly who she wants to kiss—longs to kiss— Finn’s best friend, Riley. But, she wants the kiss too much. She knows that. So, she resists the “Free Pass.” Still, she’s pushed into it when Finn loses a bet to Riley, and Riley wants his payment—a kiss from Zoey.

Novella
17,000-words

I can't really recommend this book to anyone - though we all have different reading styles and maybe it'll work for someone else. It just didn't work for me. That being said, I finished it. It had potential - but it was a bit over the top and unrealistic to be truly enjoyable. I do have another book of Melanie's in my queue and still plan on reading it. I'm all about second chances. You can get your copy here.

3 Stars:

Butterface by Gwen Hayes

When love isn't lucky...or pretty.

The scars on Beth's face aren't nearly as deep as the ones she nurses on the inside. She was born with hemifacial microsamia and was supposed to feel "lucky" that she wasn't as disfigured as some people.

One boy, Lucky O'Leary starts to find the cracks in her hard shell and finds himself falling for her. Only Lucky has a secret--he needs to bring Beth to a "dog dinner" or lose his spot on the team. She can't find out that the guy who brings the ugliest date wins a prize.

Young Adult Short Story--8000 words

This was a sweet story that I enjoyed very much. This is my second read of Gwen's and she hasn't disappointed me yet! You can get your copy here.

Crush Control by Jennifer Jabaley

Willow has spent most of her life as her mother's sidekick in a popular Las Vegas hypnotism show. So when she and her mom move back to their sleepy southern hometown to start over, she thinks she's in for a life of quiet normalcy. Except that her new life turns out to be anything but, when she kinda sorta hypnotizes Quinton, the hottest guy on the football team, to fall madly, deeply, head over heels in love with her. But what started out as an innocent way to make her best friend, Max, jealous soon gets way out of hand, and Willow begins to wonder if the mind - and more importantly, the heart - is something you can really control.

I enjoyed Max and Willow's story and how it developed from friends to something more. I think the story was very well told and I look forward to reading more from this author. You can get your copy here or here.

The Groom Came Back by Abby Gaines

Typical. It takes Dr. Jack Mitchell eight years to pull himself away from his terribly important career abroad and come home for a divorce. And then he doesn't even know who she is! Sure, Callie Summers—excuse me, Mitchell—was a gawky schoolgirl when Jack rescued her from a nasty family situation. But that's no excuse for the man not to recognize his own wife.

And now the gorgeous neurosurgeon thinks he's going to hightail it out of Tennessee with his final decree in hand. Uh-uh. Callie isn't letting him off quite so easily. Not when she, to her utter dismay, is finding him so irresistible.

Irresistible enough to get him to tie the knot again?

This was a solid 3 star read for me. The characters were likeable and I was glad to see the characters from "Married by Mistake" in this book briefly. Unfortunately, the big declaration at the end of the book (AKA the HEA) was not believable. It just seemed rushed and like it came out of left field in an effort to tie up the book within the allotted word count. You can get your copy here or here.

Her Best Friend's Brother by T.J. Dell

Libby has been in love with Tony Marchetti since she was seven years old. The problem? Tony is her best friend's older brother. Lately Tony has started looking at her in a new way and he emails her all the time. Could it be possible that he is starting to see her as more than his kid sister's best friend?

Tony knows Libby McKay is off limits. She's his sister's best friend for crying out loud! But she is also smart, funny, and seriously hot. Plus she's not afraid to get a little sweaty-- on the track that is. Tony can't seem to help himself, besides what's a few emails? The occasional phone call? He can keep things light and friendly-- Can't he?

I loved the first 30% of this book - actually smiled almost the whole time I was reading it. The rest of the book was 6 years worth of misunderstandings, miscommunications, and bad timing. None the less, I couldn't stop reading. I was invested in Libby and Tony, despite how drawn out the conflicts were. I ended the book the same way I started it........with a big smile on my face.

One word of caution - this sounds like a YA book (which is why I bought it). It's not - although, it is a mostly-clean read.

This was my first read of T.J. Dell - I'd definitely read more from her! You can get your copy here.

The Playboy and Plain Jane by LeAnne Banks

Boston hunk Nicholas Barone could hardly believe one-year-old Molly was his daughter. The sexy businessman was committed only to his extended Italian family, to their business—Baronessa Gelati—and to short-term relationships with gorgeous socialites. Then one pintsized female turned his priorities upside down.

Enter Gail Fenton, nanny extraordinaire. Within days she had a cranky Molly smiling; within a few sleepless nights, she had a frustrated Nicholas fantasizing. Bewitched by a virgin. Vexed by the girl next door. Man-about-town Nicholas was in serious trouble, for unlike his former lovers, who wanted only his money or his name, Gail wanted his heart.

Confession time: the nanny/babysitter/governess sub-genre is one of my favorites! This was a wonderful story and I was drawn to each character, plus the members of the Barone family. This was my first story by LeAnne Banks, but will definitely be reading more of her (like maybe........the rest of the Barone series??) You can get your copy here or here.

A Wedding Story by Dee Tenorio

Ruth Anne Barbellis—unhappily nicknamed "Rhubarb" by her lifelong enemy, Bobby Wichowski—is in Wedding Hell. Why?

Her sister is marrying Bobby's brother.

She's trussed up in a bridesmaid dress that must have been designed originally as a Victorian Torture Chamber.

To teach them a lesson, she and Bobby have been assigned to the Kiddie Table.

And that's only the beginning...

I wasn't quite sure what to expect from story - I'd always assumed Dee Tenorio wrote steamier romantica/erotica so I was pleasantly surprised that this was actually a cute, cleaner read. It was a short story, but well worth the time. I'll be looking for more to read from Ms. Tenorio in the future. You can get your copy here or here.

4 stars:

Always the Baker Never the Bride by Sandra Bricker:

Thirty-six-year-old Emma Rae Travis has been baking specialty cakes and melt-in-your-mouth pastries at The Backstreet Bakery in historic Roswell, just outside of Atlanta, for the last six years. But here s the rub about her job as a baker ... Emma is diabetic. When she tastes her creations, it can only be in the most minute portions. Emma is considered an artisan for the stunning creme brulee wedding cake that won her the Passionate Palette Award last year, but she s never even had one full slice of it.

When Jackson Drake hears about this local baker who has won a prestigious award for her wedding cake artistry, he tells his assistant to be sure and include her in the pastry tastings scheduled at his new wedding destination hotel the following week. And for Jackson, that particular day has started out badly with two workmen trapped in a broken elevator and a delivery of several dozen 300-thread-count bed linens in the wrong size abandoned in the lobby. But when the arrogant baker he met a week prior in Roswell stumbles into the dining room with a platter of pastries and a bucketful of orders, he knows for certain: It s going to be a really rotten day.

Can these two ill-suited players master the high-wire act and make a go of their new business venture? Or will they take each other crashing downward, without a net? And will the surprise wedding at The Tanglewood be theirs?

I loved this book from beginning to end. The chemistry between Emma and Jackson was wonderful as were the wacky, wonderful background characters. I would highly recommend this one to anyone.

This is categorized as a Christian romance, though it is not overly-preachy and is most definitely a clean read.

This was my first read of Sandra Bricker- I've already got the next book in this series in my reading queue (it was an kindle freebie last week!) You can get your copy here or here.

Flat-Out Love by Jessica Park

Flat-Out Love is a warm and witty novel of family love and dysfunction, deep heartache and raw vulnerability, with a bit of mystery and one whopping, knock-you-to-your-knees romance.

Something is seriously off in the Watkins home. And Julie Seagle, college freshman, small-town Ohio transplant, and the newest resident of this Boston house, is determined to get to the bottom of it.

When Julie's off-campus housing falls through, her mother's old college roommate, Erin Watkins, invites her to move in. The parents, Erin and Roger, are welcoming, but emotionally distant and academically driven to eccentric extremes. The middle child, Matt, is an MIT tech geek with a sweet side ... and the social skills of a spool of USB cable. The youngest, Celeste, is a frighteningly bright but freakishly fastidious 13-year-old who hauls around a life-sized cardboard cutout of her oldest brother almost everywhere she goes.

And there's that oldest brother, Finn: funny, gorgeous, smart, sensitive, almost emotionally available. Geographically? Definitely unavailable. That's because Finn is traveling the world and surfacing only for random Facebook chats, e-mails, and status updates. Before long, through late-night exchanges of disembodied text, he begins to stir something tender and silly and maybe even a little bit sexy in Julie's suddenly lonesome soul.

To Julie, the emotionally scrambled members of the Watkins family add up to something that ... well ... doesn't quite add up. Not until she forces a buried secret to the surface, eliciting a dramatic confrontation that threatens to tear the fragile Watkins family apart, does she get her answer.

This was one of my favorite reads in January. I loved Julie's interactions with the whole Watkins family - her big-sister relationship with Celeste, her budding relationship with Finn, and her conflicting relationship with Matt. I think Jessica Parks is a very gifted storyteller and I look forward to reading more of her in the future. You can get your copy here or here.

Healing Hearts by Taryn Kincaid

As a girl, Emma Whiteside asked Adam Caldwell, Viscount Riverton, to wait for her to be of marriageable age. Now, twelve years later, Emma hates Adam as much as she once loved him, holding the former army major responsible for the death of her brother on the battlefield.

Adam already blames himself for the loss of the men under his command. But the fiery young woman Emma's become sparks his arousal, as well as emotions Adam thought long dead. The passion between them makes him want to reclaim the man he was before the war.

Though she tries to hold on to her hatred, Emma's longing for Adam is undeniable, especially after the two share a smoldering kiss. Still, Adam is certain no woman would want a man so damaged. Can Emma prove him wrong?

I absolutely loved this story! The beginning was a bit slow, but it soon picked up pace and I devoured it. Wonderful chemistry between Emma and Adam. Would definitely recommend. You can get your copy here.

Married by Mistake by Abby Gaines

Do not adjust your set. That really was Casey Greene being jilted by her fiancé on live TV! And that really was Memphis's most eligible bachelor who stepped in to marry her instead.

Millionaire businessman Adam Carmichael wanted only to help Casey save face. He isn't prepared for the news that their "fake" wedding is legal and binding.

While they secretly wait for an annulment, media and family scrutiny forces them to put on their best loving-couple act. Except by now, neither one is quite sure who's acting....

I am a new "fan-girl" of Abby Gaines and have really enjoyed everything I've read of her so far. This book was a solid 3 stars until the final chapter......which easily moved it to a 4 star rating. You can get this for free from eharlequin here.

Up a Pound

2012-01-30T09:28:00.001-07:00

I was up +1.2 pounds today. My theory? I've been doing okay on the food - but need to drink more water. I still need to work on eating all of my allotted points for the day - I have yet to eat all of my points in a given day, so that could be affecting my loss now as well. Also, last week was very stressful at work, so that could have something to do with it. Ah well. I look forward to evicting the poor sucker by weigh-in next week :-)

Food Plan for Today:
B: Yoplait Light Key Lime Pie & 1/4 c. grape-nuts (6 pts)
S: Apple w/ 2 babybel wedges (3 pts)
L: Gina's Lightened Up Asian Peanut Noodles w/ Chicken (10 pts)
S: Grapefruit (0 pts)
D: ??? Either Peanut Noodles again, or Cold-Weather Soup (again). (Soup - 6 pts; Noodles - 10 pts)
S: ???
E: None unless I do some therapy exercises - DDD flaring again

Oh- instead of regular rice noodles for the Asian dish, I used No-Oodles. Essentially the same concept as the Shiritaki Tofu Noodles and I think the price is about the same. I liked them and will be using them again!

Lastly, on the genealogy front, only 64 more days until the 1940 census is released!!! I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am :-)

Only 65 Days!!

2012-01-29T10:09:00.000-07:00

I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am!!

Today's Lunch

2012-01-28T12:08:00.000-07:00

Soup again! I just finished the last pot, but this is what toddler wanted. This time, I'm just eating a few bowls and the rest is going straight to the freezer.

Yuck

2012-01-27T12:50:00.001-07:00

This was my lunch today. It was not good -at all! I even tried putting salt on it thinking that it would be edible (PS - I rarely put salt on anything). It still wasn't good. Never again.

Dev's Cold Weather Soup

2012-01-25T11:18:00.000-07:00

I don't have a picture - but here's the soup that I made last week and ended up eating all week long....and I STILL have leftovers. They are currently in the freezer awaiting the next time I think I'm in the mood for soup. Essentially, this came about because I had bags of veggies in my fridge that were on the verge of going bad.

Dev's Cold Weather Soup:
1 onion, chopped
1/2 bag of baby carrots
2-3 stalks of celery, chopped
1 bag of chopped cabbage (coleslaw mix)
1 bag of broccoli slaw
1 can diced tomatoes, with juice
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 packet of Hidden Valley Ranch mix
1 cup of lentils
enough water to fill the pot
chicken bouillon to taste

Cook the onion until translucent. Add the remainder of the ingredients and simmer. (PS - How easy is that??)

I calculated the WW Pts based on 8 servings - but like I said......I ate on this all week and still had leftovers, so I know there's more than 8 servings there.

I like to eat this w/ 1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese & a few spots of sriracha sauce.

Once More with Feeling :-)

2012-01-23T07:58:00.001-07:00

YAY for successful weigh-ins!!! I'm down -5 pounds today - bringing my total loss to -14 pounds to date. Woo-hoo for me!!! (the sound you hear is me patting myself on the back). The challenge now is to start exercising.....

So, for the readers out there that are on Goodreads ~ Any idea why they're removing all of the Amazon content from their site? I think I remember reading on their site somewhere that the cost to keep Amazon's information has gotten so prohibitive - yet.............none of the other "reader sites" seem to have that problem. I've been trying to rescue my books, but then again, for the most part I only read on my Kindle; amazon is the only seller of kindle books.........so finding their info on other sites has been a bit difficult. I've looked on publisher sites, author sites, etc. So at this point, I just don't know. I've spent a lot of time (yes, years!) building my library, inputting books onto the goodreads system, and now that work just seems to be going away with a click of a button. That being said, I'm not that fond of librarything (although they have improved their site over the years) and I quit using bibliophile years ago (I think they're gone now; I tried to find a link and I keep getting connected to Gospel Media Network??). I did stumble on another reading site, The Reading Room; but all in all, Goodreads still seems to be the best. Deep sigh, I guess. I just hope when they pull the kindle books from their collection that the new edition that they link my book to is still an ebook ~ that's the only way I'll be able to know which of my books are paperback or not.

Food plan for today:
B: Yoplait Key Lime Pie (6 oz) w/ 1/4 c. grape-nuts (6 pts)
S: Apple w/ 1 babybel (1 pt)
L: Sun-Dried Chicken Roll-Ups w/ 1 c. mixed veggies (9 pts)
S: Grapefruit
D: ??? Either roll-ups again or I'll cook something
S: ???
E: ???

Down 2.8

2012-01-16T08:52:00.000-07:00

Another successful weigh-in this morning! I'm down -2.8 pounds, which brings me to a total of -8.8 pounds so far :-)

The trainer at my gym still hasn't called to schedule a time to do a walk-through so I plan on giving them a call today. In the meantime, I may start doing the Walk it Out on Wii....the only problem is you use the balance board and I have to hunch a bit so the board feels my steps (not good for the DDD). Will see. Otherwise, I do have the Biggest Loser power walk I could do.

Food plan for today:
B: Good Value LF Orange Dreamsicle Yogurt w/ 1/4 c. Grape-nuts (4 pts)
S: Apple w/ 2 Babybel cheese wedges (2 pts)
L: Dev's Cold Weather Soup (3 pts)
S: Grapefruit (0 pts)
D: Gina's Asian Chicken Drumsticks w/ salad & ranch dressing (9 pts)
S: Skinny Cow Ice Cream Sandwich (4 pts)

Looking at my points I need to figure a way to add more food to my day. 22 pts is only about 2/3 of my daily allowance

The First 6 Pounds

2012-01-09T08:07:00.001-07:00

First weigh-in was today and I'm happy to report I'm down 6.2 pounds!! Now, that may seem like a lot, but not when you are considered "morbidly obese" (aren't those ugly words??) ..... plus, I think it was water weigh versus true weight loss. Either way, though, I'll take it! What a wonderful way to start off a Monday morning!

In other news, I'm morning a long time friend this week. Not sure how many of you watch soaps, but I've been a faithful One Life to Live fan since I was 15 years old. I'm 42 now, so do the math. That's more than 1/2 of my lifetime. Funny story on how I got started - my best friend's step-father, this big, burly tow-truck-driving-mechanic-biker-dude had to be home everyday at noon to watch his soap. When Carol and I would go to her house, we'd sometimes find ourselves watching with him........and that's all it took. I was hooked. So this week is the final week of a show that has been a fairly consistent part of my life. Despite all the changes I had going in my world, that has been one thing that hasn't changed. I have a feeling I'll be a puddle while watching the final show on Friday....and P.S. ABC I will not be watching the drivel you're replacing my show with. If I weren't such a fan of Castle and Grey's Anatomy, I wouldn't watch ABC at all.

Food plan for today:
B: Good Value Light Key Lime Pie Yogurt w/ 1/4 c. grape-nuts (4 pts)
S: Grapefruit
L: Butternut Squash Ravioli Lean Cuisine (7 pts)
S: Apple w/ 2 LF Baby Bel (3 pts)
D: ??? I'm thinking Chicken Piccata.....or Chicken Roll-ups w/ Ham, Spinach, Sun-Dried Tomatoes and LF Provolone Cheese..........
S: ???

TGIF!

2012-01-06T09:38:00.000-07:00

So, the freezer was a challenge. I am just not good w/ depth perception stuff and this was sure a learning experience for me. I did attempt to remove the bolts from the freezer door to no avail....I luckily stopped trying before I completely stripped the bolts altogether. What I ended up doing is cleaning off one of my bookshelves and moving that to the other side of the room and then I could slide the freezer in from the other side. Seems simple enough. Lesson learned. Next time, I'll ask for help.

Food plan for today:
B: Good Value Light Key Lime Pie Yogurt w/ 1/4 c. grape-nuts (4 pts)
S: Banana w/ LF Baby Bel (1 pt)
L: Chicken w/ Citrus Glaze & 2 c. Broccoli (8 pts)
S: Apple w/ LF Baby Bel (1 pt)
D: ???
S: ???

Victory is Mine!!

2012-01-05T22:41:00.000-07:00

The dreaded freezer has now been moved to its' rightful place in my office. Woo-hoo!! And it only took me 3 days :-)

I had this for dinner tonight (with a few modifications - I used agave nectar in place of the honey and used the smuckers low sugar marmalade. It was amazing!!!

Chugging Along

2012-01-05T09:08:00.000-07:00

I never did get around to trying to remove the freezer door last night......will make it a priority this evening. I was just so sore (excuses, excuses); but it sure felt good to relax and not worry about it.

I'm a little disgusted at Costco today - or I should say at Kirkland's packaging. I bought a huge can of Peanuts when I shopped the other day, only to find out this morning that they were roasted! Guess I should have read the small print. Not the healthiest snack, but I packed them anyway just in case I get really hungry before I go home today. I'm not much of a fan of roasted peanuts :-(

Food plan today (so far):
B: Good Value Light Key Lime Pie Yogurt w/ 1/4 c. grapenuts (4 pts)
S: Apple w/ 2 LF BabyBel cheese rounds (3 pts)
L: Healthy Choice Chicken Margherita w/ Balsamic (8 pts)
S: Banana w/ 3 T (31g) roasted peanuts (5 pts)
D:
S:

Day Two

2012-01-04T12:26:00.001-07:00

Let's see......my day started by oversleeping. I'm normally at work by 7:30 and woke up at 8:15. Called my boss and she said "Good for you! You must've needed the sleep." Have I mentioned lately how much I love my job??

So, since I was in a rush I didn't get to make the yummy salad I had planned for lunch. Luckily, I did have the forethought while shopping yesterday to pick up some Healthy Choice and Lean Cuisine meals...so that's what went into the lunch bag. Along with lf key lime yogurt, a few fruits, a few veggies, and a cheese wedge. Point calculations are below, but it is obvious that I need to put in some heartier snacks. There's no way I'll meet my daily point allowance eating this way...........either that or I'll go into starvation mode and eat them all at night, which isn't good either.

The freezer is still wedged.....tonight's activity will be removing the freezer door from its' hinges and then reattaching it once I get the freezer into the office (I'm thinking positive thoughts!!) If you're a praying kind of person, you could maybe whisper in the ear of the Big Guy Upstairs because I am obviously not good at this kind of stuff.

Speaking of the freezer, I am bruised. Big time - I have a great big purple bump the size of a tennis ball on my left upper arm, I purple bruise the size of a golf ball on the right lower arm, and lots and lots of scratches on my hands and fingers. Of course, I'm sore. All over.

B: LF Great Value Key Lime Pie Yogurt (1 pt)
S: None (training new staff so couldn't fit it in)
L: Lean Cuisine Apple Cranberry Chicken (8 pts)
S: Banana & LF Babybel Cheese (1 pt)
D:
S:
E: Wrestling w/ freezer (pts tbd - ha ha)

One Day Down

2012-01-03T22:26:00.000-07:00

I rejoined weight watchers - they have a 40% discount now, along with a join for free campaign: www.weightwatchers.com/save

I went into it today knowing I would have to shop - so didn't have breakfast :-(, no snacks, 5.25 oz of pork chops w/ 1 c. natural applesauce; a healthy choice for dinner. Of course, since I skipped breakfast and had no snacks, I still had the feeling of being hungry...so topped off my day w/ a bag of popcorn and a skinny cow ice cream snack.....

So, all in all not a great day eating wise, but I still came in at 26 points for the day. I also managed to get 2 activity points trying to move my freezer into my office. Summary of that story is I wedged my freezer into the doorway. I tried to move it....my grasp slipped a few times and needless to say I have some lovely purple bumps on my arms that will turn into some magnificent bruises later this week......

I have an appointment with a trainer later this week - she's going to work with me on exercises that will help with my DDD (degenerative disc disease) and will hopefully strengthen up those areas in my neck & shoulder. Key to this is to not let my pain be my excuse to never exercise. It just doesn't work.

Went grocery shopping after work - $250 later I have a well-stocked healthy kitchen again. I have snacks for tomorrow; lots of veggies, lots of fruits, lean cuts of meat......I'm ready for the rest of the week.

Thirteen Days...

2011-12-12T12:26:00.000-07:00

is all we have left until Christmas? How did that happen??? I didn't even realize it until Jill Shalvis mentioned it on facebook yesterday, (thanks Jill!). So, I did some last minute shopping (thanks Amazon.com!). I'm still not ready, though. Who would think that the hardest one to buy for would be the 4-year-old? Yup, she's spoiled!

Lesson Learned

2011-11-14T09:25:00.001-07:00

Looks like I'm going to buy an external hard drive after work today - That's $130 I hadn't planned on spending this week. On the bright side, I'll be able to do an xcopy from dos so I can save the data on my hard drive. The bad news is I'll need to reinstall windows and then reinstall all my programs after that. Ugh.

I guess through all this I learned a valuable lesson - when I kept getting prompted to do a backup of my drive, I would always choose the "later" option. Next time, I'll take the time to make a backup. I may not have had to do all these extra steps if I had.

Lesson learned.

Updated to add: Okay - feel a bit better. Got a T2 external drive that was on sale for $99.99. Deep sigh. Have my data backed up now. Windows is now being re-installed.

Death of a Desktop

2011-11-12T10:54:00.000-07:00

I really hope not..........but it's looking that way. I woke up this morning, went to turn on the computer, and it doesn't finish powering up. Am doing diagnostics right now, so am keeping my fingers crossed.

Ugh. Not the way I wanted to spend my Saturday morning.

One Week Later

2011-11-11T13:52:00.002-07:00

I had injections last week. For as nervous as I was, they have been a God-send. I've gone one full week without the chronic burning between my neck & shoulder, no numbness in my fingers, and no achiness in my arm. I get a little twinge of a flare up now and then, but it's occasional and I'm in heaven!

I've been transitioning between genealogy and reading - doing a bit of both every day. Currently, I'm on the 4th book of Toni Blake's Destiny series. Loved, loved, loved the first two; liked the 3rd one, and so far am enjoying Holly Lane. My goal is to read 100 books by the end of the year; so far, I've read 80. So far, so good - but I think I need to pick up the pace a little bit if I plan to obtain this goal!

As far as genealogy goes, I'm fairly active (like on a daily basis) at ancestry.com and myheritage.com. MyHeritage is more a collection of gedcoms, but it is a great way to connect with other folks. I've made connections with German relatives in Schleswig-Holstein which is amazing to me since I don't know much about that branch. Rumor has it there's a written history somewhere, but I haven't been able to find a family member that knows anything about it. Then again, I wasn't too interested in my German ancestry while growing up - it has nothing to do with the sperm-donor-that-I-really-don't-consider-my-dad, but more the whole Anne Frank issue. I loved her growing up and I was so ashamed to share heritage with the folks that were responsible for killing her. I wanted nothing to do with it.

I also have to say that I love the changes made at www.familyhistory.org and the way the holdings are cataloged now - makes it so much easier to search and locate records! Also, if you haven't been there before - findagrave.com is a form of crack for me. I've actually connected with some Irish and Danish relatives through that site.

Well enough rambling for me today - I have to go in for traction today (potentially my last one!!) and then decide if I want to buy a home unit (I'm not sure it's effective enough to warrant the $$$).

Take care,
Devonna