Shake Up Your Sugar

I think it was at the home of a German friend where I first saw colored sugar crystals mixed into the sugar bowl.  

I really like these large, rainbow hued sprinkles, but if you want to celebrate a certain season, Wilton has an extensive inventory - I can find them at JoAnne's or Wal-Mart.

I don't drink my coffee with sugar, I just really love this mug.

*:)

week 2 and week 3

Week 2 saw a loss of another 2 lbs! And the Chicken piccata was delicious. Week three I lost another 3 - I have lost a total of 8.6 pounds! Snacking is sometimes still an issue. I think it has just become a habit - the trick is finding plan-friendly snack options. I am allowed unlimited fruits and vegetables, but I sometimes want something more substantial, so I am using the sites online "recipe builder" to develop diet friendly soups. I made a lean Lima bean soup last week, and found that a quarter cup of that with a tablespoon of fat-free plain yogurt a a chopped up Roma tomato made a VERY satisfying nosh, that didn't waste any calories (points.) So far I am happy. And not feeling deprived in the least. And NEVER hungry, unless it's mealtime.

Last Friday was my birthday and I used the recipe builder to find out the points for Magnolia Bakery's Vanilla/Vanilla cupcakes. One frosted cupcake is nearly half of a day's points - but careful management and food choices allowed me to have one on my birthday and another one on Saturday. I only ate half of one on Sunday, but Ohhhhhh, they are yummy!

Week 1

3.2  pounds. It's working!

Wate Wotchers

Some how or other, I've picked up a few more pounds than I really want or need. So yesterday, I signed up for an online program to help me lose the extra weight. Not something I would normally enter into, but a friend was using it last summer, and when I saw her after she had been on the program for two months, I could tell she had lost weight! My current short-term goal is to just lose 10 pounds. But I'd eventually like to lose an additional 35...
My biggest hangup is snacking. Don't need to be hungry, just bored, or angry or...
Anyway.
Poking around the site, I was very happy to find a number of really tasty sounding recipes, this is definitely NOT your grandma's "WW."
Next week I will prepare for my family; Chicken Picata (the recipe calls for veal, but I don't eat that so I'll sub boneless, skinless chicken breasts) and maybe try the Coconut Millet...

Book Fair Goodness

School is finally out!

Due to snow days we didn't get out until the 24th of June. And during that last week, the school hosted it's final book fair of the year. I think this is a privately run fair (as opposed to one by Scholastic or some other publisher) and most of the books are used, if only gently. I'm not sure if they are surplus library books or what, but I managed to find a few treasures.

The prices were nice and low, my priciest choice was $3.00. I think the picture books are all Caldecott award winners. I checked out and read one of the novels - "The Wheel on the School" by Meindert DeJong - from the library fairly recently and loved it, so I was excited to find and purchase it. And I remember when "I Heard the Owl Call My Name" came out in the 70's though I have yet to read it.
But that's what summer is for, right?

Queen for a Day

One of my very best friends will hit the mid-century mark this week. I am going to surprise her by flying across the country to wish her a "bon anniversaire" and present her with this crown. Hopefully it will distract her from the whole mid-century thing...