How Did I Miss a WEEK of Updates?!

I don't know where the time went!  So I'll catch you up from Thursday through Tuesday mainly through picture because I can't remember some of it...

Thursday

Breakfast-

Lunch- My friend from work tried a new restaurant nearby.  It wasn't very good... I had a chicken sandwich with green chiles and pepper jack cheese.  Sounds good, but it was just meh...

I guess this was dinner...

Friday I remember more of.

Breakfast-

I had to take an early lunch because my mom came up for the weekend and she had to drop her car off at a mechanic to have a tune up, so we had a quick lunch at Carol's.  Egg beater Florentine omelet with hash browns and fruit.

For dinner, we were going to go to BJ's but there was an hour wait so forget that!  We went across the street to the Tokyo House, a local Japanese restaurant.  Both my mom and I both had the shrimp teryaki bowl. 

They brought out miso soup and salad.

Then the gigantic bowl!

 It was really good!  I'd get it again.  It normally comes with chicken or steak and 2 shrimp skewers, but we had them just give us shrimp since it was our 5th meatless Friday for lent.  The vegetables were really good!  They had a sweetish sauce they were cooked in, and I liked the fact you had to really dig to get to the rice.

The one thing I didn't like, too much sauce!

After dinner, we went to Barnes and Noble and Target to get some presents for the upcoming baptism/birthday party on Sunday.  Of course, I had to get dessert too.  I love the Cheesecake Factory Vanilla Cupcakes they sell at our Barnes and Noble!

My mom went to Restoration Hardware to start getting letters to put on her wall.  She got me a small S!

I don't know where to put it but I love it!

Once we got settled in, we rented The King's Speech on the TV in our room so Nick could see it.  I know it's still in theaters but sometimes certain hotels will have movies that are still out, so we rented that.  He liked it but still thought Inception should have won best picture. Whateva!

Saturday, we took a road trip to St. Helena to visit my dad's grave since his birthday is the 13th of April. We stopped at Dean & Deluca.

I love his store.  They are in the middle of remodeling.  I love all of the interesting things they have.

Next we drove over to the Napa Valley Olive Oil Mfg. to have lunch.  You wouldn't know it was there unless someone told you!  It's a little tiny place.  This is the only indicator that you're in the right place.

They have tables outside so we sat and ate our lunch.

This cute little dog decided to join us.  He/she really wanted some of our food though!

I love driving down the main highway.  It's so beautiful here!

 Here's Michael Chiarello's Restaurant, Tra Vigne

 I love the flowers on this house!

 Next stop was the cemetery. My mom got some black river rocks to make a cross over my dad's grave.

 What a view!

 Here's the finished cross. My brother had the idea to put white rocks around the edges to
make it pop.

 The moon was out too! 

After that, we went for a quick walk around St. Helena.

Hidden Mickey! Sort of anyway...

 Someone painted these posters.  They were cool.

 Went into Olivier and got some of their 25 year aged balsamic vinegar.  Yum!!! It's so sweet!

 Our favorite store Baksheesh!  It's all fair trade and such original items!  I LOVE this store!

 We really wanted to go into Woodhouse to get some chocolate, but we were 10 minutes too late!  :(

 Love the grapes on the street signs.

When we got back, we went to BJ's for dinner.  My mom and I split a burger and had salad.

 Then the 4 of us split a chocolate chip Pazookie.  Hot cookie with ice cream?!  Yes please!!!!!!!!!  It's like dessert porn!  OMG it's so good!

Sunday, I'm keeping short with no pictures.  We went to my cousin's son's baptism, then went back to his parent's house for a double birthday party for the baby that was baptized and his aunt (obviously my other cousin!)  They had sandwiches from whole foods.  Wish I took a picture but I didn't get a chance. Then we went back to the house, took a nap, and my mom and brother went home.

Monday-Just breakfast and lunch pictures...  Litterally not much else happened so, I'm not going to bother.

Tuesday- No pictures.  I gained .5 pound, but I'm okay with it.  I'm continuing with the walking so all is good with that!

Okay, I'm out!

Don't Worry, I'm Still Here!

I missed a few days because the internet in my mom's hotel room SUUUUCKED! I do have pictures from the weekend, but I just wanted to let you all know, I'm not stopping, I just need to find an hour or so for a catch up post (I swear I started typing ketchup! Wow!)

Okay, that's it from me at the moment, I'll try to get my update out tomorrow!

A Breakfast Kind of Day...

After my weigh in yesterday, I felt quite a bit better about myself.  I didn't have anything planned for breakfast so I just fried up an egg, grabbed an english muffin and an asian pear (looks like a yellow apple), and threw my lunch in a container and headed off to work.

When I got to work, I immediately toasted up my english muffin and grabbed some water and tea.  I really like Thomas's English Muffins for an egg sandwich.  The light wheat ones are 3 points which I think most whole wheat ones are, but I love the old fashioned nooks and crannies.  I added a teaspoon of butter and it was fantastic!  I added the pear for bulk and a serving of fruit.

The pear?  Not so much...  I was expecting the texture of a pear.  Well, it was juicy like a pear but had more of an apple texture.  Tastewise I'm sorry to say it was all wrong...  I'll stick with regular pears thank you very much!
So, to make sure I had some fruits and vegetables today, I snacked on carrots.

Two reasons to just make your own?  They taste better and they're cheaper!  These were all dried out, but it was a hunger purchase I hate to say...
Around 10:30, I started my Walk-It Challenge with a 10 minute walk.

It was supposed to rain today...  Guess Mother Nature didn't know!  Fine with me!!!

It's definitely Spring!  And it's not the weather or the blooming flowers or the trees.  My allergies told me so!  Thank God I went to Target to get my prescriptions yesterday because it looked like they got a fresh batch of Zyrtec that day.  I immediately asked for the big box because I knew they'd be out soon!  Plus, it's cheaper per pill...

Gee, I can't wait until May when my asthma tells me that it's my favorite month of the year! (Please note there is sarcasm in that last sentence!) I must say, my iPod Touch takes some decent pictures...  Not too shabby!  I didn't want to lug my camera with me on my walk. Gotta love technology!  If you would have told me 15-20 years ago that you could not only store thousands of songs, movies, books, and games(and apps, etc) on one tiny little devise, but also take pictures with it, I would have suggested you go to a mental clinic!
I ate my lunch early and I'm glad I did because I ended up having to take a late lunch in order to finish a big last minute rush renewal before lunch!  Oh yay!  (Yes, more sarcasm.) My aunt made a barley bake that has ground turkey, beans, salsa, cheese, bell peppers, barley, and a few other ingredients in it.  She learned the recipe at a Whole Foods class a few years ago.  It was from a former Weight Watchers leader and when she made it the first time we loved it!  For some reason I don't remember it tasting like it did this time but it was still kick ass!  I topped it with a generous amount of sour cream.  I probably went a little overboard...  Oops!

I knew I wasn't going to be home until around 7 tonight because of my bi-monthly appointment so I ate my yogurt snack at 3:30.  It helped.  I was still starving by the time I got home, but I was able to handle it.

Yay, Nugget carries local honey!  I hope that helps some with my allergies.

When I got to Roseville after work, I did my ritual TJ's stop before the appointment to get some essentials.  I didn't need much, so I just kind of wandered around.  I ended up trying their fish sticks.  They were okay.  I counted a point to be on the safe side.
When I got home, I decided I wanted breakfast for dinner.  I quickly whipped together a serving of Kodiac Cakes ( I really like them!  They are easy to make too!) but this time, making a blueberry syrup instead of mixing it into the batter. I heated up 1/2 cup of blueberries (for a serving of fruit), 1 tablespoon of real maple syrup (I can't believe how different real tastes from the fake stuff!  Wow!), a packet of splenda, and a tiny pinch of salt.  After heating up the pancakes.  (I made tiny ones to make it feel like I had more.)  I scrambled 2 eggs with salt, pepper, and some snipped chives (I made a mistake and took my eyes off of it so it got a little browned...  Again, oops! Mini Shannon Moment!) I heated up 2 slices of pre-cooked bacon, sliced up an orange.  All this food for 10 pp!  Gotta love the free fruit!

I had to add a squirt of ketchup.  I never thought I'd like ketchup on my eggs, but God help me, I do!

After dinner and a quick clean up, I hopped in the shower and now I'm ready for bed.

G'night!

Weigh In Day!

Here's a quick recap of Monday-
So... I failed my test again...  I have a month to study for the next try.  I have a few people that are going to help me try to learn the entire book.  That's the only way I will be able to pass.  I not only need to memorize the whole book, I need to under stand all of it too!
Thank God I had dinner and movie plans with a friend from work!  We went to BJ's and split a ham and pineapple calzone and had side salads.  It was really good.  I like their crust.  It has a lot of flavor.  Then we went to see The King's Speech while it was still out.  It was fantastic!  I know most people have seen it by now, but neither of us ever got a chance so I'm glad we got to go!
By the time I got home I was ready to crash!  What a day!

At weigh in on today, I lost 1.4 pounds!  I'm so glad I am finally starting to go back down.  My goal is to lose 15 pounds by our Disneyland trip that's just under 2 months away.  At our meeting they mentioned they were having their 2nd annual Walk-It Challenge and I didn't participate last year, I was going through a lot and I just wasn't in the right frame of mind.  This year I'm going to do it! The challenge is doable for me.  You start out walking 10 minutes a day then up it by 2-5 minutes every other time.  Then at the end you walk 5k.  I mapped it out in my area and if I walk from my home then a full circle up and down the long street near our house, then back to our house, that's just over 5k, and I know I can do that!  So I will definitely track my progress here to let you all know how I'm doing!

Okay, that's it from me for today.  G'night!

Yet Again, More Studying!

Okay, I honestly have to stop!  I have gotten through all of the stuff I've been having trouble with over the weekend, so I just pray to God that it's enough!  My brain can't handle anymore!  Plus, my allergies totally kicked my butt today!  I feel drained!!!  I'm not posting photos of food today, (except for breakfast which was new for me) but I will show you what I had to put up with for a while of my studying!

Here's my breakfast...  Kodiak Cakes, with blueberries, and maple syrup.

They were pretty good.  They're healthy too, made with whole grains.  I like that I can make a single serving so I'm not tempted to make more than I need.

It killed me that this is what it looked like outside, and I couldn't enjoy it!  Sorry for the mesh screen I was sitting on my bed studying and the window behind me was all I had at the moment...

Rusty came to visit me for a while.  And all I got out of that was more sneezing and much interruption.

I move him, then get this.

Then I move him a third time and get this!

Little stinker!  Note to self, don't let the cat on the bed when you're trying to concentrate on something!

Okay, gotta get to bed so I'm ready for the test tomorrow.  Wish me luck!

Study, Study, and More Study!!!

I have insurance coming out of my ears!  I studied all day today until I had to get off to mass at 5:30.  After that, I needed some fresh air but I'll get to that in a little bit.

My morning started off with the last of my TJ's Honey Nut Joe's O's.  I was too hungry to take a picture...

Lunch I baked a mushroom tarte from TJ's as well.  It's soooooo good!!!  It's 16 pp for the whole thing!!!

This is what I see when on my way into the kitchen...  What a hard life!

After lunch, I got back to studying...  At 5:00 I got myself ready and went to mass.  After I decided I needed a bit of a break and went to Ross, and Nugget to just get out.  2 1/2 hours later and $100 poorer I finally got home and heated up my dinner.  I got a chicken dinner from Nugget.  It came with mashed potatoes and asparagus.

Of course a certain kitty smelled chicken (his favorite) and was all over me while I was eating.  I shredded some up for him.  And portioned out 3 servings so he didn't OD on chicken.  I swear it's like kitty crack!

He was pretty impatient as you can see.

Again, kitty crack!

While he was all over the chicken, I had my dessert.  Tapioca and Knott's Boysenberry Cookies. 

Knott's Berry Farm has a special place in my heart.  We have been going to Knott's for their famous Fried Chicken dinner just about every time we'd go down to Disneyland.  Sometimes, we'd spend the day in the park there, but usually we would just eat their dinner, which you have to wait in line for, but it's SOOOO worth it!!!  Definitely not WW friendly though...  I'll just get back on track after that dinner and I'll be happy to maintain my weight that week!

Okay, I just finished downloading 4 1/2 albums (roughly 50 songs, I went on a frenzy!) and it's time to go to bed!

Meatless Friday Day Numbero Quatro

Wow, already 4 weeks into lent?!  That doesn't seem right...  Well, anyway, I started out my morning with Scrambled eggs and toast again.  The basil add so much, I just wish I had fresh, I need to stock up on some essentials, we're running out of things in the house!

That was my last piece of bread, I saved the ends for the birds.

I had my mid-morning snack around 11.  Just my standard yogurt.  I'm not sure I'm really crazy about the greek yogurt with this mix.  It's a little too thick, so I may try regular non-fat yogurt next time and see how I like it.

I needed to get out so my friend and I went to lunch at this local Japanese restaurant.  It was really good.  I got the salmon and California roll bento box. 

Isn't it pretty?!  I got miso soup too but forgot to take a picture.  I also forgot my camera, so I had to use my iPod. Not bad for an iPod picture though.  I was a little turned off by the fish roe on the sushi...  I've never eaten it before, but I refused to think about it, and therefore didn't taste it until the last piece, it was a little too salty...

When I got home, a crashed on my bed for a few minutes, Rusty wanted to join me.

I finally forced my butt up and got to cooking my teeny tiny potatoes.

I sauteed them in a pan with a little olive oil, salt, pepper, then added garlic towards the end.

I also cooked up some battered Halibut filets from TJ's.  They were really good!

Half of that tray is 5 pp.  That's not bad!  They're so good I ended up eating the whole tray.....  *clears throat...

Anyway, I had to have ketchup with it too!  I'm a big ketchup fan!

After dinner, I felt like something sweet to I had another sucker. 

Okay, my second try at the license test is on Monday so time to get crackin on the books!

G'night!