Weight Watchers goes on Vacation!

Okay, the trip is on! We left Denton bright and early on Saturday the 20^th—around 5:15 in the morning.  The drive across 380 to I-30 was uneventful.  I-30 through Arkansas is where the trip began to get interesting.  Somewhere just west of Malvern AR, the engine light on the van started blinking.  There would be a shudder and a blinking engine light.  We had just gotten some maintenance done prior to the trip, so this came as quite a surprise.  Our guy from the Hon-da Doctor found us a place in Malvern that would be able to hook the van up to a computer to determine the cause of the blinking light.   Lucky for us it turned out to be a random misfiring cylinder.  Translation? BAD GAS.  The remedy? Gas treatment from Auto Zone and a new tank of gas.  Just a few more episodes of shuddering and blinking and we were good to go.  For a few minutes there, I thought we’d be having a short trip to nowhere.

We stopped for the night in Mt. Juliet, TN.  The first two pictures below are the kids’ feeble attempts at being cute in the hotel.  Ok…so maybe the attempts weren’t feeble. They WERE downright cute.  We did stick to McDonalds for breakfasts for the kids.  I actually ate the fruit & yogurt parfaits which were 3 POINTS® without the granola pack, which only added another ½ to the parfait.  We stayed near a local grocery store, so we were able to have some more control over what we ate.  This particular store had a deli counter that custom-made Boar’s Head subs for you, while you waited.  Steve and I split one, and had a pretty filling dinner for 7 POINTS®

We got up early on Sunday morning to finish the drive into NC.  The roads were beautiful…I did some censoring though…you guys probably didn’t want to see a bunch of cars off in the ditches along I-26.  Quite frankly, I DIDN’T want to see that either.  I am a skittish passenger, and don’t like heights.  So…interesting trip through the Smokies and the Blue Ridge Mountains.  We missed the blizzard by 24 hours, but many weren’t so lucky.  If I could have ridden through those mountains on the floorboard of the van, I would have.  Yeesh!!!  The kids? Not a care in the world.  They had their DVDs and they were happy as pigs in mud!  We rolled into NC around 3:30pm on Sunday afternoon.  We were all pretty much SICK of being in the car!

Tuesday night, I met my friends at one of the local Gastropubs and enjoyed a nice dinner and some much needed catching up.  I was too late on arrival Sunday to hit the Weight Watchers meeting here, so I found one for Wednesday.  I went and weighed in and my old leader was still working that meeting, after 10+ years!  Thought that was a good sign. I realized that I didn’t have my normal ‘weigh in’ outfit with me, but I did have workout pants and a tank, so that would have to do, even though I could be up because of it.  Not only wasn’t I up, but I had actually come down 2.4 pounds.  That was WITH meeting my girlfriends for dinner, having a glass of wine, shrimp & grits for dinner and a taste of dessert. Not too bad.  I was able to show a loss while on the road traveling and enjoying myself.  Moderation ladies…moderation!

Wednesday I met another great friend for lunch.  This was the friend that I mentioned earlier, who was diagnosed with Stage III Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma.  She looked GREAT, and she said she feels great too.  They must have found a chemo cocktail that is working for her.  I am SO glad.  I had to see it for myself. 

Wendy and I had followed similar paths throughout our lives.  We both met our spouses on AOL back in the mid-‘90’s, when that NEVER happened.  We lived in South Florida together, while our fiancées at the time had been living in the Carolinas.  They moved from SC -  TX  for a period of time and came back to SC, while my path took me from FL to NC to TX and we are still there.  The other weird parallel was that we both reached our last straw and started back with Weight Watchers this last time about a month apart. August 2008 for me, and September 2008 for her.  She has managed to lose 35 pounds so far, and she looks INCREDIBLE! I am proud of my Wendy.  We ended up having lunch Jason’s Deli.  Did my research and found a Mediterranean Wrap for only 6 POINTS®. Not too bad!  They also have wonderful flatbread crackers on the salad bar for about 1 POINT® per flatbread. 

I think that I am doing a pretty good job of maintaining over the holidays!  Still spinning from my stellar weigh-in.  I have been wearing my pedometer and trying to get some activity in while enjoying being back in my old stomping grounds.

Photo 1: Adam at the hotel in Mt. Juliet, TN Photo 2: Morgan at the hotel in Mt. Juliet, TN Photo 3: I-81 heading from TN toward NC Photo 4: I-26 heading toward Asheville, NC Photo 5: My girls and I at The Liberty, on Tuesday 12/22/2009 Photo 6: My Wendy and me at Jason’s Deli on Wednesday 12/23/2009

At the time you receive this newsletter, I will not have attended a meeting yet, but I will get to one later on this week, probably Saturday.  I am looking forward to spending more time with family and friends.  I found this timely quote online today.  Thought it was cute, so I shared! I hope that all of you have a very happy holiday and an even better 2010.  Enjoy yourselves, and I will be back with you after vacation.

“In the old days, it was not called the Holiday Season; the Christians called it 'Christmas' and went to church;

the Jews called it 'Hanukkah' and went to synagogue;

the atheists went to parties and drank.

People passing each other on the street would say 'Merry Christmas!' or 'Happy Hanukka!' or (to the atheists) 'Look out for the wall!'” 

~Dave Barry

The attachment this week is called ‘Measure Your Success’.  This shows that the scale IS NOT the only measure of success.  Pictures, measurements and smaller sizes are all GREAT indicators of your success.  Give it a read!

GLUTEN FREE CORNER;

Still researching. Be back next week!!!

RECIPES

Festive Feta Spread

This dip is a favorite. It stays fresh in the refrigerator for up to five days so it's great for drop-in holiday guests

Yield: 16 servings at a POINTS® Value of 3 per serving

Prep: 15 Min| Cook: 0 Min

Ingredients:

 7 oz roasted red peppers, packed in water, drained    

 1 pound(s) 1/3 less-fat cream cheese, two 8-oz blocks, softened, cut up    

 4 oz reduced-fat feta cheese, crumbled    

 1 large garlic clove(s), peeled    

 1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly ground    

 3 Tbsp dill, fresh, chopped    

 1/4 cup(s) dill, fresh, whole sprigs    

 10 1/2 oz baked low-fat tortilla chips    

Instructions:

Slice off a 1 1/2-inch piece of roasted pepper to use for garnish; wrap and refrigerate. In a food processor, combine remaining roasted peppers, cream cheese, feta cheese, garlic and black pepper; process until smooth. Add chopped dill; pulse until evenly distributed.

Scrape mixture into a serving bowl; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour (or up to 5 days) to firm up slightly and for flavors to blend.

To serve, smooth surface of dip with a spatula. Arrange dill sprigs on top in a circular fashion to form a “wreath;” cut reserved piece of roasted pepper into tiny “berries" and place on wreath. Or create any other decorative pattern you desire. Yields about 3 tablespoons of spread and 8 chips per serving.

Notes:

This recipe can be cut in half to serve 8, but it keeps so well (up to 5 days refrigerated) that it makes sense to make the whole batch to have on hand for unexpected holiday guests. Serve with pita wedges, whole grain crisp breads or crackers and/or raw vegetables. (The dip alone is 2 POINTS values for 3 tablespoons.)