Ooty is just a little nuts!

I woke up all puffy today......

2010-03-01T08:55:00.002-05:00

I got up this morning, showered, and was brushing my teeth when I glanced up in the mirror. My face is RED...like fire engine red, spotty and puffy. My eyes are not swollen shut, but VERY puffy. WTH???? I am thinking it is my daughters face wash I used on Friday. The face wash was free at Rite Aid last year. It came in a beauty bag as a sample. This is the second time I have tried an acne control face wash and have had a reaction from it. The first time, it felt like I had had a chemical peel. I don't know why I puffed up this time though???? Live and learn, I guess. I will stick to the face products for mature skin, and skip the teeny bopper stuff! I hate getting old!

Crap, I hope the puffiness doesn't affect my weigh in tonight.....maybe I will try some cold compresses later.

Bad blogger!!!

2010-02-24T19:33:00.002-05:00

Ok, so I am terrible at blogging on a daily basis!!! I have not had to work on Saturdays since before Christmas, so no play money in my budget. I used my Saturday $$ to pay my OOP when I went hounding! I haven't been in Walgreens or CVS, I am sure they miss me!!! I run into Kroger and Meijer to grab bare necessities and anything free after coupons. Plus it's just been so danged cold....I just want to go home, throw on some sweats and curl up under a blanket. I hate being cold, and between our old, cold, drafty house (I have 2 comforters on my bed AND an electric matress pad!!!!!!!!) and a cold drafty shop at work with concrete floors, I am only warm in my car (I have been known to just drive around untill I am warm before actually going home) I am tired of my feet feeling like ice cubes all the time! I always get into a funk in February and yearn for Spring. I worked the graveyard shift at a Marriott hotel from the time I was 18 until I was 30. I did not see the sun at all during Jan and Feb during that time frame. I felt like a vampire and could not step outside in the sunlight without wearing sunglasses. It took a full 2 years of working daytime hours to be able to go ot without sunglasses.

I am struggling with my weight loss at the moment. I have cabin fever and seem to have eaten anything not nailed down. I was soooooooo not looking forward to going to weigh in this week. Last weeks mtg was cancelled because of snow and the week before I had a huge fight with my Mother. I felt like I had an emotional hangover for days. My mom has a way of making me feel about 2 inches tall, lays on the guilt trips quite heavily, and I let her..........rather than lash out and possibly hurting her feelings. I hate to blame my weight problems on my Mom, but that creepy Dr Robin on Oprah asked someone once "who told you you were not good enough?" Hmmmmm.....I always heard "But you have such a pretty face..." Can you hear the tsk, tsk?????? I remember being bribed to lose weight...."If you go on a diet and eat this grapefruit....I will buy you a canopy bed" I was 8 or 9.....I never got a canopy bed, or a new wardrobe (another bribe) and generally wore my mom's hand me downs. When I started working at the Marriott, I developed a PJ's and socks fetish. I didn't have to wear granny jammies anymore! To this day, I LOVE PJ's. I hate nightgowns, but love cute PJ's and have 2 or 3 full drawers of them. Nothing makes me happier than to get PJ's as a gift. And socks....I love cute socks! I can't wear cute shoes, but by golly, I can have cute socks!!!

I think I just figured out my reward for losing 50lbs......I am so close to that goal, I can almost taste it! Oh, I did lose this week! about a half a pound, but I was TOTALLY expecting to gain 3-5lbs! I am thankful for the loss, however small it might be. I have hit a plateau lately, so I have the maintaing phase down pat....but, I HAVE NOT gained. I'll take it!!!!

New Year...New Commitment!

2010-01-06T18:27:00.004-05:00

Happy New Year!!! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season. Things got pretty craz-ay around here. My 11yr old daughter and I were involved in an accident in December. We were stopped at a light and did not see the F150 run up my backside and force us into the car in front of us. We were not hurt and was able to drive away from the scene after the police got all their information. (We were on our way to the mall to snag a gift…with a coupon of course) We went to the mall anyway, only a block away, but I started feeling the stiffness come on and a burning sensation down my neck, shoulders and back. We decided to go get checked out at the ER just to be on the safe side. I spent quite a few days in discomfort. Finally got my van into the body shop and picked up a rental car, courtesy of the other insurance company.

I spent the holidays traveling all over my state visiting relatives. We do not live near family, so we do the traveling. We had a nice Christmas. Thank Goodness I had started my shopping back in February and not wait till bonuses were handed out at my work. I am grateful to have gotten any bonus at all, although at the time I didn’t feel it. It took a couple days to say “ya know what? You are LUCKY to get a bonus, everyone has a gift and you don’t need more stuff anyway.” Once I decided that, I was at peace and actually really enjoyed my holidays. My daughter got most of what was on her list as did my husband. Both have birthdays coming up, so maybe later.

I missed weigh in’s for three weeks because of the holiday. The first week I missed was the week after my accident and week before Christmas. My meetings were on Thursday evenings, so the next 2 weeks we did not have a meeting due to the holiday. The week between Christmas and New Years, I got an email from my meeting leader that they were “dis-banding” the Thursday night group. With so few attendees, it simply was not worth her time. I was crushed at first, but I do completely understand her position. So…..my new night is Monday with a fabulous leader. I went to weigh in this past Monday….Drum roll, please………….I gained 3 pounds!!! You don’t know how relieved I was! Seriously…..it could have been so much worse! I ate what was served where ever we went. I ate what I wanted to eat. Difference is….I got FULL fast! And when I got full, I stopped! I also ate McDonalds (I won’t waste my points on a Big Mac again) Burger King (after the accident…I was not thinking about food and ordered a Whopper…OMG was it good!) pizza (in moderation) and cookies and desserts. I also continued to eat a healthy breakfast and lunch. My new breakfast obsession? Quaker Old Fashioned Oatmeal! ½ cup made with water in the microwave with about a TBSP of lite syrup. After it has cooked, I add a topping of Kashi Go Lean CRUNCH (thanks Vocalpoint!!!) and Silk lt vanilla soymilk. I love the crunch that the Kashi gives it and just the right amount of sweetness. Heck, sometimes I eat it for lunch. I was surprised how much I wanted grapes the last time I was at the store. I was never much of a grape fan before, but had been taking some to work with me everyday when they were in season.

You are not going to believe this, but……. this morning I set my alarm for 5am so I could get a work out in on our new Wii Fit. I had used it ONCE the day we set it up after Christmas. I just KNOW that I will not use it after work, so if I do not do it in the morning…..I won’t do it. You really have no idea how much of a NON-morning person I am…..really, even my dogs know NOT to bother mama for at least an hour.
This is my new commitment for the new year. Move more, and keep pluggin along!!! I WILL succeed!

Ok….so I only did 13 mins on the Wii fit this morning……baby steps, right? 
The exciting part was that Wii showed me DOWN 3 lbs!!!!! Difference between morning and evening weight>?

This may sound silly....

2009-11-16T18:10:00.002-05:00

This may sound silly, but it is something that got me excited. My in-laws took a cross country trip to California to visit family and brought me back a necklace from the black hills. It is a dragonfly colored with blues and black. I love that color combination. Anyway, I took it off the card it was attached to and put it on. I have worn it several times this week and have gotten alot of compliments on it. I am just realizing that I took it off the card and wore it.....with no necklace extender....OMG! This is a HUGE revelation for me! No necklace extender, and I am not choking to death. Heck, I have even slept in a few times because I forgot to take it off. I have in my jewelry box at least a half dozen extenders. Most are attached to my favorite necklaces. Maybe I will go through my jewelry box and remove them and try out some other necklaces. I am crazy-happy to be seeing some results of all my hard work. My face looks a little droopier, but I am beginning to see a shadow under my chin. I don't go straight from chin to neck anymore. Progress is a wonderful thing!

kitchen stockpile pics

2009-11-15T13:03:00.004-05:00

pantry items, cereal, tuna, cans and boxes

Under the bar cabinet houses the Quaker Oatmeal (3 deep) soups, and more boxes of goodies!

stockpile pics

2009-11-15T12:59:00.003-05:00

This is a rolling drawer tote

Sorry, I can't make the pictures pretty! grrrr...

stockpile pics

2009-11-15T12:45:00.002-05:00

Bedroom closet shelf

Stockpile Photos!

2009-11-15T11:54:00.001-05:00

I know I love to see other people's stockpiles, so I thought I would share mine (finally!) Here goes, in no particular order.....lets see if blogger plays nice with me!

This is the spare bedroom closter for over flow

High Five's!!!!

2009-10-22T19:41:00.004-04:00

Oh my goodnes, what a difference a couple of days make!
Let me start with yesterday. I wanted to do another granola bar deal at Kroger's, I was tired and cranky and just wanted to get it over with. So, I run in and just grab 4 bags of the Nut Clusters and 4 boxes of Fiber One bars.
4*nut clusters 4/10.00
4*F1 bars 4/10.00
-2* 4.00 instant discounts = 8.00
-4*1.00 MQ for clusters
-4*.40 MQ for F1 bars, doubled to .80
I saw a total of 4.80.....I think, and ready to swipe my card......then....VOILA!!!
My total came to .40!!! cashier was "HUH?"...I was "HUH?", I start digging in my purse for loose change, paid and ran out the door! I got to the car to check out my receipt and found 3 shortcuts e-coupons for the nut clusters and 1 cellfire Q for the clusters at 1.00 ea, and a .40 shortcuts for the F1 bars. My mood was instantly better, I laughed all the way home!

Today went like this........down 2.8 pounds!!! Doesn't get any better than that!

Ever had one of those days?

2009-10-21T06:51:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was what I would consider a bad day. It started when I got out of bed and stubbed my toe on the dresser. Ouch!!!....I stumble downstairs to get coffee, sleepy dust still in my eyes. Thank goodness I did not have to make the coffee. Hubby was already up and gone to work, so he had made coffee. I putter around on the computer for a little while. I am lovin Farmville on Facebook. Anyway........I go to take a shower.....I turn into a complete SPAZ in the shower! Everything I touch, drops! Even if I don't touch it with my hands, just brush up against it, it falls to the floor. I felt like a bull in a china shop! Bend over and pick up my razor......my butt hits daughters shampoo and falls off the shelf......pick it up and here comes the conditioner....Get everything back on the shelf and grab my bodywash......I managed to knock over everything on my shelf.....Oh this is not a good sign, maybe I should just go back to bed!
I finally make it out the door for work. Get to work only 8 mins late! Work went ok, except for grumpy old men all day long! 5:00 comes around 9 hours later. (I ate lunch at work) Finally get to go home and Hubby wants to go see a movie. Law Abiding Citizen. I had heard of it, but knew nothing about it. I hated it! I nearly got up and left. The only redeeming quality was Gerard Butler, I love him! And the previews....ughhhh...I hate scarry movies. Always have. I am a wuss!

Kroger trippin'

2009-10-20T17:43:00.002-04:00

Stopped in Kroger while out and about today. I was going to get the Fiber One bars that are on sale this week, but this store does not carry many F1 product s (or any WW products!) I did notice that the Chex Mix bars are included in the sale.
There is an instant discount going on. They are 4/10.00, get 4.00 off instantlty, so 4/6.00 (limit 2 *4.00 discounts per transaction)
Here is what I got:
4*Chex Mix Turtle bars, original price 3.59, sale 4/10.00
4*Nature Valley sweet/salty, original price 3.19, sale 4/10.00
less TWO 4.00 discounts
less 4* .50 MQ for the Chex bars doubled to 1.00
less 4 * .40 MQ for the Nature Valley doubled to .80
less .40 Cellfire e-coupon
less THREE .40 Shortcuts e-coupons

Total was 3.20 for 8 boxes of snack bars!! Makes it .40 per box! I plan on getting as many as I can during the sale. These make a great afternoon snack, or even a grab and go breakfast.

I heart Pubbler!

2009-10-15T21:04:00.006-04:00

I **heart** Pubbler over at Lovesavingwithcoupons.blogspot.com!! she is my go-to gal for all the fabulous Meijer deals! I have no excuse for not making it there before tonight, but I am glad I braved the cold and went anyway!!

Above is my first transaction

3*Breakstone Cottage cheese with fruit 1.00 ea

2*Ziploc Expandable bottom Fresh Shield, 2.12 ea, used a BOGO Q

1*Ziploc sandwich bags 1.69, used a 1.00/2 Q (my second was the expandable bottom)

5*Campbells condensed soups .99 ea, used 2*.40/2 Q (my store doubles up to 1.00)

My total was 12.57, but, I got back a 5.00, 3.00, 2.00 CATS to use on my second transaction!

I don't know why the pictures are at the top, or how to move them.......I will figure that out later.

I used a raincheck for 2 center cut boneless pork loins @ 1.39#

1*5.27 (original 9.44)

1*6.27 (original 11.25)

2*Bumble Bee tuna, .99 less .55 Q, FREE

2*Lea & Perrins, 2.39 ea, less 2.00Q

2*GG Steamers 1.29 ea, less .50 Q, .29/ea

2*Kellogs Nutrigrain waffles 2.79 less .50 Q, 1.79 ea (I was out of waffles!!!)
2*Arnold Sandwhich thins 2/5.00 less 1.00 Q's, 1.50 ea (I normally pay over 3.00 for these!)

4*Ortega taco seasoning, .63 ea, less .75/2 Q, .13 ea

2*Bounty 6 pack paper towels FREE after raincheck from a couple weeks ago. (still in the car!)

Misc canned items we needed and some WW yogurt. (no Q's for these) and some grapes. I have been eating a ton of grapes lately!

Less 10.00 CATS from trans #1

OOP 27.27, saved 32.78!!

I am very pleased with this and will go back tomorrow for the free tuna and cottage cheese.

I also ran into Kmart to get Snuggle.....they were OUT!! But the tag says sale price is good till 11/9

Meijer also had NO Snuggle!

I have redocorated!

2009-10-10T09:49:00.002-04:00

Ohhh..Pretty!!!

Well, that was easy....where is my button? I am going out of town today to visit with my family that I see a few times a year. We will be staying over and come back tomorrow. I will need to buy out of town papers! YAY, maybe I will get the "good" coupons!

Deep sigh

2009-10-08T19:42:00.002-04:00

Well, weigh in went like this....."OH! Let me try the OTHER scale...."

Nope, didn't change a thing! I am still UP 2/10ths for a 2 week span!

That still makes it a total loss of 31 pounds since mid April.

Tonight we talked about being bored and eating out of boredom. Yea, I do that....ALOT! But we also talked about bored with our choices. Chicken and salad....AGAIN? LOL! I can honestly say I am not bored with my choices. We still eat beef, pizza, fries (baked, not fried!) and an occasional night out. We just do not eat it as often anymore. I am also so very grateful for all the information available on line. I have my favorite sources.

Hungry Girl
Eat This, Not That
Eat Better America

They all have fabulous options for swaps of my favorite foods! I love dessert, cake to be specific, and I love that I can whip up a cake mix from my stockpile and make it a one point serving by using either a can of pumpkin OR a can of diet soda. I really liked the chocolate cake made with Diet cherry Dr Pepper. YUM! I am not a huge fan of frosting to start with, so a sprinkle of powdered sugar and we're good to go! And the Edy's double Churned ice cream with 1/2 the fat is a really good ice cream for being healthy. Heck it tastes better than most ice creams I bought before. I am still completely in love with my Greek Gods Honey Yogurt. I eat it everyday! Nope, not bored with it yet! teeheee!! I am NOT crazy about the 35 cal. breads. It is OK for toast, but not a sandwhich...not enough substance to it. We use english muffins or Arnold Sandwhich thins instead, sometimes whole wheat pitas.

Next week will be a good week......;)

LOOK!! I did it!

2009-10-08T12:51:00.001-04:00

OMGosh! It's not in Spanglish anymore!!!! :0

Livin on a prayer!!

2009-10-08T12:39:00.000-04:00

Today is Thursday....(cue scary music) that means it's weigh in day! I am such a flippin scaredy cat that last week I chose to skip WI because I knew it wouldn't be good! Yep, I am a wuss! Since joining WW in April, this was the FIRST time I skipped. I really couldn't take another bad week. For six weeks, I have been down one week, then creep up the next. I was so beat up over this, even though I am DOWN more than up, I decided to cut myself some slack and avoid the UP week.

A moment of silence here, while I pray to God to give me strength to keep on pluggin away. Will you hold hands and pray with me?

You will?!! Sing with me! "Living on a prayer! Take my hand, we'll make it I swear!"

My swidget is cut off!

2009-10-08T06:55:00.000-04:00

My Swagbucks swidget is a midget and is cut off on the right side!

2009-10-08T06:52:00.000-04:00

"Yo promiso a suscribir a tu blog cuando lo arreglas"

WTH? How did this get here?

It's tooooo early! Maybe I should go back to bed!

Dlete..delete..delete! Sounding better all the time!

Crud

2009-10-07T17:32:00.000-04:00

Crud.... There are some parts still in Spanish! I may have to scrap it and start over! Yea....that's it! Delete, delete, delete!

I can't read Spanish!

2009-10-04T13:23:00.000-04:00

Well, I am making the leap into blogging! I have no clue what I'm doing, so bear with me! Why is it in Spanish? .............

Today is a lovely fall day! I love the coolness, the falling leaves and even the rain. I do not like the walnuts that are falling from the trees. Lordy, when the wind is strong they are like cannonballs hitting the house! Last year when we had the hurricane winds, the walnuts hit the ground with such force that they flattened out on impact! Unfortunately, my dogs also got pelted by them. Luckyily they were not hurt by them, but they sure came back inside fast! We have squirrels that like to bury them in my flower beds!

Ooty is just a little nuts!

I woke up all puffy today......

Bad blogger!!!

New Year...New Commitment!

This may sound silly....

kitchen stockpile pics

stockpile pics

stockpile pics

Stockpile Photos!

High Five's!!!!

Ever had one of those days?

Kroger trippin'

I **heart** Pubbler!

I have redocorated!

**Deep sigh**

LOOK!! I did it!

Livin on a prayer!!

My swidget is cut off!

Crud

I can't read Spanish!

I heart Pubbler!

Deep sigh