Author: julesfarm@yahoo.com

(Updated July 15th, 2014. I left out a step in the Eggplant Parmesan. It is important to get the extra water out of the Eggplant. I’ve now added that step.)  Farmer’s Market I spent Saturday morning at the Overland Park Farmer’s Market. I grew up in that part of town, and it feels so good to see it thriving like it is. There was a time not too long ago that it had become a quiet little part of town that seemed to have been forgotten. Now there is so much going on there on a Saturday morning! I love it!   I met my mom and we sat outside at one of the coffee shop’s and listened to the live music….   It was the perfect Saturday morning!   Here’s what I bought at the Market! Those Green Beans are CRAZY long! I’ll cook those one night this week […]

These last few months have been the most difficult months so far in my weight loss journey. I have put some of those lost pounds back on. My spirits are good, and I am happy, so that is good, but over the last several months, my weight crept back into the low 160’s…then into the mid 160’s….and now it is into the high 160’s. I’m running and doing Yoga and my body feels strong and good, but I’ve partied a little too frequently these last few months.  Socializing has always seemed to be my biggest obstacle. Several times during my weight loss, I would hit a plateau, and then put limits on my socializing and adult beverages. It helps every time, and I know this.  I don’t even remember when I made this, but I have one copy of it hanging in my exercise room and one hanging in my […]

I ate all sorts of fruit yesterday! It was a good food day and a good exercise day and I only drank one beer! (which seems really difficult lately with all the socializing!) Right now, I’m out the door to Yoga!! Make it a GrEAt DaY!!! Breakfast Fruit, Muffin, Black Coffee 6 PPV   Lunch Chicken, Tzatziki Sauce, Carrots and Cucumbers 5 PPV   Snack’s Un-Pictured Peanut Butter Sandwich and Banana 6 PPV   Fruit 0 PPV   Vanilla Almonds 3 PPV   Dinner Morning Star Spicy Black Bean Burger with Cheese and an Egg and more Fruit! 6 PPV   One Un-Pictured Beer 4 PPV Weight Watcher’s Points Plus I can eat 26 PPV a day. I can earn Activity Points by doing exercise, and eat them if I choose. I have an allowance of 49 extra points that I can dip into throughout the week if I choose. […]

This post has absolutely NOTHING to do with weight loss at all. Well, except for the fact that my dogs anxiety causes ME anxiety, which can cause some emotional eating. But thankfully today…..it did not. I took a spontaneous day trip with an old friend, relying on my awesome dog sitter, Jennifer, to take care of my dogs. She is reliable, always available, and does whatever I need her to do. One afternoon, she unexpectedly came over just to ask if she could walk my dogs because she was bored. Seriously, this girl ROCKS!!! I’m starting to think that most of Tucker’s “accidents” are possibly related to separation anxiety. He seems to be making a mess when I leave the house. He was showing some improvement, so I was starting to feel hopeful. I sent Jennifer a text to see how things were going. She let me know that Tucker […]

Yesterday, I did All the right stuff! I made good food choices, I drank a lot of water, I didn’t get drunk, and at 9:00 pm, I ran 1.25 Miles and I walked 1.5 Miles! Whoo! Whoo!! Today? I got my exercise in early! I walked a mile and I RAN a Mile!! Here are yesterday’s eats! Breakfast Leftover Roasted Potatoes, Egg Whites, Cheese, Salsa Un-pictured Coffee with Frothy Skim Milk 6 PPV   Snack Banana and Grapes 0 PPV   Lunch Leftover Roasted Veggies  2 PPV (Olive Oil)   Snack Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Smoothie 1 Packet WW Vanilla Smoothie Mix, 2 T. PB2 Chocolate, 1 C Water, 1 C Ice, 1 Frozen Banana 3 PPV   Dinner  You can click HERE for the first time I made this salad for only 8 PointsPlus! Last night I added a few things that increased the points. Mike and I really […]

Challenges A few day’s ago, I blogged about what a challenging month it was going to be and my plan to get through it all. I planned to track everything that I ate, and make the best choices possible. Here is EXACTLY what I said that I would do. “My plan to get through the month is to TRACK everything I eat and drink and keep active!” Okay, first of all, I have apparently forgotten to exercise for the last THREE days!! Wednesday, we had a birthday dinner to go to.  I ate before I went and was really glad that I had. Success! Thursday was a wine dinner, and although I ate well, I drank too much wine and lost track of how many points I drank. Uh…not a success. Friday was the 4th, and I went to the lake with friends, and I ate and drank really well. […]

  It’s been a really busy and fun past couple of days with more fun to come today! I’ll keep this short because there’s lots to do this morning! On Thursday, I got to spend the whole day with my “Little Sis”, Samone. Samone and I were just matched up in the Big Brother Big Sister Program at the beginning of May, then she was out of town for the month of June, so I’ve missed her and I was eager to get back to seeing her on a weekly basis. We decided to spend the day together at my house. I had dinner plans that evening, and I was taking an appetizer. She thought it might be fun to make Fruit Kabob’s, so check out the awesome job she did completely by herself! She said she loves to be in the kitchen! We were meant to be together!!   […]

I’m not sure what the high was yesterday, but I’m fairly certain it was only in the 70’s!!! The predicted high today? 82! I can’t really think of better outdoor walking weather! Can you? I got in my ONE mile run and I took Tucker for two “Poop” walks yesterday. That’s what I’m calling our walks now. “Poop” walks. One walk was right at a mile, and walk number two was a mile and a half. Sometimes these walks only take about 10 minutes to be “productive”, and sometimes they are more like 20 minutes. It’s really hard to say if we’re making any progress on the house training. His eating schedule and his bathroom schedule are making no sense at all to me. At least with the new gate, his “in house pooping” is confined to one room that has NO carpet. That dog really is darned lucky he’s 95% […]

Yoga and a Run It felt great to get in a good exercise day! Of the Yoga classes that I have been to in the last several weeks, this particular Tuesday class is my favorite so far! I ran my mile for the first time in over two weeks. I was hoping to get it done in less than 12 minutes. I made it. Barely. 11:39. July Goals I woke up this morning excited to start a new month. Last month was a disaster as far as bad luck goes. This month will surely be better.  Weight Update I got to 154 lbs for the very first time back in October, then I just freaked out and put on 10 pounds over the holiday’s and vacations. It’s still there. I got really down on myself and had lot’s of feelings of “failing”. I thought a lot about….”Why wasn’t I good […]

June Goals Wait. June is over? Can you believe 2014 is already HALF over? Geeezzzz. For my June Goals, I decided to try two new produce items each week, and run one mile everyday.  New Produce Items Parsnips….While boiling them for Whipped Parsnips, I thought they smelled disgusting, so I threw them out. Radicchio….I roasted it with Goat Cheese. Looked and smelled delicious. Tasted gross, so I threw it out. Cilantro…..Click HERE for the Sweet Potato Quinoa Cake recipe! These were SO GOOD!!   Ancho Chiles….and used them for THIS Copy Cat Chipotle Chicken recipe! Yummy!   Kohlrabi…..I ate it raw and sliced it thin with apple slices and Cara Cara Orange Vanilla White Balsamic Vinegar. I liked it!   Artichoke….I steamed it and it did NOT turn out well. I think it may have been bad? I pledge to try that again….one day. Mango….I can NEVER seem to pick out […]