Twilight Zone Thursday

{one}: I had the weirdest dream this morning. Quite frankly, I've had A LOT of weird dreams lately, but this one was particularly vivid and odd.  I dreamt that I was speaking to students at the public high school in the small town in western Massachusetts that I grew up in. I was an adult, yet the kids I'd grown up with were high school age. I kept looking out in the audience and trying to recognize my childhood friends. My speech topic? Living in the "big city." I need to employ a full-time dream analyst.

{two}: Apologies to those on Facebook who've already seen this, but since my parents aren't on Facebook, I have to re-post here.

I had the day off and had taken my stepdaughter, G. to a doctor's appointment this morning. I came home, ate lunch, and then decided I'd go out to do some errands. I stopped at the mailbox on my way out and looked down to see this:

(And no, I'm not talking about the "past its prime" pedicure with Halloween-ish color.)

I put mismatched shoes on. Thank GOD I actually looked down and saw this before taking off to do my errands. As my Mom says, "my elevator was full" and I had a million things running through my mind when I stuck my feet in my closet to put on shoes. It didn't even cross my mind that they might not match.

{three}: Changing directions, I had a "good" Twilight Zone experience in HomeGoods. It's weird how I can just walk in and have a few different things in mind that I'm looking for and BAM! One is just sitting there on the shelf smack dab in front of me. (And it's cheap, too...can't get much better than that.) We have a ladder shelf in our living room that I've been trying to find something to go on the bottom for quite a while. Sage green/maroon are the main colors in the living room and so to find something that I think matches perfectly was truly Rod Sterling-esque. (Have I dated myself by dropping that name?)

It's a bad photo...light-wise and wires hanging in the back.

Oh, and now that I've taken the photo, all I keep thinking of when I see it is a game piece from Sorry. Yeah, this might be going back.... ::sigh::

{four}: Driving along the highway, minding my own business and I see this in front of me. Is this not irony at it's finest????

Another bad photo (what do you expect, since I shouldn't have been using my phone anyways while speeding along Route 495?)

In case you can't see it, let me paint the picture for you.

A flat bed tow truck is towing a green Lamborghini. OK, that in and of itself isn't that ironic.

License plate? PRENUP

I'm thinking the prenup wasn't necessary based on the the fact the Lamborghini is being towed away to its death. (OK, I made up the last part of that statement. I don't really know why it was being towed. It just made the story better.)

Barbeque Meatloaf

Meatloaf. (Not the singer.)

When I think of meatloaf the food, I think of cold weather comfort food, ketchup, and mashed potatoes.

I made some Cheesy Meat Loaf Minis last year from Cooking Light and I've been looking for another meatloaf recipe to try.

I found one!

Barbecue Meat Loaf

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds ground beef, extra lean (raw)

1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup barbecue sauce, divided (I used Stubbs)
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 large egg whites
Cooking spray

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine the beef, breadcrumbs, and onion, 1 tablespoon barbecue sauce, and remaining ingredients except cooking spray in a large bowl.

 Shape meat mixture into a 9 x 5-inch loaf on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Spread remaining barbecue sauce over top of meat loaf. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a thermometer registers 160°. Let stand 10 minutes. Cut loaf into 12 slices.

The barbecue flavor is not overwhelming and we ended up using barbecue sauce on the side for dipping (similar to how one might dip in ketchup.)

It tasted good. The only aesthetic issue was that the barbecue sauce pooled up on top of the meatloaf and left a greasy sheen on top of the loaf. Perhaps next time I won't put it on top for the whole hour -- maybe just for 15-20 minutes.

I forgot to take a photo until we'd already cut into it, so forgive that and the fact that it's on a crappy old Corelle dish.  And the fact that it's a crappy photo altogether. There's a much better photo at the link to the recipe!

Farewell Artwell

Today a gentle and kind soul traveled over the Rainbow Bridge.

Art
Artie
Arturo
Arthur McFarter

And the list goes on.

Artie was my parents' third retired racer greyhound. (Sophie & Zeke preceded him over the Rainbow Bridge.) I didn't have the connection to him that I had to Sophie & Zeke, but John was lucky enough to travel across country with him and his brother Ray.

My parents didn't have him long, but loved him, cuddled him, and gave him a wonderful life. He developed a sarcoma and it caused him to limp. My mother found a tumor on his face only days ago. Not wanting him to suffer, my parents gave him his freedom and let him run free, over the Rainbow Bridge, to meet with Sophie, Zeke, our Max, and the dogs from my childhood, Zack & Ziggy.

We love you Art and we'll miss you. <3


Here are some pictures of Art & his brother from another mother, Ray. They were taken at the Stay Pet Hotel, where they'd go to stay when my parents were out of town. I'm sure that Art lived some of his best moments there.

October 2011: Art & Ray are new siblings and getting to know one another.

photo credit:

Stay Pet Hotel on Facebook

April 2012: Six months later and "fast" friends.

photo credit:

Stay Pet Hotel on Facebook

These Feet Were Made For Jogging

OK...I'm not sure they were "made" for jogging, but this past weekend, I proved that they CAN jog an entire 5K! Completing the Couch to 5K program is on my 40 Before 41 list and I DID IT!!!

Sorry for shouting, but I'm still somewhat in awe of the fact that I followed through on something that took about 10 weeks and involved exercise, of which I've never been fond.

The excitement started Friday night when I went and picked up my number (or "bib" as the experienced runners call it) and my complimentary t-shirt.

This pick-up immediately presented two questions:

1. Where do I pin my bib?
2. Do I wear the shirt to the race?

Luckily, I have lots of friends on Facebook who know what they're doing in the running world and they instructed me on proper pinning of the bib and told me I didn't need to wear my complimentary shirt.

After my mind was at ease about these details, I allowed myself to "carb up" by having takeout pizza. Now, I'm not really sure that this is what runners have in order to "carb up" (I'm thinking it's more likes pasta), but being on Weight Watchers, I thought I deserved something a little more exciting thans spaghetti. So, I had two slices of a small veggie pizza, watched some TV, figured out what time I needed to wake up the next morning to be on time, decided to wear my old glasses since I was used to running in them, and then called it a night.

I had a good night's sleep, woke up bright eyed at 7:30, to have John tell me it'd been raining for about an hour.

Ugh.

My mood was immediately dampened. (Pun intended.)

John asked me if the 5K would still happen even if it was raining.

Guess what?

I didn't know.

I went online to try to find out and found on an entry form that it was "rain or shine."

After reading that it was full speed ahead. There was no stopping me now.

I got up, showered, and had a good breakfast.

We arrived at the race location about 1 hour before the start time. I'm sure experienced runners don't arrive that early (which was evident by the small number of parked cars), but I'm glad I did so I could get the lay of the land.

I picked up two more safety pins so that I could complete the bib pinning, loaded up with sunscreen (unnecessary) and bug spray (necessary.)

Even though I've been losing weight (kudos to Weight Watchers!), I'm still not thrilled about photos of me, but I immediately asked John to take a photo of me "pre-race."

Here I am! Butterflies in my stomach!!! After the photo, I headed to the porta-potty. You're thinking no big deal, why is she telling me this? Um, I HATE going to the bathroom in public places. It's sort of a weird phobia I have. However, I knew I had to before the race. (TMI? Sorry.)

Anywho, I went (luckily before the line formed), saw some co-workers, and after feeling slightly nauseous, FINALLY lined up. The guy who was on the bullhorn said that the slower runners should go to the back of the pack. I was in the middle of the pack and I figured that would be OK. Pfft...not.

The gun went off and it all started.

Immediately we had to go up a hill.

Immediately I was passed by about 90% of the other runners.

I just kept thinking, "Try not to care. You're doing this and it doesn't matter how slow you go."

My main goal was to jog/run the entire 5K. I saw some people walking ahead of me, but I wanted to jog/run and I would be happy...regardless of whether I came in last or not.

The 5K was a trail run and I tried to take in the scenery around me, as it was pleasant weather and the rain had stopped. I was also trying to be cognizant of branches, mud, cows, etc.., and I'm not known for my balance and both John and I talked about this ahead of time.

I came to the point where the 5K runners diverged from the 10K runners (crazy), grabbed a water at the water stop, and soaked in the accolades thrown at me by those stationed along the route. One guy said to me, "Hey...you're the first runner to arrive for the 10K!" I told myself (and him) that this was my first 5K and that I was happy with what I was doing.

I was then on the home stretch and could see the finish line. John captured this one of me as I was almost there.

People were along the fence clapping, giving me "way to go's", and the announcer was cheering me on. Best of all? I saw John smiling. I ran all the way through the finish line, came back, and of course said, "I think I'm last." (Regardless of all of my mental toughness earlier in the race.)

John insisted I wasn't last (I really thought he was just humoring me) and we headed back to the car.

I felt great. My legs and back were a little sore, but for having run 36 minutes (the longest I've ever run), I was flying high!

Later on that day, the times were posted and I saw indeed that I wasn't last (although close to last).

Reflecting on the whole experience, it wouldn't have mattered if I WAS last. I did it. A 40 year old woman who NEVER did any type of exercise, ran three times per week for 10ish weeks and ran a 5K. So, if you're thinking you can't do it -- you can.

Thanks to everyone who supported me, especially my amazing husband John. He started out running with me in the beginning until he injured his knee. Even after that, he came to the track and walked. He was there to support me the whole way and calmed my nerves before the "real deal." Thanks, Dear.

I can now cross another thing off of my 40 Before 41 list -- wahoo!!!!

Beauty Is In the Eyes of the Beholder

I realized tonight that I've worn glasses for 18 years.

Wow.

They're such a part of my being that I hardly even notice them anymore. When I look in the mirror, they're just part of my face...they blend in.

They blend in...until you get new frames...especially if you haven't had new ones in six or so years.

The photo doesn't really do them justice...they're "purple/aubergine"...of course. I like them...they're very light. I just have to get used to the semi-rimless.

photo credit

For the first time in the 18 years that I've worn glasses, I finally splurged and got a pair of Rx sunglasses. I wore them today and can already tell that they're well worth it. I've never been a fan of sunglasses, but I'm guessing that's because I wore cheapy ones that were not Rx.

It's kind of a problem when you can't see out of sunglasses. (I tried wearing my contacts under them, but I found that I felt dizzy. Weird.)

Here they are!

photo credit

Oh, and one last thing? Glasses are NOT cheap. Those of you who wear glasses know what I mean. Let's hope these last me a while!!!



4.6 On the [Richter] Scale

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Events with magnitudes greater than about 4.6 are strong enough to be recorded by a seismograph anywhere in the world, so long as its sensors are not located in the earthquake's shadow. (Wikipedia)

A generic bathroom scale was used instead of a seismograph and no sensors were in my shadow.

First week on Weight Watchers -- I lost 4.6lbs.

I am beyond happy with this.

I have no expectations that will I will lose this much/more/less over the next week or beyond.

I am living in the moment and allowing myself to be proud of my accomplishment, while trying not to let this small victory adjust my determined mindset.

OK...that was all a little hokey. Carry on -- just wanted to share my success.





WW Nachos Grandes

Last night we went to dinner at Chili's. I poured over the nutritional information for various items on the menu prior to going and calculated Weight Watchers PointsPlus for each. It amazes me that what I would've ordered had I not be on Weight Watchers was so.many.points. (High 20's/low 30's.) Luckily, they have a "Lighter Choice" section and I was able to get a grilled chicken sandwich on a whole wheat bun with no fat honey mustard dressing with lettuce and tomato and a side of broccoli. That cost me 15 points, which isn't too too bad for eating out.

Anywho, John & G. ordered chips & salsa for an appetizer (of which I had one small chip with a smidge of salsa), which got me wanting nachos or something of that ilk. As luck would have it, I had gotten this cookbook out of the library earlier yesterday.

photo credit

Even luckier was the fact that on page 70, there was a recipe for Nachos Grandes. The photo on the opposite page looked enticing, so I decided to give it a whirl.

It was pretty darn good. When I told John I was making it and asked if he wanted any, he said OK until I told him I was making it with ground turkey. That OK turned into a negatory. However, once they came out of the oven, he tried them and thought they were pretty good. Go figure!

The only issue is that it serves 12 and 1/12 is 3 pts. As this was going to be a light dinner for me, I basically let myself have a 1/4 of it for 9 pts.

Nachos Grandes

serves 12

1 tsp. canola oil

1/4 lb. ground skinless turkey breast

1 c. canned red kidney beans, rinsed & drained

1 sm. onion, finely chopped

1 (14 oz) can diced green tomatoes with green chiles, drained (I couldn't find green tomatoes with chiles, so I bought a can of red tomatoes with chiles and added in some green tomato salsa.)

2 tsp. Mexican or taco seasoning

6 oz. reduced-fat restaurant-style tortilla chips

3/4 c. shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese

12 pitted black olives (sliced) (I skipped these -- HATE black olives!)

1/4 c. sliced pickled jalapeno peppers (drained)

1/2 c. fat-free sour cream

1. Preheat oven to 425F. Spray baking sheet with nonstick spray.

2. Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add turkey, red kidney beans, and onion; cook, breaking turkey apart with wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 3 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and Mexican seasoning; cook until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Keep warm.

3. Place tortilla chips on prepared baking sheet in single layer. Top evenly with turkey mixture; sprinkle evenly with Cheddar, olives, and jalapenos. Bake until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes. Pile nachos on serving platter. Serve with sour cream.



photo credit

Enjoy!