Just another monday

So over the holiday it was a bit hard for me. I went to my meeting this morning and I had gain .2 lb. Ok so it's not really all that much but I was hoping to at least maintain. The women who weighed me said that I did really excellent considering the holiday and everything and told me that .2 lb is like a glass of water. I guess if I took off all my clothes I would have weighed less, but that kinda feels like cheating. And I don't think that the people there would really appreciate it all that much.

Anyways, I have been trying some new recipes as you know, and tonight I'm going to try a chicken burrito recipe that I'm pretty excited about. I made a breakfast burrito recipe that had WAY too much cilantro. I also am excited to try flank steak with a corn avocado salad, except I probably won't be using as much lime as it calls for (the bok choy disaster is still haunting me.)

So I plan to do a lot better this week and get moving more. I went to the gym once last week. My goal is to go 3 times this week.

Lots of encouragement is needed! So please post a comment and help me on my way to a better healthier me!

recipes

Ok so I made a couple of the weight watchers recipes. Needless to say the one that called for the bok choy was disgusting. It was a kind of asian salad and the dressing had way to much lime in it. We did make some moo shu pork wraps and they were super good. Here is the recipe:

4 Tbs reduced sodium soy sauce
1 Tbs cornstarch
1/2 lb pork tenderloin cut into thin 1 inch strips
3 large egg whites, lightly beaten
2 garlic cloves
1 Tbs minced peeled fresh ginger
5 c shredded Napa cabbage
1 c sliced white mushrooms
5 scallions, sliced
1 tsp Asian (dark) sesame oil
4 whole wheat tortillas, warmed

1. Whisk 2 Tbs of soy sauce and cornstarch in small bowl until blended; add pork and toss to coat.
2. Spray large deep nonstick skillet or wok with nonstick spray and set over medium heat until a drop of water sizzles on it. Add egg whites and stir fry until firm, about 2 minutes. Transfer to plate.
3. Spray same pan with nonstick spray and increase heat to medium-high. Add pork; stir-fry until no longer pink about 2 mins. Add garlic and ginger; stir-fry 1 min. Add cabbage, mushrooms, and scallions; stir fry until cabbage starts to wilt, about 3 minutes. Add egg, remaining 2 Tbs of soy sauce, and oil and stir fry until heated through, about 1 min.
4. Spoon about 1 c of pork mixture onto each tortilla and roll up to enclose filling.

4 Servings

Per serving: 219 cal, 5g fat, 1g sat fat, 0g trans fat, 24mg chol, 849mg sod, 26g carb, 5g fiber, 20g prot, 125mg calc.

What is bok choy?

This week has been very busy so far. I started weight watchers this week, and I'm actually attending the meetings. So on Monday, I went to the meeting and got all of the materials I needed, including some recepie books. So I was looking at the recepie books and there are some interesting foods that they want you to cook with. So I was at the grocery store and I was wandering around the produce section, looking for a certain vegetable called bok choy. I could not find this thing anywhere. I went up to the man who was stacking vegetables, and asked if they had any bok choy. He kindly pointed it out, and gave me a funny look, because it happened to be directly in front of me. I didn't know what bok choy looks like! Other items on the list included shallots and scallions. I didn't know what either were (I still don't know what scallions are) and luckily I happen to stumble upon the shallots. And, after all that I forgot to get soy sauce. Anyways, I am interested to see how these recipes turn out.

Life has been going ok for us so far. We are struggling a little bit, but only emotionally for the concerns we have for many of our family members. Every day I feel so blessed to have good people surrounding me and supporting me in the tinest things- like Christmas shopping for four hours (thanks mom), just so that I may have a little comfort.

I feel like I lack a little of the Christmas spirit this season, and I can't quite put my finger on why that is. Last year I was very excited for Christmas to come. I think that I am really a little upset that there is no snow so it doesn't really feel like Christmas yet.

Phoebe is doing really great. She is very healthy. She is in the 10 % for her weight and the 50 % for her height. Despite her small frame, she is very energetic and happy. Here is a picture of her playing in the bath.

She loves the bath and the shower. She tries to reach out and grab the water when she is in the shower. She likes to run away when you try to put on a diaper or clothes on her, and then she looks back to see if you will chase her. She can clap her hands and recognizes the sound of an applause. She is working on giving high fives and I think that I will try to teach her how to wave next. She is just now learning how to snuggle with us. She is starting to understand the word no and a sterner tonality of voice. Avery and Phoebe often feed off of each other. One laughs and the other laughs. It's funny to watch them together.

Pain in the Neck

So I went to the Dr to get my ears checked out to make sure that I could still hear ok, and the Dr tells me that I have bumps in my throat. He then proceeds to tell me that it's my thyroid gland that is swollen. I have to get an ultrasound on Monday to determine whether there is anything abnormal happening.

I have been looking on the internet about thyroid...and it's probably just adding to my paranoia... and I have several of the symptoms, but what worries me the most is that I will have an abnormaly in my throat other then the thyroid. I'm always thinking about the worst case scenerio. I guess if worst comes to worst I will have thyroid cancer and I will die. Ok that is pretty bad. But if best comes to best...I will just have low thyroid and have to take a pill every day. It worries me that I have problems with it already because it's not commenly found in people my age according to the research. It's mostly found in people older then 30 or 40 years old.

So the swelling in my neck is big enough that it's like I have a little friend sticking out. With the help of a friend at school we have decided to call my lumps Fred. Fred hurts a little, now that I'm more aware of him, but I probably wouldn't have thought twice before we found him. It just looks so gross...like I need something that makes my neck look fat...ha! Well hopefully it will all be resolved soon!

crawling?

So I guess that Phoebe did a little army crawl thing. I was gone so I didn't see it; but Mack said that she did it for like an hour, he called me all excited and told me exactly how she was doing it. I can't believe how much she is growing up. It's going by so fast.

Friends

So I'm not crazy. I really just like the show Friends. So anyways at school on Saturday I kept saying "Have you seen that Friends episode when...." and they would laugh after I told them. So everyone else thinks it's really funny too. OK so you don't have to agree with me. But, I will always keep watching it...just like I am now!