Follow Up on "Fry Day" and "Star Wars Cookie Cutter" Posts

"Cookie Cutter and Pancake Mold" update
The pancake and cookie cutter molds that I ordered from Williams-Sonoma came in the mail last week.  Since my youngest was at VBS I had to wait until he came back to try out the pancake molds.

My griddle isn't completely flat so the batter is leaking out.

These pancakes were destroyed by the Empire.  (Really I didn't use enough Pam spray.)

Ummm...these look nothing like the pictures on the package.

Finally, these look better! I switched to a single frying pan and blasted the molds with cooking spray.

The secret is to cook at a low temperature, generously spray the molds with Pam, and make sure your griddle or pan is even.


"Fry Day" post update
I did go back to Hobby Lobby and the sale on summer stuff was 80% off.  The red coffee cup planter was gone but there was still a blue one left.  I got it for $4.00. I just love a good deal!

I Need Inspiration

I've been working on 2 scrap book pages for about 3 days now. No, "working" isn't the correct term.  I've been brooding over these 2 pages. I have mental block on how to finish these pages. Nothing looks right. I keep adding and it seems the more I add the worse it looks. Worst of all, I've glued some stuff together so there's no going back. I went online looking for inspiration and I saw beautiful cards and pages and instead of inspiration I only feel more frustrated and disappointed in my lack of talent. Oh, comparison you are an ugly thing indeed!

Here's beautiful works of art by the Graphic 45 design team. They have pages and pages of beautiful work in their gallery. I can only pray and hope to be able to craft like this someday.

1 Low Carb Recipe, 20 Dessert Recipes, 1 Hcg recipe

Being the dedicated dieter that I am I spent an hour looking at Martha Stewart Cookies of the Week recipes going all the way back to February.  I printed about 20 recipes and then I realized that I was sabotaging myself.  So I searched for a low carb recipe and found one that might be decent - Coconut-Lime Mousse - from Atkins website. I am itching to bake something but I cannot break this diet. I have worked so hard just to lose 8 lbs.  However, next Friday I do get to bake sugar cookies for my niece's Alice In Wonderland themed b-day party.  I am going to make "Eat Me" cookies in the shape of mushrooms. That is if I can find a mushroom cookie cutter.  I was telling my sisters and nieces what I planned and they asked why mushrooms.  If you recall in the book Alice nibbles one side of a mushroom to grow and the other side to shrink.  One of my nieces said "She was getting shroomed." Anyway, I just hope I can prevent myself from popping those into my mouth...the cookies...not the shrooms.

I lost another pound.  Last night I made a dinner which was actually enjoyable. I found out that some people actually use virgin coconut oil while on the Hcg diet. For some people that causes a stall in weight loss and for the lucky ones they have no problem.  I decided to risk it and use a tablespoon of oil.  But it must be organic virgin coconut oil.  I found mine at Kroger in their health food section.

Recipes for my dish and coconut lime mousse follows.  All the cookie recipes are at www.marthastewart.com.

I don't have a name for the dish so I'll just call it Beef Stew.

1 pound Laura's Lean Stew Beef
1/2 large onion chopped
2 garlic cloves sliced (I like garlic 1 garlic clove is sufficient)
3/4 cup water
2 tablespoons organic virgin coconut oil.

Brown the meat with the onions and garlic in a non-stick pan with the water and oil.

When meat is almost fully brown season with:
1-2 tsp Braggs Liquid Amino
1 tablespoon Teriyaki sauce (not approved so only 1 tblsp)
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp ginger

A couple of shakes of:
Lawry's seasoned salt
garlic salt
garlic pepper
salt
steak dust

Add:
1/2 cup cooked peas (this is definitely not on the approved list. May want to add sliced celery instead.)

I'm giving approximations on measurements because I don't measure I just eyeball ingredients and taste the dish and add accordingly to personal taste.

This needs to simmer for at least 20 minutes because stew meat is tough.

===========================================================
Here's the low carb recipe for Coconut-Lime Mousse.  I haven't actually tried this yet because I have not officially gone into the maintenance phase.  But I assume anything with cream and cheese is going to taste marvelous after doing Hcg for 3 weeks.

Ingredients:

2 ounces cream cheese 4 packets granular sugar substitute (sucralose) ¼ cup fresh lime juice 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions:

1. Using an electric mixer, beat together 2 oz soft cream cheese and 4 packets of sweetener until smooth.
2. Slowly add 1/4 cup lime juice, beating until creamy.
3. Beat in 1 tsp coconut extract (use instead of vanilla if available for more coconut flavor) and 1 cup heavy cream until fluffy.
4. Place in four bowls, sprinkle with unsweetened coconut flakes (optional, don't foget to add in extra NC carbs) and refridgerate until serving. 

Nutritional Information

Per Serving:

Net Carbs: 4.6 grams

Fiber: 0.0 grams

Protein: 2.0 grams

Fat: 27.0 grams

Calories: 266

Recipe Information:

Makes: 4 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Categories:  Desserts, Vegetarian, Phase Two, Phase Three, Phase Four.

Dillard's Sale - An Additional 40% Off Clearance Items

http://www.dillards.com/info/SpotlightServlet?code=c2379&campaign=eml_072711_0600402_ClearNCHD2379unopen&nlid=52082.2046919.0.1.0.6164456&eid=waltonrhonda@sbcglobal.net

Yesterday I went shopping at several stores with my with my oldest son for school clothes while my youngest is away at church camp.  Dillard's was one of the stores we shopped. They were having an add'l 40% off for card members only so I wasn't able to get the good deal.

Today I woke up to an email from Dillard's stating the sale is for everyone now.  Yep, Murphy's Law strikes again.

The link above is for participating Dillard's stores.

Sorry Aslan, I Guess It Was Too Soon

After seeing my 10-year old son's not-so-wonderful results on his reading TAKS Test  I decided that this summer we would read "The Chronicles of Narnia" together. I thought it would be fun and we would experience the captivating and magical stories together.  Instead he found it to be a tedious task that he dreaded everyday. I can't blame him though reading is not pleasurable for him, but rather work.

In addition to his autism/Asperger diagnosis last May, in November he was also diagnosed with accommodative infacility (focusing), binocular vision disorder (teaming), and visual spatial disorientation (depth perception & distances).  In other words, he has difficulty in reading, focusing, comprehension, and seeing objects coming towards him. It sure does explain why he never saw the baseball coming straight at him and got knocked out.

When the doctor was explaining what was wrong with my son's eyes I was just thinking to myself "Oh Lord, just something else for him to overcome. Really!? Doesn't he already deal with enough?" I'm really disappointed that he has difficulty reading. It's a real downer because I love books and I know that he would love reading if he could really grasp the stories. But I'm told he is so busy trying to focus on the letters that comprehension does not come as quickly.  Well, you know how Asians tend to push their children through hard tasks? (Watch or read "The Joy Luck Club" and you will understand.) Being Asian, I thought I could gently push him to read everyday during the summer and it would train his eyes and a miracle would happen and all would be well.

Thus far we have read "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe" and "The Magician's Nephew." The later was difficult for him. I would ask him questions after every chapter and he could not answer some of the questions. So I would find which page the answer was on and tell him to read it again until he found the answer.  Okay, so I forgot that this was supposed to be enjoyable. Later as I was discussing this problem with a physical therapist she said the book is too hard for him because of his eye problems and I have to scale back. She suggested Magic Tree House books and some others. When she said this I knew in my heart that I did push my son too hard.  I have to remember that he is special needs.  I easily forget this because he's so dang smart in math and other areas and does stuff on the computer that I don't know how to do.

So I guess we have to say good bye to Aslan and go back home through the wardrobe and say "Hello" to the world of Judy Blume or Magic Tree House. I bought my son "Tales of 4th Grade Nothing" which I remember being a great book.

Side Note:  there have been some revisions in the Narnia series since I read the book 20-something years ago.  Just small changes like words here and there and changing the wolf's name Fenris Ulf to Maugrim.  But the biggest change is that "The Magician's Nephew" is now book #1.  When I read the series it was book #6. I guess someone realized establishing Narnia should be first and not next to the last book.

Vacation for Me and My Son

My 10-year old son is away until Friday attending vacation bible school at my brother's church. My brother is an amazing youth pastor of a church in Grapevine. Even though he and his wife are in charge of hundreds of kids and their activities for an entire week they still offered to take my son so he can attend with his cousins. I don't think I could be that generous. I think I would be too frantic and "raven" mad to even consider taking one more kid aboard. But that's why they're leaders at church and I'm not.

I am really grateful to my brother and sister-in-law for inviting my son. I already got some feedback that he's having a blast. I love that he's learning about Jesus and having a great time! The day before our son left he told my husband, "Tomorrow I'm going to begin to party!" So I guess he really meant it.  My partying was staying up until 4am reading "The Help" because I knew I didn't have to be awake for him the next day.

As much as I love my child and miss him I feel like I'm on a vacation too. I feel like this because I don't have to do eye and physical therapy every day this week. His therapy doesn't take a long time but we have to fit it in the day and there's attitudes and schedules to deal with. Another reason I feel like I'm getting a break is because my son usually hogs the computer playing a game called Gary's Mod. Normally we wouldn't let him play so long on the computer but he has found friends online. They talk while they play and do funny stuff. I think it's wonderful that my son is carrying conversations with other boys. I desperately want him to learn how to have deep meaningful conversations with other kids. One of the traits of autism/Asperger is not having good communication skills. Many autistic kids are able to have a good conversation, but it depends on the subject.  If it's something they like they can talk for a long time.  If it's a subject that doesn't interest them they usually don't respond and the conversation may be a very dry and short.  My son can have mediocre conversations with his classmates, but not what I would consider friendship bonding. He's able to talk to his online friends for hours because they are all obsessed with the same game. But I believe he's developing some skills and that's why he gets to be on the computer for hours.  Because he and my other son are on the computer during the day I wait until midnight to get on the computer, but today I didn't have to wait which makes me feel a sense of freedom.

While I have some free time I plan on straightening my storage room and my craft area this week.  But I have a feeling I may be spending a lot of time on the computer instead.

Day 21 of Hcg Diet

Starting tomorrow I will no longer be taking my Hcg drops.
For the next 3 days I have to maintain the 500 calories a day without the drops.
I'm a little afraid that I won't be able to do it because I can tell the drops do stave off some hunger. After the 3 days I will go into phase 3 of the diet which is called Maintenance.  My calories can go up to 1500/day and I can have half-n-half in my coffee again, slather on regular lotion, and use oil in cooking. Maintenance lasts for 3 weeks and it is basically the low carb diet.  I know I can do that.  After maintenance I can slowly introduce carbs back into my diet.

I actually gained weight a couple of days ago but I lost it again so that maintains my weight loss at 7-8 pounds.  I wish it were more but I have to be happy I lost weight at all.

Spell Check Needs to be Updated

You know what drives me mad?

Even though autism is becoming more commonplace the stupid spellcheck in Microsoft Word does not have the word "Asperger" in its dictionary.  The diagnosis term was standardized in 1994 so they've had plenty of time to add it to the dictionary. I know I can manually add it to the dictionary so I don't get the red squiggly line, but I am waiting to see if Microsoft will actually add it to their dictionary.  Also, Tourette's is not in their dictionary.  I know spell check does not check for name spelling but these are both names and medical terminologies.

I know this is a personal rant and it only bothers me but I still had to post it.

From Autism Speaks site:
Today, it is estimated that one in every 110 children is diagnosed with autism, making it more common than childhood cancer, juvenile diabetes and pediatric AIDS combined. 

Autism is a general term used to describe a group of complex developmental brain disorders known as Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD). The other pervasive developmental disorders are PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder – Not Otherwise Specified), Asperger Syndrome, Rett Syndrome and Childhood Disintegrative Disorder. Many parents and professionals refer to this group as Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Join the Clubs at Quiznos, Godiva, Schlotzsky's, Barnes & Noble

All clubs are free except for Barnes and Noble.

Go to www.quiznos.com
Click on Q Club
Sign up and you will be able to print 4 coupons.
1) Free Sub
2) Free cookie or chip
3) 2 meals for $9.99
4) $1 or $2 off subs
Coupons expire 8/14/11
I do not know if you will still receive coupons when you join after that date.

www.Godiva.com
Click on Rewards Club
Every month you will get a freebie or coupon or savings of some sort.
The closest Godiva store to me is about 30 miles away but a girl can hope that one day to be in the store with a good coupon.


http://www.schlotzskys.com/cms/fun
Under the Fun tab
Join the Bun & Fun eclub
You will get savings and specials notifications.
This year I actually got a free sandwich for my birthday.


If you haven't heard by now all Borders stores are closing.  I would have told you that the $20 membership is worth it because every month they give 30-40% coupons plus you get extra 10% discount as a member.  You can still sign up for free at their site but I don't know if they will be issuing coupons anymore since markdowns will be happening soon.
So all we have left is Barnes and Noble and their coupons are few and far between. However, you do get 10% off at their Starbucks bar. (But their cups are slightly smaller than regular Starbucks.) So if you drink a lot of coffee the $20 membership might be worth it to you. This past Christmas they sent a great coupon for a BOGO on boxed Godiva chocolate (any size).  That paid for my membership because I got an $18 box for free.

Here's a pic of the "same" size at B&N and Starbucks.  B&N is slightly smaller.  However, I took this picture a year ago.  The way businesses run to get the bottom dollar, Starbucks has probably reduced the size of their cups as well.  I guess I'll have to buy coffee at both places to see if this still holds true.

My Omentum Has Lost Momentum, Day 17 of Hcg Diet

I have lost 6 or 7 pounds on the Hcg diet. Not quite sure as the scale won't make up its mind. It's not an astounding number and definitely not the number I had in my head before I started. But I am pleased that my clothes are not so tight anymore.  My panty lines aren't as visible, my fat rolls are smaller, and I don't look 4 months preggers.

I have 4 more days of eating 500 calories a day.  I might continue a couple extra days if I still have drops left after the 21 days but I don't know if I have the willpower. I find myself daydreaming of just actually cooking with oil. I mean seriously daydreaming of what most people take for granted.  I cook like Julia Childs - everything is better with oil, butter or cream.  

"Life itself is the proper binge." 

I have found that chicken w/o any butter or oil is the most difficult meat to eat no matter how much salt is added. The chili is good and I might eat that on any normal day.  Shrimp with spinach and crab meat are the next best things. I could eat fruit all day, but that's not how the diet works. The saving grace on this diet are the 2 Melba toast crackers I can have each day. Most of the recipes are bland and similar to cardboard (not rice cakes - I would be happy if I could eat rice cakes on this diet). So when my friend told me she had to force herself to eat on this diet because the drops made her feel full I disagree with her. My take is that I have to force myself to eat on this diet because you either get tired of eating the same things or everything is awful.

Also, my hair has started to fall out in small clumps while I shower and I find it hard to concentrate.  I know our brains need things like fish oil to function so it might be the lack of oils causing my brain to slow. My hair fall out could be due to the diet or the oil-free shampoo and conditioner I bought for this diet. I will know when I go on maintenance phase and am actually able to have olive oil again.  If I see positive changes then I'll know it was lack of oil. But if my hair continues to fall out I better do some research.

When I go into phase 3 of diet I also have to start exercising vigorously. I guess it's time to dust off those Tracy Anderson and Pilates DVDs. I exercise with my child for his physical therapy, but his exercises are not rigorous although to him they are hard. I need hypnosis that will make me love exercise.

If you're don't know what an omentum is you probably don't watch Oprah.  I have included a definition below from wisegeek.com.

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-an-omentum.htm
The omentum is probably not a word most are familiar with, until 2007 when Oprah Winfrey invited Dr. Mehmet Oz to discuss the nature of excess body fat. For her television viewers, Dr. Oz introduced the concept of the omentum, even showing both a healthy and an overly fat omentum to people to showcase the biological importance of this organ.
The Oprah segment took a somewhat simplified yet medically correct approach to explaining the omentum. Actually, the omentum is split into two segments called the greater and lesser omentum. The greater omentum is a mass that sits in front of the stomach, and the lesser omentum covers the liver. Both become easy repositories for fat storage. When the greater omentum is especially large, the abdomen may appear stiff and distended bringing to mind the term beer belly.
The omentum easily stores fat, since it is readily accessible to the body. When people lose weight, the omentum shrinks, helping to reduce risks for a number of conditions. Dr. Oz contends that the great concern with a fatty omentum is that it starts inflammatory processes, which can lead to diabetes, high blood pressure, and hardening of the arteries. Essentially the bigger the omentum, the more you are at risk for a variety of difficult illnesses.

Great Couponing, Not Extreme Couponing

Last week Kroger had a Mega Event sale. If you buy 10 qualifying items you get $5 off instantly. On Sunday I went grocery shopping without preparing my coupons. I thought I would fly by the seat of my pants and go through coupons as I shopped. My husband was with me so I felt like I had to hurry.  I always feel like this when the kids or hubby are with me. I like to shop alone so I don't feel like I'm hampering anyone else's time.  With the sale and the little bit of coupons we saved about 40% on total bill.

The next day I sorted coupons to send to our military troops and found about $10 worth of coupons I could have used the day before. That would have made our savings 50%.  Ugh! It made me mad at myself. Never again will I go shopping w/o preparation.

So 2 days later I went back to Kroger armed with coupons and I got all this for $7.81.

On the show "Extreme Couponing" Kroger actually doubles coupons up to $1.00.  They do not give us that fantastic deal in Texas so we have to be satisfied with double up to .50 cents. Therefore, it's not extreme couponing - only great couponing.

However, if Kroger did double up to $1.00 I would have only paid .56 cents on this shopping trip.

One day I will post a picture of my closet which I refer to as the Hoarder's Closet.  I have to put stuff in the closet because my pantry is already fully stocked.  If we didn't need things like veggies and milk my family could probably live off our food supply for 3-4 months. The drawback about couponing is that it is mostly for processed food. I've only seen coupons for grape tomatoes as far as fresh food goes but I get a better deal on tomatoes at Sam's Club.  But I am able to donate more food every year for food drives at school, church, Boy Scouts, and post office thanks to coupons.

Sugar Is My Frenemy?

"Hello, my friend, Sugar," I said out loud as I opened the box of delights from Social Bakehouse Cafe formerly Celebrity Cafe. My husband just laughed at me. We got 5 cupcakes, 3 petit fours, 1 sun-shaped sugar cookie, and 1 chocolate chip cookie.  (Thank you Groupon for the 1/2 price offer because I would never buy that much at full price.)  We got the treats to celebrate my son's 16th birthday. He gets his big chocolate cake later when we celebrate with the rest of the family members. The cream cheese petit fours are the best. The cream cheese does not add a flavor but actually makes the cake more moist and melty. (Yes, I know "melty" is not a word.) Side note on Social Bakehouse: the man in the front house is pretentious and acts as if he's bored to death. Don't let him deter you from trying the petit fours.

I love, love sugary confections!! I get excited looking at the beautiful and delicate creations whether on TV or through display cases. I even take pictures of desserts because they are like tiny pieces of art. Desserts are to be admired and appreciated and most importantly...they are to be eaten.

I've been in a relationship with sugar since I was a toddler. Before I was 3 years I remember chewing on sugar cane that grew in our backyard in the Philippines and eating condensed milk out of the can. I was hardcore. In 3rd grade I was already pouring through Better Homes and Garden looking for cookie recipes and bringing my sweets to school for extra credit. (Yes, there once was a time when this was possible.) When my older sister went to work swirling cotton candy onto cones I remember being jealous of her. Never mind that she was working outside in 100 degree weather. In my teens I worked at a sandwich shoppe and The Cookie Company and eventually became a cake decorator for about 3 years at a grocery store. I had to quit decorating because I developed carpal tunnel. Therefore I went to work in an office believing that my wrists were safer in that environment, but typing didn't do any wonders for my wrists either.

At the age of 23 my relationship with sugar took a turn because my metabolism fell like a landslide.  My dear friend that I had leaned on throughout the years had become my enemy. Sugar decided it wanted to stick with me...literally. It decided my hips and thighs were a good place to stay and solidified back into the form of rock candy (think bumpy texture).

I FELT BETRAYED.

From then on I could no longer freely eat sweets and worst yet, just looking at them made me gain weight. I was in a predicament. How could I being a natural born baker not make desserts? There is a desire in me that I cannot squelch - I like making delectable goodies and I read cookbooks for pleasure.

It seems I am always in a mental battle with the desire to bake and the desire to be thin again. The battle lines have been drawn. Neither force is weak. A truce does not look like it's on the horizon soon. The solution seems easy. Just bake and not eat. But how can I not taste my own product? You know the saying "never trust a skinny chef." (I guess Giada De Laurentiis is the exception to the rule.) Being healthy is important but my spirit is just as important.

So is sugar my friend or my foe?
There's another saying "Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer."

I suppose I will try to find a healthy balance between the two.  Wish me luck!

SALE ALERT: Star Wars Cookie Cutters and Pancake Molds

If you've been eyeballing the Star Wars cookie cutters, pancake molds, and lunch box with sandwich cutters at the Williams Sonoma stores but never bought them because the prices were too steep, well your day has come.  Go to www.williams-sonoma.com they have Star Wars cookie cutters and Pancake Molds off by 50-66% and it's free shipping to boot until July 17th!  Just do a search for Star Wars or look under the sale tab.

I think once these items are gone they are not restocking so do hurry.

I bought these cookie cutters last year. I want to show you that the impression stays after baking so it's easier to decorate.

Pixie Dust and Fairy Cards

Here's a picture of a fairy card and "dust" I made for my nieces in New York.
The fairy is from Graphic 45 Spring Collection and the butterfly border is from K's Company.
The glitter on the fairy wings and border are not really a thick glitter but rather a transparent glitter from Stickles. Color is Crystal. The picture just looks like I went crazy with glitter.

Shimmer Powder

The pixie dust is actually a shimmer stick that I got it in a set. I really wanted to use old world colors, but I could not find ribbons that worked together from my 2 boxes of ribbons.  I decided to go with Barbie colors instead because this is for young girls and girls love pink.  

I accidentally started writing in cursive and then realized that print would be better.

Although my nieces are very young they are also child prodigys so I wasn't sure how to go about writing my letter. Would they see through my make believe letter?  I had a long story in mind but I decided to shorten it so it would fit on the card.  I sewed bells on the ends of the ribbon so when they carry the bottle and the bells jingle it will feel more magical.

I got an email from my cousin (their mother) telling me the girls love it and the girls really do believe that I gathered fairy dust for them.

And then a couple of days later...
I received a video message from my niece asking why she's not flying from the pixie dust.
Oh dear, what to say?  I finally thought of a response:

 Riley, I think you have to actually get dusted by a pixie herself to fly. I tried dusting myself too and I didn't fly. I really hoped I would though. Also, the dust I gathered might have come from garden fairies and their job is to help flowers and plants grow.


Here are some other cards I have made. I just started scrapping in October of 2010 so I'm not to the level of those who are published. But I am definitely inspired to do better. I really want to do mixed media, but for now I think I'll stick with paper, stickers, and glue.  I need Tim Holtz or Wendy Vecchi to come to town and do a class so I can learn what all the Ranger products are for and make cool stuff.  I just ordered Tim's DVD on Amazon.

Inside of cards

Hubby's B-day card and Alice card for myself

Inside of cards

Teacher Card

I recently started making cards. It is so much fun!

Here's a card I made for my son's teacher to go with her present. I hope she appreciates the effort I put into the card. I only had one key hole grunge board left (and I wanted to save it) so I traced the keyhole onto cardstock paper and cut it out twice to make it thicker and not flat and flush with the card. Then I applied the Halloween In Wonderland paper on top of keyhole and outlined it with Stickles Black Soot.

Here's the inside.  I put too much stuff on the inside and didn't leave any room to write so it is a terribly short note of thanks. I'm learning as I go.

Day 7 of Hcg Diet

Pounds lost: 2.   Days of suffering: 5.

I am not having a positive experience on this diet.
I am starving no matter how much water and tea I drink.
Who are these people who say they feel full because of the drops?
Where is this 1/2--1 lb a day weight loss that's supposed to happen on this miracle diet?

I was online looking for tips and I just found out that if you eat over 500 calories you actually gain weight. Technically aren't you only supposed to gain weight when you eat enough calories to gain a pound?  Doesn't this go against human nature?  Isn't anyone alarmed by this?

More importantly why wasn't this info printed in bold at the top of the pamphlet I received with the Hcg drops?

The person who wrote that we will gain weight if we eat over 500 calories has done 3 rounds of Hcg so I'm going to assume that she knows what she's talking about.  It's no wonder I haven't lost weight. I'm probably eating 560 calories which leaves me starving, but without results because it's still over the 500 calorie limit.

The guideline pamphlet that came with the drops is really like androgynous Pat from Saturday Night Live. The directions and menu guides are vague and nondescript. And you are left wondering what is it and how am I supposed to be doing this exactly?

The big no-nos on Hcg is oil, butter, fats, and sugar. So the first time I made French onion soup I wasn't quite sure what to do when the recipe says cook onions for 10 minutes. It does not say cook onions in water. I know that the onions will burn if I just throw them in the pot. But what about people who don't always cook?  I can see them burning onions because of the lack of directions.

They also have dessert recipes.  But there's no dessert in the menu guide.  And if I eat dessert do I skip lunch or a snack?  Do I even have to skip anything?  

I went to the website looking for more details and directions.  The website was only slightly more helpful.

I going to give the grade of D- to the pamphlet and the website a C+.
I got more information off a forum board rather than the company that actually sells the Hcg drops.
Oh well....now I know to keep it strictly to 500 calories.
We'll see what happens.

My Fry Day

Friday, July 8th.  I started out the day a good girl.  I drank coffee with fat free half-n-half and Truvia which is allowed on the Hcg diet. I took a shower and had a little prayer time and spoke with God about different things including the fact that my former best friend has not written me back the last 2 times I emailed her. We were estranged for 4 years and have been trying to revive the friendship albeit at a very slow pace.  I thought maybe she's sending me a message by not sending me a message.

Next I wrote down a list of places I needed to go for my errands.  I wanted to hurry because the heat has been unbearable the last few days. I went straight to the vacuum store to pick up some bags.  My next stop was Hobby Lobby to get a new paper trimmer because I finally figured out my trimmer was off by a couple of mm.  But here's where I veered off my list and I went into Mardel instead to look for t-shirts for my boys. The t-shirts were not there.  However, I found some good deals  for myself:  a leather check book cover and a silver bracelet for $10 each.

Bracelet has Corinthians 13:4 in-scripted on it.

Right next door was Hemispheres (fine furnishings). I had just heard a commercial on the radio that they were having a sale up to 50% off.  There was a possibility that I could afford something now.  No such luck - the sale was on rugs and everything else is still out my price range. But I lolled around Hemispheres because it is a whole different world in that store. This is the type of store that makes me oh! and ahh! and wish I could win the Lotto so I could buy all their furniture and bedding. As I neared the back of the store I heard the familiar sound of fountains. If you've never been to this store make sure you go to the back because they have it set up like a rich person's backyard with fountains running.  I used to take my kids there when I was feeling totally stressed.  Yes, I know it sounds ludicrous to take your young kids to a fine furnishing store, but the backyard set up was a great place for me to just sit and relax for a few minutes before I had to get up to stop my toddler from climbing into the fountain. Sometimes I could get them to sit on a swing with me for a while and listen to the sound of running water.

I finally made my way to Hobby Lobby and they were having 66% off summer stuff which made me look at stuff I wouldn't normally look at.  I was tempted to buy a giant pinwheel but I talked myself out of it. I used the 40% coupon on the paper trimmer and I got this cutest coffee cup planter for $6.40. I imagine that I will grow herbs by my window like Laura Calder but it probably won't happen because plants tend to die when I take care of them.

Cilantro after I re-potted them.  I now have dried herbs.

I looked at my watch.  Oops!  I gotta go.  On my way to Dillard's I impetuously took a turn into the Pier 1 parking lot with the excuse of looking for a birthday gift.  There I found the cutest tasting dishes.

I want to throw a tasting party just so I can used these mini plates and cups.  Again, in my imagination, I will be able to pull off cooking a variety of dishes that can be served at the same time and in miniature form. I can picture people laughing and loving the food and hear wine glasses tinkling.  Smiles, smiles, everyone. This is simply a fantasy to go along with the fountains and furniture from Hemispheres.
I found (of all things) stickers for scrap booking, but not a birthday gift. On my way to the car I looked at my phone and saw that my former bestie finally emailed me a response. It made me glad.  God is so good to me.  He knew I was feeling down and made my frown turn upside down.
Then I made my way to Dillard's for Lancome powder but I didn't read the fine print that the Gift with Purchase doesn't start until Sunday. I'll be back (in Terminator voice). When I walked out of Dillard's the heat enveloped me immediately and I was glad to have parked in the parking garage.  I got in my car and looked at the thermometer.

This is the temp in the shade.

I drove to Michael's and looked at my thermometer again and wasn't surprised to see the temperature go up now that I wasn't in the shade.

I had to take a moment to download this to Facebook.

At Michael's I bought Tim Holtz non-stick scissors using a 50% coupon. I then decided that I could not finish anymore errands because of the heat.  Oh wait! I have to go to to Costco to buy something I can eat on the Hcg diet.  I've been starving on this diet because I have nothing at home that I am allowed to eat.  Yesterday I ate lettuce and 2 slices of on-the-verge-of-smelling-bad-week-old turkey meat.  Yuck! And today at 4pm I still had not eaten anything except drank coffee.
I almost bought this scrap booking Eric Carle book at Costco because my son used to love this book. I still love it.

What made the heat so bearable while driving around town was the music they were playing on Sirius XM First Wave and 80s on 8.  They played "Black Celebration" by Depeche Mode, "Careless Whisper" by Wham!, "Kiss the Dirt" by INXS, "Hysteria" by Def Leppard, etc. These songs bring back memories to a time and space that I sometimes miss.

As soon as I got home I made my boys get off the computer and Xbox because that's all they've been doing the whole 4 hours I've been gone.  I did at-home physical therapy with my son and made him read a book.  But I did not do the eye therapy program.  I will have to make sure we do eye therapy for the next 5 days straight.

My husband came home and liked the coffee cup planter so much he is willing to go to Hobby Lobby to get the red one. But hubby isn't feeling good so he went to bed and I wasn't able to show him the goodies I bought.  I think the heat got to him.

Next day, hubby changed his mind about getting the red coffee cup planter.  If it's still there next week I might bring it home.  Hopefully, it will be 75% off.