I wish you all a wonderful new year.  And best of luck in all your endeavors!

Amy 

I know, I know!  The numbers are going in the wrong direction again! My meals are fine, low carb, not too big, but Liza is in full candy making mode now and some of the stuff she makes is so delicious, I can’t stay out of it.  Her peanut brittle is the best you have ever tasted…I mean that!  Her toffee is addictive! And she finally learned to make fudge!   Holy cow!  How can a person hope to stick to a diet when there is all this temptation around.  And to make it worse, the more I eat, the more I crave! I probably ate a pound of peanut brittle the other day (I think I could live off the stuff!). Today she boxes up and delivers her last order.  Hopefully that will be the end of candy for a while, and we can see the scale treating me better again.

Aside from that, did I tell you I got A’s in both of my classes this term?  I am pretty proud of that.  I thought my brain had gotten too old to learn much, but I proved myself wrong.  You can teach an old dog new tricks, it just sometimes takes a little longer. I am looking forward to next term.  I will take college algebra, children’s literature and exceptional students. I anticipate getting A’s again, because now I know I can!

Have a great day!

Also check out Dana Carpender’s books -500 Low-Carb Recipes and 15-Minute Low-Carb Recipes.  Some of my favorites from her are “Grandma’s Standby Casserole”, “Spanish Rice”, “Mom’s Chocolate Chip Cookies”, “Little Mama’s Side Dish”, and “Chicken Almond Rice”.

Bon Appetit

I took my math final today. I feel like I did really well on it. It feels like such a relief to have the class done! I have been happier all afternoon than I have felt in a month or more. I shouldn’t let school stress me out so much! I just have one more class final to attend and that will just be presenting my PowerPoint to my computer tech class. No problem, and no stress there. Now I can concentrate on getting my house clean and getting the things done that I have been putting off for months! One of those things will be putting more recipes on this site. I have lots collected, and I really want to share them with you.

Keep checking back

I haven’t been to the gym much in the past month, what with being sick and life getting in the way.  But I know the scale has been steady.  So I can’t complain. When I get feeling good again, I will start going to the gym regularly again.

School is good.  I am getting A’s in both classes.  Finals are next week.  I have a test in math and a project due in computer tech.  I know I will get a good grade on the project.  It is a powerpoint hypermedia thing about women’s right to vote.  I did a good job.  The math test shouldn’t be a problem either. I need to get a 70% on it to pass to the next level of math.  That should not be a problem. If I don’t pass, it will ruin all my plans.  I would hate that!

Aside from all that, Liza’s candymaking business is in full swing, and it is all I can do to keep from stuffing my face with wonderful candies every day.  Half the fridge is full of her candies in various stages of finished-ness. I think it is really cool that she has the ambition to start her own business, but at the same time, I wish it didn’t involve food I am not supposed to eat. As my mom would say, I am supposed to learn something from this.  Maybe I am supposed to learn to resist temptation.  Maybe I am also supposed to learn patience with my kitchen always being full of candymaking stuff.

Carter had a good birthday last month.  I bought him his first flying lesson.  He said it was really fun!  He got to fly a little cessna plane and even land it.  He is even more sure he wants to be a pilot now.

Enough stalling…..I really need to get studying math now.  Have a fun day!

I have been steady for a while now.  I will begin writing down my food again and see if I can cut a few carbs or calories here and there.  I know what I am doing wrong.  Liza has been baking and candy making and I keep eating what she makes.  It is hard to eat low carb when I am eating sugary snacks all the time.  I will do better this week and next week I bet I will have lost some weight.

I haven’t been to the gym much lately, and I am sure my weight loss has stopped, but I still feel good about how I look and I feel great!

I have been researching Pilates exercises this week and I think, on days i can’t make it to the gym, I will do Pilates and that can count as strength training. Pilates works your core muscles, and since my core is a bit flabby, it should do me some good.  I am sure  it will help with my back and neck problems also.

I know you are wondering how school is going.  My first term back is almost at an end (I think we only have three or four weeks left).  I am getting A’s in both classes, Math and Computer Tech. Next semester I will be taking four classes.  It will be a tough schedule, but I need to get used to it, because I have two years of tough schedules to go before I graduate.

Math has proven challenging and fun.  I get a little obsessive/compulsive about my homework, but I am enjoying it very much.  Our math teacher has us do projects as well as just regular homework.  The projects include data collection and analysis. We do the projects in groups.  The problem is I end up doing all the work.  The first project, I did all the work because the other people in my group kept not showing up.  This second project i still did all the work even though my partners wanted to help.  I just can’t trust someone else to do the work well enough I guess.  We will get an A on it though, and they will forgive me then. 

Have a great day!

Not as low as last week, but I am not going to beat myself up about it.  We went to Wendover Nevada over the weekend to see B. B. King play.  For an old man, he’s still got “it”.  What a great show and fun little vacation.  We left the kids at home for this one.

So, let me tell you what we had for dinner tonight.  It is one of our favorite low carb meals (ok, Liza gets mad because she wants something more interesting, but I don’t have time to shop for “interesting” recipes).

Buffalo Chicken Salad
Serves 3 or 4

1 pound boneless skinless chicken
1/3 cup butter
1/2 cup Frank’s Red Hot pepper sauce (like tabasco, but better)
Lettuce
Tomatoes
Cucumbers
Olives
Bleu Cheese
Ranch or Bleu Cheese dressing

cook up the chicken.  We like it cut into cubes, put on skewers and grilled outside, but you can pan fry it or whatever and cut it into cubes after. Melt the butter in a small pan and add the Frank’s.  Cook and stir occasionally over low heat until everything else is done.  Arrange the remaining ingredients among three or four plates.  Mix the chicken with the sauce and put on top of the salads.  Eat.  It is really good!

I finished reading Gary Taubes book “Good Calories, Bad Calories” last night.  It was a long book, but it convinced me that carbs are the enemy, especially for fat people and diabetics like me. I highly recommend this book!

I will be going to the gym tonight and get weighed.  I didn’t post a weight for last week because I gained a little and didn’t want to admit it.  I think this week will be better.

Have a great day!