Singing for a smaller me

or Learning to Trust Myself

First: sometimes I don't know why I say certain things, like I'll blog over my Holiday Break. Yeah, not so much. The only time I sat down at the computer for any appreciable period was to play Star Trek Online (haha - yes, I'm a Trek geek too - surprise!). No updates on my Countdown to ONEderland challenge either, which I promised myself I'd do even if it was the only thing I posted over the winter break. Ah well, it is what it is.

One would think having eleven days off from work means I'd have plenty of time off to do everything I wanted/needed to get done. Somehow, though, that wasn't the case (maybe if I was a slightly better planner??), and I found myself even busier than normal. How the heck did I manage that? It wasn't like I was working.

Okay, so I slept in every day.

And I played video games.

And I went to/watched several hockey games.

But my parents were in town for a week and I had to cram in as much possible time with them as I could since I don't see them very often.

And I hosted Xmas day (including brunch, presents AND dinner).

And we hosted a New Year's Eve party.

And I got crazy sick right after my parents headed home.

Alright, that's how someone manages to have eleven days off and not feel like they've had a break.

Confession time: What things didn't I do while off on my holiday break? 1) Step on the scale; 2) log my food; or 3) exercise all that much. I won't make excuses, I blew it off because I could. Yes, I ate chocolate bars, drank too much, and had an all around too damn good of a time.

I was prepared (and frightened), when I finally stepped on the scale yesterday morning, to see a gain of 4 or 5 pounds. Hell, I expected it. What didn't I expect? To see that despite all the excess, the not logging my food, the not stepping on the scale, and the not exercising, I somehow managed to lose half a pound. WHAT?!?!?!

The lesson I learned? I can trust myself to have a good time, still make good choices, and get back on plan.

As promised, here's the menu from the Xmas Dinner I hosted. It turned out really well, and no one realized that most of the recipes came from the Weight Watchers website.

The Xmas Dinner Menu:

Appetizers:

Shrimp with Cocktail Sauce

Spinach-Parmesan Dip - PointsPlus Value: 1 Point

8 Servings - I specifically chose this recipe in order to try out my new blender (the DH bought me a BlendTec consumer blender for Xmas, ZOMG!!!), and wow, was this good. It was very similar to pesto in texture and taste, and ohmigod, so good, if a little on the thicker side. And 8 servings? Oh yeah, that was like 1/4 cup servings. My tsp - tbsp servings? 32+ servings!!! Crazy, man, crazy.

French Bread (to go with the dip obviously)

Salad:

Spinach Salad with Pears, Almonds and Cranberries - PointsPlus Value: 6 Points (3 Points when made as 8 servings)

4 Servings - Mmmm, tasty. This recipe made 4 very large servings of spinach salad, and boy, was I glad I only made the recipe once over. Initially, I'd planned to double the recipe and serve everyone the recommended serving size. The whole recipe wound up feeding 8 people with at least one (full) serving left over. Glad I remembered that WW recipes are usually dinner sized salads.

Main Meal:

Ham from Costco. I'll admit when it comes to cooking, if I can buy it premade, I'm gonna. Less to worry about. Just heat and serve. There was even a glaze included with the ham, but it would've required me to pay too much attention during the cooking process, changing oven temperatures and reapplying glaze. Too much work for me. Still, it was very good, though, even without the glaze.

Stuffing with Sage and Chives - PointsPlus Value: 3 Points

8 servings - I loved making this because it was so wonderfully fragrant. In the future, I would probably add a half cup or cup more chicken broth in the making because it turned out a little dry. Verdict: really tasty, but - like I said - a little on the dry side.

Green Beans with Caramelized Shallots and Gremolata - PointsPlus Value: 1 Point

8 Servings - I'm a huge fan of the green bean, especially fresh green beans, and this was phenomenal. The flavors weren't hidden by the shallots and gremolata, and it was even better reheated a few days later.

Mashed Potatoes with Garlic - PointsPlus Value: 4 Points

8 Servings - Meh. They were mashed potatoes, nothing all that special, and as I think about it - tasted the most like "diet" food. In the future, I'd probably just make plain, old, boring mashed potatoes and huck this recipe in the bin.

Dessert:

Cookies from my cookie baking craziness the days before

Some ridiculously sinful confection of chocolate cake topped with brownies and fudge from Safeway.

I can't tell you how proud I am that I made it through Xmas day (assisted in part by much, too much, wine), and with the fact that I managed to cook and serve an ENTIRE dinner that people enjoyed. Believe me, there were times I thought I wouldn't make it (hence the wine), or tear my hair out (MORE wine!), but in the end I made the correct amount of food and chose some delicious recipes.

Well, I'll sign off for now, but you'll hear more from me soon!