Farewell to February

I have to admit, I'm a little confused. Don't get me wrong -- I'm loving it, but I remember year's past. I was looking for February photos, but March 3, 2014 was close enough. Winter. Snow. I'm so glad there has been so little this year.

But it's the last day of February and my snow drops are in bloom. But wait! There are pansies (a hardy cold-weather flower), but there are flowering trees in full bloom (crab apple I think). What's more, forsythia is blooming, the maple tips are red and spreading pollen, and the willow trees are GREENING! Allergies in full bloom. Pauxatauny Phil was wrong. Spring is here.

Menu Monday for 02/27/2017

Another week! When it comes to meal planning, the weeks fly by so quickly (as in, "What? I have to plan more meals again?")

Saturday was crazy. We were out of meals and weren't ready to shop. We ate out. As far as weighing in at Jenny Craig, I've been skipping the weigh-ins for a couple of weeks. Last weigh-in was 149 (by my scale -- I'm not sure what it was on their scale), which is my lowest since long before my 17-year-old was born. I didn't weigh weekly because life was crazy, the weight was up and down, and I couldn't take the stress of seeing a higher number go down on my Jenny Craig records. (So far I have never had a weigh-in where I gained weight from the previous week. I did gain weight over Christmas, but I've lost that weight back off again.) So hopefully I'll have lost a little at my Thursday weigh-in, but I know I'm ready to seriously lose more weight again now, so I don't mind if it is up a few ounces. We'll have to wait and see how I do between now and Thursday.

So here is this week's plan:

Saturday (2/26):  Out (wings, fries)

Sunday (2/27):  rotisserie chicken, broccoli, mashed potatoes

Monday (2/28):  Korean Beef, rice salad

Tuesday (3/1):  baked chicken picatta, salad, noodles

Wednesday (3/2): chili, cornbread, salad

Thursday (3/3)(CAP): ham steak, scalloped potatoes, green beans

Friday (3/4):  dinner out

Menu Monday for 2/20/27

Busy days! I haven't worked on weight loss this week and I did not weigh in this week, so no weight report. My son's working to become Eagle rank in Boy Scouts. His Eagle project is 2/25, so I'm not sure when we will do grocery shopping... Probably Sunday afternoon. Here are this week's dinner plans:

Saturday (2/18):  chili, cornbread, salad

Sunday (2/19):  Dinner at daughter’s house

Monday (2/20) (PLC Mtg):  spaghetti, meatballs, salad, bread knots

Tuesday (2/21):  lentil soup, salad, rolls

Wednesday (2/22): chicken Caesar salad, TX toast

Thursday (2/23)(CAP):  taco salad

Friday (2/24):  salmon, yams, green beans

Menu Monday for 2/13/17

This week is not a stellar example of a great menu planning week for me. 

Let me start with the good news first, though. At Jenny Craig, at weigh-in, I had lost 1.2 pounds! That brings it to where it was at my lowest before Christmas when I crashed and burned. Sad that it took that long. Great that I got there, since I'm still not entirely applying myself...

Okay, menu plan. I normally make dinner six or seven nights each week. This is not a normal week.

Saturday I cooked a meal from last week that got bumped there by an unexpected pizza night. Sunday we were going to get a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, but we've been eating a lot of chicken, son wanted Chinese, and... we got Chinese. Tonight I planned subs. Hubby said it costs so much to buy the supplies (for two, since I'm eating something else) that he'll just get it from the sub shop.

Tuesday is Valentine's Day, and the only thing I'm asking for is (drumroll, please...) to eat out. Wednesday is planned, but somehow I managed to put the same thing down for Thursday. Hubby said we'll figure it out later. (Uh-oh!) Friday is planned.

Like I said, not a stellar week. Here it is in normal format:

Saturday (2/11):  corned beef and cabbage, potatoes

Sunday (2/12):  rotisserie chicken, broccoli, Lipton’s noodles Chinese

Monday (2/13) (Boy Scouts):  subs

Tuesday (2/14):  fried chicken dinner from Red Rooster

Wednesday (2/15): flank steak, mashed potatoes, brussels Sprouts

Thursday (2/16)(CAP):  “We’ll figure it out…”

Friday (2/17)(Care Group):  chicken pot pie

Menu Monday for 2/6/17

This week's Menu Monday is a little different.

First, wasn't having a great week in terms of following weight loss plan. Skipped weigh-in.

Second, life did not accommodate my normal creation of a menu plan and a grocery list. This is the first time in a long time where I created my meal plan by walking through the grocery store. Fortunately I did okay, although I'm not about to make this my normal method. Here's this week's plan:

Saturday (2/3):  French Bread Pizza (Italian bread, really…), salad

Sunday (2/4):  Crock pot ribs, potato salad, cole slaw

Monday (2/5):  hot dogs, baked beans, raw carrots

Tuesday (2/6):  Oven-Roasted chicken, rice, broccoli

Wednesday (2/7):  Corned beef and cabbage, potatoes

Thursday (2/9)(CAP):  pan-fried chicken breast, asparagus, leftover rice

Friday (2/10):  dinner out 

The Art of CursiveLogic - A Review

I first learned of CursiveLogic in 2015 . I was given this product to review.  CursiveLogic became one of my favorite products of the year! ...It is still one of my favorite products that I have reviewed. It turned my son from printing to handwriting in a few short weeks (and I'd been trying to teach him cursive for years!).

CursiveLogic has created a new product, and with adult coloring books being all the rage, I think this product is going to be a big winner! Introducing: 

The Art of CursiveLogic

Using a beautiful coloring book style combined with specific stroke instruction, The Art of CursiveLogic teaches adults to write in cursive through an enjoyable, relaxing series of drawings to color.

The book is still in the developmental stage -- I've only seen a partial sample, of which I'm only to show you a partial sample.

CursiveLogic currently has Kickstarter Campaign going to raise funds so they can create this adult coloring book to teach cursive. The more money they receive, the nicer a book they will be able to create. I'm envisioning a spiral book with fine, sturdy perforated pages so they can be separated from the book, colored, and posted for display.

This is such a worthwhile project! In my area public school students are no longer taught cursive except to create their own signature. They are unable to read checks people write in cursive, or handwritten cards they receive in the mail, or even our country's original documents of the founding fathers! I've been so glad to have CursiveLogic to recommend to people to teach their kids cursive almost overnight! I can't wait to see the adult coloring book in its final form! 

Please considering going to the Kickstarter page and making a donation to help this worthwhile project. Watch the video there to see more about the book project.

I received sample pages of this product in exchange for my honest opinion.

2017 Weeks 4 and 5 in Review

The student is attending Spanish I and Sociology classes Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at our local community college through the Dual Enrollment program.

These classes are his main focus right now, but in addition he is taking an online Accuplacer preparation course. He is supposed to be working on Geometry as well, but right now he is not.

The student is also a Boy Scout and is in the final stretch to reach the rank of Eagle Scout.

His Eagle project proposal has received a few revisions and has gotten all its signatures. Weather permitting, the project work should be accomplished at the end of February.

The project is reclaiming a section of forest at a local county park that has previously been a hiking trail. The trail has been rerouted and the old trail needs to become forest again. Trees will be planted and the path covered with forest debris to discourage use by hikers and to give nature the opportunity for regrowth there. It helps the county park out, and my son is pretty excited about the project.

My son is also a Civil Air Patrol cadet (Master Sergeant) and attends meetings on Thursday nights. This past Thursday was ABUs night (uniform name - Airman Battle Utility). 

The weather has been amazing for February (40-50s), but the cold seems to be returning (thank you, Pauxatauny Phil). It goes down to the 20's or 30's at night. Daytime temperatures are unpredictable. We'll have a high of 35 one day, but 65 a few days later. I love the warmer days. I don't want to take a coat when I go out in my polar fleece jacket. I am waiting anxiously for Spring.

How was your week?