Category: The Blog

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Weekend Roundup

First, the Weight Watcher update.  As I said last week, I made a deliberate effort to eat more of my weekly points (22 of 49) and continued Power 90 through Wed.  Thursday I took a break because I was really achy.  Not exactly sore but just deep down joint achy.  Friday I had to finish our taxes.  Sat and Sun I lost to business.  🙁  So I have to get back on track TODAY.

On the bright side, I’m down 2.4 this week.  Slowly inching back down to my all-time low!

Two of the monsters had school activities this past Sat.  Yeah, I know.  They were so thrilled.  Littlest spent the night with a friend and we had an hour or so where everyone was gone. That rare moment of quiet must have addled my brain because I decided to try and make a petticoat out of tulle to wear beneath my RT costume. 

I can cross stitch.  I can crochet.  I can embroider.  But I am NOT a seamstress.  I haven’t used my sewing machine since we moved here almost 3 years ago, and of course, I couldn’t find my manual (so I downloaded one off the internet).  It took me half an hour to remember how to fill the bobbin.  Another half hour to get everything threaded correctly.  Then I started making this monstrosity of a petticoat.

I made so. Many. Errors.  ARGH.  I was trying to sew 10 layers together and I got to the end and held it up, only to realize that I’d “dropped” two random layers as I was sewing it.  I also trimmed each piece of tulle with satin ribbon.  About 2/3 of the way through, I ran out.  It took me 3 attempts to finally get everything attached to the wasitband of 2″ black satin ribbon, or I would have ripped it out and done it again, because my underneath bobbin thread balled up in a couple of places and looks terrible.  Of course no one will see it but me (assuming I can even wear the blasted thing), but it really bothers me that it’s so messy.

I finally got it all sewn onto the ribbon and closed it with room to thread the elastic through, but I don’t have a safety pin.  It’s just narrow enough — with too much tulle poking up inside — to get the elastic through by hand.  I really need a big safety pin and I’m probably still going to be sweaty and cursing before it’s done.  I had to take a break, though, because I worked on it ALL DAY.

Sunday I made a trip up to Granny’s with the tardy black taffeta for the skirt.  I was supposed to go alone, but Mom can’t go to the bathroom without company, let alone a trip.  I ended up with Princess and Littlest making the 1 hour 45 min car ride with me.  I was afraid they’d be bored.  This wasn’t a fun trip, but a working trip.  I intended to help Mom with whatever menial tasks she could give me (after reading the tulle adventure I’m sure you understand why she couldn’t get me much to do).  The girls were pretty good, though, helped out by Mac taking them with him on a shopping trip.

My beloved sister Molly made the drive up too so we could chat and laugh at how many times I had to take the hook and eye off and redo it. 

I did help cut out a few pieces.  By that, I mean I helped pin and listened while Mom explained grain and fold and how to read the stupid patterns.  She did the cutting!  Other than that, I stuffed the bustle pillow with Sis and then did the hook and eye.  Oh and I made coffee several times and stuffed Granny with turtle cheesecake.  It was the least I could do.

We ended the day with most everything cut out except for a lining for other bustle.  Mom had the sleeves done for the first bolero and I tried on the other piece of the bolero to make sure it was fitting.  I got the wrong kind of interfacing (boo) so she’s going to have to hit the store today.  Meanwhile I have 5 yards of some crap none of us can use.

All in all, it was a work-filled fun day.  We had fun and hopefully I helped at least a little.  I had to leave and head home before it got dark (I’m not a very good driver either.  I sure didn’t want to brave the interstate turnoffs in the dark), but Sis said they got quite a bit more done after we left.  I can’t wait to see how it all comes together!

When we got home last night, I started some prep work for a promo thing I thought of.  I have pens to give out, but I wanted something unique and special.  Something that wouldn’t cost me a lot — but also was less likely to get thrown away to make room in the suitcases because it was just too cool to toss.  I finally had a neat idea, but it required some printing of little cards with my book cover.  I didn’t have business cards anyway, so I designed two last night, one with Yours to Take and the other with Her Grace’s Stable.  Now I just have to hit a PartyCity store and buy a glue gun.  *cryptic*  And feathers.  Lots of feathers.

I’m also going to make a steampunk hat.

*buys more feathers, beads, buttons, and trinkets*

Two weeks and counting for RT in KC!

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Unusual Stir Fry

In my effort to continue eating mostly protein and veggies for dinner, I decided to try a new-to-us recipe.  It’s actually based on a recipe from Jane Brody that I remember Mom making, only she used ground beef.  I say unusual because I don’t often think of ground meat in stir fry, but man, I hate cutting up nasty slimy chicken breasts or trimming all the fat off round steak.  This was quick and easy!

Ground Turkey Stir Fry

2 pkgs of 99% lean ground turkey breast (each was around 20-22 oz)
1 T coconut oil
1 t dark sesame oil
1 pkg green beans (I used frozen)
1 pkg sugar snap peas
1 c. chicken broth
2 T cider or rice vinegar
1 T soy sauce
1″ fresh ginger, peeled and chopped small
lots of fresh garlic
green onions chopped into 1″ pieces (I can’t use many because the monsters hate them)
2 T corn starch or arrowroot

Heat a large 12″ iron skillet on med-high heat for 3 mins. Add 1 t sesame oil and swirl to coat the bottom of the pan. Throw in the green beans, peas, and onions, cooking until they start to char a little on the sides. Remove with a slotted spoon.

Add 1 T coconut oil and the ground turkey. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook through.

Meanwhile, mix the chicken broth, vinegar, soy, ginger, garlic and corn starch in a small bowl.

Once the meat is cooked, add the liquid and stir until thickened. Returned the cooked veggies, mix and heat through.

When I made this the other night, I used a separate small pan for the veggies and I ended up using a bit more oil to get my healthy oils in. This made a huge pot, easily 8 reasonable sized portions, at 6 P+ each if you use more like a T of oil for the veggies. I used lots of meat — more than we really needed — because I needed to use it up (I bought it on sale) and I could use the protein.  (Plus I like having leftovers for lunch.) You could easily trim some points there if you need to.

I was afraid the monsters wouldn’t like it: white meat and lots of green veggies. But they all really enjoyed it and asked for it again!  If you’re not watching carbs, serve over rice or noodles, but it’s really good alone.

 

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Why Dieting is So Hard

I had my first really good, solid week last week.

  • I stayed within my daily points for the most part, only going over a total of 3 points all week.
  • I earned 38 activity points.
  • I completed 5 days of Power 90.
  • I hit the elliptical 3 days.
  • I ate whole foods all week until the weekend, and then limited carbs and processed foods as much as was in my power.

And guess how the scale rewarded me this morning? 

Zero.  Nadda.  Zilch.

I’m exactly the same weight as I was last Monday.

Theoretically, I should have seen a huge loss this week, something like 5-6 pounds.  It’s my first solid week back to tracking and I deliberately ate really good foods all week.  I also worked my butt off.  (Well, I tried.  Literally.)  How can I lose NOTHING?

It happens and it happens a lot.  I really think that’s one of the main reasons I’ve failed to diet in the past.  Disappointing results at the scale that were nowhere close to meeting my expectations.

But I’ve been down this road before.  I remember the last time I did Power 90 really hard that I lost hardly anything from the beginning.  Until I started eating more.

So I’ve had my week of detox.  I’ve gotten back into the habit of tracking food.  Now I need to go one step further and trust myself to eat more than my daily points and still stay in control.

Sadly, that’s easier said than done.  I’ve only just begun getting back into the swing of things.  Now I have to deliberately eat more, and not get off track again?  But I know that if I don’t fuel up a little, I’m not going to lose.  Not with the kind of exercise I’m doing.  I need plenty of protein to recover from the workouts and build lean muscle tissue.  Power 90 isn’t exactly a “weight loss” exercise.  It’s a toning, firming, reshape your body exercise.  Yes, I know I can and will lose weight on it, but it’s more than the number on the scale.

It’s how strong I feel.  How tight my body gets.  I can literally feel my body getting thinner and tighter and harder, no matter what the scale says.  I’ll fit into smaller sizes no matter what the scale says.

But I really think 90% of the battle is mental.  Instead of just throwing a few points in willy nilly, I changed my thinking a little.  I’m doing WW online, so I changed my settings to pull overages from my weekly points instead of exercise points.  (In the past, I felt better going over if I’d “earned” them.)  Everyone gets 49 extra weekly points to use, and honestly, I rarely used them in the past.  That may be part of my struggle for keeping on track though.  We need those extra points, especially once we get down to 26 daily.

This time, I’m going to deliberately and with great forethought dip into those points.  I’ve written up a schedule where I eat an additional 28 points per week, tightening up as much as possible on the weekend (since my WI is Monday morning).  That leaves me some extras if I have a special event, and of course I could always dip into the activity points if I need to.  I’m also varying the number I eat each day, with one larger spike of 10 points on Friday to keep things interesting.  Hopefully.   :lol:

Otherwise, my plan is more of the same this week.  Power 90 (shooting for 6 days this week), plus a few extra elliptical trips, as often as I can drag the monsters to the gym.  Food wise I intend to continue concentrating on whole foods and limiting carbs, especially at dinner.  If I do eat carbs, they’ll be whole grain as much as possible.

I’ll report back in next week with the results!

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Weekend Roundup

fabricFabric drop has commenced!  We drove up to Granny’s yesterday and dropped off the first big box of fabric.  We went over the four different patterns I’ve bought and narrowed it down to probably one to use for most of the pieces.

This is where it gets complicated.

I want to mix and match pieces to come up with several different outfits.  I have two corsets:  one sparkly and formal, the other more steampunkish.  Fabric can be really expensive and a full-length skirt can take up to 5 yards of fabric–or more!–even though I’m really short.  So I want to keep the base skirt the same, but mix and match coordinates–that don’t require as much fabric–to change the look.

But my skirt fabric hasn’t arrived yet.  I ordered 11 yards of black taffeta on clearance over a week ago.  A few days later I ordered everything else.  Everything else arrived 2 days after I placed the order!  The black taffeta still hasn’t shipped yet.  (Same company too.)  There was a problem with the yardage, so now I’m down to 7 yards, which should still be okay.  I just need it to ship!

Mom would have started with the skirt…but since the fabric isn’t here, she’s going to do some of the other pieces first.  But where it gets complicated is my desire to change things up.  I want a detachable bustle, so I can wear the same black skirt and have it look completely different.  One of the patterns had an easily detachable one, but it was full length + a train.  I’m short and dumpy.  Sad but true.  I don’t think I need 5 yards of fabric trailing after me.  Plus how annoying would that be?  Probably not fun to wear for very long.

The other bustle is more complicated — though shorter — and we’re not sure if we can make it detachable.  Part of the pattern shows it getting sewn into the skirt, and the other part of it isn’t really clear how it’ll go together.  It’ll probably be one of those figure it out when she gets there deals…

But again, the fabric’s not here, so we can’t proceed.

The other mix and match pieces will be a cute bolero with flowing chiffon sleeves and a little knit tank that I can wear beneath the corsets.  So I think Mom will get started on those and I’ll hope and pray the black taffeta arrives soon so we can finalize arguably the most complicated piece of the outfit.  That blasted bustle!!

After Granny’s, we went to Papa’s for awhile and the girls rode horses.  Somehow I made it home without any of my cups.  I took my coffee pot and two little espresso cups to Mom’s and then went off and left the cups.  (I didn’t forget my coffee pot though!!!)  Then I went off and left my favorite water glass at Papa’s.

Eating was a challenge.  I took cheesecake to Granny’s so we could snack and visit over the dress plans.  I had one bite of Middle’s and that’s it–but it was hard.  Luckily Mac ate the other piece of turtle cheesecake, and the plain didn’t tempt me as much.  Then Granny and Mac took us to Pizza Hut for lunch.  As any dieter knows there’s not a lot of options there, definitely nothing gluten free.  I did have the salad bar, so that helped (although it was one of the smaller bars I’ve seen without a lot of choices) and I only had 1 piece of a medium pan.  Downside:  I was still hungry.  🙁  It’s never easy to sit and not eat (when you’re hungry) while everyone else is chowing down.

After a few hours at my Dad’s we stopped at Smith’s in Collins — the monsters’ favorite place to go for burgers and shakes.  See where this is going?  Typical greasy spoon type place with fantastic patty melts (my favorite).  Instead, I had a grilled chicken salad that wasn’t bad at all.  It was large enough I didn’t feel like I was going to eat anyone’s arm off in the car on the way home.

However, the chicken was blackened — which at the time tasted great.  But this morning, the scale is way up, which makes me think it was probably loaded with sodium.  There’s nothing worse than making the best choices you can in difficult situations, turning away from tempting food, and not seeing any sort of reward on the scale.

Well, yeah, there is something worse.  I could have eaten all that terrible but delicious food and then seen even more of a gain on the scale, plus felt yucky to boot.  I even managed to get Power 90 in before we left yesterday, so it was a pretty good day.

Not a lot of writing in the car, but I did possibly figure out Mama Connagher’s beau’s name.  I thought it was Thomas, but I didn’t want another T name (her husband’s name was Tyrell).  In my head, Ty is played by Sam Elliott.  In fact, the original “Connagher” name came from a Western he was in called Conagher.  *sheepish*  I also took the name Tyrell from The Sacketts.

Since I’m pulling in Tom Selleck to play this new man, I thought a name from the Sacketts might also work, but neither That Man nor I could remember what the other two brothers’ names were.  (Tell and Orrin.  I’m glad I couldn’t remember.)  I wanted something old fashioned and uncommon.  Something I could see Sam Elliott and Tom Selleck saying.

I think…. *knocks on wood*  that he agreed to be called Jebadiah Garrett, Jeb for short.  We’ll see if it continues to work.

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WW Revelations

I’ve been thinking a lot about why I’ve been struggling the last few months…and why I’m finally *knocks on wood* back on track.

One of the things that I realized is that before the slippage (November), I was having a hard time staying in my daily point range.  If you’re not familiar with how Weight Watchers works, when you start out, you have a daily point value based on your age, current weight, and activity level.  Then as you lose, those points slowly evaporate.

It’s great to lose weight, don’t get me wrong.  But as those daily points whittle away, it can get…scary.

I was down to 30 points a day (I believe the least recommended daily value is 26).  Every day I was going over 3-4 points.  No matter my best intentions, I just couldn’t get UNDER.  I was eating relatively healthy foods, but I started to get discouraged.

If I can’t eat at 30 points…how am I going to live on 26 for the rest of my life?

Sure, I have the extra weeklies to use.  But I liked to use those for special occasions, dinner out, or special treats.  Not day to day living.

It’s dumb, I know, but I got so discouraged that I quit tracking all together.  That helps a lot.  *rolls eyes*  It’s like oh, I’m on fire.  Let’s dump some gasoline on me!!!

So I’m back to tracking this week.  That Man’s diabetes is flaring up, so I recommitted to cutting out processed foods as much as possible.  No pasta, no rice, etc.  (At least at home.  What he chooses to eat for his breakfast/lunch is on him.)  In fact, I’m doing more of a paleo dinner plan this week – mostly meats and veggies.  I’m not cutting dairy out or anything drastic, but in general, I’ve given up most wheat, sugar, and processed foods so far this week.

The only exceptions so far have been granola (I haven’t had time to make my homemade batch yet) and a little honey or maple syrup for my yogurt.  That’s it.  Other than a tiny bit of dark chocolate yesterday.

And you know what?  All the sudden I have LOTS of points left over!  I didn’t realize I was spending that many daily points on things like bread, rice and pasta.  Granted, most of the time I ate whole grain products, but still, it adds up.

I don’t think I’ll be this strict forever, but it’s nice to get control back.  I’m detoxing a little from all the slippage and hopefully losing some water weight.  When I do introduce more carbs, I’ll choose healthy whole grains.  Other than my protein shake, I haven’t had any artificial sweeteners either.  I’ve been trying to find a good tasty all natural shake, but so far, no luck.   (At least ones that I can gag down.)

So I’ve got a little damage control to work through, but I think I’m back on track.  I’ve even been doing Power 90 this week!  Of course the ticking bomb of RT just around the corner might have something to do with that…

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Yours to Take Giveaway

To celebrate Vicki in print, I’m going to give away a signed print copy of Yours to Take and a $25 gift certificate to any online bookstore (AMZ, B&N, etc.)   This time, I’ll try out Rafflecopter to manage the entries.  One of the ways you can enter is to simply comment on this blog post.

I’m working on Mama Connagher’s book, tentatively titled A Hard Woman.  If you’ve read any of the other Connagher books, what do you think about her?  e.g. is there a particular detail you have in your mind?  A habit or trait you’ve picked up from the other books?  I’m just curious to see what people think of her, even though she’s never had a POV before.

Of course you can just throw your name in the hat by commenting on this entry too.  This giveaway is open to anyone on the planet!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Taxes and Corsets

That’s been my life this week!

First the bad stuff:  taxes.  We owed quite a bit last year, so I put off the taxes as long as possible.  But I finally got started this week and was pleasantly surprised.  We’re getting enough back from Uncle Sam to pay what we owe the state with just a little left over.  I’ll take that!  I have a few things to finalize yet but the hard part is over.

Now the fun stuff:  shopping for my first corset!

I’ve been wanting one for a loooooong time.  Ever since I started losing weight — which was two years ago.  I almost bit the bullet last year before RT, but I chickened out.  I still had so much to lose and I didn’t want to invest in something that wouldn’t fit in a year.

Well here I am a year later and I could have been wearing that corset.  :evil: I still almost put it off again because I have a month before RT to pull outfits together, but I finally got up the courage and just went for it.

In fact, I’ve ordered 2!  Maybe both will work.  Maybe not.  But I’ll have two completely different looks to play with.

The first is formal and sparkly, like this one:  Burgundy Satin Couture Corset.  They didn’t have my size and I balked at spending that much, but I found one on eBay that looks exactly like it for half the price.  Hopefully I’ll get it and it fits…!

The other one I’m ridiculously excited about:  Steampunk Wench Corset.  She has ready-made corsets and while white isn’t my ideal color, I can totally play up the black details and the fun steampunk aspect.  Even better:  she can alter the corset up to 6″ down to fit me as I continue to lose weight!  So this one is definitely something I’ll get tons of wear out of going forward.

Now the hard — and FUN — part comes of shopping for materials and patterns to get the skirts made.  My Mom is a master seamstress–she made all my prom dresses and outfits growing up.  Molly and I plan to meet up at Granny’s several times in April to plan out the outfits and gather the supplies.  I’m a complete dunce at fabric and sewing.  I can do basics — like sew a straight line — but that’s about it.  I read the instructions and they’re like Greek.  So I might have to make a trip to have her tell me what she needs, and then I’ll bring stuff back and we’ll help cut out, etc.

So far I’ve found a nice big 11-yard piece of black taffeta that we can use as a base.  Then I’ve found several really unique and interesting patterns I’m hoping we can use in a bustle or overskirt to hype up the design.  I’ve got several costume patterns coming, and once I know yardage, I’ll start buying!

More to come, and of course, I’ll take some pictures.  Assuming things FIT!

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Upcoming Releases – Chance to Win

If you’re interested in winning a signed print copy of Yours to Take, I’m giving away 3 copies on GoodReads (open worldwide):  (give it a day or so – the giveaway hasn’t been approved yet but it should be up soon)

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Yours to Take by Joely Sue Burkhart

Yours to Take

by Joely Sue Burkhart

Giveaway ends April 10, 2013.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

 

I’ve also received the final ARC of Her Grace’s Stable (releasing June 2013). If pony play and menage doesn’t scare you (including M/M action) and you’re willing to post a review, drop me a note at joelysueburkhart AT gmail DOT com.

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Name Lord Regret’s Ship

I need help.  I’ve been typing [ship] every time I refer to Sig’s catamaran because I have no idea what it’s called.  I’m *this close* to finishing the book and I’m going to turn around and work on edits very quickly so I can get it submitted as soon as possible.

So here’s where you come in.

I’ll list a few references about the ship.  You guys suggest some names.  If I pick one of the names to use in Lord Regret’s Price, I’ll list you in the dedication.  Assuming it’s accepted for publication, I’ll also provide both an electronic and signed print copy once they’re available.

Wanna play?  Here’s a few references to the ship from Lady Doctor Wyre.  Remember, in Lady Wyre’s universe, the ships are referred to as he not she.  ETA:  You can enter as many times as you want!

In his one-of-a-kind mega catamaran built to cut through space like a hot knife through butter, he lived a life of luxury purchased by the blood of others.

…

“I know her well enough to comprehend that we’ll never understand her. Not fully. Oh, parties and clothes and such, yes, she’s entirely predictable. But as soon as I spend a queen’s ransom on the finest engines in the galaxy to tempt her onto my ship, she’ll throw me out on my face because she selected a colonial sheriff instead.”

….

“We’ll buy you a new gown.” Laughing, Gil swept her up into his arms. “This thing can fly itself, can’t it?”

“Of course.” Sig led the way toward his—their—bedchamber. “The finest technology in the galaxy at our lady’s fingertips.”

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My Old Enemy

I’ve been battling the beast again.

It’s an old enemy that has haunted me most of my adult life.  I can conquer it for awhile but it’s more than happy to sit back and wait, allowing me to think I’ve got the upper hand.  But as soon as I falter just a little, it’s back.

Weighing me down.

I’ve struggled to get back on track with Weight Watchers and Power 90 since before Thanksgiving.  I just can’t seem to get it all together.  I have a great breakfast most days.  Most of the time I can even put together a good lunch — unless it’s the weekend.  But then other days I stand in front of the fridge and think to myself, “What did I used to eat?  I can’t remember.  I don’t know what to eat.”

Most of it’s a mental game.  It’s keeping my head in the right place when we eat out.  The more I try to limit how much we eat out, the more resistance I get.  I can put food in the crockpot before we leave for church…and we’ll still eat out.  Either no one wants what I’ve made, or it won’t be done in time (this is true sometimes — especially on a Sunday lunch), or…  There’s always an excuse.

I have to pick my battles.  Some battles are easier than others and sometimes I just get tired of battling all the time.

Weeknights are easiest.  As long as I have dinner done before That Man gets home at 5:30, we’re eating at home.  There are the nights when I’m stuck at the Evil Day Job for an urgent production issue, or I spent a solid hour with Middle Monster doing homework, and the evening just gets away from me.  But most of the time, weeknight dinners are in my control.

That doesn’t mean the after dinner snack monster won’t bite me though.

Mental fatigue.  That’s all it is.  Most of the time I can easily resist the snacking.  Even if everyone else is craving Taco Bell, I can stick to my guns and eat a sandwich on my homemade freshly ground wheat bread.  But more often than not lately, I’m too mentally tired to stand strong.

So I’m up 14 pounds.  That’s what happens when I lose the mental battle and surrender too often to bad habits.

Enough is enough.  I have to find a way to sharpen my mental game.  I have to keep doing the things that set me up the best for success.  That means I *must* exercise.  I’m more likely to track my foods if I exercise.  I’m more likely to eat healthy the rest of the day, and if I don’t, it won’t hurt me as badly if I’ve already burned some calories.  I’ll feel better all around.  It’ll help me deal with the Evil Day Job stress better.

(You know stress is doing a number on your body when you lie in bed at night and your back muscles are sore to the touch and you’ve done nothing but sit and work all day.)

It just so happens that Littlest Monster wants to sign up for two 5Ks in the next few months.  I’ve never done one before and I KNOW beyond a shadow of a doubt that I cannot *run* 5K.  But with a little practice, I can walk it.

So.  I restarted Power 90 today, and I’m going to attempt my first 5K in March.  With some hard work, those 14 pounds will come off and I’ll get headed in the right direction again.  And my old enemy will be beaten back for another time.