The Blonde Diaries

Weight Watchers: End of Week 4 update

Well week 4 has just come to an end on my Weight Watchers diet. I had some pretty big ups and downs this week on my diet. I think we all remember my Crawfish Fettuccini post which represented pretty well how the rest of the week went. I ended up making chicken italian sausage on Tuesday night to finish up the pasta but it just wasn’t the same as what my heart was set on but I ate it and got over my disappointment. I did learn how to measure out my portions using a food scale so that was a point scored for me on this journey. I had found a cheap but cute scale at Crate and Barrel last year but left it on the top shelf of my kitchen cabinet (Bad Cate!). So I drug it down last week and started to use it. I found that my portions per the scale weren’t nearly as bad as what I had thought by reading the package serving size. Like 2oz of pasta is quite a lot!

But 3 days of pasta was all I could take before turning in my flex points and doing our once a week eating out dinner - again at Buffalo Wild Wings. I just wasn’t feeling it so we skipped the wings and opted for a wrap, only had a couple of beers, and said no on dessert. So again not too horrible. But then again it did continue the downward spiral of no exercise for 3 days (Wed, Thurs, Fri) and then I ate out Saturday afternoon and Sunday afternoon but coupled it with some exercise so it wasn’t a complete loss. Mike and I also took our monthly Zoo trip to the Houston Zoo and had a nice brisk walk Sunday morning which I counted as extra exercise.

If you are looking for a change in your exercise routine I highly recommend going to local parks or the zoo early in the morning. We went at 9 am and the weather was just perfect with a fabulous breeze, sun wasn’t too hot yet, and there were not that many people. The only bad thing was that its pollen season and Mike and I didn’t last much longer than 1.5 hours but it was still nice for a change in scenery. I think we might do it again in 2 weeks after Mike’s CPA exam.

So all in all I had a .5 pound loss last week so I was still happy even though its small in comparison with my 2 pound losses. But as I learned in weight watchers a loss is a loss no matter how big or small. I’m on the right track so that’s all I can ask.

For this week: tuna helper helped and 2 pounds of chicken to figure out how to spice up. So stay tuned for a week 5 update to see what I did.

Reading the book or seeing the movie first?

With Hollywood producing more and more movies based on books I often find myself wondering: Do I read the book or watch the movie first?

In both cases you want to be able to be surprised when you read/watch the story for the first time because its less fun to know what’s going to happen when you know the storyline. But a choice has to be made, comparisions will take place, and some form of disappointment will arise. Its inevitable. Normally, I base my choice on would I rather compare the movie to the book or the book to the movie.

For the most part I see the movie then read the book. I have found often times that doing it in this order helps me picture characters and actions better. Other times I find it will help breathe new life into a book I put down because it was dull (The Devil Wears Prada and Nanny Diaries come to mind) or too long (Vaniety Fair anyone??) . But every now and then I will find the reverse. I cannot stand to watch the Harry Potter movies. I loved the books and built my characters around my interpretations and those did not match the movie at all. Maybe because it was movie 1? I really don’t know though. I’m praying Confessions of a Shopaholic does not go that way. I love the book and I can’t wait for the movie. I’m hoping both will be good like P.S. I Love You. Only time will tell with a Feb 2009 projected release

Until then I think I’ll try reading the Other Boleyn Girl until it comes to Netflix.

How many glasses of water do you really need a day?

I have always heard that you need a minimum of 6-8 8oz glasses of water per day to keep yourself hydrated. I’m a big water person as it is so I normally don’t have problems meeting that minimum unless I go out to a bar and then I need double that the next day. Mike on the other hand just doesn’t drink water. Its a Coke for every meal and nothing in between (he claims he drinks water at work…sure). So I’m always on his case about drinking less Coke and more water.

But Sunday night as I was driving back to Houston from my parent’s house I heard on a radio call in show that you really don’t need to drink as much water as recommended. That the chances of you actually dehydrating over not having enough water is slim. I got curious about this because I have noticed on some weekends where I don’t guzzle water quite as much as when I’m working I can quickly go downhill health wise because I haven’t drank enough water.

So what is enough water for 1 average person each day?

I decided to visit my favorite medical website -> WebMD about hydration and what we need to consume each day. The article I found stated that the 8 8oz glasses of water per day is a good rule of thumb to go by even though there is no scientific proof that this is our body requirements. Another good rule of thumb is to drink enough so that you visit the restroom every 2-4 hours which doesn’t sound so bad if you are a nonwater drinker. I think I’ll keep up with my 6-8 8oz glasses and make sure Mike is within the 2nd set of guidelines as well.

http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/quest-for-hydration

Crawfish Fettucini… almost

Well I thought I was going to have a fabulous recipe to share with yall tonight but instead I have a blonde moment story to share. You see I was cleaning out my freezer last week and discovered 5 packs of crawfish tails (score!!). My eyes lit up and I started thinking about what I could make with them as crawfish is extremely Weight Watcher friendly. You can have one serving for just 1 point!

So I settled on crawfish fettucini to make tonight. I had all the ingredients (or so I thought) and went to work defrosting the crawfish, boiling the noodles, and cooking/mincing up some broccoli to add in. I get all the way to the end and notice my jar of “alfredo” sauce is labeled salad or pasta dressing. I didn’t think too much of that as it was homemade by an Italian family and figured it was a language/translation thing. Well I pour it into my pot of crawfish and broccoli and then decide to taste the stuff. Yup. It was really a variant of Caesar Salad Dressing! So Mike was a good sport and decided we should eat it anyways. It was not terrible but it is not something I would ever make again nor will I be eating those left overs! So next time I will read those labels a tad closer and taste the sauce before dumping into my dinner!

If you are ever in Baton Rouge you must go by Freschina’s on Drusilla at I-12. They make homemade noodles, sauces, and dressings (apparently) and they are just TO DIE FOR! Even some of the restaurants in town buy their ingredients from there.

Yes! Legally Blonde the Musical on Tour

I went to go see the Rat Pack: Live from the Sands two weeks ago with a friend of mine here in Houston. I wasn’t too sure what I was going to see at that play other than hearing some old Frank Sinatra songs being sung on stage. Well the show was excellent and featured 3 young singer/actors that sang songs by Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis, Jr. for almost 3 whole hours. Just a great time if you want to sit back, relax, and hear some old favorites.

While we were there I noticed that both touring groups that come through Houston had released their 2008-2009 season of plays. We get both Broadway Across America (BAA) and Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS) here in Houston. Well much to my surprise, TUTs will be performing Legally Blonde: The Musical next year here in Houston. I just loved the movie and was super excited to hear that it was made into a play and showing on Broadway beginning last October. Little did I know that they would have it touring within a year! I’ve already stalked the website for tickets and noted that tickets for the February 2009 dates will be on sale in December so I will have to mark it on my calendar. I now have one Christmas for my mom checked off!

So if you are a Broadway nut like me but live too far away check out both groups to see if any plays are coming to your area.