If Maui is heaven, then the angels eat seared ahi...

I had the most amazing dinner Tuesday night at the Humahumanukanukapua'a restaurant at the Grand Wailea resort. The seared ahi in a white truffle sauce was the most divine dish EVER. Paired with a coconut martini, I finally found nirvana in paradise.




It was dark and my photos don't do the meal justice. Suffice to say I may never go home.

Eating in Paradise

Paradise. At sunset. With a little Photoshop enhancement. For simplicity's sake, most (OK...all) of the photos I post here are shot with my iPhone. I have a wonderful Kodak digital camera that The Professor gave me a couple of years ago, but I don't make a habit of carrying it on a daily basis. My iPhone on the other hand, is rarely out of reach. So I may give my pix a little digital Botox every now and then.

I have taken a vacation from journaling in my WW food log, but I am still very conscious of what I am eating. I should probably track my points, but trying to figure out the points value for fresh Humuhumunukunukuapua'a is damn near impossible, so I'm not trying. And the food here is wonderful! We ate at the breakfast buffet Sunday morning:


That was my second helping. I had bacon on the first trip. Today we ate lunch in Paia at a hippie-dippy health food place. This is a curry chicken wrap and it was divine. Probably a whole days worth of points in there, but it was worth it! I didn't eat much for dinner because of it.



Yesterday was my big night out for drinking. Dustin Pot Pie and his boys got me tanked early in the day beside the pool and then took me to dinner, but not before I bounced off the screen door (hey....the light was poor and I was drunk...don't judge me) and then I almost wet my pants laughing when Pot Pie did the exact same thing two hours later. I didn't drink and take photos, though, so I have no record of the evening. I did snap my tootsies poolside (that's mama keeping an eye on things in the background):


A mai tai for breakfast and $70 will get you a pedicure with "nail art" and a sequin glued to your big toe.

Aloha from Maui!

Sorry for the quietude this past week. I'm in Hawaii where the birds are loud, the sun too bright, and the whales plenty. It's a burden being here, but someone has to do it.

Ha! I LOVE Maui, but I'm having difficulty accessing photos to post here. As soon as I figure it out, I'll show some beautiful shots of paradise. In the meantime, here's a fun little snippet of The Professor trying to go native on our visit in 2007.

Aloha!

Patriotism, BBQ, and Family

What an awesome day to be American! I watched Barack Obama's swearing in on a live CNN video stream at the office. I live in a red state, but there were pockets of blue democrats huddled over monitors today watching history in the making. And I in my Obama 08 shirt and white hope wristband was awed by the emotion and majesty of what I witnessed.

And then we had BBQ for dinner. I forgot to take a picture again (I'm not improving on that aspect of blogging), but ribs, brisket and potato salad seemed like a pretty patriotic choice for this historic day. Club WW may disagree, but hey, I had the points available, and I weighed in again today. I lost another 1.6 pounds. Yay! I'm finally under 200 pounds again, even if it is just a toe under.

But back to the BBQ. It wasn't great but the company was terrific. My sister-in-law's sister (who is - and always will be - older than I am) and her husband joined us and the parental units. Under the influence of the so-so Q and schooners of beer (not me...I was driving), we told family stories, laughed ourselves silly, and playfully berated another table for being too loud. And I learned that I was lucky to have survived infancy, small children are better left in the care of other relatives, and I have more embarrassing stories about my brother to share with his brood. Like the time my snapping turtle almost bit off his finger, or the scorpion in his underwear stung him in the you-know-what, or when he tried to electrocute himself by teething on a live extension cord, or his goofy toothless grin (but at least he had hair).


Being an auntie is fun (love ya, bro)!

Blogging

I've decided I like blogging. Which is surprising since I still don't get the fascination with Facebook and my MySpace page went absolutely nowhere. I also have a certain aversion to being easily traced on-line (which is why you know me as Dillypoo - my personal on-line witness protection I.D.).

I follow several blogs on a daily basis and they are/were my inspiration for DillypooChatter. I love their authors' writing styles and sense of humor on a variety of different subjects. So, I've added some of them to my sidebar of interests so you can enjoy them, too (you'll find them just over there to your left and down a little ways). Bravo to them and a hearty thank you!

And just to keep focused on the purpose of my blog, here's my lunch from last Wednesday:


I'm faring much better this week than last, so I'm hopeful that my next weigh-in will find me under the 200 mark. I leave for Maui next Saturday and I know I'll stand a better chance of not gaining back what I've already lost if I see and feel progress beforehand.

Losing weight is part watching what you eat, part getting physical, and part mental gymnastics. I've got two out of three going for me. I need to find my Olivia Newton John DVD to get to number three.

Character Flaw

As much as I love The Professor, he has one major character flaw that still irks me after 17 years together. Although quite the handy man (he can build or repair almost anything), he is completely incapable of making a bed.

I leave the house before The Professor most mornings. I'll tidy up my side of the bed when I get up with the hope that he'll be inspired (or guilted) into doing the same when he rises. You'd think after all of these years my optimism would wane, but I'm not wired that way. It's an old argument that I trot out every now and then. "Honey, do you think you can please make the bed after you get up this morning? The blankets are hanging on the floor on your side." I invariably get a grunt or a "no" or a sheepish grin that means I could have used that breath to ask for the moon and a carriage ride to visit it, and with the same response. I know that when I get home that evening, this is what will greet me:


My routine is to then drop my handbag, set down the mail, and make the bed.


I cannot sleep in an unmade bed. I'm not wired that way, either.

Baby Steps

I lost 2 pounds! Just think what I can do next week without the challenges of visiting relatives (love you guys, though), a road trip, and too many restaurant meals. I'm a happy camper tonight. Yay!

I think really studying the menus is what helped me this week. Yes, I had dessert one night and a pancake for breakfast once, but everything else I chose because they were healthier options. Take breakfast on Sunday:


That be an Egg Beaters omelet with veggies and ham, and fresh fruit substituted for my beloved hash browns. I also went caffeine free last week (and you all thought it was the lack of food that was making me cranky) and The Professor exchanged sea kitten dinners with me last night when I realized my sea bass was drowning in butter and his grilled salmon was not. Yeah, he loves me.

Speaking of love, a little brotherly hug between my Dad and his brother:


Ain't that sweet? Awwwww.....

Road Trip to Broken Bow

My brother and his wife are building a cabin in Broken Bow, Oklahoma. I drove up there this weekend with my parents and my Michigan relatives to take a peek. It was cold and a bit damp at times, but Broken Bow was lovely and the cabin is going to be fabulous. 

It's supposed to be finished sometime this summer. I can't wait for the first big family gathering and time spent around the future fire pit, toasting s'mores and pelting grandpa with the extra marshmallows. 

The mist in the air was kind of magical and made me want to delve into Harry Potter's world again for a little while. Can't you imagine flying owls soaring through the air and bowtruckles living in these trees?

We spent the night at the lodge in the local state park and every room had a view of the lake. It was very peaceful and even if the cabin never gets finished, I'd return to the lodge again. It was wonderful.

Sticking to the WW plan was difficult, though. I brought along a HUGE bag of carrots and snacked on them the whole time, and I tried to make good choices despite having cinnamon rolls, Hot Tamales, and fried chicken right under my nose. I did give in to the wine temptation, though, and I had half of the dessert at dinner and a pancake at breakfast, but I DIDN'T have anything at McDonald's, the cinnamon roll, Hot Tamales or fried chicken. So I consider the weekend a success.

Stumpy

My parents have a gecko named Stumpy:

Technically, Stumpy belongs to my nephew but as my sister-in-law has little interest in pests other than her own children, Stumpy has to live with grandma and grandpa. He's an interesting creature, as any three-legged gecko would be, and he's pretty low maintenance as far as pets go. He's also an occasional source of amusement. How many of you have heard your parents argue about who's turn it is to buy crickets?

Today was Day Two of the Rest of My Life on Weight Watchers. I know I'm not supposed to be hungry on WW, but today at work I could've eaten a ream of paper. I guess I need to invest in some new snacks since my cache of old snacks has too many points (and they're probably partly responsible for my joining the Chub Club in the first place). That being said, I've done OK with my menu selections (although I keep forgetting to take pictures - I must improve on that so I don't have to post photos of lizards for visual interest). Tonight I made chili, which I paired with half an avocado and a bag of popcorn. I'd rather have had cheese and saltines, but it's all about making better choices, right?

Tomorrow I'm on vacation so I can visit with my Aunt and Uncle from Michigan. We're going on a road trip through East Texas and into Oklahoma. I should probably pack some food for the journey. I doubt I'll find any WW friendly pie or chicken fried steak along the way.

Ugh

I did it. I re-joined Weight Watchers. And the weigh-in wasn't pretty. We're friends here, right? You support me and love me, right? OK. Are you sitting down? Here's my first weigh-in result:

See that number right next to the word "Today?" That's a number that I never thought I'd see. And a number I hope I never see again. I weigh more than 200 pounds.

And you thought I wasn't serious about this weight loss venture or that I'd really post my weight. But how can I ask you to support me and help keep me accountable if I don't share the basics of this little exercise? (No pun intended. Well, maybe a little bit.) 

If I didn't have to count the points I'd go drown myself in a venti, soy, cinnamon dulce latte. 

Last Supper

I plan to post photos of the food I eat as a perverse twist on the food journal that Weight Watchers makes you keep. So far I've remembered to shoot two meals - Sunday's lunch and dinner:

The Professor and I ate lunch at Cabela's. Returning Mom and Dad's Christmas gift (sorry!) made us hungry ... and it's quite possible that dining at Cabela's on weekends is the only way we'll be able to use up the merchandise credit (although I did find a pretty jacket and some toasty sheepskin slippers). The tuna sammy was OK, but I'm working up the courage to order an ostrich sandwich next time. Nothing like a little game to fuel your shopping pleasure! I just hope I don't have to shoot it first.

For dinner I tried to replicate one of our favorite meals from Gloria's, a tenderized steak in a tomato and chili verde sauce. It turned out OK, although my fried "plantains" (read "bananas") were a bit soft. Obviously, I haven't been to a Weight Watchers meeting yet. Did I mention that I plan to join on Tuesday? That's tomorrow. I'm a bit regretful that I forgot to snap a photo of my last supper - coconut fried shrimp and a cup of lobster bisque. It'll be a while before fried anything or creamed soup are on the menu again.

Lastly and completely un-food related, it was cold and icy today. Mother Nature reminded us that Saturday's 80 degree weather was just a cruel joke. It is Stock Show time here in ol' Cowtown. That means ice.

Note: I'm still figuring out the best way to size my photos. These are a bit too big, don't you think?

Pictures Worth a 1000 Calories

To emphasize the point, here is a picture of me at my 20th high school reunion:

I actually kinda like this photo of me. I wish it were still true. Here's a picture of me at my 25th high school reunion:

That was two years ago (I'm dating myself now for all of you math-wizards). I tried a bit of Photoshop magic, but there's only so much Adobe can do to help. 

And lastly, a photo from last summer. To hell with thunder thighs. Where did those arms come from?

I'm joining Weight Watchers on Tuesday.

I Blame My OBGYN and Facebook

Facebook made me do it. Start a blog, that is. I was thinking today that it might be interesting/fun to blog this year as I attempt once again to lose weight. I was thinking this as I updated my status on Facebook and realized that the most I can do on Facebook is update my status. Depending on who I tell about my blog, this could be a nice, semi-private way to sound off on food cravings, weigh-ins, and the fit of my wardrobe.

I wish I could blame Facebook or my doctor for the extra pounds, but I think I'll have to fess up and take the credit. I put on about 40 pounds after my girl surgery four years ago and another 20 pounds out of sheer laziness. But it's time. Again. I can't see my girl parts without straining my back and I get winded going up the stairs. Which means I'm too fat.

So, here's to a new year, a new attempt at Weight Watchers, and a new creative outlet to document my progress.