10,000 steps

One more again, I am attempting to lose weight.  I have been overweight for as long as I can remember.  I came into this world just as the Summer of Love was kicking off, 9 pounds 6 ounces of bouncing baby girl, at 6:03 in the evening, just in time for supper.  Supper is still my favorite time of day.  :)  I've dieted, I've lost weight (lots of weight!) and I've gained weight.  Twenty years ago, I lost 60 pounds and gained back 80 and then most recently, I lost 50 and gained back 30.  Enough of this roller coaster.  I turned 48 last month and I really, really don't want all of the health problems that come with growing older AND being fat.  Growing older is bad enough.  I'm healthy as I can be right now but diabetes and heart disease run in my family.  I'd rather they not run all over me if I can help it, thank you very much.

So I'm under a doctor's care now and I'm losing weight, ever so slowly this time.  I've lost fourteen pounds since the end of May.  That's turtle-crawling-on-pancake-syrup slow for me.  I've lost 14 pounds in two weeks before.  But guess what?  Every one of 'em came back and brought friends with them.  Friends with cake.

I bought a pedometer in May (and let me tell you, this is the BEST pedometer out there.  This little thing has been washed in the washer, dried in the dryer, hung out on the line all day long in the hot sun, dropped a few hundred times out on the flight line, it's been sat on, had all kinds of stuff piled on it down in my tote bag, it's been LOST (twice) and it's been the best little companion I could have had in my journey to better health and a slimmer me.  I have no desire to be skinny.  I only want to lose 60 pounds total and I'm going to do it the right way this time.

My doctor suggested that I walk 10,000 steps a day.  That's five miles.  I have tried so hard to do that but always end up right around 8,000.  I did much better before it got so blasted hot, though.  My job gives me lots of opportunities to walk but ain't one thing funny about being fat and hot so my walking has slowed down, along with everything else in this sweltering Georgia summertime we're living in.

But today, tho.  Today I made it!!  Never mind that the last 60 steps were in our living room with Larry asleep already.  I made it.  :)

Ooh la la!

We'll get back on our healthy eating track next week but for this weekend, Larry and I are following the Fat-Folks-On-The-Beach diet.  He asked for it so I made French toast this morning.  With huge slices of bread and syrup!  Yummmmm.

Texas toast soaked in heavy whipping cream, an egg, cinnamon and nutmeg and then fried in butter.

Fat folks on the beach, we will be.  :)

December Daily

December 14th

I took a little trip out to Lane's for some more local Christmas shopping and spent an hour rocking in the sunshine.  It was 72 degrees! 

December 15th

This is the best time of year to work at a doctor's office!  Everybody brings you goodies!  These yummy all-natural honey oatmeal raisin cookies were brought to us by our baby formula rep.  He got them at The Fresh Market and they were pretty much the best crunchy, yummy oatmeal cookies I've ever had.

 December 16th

See?  What'd I tell ya?  These Christmas cookies (from Wilson's Bakery!) were dropped off today by the OB/GYN group at the hospital.  We gon' weigh 400 pounds a piece come January.

I made this 'nana puddin' for my daddy for his Father's Day dinner tomorrow. And yes, I realize the cookies are on there all willy-nilly, shut up.

I had to make another trip to Wal-Mart to get a third bag of the Chessmen cookies. Two bags are not enough. I tried to make them work, hence the willy-nilliness.

I don't think this banana pudding was on the dessert menu at The Lady and Sons Restaurant in Savannah when Mama and I went on our little beach trip last month. If it was, we totally overlooked it. I mean, after that fried chicken buffet with all the trimmings which included fried collard greens, we were 'bout to pop by the time dessert rolled around anyway. I heard about this recipe through one of the doctors I work with and I just had to make it.

I cannot wait to try it tomorrow. Jessi and I 'bout hurt ourselves just licking the spoons.

Here's the recipe! Y'all let me know if you try it or have tried it in the past. This was my first time.

Not Yo' Mama's Banana Pudding

Recipe courtesy Paula Deen

Ingredients

• 2 bags Pepperidge Farm Chessmen cookies (you better go on and get you 3 bags!)
• 6 to 8 bananas, sliced
• 2 cups milk
• 1 (5-ounce) box instant French vanilla pudding
• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 (12-ounce) container frozen whipped topping thawed, or equal amount sweetened whipped cream

Directions

Line the bottom of a 13 by 9 by 2-inch dish with 1 bag of cookies and layer bananas on top.

In a bowl, combine the milk and pudding mix and blend well using a handheld electric mixer. Using another bowl, combine the cream cheese and condensed milk together and mix until smooth. Fold the whipped topping into the cream cheese mixture. Add the cream cheese mixture to the pudding mixture and stir until well blended. Pour the mixture over the cookies and bananas and cover with the remaining cookies. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

It's Back!

Stress can do terrible, awful things to a girl so I'm not even taking responsibility for the 960 calorie, 45 grams of fat, so-bad-for-your-ass, so-good-it's-ridiculous concoction from Dairy Queen that I scarfed down today.  

I feel fatter just working out the math on this thing.

But man, it was GOOOOOOOD!!!!