Lesli's Live Long and Strong WISH Journal

[Lesli54]

Real quick before I am off to bed.

I just want to thank those of you who suggested that I take a day and spend it with DD18 before she leaves for college. Tonight, just the two of us went out for a nice evening. It was great!

I thought about it earlier today but didn't want to say anything to her until I knew for sure when we would go. Since I had that dentist appt, I wanted to see how my mouth felt before deciding. I mentioned it to DH and he thought it was a great idea.

So about 5:45pm, I went down to her room to see if she wanted to go. Her room is now officially completely packed. Nothing on the walls, all books off the shelves. It was strange. We chatted a few minutes and then I asked her if she would be interested in going out with me to a movie and dinner tonight. We were ready in about 15 minutes. Considering that she had just finished packing, I couldn't have planned it better if I had planned it. Hope that makes sense.

We went out to the Texas Roadhouse. A little too much food, but great conversation. After that we had some time to kill before the movie, so we headed over to Borders. I love that store. We spent alot of time in there and she showed me some of the collections that people are suggesting that she read. All of them were below her reading level (young adult section), which is fine sometimes, but after awhile you want something more. She commented that the books at her reading level that were of interest were all history and she didn't always want just history. Guess mom still has a few things to teach.

This kid reads anything she can get her hands on, so I figured she knew which sections of the bookstore to find her interests. She didn't, so I had fun showing her. Science Fiction for the fantasy books, like Lord of the Rings, Terry Brooks, etc. Not all Sci Fi of course, but some. She likes biographies. Then I showed her the Literature section. She fell in love. There were so many different books there that she has wanted to read or has read and we spent a lot of time near Shakespeare. Go figure. (My new mission is to buy every Shakespeare book for her, his works and works about him. She can then study him more and solve the mystery of who he really was. ) Then we looked at the different journals since she loves writing. It was fun.

Next we headed over to the movie. We saw "Must Love Dogs". It was pretty funny. Chick flick? Yeah, but good and there were some really great lines.

It really felt more like an adult evening. Like something you would do with a good friend, not so much a mother/daughter thing. That's good. If I can now become friends with my daughter and learn not to "mother her", then I know I have done well.

We just got back in a little bit ago and I told her that I had a lot of fun. She told me that she had fun too.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I really needed this moment with her and am glad that it was suggested.

Have a great weekend!

 

[SunFloridaDisney]

HI,

I'm fairly new here, but have read some of your journal and just wanted to say keep up the good work.

Sounds like a good evening your had with your DD. I understand, my oldest will be a junior in college this year, and she goes to an Arts Academy, I saw the arts mentioned some posts ago.

Hard in ways to let them go and grow up, but its how life is. I also have 3 other kids, youngest is 10.

Anyhow, have a good day!

 

[Lesli54]

TODAY IS THE FIRST DAY OF GETTING BACK TO THE BASICS!

I think that sums up the way I am feeling right now. And so far, I am off to a good start. It is funny how many times in this process that I have rededicated in order to keep going. Sometimes, you just feel that you have to start over before things get worse and it means starting back from the same weight.

Yesterday was a strange day for emotions and for accomplishments. I was porductive most of the day, but alot of it was at the computer. It will be so nice to get things all caught up so that I am not spending so much time in front of the computer. Well, with work, civic duties, and hobbies, I will still have a lot of time at the computer, but right now, I am really keeping the push to get caught up so, it's like double time now.

I can't remember what I ate for my AM snack. I am pretty sure that I had something, maybe not. Without tracking on fitday, I can't go back to see. How strange. Lunch was not great, I ate some fritos, too many. Who brought them in the house? Not me. I was trying to get alot done before going to the dentist and I recall being a little perturbed, but don't remember what it was about, I think I was just getting nervous about the dentist and so I mindlessly ate. Then I grabbed 1/2 turkey on 7 grain before leaving. Actually the dentist really wasn't that bad, no pain, no pinch of the needle, he is great and it probably doesn't hurt that he is really pleasing to the eyes. Well, at least I won't be so apprehensive next time. I had a few pieces of ham during the PM snack and a couple of chips.

As you read from my prior post, I had a great night out with DD18. For supper we started with the cactus blossom. Not as good as I remember Outback's Blooming Onion to be, but was willing to try, so we boxed up most of it and brought it home for DH. Then we had some rolls w/ cinnamon compound butter. Oh so good. They brought more and DD18 swept them into the box to go home. She ordered a ceasar salad and I almost went for something else as one of my sides out of habit but it sounded so that I did the same. She had catfish (most brought home) and a cup of chili, strange combo. I had 1/2 slab of ribs (only ate 1/2, brought rest home) and green beans. No room for dessert. My beverage was iced tea. At the movies I got a sierra mist in case I was thirsty. I didn't want to pay $3 for water, so I pd more than that for pop? Does that make sense? Next time, I will try to bring some water in. Next time we do dinner, we will probably skip the appetizer or just do an appetizer fun meal.

Breakfast: 1/2 c. all bran, 1 c. milk, 10 grapes, 1 oz turkey, 1 c. hot tea
For the rest of my meals, I am following the guidelines for Dr. Phil's rapid start program, so at this point, I don't have them planned.

Goals for day:
1. Take most of the day to get back on the organizing band wagon. Maybe I can finish the rest of the rooms by tomorrow night.
2. 1/2 hr. dancing
3. Get out a new puzzle for the family to work on, that was fun and was a great distraction from food when I took breaks


Everyone have a great day.

 

[lillygator]

Good luck today - puzzles are such fun - at my mom's house my sister and I always have soem going!

 

[rcyannacci]

Lesli- you're a godess! Thanks so much for your comments in my journal.

Your evening with your DD sounds like so much fun! There are a ton of historical fiction novels about Elizabethan England that she might enjoy reading...Margret George and Phillipa Gregory are just two authors I can think of off the top of my head. Also, if you're thinking to starting her off with a collection of Shakespeare plays, you might look at the Arden Shakespeare collection. They do a really good job of contextualizing the plays in English history and summarizing the major criticism on each play. Harold Bloom and Stephan Greenblat also write about Shakespeare and that period of history, but they may be a little too academic for her at this stage.

BTW- it took me a long time to break away from the young adult section because I was such an invested reader...When I read a book at that age, I became so entirely involved and invested in the characters and their lives that I was afraid to trust unknown authors to treat them with the same care I gave them. Anyway, it's great that you're pointing her toward some new authors...that's such a great thing to share.

Good luck with getting back to basics. Looks like a sound plan!

 

[Mykelogan]

Hi Lesli!!!

SOOO happy that you got to spend last night with your daughter and that it went so well. Don't worry, she will always need you to "mother her" at some times in her life!! Hope that your back to basics kickoff day is still going well!!

I hope that you have a happy & healthy night!
Mike

 

[Lesli54]

Yesterday's back to basics was off to a slow start, but I am working on it.

Didn't get done as much as I had hoped. My biggest problem now is tearing myself away from the bookwork. Sometimes I get on a project and I have the "all or nothing" attitude. This isn't a problem if everything else is caught up, but if that isn't the case, it poses a small problem.

But, I was busy. AM snack was a roll w/ cinnamon butter from Texas Roadhouse. I know, not on the plan, but I have realized that you don't start a plan when you are out of groceries. So I went and did some stocking up on fruits & veggies, both fresh and canned. Should have grabbed some frozen as well. Lunch was 2 ribs (leftover from the night before) and a small salad. Not completely well rounded but it was late and I was hungry. PM snack was cheese. Yes, I should have cut up some veggies, but I didn't feel hungry. Mistake. Later I got snacky and ate some chips, then after that I ate some trail mix (mostly the M&M's). My mission is to shove these down the throats of my children this week or they get pitched and are not coming back in the house except on occassion in the smallest portions possible. Part of my problem is the long wait for supper on Saturdays, the other part is that I kept myself busy and am not taking proper time for my meal planning. Supper was 1 brat on bun and 1/3 of a Texas Roadhouse roll. I wasn't very hungry and wanted to get out as many leftovers as possible, so I could make some decent meals later in the weak. My original plan was to put some grilled chicken on salad, but I let my eyes think for me when I saw the brat. I wish I had stuck to the original idea. The brat just wasn't that good and all that bread made me feel overstuffed. Water was decent.

So on to today.
Breakfast: 1 egg omelet w/sprinkle mozzerella, 1/2 plum (was sour), 1/2 c. all bran, 1 c. milk, hot tea
AM snack: yogurt
Lunch: salad w/ grilled chicken
PM snack: blueberries
Supper: homemade pizza w/lots of veggies (very thin crust)

Goals today:
1. Things I didn't get done yesterday
2. Tackle each thing that I need to do for a short period of time. It doesn't all need to be done NOW.

The next week is going to be challenging for suppers. I am making some of the meals that DD18 has requested before she leaves, such as homemade pizza, lazangna, chicken and dumplings (a Williamsburg recipe, full of fat and I wouldn't dare try to alter it), and things like that. Thankfully, these are meals that we occassionally have, but they are those "remind me of home" meals.

Tommorrow will also be challenging and I may not post until late in the evening. I am taking DD18 and 2 other girls up to Six Flags as a final GS trip. They were hoping to go further away, but they have all been too busy this summer and it hasn't worked out. Tomorrow is the only day that we can do anything and they need to spend some of the money they have earned over the last few years. The rest they will be donating.

Better get going. Lots to get done.

Everyone have a great day!

 

[rcyannacci]

Yummy homemade pizzas! I thought I'd reply here rather than on my thread. Yes, we do homemade dough, using the recipe from the California Pizza Kitchen cookbook. We typically double this recipe:

Honey-Wheat Pizza Dough
1 t. yeast
1/2 c. plus 1 t. warm water (105-110 degrees F)
1 c. bread flour
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
5 t. honey
1 t. salt
1 T. olive oil, plus 1 t. for coating

1. dissolve the yeast in the wather and set aside for 5-10 min.
2. place dry ingredients in a bowl; make a well in the middle and pur in the liquids. Use a wooden spoon to mix, kneaking with hands once mixed for 5 minutes. (or you could do all of this with a Kitchen Aid and the dough hook attachment). When done, dough should be slightly tacky
3. lightly oil dough ball and place in glass bowl to rise. Seal with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled (1 1/2 to 2 hours)
4. use a knife to divide the dough into 2 portions (4 if you double the recipe), roll into smaller balls and place in glass casserole dishes covered with plastic wrap to rise again, about 2 hours. (we even skipped this last rising last night and the dough was still good.
5. roll into pizza rounds.

Here is how DH grills pizza
1. Heats grill to hottest setting
2. takes rolled crusts and places on top level of grill (sprayed with oil so they don't stick). Once they become somewhat firm, he flips them. Once they resemble lightly cooked bread, he takes them off the grill and back inside for topping
3. Once they are topped with sauce, cheese, etc., he puts them back on the grill for cooking. At that point, they generally only take about 5 minutes or so, but keep checking the crusts to make sure they don't get too overdone.

Grilling is the closest thing we've found to making them taste like they've come from a brick oven.

OK- hope this helps. Once I've lost a little more, I may just have to get that chicken and dumpling recipe from you. Sounds fantastic!!!

Have a great Sunday.

 

[Cruise04]

Glad to hear you took a night out with dd - I'm sure you really needed it and she probably did too!!!! Good job. Have fun at GA with the girls!!!!! At least you'll get some great walking in!!!!

Keep on
Chris

 

[Mykelogan]

Hi Lesli,

I definitely understand what you mean when you said it is hard to start a plan without a well stocked kitchen with lots of healthy choices to keep us away from the not so healthy ones!

Hope you have fun at Six Flags tomorrow!!!
Mike

 

[Lesli54]

Just thought I would post before heading off to bed.

All of my eating today was right on schedule with a few exceptions. I had some chips right before I prepared my lunch. They jumped in my mouth as I was shoving them on my kids. Oh and the PM snack was changed. I was busy organizing and instead of grabbing some fruit, I had 1 Tbsp of PB and a slice of cheddar. Not bad, but the fruit probably would have been best. Water has been pretty good. Supper......I ate a few too many slices of pizza. The problem there was that I ate in spurts in between interruptions instead of in one sitting. Oh well, at least things were better overall.

I really contemplated putting of the house organization, but then decided that I just needed to start. Glad I did. We got alot done today. Very little sitting in front of the computer. Now all I have is my bedroom and my office. That I can tackle on Tues. Actually it feels so good to have so much gone through. I even did the linen closet. Wow.

Well, I am going to get going. I want to do a little reading before bed and then it is up early tomorrow. All meals will be eaten out, so I will be conscious of what I eat and let the kids splurge all they want.

Everyone have a good day tomorrow and I will talk to you when I get back in the evening.

 

[goldcupmom]

Have fun at six flags tomorrow! You'll do GREAT!!

 

[rcyannacci]

Have fun at Six Flaggs! Is it the one in Gurney? DH and I went there once when we lived in Evanston...too many rollercoasters for me! I told DH that next time he could drop me off at the outlets

Good luck finding some good food choices!

 

[Zela]

Just thought I would drop by and say Hi!
Hope your having fun at Six Flags

 

[SunFloridaDisney]

Just stopping to say Hi, hope you had a good day at Six Flags.

 

[honeymo78]

Wow, you really are getting that house in order - what a workout that can be.
I hope you had a good time at six flags. I'm sure you got in plenty of exercise from walking. Have a great day

 

[Lesli54]

One Phrase to describe yesterday.........IT AIN'T DISNEY!

I think the drive to Gurnee was as long as the drive to FL. Well maybe not, but it felt like it. There was construction on I-88 almost 100% of the way to I-294, which meant a single lane. So a 2 hr drive was real close to being a 3 hr drive.

Now, I didn't go in with the expectations that it was Disney. I have been here before, but it has probably been about 14 yrs, in fact my generation best knows it as Great America, before it was bought out by Six Flags. Well, let's say my mood about being there quickly shifted to let's get out and never come back. When I walked in I saw that the streets hadn't been swept well (this is an hour after opening), the employees are a bunch of teenagers who don't care, the tables at eating establishments weren't clean, food spills on the buffet line weren't cleaned up and really the merchandise wasn't all that great. I WANT MY DISNEY!

Whoever said that Disney was expensive never goes to these other theme parks, obviously. A 33.8oz bottle of water $3.55, same as a regular soda. A large bowl of Dippin Dots (I would guess similar to a large DQ sundae bowl) was $7. A very poor spaghetti meal (a pile your plate, but we know that most people don't) was $7.99. One day tickets $45 (we luckily had a $10 off coupon) and that is only $14 less than a one day at Disney, but a lot less park. Oh you can get a Fast Lane pass, it is $15 which is good for only 4 rides!

The girls had alot of fun though. They all love the big roller coasters. The other mom and I just walked around a bit. We wanted to ride the train around the park, but it had been closed down for a few days. We did see a Chinese Acrobat show, which was pretty good. And we squirted a few people with water guns when their raft went by on the Ragin' Rapids. Also a lot of people watching. Too many walking around in bathing suits and not covered up, this would include very overweight grannies, not just the young girls. Not pleasant. Not judging people's weight, but let's keep this in the water park, cover up when you go into the regular park.

The girls bought alot of the pictures taken on the roller coasters. They also did an old fashioned photo with a western theme. It was hilarious. They were in front of a saloon bar that housed a few whiskey bottles, wearing what my DD18 termed looked like underwear, holding guns and bags of money. Now if that couldn't get as far from the GS way, I don't know what can. But they had fun doing it.

The drive home was longer. We first tried to find a small restaurant that DD18 had eaten at, but that didn't work. They were more tired than hungry, so we put it off. Going home, we took the back highways instead of the interstate. It took just as long. Finally dropping down on I-88, thinking that traffic would be pretty light turned out to be a mistake as I got behind the person who refused to exceed 43 mph with only one lane. It was a long day. But the girls had a lot of fun and spent a lot of their hard earned money. They are donating the rest to Council to be divided amongst 6 girls going on Wider Opportunity trips who need the extra "scholarship" in order to go. They are great kids.

Water was horrible. Food was ok, not great. Breakfast was a sausage biscuit at McD's. Lunch was a good sized portion of ceasar salad, 6 sm meatballs, about 1/2 c. pasta, and a bread stick which I could have done without. I sm bite of DD18's Dippin Dots. Supper was Subway. I had a 6" chicken teriyaki w/sweet onion sauce on Italian herb & cheese bread w/lettuce, gr pepper, tomato, and cucumber. Then unfortunately, and I am ashamed to admit, I ate some potato chips and a Tbsp PB around midnight. I was waiting for DD18 to come home from taking one of the girls home and was a little concerned as she has not driven that route much in the dark, it's a 40 minute trip one way, and I didn't know how tired she was, but she said she was fine. Still worried some. It did take her longer since there were alot of deer out, but she made it home safe. Needless to say, that late night eating made me sleep horribly.

Breakfast: oatmeal, 6oz yogurt, 2 slices ham
AM snack: none, up late and got late breakfast
Lunch: salad w/turkey
PM snack: banana smoothie
Supper: ? Might do the lazagna or something very light

Goals for day:
1. Exercise
2. GS paperwork
3. Clean a sm space in my office
4. Start reorganizing my bedroom

I better get going. Everyone have a great day!

 

[pearlieq]

Greetings to you from DC!

Bless your heart for surviving a day at Great America!!! After Disney there isn't much to look forward to in the way of theme parks, is there?

Glad to see you recharged with a new plan in hand. Looks like you're doing well working more fruits/veggies and dairy into the mix!

It sounds like you had a great night with your DD--I'm glad you guys were able to find that little pocket of time to enjoy each other before she heads off to school!

Take care and I hope today was great!

 

[Mykelogan]

Hi Lesli!!

Sorry to hear that the park was no Disney, but as you said what could be Disney, but Disney!! hehe!!! Glad the girls had fun and how thoughtful of them to donate their money!! (The more I read about your DD, the more I see what a great mom she must have to teach her all the right things!)
Oh, and no stress eating tonight! hehe Instead of chips and PB, chew on a piece of paper!! LOL

Have a great night!
Mike

 

[rcyannacci]

Wow- your description of the Six Flaggs is exactly as I remember it...overpriced and not Disney . We were there in '99, and after that I swore off any amusement park except Disney (although my friends did drag me to SeaWorld last year, promising I could spend most of my time at the water park). And I totally agree with you about what passes for "clothes" at these parks...at least it's amusing.

I say don't worry too much about yesterday; it wasn't a normal day and you did really good, considering the options you're given at an amusement park and the stress that followed.

Have a good evening!