Snow Day!

It has snowed like crazy all day today. It started about 8:30 or so this morning and hasn't stopped yet. This morning it was coming down so fast and heavy, it was amazing. It never snows this late in March in Oklahoma. Granted, we always get one last snow in early March, and it's usually our biggest. But this year, it's snowed a ton. I think we've had about 7 or 8 inches. The news said in western Oklahoma it snowed 2 and 1/2 feet! That's not an Oklahoma snow. That's Minnesota snow. I would go crazy. I'm a total sun girl. If it was sunny and warm all year I would be in Heaven!

The boys are with their Daddy across town. It makes me sad when it snows and they aren't home with me. I would love to take pics of them playing and making a snowman. Hopefully their Dad got some pictures he can email me.

The day was pretty uneventful. Mr. H and I ventured out to Wal-Mart in the next town. Our electricity in our small town had gone out due to the heaviness of the snow on the electric lines. We really dread when our electricity goes out because it could stay out for a while. Our town only employees about 10 electrical workers. It makes for a long day when there's weather that has knocked powerlines down. Anyway,we decided to get out and buy a few things that we could eat without cooking. A little bread, lunch meat and cheese would do the trick. We could actually put the food on the back porch in a cooler if we had to. While at Wally World, I saw the cutest Better Homes and Garden comforter set. I'd been looking for something that would go with the gold tone tab curtains we have in the bedroom. This comforter looked perfect for our room. And, I really like the blue in the material.

We came home and fixed turkey burgers with sweet potato fries because the electricity was back on. Yay! Such a relief to be able to stay cooped up in the house and watch tv while checking out my favorite blogs. The turkey burgers were awesome and so moist. The secret is adding olive oil and bar-b-que sauce to the meat as you're mixing it. I also add Cavender's Greek seasoning and Seasoning Salt. They make the meat really flavorful when usually turkey meat doesn't have a ton of flavor. We also served the burgers on whole wheat buns, which I've found to be much better when they are fresh from the store. It makes them much softer.

I found a great recipe I want to try from thewwchick.blogpspot.com. I copied it below. I plan on trying it this week. Hopefully the boys will love it and not think it's weight watcher food. I hate that sometimes they complain when I'm on a diet that they are being punished and have to be on a diet too. Of course, the healthy eating is good for them and they have to understand that. But, sometimes a 10 year old and 7 year old have a hard time understanding. Except when it's WW muffins. They eat the entire box before I get one bite. And, those muffins aren't cheap!

Crock Pot Cheeseburgers

POINTS® Values Per Serving 4

Servings 10

1 1/2 pound 90% lean/10% fat raw ground beef

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

8 oz Kraft Velveeta Light Reduced-Fat Pasteurized Processed Cheese Product

2 Tbsp fat-free skim milk

1 medium green pepper(s)

1 cup onion(s)

2 clove garlic clove(s)

BROWN GROUND BEEF WITH GARLIC, PEPPER UNTIL COOKED IN A SKILLET. DRAIN. COMBINE COOKED MEAT AND ALL REMAINING INGREDIENTS IN CROCKPOT. MIX WELL AND COOK ON LOW 6-7 HOURS. SERVE: SPOON INTO BUNS. COUNT THE POINTS FOR YOUR BUN SEPARATE.

If you haven't checked out the ww chick's blog, you really need to. She has terrific ideas on dieting and staying on plan. I struggle with that at times. I've found that my problem is making food a celebration or fun time. I love to go out to eat. My co-workers love to go out to eat at good restaurants, not fast food places. It has to be a TGIFridays, or On The Border restaurant. Eating out every once in a while is ok, but everyday becomes a problem. I find that no matter where we eat, the calories and fat grams are always much worse than expected. You simply cannot eat healthy at a restaurant unless you are very diligent about what you order. I have some co-workers that love to rationalize eating bad. "It's only for today, just eat healthy tomorrow", " You're no fun, go eat with us", "I just couldn't eat like that, I have to have my meat (or sugar or bread)". Those are some of the things I hear on a regular basis at work. I just need to remember that it's about me for once. I need to keep my resolve and not listen to everyone else. I heard once that people that have a weight problem always want company. They want their friends to stay unhealthy with them so they don't feel so bad. Well, I've always been a girl who never had to watch my weight until I had kids. Even after having my oldest, I went to my 6 week checkup and weighed 135 pounds and I'm 5' 4". Needless to say, I weigh much more than that now. But, I've always attributed it to my son suffering from a disability since birth and the depression that followed, the divorce that came 8 months after my youngest was born and then the tragic death of my father just when I thought I had gotten my life back on track. Once again, I was re-inventing my life and it was tough. But, also, I'm happy, fat and happy, that's my problem too. I've been in love with a man for the last 5 years that makes me feel like I'm the most beautiful person on earth and I've started slacking in the past couple of years and getting comfortable with being overweight. This Spring, that ends. I need to be here for my boys and my sweetie. I need to be healthy as a good example for those boys. I tell them all the time that I used to run 4 miles a day in college. I'm going to show them that it's true and I can be healthy and exercise on a regular basis. I want them to be proud of their mom and the strong person that I've become both mentally and physically.

*Getting down from soapbox now*