This one’s for the LA-DIES!

2:41 pm ByFiled UnderUncategorized

Alternative title: Baby Mama, a movie review

Smitty and I rented Baby Mama last weekend. Overall, it was pretty funny but nothing special. I love Tina Fey on 30 Rock, so I appreciate her sense of humor. And I had no idea how many other famous people were in this movie! Greg Kinnear, Sigourney Weaver, Steve Martin, the woman from ER who I always think is this woman from Doc Hollywood. I think there were others, but I don’t remember off the top of my head.

The movie had several cringe-inducing – but funny – moments that had me saying, out loud, “Oh no. Oh noooo….” And Steve Martin was pretty darned funny as Tina Fey’s loony boss. And of course, I loved it when Tina Fey’s character’s favorite song was Lady in Red. (Is this video stalkerish or what?)

I will say, though, that the way the movie ended was predictable. I liked it, don’t get me wrong, but I saw it coming from a mile away (despite the twist early on in the movie).

And worst of all? No bloopers on the DVD!

Other than that, it was pretty good. For a buck at Redbox, I say go for it.

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What I Have in Common with Nacho Libre

1:32 pm ByFiled UnderUncategorized

No, it’s not the fact that I also look smashing in a turquoise sweater and white pants. And no, I’m not a Mexican wrestler in disguise. But I do love my stretchy pants.

When you are a man, sometimes you
wear stretchy pants in your room.
It’s for fun. (Nacho Libre, 2006)

When I was about six months pregnant, my mom and I went to Macy’s to look for a pair of pants for me. I’d been wearing mostly regular clothes, but even my biggest clothes weren’t fitting anymore. While I was busy looking for a pair of khaki pants for work, my mom checked out the clearance rack.

That’s where she found them. My stretchy pants.

The first great thing about these pants is that they only cost $11. The second great thing is that they are black, so they match every single one of my old t-shirts. The third and most important great thing about these pants is that they are stretchy. Oh, so stretchy. Granted, they are a size that I will never admit to wearing (and don’t you try to look at the tag!). And I probably shouldn’t be wearing something I could fit into at my most pregnant. And in general, they aren’t the most flattering piece of clothing I’ve ever worn.

Just to clarify – the picture above is an example of black stretchy pants. But these aren’t the pants. And that’s not me in the picture. But anyway, I love my black stretchy pants. Honestly, I would wear them every day if I could. I wish I would have bought more than one pair. I love them.

I realize that makes me a prime candidate for What Not to Wear. But as I mentioned (on Chelley’s blog maybe?), I’d very much like the chance to be humiliated in exchange for a makeover and new wardrobe. Just wait to nominate me until I’ve lost weight, will you?

Until then, I need to wear my stretchy pants in my room. (Or on the couch.) It’s for fun!

**By the way, when I did a search for a picture, I found that I’m not the only person who feels this way!**
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I blame it on the M&Ms.

1:02 pm ByFiled UnderUncategorized

My weight-loss success was short-lived. I had a gain this week, and it’s no mystery why. I ate an enormous amount of M&Ms (bought for Photobaby’s upcoming birthday party). And, okay, I ate two delicious cake donuts for breakfast on Friday. But mainly, it was the M&Ms. Evil candy-coated pieces of chocolate, they are.

[Turns out, I’m not the only one to believe M&Ms are evil. Check this out. Or this one. Or this one here.]

All joking aside, I really am down about this. I have been trying to lose weight for longer than I haven’t. I can remember trying to diet and exercise when I was 14! Yet, I’ve never really gained control over this struggle. Sure, I was thinner back then, but I wasn’t healthy. And now, I’m neither thin nor healthy!

You’d think I would be motivated. First of all, my health was seriously endangered last year at the end of my pregnancy. And even though the doctor said it wasn’t my fault, she also said being at a healthy weight and eating right could possibly prevent it from happening again, should we have another baby in the future. This should be big motivation, right?

Plus, I’ve passed every limit I set on myself, from “I’ll never have back fat” to “I’ll never shop at Lane Bryant” to “I’ll never weigh more than 200 lbs. again!” Each time, I prove myself wrong. I prove that no, I can’t do this. I can’t make the right choice, do the right thing, be a better person.

And how can I expect to conquer this problem? I mean, even Paul said, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” And if Paul had trouble, well, this mere mortal is doomed. Doomed!

Then again, maybe it’s not futile. (And perhaps I get a bit emotional and dramatic about this topic.) After all, Paul also said, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” And not to mention this: “I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

So if Paul didn’t give up, I guess I shouldn’t either. Even if I gained half a pound. It’s a new week, and I’m back on the point-counting wagon. I know Weight Watchers is a good program that works. And I remember that I am capable of following the program and losing weight. And I’m praying that this week is the one where I start moving forward. Pressing on toward the goal. Again.

18 Comments

Monday Morning Mmmm: Spicy Chicken Spaghetti

5:15 pm ByFiled UnderRecipes & Food

I love recipes. I subscribe to Kraft’s food and family, I read The Pioneer Woman every day (or every day she posts), and I watch 30 Minute Meals on the days I get home early enough and Annalyn isn’t cranky. I even take notes at my Weight Watchers meetings and write down their healthy recipes.

And I put all the recipes I find – online, in magazines, on TV or wherever – in an binder formerly known as a photo album.

A binder that sits in my pantry, next to my handful of cookbooks and unopened except for the occasions I pull it out to double check the ingredients or quantities in the recipes I’ve used a hundred times.

See, I have a few dishes that I can cook well. Lasagna, cheesy potatoes, broccoli and rice casserole, chocolate éclair dessert, baked mostaciolli, tortilla rolls. I can also make a mean pan of brownies from the store-brand box mix, but that’s another story. The problem – aside from the calorie and point count of those dishes – is that I don’t venture out. I save new recipes, but I don’t try them. I want to. But I don’t.

And that is why I’m so excited to tell you that not only did I try a new recipe, but I even altered it to make it better/to avoid making another trip to the store.

Last fall, after Annalyn came home from the hospital, several friends brought us meals. My friend Katie, who now lives in Virginia, actually had her mother-in-law bring us dinner one night! Because she knows how much our family loves cheese (I blame my dairy addiction on a childhood allergy that required a sad diet without pizza or tacos or anything dairy.), she asked her mom-in-law to make one of their family favorites, chicken spaghetti.

I don’t actually know the name of the dish, but “chicken spaghetti” is what Pioneer Woman called it on her site, although her recipe didn’t seem exactly the same as the one we had last fall. But it looked close enough, so I thought I’d try it. After all, even Mark liked the dish – and he’s a picky eater (and to be honest, one of the reasons I don’t often try new things)!

Since I think I’m making a short story long here, I’ll cut to the chase. I changed the ingredients to fit what I already had on hand, and ended up with a dish that if not exactly like what Katie’s mother-in-law makes, is pretty darn close. And we loved it! Loved it a little too much, actually, since we both had second helpings! (Surely this doesn’t have anything to do with my 1-pound weight gain two days later at my WW weigh-in??)

So without further ado (oh, how I love my ado), here’s MY new recipe:

chicken spaghetti casserole

Spicy Chicken Spaghetti
4 chicken breasts, chopped
3 cups dry spaghetti, broken into 2-inch pieces
1 can chicken broth
1 can cream of mushroom soup
3 cups grated cheddar cheese
¼ cup diced onion
1 can Rotel
Chili powder
Garlic powder

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook the chicken in a skillet sprayed with cooking spray. Season with chili powder and garlic powder. Boil the spaghetti in the broth and some water, then drain. Combine chicken, spaghetti, soup, 2 cups of cheese, onion and Rotel. Pour into casserole dish, sprinkle with remaining cheese, and bake for 30 minutes.

Next time, I’ll probably add a little more chicken, chopped more finely, a bit more spaghetti and another can of soup. Plus, I’ll cook the onion with the chicken – I prefer my casserole onions not to crunch, thank you very much. And I’ll have to use a bigger pan and feed more people…or, more probable, I’ll divide into two dishes and freeze one for later.

And that, my friends, is the story of that one time when I actually cooked something new. Have you tried anything new lately?

Edited to add: Linking this up to carnivals about two and a half years after first writing it, I’m amazed at how far I’ve come in my sense of cooking adventure. I’ve gone from rarely trying anything new to trying new recipes a few times each month! Okay, so that’s not exactly daring, but for me, it’s a vast improvement!

This post will be linked to Mouthwatering Monday, Tasty Tuesday, Tuesdays at the Table, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, 33 Shades of Green, Foodie Friday, Friday Firsts and Food on Fridays.

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14 Comments

More Sites for the Word Nerds

2:02 pm ByFiled UnderUncategorized

For no particular reason, and in no particular order, here are some additional grammar-type blogs for those of us grammar-type folks. I used to think I was big on grammar. Turns out, I’m really not. Not in comparison to these people!

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