Weigh-In Wednesday: Week 22

WIW graphic for post
Weigh-In Wednesday Weekly Stats

Weight Watchers Week Number: 22

Lbs Lost this Week: + 1.4

Lbs Lost Total: – 10.8

WW Stars Earned this Week: None

Food of the Week

Cock-A-Leekie Soup

It’s definitely starting to feel like fall around here, and I found a really delicious fall recipe, which I made this past week. It is just about 7 points a bowl for this Cock-A-Leekie-Soup – and it’s good!

Activity of the Week

None except some walking. I don’t know what happened to me since I ran in July and backpacked shortly thereafter.

Personal Weight Loss Goals (crossed off when reached)

I want to lose…

10 lbs
20 lbs
30 lbs
35 lbs
40 lbs
45 lbs
50 lbs
55 lbs
60 lbs
65 lbs
70 lbs

Personal Fitness Goals (crossed off when reached)

I will…

Run a 5K  Read all about it here.
Run a Quarter Marathon or 10K
Run a Mud/Obstacle Race
Run a Half Marathon
Start Strength Training (again)
Backpack (more)
Start Biking

Reflections

I don’t know why I keep gaining weight when I am keeping my food under control. I’m pretty frustrated with it and while I know I shouldn’t think this way, I’m pretty near just giving up, throwing in the towel an settling for “always being this way.”

Reader’s Recap

Blog School is keeping me busy! In case you missed enrollment for this class, go sign up at Blog Genie for freebies, tutorials and great information – Like how to be prepared Blogging Apocalypse – it’s free and will spare you time, money and tears in an emergency. Also, check out some of my all-time favorite bloggers.

Photo Recap

grace in my car

Puppies make everyone smile, right? Gracie likes to think so!

Question of the Week

Have you ever given up on weight loss? Why or why not?

Until the next mile marker,

Weigh-In Wednesday: Week 17

WIW graphic for post
Weigh-In Wednesday Weekly Stats

Weight Watchers Week Number: 17

Lbs Lost this Week: + 1.2

Lbs Lost Total: – 15.4

WW Stars Earned this Week: None

Food of the Week

salad and spaghetti

I made homeade spaghetti and meatballs this week (gluten-free), which was a real treat! I made sure to include a fresh salad with fresh tomatoes and peppers from the garden. I bought a gigantic tub of spinach and baby lettuce leaves so we are having a salad with dinner about every night now. It has also served as lunch for me during the day with some tuna or other vegetables added in.

Activity of the Week

grace at wagfest

While my ankle is healing, it is still tender to the touch, which means I have been easy on it the past three weeks now. We were at Wagfest (a festival for dogs) all day Saturday and while I wasn’t exercising per say, I was moving around and got a lot of fresh air on a short dog walk Saturday and again on Sunday (Monday was National Dog Day in case you missed it). Being outside in nature definitely helped improve my mood, but I am sure a lack of regular physical activity for this much time now has contributed to my gain this week.

Personal Weight Loss Goals (crossed off when reached)

I want to lose…

10 lbs

20 lbs

30 lbs

35 lbs

40 lbs

45 lbs

50 lbs

55 lbs

60 lbs

65 lbs

70 lbs

Personal Fitness Goals (crossed off when reached)

I will…

Run a 5K  Read all about it here.

Run a Mud/Obstacle Race (Pretty Muddy Women’s Mud Run 5K; Columbus, Ohio September 14, 2013)

Run a Quarter Marathon or 10K

Run a Half Marathon

Start Strength Training (again)

Backpack (more)

Start Biking

Reflections

So my 31st birthday is THIS Friday and THIS is happening this weekend in Troy, Ohio. It’s really all I can think about (other than I wish my ankle would heal so I can exercise again and I think I heal slower on blood thinners for some reason). I cannot wait, I cannot wait, I cannot wait, but I will wait! Stay tuned for my post on Friday about why Mumford and Sons means so much to me. Many have asked and now I will tell!

Reader’s Recap

my article

I’m really excited to have had the opportunity this past week to do some writing outside of this blog. Don’t miss my published article in the premier issue of Fit Columbus, a new fitness and healthy lifestyle magazine now available in Columbus, Ohio. You can read my article here. Also, head on over to This Crazy Life of Mine by my fellow blogger Nanci and read my guest post.

Question of the Week

me collage

I’ve been feeling creative (not necessarily good!) with my camera lately. What do you think of weekly posts that are just photographs and maybe a caption? Yay or nay? Should I do that or continue including photos in the Weekly Weigh-In Post? Do you view photograph-only posts on other blogs or breeze by? Tell me your thoughts in the comments!

Until the next mile marker,

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iThe iGreat iPhone iCrisis iOf i2012

Normally, I don’ have time to be on my iPhone all day, but since I’m not working, I’ve been using it a lot – especially when I am not home. I don’t have the iPhone 5, but I like liked the iPhone I do have. It is was good for things on the go – like blogging and social media and emailing. For me, it has been like a home office to go. And it fits in the palm of your hand. You can literally carry your phone and everything you need, especially if you have a case like the one I am giving away.

So when my iPhone decided to blow up stop working lose everything freeze up and never unfreeze have an issue today I was not happy. At all. I was even more unhappy when I went to the ends of the Earth to find the information Apple needed to find out what was wrong with it (serial number-pass key-all while screaming through that useless Google phone thing in Gmail-yes I know I could find an Apple Store) and Apple told me it was my anti-virus software that clearly “messed it all up.” Really? REALLY?!

If nothing else, I have been reminded to keep things in perspective-

These two got a lot of hugging today-

Speaking of which, all of my photos are gone too. Everything from the last four months, which I don’t understand since I backed everything up to iTunes on a nightly basis when I charged my phone.

Good thing I can’t figure out WordPress right now either. My life has apparently become a technological nightmare.

Speaking of nightmares (bad luck comes in sets of three’s right and when you reach three, you’re done forever, right?)-

Right.

As of last week, I no longer work as a 9-1-1 Dispatcher. It’s sad (at least, I am sad), discouraging and hopefully what was truly meant to be.

So, while I am looking for full-time employment that offers decent pay and benefits, I’m working on something I’ve always wanted to have – a freelance writing career (help me decide on a business card here). Since most job searching is done online these days, I have a lot of time to blog and “wonder if my iPhone has the latest upgrade it possibly could.” It is this type of thinking that clearly created my Great iPhone Crisis of 2012!

What about you- Do you rely on your phone? Is it for fun, business or both? How do you back up your stuff (apps, music, pictures, etc)? What would you do if faced with a phone crisis?

Until the next mile marker,

Shop Jungle Jim’s for all Your Grocery Needs

Does it really matter where you buy your groceries? With multiple grocers available to most of us, we have our preferences where we choose to shop. We go to certain stores for certain items – for example, I like to get fresh meat and seafood at Giant Eagle and we get our basics from Aldi – a discounted grocer in our area. I like to get fresh produce from the farm or a farmer’s market when I can, but also like the produce section at Kroger. I like the International section at Meijer. For items we use in bulk like rice, pasta, dog food and some spices we shop at Sam’s Club.  So yes, for me it does matter where I buy my groceries.

This weekend, I had the opportunity to visit Jungle Jim’s International Market, located in Fairfield, Ohio just outside of Cincinnati. It was glorious, to say the least. I wish I lived closer than two hours away so I could shop there on a regular basis because I would! Jungle Jim’s began as a local farmer’s market in 1971 and has only grown from there. What makes Jungle Jim’s special (besides the size, variety, freshness, local fare, international selections)? Jungle Jim’s is much more than a grocery store, it’s a whole destination! There are over 200,000 square feet (that’s about six acres) of shopping space in and over 150,000 products from which to choose. You could get lost there.

But, there’s more – Jungle Jim’s also offers tours of the store, food demonstrations, cooking classes and special events like the Weekend of Fire.

The store also offers demos on a regular basis so you can try the products the offer – including produce, gluten-free, seafood, cheese and international food. They also offer gift shops, specialized boutiques (where you can find clothing, accessories and gifts) and places to eat inside the store.

So what exactly can you find at Jungle Jim’s? Prepare to be amazed.

Fresh Food

  • Produce
  • Deli Cheese
  • Bakery
  • Seafood
  • Meat
  • Olive Pit

What I loved about the Fresh Food: I love seafood and we eat it regularly in our house. The seafood department is so fresh, you can pick out live fish for dinner to take home with you. Jungle Jim’s will take care of everything for you (but, I still feel bad for the fish, I think). The produce section is second to none – they had so much variety! I also liked the reduced section where I found some great prices on produce like peppers.

Specialty Food

  • Hot Sauce
  • Gourmet Galleria (pots, pans, specialty cookware, gadgets, small appliances, etc.)
  • Natural Foods
  • Herb ‘N Jungle (herbal supplements, sports nutrition, vitamins, minerals, etc.)
  • Honey
  • Coffee Bar
  • Gift Baskets
  • Greenhouse (everything plants and growing)

What I loved about the Specialty Food: Um, if you have to ask, it is the HOT SAUCE! You can read more about that here. I have never seen a bigger hot sauce display anywhere. I was also impressed with the gigantic selection of honey, much of it locally harvested.

American Grocery Food

  • Grocery
  • Dairy
  • Frozen
  • Health and Beauty
  • Pets

What I loved about the American Grocery Food: The pets section! There was a large variety of foods, treats and products, many reasonably priced or even cheaper than my local grocers. You can even purchase natural treats for your canines there. My two got pigs’ ears, which they love. Grace didn’t even wait for me to take her picture, it was gone within a minute or two.

International Food

  • Asian
  • Indian
  • Hispanic
  • European
  • Eastern Europen
  • Middle Eastern
  • African

What I loved about the International Food: This is my favorite part of the store. I love cooking international and ethnic foods, and I can find  everything I need in this store. It is clearly labeled and easy to navigate the large aisles. I even found my favorite Asian hot sauce there – and purchased it in an extra large size (seriously, I need to buy stock in this company). Asian cooking is my favorite and there are over ten Asian countries alone represented here as well as a huge selection of Indian curries.

Beer and Wine (Food)

  • Beer
  • Wine
  • Cigars
  • State Store
  • Glassware
  • Home Brewing

What I loved about Beer and Wine (Food): They have an incredibly unique selection of products here, including my newly discovered favorite Woodchuck Cider.

And, don’t forget, you can also find things like chocolate-covered insects and bacon ketchup (which they apparently sold out of before) at Jungle Jim’s.

I will be visiting Jungle Jim’s again – and possibly taking a cooler to purchase meats and dairy for my deep-freezer at home. This store has certainly become my favorite grocer!

What about you? Have you been to Jungle Jim’s? Did you like it? What do you look for in a grocery store? Tell me in the comments below?

Until the next mile marker,

Maybe I should become a dog (or weather) blogger.

I go back to work tomorrow. Maybe that is for the best? If not, maybe I need to become a dog blogger. Or maybe even a weather blogger? The news hasn’t been interested in my photos (I may have sent a lot), hence I am sharing them with you.

It’s been a rough couple of days around here. We’ve had some pretty intense summer storms. The 75 mile an hour wind gusts and baseball-sized hail took out power for over 475,000 people. There have been boil alerts, water shortages, emergency shelters opened and National Guard troops deployed. The Governor declared a State of Emergency and power might not be restored until next weekend in some areas.

I am very lucky I did not lose power. I would not have been able to breath without air in the heat. Thankfully, my doctor allowed me to go off oxygen last Wednesday so I am not as dependent on electricity as I might have been.


This was the scene outside my house on Friday night:

It came out of nowhere.

Tonight was like a rerun, but we had a little more warning:

The dogs do not like thunderstorms.

“Did somebody say thunderstorm?! Can I go outside?”

“This wind is great, Mama!”

The dog dog does not like thunderstorms.

“Oh. No. Is THAT a thunderstorm I hear?!”

“Maybe Daddy can save me.”



 What about you? Did you get severe weather where you live? Are you without power? 


Until the next mile marker,