Both Carl and I caught colds. Carl's really became noticable Sunday night. Mine started Monday night.

 

Carl seems to feel ok, though he has a horribly runny nose. I feel horrible, but not a lot of other symptoms.

 

I know I will get through this, won't I?

We were able to get out wine tasting this weekend! Yeah!!!

 

JK Carriere was hosting an event to introduce the 2004 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. It was a blend of three vineyards grapes. It was a smooth fruity wine with a hint of a smoky finish. We picked up a few bottles as well as a few of the Provocateur Pinot Noir (their lower cost Pinot). They had some nice sausage, cheeses, bread, meats and chocolate covered cherries (num num). They also had some crayons, paper and other toys for Carl, as well as lemonade. He could have stayed there all day.

 

We then were heading to Archery Summit - we needed to pick up our wine club order. We were talking about a third place to go - we thought we would try Argyle. Unfortunately they are in the heart of Dundee - the town that shrinks the highway down to one lane and adds a bad stoplight. Since this highway has both beach traffic and wine traffic, it gets REALLY bad on Sunday afternoons.

 

So we decided to head south after Archery Summit and then take Abbey Road north out of Lafayette to the south side of Newberg.

 

At Archery Summit the were pouring four Pinot Noirs. The first was the 2004 Premier Cuvee - it had a green start with a smoky finish. It also mellowed as it was in the glass. The second was the 2004 Renegade Ridge Estate- it had a fruity start with a slight licorice flavor in the middle and a dry finish. Third was the 2003 Red Hills Estate- a very good wine, it was blended and had a finished flavor. Last was the 2003 Archery Summit Estate- it was very smooth with a dried berry finish. In our wine club we received two bottles of the 2004 Red Hills Estate. We also bought two more bottles of the Looney Hills Estate - we had tried it at the Memorial Day weekend and I loved it.

 

For our last stop we thought we would try Stoller. We weren't sure if they were open year round, but we figure we could try. We had stopped there over Memorial Day. Rich then wasn't impressed with their wines, but I liked them and since they are a newer winery I wanted to support them. We we opened the wine a few months later, Rich loved it.

 

This time we tasted their Chardonnay, a Rose Pinot Noir and the Estate Pinot Noir. The Chardonnay was dry with a definite grape flavor. The Rose was light and smooth - perfect for summer afternoons on a porch swing. It had the flavor of stawberries.  The Estate Pinot Noir was the wine Rich didn't care for at Memorial Day, but I bought anyway and he later loved. That first aroma from the glass was amazing. It was smooth and fruity - a really good Pinot Noir.  We also found out that the wines are only available through the winery or in restaurants.

 

It was another good winetasting day!

 

 

 

I thought I would share some funny things that have happened in our household lately.

 

I recently moved a few items around in the house. I moved a wine rack downstairs by the laundry room. After a few days I noticed the rack was moved away from the wall. I moved it back. A few days later it is away from the wall. I am starting to get a weird feeling when husband says he hasn't been downstairs in a while. After moving it back two more times, I start really paying attention, like I am going to nab a poltergeist or something. It turns out it was moving when I would walk out of the laundry room with a full basket of laundry....

 

My son has decided that Anthony Geary (on General Hospital) looks like my father. So everytime GH comes on, he shouts, "there's Babba." Ok if my dad grew 4 inches taller and lost 50 pound there might be a slight resemblance when Mr Geary is 70. Maybe. It is funny to hear everyday.

 

My son Carl is really talking now - though he uses certain words incorrectly.  He uses the words "Me" and "My" correctly most of the time, except when he wants to be carried, when he says, "Pick my up." Always.

 

More later....

I've been having a little trouble with this entry - don't know why... Here are the wines we drank the last 2 or so weeks:

JK Carriere 2004 Provacateur Pinot Noir http://www.jkcarriere.com/

White Rose Wines Quiotee's Lair 2003 http://www.whiterosewines.com/

We also had a bottle of Columbia Crest wine that private labeled by our neighbors for their Halloween Party. The wine was a red, and the cork says "Two Vines" on it. I didn't have any, so I can't tell for sure, but I think it was the Merlot. The label was in the theme of last year's party: film noir.  It was so cool - they always have great ideas for their Halloween parties. 

 

We missed the Owen Roe September Open House last weekend (I was busy cleaning house). In the past we have liked their Cabernet Sauvingnon, Ex Umbris Syrah (it had an amazing smoky flavor) and Sharecropper's Pinot Noir. Some friends attended and said the 2005 Sinister Hand (a blend of Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre and Counoise) was amazing.

 

I was quoted - I am so honored - http://www.boxwines.org/?p=100

They also have a great article on cleaning wine glasses without putting them in the dishwasher:

http://www.boxwines.org/articles/removing-red-wine-residue.htm

Going into Thursday, I was positive I had gained weight. I had 3 bad days - by bad I mean "I don't even KNOW the full value of everything I ate." It was some bakery ginger chewy cookies, cheese (full fat of course) and peanut butter. It is making me think of a scene from "Company" where one of the women is on a diet and going CRAZY.

 

Anyway, I went into the weigh in wondering how much I gained. I knew I wouldn't gain 41 pounds back in one week, but since weight loss has been so slow lately, I was hoping it wouldn't be a lot. 

 

My weight was the same. I didn't gain anything. That was really encouraging.

 

I don't know why I suddenly have no will power against cheese and other unfriendly-to-weight-loss foods. I probably need to work small amounts into my daily eating plan.

 

 I want to make an entry, but not too much has been going on.

 

Husband is looking into starting a PhD program, so we have been doing a lot of talking about the time commitment. We had his potential advisor and girlfriend over for dinner on Sunday. It was quite fun - the guys went and talked nerd stuff in the garage and I got to know the girlfriend. She was very nice and interesting. I served tomato dishes - they are at their peak now. There were chips and salsa for appetizer and sliced tomatoes with cucumber and avocado for a salad. The salad looked really nice - I alternated slices of types of tomato and cucumber, sprinkled them with some lemon basil leaves (the leaves are small) then fat free vinegarette and salt and pepper. I then realized I had an avacado ready to eat, so I added wedges.

 

I also really blew the diet on Sunday - I got started on cheese and crackers and cookies after dinner. They are my weakness. I also didn't have a good day on Friday, so I am just sticking with the program for the rest of the week here.

 

I took my grandma to church on Sunday. Mom normally takes her but wasn't able to - it was her 50th high school reunion weekend. Mom had a great time. Grandma did well at church - she didn't have to go rock in the cry room (rocking helps her back) and she took communion at the alter (as opposed to the front pew, which is offered for people with mobility issues). She was very proud of herself for that. I think it is grandma's sass that has helped her have such a long life (she is 96).

 

I picked up Carl's three-year portraits on Friday. I had forgotten about them, they had been ready for a few weeks. My dad and step-mom stopped in on Saturday so step mom could get their photos - she was going to a family reunion and wanted to take some of them with her. They then stayed and gave us a hand getting the house ready for company on Sunday. It was very helpful. We got all of the white cupboards in my kitchen cleaned. I never want to have white in my kitchen again. EVERYTHING shows up.

 

So now we are back on routine - laundry and catching up on dishes from Sunday. Life as it is for a homemaker...

I went to my Weight Watchers meeting as I usually do Thursday night. Rich showed up just as I was piling Carl in the car to take him with me. Rich finally got it through his head what time I wanted to leave to be able to pick up a dinner, weigh in and not be rushed. I have only on my 29th week attending the same meeting.

 

The weigh in went well - down .8 (8 tenths) of a pound. I am not crazy about how the weight loss has slowed to a painfully slow crawl, but at least I am still loosing weight.

 

I am going to have to add more exercise to my schedule. Yuck. I will have to take on the challenge of making exercise interesting, like I was able to create good things to eat from lower point value ingredients.  I do have the dance class starting in two weeks, that will take care of one day of the week.

 

------

 

I recently bought Carl a small acoustic guitar (also known tatoustic tuitar). He is loving it. We finally got it tuned and figured out how to tighten it so it stays tuned longer than two minutes. Carl is loving it. He takes it to his room and turns on his CD, sings with the music and plays his tuitar.

 

We were watching the Supernova finale and he had to play along with Magni. It was too cute.

 

Speaking of Supernova - I was a bit dissapointed in the bands choice for lead singer. Oh well, they have to live with it. Since I liked everyone else in the top 6, I thought I would post their non-Supernova pages.

 

Storm Large
http://www.stormlarge.com/
http://www.myspace.com/stormandtheballs
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storm_Large

 

Ryan Star
http://www.rstar.net/
http://www.myspace.com/rstar
http://ryanstar1978.spaces.live.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_Star

 

Magni Asgeirsson
http://www.amotisol.is
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magni_%C3%81sgeirsson

 

Dilana Robichaux
http://www.dilanarox.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dilana_Robichaux
http://www.myspace.com/dilanarox

 

Toby Rand
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toby_Rand
http://www.jukekartel.com/
http://www.myspace.com/jukekartel

 

--------

 

Shopping for clothes for myself is getting fun again. Carl and I recently made the trek to the downtown Nordstroms Rack. I honestly went there to look for some clothes for Carl, only to discover they do not have a children's department at this Rack. Since I had already gone to the trouble of driving downtown and paying for parking, I shopped for myself.

 

I found a pair of jeans and three shirts (on the clearance rack of course). With the additional mark down, they came to less than $10 each, so I didn't feel bad about buying them. I added up the original prices when I got home - $216 for $39 and change. Do people really buy stuff at full price?

 

 

With my frustrating diet plateau, I am trying a few ideas to kick up my weight loss.  I am:

1. Varying what I am eating (more protein one day, more good fats another, more good carbs another)

2. Only eating my daily points (none of my activity points or weekly points) this is tough because I am down to 20 points a day and I did blow this yesterday, eating all my AP and one weekly point

 

Hopefully this will help the weight loss.

 

I have a feeling I am going to have to increase my activities to increase my weight loss. This may include (yuck) formal workout time. This will be in addition to the walking and gardening that I already am doing. But (brightening up) I did sign up for a dance class through our local parks and rec - this would count as a workout. What is the dance class I am taking, you ask? Belly dancing. I will pause until people pick themselves up off the floor from laughing. I will tell more about the class when it starts.

 

Here are some of my recently meals I have been preparing with Weight Watcher points:

 

Zucchini

We have a plant. I pick the zucchinis young while they are still good. One plant still produces more than we need. No one is avoiding us too much yet.

 

Method 1:

Steamed sliced zucchini in the microwave with a little fat free chicken broth and spices:

0 points

So far I have tried the following spice combos:

Curry and cilantro

Dill and Lemon

Herbs de Provence

Olde Westport Sizzling Sunset Cajun Spice Blend

 

Method 2:

Saute 1/2 an onion, 1 clove of pressed garlic in 4 teaspoons of "good" oil.  Add spices. Slice up zucchini and add to pan. Add 1/2 cup of fat free chicken broth to deglase the pan. Reduce the broth to about half.

For the spices I have tried the same as the recipe above plus:

Homemade salsa

Oregano and basil

Plain

 

This is for two servings so it is 2 points per serving (for the oil).

 

-------

 

I have been serving a lot of chicken. I bought a bag of breasts from Costco, so I pull two or more out at a time and cook them up. If I cook more that I know we are going to each, I cook them in a separate pan, plain and then use them the next day to make a meal on the stove top.

 

Here is how I cook the chicken:

 

preheat oven to 350° (F)

combine chicken and 1 cup of fat free chicken broth in a baking pan

bake uncovered for a minimum of 45 minutes (usually I put it in the oven about 5 and take it out whenever Rich is home)

 

I have used some the same spice combinations as the zucchini, though I don't serve the same spiced dish in the same meal.

 

This week I cooked the chicken with salsa, we had leftovers, so I chopped up the leftovers, sauted them in "good" oil and used them as the meat in Tacos.  I weighed out the "counting" items in my tacos - the oil, meat, cheese and shells. Here was the count:

Chicken 3 oz - 3 points

Oil 2 teaspoons (I used 4 to cook all of the chicken) - 2 points

Shredded Cheddar Cheese 1 oz - 3 points

Taco Shells 2 - 3 points (I use Ortega Yellow Corn Taco Shells, warmed in the oven)

 

Total 11 points

 

I then had some shredded butter lettuce and salsa on the tacos too.

 

The dinner was a bit higher in points price than I usually eat, but I planned for it during the day.

 

 

 

 

We only had one bottle this week:
Owen Roe 2003 Cabernet Sauvigon

I didn't get to taste any of it - no wine until I get past this plateau. Rich really liked it, as well as our neighbor Mike. We picked it up at the winery - probably at their annual September tasting event.

I thought I would write a little about what went on in my life space on September 11, 2001.

 

I was working at my desk - as I normally did. A manufacturing tech came to tell me what they heard had happen. I showed them how to open an internet window to get current news.  We were all in shock as we realized the first crash wasn't an accident.

 

Many went home - I stayed. I was single, and the cats wouldn't be much support at this time.

 

I found out two coworkers were in Manhattan on business. The people left waited on edge to hear from them - to make sure they were ok. They were.

 

I remember this numbness and anger. I decided that this was not going to shut me or my country down. So I made sure that America was visible in the one way I could: my job. I answered every international product inquiry we had that day. I sent emails and faxes - lots of them - I wanted to make sure that the correspondence were electronically dated September 11. These people were not shutting America down.

 

It took everything out of me to stay and do this. It probably didn't make a difference in the long run. I thought it was the one thing I could do.

Today also has a sad memory for me. My friend Donna died of breast cancer September 10, 2001. It still hurts to think about her. She was amazing and fun.

 

She was part of the "Turning 30 and Scary to Men" club, to which I and other successful single women "belonged."  Donna lived two blocks away, was successful at growing vegetables in Denver (I never could!) and took care of my cats when I went away longer than a weekend. She didn't believe my cat's lies that they never got any love.

 

She married a few years later to a much younger man. I was wedding slave - taking care of the details that needed someone, finalizing the setup and running to the store when the punch didn't show up. After the wedding she moved to the south side of Denver, so I didn't see her as often.

 

She had a beautiful little girl. Donna would trade babysitting with another mutual friend who lived near me, so I got to see her then. There also the "hen" parties - tupperware, longaberger (lots of those!) and others.

 

I was on a series of business trips and vacations that had me out of town for a month or so. When I got back I was following up on some phone calls. A friend Andy, who sometimes is really a guy when it comes to communicating, said "Has Kirsten told you about Donna yet?" Then wouldn't tell me, but made me wait until his wife got on the phone to tell me. Donna had found a fast growing lump. I later found out she waited to have it checked until after a vacation.

 

She had a mastectomy and reconstruction. Through her experience I learned that reconstruction was now a standard procedure covered by insurance. Things had changed from my aunt's surgery in the 70's (my aunt is a survivor). She (Donna) had the tummy-tuck version. She had radiation and chemo.

 

Her beautiful long brown hair fell out. She got a wig - I remember it was a good one - I saw her at a funeral and though she had modified her "recipe" (she had been touching up the gray) and it looked good, until someone said it was a great wig. Duh...

 

I remember the party where she was comfortable enough to not cover her head. It made everything seem real.

 

Donna got better. Her hair grew back in tight short curls that made her eyes look huge.

 

I remember when I found out about her relapse. I was running a fundraiser for breast-cancer and aids at my home. At the last minute Donna said she couldn't attend. I found out at the event that she had just found out her cancer had returned.  The fundraiser was a Longaberger sale that the proceeds were being split with breast cancer research and aids program for children affected by aids.

 

She died a few weeks later - before the products arrived from the Longaberger sale, about the time her daughter started school, just after her 40th birthday.

 

The next day life as we know it in the US changed. I know she was already in heaven singing gloriously to God and helping to welcome the many souls of those that died that day.

 

I wasn't able to attend her funeral. I hope she knows I still cared.

 

In planning my wedding, I remember talking to my friend Sue (Z, I have a few friends named Sue) about how Donna should have been singing the duet with Susan my wedding. She told me how Donna was a source of strength during her (Sue's) wedding.

 

So today I celebrate and remember the breast cancer victims and survivors in my life: my aunt Betty, Kirsten's mom Lynn, Donna, Terrie (ironically my Longaberger rep developed breast cancer), Deb (who recently flashed me her new boobs over the web cam) and my mom's friend Betty whose cancer has returned.

 

I also miss my girlfriends in Denver. Friends like these should never be taken for granted.

 

 

Don't forget your monthly self-exam.

 

I met most of these friends through the Jaycees:

I went to my weekly weigh in. I lost, but lately the loss has slowed way down. I guess I have hit a plateau. Yuck. I was down .2 lbs. I am starting to get discouraged - at this rate it will be a long long time to get to my goal.

 

Oh well, at least I didn't gain.

 

An event did happen that is encouraging. We went to Multnomah Falls on Thursday. I was able to carry Carl up to the bridge - I couldn't even walk it last time I was there. I carried my 30+ lb son! I was really really proud of that.

 

The picture at Cannon Beach also was encouraging - I am no longer a size 16.

 

So I will stick with the program - I can see why people get discouraged when loosing weight.

My mom's cousin is in town this week. We went to the coast yesterday. It is the second time that Carl has been to the coast. We went last year when the same cousin - Susan - was in town. He didn't like the water then - but liked playing in the sand. This year was different.

 

We started the day driving to Seaside. We parked and walked the ocean boardwalk and the street of shopping. We stopped for lunch at Norma's. The food was great and the staff was very nice. Mom ran into a former coworker there who had moved to the coast after retiring. It got mom thinking of moving....

 

We then drove down to Cannon Beach. Carl fell asleep in the car, so I stayed in the car with him while mom and Susan went to the beach. They came back to the car and we drove through the town for a while - it is a very pretty little town. We then parked farther south and Mom and Susan went to the Haystack Rock area.

 

Carl was still asleep, so I stayed in the car and read. Mom had brought the book "The Year of Magical Thinking" by Joan Didion. It is the story of the author's experiences the during the time her only daughter is horribly sick and her husband dies. I can't imagine living through what she went through in such a short time.

 

Carl finally woke up. We tried calling mom on the cell (both were on roam, so they don't recieve calls very well). Carl and I found a bathroom and then spotted Mom and Susan coming back to the car. They had spent the hour lying on the beach. So we went back and walked over to Haystack Rock.

 

The tide was out, so there were a lot of tide pools where we could see animals and plants. At first Carl was scared and wanted me to carry him. I had just carried him all the way from the car through the soft sand. I made him walk on the hard sand. He got mad at me when I said we shouldn't touch the sea animals. He snapped out of it when he saw the sea stars - red, orange and purple on the rocks. His other favorite - Anemones were also prevalent.

 

As we walked back to the car, Susan had a seizure (she has seizure disorder, so this wasn't a surprise). I went to get the car. Mom told Carl that Susan was sick, so he went and held her hand until she felt better.

 

We then went to dinner at Doogers - what a great find! The food was delicious and the had a light menu.

 

Since school has started, the towns were empty. The weather was great - what a wonderful offseason trip!

 

Carl, Misako and I spent Saturday in downtown Portland. Misako suggested we shop at Saturday Market. I hadn’t been there in a couple of years so I thought it would be fun. Rich was going to talk to a professor about a PhD program, so he couldn’t come with us.

We met at my house. I was very proud of myself – I checked online for parking lot locations before I drove there. I hate scrambling for parking.

 

Misako wanted to go to a particular clothing store. I wanted to look for some Salumeria di Carlo sausages. They were the wonderful sausages we first tried at Chehelam Winery and are made in Yamhill County.

 

So we started out to the market. I brought a side holder to assist me in carrying Carl – I thought the stroller would be too big for the market. We got to the clothing shop where Misako wanted to shop. The clothes weren’t for me – so I looked at the other shops while carrying Carl. Nearby was a shop with stringed instruments including a “tiny tatustic tuitar!” There were children’s guitars available in pink, blue and wood tone.

 

So we went back to the car, got the stroller, and then walked to the booth with the guitars. I bought Carl the wood toned one. We then walk the rest of the market checking out the booths and looking to see if the sausages are there. While walking, Carl conks out in the stroller.

We couldn’t find the sausages, and decided to stop for a break. Kell’s Irish Pub was on the way back to the garage. So with Carl still asleep in his stroller, Misako and I stopped in for a snack. Carl didn’t even stir.

 

Since I really wanted some of these sausages, we decided to try Zupan’s, where Janet had found them for Memorial Day weekend. No luck there either, though I did find other tasty things there. That is a nice store.

 

So I looked up the Salumeria di Carlo on the web – they have a website now, not a lot of information but do have a website. I also discovered it was the Farmer’s Market that has the sausages, not the Saturday Market. I will try there another time.

 

I tried to hide the guitar to save for Christmas. No luck. Carl is taking it wherever he goes. He is even sleeping with it.

 

Archery Summit 2001 Arcus Estate Pinot Noir (Still good) http://www.archerysummit.com/

 

Stoller 2003 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir (this one got better from when we bought it) http://www.stollervineyards.com/

 

JK Carriere 2004 Provacateur Pinot Noir http://www.jkcarriere.com/

 

We also opened a bottle of Madeira - Miles Rainwater. I was making a Madeira sauce for some steaks. It was really good - I may try it on mushrooms, too.

 

Madeira Sauce

1/2 container Demi Glace base

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup red wine

2 Tablespoons Madeira

 

Heat to a boil and then reduce heat, keep warm till ready to use.

 

I looked up recipes to make demi glace from scratch, but it was more than I wanted to try at this time. You start with two types of stock and reduce them for many hours. I think I need to get better at making beef stocks before I can try a Demi Glace.

Peppers 2005
 
Anaheim  
Ancho  
Jalapeño  
Habenero  
Purira  
Cherry hot  
Caribbean  
Serrano  
Yellow Bell  
Yellow Mini Bell (sweet and tasty)
Thai  
Super Cayenne  
Kung Pao  
Tabasco  

 

 

Peppers 2006

Mini Bell (2) not as good as last year
Jalapeno (2)
Early Jalapeno - didn't ripen as fast as the regular jalapeno
Serrano
Ancho - one pepper
Pablano - one pepper
Purira (3) - how did we end up with 3 this year?
Anaheim - producing well, not turning red though
Habenero
Cayenno - large peppers this year
Mushroom -
Thai Bird - is starting to bloom at the beginning of Sept
Caribbean Red

 

Other plants
Tomatillo - huge, use a large square cage next year
cucumber
zucchini
Swiss Chard

 

Annuals
Asparagus
Artichoke

My Weight Watchers meeting was last night. I was down .6 lbs to finally get my next 5 lbs! I have now lost 40.4 lbs - the goal is getting in site.

 

For some reason I was really tired at the meeting - he had a realy good theme of the meeting, I just don't remember what it was. Pretty sad.

 

I am hoping the remaining ten pounds do not take as long as these last five. One thing that may help is making sure I get my activity points in every day. I haven't been as diligent about that over the last few weeks. Blame the back and the shoulder. So I am going to work on getting all 4 activity points each day this week - as well as doing the correct eating.

 

I have been able to manage the pain in my upper back and shoulder. I've taking ibuprofen earlier (more like I would for a migraine) and using heat wraps. We also have one of the rolling massage chairs. I bought it back in my single days at a furniture store's going out of business sale. It was the most popular chair in my house in Denver - I received many offers to take it so I wouldn't have to move it to Portland. Are you kiding? That was the one piece of furniture that Rich and I agreed we would keep.  Anyway - using these techiques don't totally get rid of the pain, soreness and stiffness, but they do keep me functional. I think it is time to visit the doctor.

 

I don't remember if I posted this before - I found a 0 point tortilla. The rule for the 0 point is the same as bran cereal - it is 0 points if you only eat one. More during the day need to be counted. (I brought them in to my meeting and asked my leader.) The tortillas are by La Tortilla Factory. I bought the Whole Wheat, Low Carb/Low Fat Tortillas Original Flavor. I found them at New Seasons here in Portland.

 

I also discovered that a Weight Watchers meeting is a great place to give away extra garden produce. Naturally - this is all stuff the program promotes us eating.