I'm back! Did ya miss me?

So, I'm back after our 10 day trip to California. It was really nice to get away from work for a while. It made me realize that I really want to move onto something new...we'll see where that goes.

I ate within my points the whole time, but I didn't follow the 8 GHG's (Good Health Guidelines) well enough. The meeting I went to near my father-in-law's house was really nice. They have computers at their location! Wow, fancy! :)

On Sunday, my friend and I are having a baking day (for soldiers that are deployed). It's for bakinggals.com. I highly recommend it! Afterwards, I'll be back with some yummy recipes! I'm going to try and incorporate some fall recipes. (I love pumpkin---hopefully they will, too.)

So long, farewell!!

So, I'm leaving tomorrow morning for a 10 day trip to California! I won't have much internet access, so I won't be blogging until I get back. I'm nervous about being out of my weight loss comfort zone, but I'm bringing some of my own snacks (including Fiber One cereal, which is a staple for me). I'm going to check out a WW meeting on tuesday morning in Cali, so that should be interesting.

Before and After

As promised, here are some before and after pics. It's not so much an after as a during, but it is a fairly noticeable change. The first picture was from 4/27/06 at my highest weight of 178. The second pic is from somewhere around 10/1/08 at around 157 pounds. I am currently 155. I apologize to all whom I have blinded with my pale stomach. My WW goal weight is 153, which I feel is maintainable. My personal goal is 147. I'm almost there! I still need to (obviously) tone up, but I'm on my way to a better life!

Here's one for you

So, I promised recipes, and I want to start this blog off right! I have a ton of favorites to share, but this is my recent dinner fav. If you haven't heard of hungry girl and her newsletters, you need to go google her. Right now! :) I get the daily e-mails and have the cookbook, which is awesome. So, enough free advertising for HG, onto the recipe: (the only change I'll make next time is to possibly saute them in a pan...I put tin foil on a cookie sheet and a lot of the coating fell off. If you have any other ideas, let me know!)
This comes from http://www.hungry-girl.com/chew/chewdetails.php?isid=1309

	HG's H-O-T Hot Boneless Buffalo Wings
	Right Wing!
	Ready for a crispy, hot boneless buffalo wing swap? You BETTER be. These spicy nuggets will blow your mind! And for an all-out b-wing experience, serve 'em with celery sticks and some low-cal bleu cheese or ranch dressing (mmmm!)... Ingredients: 8 oz. raw boneless skinless lean chicken breast, cut into 10 nugget-shaped pieces 1/4 cup Fiber One bran cereal (original), ground to a breadcrumb-like consistency in a blender or food processor 1 oz. (about 14 crisps) Pringles Light Fat Free Potato Crisps, Barbecue (or another fat-free BBQ-flavored potato chip) 3 tbsp. Frank's RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce dash onion powder dash garlic powder dash cayenne pepper dash black pepper dash salt Directions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Crush potato crisps completely and, in a small dish, mix with cereal crumbs. Add a dash of each of the seasonings and mix well. Place chicken pieces in a separate dish, and cover and toss with Frank's RedHot. Spray a baking pan with nonstick spray. Give each chicken piece a shake (so it's not dripping with RedHot), and then coat it evenly with the crumb mixture. Lay the battered nuggets on the baking pan. Place in the oven, and bake for 10 minutes. Then flip the wings over, and return them to the oven for 10 more minutes, or until outsides are crispy and chicken is cooked throughout. MAKES 2 SERVINGS
	Serving Size: 5 wings (half of recipe) Calories: 175 Fat: 1.5g Sodium: 1,153mg** Carbs: 14g Fiber: 4g Sugars: <1g Protein: 27g POINTS® value 3*

And so it begins....

I'm not big on blogging, so excuse me if I commit a faux pas at any point. I've been heavy my whole life. I've been wanting to lose weight since middle school. Why did I always have to be the "big" friend? After finding out that my insurance would reimburse me for it, I joined Weight Watchers on July 18, 2008. I have lost 18.4 pounds as of October 11, 2008 and I'm really enjoying my new lease on life. I eat better and exercise more. It really is that simple. In my blog I will discuss my day-to-day life, my weight loss journey (along with progress pics), tips, recipes, and anything else that may interest me. I hope you enjoy it! My brother came up with the name of the blog, which is PERFECT considering I was surely an apple shape....so thanks Jonathan!!