Sewing, weight loss and winter

Well, after browsing through a friend's blog I have decided to try this again. :-)

I'm trying to get the Christmas decorations up - but have been spending evenings helping a friend learn to sew so she can make aprons for her 6 children for Christmas. It has been fun and she is doing well. The aprons are reversible with grosgrain ribbon ties. They have a heart shaped pocket on one side and a similar pocket on the other with a flap that is accented with a button. My favorite is a blue and yellow print with a blue polka dot piece at the bottom since there was not enough fabric to make a full length apron. Then we put a piece of yellow grosgrain along that seam and a big bow with a button in the center. The reverse will be a burgundy and cream of the same print. It will have a burgundy heart shaped pocket. I hope to get a picture of all the kids (and my friend) in their aprons.

I did get the tree up in the living room (7 foot) and have most of the ornaments on. Am waiting for DD18 to come home from college next week and she can put some of her ornaments on to finish it up. Stockings are hung but mantle needs some greenery and candles. I also have a small tree (about 2 feet - the top portion of an old tree) in the kitchen with all the gingerbread type ornaments on it. Still have the nativity, snow village, and all my snowmen to set out.

For years I have planned out menus for 2 week intervals (every payday) and do my shopping from that - just picking up things like milk, bread and fresh produce as needed. I have sort of gotten away from that this past year but am getting back into the routine. Since vacation (July) I have been doing weight watchers online and that makes it easy to plan out menus - actually I plan out my whole day's eating (I currently have it planned through mid-January 2009). My friend posts her menu for the week which I think is neat so I am going to try to do that as well. Menu Monday - is what she calls it. Then I can put links to recipes etc to share as well.
So here goes:

Monday -
Chicken Paella (WW)
Refried Beans

Tuesday -
Eating out - DH's work Christmas party

Wednesday-
Chicken Teriyaki with Broccoli (WW)
Stir Fried Vegetables (WW)

Thursday-
Lasagne (DD17's request - our friends were having lasagne last evening when we had our sewing class - I'll probably put it together on Wed evening and have DH17 put it in the oven so it is ready to eat when we get home. She has Youth Group and I have Bible Study that evening so we have to eat quickly)
Salad

Friday-
Pan fried flounder (WW)
Cooked apples
Asparagus

Saturday-
Philly Steak Pizza (easy using crescent rolls)
Peaches
Salad

Sunday - (On Sundays I try to have the big meal at noon and often have something that I can make in the crock pot or oven so we don't have to wait. We get home from church and that gives us a chance to discuss the sermon and share out thoughts.)
Baked Potato Soup (WW)
Fresh veggie tray (carrots, celery, radishes, cucumber, peppers - whatever we have on hand)
Crackers

I have lost 22 pounds on Weight Watchers - using the points system. I plan out my whole day and take my lunch to work so I am not tempted by the cheeseburgers in the coffee shop. If I am too lazy to get my lunch together I try to have a bowl of soup and some fruit (usually grapes) at work. My goal is to lose about 10-15 more pounds- but for the holidays I will just be content to maintainmy current weight. Over Thanksgiving week I actually was able to lose 0.5 pounds - every little bit helps! I use a lot of the recipes that weight watchers has online in my menus - it is easy to edit the menu to fit our tastes- and can add my own menus and the points are automatically calculated. I have added a few from my favorite cookbooks- one is a slow cooker cookbook and the other is 30 minute meals. I also purchased books that have the points values for restaurants and common food items - but haven't used them much since I use the online points tracker. Maybe when I get to my goal and discontinue my online membership, I can use the books to get back on track if I start creeping up again.

Winter - just had to post about yesterday. We woke up to freezing rain - everything was coated with ice. DD17 has not had a lot of winter driving experience so I decided to stay home (I can work from home occasionally) and drive her to school. They did not cancel school - probably since the temp was to get to 40+ by noon. I'm glad I did - getting her to school was not too bad but when I got back into the subdivision I had to take it really slow coming down the hill toward our cul-de-sac then did not have enough momentum to get up our driveway which is also a hill. I slid down the driveway sideways stopping at the island in the cul-de-sac. So I tried to go around and try again. I could not even get around the cul-de-sac since it inclines - so I parked along the side of the street and got out to walk to the house. I slipped before I could get off into the grass and fell, landing on my knee. At least I was halfway in the grass or I don't think I would have been able to stand up again. I walked through the grass most of the way to the house. By 10 it was all melted - Thank God I had the option to work from home and was not hurt when I fell. My knee did get a 'goose egg' on it and is a little sore this morning but not bad.

Well, hubby is eating breakfast so it is time for me to get ready for work. We started driving together when the gas prices got out of sight. It works well for us and gives us at least an hour a day that we can talk. I often take along some handiwork (knitting or cross-stitch) or a book as he always drives (I'm not aggressive enough to suit him).