St. Trinians and Vitamins: The Sequel

Ironic that this next entry is titled a 'sequel' while I also begin the sequel to the Colin Firth Diet Club.  I've bought myself another six months to continue improving my lifestyle and health.  In all likelihood, I will be prescribed medication to lower my cholesterol when I revisit the Diabetic Nurse in September - but at least I'll know I did what I could to improve my situation and put it off till my 40's!  And even if I do have to take medication, my LDL level has dramatically decreased already and the lower I can get that number, the lower the dosage I'll have to take!  (Hang on a minute, I need to get a water refill - trying to bring that diastolic down!!).  OK, I'm back now!

Over the past couple of weeks I've tried some new recipes - most of them were successful, but there was one that not even I liked!  I've made Korean Beef Bulgogi which was delicious!  I ripped the recipe out of a magazine and I can't for the life of me find it now to credit which one.  Guess I'll have to improvise next time!

Next, I'm going to share the item that left our whole family cringing in disgust!  In fact this is where my love affair with avocado met it's demise.  Yes, the Grilled Avocado with Melted Cheese and Hot Sauce (found on Pinterest) is hereby dubbed The Colin Firth Diet Club MVP for Most Vile Provision!  Just look at John's expression at having to try this food! 

Only Rocket seemed to enjoy this one!  Needless to say, this recipe has not been entered into my recipe folder for future reference!  And the avocado will indeed resurface on our plates but under the masked guise of other ingredients!  After all, I cannot forget the accolades I have previously bestowed upon it, and it's benefits have done me well!
Over March Break, Jake had a friend sleep over and I tried a new recipe for breakfast.  This is another wheat free recipe I found on Pinterest for Biggest Loser Oatmeal Pancakes!  These were very tasty and you wouldn't know that there is cottage cheese in them!  I always hated cottage cheese before, but it works well in these pancakes for some added protein. 

Excuse me again while I have some water...gulp, gulp, gulp...be right back - I've got to refill my glass.   OK, thanks for waiting! 

La Feile Padraig Shona!  Happy St. Patrick's Day!  St. Patrick's Day is the biggest event in my house and as I love all things Irish I tend to go a little over the top!  I spent all day Saturday and Sunday preparing the food for our feast of 16 people.  I made Irish Soda bread, Shepherd's Pie, Leek & Potato Soup, Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes, Leprechaun Punch (for the kids) and some Shamrock Crackers which I served with Irish cheeses!  And of course we had Guinness and Harp at the ready, along with some non-Irish wine!

We thoroughly enjoyed celebrating the day with some of our closest friends, Steve & Carla, Melissa & Glen, Julian and Amanda and all our kids!  Carla is a fabulous cook and invited us over for dinner the previous night for her famous butternut squash soup and some pesto chicken!!

A couple of days after that, Carla, Amanda and I were going to see the movie Side Effects.  My daughter Kristen was busy performing her Irish dancing that week and I was trying to sort her out before we left.  Carla was hoping to go out for dinner but I had made a Fruity Chicken Stir-Fry from the Dash Diet and she was happy to stay and have some of that.  It was pretty good too!  The combination of apricot with the pine nuts, apple and chicken was so yummy!

Since then I have also made Stuffed Zucchini Boats taken from Kraft Foods Healthy Living.  These are so delicious that they will be making a comeback!  In fact, I had bought groceries that day and picked up some KitKat's for a treat for everyone if they helped put the groceries away and ate all their dinner!  I loved mine so much that I got up for a second helping and it filled me up and I wasn't hungry anymore so I decided not to eat my KitKat that night!  Seriously, that is unheard of in my house!  I actually chose zucchini over chocolate!  What is the world coming to?  Just writing about it now is making me hunger for more!!

Isn't it truly amazing how many different foods there are available to us?  I'm in awe!  Every week I am making new food discoveries and trying new things - and enjoying the whole process! 

Last weekend, I insisted on a Family Movie Night!   Can you guess the movie of choice?  Why yes, it was none other than "St. Trinians 2 & the Legend of Fritton's Gold"!  I was anxiously anticipating the arrival of Colin on the screen only to be disappointed with his ragged appearance.  Although he, "May be a drunk, and I may be a sot, and I may be a pickled horse.." in his first scene, rest assured, Colin most certainly does clean up well!  In this sequel the girls of St. Trinian's are trying to find a second ring to match one they found that will help them discover the location of treasure hidden by Fritton's pirate ancestor.  Geoffrey (Colin) is enlisted to help them in their quest.  Fritton's adversary, Piers Pomfrey and his cronies break into St. Trinian's to steal the ring, but the girls are ready for them!  Camilla says, "My friends call me Millie.  What should I call you?  An ambulance perhaps?"!  In the end the girls discover that "The bard is a bird" - the Bard being Shakespeare!

This week I made Roasted Cauliflower & Pancetta Parpadelle along with some baby spinach drizzled with some of my homemade maple peach dressing!  I had no idea what pancetta was or parpadelle before.  Furthermore, John normally can't stand eating cauliflower and grimaces every time I make it and even he liked this version!!!  (Normally I would just steam them and make a cheese sauce to go over mine).  I tore this recipe from Wish magazine, probably a couple of years ago, but did so with the intention of one day making the Shortcut Turkey Puff Pies on the other side.  Who would have thought that after starting this journey I would be more intrigued by the cauliflower recipe?  Even better, there was lots left over to have for lunches!!!

This brings me to yet another failed recipe attempt.  It was Better "Fried" Fish taken from the April 2012 issue of Chatelaine, the fish being Perch.  Wednesdays are typically a fish night at our house, and this week I thought I'd mix it up a bit and try a new fish, much like I did when I tried making scallops for the first time a few weeks back!  Well, in all fairness it wasn't a complete failure - I didn't mind this one, but everyone else voiced their negative opinions rather loudly - especially the grown man who is supposed to be encouraging the kids to eat!  In the end, I relented and agreed not to make this dish again, not so much because of the taste, but rather it was a pain in the ass to make and left a hardened mess in the pan!

Yesterday was Good Friday, and after a hectic week consisting of two nearly all-nighters working on cake orders, I was beat!  But that didn't put a damper on my favourite Easter tradition we started last year!  We went to Bronte Park for the National Service Dogs annual Easter Egg Hunt for Dogs!  It's so much fun and for a good cause!  And Rocket came home with quite the loot in prizes!  After lunch we went to my mom's for Easter dinner, and the kids, along with their cousins went to the park to fly their new kites from Grandma!  It was a beautiful day!  We came home and went across the street to play some Five Crowns with Carla & Steve ( I won!!) and this is where I must commend Carla again.  That girl can whip up the most delicious snacks out of thin air!  She brought out some Gruyere cheese, raw roasted almonds, fig butter, crackers and apple slices.  I would just like to say I have rebounded from my doomed love affair with avocado with that of fig butter, which happened to coalesce rather nicely with the bottle of Finca Nueva Rioja!

And for tonight's dinner, I tried Bruschetta Chicken for the first time.  One Saturday when I was at Curves, the person working that day warmed up something in the microwave for her lunch and it smelled so good!!  So she printed off the recipe for me from www.kraftrecipes.com!  John came home from picking up some wine and was raving at the get go about how good it smelled!  Then more so as he ate it!  Moral of the recipe saga is , you win some, you lose some - you aren't going to like every thing, but it sure is fun trying things out!!



So, after that lengthy rendition of what I've been eating since my last entry, perhaps you'll forgive me for tipping a little backwards on the scales???  Amanda came with me to Curves on Monday to try it out and I weighed myself at 142 lbs.  Yikes!!  Today I have to confess I was up to 142.5 lbs again.  Not to worry though, I am going to be proactive and set things on the right track once more.  After Easter dinner tomorrow I am going to do another wheat-free stint.  I think the combination of the late late nights and added stress I've been under the past week contributed to the increase.  On a more positive note, John bought me some new runners, and due to the batting of my eyelashes, a new running top to match - so tomorrow, as the weather is getting nicer, we are planning to resume our running of laps at the track that we began in October.  John is trying to decide whether or not to try running a half marathon - me, I'll be happy if I can work myself up to 5K!

Before I sign off, remember that vitamin experiment I tried after reading about it in the Looneyspoons Cookbook?  Well, the sour gummy vitamins we were giving the kids before didn't pass the test, so I bought a new brand and tried the experiment with it this afternoon.  The results were much better!

This is what it looked like after being submersed in the vinegar after 1 hour elapsed.  Within another hour the vitamin had completely dissolved!

Wishing you all a very Happy Easter holiday with your family and friends!  I hope the Easter Bunny is good to you!  Good night, and Colin, "Love ya Babe!"

Day of Reckoning

Twas the day of dreaded reckoning,

My diabetic nurse a - beckoning...

Anxious nerves twined together in knot,

Results weren't nearly as bad as I'd thought!

An emotional morn' this was today,

Awaiting results, the nurse to convey.

Tears flowed from thine eyes at the word

That my prayers had been heard!

Elated to hear this news,

(Colin Firth being my muse)

My heart shall continueth its beat,

And not fall prey to defeat!

A new lease on life I received today, 

And my dedication indeed did pay!

It's been a long time since I've attempted a crack at poetry and I apologize for my lame attempt at it here.  Sometimes when I was younger that was how I best dealt with emotions - arranging them in prose.  Today was indeed an emotional one for me.  I thought my appointment with the Diabetic Nurse was tomorrow for some reason and she called me just after 10 am wondering why I wasn't there.  Oops!  After apologizing profusely, I rushed right over to her office to meet my fate.  Perhaps it was better in the end that I wasn't expecting to go to the appointment today.  I had less time to fret over what my results would unveil.  The first thing I was told was that my blood work was excellent!  I managed to evade Diabetes!  Yeah!  Not that I was worried so much about that - I was more concerned with the cholesterol and blood pressure.  So, although my blood sugars did me proud, my cholesterol levels are still of some concern.  However, when she looked up my previous results for comparison she was shocked at what I was able to achieve with diet change.  As you may recall, my LDL (bad cholesterol) level was 4.55 when I began the Colin Firth Diet Club - now I've managed to bring that number down to 3.29!!  Because I am NOT Diabetic I don't have to take medication for this yet!  If my blood sugars were in the Diabetic range I would have been prescribed medication immediately!  The nurse seemed so shocked at the decreased LDL and worried that I had been depriving myself (of food I presume).  I relayed the story to her of how the Colin Firth Diet Club came about and all the changes I've made not only for myself but for my family as a whole - and she was genuinely impressed and proud of me!!  I had intended to bring my arsenal of information to back up my story of the past 6 months, but since I goofed on which day the appointment was I went unprepared and had to resort to a verbal report alone.   I was beginning to think I would get away without her taking my blood pressure but being thorough as she is, she stood up to take my weight, girth and blood pressure respectively.  This was the moment I had been dreading most all these months and the results of which I anxiously worked myself up over.  I needn't have worried so much.  My average blood pressure taken from 6 successive readings was 126/93.  The nurse was excited about the top number but the diastolic is too high.  However, she suggested that by drinking more water every day, that alone may aid in bringing that number to where it should be.  "Done", I told her!  "I can do that!  I can drink more water!".  As she was congratulating me on my success, I must confess that I broke down and cried.  Why?  I can't really say.  Were they tears of elation, relief, anxiety, liberation, fulfillment?  Probably all of the above to some extent or other.  It's been a long journey, the changes of which I am very proud of, but it's not over yet!  I think I was just so happy that the changes I have made actually did make a very tangible difference and that all of this had not been for naught!  As I got up to leave, the nurse gave me a big hug - I didn't know it but that was what I really needed right then, a simple hug!  My next appointment is in 6 months time, just a couple of weeks before I turn 40.  So I have managed to achieve my goal of being 40 before having to take medication!  I've bought myself some more time to continue making positive lifestyle changes!  I walked toward my car a contradiction - very happy, yet as I sat down in the drivers seat, the tears streamed down my face once more.  Passersby could have mistakenly thought I had received bad news from my Doctor, but they would have been so wrong, so very wrong.

Last weeks pep talk I gave to my blood cells on the way to the Lab to get my blood tested seems to have done some good!  "Survival of the fittest here troops!  Those who are healthiest please enter the front-line trenches for extraction".  I have so much more to say, but I'm feeling drained now and need to get my beauty rest, so I'll write more later...And Colin, thank you for being my muse!

St. Trinian's and Vitamins

At long last I have prevailed in my quest to attain the elusive St. Trinian's!!!!  Upon finishing my shift in the school library on Wednesday, I headed to Curves.  During the drive I was contemplating my upcoming appointment with the Diabetic Nurse, conjuring up an arsenal of information to throw at her to prove what I've accomplished thus far.  Anyways, I arrived at my destination, changed into my gym clothes and proceeded to the scale as per my usual routine.  At first I thought there must be some mistake, so I checked again and again and again.  I was utterly gobsmacked with the results!  My weight is down to 138 lbs!!!  I did it! I did it!  I did it!  Proof positive right here folks that you should never give up on your goals but continue to persevere to attain your desired results!  I was so excited and giddy with the results that I texted John and Carla right away with the news and offered to take Carla out to Serendipity to celebrate my success!

And why did these results occur?  I have a sneaky suspicion that I owe some credit, yet again to the highly esteemed avocado!  For dinner the night previous I made "normal" chicken (as requested by Jacob) along with a new recipe (taken from Pinterest) for Brussel Sprout Pomegranate Citrus Salad.  This salad had brussel sprouts, avocado, oranges and pomegranate drizzled with a lovely citrus honey dressing.  It was delicious!  Matthew loved it and even Jakey liked this one!  They didn't even realize they ate raw, thinly sliced brussel sprouts and avocado until I told them after they finished eating it!  Another new thing for them was the pomegranate.  I've had them before but this was the first time I have ever bought a pomegranate - and again I had to consult Google to figure out what to do with the thing!  I was shocked at how many of those little suckers can fit inside one piece of fruit!  It kind of reminded me of corn kernels as they are about the same size - only red and they are on the inside throughout the fruits' membrane. 

While we sat around the kitchen table waiting for Kristen and Jacob to finish eating dinner, I poked through my Looneyspoons cookbook.  After reading a blurb about the quality of vitamins and the suggested experiment to test whether or not your vitamin of choice is really worth taking - I decided to perform the said experiment.  I took one of my Centrum Forte daily vitamins and submerged it in a 1/2 cup of vinegar.  According to the book, if your vitamin is any good for you, it should dissolve within the vinegar in less than one hour.  Luckily for me, my vitamin passed the test and was completely dissolved after an elapsed 22 minutes.



 Taking things one step further, I decided to perform the same experiment on the kids' Flintstones Sour Gummy vitamins.  One sour gummy vitamin was plopped into it's own glass of vinegar - and no surprise here, it was still there an hour later, 4 hours later, and a large blob persisted at the bottom of the glass another 12 hours later when inspected over breakfast this morning!  Sadly kids, Mommy will no longer be purchasing these for you!



John had his annual physical yesterday and I'm trying hard to keep my green-eyed monster at bay over his stellar results.  His blood pressure was very good, his cardio above average, cholesterol levels were awesome and his body fat dropped from 22% down to 17% since last year.  At least he thanked me for the diet!  The only thing wrong with him was a vitamin D deficiency!  Man, that green-eyed monster is fighting to come out!  I had my monthly measurements taken at Curves on Monday and my body fat decreased as well -  so now I've only got 32% body fat which is almost twice as much as Johns' and when you look at it that way, it's rather depressing!  But hey, I've lost 17 lbs!!!  And about 1.5% body fat since last month ...now if I can do that every month for a year, will I get the same result?  I'm too tired to do the math right now but the mere act of looking at that pic of a glass 1/2 full instead of 1/2 empty (even thought it's holding vinegar) provides me with some optimism and hope!

Moving along - let's talk St. Trinian's!

Reading Colin's biography I discovered the rift between him and Rupert Everett - a public feud lasting about 20 years beginning in their debut feature film "Another Country".  Since then, they have worked together on "The Importance of Being Earnest" and the two St. Trinian's films.  After putting the kids to bed Wednesday night I watched my newest prize!  St. Trinian's is wrought with remarkable references to Colin's career, and Rupert's portrayal of Camilla Fritton, Headmistress is a pure doppelganger of Camilla Parker Bowles!  His/Her dog in the film is named Mr. Darcy of all things.  And you have to admire the many films where Colin emerges from pond or water fountain in a wet white shirt showcasing those 'chiseled contours' we know so well!  There was also a reference to "Girl With a Pearl Earring" starring Scarlett Johansson and Colin Firth.  On a field trip to scope out the National Art Gallery in preparing for the heist of Vermeer's famous painting, one of the girls comments, "Wow, you can so see why Colin Firth wanted to shag her!".  I think we can say the same of Colin in one of the final scenes where he is nicely unclad by the window!  If you have not watched this film yet, and intend to do so, I urge you to hang on till the bitter end and listen as the credits roll to Colin and Rupert's rendition of "Love Is In The Air"!  We just finished watching this again as a family movie night pick!  Perhaps the kids and I will watch St. Trinian's 2 tomorrow night when John is out!

Till then Colin - "Another Time, Another Country"!

Pride & Prejudice, Vexations and Calamities

Welcome March!

John and I really enjoyed watching Pride & Prejudice.  In fact the kids, I'm sure, have developed a distaste for our constant mimicking of dear Mrs. Bennett and the vexations taken upon her poor soul!  Now that we have reached the end of the BBC series, I am overcome with extreme sadness!  As much as I enjoyed the series, I still maintain my first love of Mr. Mark Darcy, albeit Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy ardently runs a close second!

It's been a while since I last posted an entry and I've much to relay to you now.  Lately it seems that many around me -family, friends, and my friends' family have been plundered with calamity upon calamity.  There must be something in the air and I just pray that a gust of health storms their way soon!  It's times like these that lead you to appreciate and focus on the positive things surrounding oneself.  So, rather than continue to dwell on my own misfortunes (largely that of the mountain of visceral fat trapped waist-side!) I decided to take action.  Instead of doing my occasional 3-day wheat-free stint, I upped the ante and went wheat-free for 5 1/2 days.  I also worked out at Curves 5 times last week.  Each time I eliminate wheat from my diet, I am amazed at how easy it is, and it continues to get easier each time I do it.  Furthermore,  I was able to dig away more of my weight after a lengthy plateau.  On Tuesday I weighed in at 143.13 lbs, on Wednesday - 142.25 lbs, Thursday - 141.5 lbs, Friday - 141.25 lbs, and Saturday 140.5 lbs.  Today I weighed in and maintained the 140.5 lbs.

After my last entry I tried a new recipe for Red Cabbage Slaw which involved making candied pecans as a topping.  It was delicious and plentiful - we had leftovers for days!

Did you all watch the Oscars this year?  We went to Carla and Steve's to watch it again with Melissa, Glen, Desi and Lori.  Before we left the house, Kristen asked me if Bridget Jones would be at the Oscars.  I told her I didn't think she would be because I couldn't recall her starring in any recent films.  But she was!  I had John call the house to tell Kristen as we saw her walk the red carpet.  I was pleased however, that she was long in bed before Bridget (aka Renee Zellwegger) drunkenly staggered to the podium (an altogether different type of calamity befallen on her) to announce a winner (which she was not coherent enough to do and thus rescued by Queen Latifah!).  Perhaps she had too much to drink, too little to eat to sop it up with, or perhaps she was dizzily suffering a migraine?  Which reminds me of something Carla brought to my attention the other day - when was the last time I had a migraine?  The answer is - I can't remember!  We discussed the possibility that my healthier eating habits and combined exercise may indeed have another perk that remained dormant as my focus lay on other matters.  I used to have migraines on a weekly or biweekly basis and now I realize that aside from a perma headache I had when I began the Colin Firth Diet Club I don't think I've had a migraine or headache for that matter, in the past 5 months!

Another unexpected thing that has resulted from the Colin Firth Diet Club is that John has lost about as much weight as I have!  He started out at about 170 lbs and a few nights ago came downstairs and asked me if our scale was accurate because he just weighed himself at 155 lbs.   That's what I started out at, and it came so much easier for him! My initial reaction was "Oh, the unfairness of it all, how it vexes me, so!"  Yes, I personified Mrs. Bennett for a moment but quickly got over my vexation to applaud John for his support of me and his own overhaul of convictions.  It's been nearly two months now since he's drank a Diet Coke or any soda!  Kudos to you Johnny!

Just as I love delving into a good movie (preferably starring Colin Firth of course!), I also love to delve into a good book.  And when I can combine the two into one - even better!  Two books have done this for me, the first was "To Nottinghill With Love...Actually" by Ali McNamara, and I recently finished reading Mia March's "The Meryl Streep Movie Club".  Upon reading March's book, I envisioned it as it's own movie and casted the roles accordingly.  I felt Colin Firth would be suited to Griffin given his experience with raising two daughter's in "A Summer in Genoa" and his genuine 'nice guy'ness.  Meryl Streep herself would be a dead ringer for Lolly.  Let me just say that I am dire agony awaiting the release of March's next book....called....."Finding Colin Firth"!!!!!!  I believe it will be released this July!

Last week was one of culinary delights!  On Monday I made Use 'Em Up Torta, a recipe I ripped out of a Today's Parent magazine years ago.  It is very aptly named and one the reasons I chose to make this was that I had some spaghetti sauce in the fridge.  The ingredients consist of brown rice, broccoli, spaghetti sauce, cheese and eggs.  Easy peasy!

On Wednesday I made Scallops and Creamy Kale.  Kale was a new item for me and I had never made scallops before either.  Unfortunately I was the only one who liked the scallops and not even Rocket would eat them.  Matthew really enjoyed the Creamy Kale with me though.  I couldn't help but chuckle as I listened to the sound effects of Jake, Kristen and John moaning about having to eat such an atrocious meal!

When I told John I was making scallops for dinner he voiced his refusal to eat them.  I was told to make them on Wednesday night when he wouldn't be home for dinner.  So, I acquiesced and moved the meal from Tuesday's plan to Wednesday.  Unfortunately for him, he found someone else to take his place at a work related dinner (forgetting the intended meal at home) and bam - karma baby!  And he ate them indeed as an attempt to be a good role model for his scallop-fearing children.

The following night instead of our traditional pizza night (remember I was going wheat-free) I made Orange Teriyaki Chicken.  As we sat down to consume the meal, Jacob, out of the blue, told me I was the best Mommy ever!  To which I raised a skeptical eyebrow and asked, "Really?  Even though I made you eat scallops and kale last night?".  He said yes, that he knows it's because I love him and don't want him to get sick and that I want him to live for a long, long time!  Those words just melted this momma's heart!  He's got it!  He might not like everything about it, but he's got the message!  Of course this is the same kid who I discovered in the school office this morning being punished for hiding a girls' boots in the boys washroom!!

On Thursday, to celebrate my good friend Steve's 45th (or being that he's a Leap Year baby - 11.25th) birthday, I tagged along with him and Carla for lunch at Stoney's and gorged on my favourite butternut squash and pear soup and spinach salad loaded with goodness!  I had to give up on the wheat-free for the weekend as I needed to make Steve's birthday cake which of course was made with flour.  We went out to dinner to celebrate again with Steve, Carla, Melissa, Glen, April and Brian.  Those Milners sure know how to celebrate a birthday!

As for my blood pressure - well, this I think can be best summed up as Acute/Chronic White-Coat Syndrome.  You see, my day of reckoning is fast approaching.  My next appointment with the Diabetic Nurse is on March 19th which means I need to get my blood tested next week.  I will bring a photo of when my blood pressure was normal a few weeks ago and just hope that the changes I've made, if not enough to satisfy her in the long run, will be enough to buy me some extra time and allow me to continue what is left of my 30's medication free!

I had hoped to reach my next goal by now, but I am so close!! Half a pound to go!! I'm confident that St. Trinians will be mine when next we meet!  Till then, Colin, "You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you."