Turkey Day

How was your Thanksgiving? Mine was good but different. This was the first year in my 13 years of marriage that we didn't go visit family/family didn't visit us and it was, well, different. In some ways, it was nice. We still cooked for 20 people, even though there were only 4 of us. That morning we hung out with some of our new Bville friends while Scott fried their turkeys and in the evening we went to a friend's house for dessert and had a great time. It never really felt like Thanksgiving usually does...it was just a day that we spent with friends eating lots of great food. Good but different..

Speaking of great food, this Thanksgiving the Simpson family had a "Pioneer Woman" menu. I am a huge fan of PW and I really think we would be great friends if she and I were able to meet. We could share in our love of food (both cooking and eating it), laughing, and quoting movies. She could teach me how to decorate Christmas cookies without pulling my hair out and I could teach her....well, I have no idea what I could teach her but, whatever it was, we'd have a ball! I promise I am not a stalker but I was beyond thrilled when I found out the town she lives in is only about 30 minutes away from MY town. See? We were meant to be friends, I just know it!

Ok, enough with that, let me get back to what is really important...the food! Scott cooked 2 turkeys this year. Yes, 2...for 4 people, one of which is on a diet! We always fry a turkey but, now that my hubby is the proud owner of a new, custom-built smoker that looks like a train engine, of course, he had to smoke one, too! I, personally, do not like smoked food of any kind. I don't like the taste and I don't like the smell. If I'm going to smell like I've been to a bar, I want to have earned it by actually going to a bar and dancing the night away...not by walking out to my patio. Fried turkeys have always been my favorite but I will admit (and, yes, I admitted it to Scott) the smoked turkey was better this year. Scott brined it overnight and it was very moist. And, once you cut off the smoked skin, it was pretty tasty, too!

I took care of the rest of the food and, like I just mentioned, PW provided the awesome recipes I used. I cooked her green bean casserole, her sweet potatoes, and her pies (cranberry, pecan WITH the whiskey cream sauce, and pumpkin cream). I also cooked my usual corn dish and my grandma's cornbread dressing. I told you we cooked a lot of food! In my defense about the pies, two of them I cooked to bring over to our friends' house that night, so it wasn't ALL just for us.

It was all so good! The amazing part of the whole holiday, for me, was that I didn't gain any weight! That has to be a first for me. I didn't lose any but I wasn't expecting (or really trying) to. I kept up my water intake and exercise and when I weighed in at JC this past Wednesday, the scale didn't budge from where I'd last left it. Ah, relief!

I still feel like I am in a weight-loss funk. As my consultant said, "The excitement of weight loss is gone" and she is absolutely right. Don't get me wrong...I love being 20 pounds lighter, healthier, able to fit in my clothes better and needing to buy new clothes in a smaller size. I love looking better, feeling better, and having more energy and I am not planning on stopping JC any time soon. It's just different now that I've been doing the program for almost 3 months. In the beginning, I'd follow the program, go to weigh in while feeling unsure about my progress, and BAM! 3 pounds were gone...just like that! Now, I follow the program, I cheat on a few occasions throughout the week, but I exercise now and when I go to weigh in....eh, 1 pound (maybe) is gone. I've never gained with JC but the scale has been a bit slower lately and twice, the scale has stayed the same. Of course, that was a great thing right after Turkey Day...

I'm sure it's the cheating thing...duh. It's just hard NOT to cheat, especially now that the JC food just isn't tasting as good to me as it did in the beginning. Also, I'm sure that being in the holiday season isn't helping either...this is the best time of the year to eat! But, like I said, I am not wanting to quit. I just have to get myself re-motivated.

Wow. Sorry for the long post. Hopefully, it reads fast! If I blogged regularly, this wouldn't happen, I bet. :-)