So She Took a Sandblaster to My Face

Today I had another step in this whole spot removal process, microderm abrasion. See my before picture here, compare it to the shot from two weeks ago, just before the chemical peel. Not a huge difference, but we're not done yet. And yeah, I'm all squinty-into-the-sun again too.

Since I stared this, my skin is clearer and softer. I'm not breaking out as much and my pores actually do look smaller, at least they do to me. I'm using the Cosmedix cleanser and the ionized water (snake oil!) toner in the morning and at night. I have the Cosmedix sun screen but since we've been plunged into murky-grayness for the last month I'm rarely using it. Now that the sun has popped back out I've added that to the daily routine.

Today's treatment was not my first microderm abrasion, but it was my first real one. The only other time I had this done it was at a med spa as part of a Toys for Tots promotion. Bring in a toy and get a free 20 minute microderm abraision treatment. That time? A total walk in the park compared to today. That was just playing around. Today, today was serious. Imagine if you will, a small vacuum with a cocklebur crammed in the end of it. Now take that and rub it all over your face. Back and forth, up and down. Yeah, really get in there and scrub at it. Make sure you go over those tough areas a couple of times. I actually had to ask her to back off the intensity, twice. She told me that most people just consider this regular maintenance. I'm going to have to disagree with that.

The whole procedure took about 45 minutes and that included a cleansing treatment and a cooling mask that was applied afterwards. Three hours later my skin feels a little tight and shiny. I guess it should be shiny, I was just polished. I might be a little red for a couple of days but I won't be the freak show I was following the chemical peel. Thank God. The next procedure is in a week, a Pore Cleanse. Bring it.

UPDATE:

It's now Tuesday. I never got really red but I do seem to be breaking out just a little. That could be the intense scrubbing I received Saturday or a result of me not following directions when specifically told not to touch my face. I'm also going to add the Cosmedix exfoliater, a vitamin A serum. I'm supposed to do that three times a week starting yesterday but I totally forgot about it so I'll start Wednesday.

Restaurant Week

It's restaurant week right now here in our fine city and last night a few of the Hussies decided to take advantage of the discounted prices on expensive restaurants. We were going to eat at the restaurant Julian with chef Celina Tio. Then we realized that pretty much everything offered on the menu had some type of dairy in it, which does NOT work for Tofurkey, so we decided to try out our local seafood restaurant instead. I know, seafood in the Midwest? Doesn't make much sense does it? But this place is phenomenal! The name of the restaurant is The Bristol and it rocks!

They had a separate menu just for the restaurant week patrons.

The First Course consisted of a choice of the following:

• Lobster Bisque
• Grilled Asparagus Salad
• Caesar Salad

The Second Course consisted of a choice of the following:

• Baked Maryland Style Crab Cakes (with creole remoulade, mango tartar sauce, whipped Yukon gold potatoes, grilled asparagus)
• Seared Grouper (with sweet potato corn hash, applewood smoked bacon, corn butter sauce)
• Seared Georges Bank Scallops (with lemon and asparagus risotto, fennel salad, olive oil balsamic reduction)
• 6oz. Center Cut Filet (with potato sage gratin, wild mushrooms sauté)

The Final Course consisted of a choice of the following:

• Chocolate Butterscotch Tart
• Carrot Cake

Luckily, we all have different tastes, so between the four of us one of everything was ordered. Which is perfect for sampling! Mad Dog had the Lobster Bisque, Scallops and Carrot Cake. Tofurkey had the Grilled Asparagus Salad, Grouper and Carrot Cake (which she took home for Hot Carl), KT had the Caesar Salad, Filet and Tart (which she took home for Boilermaker). I had the Grilled Asparagus Salad, Crab Cakes and Carrot Cake. I can't even put into words how spectacular it all was! The Asparagus Salad was so flavorful with mixed greens, sweetened pecans, Gorgonzola cheese and a citrus vinaigrette. YUM!! The Crab Cakes were amazing! Huge chunks of crab with hardly any filler at all. The whipped potatoes were ridiculous! Then there was the Carrot Cake! I was only able to take about 3 bites as I was so full at this point. But it was amazing! It had a pecan praline filling with toasted coconut cream cheese frosting. Holy Moly! Everyone loved absolutely everything they had. (Except KT, who didn't care for her potato gratin. We all loved it though!)

Luckily my husband, Burn Notice, is the only husband that likes seafood, so he was the lucky recipient of all of the leftovers!!! If you ever have the chance to go to the Bristol ... run! It's that good!

Barbie is a Physical Therapist? Part 2

Ok, so last week I posted that one of the PT's at the place I go is a Barbie look-a-like. I had another appointment this Monday and Barbie was working with an elderly lady that had hurt her arm in a fall.

I have to admit I was very impressed by Barbie who's real name is Sunny. She was talking with the woman while she worked out, and she was telling her how she is a Doctoral Student at a local Medical University in Clinical Studies. She also is an instructor at the Medical University and she teaches Grad Students. As I ease dropped on the conversation. She knew her stuff.

I admired her knowledge and felt a bad for calling her a Barbie last week. I don't like it when people judge me because I am a big girl, I'm sure she doesn't like it when people think she is a Barbie Doll.

So this is saying Sorry to Barbie.

I have also decided that PT stands for Physical Torture. The step climbing, tread mill, bike and stretches are all good. But the exercises that are weird sometimes hurt. There is one where you lay on your side, keep your ankles together and butterfly your knees. Not only is it humiliating it hurts your hips a little. Then there is the one where you sit on a stool with wheels and drag yourself around in circles doing laps in the office with one foot. Hurts you heel. Oh well better than surgery.

Sledding- Tennessee Style

During my period of self-imposed exile in the winding backroad country of Tennessee, there just wasn't a lot of things to do for fun.

Well, it just so happened that one wintery day, we got a blizzard (3 inches of snow). So of course, school and work were cancelled that day. Can't expect us southerners to know how to drive in 3 inches of snow.

My brother, WAG (who bears a striking resemblance to our cousin Billy Bob Jim Joe), got the brilliant idea that we should sled. The only problem? We didn't have a sled. So he went out into the garage and "boat house" to see what he could find.

He came running in the house about an hour later. He had found a way for us to sled. We may not have had a sled, but by God, we had a rubbermaid wheel barrow. He had taken the wheel and handles off. It would work great as a sled.

Now our only problem- no big hills to sled down. Sure there were some gullys but that was for throwing out your old couch or microwave into. Not the smoothest ride going down.

Wag said not to worry. We were going to take turns in the sled. One person would ride and the other would drive the Polaris 400 all wheel drive ATV. He had hooked up a rope to the back of the 4-wheeler. There was even a handle to hold onto...kind of like water skiing.

We had a blast. We got that four wheeler up to 30 MPH in the field down the road next to the cemetery. The person being pulled would let go and the "country sled" would spin like a top.

Heck, we still talk about the fun we had that day. I was 28 and my brother was 26. Reflecting on this now, we could have beheaded ourselves or worse. But Heck...what's a lonely girl in the backwoods supposed to do for a little fun? Don't say it. He's my brother. Not my Uncle Daddy.

Is That You God? It's Me, Ginger.

I woke up this morning and thought someone was shining a flashlight in my eyeballs. Then I realized ... it was the sun!!! Are you kidding? It's been like a month! Thank God!

This calls for one of my favorite songs in the world ... Three Little Birds by Bob Marley.

Life is good!

Journey to the Center of My Head

Ok, I'll admit it. Right here, in front of everyone, well, 14 minions anyway. Really more like 13 since I'm a minion too. As a kid I was never much for tooth brushing. Mom would ask. And nag. And the more she would nag, the more I would lie about it. Because of these bad habits fostered throughout my youth, I now have a mouth full of silver fillings.

One year ago, at my last dental cleaning, my dentist says, "you know we really should replace all of these silver fillings with porcelain. It will look better." He assured me that this wold be purely for cosmetic reasons so I respectfully told him to back the heck off. Today I learned the hard way that I should have let him do it, for you see, unbeknownst to my dentist, lurking beneath those shiny silver fillings were little cavities just waiting to make their appearance. Today, at my yearly cleaning, when I mentioned that I thought I might have a cavity or something, I was informed that my old silver fillings had become loose and trouble was brewing beneath the surface. I had two cavities in my back teeth, one on the top and one on the bottom.

So she applied "topical anesthetic," which tastes disgusting by the way. Then she shot me with what I am quite sure was some sort of a veterinary needle, possibly intended for use in elephants. I actually felt a little twinge in my eye followed by pressure, for a moment I thought my eye might actually burst like a grape. And then we waited. And while we waited the 12 year old hygienist cleaned my teeth and my face became quite numb. The whole left side, right up to my eye. Have you ever had your eye go numb? It's bizarre. just bizarre. I don't recommend it. The 12 year old thought it was cool. I assure you, it was not cool. And I waited.

Just when I thought were were going to wait until the numbness had worn off, they started bringing in chairs and the dentist returned with the 12 year old hygienist (seriously, she had to be like 5 minutes out of school). So she drilled. And she drilled. And then she changed the bit and drilled some more. And just when I had finally began to tune out the high pitched squeal of the drill she stopped, only to change the bit again, this time to something with more umph. Now there was a little dirt bike riding around in my head, and she drilled some more, until that finally stopped too. "I had to drill much deeper than I had expected," I guess that was supposed to make me feel better? I thought she was going to drill to the center of the earth through my head.

"Now we are going to fill the holes" and she shoots some goop into my teeth. Well that's a relief, I thought maybe you were going to leave me like this... Once it's dry she has to drill some more to make my bite right. "Close down and bite on this," she puts a little strip of what looks like carbon paper into my mouth. At this point my head is under so much presser I'm not even sure how my jaw goes back together, forget my bite. And now again with the drilling. Four more times, paper, bite, drill. Paper, bite, drill. And we are finished, or more likely I give up, and drive home with half of my head still numb.

The numbness didn't begin to wear off until about 9 pm. At that point the pain set in. With my face screaming in pain I was pawing though the medicine cabinet desperately searching for some of Trophy Husband's back pills. Oh, but he took those with him to Egypt. That's ok, half a bottle of wine works just as well. At least for the time being. But be advised Trophy Husband, you have been put on notice. One more infraction like this and you might just loose your title. And by the way, The Kid's gonna need braces. On second thought, forget the back pills, I need more wine.

Barbie is a Physical Therapist?

So as you all know from prior posts, I am a huge klutz. I fall and hurt myself all the time and should wear a suit of bubble wrap.

Well, a month ago I sprained my MCL and had my first Physical Therapy appoint yesterday. I walked in and filled out the forms and then saw one of the PT's. She was Barbie. Bleach blonde and tiny waist with big honkers.

She comes over towards me then turns left to talk to the receptionist. Thank God. The whole time I hear her talking about her new "Cute OTO pink jogging suit" that she is wearing to the receptionist, I just keep praying, "Please God don't let Barbie be my PT. Please oh Please."

A minute later an average/normal looking person comes over to me and says, "Hi, I'm Erin and I am a PT student I will be helping Sharon, and points to another average/normal looking person, with your PT.

"Thank you God, owe you one."

So we go back and the do some balance tests (kinda like the DUI test) stand on one leg and balance for 30 seconds, then the other. A few strength tests and then we do some excises. At first I think these are easy. But oh no, 30 mins later my muscles are burning and I am wanting water.

I look around the office while I am exercising and see Barbie with a HUGE I mean HUGE dude that sprained his wrist and she is helping with that. I am sure he was happy to have Barbie helping him.

We finish up with the leg lifts, muscle flexing, etc and they set up 5 more appointments and print out exercises for me to do at home. Oh well could have been worse.

Rambling Hussies - The Hangover

We're like Alan's Wolfpack ... without the strippers and cocaine of course! :p



You all know whenever Mad Dog has her first kiddo, he or she will be known as Carlos.

"Not at the table Carlos!"

Less Orange, More Peeled

So it's Monday now and the peeling is pretty much over. The chemical peel was done last Wednesday because my two "bad" days were supposed to be Saturday and Sunday. Turns out that I'm on a different schedule than the rest of the world. My bad days were Friday and Saturday. I'll be sure to note that for the future, I have two more chemical peels in the schedule before this is all over. Today my skin looks better, I would say that the process thus far has been worth it. I'll take a new picture just before my next treatment, microderm abrasion on January 30.

Out Out Damn Spot

The Hussies are all in the "over 35" age bracket. Some of us are handling it better than others (shoots eye-roll at guilty parties, you know who you are). I'm not too worried about it, maybe because I just don't feel old. I am however not interested in wandering around looking old. I color my hair to keep the grays at bay and try to take care of my skin but I'm not a fanatic about it.

Over the last year or so I noticed a large brownish patch on my forehead. It kind of looks like a bunch of freckles massed together. I had it checked by a dermatologist and he said it was hyperpigmentation, nothing to worry about, and that there was a creme that I could use to lighten it. Since this spot removal was purely cosmetic, my insurance company pretty much scoffed at the notion of paying for the prescription and I passed on the $400 tube of magic creme.

I had been just sort of living with the spot for a while. It didn't get any darker until the Friends Cruise to the Mexican Rivera last Spring. That Mexican sun lit my head up and suddenly the spot on my head was very noticeable. I decided it was time to do something about it. Having already tried my luck with the dermatologist I decided to go the Med-Spa route. My sister has a friend who is an aesthetician so I went to her first. She suggested a laser light treatment (sorry, can't remember what it's called). It would make the pigment rise to the surface of the skin and then flake and fall off. Sounds yummy! They have had success treating hyperpigmentation this way and showed me some before and after photos. Sessions were around $150 each and it could take 3 or more to get the job done. All of this advice followed a rather unimpressive microderm abrasion treatment. Yeah, it was a free one (with a Toys for Tots donation) but still...

A month or so later my sister presented me with a gift certificate for a facial at a salon. Expecting to get the hard sell on a bunch of new products that I didn't necessarily want (I had just started in with a new line of moisturizer, cleanser and toner that I thought was working well), I put off the appointment as long as I could. Let me just say that I was surprised.

"If I woke up tomorrow with my head sewn to the carpet I wouldn't be more surprised than I am right now, Eddie."

Not only did I not get the hard sell, she didn't even ask what brand of products I was using or take the time to bash them. She explained each of what seemed like 17 different products she put on and then took off my face. She told me about the products she sells (CosMedix) in an informative and non sales pitchy way. She told me the kinds of ingredients she avoids and why. And my skin felt and looked great after that facial. Oh, she also told me that we could lighten the spot with 9 different treatments over the course of 15 weeks for just over $500. I thought about it for two weeks and decided to do it. There was a option to pay have of that up front and the other half midway through the process, I signed up. I should also tell you that this woman is about my age and has flawless skin. Oh, and she spent most of her life living in Arizona. The skin cancer capital of the world.

I have since switched over to her brand of cleanser (because my mom bought some and decided she didn't like it) and I am using her toner, which is ionized water. The whole time she was telling me about the ionized water there was a voice in the back of my head screaming SNAKE OIL! SNAKE OIL! but since it was only $5 I bought some. These are the only two products that I have been using for the last 2 weeks and I like it. It takes no time at all because it's just the two items and I'm seeing results. My skin is clearing up even faster than before and my pores look smaller. Nothing in the CosMedix skin care line is cheap, the cleanser was $35 and the sunscreen is $42. It's the strangest sunscreen that I have ever used though. It's almost the consistency of milk, it comes in a spray bottle, and as soon as you put it on it feels like it's gone. It's not greasy at all. I'm leaving for Egypt in 8 weeks to visit Trophy Husband, that trip will certainly put the sunscreen to the test!

Saturday, January 9

I had my first of the 9 treatments. This one was an enzyme peel. The process was quick and the solution she used smelled like pepto-bismol. It did hurt just a little. The word she uses is spicy and while I would have never used that word to describe the snappy-rubber band dance that was going on with my face, that fits the sensation perfectly. On a pain scale of 1 to 10 this process was about a 5, it could have been worse but I certainly was not enjoying it. The tingly-spicy feeling peaked and was gone in about 10 minutes. My face was a little red that night. By the next day my skin started to feel a little tighter and by the 13th I was flaking a little around my chin.

This is my Before picture. I took it in the parking lot just before my first treatment. I wanted to be facing the sun to have the light on my face so it was too bright to open my eyes. I'm normally not this squinty.

Wednesday, January 13

I had my second treatment, a chemical peel. This was much spicier than the first treatment. (And I forgot to take a before picture but I promise to do better next time.) On a pain scale I gave this one an 8 and it took longer for the discomfort to peak and then back down. I was still a little tingly on my drive home but it was pretty much gone by dinner. This process made my skin feel much tighter and as I ate dinner the tingling sensation started to return to the areas around my mouth but it's much better today. My skin is still pretty tight though. Right after the peel I was very shiny and looked a little like an Umpa Lumpa. Today I just look a little sunburned but the dark circles that I usually have around my eyes (thank you very much allergies) seem darker today. By Saturday I am supposed to be wholly unattractive. That's when all of the "stuff" that is in my skin will really start to come out. I'm going to be a hermit during this part of the process and no, there will not be a picture taken this weekend. I'm supposed to look normal again by Monday.

That's where I'm at so far. My next appointment is in two weeks for microderm abrasion. That's basically where they sand your face. Fun! I'll continue to chronicle this process and at the end we can compare the before and after pictures. Hopefully there will be measurable results!

Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Nut Free = Nasty

I started a new job back in November of 2009 and I love the guys I am working with now. They found out I am dairy free. Not that hard considering I tell every waiter/ress, clerk, etc. Well we do a Starbucks run every day and they are so careful to get me drinks and little things that do not have dairy in them.

Today D-Dog stopped at Starbucks and bought me these new cookies they are carrying called Lucy’s. They are nut free, dairy free and gluten free. They are also flavor free (kinda tasted like envelope glue) but do not advertise this.

I ate one and said thank you and then he ate one and said does all non dairy taste like this? I said no but all gluten free does. But it was sweet for him to try.

Some Old Bag

So did anyone loose their dentures?

I'm not sure what to think of this. I just saw this bag. It's been abandoned in the slushy parking lot in front of a sporting goods store. What the heck? Looks like another one for Grissim to investigate.

What do you think happened? Did some old lady get kidnapped and drop her bag in the process? Was it accidentally kicked out of a car as it was dumped following a hold up at the raisin ranch? You have a better theory? Post yours in the comments under this post (click on the photo to get a closer look). Most creative answer gets 5000 points (so what if they're pretend points) and can proclaim themselves Queen (or King I guess) Of the Internets. But just for one day. I can't have it going to your heads.

Glutton for punishment. Not so much!

I headed out this evening to get a massage. I went to the same place I've been going to for a year. Apparently I didn't get the memo about the switch from massage parlor to torture chamber. I'm pretty sure I would have opted out this time around. It started out innocently enough. The lady took me back to one of the rooms and started out by asking me if I had any areas that needed special attention. I told her no, I just wanted a relaxing massage. You know, like I've had every other time I've been here. I know it was in my little file that she was obviously pretending to read. "No problem", she said. Yeah, right!

She began with my head. It was all fine and dandy until she actually started to move her fingers. I was thinking to myself, "Hey lady, that's my hair that you're slowly twisting around your fingers while moving from spot to spot. Please, don't unwind the hair from your fingers as you're moving around. That would be the smart thing to do." Then she rubbed behind my ears. Hard. I'd never had anyone do that before and I'm pretty positive I don't want it to happen again. Next, she moved down to my neck. Have you ever had a Vulcan neck pinch? I have. For about 10 minutes straight. It hurt so bad I was seeing stars. I thought, ok, apparently my neck is really tight and she's just really getting in there trying to loosen the knots. Surely she'll ease up as she moves along. You know, since this is supposed to be relaxing and everything.

Wrong!! She moved onto my arms. She started rubbing them up and down. This isn't so bad. Then she pulled out her vice-like grip and Hercules thumbs and started grinding them back and forth and up and down evey square inch of my arm. The only thing I could think at this point was, "Holy shit, bitch!" In my mind, I was able to make a fist, which I used to punch her square in the nose. In reality, she was pressing so hard on every nerve in my arm, I'm pretty sure I couldn't have even bent my fingers. Next, she moved down to my legs. Rub, rub, rub, grind, grind, grind. Holy flip! Then she moved on to my feet. This is usually my favorite part of the massage. Again, I was sorely mistaken. She took her devil thumbs and jabbed them into the arch of my foot as hard as she could, over and over. You'd think my toes curling and face contorting in pain would be a dead give away for her to stop. Possibly the involuntary leg jerk? Nope, not this gal.

At this point she had me flip over onto my stomach. Back to the legs she went. I'm pretty sure I was numb below the waist, so I didn't really feel the pain. After my legs, she moved up to my ass. She used the heels of her hands to push, mash and poke everwhere. I'm pretty sure she even punched me in the panooch at one point, but like I said, I was numb. Up to my back she went. She actually started to rub it for a minute to where it felt good. This lasted until she took her steel-plateds thumbs and jammed them into my shoulder blades. I can't even put into words the feeling of her rubbing her fingers over my knotted up muscles. It was horrendous, like someone rubbing over gristle. I actually had my mouth open in a silent scream at one point. I had tears flowing out of my eyes towards the end.

I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure as I stepped out of the little room after it was over and she handed me my glass of water, I saw one of the horns retreating back into her head.

Later, as I was telling Burn Notice about the torture I'd been through, he was like, "why didn't you tell her to stop?" Good question. I'm pretty sure I was in shock. Either that or I thought she might stab me. I think I'm going to have to go back and have a massage to recover from my massage.

To top the night off, on the way home, I stopped by the pet store to pick up my dog after he'd been groomed. Right when I stepped out of the car, locked the door and flipped it closed, I realized that I'd left the keys inside. "Fuuuuuuuuuudggggggge!

"The feeling of a new bra is just fantastic."

In a small town south of Kansas City, on the Missouri side, there is a bra shoppe in the mall that time forgot. Its a unique place where ladies walk around in their underwear, you can buy a tractor two doors down and the smell of fertilizer is just barely beaten back by an overworked cinnamon air freshener.

Oh, and a creepy old guy with no teeth keeps walks by leering and smacking his gums.

It's something like a 40 minute drive to get there, and once you do nothings cheep, but all of us Hussies hit this joint. The girls that work at the shoppe are terrific. Very knowledgeable, experts at fittings and just all around great people. They will measure you up, tell you exactly what size you need and even do alterations and repairs to make sure you walk out with a perfect fit.

"Make sure to don't pull down, pull up otherwise your girls won't be in the right place. Now bend over."

A couple of us Hussies hit the bra shoppe this weekend. I tried on swimsuits but the one I fell in love with is not available in my size. Seriously, bra + swimsuit = brilliant. I highly recommend it for any girl above a C cup. Just say No! to uni-boob. In an effort to get me into the swimsuit I fell in love with the sales girl tried to talk me into a F. I realize different styles and brands mean different sizes but once you start getting too far from D I would just as soon pass, thanks. Not a total loss, I did pick up a Zumba-worthy sports bra. Tofurkey had good luck too. Right up until she tried to pay her bill with her health insurance card. You could probably make a case for insurance covering bras, especially when you're talking about G's (for Great Girls!). And Big T walked out with 4 over the shoulder boulder holders.

"Ok guys have fun, just remember Jesus sees everything."

And Big T is correct (see title), getting the right fit and a bra that doesn't poke you all day long is something every woman should experience. Your boobs will thank you for it. And if you pick up a little something special, your husband might thank you for it too. In fact, that would be a good idea so he doesn't get too caught up in the bill.

Meat Loaf

We live in Kansas or as I have started calling it Mini-Alaska. It was 4 degrees last night when I got home at 6pm. I looked in the fridge and saw the thawed hamburger and I was going to make meatloaf out of, then I noticed I was missing everything I need except the meat.

I bundled myself up. Gloves, Snow Boats, Long Winter Coat, scarf (that looks like a dead ferret) and my ski hat with the pom pom on the end. I go to the grocery store where there was only 6 other people shopping in the whole store. I decide to stock up while I am getting meat loaf ingredients. Toilet paper and Detergent were on sale. Hot Carl wants omelets on Saturday so I got eggs, ham, peppers, etc. Then I cruise by the meat counter and see 95% hamburger on sale so I stocked up. 20 pounds. Really 20 pounds, now what my I going to do with 20 pounds of hamburger. Never go to the grocery store when you are hungry.

I check out go back out to the car load it up and turn it on. The temp gage says 2 degrees. I get home takes 2 attempts to get my little convertible into the snow drifted driveway. Get inside the garage and unload the haul.

I made the meat loaf at 8pm and it was ready right when Hot Carl got home. I told him since I got out in this mess to get food he had to shovel the drive this weekend, or no omelets.

He just smiled and said, "Remember I used to be a short order cook, I'll make the omelets."

I just smiled back and replied, "The sofa is not as warm as the bed is it?"

His reply, "Glad I bought a new shovel."

Laziness Perfected

It's a ruff life at my house.

Death (or Salvation?) by Chocolate Cake

Monday I started back on my low carb lifestyle. I just feel better when I am not eating carbs. Seriously. But I crave them at the same time. I like a little sweet when I get done eating. Normally, I can curb the sweet factor by having dry roasted almonds - chocolate or cinnamon brown sugar on hands at all times. I keep a stash in my purse and at my desk at work.

Due to weather factors and cash flow issues beyond my control, I haven't been shopping to stock up on my low carb necessities. So I came home to the chicken I had laid out for dinner. 40 clove chicken and roasted brussel sprouts with baked potato was the menu I had thought of that morning. But I was STARVING when I walked in the door. I knew I was crashing fast. I tried to stave off the insanity by eating some string cheese. Then some turkey pepperoni. It wasn't holding me. I needed something sweet. Then I remembered the homemade chocolate squirrel.

Yeah, I said Squirrel. This is what we have dubbed the chocolate cake recipe on the back of the Hershey's cocoa tin. Seriously, the best chocolate cake around. So moist, so dense, so chocolately!!! My eye's bulged. It was leftover from our annual Friend's Liquor Exchange dinner. My brother was supposed to come over and finish it. Help me out- you know? It's not like you have to mention it twice to him when cake is involved. My brother is the sweet treat king. His infamy will last for years in our family as the guy who eats half a cake in a sitting or the guy who considers half a pie a slice or the guy who will eat a half gallon of ice cream for dinner.

It was like I was drowning and that chocolate cake was the life perserver. I could feel myself weakening. Cake was all I could think of. I broke. I had a slice. IT was the best dang slice of cake I ever had. Notice I said slice. A thin slice. I didn't eat the entire 4th of cake that was left. I can do this. Take a bite...give in a little bit but don't over do.

I still made the dinner I had planned. I was mostly full from the cake, so I only had a small portion. I will have the rest tomorrow for lunch.

I know each day will bring challenges. At first, I was upset with myself. But then I realized, a little can go a long way. As of Today, I am down 28 lbs. I hope to lose another 46 lbs by June 1st.

You know I will keep ya posted on my trials and tribulations. (Wink .. Wink!)

New Year's Eve 2009

Now tell me, is there any better time to act like a child than New Year's Eve? I guess you do get presents at Christmas but it seems to me that New Year's Eve opens us all up to a whole different level of debauchery, am I right? That at least seems to be the case for myself and a few of my favorite people.

This year we had arts and crafts hour.

Followed by a couple of pyrotechnics displays.

I love my friends. :)

Cheesy Corn

So the holidays are finally behind us. I for one am glad they are over. I'm tired of it. Tired of the the cooking and the plates full of carbs. Tired of being too busy (or more accurately, having too many excuses) to clean up the house. I still have two batches of cookies to bake and the house is a wreck. It may very well be spring before I feel like I am caught up again.

One item that I make no less than three times each year between Thanksgiving and New Years is Cheesy Corn. I got a few requests for the recipe this year so I figure this is as good a place as any to leave it. I started with a recipe for Smoke Stack Cheesy Corn Bake and adjusted it to suit my preferences, laziness and general distaste for open packages lying about in my freezer.

Cheesy Corn Bake
Serves 10-12

2 tablespoons butter or margarine
4 teaspoons flour
1 teaspoon minced garlic*
3/4 cup milk
2 cups sharp American cheese, shredded
1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, cut up
2 (16 ounce) packages frozen whole kernel corn
3 ounces diced ham*

1 small can diced green chilies

Preheat the oven to 350°.

Melt butter and add garlic, cook over low heat for about 5 minutes. Stir in flour and mix to make a roux. Cook this for a few more minutes, until the mixture smells nutty.

Add milk, cook and stir over medium heat until thick and bubbly. Stir in cheeses, start with cream cheese and once it's almost melted add the American. Cook and continue to stir over low heat until cheeses melt, stir in ham, green chilies and then one package of frozen corn. Stir until just combined.

Put the remaining frozen corn into a 2 qt casserole, evenly covering the bottom. Top this with the hot cheese/ham/corn mixture and spread it out evenly. Cook for 45 minutes or until lightly browned and bubbly.

*You can add a little more garlic and ham to this if you like. I usually buy the Farmland Diced Ham, I think it comes in a 10 ounce package, and just use half of it. And there's no such thing as too much garlic as far as I am concerned. (Note to self, time to develop garlic-based cookie.)