Opportunities Are Everywhere

The yucky weather seems to have followed us to the beach. It was an overcast morning and on the cooler side which is not great beach weather, but turned out to be great weather for a run. I headed out early and enjoyed the nice breeze during my 35 minute run. This was an exciting run for me. While I was out, taking in the scenery, I thought back to this time last year. I was just starting to "learn" to run and I was struggling with the whole process. Last year, I could barely make it around the beach block, but this morning I ran close to 3 miles! It was a neat feeling. A sign of progress.


I came in and whipped up my usual breakfast of 3/4 c. Puffins, strawberries and 1/2 c. Almond Breeze for 3 POINTS...



Even though the weather wasn't exactly cooperating, I took the daughters to the pool for some swimming. I took the opportunity to get in a few laps and do some strength exercises using the deep water as resistance. I love this form of "nonsweaty" exercise!

All at once, we were starving, so we headed back to have lunch. I went with a turkey hummus wrap (turkey slices, 2 tbsp. hummus, baby spinach in a La Tortilla Factory tortilla), leftover Asian Slaw and a half serving of Sour Cream and Onion Rice Chips for 6 POINTS...

After lunch, Mom and Gram joined us for an excursion to a quaint little nearby town. There are interesting shops, restaurants, paddle boats and a couple little rides for the kids. It is a very animal friendly town with lots of geese, customers with dogs, and even some of these guys walking around...

We couldn't resist stopping in a sweet shop with rows of candy and chocolate! I indulged in a dark chocolate dipped pineapple ring for a delicious afternoon snack...

And a frozen cappuccino to wash it down...

That was pretty filling and ended up killing my appetite for dinner. Not a bad thing, since chinese takeout was on the menu and I'm not good at saying no to fried dumplings and egg rolls! I sat with everyone at dinner, but waited until I felt some hunger brewing to eat something. I decided on a leftover chicken sausage and broccoli rabe from Father's Day dinner...

Big daughter and I went for a 20 minute bike ride around the town and then, little daughter and I went for an evening walk to end the night. I really enjoyed the extra "exercise that didn't feel like exercise" today! I'm going to take advantage of as many opportunities for extra activity as possible this week. It's a challenge to keep the eats completely "on program", but hopefully, the additional exercise will counteract some of that! Here's hoping ;P

Have a great night!!

POINTless

Greetings from the beach! I have been busy celebrating, packing and doing lots of eating. I'm not sure what's going on with me, but counting POINTS has been pointless lately. I am disappointed in myself. I have been gaining and losing the same 10 pounds since January. I know I need to buckle down and just do this, but I keep getting detoured. I will never give up, though. I have come too far and still have a ways to go, so I will ride this out and keep trying every day to be a little bit better than the day before. That's all I can do right now. So, I have some catching up to do! Let's start with...


FATHER'S DAY


Breakfast (for me) was 1/2 c. plain greek yogurt topped with 1/2 c. berries and a Blueberry Apricot Oat Bran Muffin for 4 POINTS...


The fresh fruit and veggie stash was dwindled down in preparation for going to the beach, so I dug out a Ranch Turkey Burger ,only topped it with cheese and put it on an Arnold Sandwich Thin. I had it with some leftover crinkle potatoes and an apple for 7 POINTS...

Later in the afternoon, we headed to my parents for Father's Day dinner. The daughters wanted a snack when we got there, so they helped themselves to some fresh raspberries that they picked from Mom's garden...

Then, the food fest began...

Cheese raviolis with marinara sauce...

grilled chicken sausages...

Crunchy Asian Slaw (yay, a low cal dish!). Mom used THIS recipe...

Lots of "Turf" for the guys (ribeye and bbq ribs)...

And yummy "Surf"....

so corny...

My "plates".... ravioli...


and the rest....

Of course, there were desserts...

In an effort to minimize the damage, I made Hungry Girl's Double Chocolate Trifle...

It was really good. Like a healthier version of "Dirt Dessert". The recipe made 4 servings and came to 3 POINTS for each serving.

My 3 POINTS worth...

and I had to taste the apple pie...

It was a great day honoring my 2 favorite guys...

Love you both!!

BEACH EATS

We left early this morning to come to the beach for a mini "School's Out" vacation. Every year when the daughters are finished school, we come to the beach with my parents and Gram to hang out. Before we left, I grabbed a bowl of Puffins with the last of the blueberries for 3 POINTS...

We got to the beach house at lunch time and everyone was immediately hungry. Something about that salt air! Mom brought lots of leftovers from Father's Day dinner, so I had much to choose from. I decided on a Lobster Asian Slaw Salad using a leftover lobster tail and 1 1/2 c. of the Asian Slaw. A delicious 5 POINTS...

Alongside, I had a Blueberry Apricot Oat Bran Muffin and carrots for 2 POINTS...

I spent the afternoon unpacking and grabbing handfuls of snacks here and there. A little Goldfish crackers, half muffin, watermelon. Just stuff.

We decided on a healthy dinner of roasted chicken, broccoli and potatoes. I added a small slice of wheat bread to this plate, too...

Mom forgot the leftover apple pie (thank goodness), so I got to have one of these for dessert...

A smooth and creamy 2 POINTS...

So, since I've been here, I have been drowning myself in water in an effort to curb my appetite that has been majorly stoked by all this overeating. I'm also hoping that it will help the scale come down a little. I got on this morning and it was a hideous sight. I can't believe the number I saw. I'm hoping that I am retaining a major amount of fluid. I'm thinking that might not be the case, though. All this whooping it up is catching up with me. And the scale. This could be a wake up call for sure!

Sorry for the super long post! See ya tomorrow!