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The winner of the new collection from Scotty Girl Design is:
The winner of a seat in Illustrator 2 with the talented Laura Coyle from ReneePearson.com is:
The winner of a seat in Mouse, Paper, Scissors, a new hybrid workshop from JessicaSprague.com and Heidi Swapp is:
Ladies, congratulations! Email me at czdesign@comcast.net to claim your prizes.
Today on my stove there will be a pot simmering that looks much like this photo above. Mmmm. Chicken soup. Does it get any better? (Save for those who are vegetarians, of course.)
My neighbor Angela made this delicious soup over Christmas, and having had a bowl or three of it, I had to come home and recreate. I've done so twice, and I will be honest with you: I could live on this. Just ask Dan when we hit Day 4 of leftovers.
The kids won't touch it. The girl is a vegetarian. The boy is selective. But me? I could swim laps in the stuff.
It's very, very basic and you can zooch it up any way you like, but here's my favorite (and pretty dang healthy) chicken soup recipe.
Sheldon Street Chicken Soup
THE BROTH
1 whole chicken + one chicken breast (I get mine from Whole Foods)
4-5 stalks of celery, cut up, tops included
4 carrots, cut up
1 large yellow onion, cut up, with skins on
4-5 cloves garlic, smashed
8 to 10 sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS: Put everything in an 8-quart stock pot, cover with water, bring to boil and then down to a simmer for 2 to 3 hours. Skim off fat if you like (I generally don't.) Remove the chicken, pull off all the white meat and shred. Shred extra breast meat as well. Set shredded chicken aside.
Return as many bones as possible to the pot, and simmer another 30 minutes to an hour. Note: I discard the dark meat but if you're a fan, by all means, use it. However, it will add a little to the calorie/point content.
Strain broth and set aside. You can place the broth in the fridge to let the fat harden on the surface and skim off. I leave it as is and set it on the counter while prepping the other ingredients for the soup.
THE SOUP
2 cups chopped yellow onion
2 cups chopped celery
1 cup diced carrots
2 T butter
3 cups shredded chicken breast
2 to 3 cups of cooked wild rice (I used the Broken Bits rice from Whole Foods, from the bulk section)
10 cups of chicken stock
chopped fresh thyme
salt and pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS: Heat butter in a large dutch oven or stock pot and sauté onions and celery until wilted, then add carrots and sauté another 3 to 5 minutes until softened. Add chicken stock, chicken, wild rice, thyme and season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for 30 minutes to an hour. Enjoy this simple goodness!
1 cup of the soup equals 5 points on the new Weight Watchers Points Plus system.
And if you have a cold, it just might make you feel better.
Enjoy!
Thanks again to Angela, my neighborhood food muse and running partner extraordinaire for the recipe.
Hello all who seek to Move More and Eat Less!
It is I, Cathy Z., your fearless reporter coming to you from the front lines with the latest installment of, "Hey, so how's the chub reduction going anyhoo?" And the word on the street is… not as expected.
Another word I could use is 'sucky.'
This month has been both frustrating and informative. I end the month having lost zero poundage. This month has seen a small gain, which has been a pattern that began in November and if that pattern had it's own Facebook page, let's just say I would not be clicking the 'Like' button for it.
Let me start with the high points.
High Point Number One: I am whole-heartedly connected to Moving More. Despite kicking off the first week of the new year sick on the couch where my only movement involved nose blowing and clicking the remote control, I was really amazed at how depressed I felt, not just because I was miserable and achey, but because I couldn't exercise. Initially, I was fearful: Oh man, this is IT! The decline of fitness is beginning! I thought that a week off was going to set that ball in motion, the one that spirals down to complete inertia and my old inactive ways. But as soon as I came around to better health, I got back on the treadmill and rode.
I Move More six days a week, almost without fail. Exercise has become a part of my life. And actually a good part of it. One I feel I need to maintain a sense of mental peace. One I actually desire.
I run four days a week; I swim or do the elliptical on two others; and on Sundays I rest. I have slacked off on the weight training this month, but I'm looking ahead this month to getting two days of that back into the rotation.
When I run, I'm not running as fast as humanly possible to the point of exhaustion. I'm not fast and very likely never will be. But then I press stop on the old iPod, it's with sweaty hands. When I swim, same deal. I'm not doing sprint intervals in the pool. But I just keep on going for 40 minutes until my body says, "Okay, you're good."
High Point Number Two: I did not gain more weight than I did.
And that's about it.
I'm not saying there were tons of low points this month but what I am saying is that for now, I've got this Moving More thing down to something that clicks with me and my lifestyle. But the Eat Less thing? Now that's a whole 'nother story.
I rejoined Weight Watchers Online in December, after taking about a two month leave from the program last Fall. Not a leave from watching my diet, but a leave from the Weight Watcher's approach. I realized pretty quickly as I started to gain a bit in October and November, that maybe WW was the best approach for my particular needs.
Then Weight Watchers introduced their new Points Plus program and I thought, "Cool! A new plan for new inspiration."
But so far, I don't know if this new plan is going to work for me. Part of the reason why I don't know yet is that I've only managed to stick to the plan one week out of four in January. Part of it was being sick; part of it was being sick of dieting.
I want to believe that the new Zero Points fruit will work for me. I want to believe that having 3 servings of fruit a day (grapes, apples, pineapples) will work with my body chemistry and metabolism. As it stands this month, I can't say either way if this is going to work. If you're not following the plan accordingly, how will you know?
So as February begins, I'm tightening my belt, so to speak, on following the Eat Less plan. As you all know, this isn't about NOT eating. This is about learning how to eat well and balanced for your body without overdoing it. It's about eating LESS crap and more good stuff.
It isn't easy.
There are still days, though not as many, where I feel pissy and mad that I'm basically never going to be able to sit and eat what I want all day long…at least not as long as I want to maintain a healthy weight.
There are days where I want to throw the baby out with the bathwater and down an entire bag of Lays Potato Chips, and chase it with handfuls of Hershey's Kisses. That's just life.
But rather than feeling sorry for myself and being discouraged that those numbers seem to keep inching up, I'm identifying the reasons and coming up with solutions. I'm up from a low of 141 last October. Gaining 12 pounds is a big deal because it's telling me that I'm playing around with self-sabotage to see if some of my old crap-eating ways can still find a place in my healthy lifestyle.
The answer seems to be staring me straight in the eye.
I know that getting into shape and maintaining it is a choice I make every day. The rewards of feeling better, having more energy, and having a clearer mind are powerful motivators. I also know the feeling of downing that bag of chips is a whole different kind of reward, but one that only feels good initially. Then, not so good at all.
I guess I'm trying to process that for a year, the numbers kept going down, and now they're going the other way. And some days, I feel just a bit sorry for myself. And then, I snap out of it and take action.
There's so much more tied into this than just the numbers though, isn't there?
Here's my page for the month:
LAYOUT SUPPLIES: Move More Eat Less 8.5 x 11 template (Cathy Zielske) • Just Linens No. 1 Paper Pack (Michelle Martin) • a scan of kraft cardstock • Avenir font
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Want to learn more about Move More Eat Less 2011? Click here to learn more about the concept.
I've also started a flickr group for Move More Eat Less. Feel free to start sharing your pages. You will find the group by clicking here.
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So how are you doing in your journey? I really love to hear the discussion and all the highs and lows and in-betweens. By all means, the floor is yours…
Get in the mood for love with this new collection from Scotty Girl Design. One blog reader will win the Be My Valentine digital pack.
ABOUT SCOTTY GIRL DESIGN: Scotty Girl Design is an online digital scrapbooking boutique full of colorful, modern and unique papers and embellishments. Graphic designer and avid pattern designer, Shannon Hegarty, started the shop as a hobby which quickly flourished into a business. She is the sole owner and operator of Scotty Girl Design.
Be sure to check out Scotty Girl Design's blog, Facebook page and Twitter page for the latest information from this talented designer.
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One blog reader will win a seat in Illustrator 2 with the talented Laura Coyle from ReneePearson.com.
ABOUT THE WORKSHOP: Want to take your creations to the next level in Adobe Illustrator? Join Laura Coyle in the follow-up to her popular “Step by Step” beginning Illustrator class. In Illustrator 2 you’ll learn techniques to take your work to new dimensions and have fun exploring all you can do with this amazing vector program. Learn more by clicking here.
I have to say I'm very impressed with Laura's style, having taken one of her classes this year. Very clear, concise approach and I learned things about Illustrator I never knew.
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One blog reader will win a seat in Mouse, Paper, Scissors, a cool new hybrid workshop from JessicaSprague.com and Heidi Swapp.
ABOUT MOUSE, PAPER, SCISSORS: In this FOUR WEEK, four-lesson instructor-led class, world-renowned crafters Heidi Swapp and Jessica Sprague will PERSONALLY guide you from start-to-finish in the intricacies of crafting using Photoshop and your printer. This class is the "paper" version of the all-digital Up & Running with Photoshop class, and therefore covers ALL the basics you need to know to get started using your computer as a crafting tool to tell the stories of your life. In our four-week class we'll work on FOUR main projects, and FIVE smaller projects that will not only teach you the skills and knowledge to last a lifetime, but beautify your home and your life! This class INCLUDES Photoshop instructional screencasts, instructional videos from Heidi on completing the projects after they're created and printed, AND it includes the kit shipped to your house (a $35 retail value)!
Registration for this workshop ends on Feb. 2 at midnight E.S.T.
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TO ENTER: Leave me a comment today and tell me what kind of mood you're in today.
Me? I'm alright.
[comments are now closed. check back to see if you're a winner.]
After spending the past two-and-a-half months periodically connected to the treadmill in my basement, yesterday I finally decided to make nice with Old Man Winter and run outside.
It's not easy when you walk out the front door to this:
And this:
Every. Single. Day.
Don't get me wrong, it's pretty and all. But underneath all that pretty are patches of ice and potholes and other slick lovelies that are just waiting to put you on your tushka with all manner of sprained body parts resulting.
That, and it's cold. Really cold.
I've lived in Minnesota since 1990 and yesterday marked the first day in all these years that saw me embrace winter via exercising outside in it.
[cue choir of angels now]
When I started the whole Move More Eat Less thing a year ago this month, my moving more involved walking and jogging on my nuts-and-bolts basement treadmill. During the first quarter of last year, I worked my way up to running nonstop for 30 minutes (and I upgraded my treadmill along the way). I was so thrilled with my cardiovascular efforts, the idea of running outside never even crossed my mind.
Why would I? I mean, there are bugs and nature sounds and very likely perverts hiding in the bushes. No thank you. I'll keep my climate controlled enviroment and water bottle holder at the ready.
But in April 2010, when I finally decided, just for kicks, to see what it would be like to run around the lake by my house, I honestly didn't think it would stick.
I didn't set foot on my treadmill again from May through November. I guess you could say I finally got that Moving More in a natural setting would have benefits far beyond keeping the chub factor in check.
But once it snowed and the temperature started dropping into the single digits, I wussed out. Completely. I ran outside in November at 25 degrees and thought, "Chilly, but do-able." Then the typical Minnesota winter ensued and I returned to the basement from whence I came.
People—or more specifically runners—call it the Dreadmill. Even though I understand it, the way I've looked at it is you make your workout what it is. No, it's not going to feed your soul like running through a grove of trees on a 60-degree spring day will, but if you've got the right tunes and the right attitude, the sweat will run.
That said, yesterday morning when I walked Cole to the bus stop, I thought, "Okay, today's the day. I'm doing the lake route." And I almost talked myself out of it. Almost.
I bundled up (tights and running pants, two layers on top, hat and gloves) and crossed my fingers that I didn't slip and break something.
45 minutes later, I was so incredibly glad that I did.
19 degrees felt better than I imagined it could, even if the chubby part of my tummy was as rosy as a lobster and completely numb to the touch. And I hardly slipped at all.
Next week, it's going to drop back into the single digits which means next week, I'll very likely drop right back into the basement for a bit longer.
But I guess it's nice to know that I have options.
I may be a little late to the party, but I've recently discovered the magical joys and wonders of the Harry Potter book series.
I know, I know. Cathy, have you been near a book store in at any point since the late '90s?
Yes, I've seen a few of the earlier movies, of course, but I never really delved into the whole book phenomenon until a few weeks ago.
I blame it all on Twilight. I mean, without Twilight, I would have never read any teen lit books. And without that series, I would have never read The Hunger Games trilogy. And those led me to finally say, "It's time to read Potter."
I also blame it on my kids. Aidan has been into Harry since she was knee-high to a grasshopper. I remember posting this photo back in 2007, when she read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in one sitting, pausing only to eat and use the restroom.
Aidan is now re-reading the Potter series for the third time. Just last weekend, she invited some of her girlfriends over for an art party, and they made these:
Cole is re-reading the series for the second time. Whenever I put Cole's socks away, I see Ron and Harry on his chest of drawers, conversing over a cup of what I assume is a nice chalice of iced pumpkin juice:
I think the other thing that got me curious to read the stories was seeing Oprah's interview with J.K. Rowling. Her story is truly remarkable and her passion for these characters runs so deep. I wanted to know what all the fuss was about.
The only downside of this new thing I've got going on? The big chenille throw on my couch is constantly calling for me to blow off any work, make another cup of chai and curl up with Harry and his friends for 15 minutes. Or 30. Or an hour.
I just realized how much I love being a day late and a dollar short to certain trends. For me, there'll be no waiting for the next book to come out.
Our renovation project is moving along nicely. We are in the home stretch now, with just some cabinets to be finished and painting to be done. (That and painting of the exterior, but we need 50 degree days for that to happen and that will be a while coming.)
One thing I never had before in our family room is such a great light source. The big assed window is such a source.
Sure, she may not look happy, but at least she's well lit.
You can expect all future blog photos to be shot in this exact location. With, or without furniture.
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NEW MONTHLY TEMPLATES OUT NOW! For those of you using my Monthly album system, I just released two 6-template photo page add-on sets at Designer Digitals, in 8.5 x 11 and 12 x 12. Just a few more designs to freshen up your monthly pages.
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Yesterday I ran 7 miles.
For me, it's a new distance record. Prior to that, I'd only surpassed 6 a couple of times.
Yes, it was on a treadmill in my basement. No, it really didn't suck all that much. I realize many runners loathe the treadmill, but I look at it like this: once I'm running, I'm running. I've got lots of good music in my ears and I'm never facing a shortage of things to think about while I'm there. Plus, I can have a box of Kleenex and a big icy water bottle at the ready. Harder to carry those things outside.
I live where it's very cold, and while that may be a flimsy excuse for some, for me and my body, it's the best one I've got.
Granted, I really, really miss running around the lake by my house, but I know that Spring—or at the minimum, 25 degree days—will eventually come and I can get back outside.
So there's that.
After the first two weeks of this month spent in bed and on the couch, I'm back to my version of normal and I'm re-focusing on the Move More, Eat Less plan. I'm back in the groove with Weight Watchers Online and their new Points Plus system. But by 'back in the groove', I don't mean to suggest that I'm losing any of those 10 pounds that crept back up over the holidays. So far? Even steven.
I'm sticking with this to see how it's going to work for my body. The whole Zero Points fruit thing seems to good to be true, but again, I'm giving it a try. I'm not saying I'm eating fruit all day long. Not at all. But it's my morning, midday and evening snack for sure.
This week I also managed to get back to the gym for my first swim workout in 4 weeks. Yesterday I swam laps and felt a bit sluggish, but was glad I did it. Move More, indeed.
Still, I can't help but feel just a little bit doughy and very much like someone who is on the verge of eating entire bags of Lays potato chips.
My emotions seem out of whack lately, too. It could be that whole mid-40s hormone thing, but I've been getting way too weepy watching Oprah's Australian Adventure, and this morning I decided I'm not going to watch American Idol this year (at least not until Hollywood Week.)
I guess my point today is that the process of taking care of myself and getting into shape is never as predictible or easy as I'd like it to be, and it seems like life is always trying to get in the way, but it ain't no real reason to stop trying.
Know what I'm sayin'?
Cole asked me to dig out an old favorite—the No. 5 shirt—from a stash of sentimental Cole stuff up in the attic. I quickly recalled a particular shot taken on his 5th birthday, sporting said shirt.
As he squeezed into it, we reminisced about how the shirt once hit him at mid-thigh. And after a bit of scrapbook mom prodding, my 11-year-old son recreated the pose, albeit with slightly less enthusiasm.
Time is a bullet train, isn't it?
