Blame it on my job.

My body is a temple where junk food goes to worship.

~ Author unknown

So another Saturday has rolled around and that means another weigh in at WW. I knew days ago that this was not going to be a good week. You may be wondering what this has to do with my job, let me explain. For those of you who don't already know, I am the operations director of an occupational medicine clinic. Occupational medicine focuses on providing health care for businesses. We provide healthcare for over 2000 companies at my clinic alone. That includes mom and pop companies as well as the big ones. Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Otis Spunkmeyer, Kellogg's, Keebler, Husman's, Snyder's, Wal-Mart, Sam's, Target, etc...I think you get the picture.

I used to be a labor and delivery nurse and I am forced to admit that there are fleeting moments when I miss that role. My friend Maureen posted a picture on Facebook of her holding a newborn baby that she had helped deliver. It was sent to her by one of her patients and I felt a small pang of jealousy that I was no longer part of that world. NO ONE sends me or my staff pictures of us doing their drug screens! However, we are the lucky recipients of a constant stream of muffins, cookies, cereal, and other snacks from the companies we serve. This week we saw the guys from Husman's...Husman's Potato Chip Co. One of the guys brought in a huge box full of the super sized, 20% free, bags of flavored chips. By Friday there was one lonely bag left out of the box of 10! I am addicted, especially to the bbq ones, Sweet and Sassy BBQ are my new favorite. These are the perils of my job. :)

Back to the weigh in. I gained 2.4 pounds. (I told you I'd be honest) but there were lots of reasons besides the potato chips...one other huge factor being the bowls of miniature Reese Cups my boss sits in front of us at our area meetings once a month. I'm convinced she is a food pusher, and she does have us captive for five straight hours, what can I do? My performance evaluation is coming up. I can't risk upsetting her by not eating each and every last one of them! So I blame it on my job...it's a tough gig, but somebody's got to do it.

I really do know how to cook.

There is one thing more exasperating than a wife who can cook and won't, and that's a wife who can't cook and will.

~ Robert Frost

Sunday evening we had our family over for the dinner I had originally planned for New Year's Day but was too under the weather to fix. I fixed a pork roast, using the recipe I've added at the end of this blog. The roast fit perfectly into one of the few meager possessions I inherited from my mother, her enamel roasting pan. While it cooked I thought back to the countless meals my mother had prepared using this roaster. I always thought my mom was an incredible cook, but the mouth watering smell of the roast made me wonder if perhaps her secret had been the roaster.

When it came time for dinner, food was everywhere and after removing the roast to a carving board, I placed the pan back in the oven just to get it out of the way. This roast was perfect. I still don't know whether it was the marinade, the cut of meat, or the magical roasting pan. I was beginning to think my mother had kept this secret well guarded, and I secretly thanked my lucky stars that I, and not my sister, had managed to get the roaster.

Fast forward to Tuesday evening. I called Mark on my way home and asked him to preheat the oven so it would be hot when I got there. When I walked in the door I could tell he had followed my instructions and I headed to the bedroom to change clothes before I started supper. I was in the middle of changing when I heard Mark yell "We have a fire in the oven!" Image my horror when I ran to the kitchen to find my beloved roaster ablaze...Mark had heated the oven unaware that the roaster, full of drippings, was still in the oven. Now, let me clarify. I do not make a habit of hiding dirty pans in my oven. (Although I did go to a friend's New Year's Eve party where we found the turkey carcass from Thanksgiving still in the oven when someone wanted to heat up their appetizer.) If you recall, I mentioned hurting my back Sunday evening. Mark was kind enough to clean up and he swears he didn't know the roaster was in there.

After the fire was extinguished, I surveyed the damage and wanted to cry. Not because the roaster was beyond salvaging, after all I can easily replace it for under $10.00, but it was the connection to my mother that couldn't be replaced. I know it isn't the meat, the marinade, or the pan that makes a meal great. It's the love that goes into. That was my mother's secret all along. Cooking delicious meals was her way of showing us how much she loved us.

So here is the recipe, and don't forget the love.

Ingredients
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
3 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (4-pound) pork loin roast
1 cup barbeque sauce (optional- we don't think you need it)

Directions
In a small bowl, combine Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, honey, vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, salt, celery seed, pepper, and garlic. Place pork loin roast in a large plastic resealable bag and pour marinade over pork loin. Seal and marinate in refrigerator for at least 4 hours (preferably overnight).

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Remove roast from bag, place in a roasting pan, and discard marinade. Roast pork loin at 325 degrees F for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, or to an internal temperature registers 160 to 170 degrees F. on an instant-read thermometer. Serve with BBQ sauce.

The same only different.

Life is an endless struggle full of frustrations and challenges, but eventually you find a hairstylist you like.

~Author unknown

"You want me to do what?" "You heard me" I repeated. "I want you to take my picture." Lori, the stylist who cuts my hair at Colours laughed out loud...repeatedly. In fact she laughed so much that everyone else in the salon stopped what they were doing to watch the photo op. For years I went to someone else, and for years I came home and complained for days (or weeks) about how unhappy I was. I wielded the scissors myself, thinking I could "fix" what I didn't like, and endured foil and caps and the intoxicating aroma of permanent waves.

About 5 years ago I was given an ultimatum; find someone else to cut your hair or forever hold your peace. So I went to the underground hotline of hair and got a tip to call Lori. Lori owns this great little neighborhood salon named Colours, and I have to admit, I've never seen one of her haircuts that I didn't like. So, with a bit of trepidation, I made an appointment with her and I've never looked back.

My hair is naturally a dark, dull, crayon brown color with an ever increasing splattering of gray. Through the miracle of color enhancement it becomes a mixture of copper, honey, sunlit baby fawn highlights. (LOL) Seriously, it is amazing that all she ever does is cover the roots- see above, and it somehow manages to turn into a headful of "I was born with it" beautiful hair. And for a long time that hair was long, never to be more than just trimmed. That was, until I got a wild hair, and it wasn't on my head, and I decided to let Lori cut it. Cut it she did. Off came seven inches of hair at one time. My friends were in shock...some had never know me with hair not long enough to pull into a ponytail. I love it short, in fact, I told her last night that I didn't think it was short enough.

Being this age isn't easy. I envy women who can run a brush through their hair, put on some chapstick and sweatpants and look great. Heck, I can't even find a pair of sweatpants that are long enough. I am not "one of them". So I work at it a little harder and I remind myself that to be taken seriously you have to learn how to laugh at yourself.

Sugar and spice and everything nice.

She will fill our lives with sunshine...And our hearts with love.

~Author unknown

So I guess you can figure out my new grandbaby is a GIRL!!! We found out yesterday, but I delayed putting it on here until after Heather and Jeff had time to personally tell their entire family...news worthy of hearing straight from the mom and dad to be. The sonogram picture above is of the baby, (remember this baby is still in utero) not bad for being taken with a camera phone, sent to a camera phone emailed to the computer etc. I, of course, think she is beautiful. It is hard to believe that we can tell already that she has her daddy's nose and her mother's lips.

I also saw my first picture of Heather actually looking pregnant, until now you couldn't tell in any the pictures I had seen. I think the reality of all this has finally hit me. My baby girl is having her own baby girl. It is hard to be so far away, and I am sure that will become even more difficult. Thank goodness for camera phones, email and webcams (thank you Christopher for that Christmas present!).

I can't wait to be a grandma. I will love watching this little miracle grow and learn and become her own person...As much as I loved watching my own little girl grow from a perfect, beautiful baby into a head strong teenager into a confident, loving young woman about to embark on the journey of her life. Congratulations, Heather and Jeff, your blessings are just beginning.

Strong tables, strong drinks, strong friends

I saw this quote and had to laugh, it reminded me of the time Mark and I danced on the tables at Carlos and Charlie's in Cozumel. Gin and tonic and tequila certainly qualify as strong drinks. And every one of my friends are strong women. The way I figure it, that makes me a powerhouse!

I have lots to write about but unfortunately I hurt my back yesterday (getting a plastic spoon, real strong,huh?) and I am finding sitting in one place for long almost impossible. Hopefully things will be better tomorrow night. Stay tuned for my thoughts on a dog who loves too much...and fakes injuries for attention, my great nieces, family dinners (including a wonderful recipe for roast pork)and most importantly- new baby news. Off to find the ibuprofen and the heating pad.

...and can I just say, it drives me nuts when people use the incorrect form of words...it should be you're only as strong...

Heavy hands.

The older you get, the tougher it is to lose weight, because by then your body and your fat are really good friends.

~ Author Unknown

When I woke up this morning the first thing I did was check to see how tight my rings were on my fingers. My rationale was that the looser they felt, the more weight loss I would show when I got weighed today. Bad news...they were really tight. So I made my way to the shower, not feeling real hopeful about what the scale would bring. I have been a lifetime WW member for 10 years, and believe me, it was a lot easier to lose weight when I was 40 years old.

I have a dear friend who is just a few years older than me who used to tell me "Just wait until you are 50, it is next to impossible to lose weight." I didn't really believe her, I figured it was just an excuse. Boy was I wrong. Not that it's impossible, but is twice the effort that it was 10 years ago. I hope I am not starting to sound like I'm obsessed with my weight. Those who have known me longer than we'd like to admit will tell you that my mother was very (100lbs +) overweight. Her health suffered dramatically, and it not only affected her, but it's ravage of her body took it's toll on both my sister and me when we cared for her the last few months of her life. I don't want my children to have to deal with an elderly mother who didn't take care of herself. And, I do have that new baby coming, I need to be a physically fit grandma.

So off I went to my meeting with my friends, professing all along how good I'd been all week. I was still feeling how tight those rings where when the scale revealed that I had lost 5.6 lbs! Which only proves one thing...I carry my weight in my hands.

It's a wrap...

Only Robinson Crusoe had everything done by Friday.

~Author Unknown

It's Friday night and even though I feel like I got more than usual accomplished at work today, there was still a pile of "to do's" left on my desk. The lovely ladies in the picture above are just some of my team. They are the ones who work their magic everyday and help make our clinic one of the best. I love and appreciate each one of them. THANK YOU!

I thought I'd just give you an update on some of the things I've "talked" about in previous blogs. We still don't know if Heather and Jeff are expecting a boy or a girl. She is scheduled for a 3D sonogram on Monday. If that doesn't give us an answer I'd have to say someone is giving us a sign that we just aren't supposed to know until the baby makes an appearance. Speaking of which, I booked my flight to Hawaii- 2 weeks at the end of March. Let's just hope this child co-operates with it's due date. McKenzie Lu went back to the vet and seems to be progressing well. No more diapers and she is almost finished with her antibiotics. I managed to climb "the stairs of death" and work out four times this week. Tomorrow morning I will go back to WW and have an official weigh-in. I will report the results tomorrow, and yes, I will be honest. After all, I am the one who posted a picture of my feet, remember?!?

Have I mentioned that I love Facebook? I reconnected with my friend Karen this week, and other than finding out she is moving to Kansas City it was like we picked up right where we left off. Karen has lived in Ohio, Michigan, and Tennessee. I've been lucky enough to be her house guest in all three places. Looks like I will have to plan another trip. I hope she buys a house with an extra bedroom...

I've added another link to a wonderful blog featuring tasty "skinny" recipes. I've also added another picture. It was taken on Mother's Day 5 years ago in Hawaii. Watch for future references to it. There will be at least three blogs that are tied to it. :)

I hope your Friday night is as relaxing as mine, and remember, Robinson Crusoe was a fictional character.