The Mosher Pit

I cooked it myself, so on top of all the tasting and what not — there was just no way I was going to stick with weight watchers today. But I didn’t care.

I started last night making the dip for the crudites–mostly pita and tortilla chips, to be honest– with a chevre based dip chock full of roasted vegetables (garlic, eggplant and red pepper, to be exact). It came out middling–I don’t think I got the same kind of chevre as I did last time, and its flavor was decidedly more goat. Taste improved the longer it sat out, for some reason, but at any rate, I was too busy to partake and no one else seemed interested (more like it was invisible than the chevre chasing them off).

Got up about 8:30 this morning and set about the rest of the feast, which included:

Apricot-Dijon Glazed Turkey Breast with Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Sweet and Savory Stuffing with Cranberries (using cinnamon raisin bread)
Yeast Cloverleaf Rolls
Rosemary Mashed Potatoes with gravy deglazed from the turkey
Garden Salad w/homemade Balsamic Vinaigrette
Peas
Four-cheese Rotini Bake
Ham-boiled Peppergrass
Apple Pie

It went over smashingly well, with my husband actually saying it was among the top holiday meals he’d ever had. It’s also the first time I’ve cooked on a grand scale for company in years, and my skills are much improved–both cooking-wise and in my ability to stage things well. Had almost everything ready by 1:30 only to get phone calls announcing we’re running late, so kept everything warm in the oven while the rolls got some bonus proofing time. Some of them wound up looking like mushroom clouds, they got so big.

Probably to no one’s surprise, our christmas gift haul was mostly food-related, either on the up side (an ice cream maker, a griddle) or the down side (an Eating Well cookbook, a new Weight Watchers scale). My son got a wireless hookup for his xbox, so I’ll be lucky to ever see my TV again…

Posted in Cooking, Fitness, Life, Yum! by: Helen
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Couple of quick notes that readers who follow me in other social media spaces are probably already aware of:

1. My son turned 16 at the beginning of the month. Here we are celebrating it in Philly the weekend before:

2. I got an A in my organizational theory and behavior class. Can’t say I expected it, because I felt like my final project could have been stronger, but being my first time back in school in several years and in a completely different program than my undergrad prepared me for, I’m pleased. Next semester, I’m vacillating over whether to take nonprofit management or association management, as well as taking my intro to public admin class that I wasn’t able to get into this semester.

3. I’m on hiatus from active duty at the Episcopal Cafe for the foreseeable future. It was getting more and more difficult for me to stay abreast of news in the church what with all the other things on my plate these days, plus I want to become more active in my parish with the intent that I will stop being treated like a new person. I do continue to moderate its facebook and twitter spaces, however.

4. My big christmas project is called “housecleaning.” I know most people do it in the spring but I’m rolling out a new household management system in honor of what you might call a new year’s resolution.

5. Plus I’m down a total of 13 pounds, I’m happy to say, since October.

Posted in Faith, Getting Organized, Life, Weight Loss by: Helen
2 Comments

Today at church, it actually was someone who goes to the 8 a.m. service that came up to me and introduced herself. She asked if I was single, and I mentioned I was newly married, the second time around, and that we have two kids, mine being 16 and his being 10. She looked aghast. “I thought you were in your 20s.”

The tooth-whitening, weight-loss and new moisturizing regime are doing wonders, methinks.

(For more on the “You Go to the Other Service” phenomenon, click here.)

Posted in Faith, LOLZ!, Life, Wellness by: Helen
1 Comment

I’m back on Weight Watchers, using the online version. Been back on for a while now but wanted to experience some success with it before blogging about it, and now I’m listed on the @wwtweets roster so people might check in here from time to time with that specific interest. My weigh-ins are on Friday, so I’ll keep you posted and try not to lose focus this time.

Posted in Weight Loss by: Helen
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Was fun to do, just the same. plucked from numerous livejournal friends.

Posted in Memery, Random by: Helen
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