Dear Future Kerry

Dear Future Kerry,

Do not buy Mint Oreos to put in the freezer
thinking the guys will love them.

You are lying to yourself.

You will eat them.

Trust me, you will thank me.

Signed,
Present Day Kerry

Jurassic Park

So, we have new neighbors.

We now have a family of Blue Jays living in a tree in our backyard.

I hate them.

They are SO LOUD.

and they

SQWAWK ALL THE TIME!

It's like having a family of VELOCIRAPTORS living next door.
(because I would know what that was like)

-but that's what they make me think of.

Sandwich Awesomeness

So, when you're not eating a lot, what you DO eat becomes very important.
Behold......
Sandwich Awesomeness!!!!

I put a lot of thought into constructing this baby.
Everything had to be layered just right.

We begin with lightly toasted 7 grain bread.
LIGHTLY TOASTED.
Too much toasting and the thing is crunchy and cuts the roof of your mouth.

Grainy brown mustard.
None of that yellow shit.

Honey maple turkey.
I know, but I only used one slice.

Baby swiss.
I know, same thing.

Tomato.
Yes, I put tomato on the SANDWICH OF AWESOMENESS, risking sogginess, but I planned ahead.
The tomato was nestled between items that would resist sog.

Ground pepper.
The pepper must go on the tomato.
(next time, I will ad a dash of salt too. Don't usually salt my food, but on a tomato, all good.)

Arugula.
'Nuff said.

Sliced Avocado!!!!
Nothing makes a sandwich AWESOME like sliced avocado.

Wrap in aluminum foil to keep cold.

Try to hold off until lunch to consume.

Good luck and ENJOY!!!

Awesome Dinner

Grilled Chicken with Basil Dressing - Giada DeLaurentiis

This is an absolute favorite in our house.
Dylan's loves the sauce and asks that I make double. I think he would drink a glass of it, blech.
My favorite is the fennel seeds. They give the chicken a great flavor.

I think I may have even posted this before, but it's worth reposting.

So good!



Ingredients
2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, plus 1/4 cup
1 1/2 teaspoons fennel seeds, coarsely crushed
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
3 bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts
1 cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves
1 large garlic clove
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
Directions
Whisk 1/3 cup of oil, 3 tablespoons of lemon juice, fennel seeds, 3/4 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper in a resalable plastic bag. Add the chicken and seal the bag. Massage the marinade into the chicken. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes and up to 1 day, turning the chicken occasionally.

Meanwhile, blend the basil, garlic, lemon peel, remaining 1/4 cup lemon juice, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a blender until smooth. Gradually blend in the remaining 1/3 cup oil. Season the basil sauce, to taste, with more salt and pepper, if desired.

Prepare the barbecue for medium-high heat or preheat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Remove chicken from the marinade. Discard the marinade. Grill the chicken until just cooked through, about 8 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to serving plates, drizzle with the basil sauce and serve.

Fresh

This is what happens when you let your 17 year old drive your car.
 - and ok, I cleaned it.

Almost a Year

It's been almost a year since I last posted.
What have I been doing?
I've been working on me.
See:

They Grow Up So Fast

So, Dylan needed a physical for school.
He's 16.
We still take him to the pediatrician.

So, we're sitting in the exam room and the nurse says:
"Can you make pee pee in a cup for me? The cups are next to the potty"

Dylan's response:
"We're done here."

DID IT!!!!

LOST 46 POUNDS
BY MY 46TH BIRTHDAY!!!

Mini Goal

I set a mini weight loss goal for myself:
to loose 46 pounds by the time I'm 46.
Well, my birthday is Monday.
I've lost 44 pounds.
Will I make it?
Maybe, maybe not.
That's ok.
It's still 44 freakin' pounds!

Cranky Day

Knee pain - no gym.
Cloudy day - no tanning.

I'm cranky.
I'm going to stay home and
watch the Godfather marathon
and eat.

Cranky.

Latest Workout Playlist

I've been doing HIIT workouts on the elliptical.
HIIT stands for
High
Intensity
Interval
Training
....meaning you kill yourself for 4 minutes, then go easy for 4
then back to killing yourself and then easy, and so on.
Here is my latest playlist to help me out:

Payphone - Maroon 5
Raise Your Glass - Pink
Somebody That I Used To Know - Goyte
Drive  By- Train
Who Knew - Pink
Stronger - Kelly Clarkson
Firework - Katy Perry
Brokenhearted - Karmin
My Life Would Suck Without You - Kelly Clarkson
Call Me Maybe - Carly Rae Jepsen
Give Me All Your Luvin' - Madonna
Glad You Came - The Wanted
Everybody Talks -  Neon Trees
Part Of Me - Katy Perry
Tongue Tied - Grouplove
Starships - Nicki Minaj
What Makes You Beautiful - One Direction
Give Your Heart A Break - Demi Lovato
If We Ever Meet Again - Timbaland, Katy Perry

Dylan will NOT let me play this in the car.
He is so embarrassed.

Look, at least I don't have any Justin Bieber on there!

Wow.

So today at the gym
a woman I've never spoken to before came up to me and asked...
"How much weight have you lost??"

42 pounds.

She said how terrific that was and that
I looked great.

I asked, "You really notice?"

She said,  "Of course, your face, neck, you look great!"

I thanked her and told her she really made my day.

And she did.

Keratin!

I have totally ignored my blog for waaaay too long.

Let's see, what's new....

I
HAVE
STRAIGHT
HAIR!

Yup, I had a Keratin treatment and
I LOVE IT!!!!

Here I am right after the treatment:

I couldn't believe how straight and thin my hair looked.
I confess, I was worried.
I had that drowned rat look which is exactly what I didn't want.
Since I had to wait 3 days to wash it, it looked
worse
and
worse.
But.....
day 3:

AWESOMENESS!!
and
this was AFTER the gym.
My hair even looks like that when I wake up!!
I love this.
I will always have this!!!
Lovin' the straight hair!!

Yum!!!

So, all that trolling on Pintrest worked out.
I found this TERRIFIC recipe and tried it tonight!
SPINACH BURGERS

Recipe:

1 bag of frozen spinach, thawed, squeeze out excess moisture

2 egg whites

1 whole egg

1/4 c diced onion

1/2 c shredded cheese

1/2 c bread crumbs

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp salt (next time I'll leave out the salt, too salty for us)

1/2 tsp garlic powder

Mix well, use your hands!!

Form into burgers.

Spray non-stick pan with cooking spray.

Cook on medium high heat until they brown a bit.

Before you flip, spray the top with cooking spray.

So good!!!

As I said, I found this recipe on Pintrest by way of
The Domestic Mama and Village Cook
These are her pics but my spinach burgers
looked just like hers!!

That's Me!

Excellent Day at L&T!

Well, it's that time again.....

FRIENDS AND FAMILY at 

Lord and Taylor

and I totally scored!!!

First, I needed a pair of white Jack Rogers.
I am hooked on these shoes.

 Then I needed a pair of navy espadrilles. I've been looking  at
a different shoe, but decided to try these on.
LOVE THEM.

Ok, so with Friends and Family, I received %25 off both pairs.

I had 3 gift cards.

I ended up paying $11.54.

Now THAT is a good day!

Popeye

Yes, that's me at Field Day.
Ignore everything else but my BICEP!!!
So cool!!!!
Love the gym!

Too Big

Ok, so I've lost some weight.
Very happy about that.
However.....
all my summer dresses are
TOO BIG!

Oh well, I'll just have to deal with it.
:-)

The Best.

So, yesterday we attended Dylan's Spring Concert.
It was lovely.
Yeah, yeah....

Anyway.....
We're home and Dylan is still walking
around in his black suit and bow tie - yes, he looked great.

So Paul tells him to go change
and Dylan says.....

"It's after six. What are we, farmers?"

The.
Best.





(10 points if you can tell me what show that's from.)
And the answer is..... 30 Rock!

Ball of Lead

Ugh.
Ok, so sometimes I have food days.
I eat more than I usually do.
Thank goodness they don't happen too often.
Well, last night was a food evening.
I ate.
I ate chicken parm which is ok, but I also ate
A HUGE SERVING OF PASTA.
And now there is a
HUGE BALL OF LEAD IN MY STOMACH.
UGH.
I'm glad I don't eat like this anymore, but man oh man
am I paying for it right now.
I went to the gym this morning thinking
that would get things moving.
Nope.
Blech.