Dear Jennifer Hudson (week 25)

I had a great week in the world of weight loss...just as I predicted, I nailed the scale and I am down 7.4 pounds for the week. The biggest help was that I didn't have any plans over the weekend...well, except Family Dinner Night on Sunday, but that is just standard, and adds minimal to no pressure on the diet. :0)

I DID go to the fair though this week. The best part was, was that we went immediately AFTER I weighed in at my WW meeting last Tuesday, so I had pretty much an entire 7 days to work off any poundage I gained from that adventure (which only ended up being a half pound that day!). AND another helpful factor was that I had my wisdom tooth pulled the day before we went, and so some things just didn't seem appetising at all...like anything that involved meat, and heavy chewing...for instance, these (giant bacon wrapped turkey legs)...

I mainly stuck to the sweets...mini chocolate chip cookies, ice cream, and something new we've never seen or tried before....

Oh my word, the Mexican Funnel Cake was INCREDIBLE!

These ENORMOUS sweet treats looked delicious also...

...but since my gut isn't what it used to be, after eating and sharing the 3 three things I mentioned above, there was NO WAY I was putting anything else into this stomach of mine!

SO all-in-all I was quite happy with my eating at the fair. I definitely enjoyed some things that I normally wouldn't eat on a diet, but I didn't go CRAZY like "the fair beast" inside of me usually does. ;0)

I did make some new WW recipes this week!

First, I made Chicken and Dumplings...

It was SO GOOD! It was a little high on WW points (11), so it didn't taste like diet food. ;0)

The other one, weeeeeell, wasn't a hit. Split Pea Soup...

I have never made split pea soup before, and none of us in our home had even ever tried it before, but in an effort to try something new, I decided to put my 31-years-of-split-pea-soup-judgement-and-fear behind me! But, yeah, I'm wishing I hadn't have been so adventurous, lol. I'm not sure if Paula Dean makes a creamier, saltier, bacon-ier, version that would change my mind about the nastiness of split pea soup, but WW's recipe certainly only confirmed my expectations! The kids each took 1 bite and said they were "done"...and Rick said it was "OK" (never a good sign), but then finished his bowl, and had seconds!? Hmmmmmm. Regardless, I won't be making that again.

Another fun thing I got to do this week, was do the "closet shuffle!" I got to take down all of the clothes in my closet that are now too big for me, and I got to pull out and hang up the last of my smaller clothes that were waiting for me in my "skinny bin." I LOVE doing the closet shuffle! I always find it so rewarding, and pulling out all of those *new* clothes feels like a shopping spree that doesn't break the budget!

The only bitter-sweet thing about the closet shuffle this time, is that I have now reached the bottom of my skinny bin. :0( I currently have a closet FULL of clothes that I can wear, but once these items become too big (which I hope they eventually will, lol), I am in uncharted territory, and I will have to buy/borrow new or used clothes as I continue on this journey. Not a TERRIBLE problem to have, but I sure will miss the convenience/non-expense of pulling out the *new* clothes from my personal stash.

So that's all I have for you this week. :0)

Your Biggest Fan,
Elizabeth

P.S. My hunny and I were flipping through the channels last night in bed, and I asked him to stop flipping when your new WW commercial came on the screen. You still look so good, and you are such an inspiration. Keep on, keepin' on! :0)