I've kind of been sucking, lately

So, after a pretty good start with weight watchers, I've starting falling back into old habits. Not tracking, not really caring and figuring, I'll make up for it, next week. Whatever it is that is in my brain that causes that to happen needs to stop. It's annoying and stupid and I know I can do it. I just get frustrated.

Having been sick last week and not going to the gym regularly for the past few weeks, it's been tough for me to make myself stay on track. My car has been in the shop, I've had things going on, whatever the reason (excuse), I'm stopping that now. Daylight Saving Time is back, which means I am more motivated now that it's light out longer, there's no reason to not go to the gym (not that there was any good reason during the winter) and softball has finally started.

As I type this, I am sitting at my parents' house, while they play cards with my grandparents. Mom made dinner, a belated St. Patrick's Day dinner of corned beef and cabbage. In addition to the corned beef, potatoes and carrots I ate at dinner, I've eaten chips and dip, a couple of my grandmother's deviled eggs, two glasses of champagne and some Cheetos. Clearly above my 27 points per day that I am allowed. Knowing me, I won't track it. There's got to be a better way to get me to track. Something to help me remember. I forget. I start off really well, and then fizzle.

What kinds of things to you do to help you remember to track? What tools, tips and tricks are out there?

My Weight Watchers Journey, So Far

Well, it's been three weeks. I'm getting the hang of counting points again, but still need to work on actually tracking everything. After tracking religiously the first week, I slacked off on week two and gained. Lesson learned... TRACK! I tracked most of the week last week, so I guess I will find out tonight how I did and how much it paid off.

Another thing is that because I'm sharing my car with my brother right now, it's been a little more difficult for me to get to the gym. I made it there Friday and despite a migraine, I ran 1.57 miles in a little over 25 minutes. Luckily, softball starts tomorrow (you can catch up on all the adventures of the Luck Dragons by reading our blog). I'm also looking forward to my Thursday night softball team to start up again. That should be in the next couple weeks (we don't have a blog). I also went to Pipeworks (a rock wall climbing gym) for a Junior League training. I haven't climbed in a really long time. I did it a few times in high school with some friends, but since then, I haven't been. As someone who isn't the biggest fan of heights, attaching me to a rope and a harness wasn't the best idea, but I found that if I just concentrated on what I was doing, I was fine. Until I had to get back down.

Getting back down to the floor was the most terrifying part. At least the first time. A person has to have enormous trust in the person down below, because really, your survival is in their hands. Once I sat back, grabbed hold of the rope and was lowered down, I stopped shaking and was ready to go again.

I am a bit sore. My arms, mostly. I can certainly feel it in my triceps and a little in my biceps. Although, I'm sure I would feel it a lot more if I haven't spent the last year with the trainer.

Anyway, back to the original topic of this post. I go tonight at 6:30 p.m. and will find out what this week's result is. I'll admit, I cheated a little bit and stepped on the scale and saw myself down three pounds. But, I did that last week and ended up gaining. So, I'm not counting on that. I'm trying not to step on the scale everyday, but it's hard! I should put it away or hide it, or something.

Are you an every day weigher, or do you resist?

The New Adventures of My New BFF Cat Cora and Me

Yes, you read that right... Iron Chef Cat Cora and I are now BFFs. She cooked for me, we were photographed together. It's a friendship for the ages.

In the reality that is NOT my brain, Cat Cora visited the California Museum for History, Women and the Arts today as part of Maria Shriver's Women's Day events.

Let me tell you how much I love Cat Cora. Her Iron Chef episodes are the ONLY ones I watch. Sure, I have some love for Iron Chefs Batali, Flay and Morimoto. But really... there are only some many ways you can have Italian-insipred (Batali), grilled with chipotle (Flay) or Asian-inspired meals (Morimoto). The food Cat Cora cooks is creative and fun! She's always different and everything always looks so delicious. Never boring, never overly involved or difficult and never the same.

Cat's cooking demonstration (yes, Cat and I are on a first name basis) was supposed to start at 11:30 a.m. and when my coworker Tess and I got to the Museum 10 minutes early (!) she had already started. The audience was five to six people deep, so I couldn't get close up or good pics of what she was actually doing. I did, however, turn my camera on, stick my arm up to the heavens and start snapping away. I got a few good ones...

The recipe she made was the recipe on the cover of her cookbook Cooking from the Hip, Pork Skewers with Avocado Tzatziki. The only difference was that she used chicken instead of pork. Now, I'll be honest, I'm not a fan of avocado. In fact, it comes a close second to my hatred of tomatoes. However, I tasted this (there were samples for everyone) and was in heaven! It was delish! All the prep for the demonstations were done by Gold Rush Grille/Crisp Catering owner Joe Thompson and his staff. They get to do all the fun stuff. Not only do they feed the staff of the many different agencies around the capitol, but they get to actually cook for and with famous chefs!

I've also already gone through Cat's cookbook and marked recipes I want to try... although, it looks like the book threw up little tabs. I should just have a Julie and Julia moment and cook my way through the book... hmmm, that's not such a bad idea.

Okay, who is coming for dinner?