The Captain has retired.

Captain Quackers has headed to that big duckie pond in the sky.

There are a few suspects.

Skinny Girl Carbonara

I love you, Bethenny Frankel. The first time I tried pasta carbonara, it was at a roadside cafe outside of Florence on a high school trip. I've loved it ever since.  The real thing isn't exactly low-fat, so I was excited to try my BFF Bethenny's version from her Naturally Thin cookbook.

 Skinny Girl Carbonara

1 pound whole wheat spaghetti

 3/4 cup soy milk
 2 whole eggs
 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
 1 teaspoon garlic salt, divided
 1 teaspoon black pepper, divided
 2 tablespoons butter (regular or vegan/soy)
 8 slices center cut bacon, cooked until crispy, crumbled
 1-1/2 teaspoons red pepper flakes

Cook the spaghetti according to the package directions. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the soy milk, eggs and yolks, parmesan cheese, half the garlic salt, and half the pepper. When the pasta is done, drain it and quickly put it directly into the bowl with the egg mixture.  Toss to coat.  The hot pasta will cook the eggs. When the pasta is coated with the egg mixture, mix in the butter, bacon, red pepper flakes, and the remaining garlic salt and pepper.  Serve immediately. Adapted from Naturally Thin Cookbook

This was amazing and delicious when it was fresh made, but I was pleasantly surprised to find out how well it froze and reheated.  I added some leftover roasted asparagus for a nice, balanced lunch.  The original recipe called for turkey bacon, but I always use center cut (Oscar Meyer brand) because the points are just as low and the flavor/texture is so much better.  The seasoning is all to taste, but I added way more garlic and red pepper as well.

Enjoy!

How I know I am addicted to caffeine.

I did not have my latte as usual this morning, mostly because I don't know how to work our espresso machine. This is Kenny's territory.

The coffee maker on my floor was completely out of grounds and there were none to be found in surrounding cabinets. 

The coffee bar in the main building lobby (a seven-minute outdoor walk in the cold) was closed due to being almost lunchtime, so I had to go to the cafeteria.

The cafeteria was out of small coffee cups, so I just filled a soda cup instead.  To the top.

The cafeteria does not accept debit cards below $5, so my simple "I just want some coffee" turned into this:

And now I think I am going to go make some tea.

Let's Fall in Love: The Photobooth is Open

It was a very last minute choice to get a photobooth for our reception, and it was possibly the best decision we made.  It was a perfect addition to the party, and completely set the tone for our fun, goofy, silly friends and family.  I think every guest was in the booth at one point or other, and several people kept going back over and over.

It was so. much. fun.  Every wedding reception, nay every party ever, should have a photobooth.  And props.

If you can't tell, we also had an open bar.  Highly necessary for optimum photobooth antics. 

In case you missed it ...

I bought a dress and completely changed it.  We had a marathon final week of engagement.  I giggled my way through our rehearsal.  Kenny got grilled at our rehearsal dinner.  The groomsmen ran amok in downtown Springfield. The girls got gorgeous.  We exchanged mushy wedding-day gifts.  The guys got fancy and then got dancy.  I became a Bride.  There was a first First Look. I shared my Somethings.  The boys made the most of trolley-time. And did their thing on the Capital grounds. The girls took photos at the hotel. Everyone arrived at the church. We walked down the aisle. We declared our intentions and my cousin preached. We exchanged our vows. Our hands were blessed. Kenny put a ring on it and kissed his bride. We were pronounced Mr and Mrs! We left the church in a blizzard of confetti, and took a "just-married" trolley ride. We made it legal. We took pictures with our families, followed by wedding party portraits. I hit a low point and poured over reception details. We received our guests. The wedding party was introduced. My Dad checked his toast off of his to-do list. Our Best Man and Maid of Honor shared toasts as well. The we cut our cake and had our First Dance. We shared a dance with our parents. And had an Anniversary Dance to celebrate all the marrieds.

On the Weigh: Muddling Through

It's been quiet around here on the WLJ front lately. To be honest, I haven't had a lot to say.  The latter part of October and most of November have been  a huge struggle for me.  Getting sick threw me off of working out, and I settled into a funk soon after.  And then there was the time change, and getting a new puppy who doesn't sleep through the night and any number of other excuses.  But that's all it amounts to - excuses. I'm just glad to be putting a lackluster November behind me and moving forward from here.


There were a lot of people talking about getting back on track today, and I have to admit I am on the same bandwagon.  The good news is, however, that I was there as of Saturday.  I've gotten through three Thanksgiving dinners, the last of which was over the weekend.  I've started wearing a pedometer and I'm striving for 10,000 steps a day.  I used only 10 flex points over the weekend, a minor miracle compared to recent weekends.

I know better than to say things like "I'm back for good!" or "this time is the last time!" or some other sentiment about being committed to WW forever and ever.  The fact of the matter is that I know I will have more bad days, bad weeks.  Motivation waxes and wanes.  I'm okay with that.  I know myself.  I know that I just have to keep moving forward.  Sometimes I'm on a roll, sometimes it's more of a trudge.  C'est la vie. It's not about being "back" on track, it's about forward motion. Being "back" implies that you can somehow stop, and the truth is that the choice to be active (or not), eat well (or not), and live healthier (or not) goes on no matter what.  Of course I love that back-on-track feeling - it's empowering and invigorating! - but it's really just a matter of being happier with the set of choices I've made today than I was with the choices I've made over the last month. 

It's not important to me to be perfect at this every single day. It's about being persistent, because that's what makes it permanent. 

Carry on, then.

Baby it's cold outside.

But don't worry. It's hot as balls in the gym.

45 minutes, 3.5 miles, 560 calories burned. Damn, I feel pretty.

Still the favorite.

Don't worry, Tucker is still my #1 fella when it comes to mid-afternoon cuddles.

Five for Friday, vol 24

1.  You make me thankful every day.

2.  You are not afraid to give a low tip for bad service, and a great tip for great service.

3.  You really want to see the Muppets movie.

4.  You're going to ride the roller coaster at Mall of America next week at least three times.

5.  You make fun of all of the shows I have in the DVR.

I love you.

Post edit.

As I hit "publish" on my previous post, Penelope snorted, rolled over, and fell off the back of the couch.  She then clung to the edge, mewing pitfully and kicking the blinds.

I saved her, never fear.  But I hesitated for a second wondering if I had time to snap a photo first.

I am awesome.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving

It's been a wonderful holiday. My family and Kenny's family had a lovely dinner together and we're settled down to a quiet evening. It's been perfect. I take time to count my blessings throughout the year, but I certainly feel lucky on days like this to have so many.  I mean, the first two sentences of this paragraph make me want to hug my whole life.  I am incredibly lucky.

It struck me as so funny this morning when I woke up almost too sore to move from bootcamp yesterday, prepared to make a casserole and take the dogs for a walk. It was not so long ago that I woke up on Thanksgiving day almost too hungover to move from celebrating TG-Eve the night before, prepared to sip Sprite and consume all of the carbs.

 This was better, obvs.

We found a new walking/biking/whatevering trail like three minutes from our house.  It's literally a perfect trail - flat, paved, no scary bridges or forests or potential assailants.  So while my sweet potatoes were roasting (do not even think "that's what she said"), we took Penny for her first long walk (meaning more than down the driveway and back, which is as long as she has tolerated her harness up until this point).  She liked it for 15 minutes, and then just. stopped. moving.  So we carried her.  I carried her.  But I swear, she enjoyed it, and she didn't try to gnaw off her leash or her harness even once.  Success!

Tucker is still a champion of walks.  He walks us, really.

And then I made sweet potatoes with marshmallows, a first for me, and they turned out edible and just like the picture.  Thank you, Nigella Lawson.  Dinner was awesome.  I'm stuffed with stuffing and turkey and carbs.  Both dogs (and one husband) are snoring away on the couch next to me.  I'm still so sore I am hobbling like an old woman.  Like I said, it's been a perfect holiday.

Welcome to the holiday season.  Thank you for reading this silly little blog and its silly little accounts of my life.  I love it and I love that I get to share it.  I hope your Thanksgiving was just as nice and carby and sweet as mine, and I hope you all enjoy the start of the holiday season.

And don't forget to count your blessings when it's all over, too.