BFF for an hour and 12 Days of Christmas Swap

I’ve joined a 12 days of Christmas Swap hosted here.

Check it out. You have until Friday night to join if you want to. I’m excited!

Today something fun happened. I went shopping, alone as usual, and found myself wandering into a nearby Fashion Bug store. I have shrunk out of my thrift store pants and I’m down to two pairs of pants that fit me (size 16). So I thought I’d just see if any pants were on sale. So I grabbed several size 14/16 pants to try on and an associate of the store offered to take my clothes into the changing room, and she added “you do not look like you wear size 14’s or 16’s”... I patted my belly and nodded a ‘yes I do’. So as I was trying on the pants, I found that the 16’s were quite roomy. The same associate came by and asked me how I was doing and she ended up running and grabbing me some size 14 and size 12 pants. She was so nice and helpful and interested in my weight loss, and oohed over my before and after pics that I keep in my purse. She got even more enthused and brought me all kinds of stuff to try on, camisoles & sweaters & pants, which was so awesome since I really have no fashion sense. She told me what tops would look good with leggings and what pants are best for my body shape. She was like my BFF for the hour I was in the store. I loved it! She made me feel so good and seemed to genuinely be excited for me in my journey. And guess what? I totally fit into size 12 now!!! Yes, they are tight, but they fit! I was smilin’ so big in that changing room - I even did a little Margene Happy Dance which I’m sure the angels watching got a giggle from! And I walked out with 2 new pairs of pants (yes, I paid for them first). She even ran to me as I left the store to share something else with me. To her I’m sure I was one of her many customers but to me, she made my day!

Also, another NSV happened yesterday was when I ran into my old HS Life Skills class I used to work with just a few months ago. As I was approaching one of the teachers I had worked closely with, she looked at me with confusion. She was like... “I know you somehow...” Then she recognized me and she went on to be astounded at my weight loss. She really made a big deal about how much thinner I look. I haven’t had anyone notice to the extent that she did... it was so cool because all the teachers I worked with there knew I was on a weight loss program, and then to run into her after having dropped over 115 pounds just amazed her. It’s fun to be successful... finally!

I have been making Roasted Veggies again. Dang, these are so good!

This batch I have chopped up cauliflower, broccoli, zuchini, yellow squash, red and green peppers, and mushrooms. Then I drizzled some olive oil, salt, and a dash of garlic powder and mixed it up well. They smelled and tasted so good before I even put them in the oven. I roasted them at 425 for 12 minutes, then turned and another 5-10 minutes. I shake just a bit of balsamic vinegar on them after they are out of the oven. Soo good!

Here’s a couple of my Lean and Green’s lately. Using a mixture of ground turkey breast and lean ground beef, I made these patties on the left with some Walden Farms sugar free BBQ sauce and a dash of grilling spices. They were tasty without needing any condiments. I had them with roasted veggies.

Upon finding that the only vegetable I had left were tomatoes, I made the meal on the right with left over turkey and 3 Roma tomatoes and a wedge of light laughing cow cheese (tomato and basil flavored). Very satisfying actually!

Here's to making healthy food choices even when temptation is all around us. I learned today in that changing room that feeling good about myself and my body feels SO MUCH BETTER than giving in to eating a ton of cookies or fast food or other foods that really aren't healthy for me. Life is GOOD.