mmmm….Lovin’ it!

It’s been 7 weeks since we’ve joined WeightWatchers and I’ve lost almost 8 lbs. – about a pound a week. Gary’s lost 15. It’s not fair that men lose faster than women. The key is we have results, we feel good and have changed the way we eat.

It’s all about watching portions, tracking what you eat and for me, cooking a bit differently. I thought that was going to be my biggest sacrifice when I joined WW, but much to my surprise, the recipes are delicious and allow me to experiment with my own versions.

Nothing is forbidden from our diets – in fact, last week I treated myself to an old-fashioned hamburger and enjoyed every minute of it. Our problem was we were eating burgers one night, wings the next and way too big of portions at home.

It works and it’s a sustainable program.

This lovely little cake is a WeightWatchers‘ recipe that I made for a get-together at a friend’s house tonight. Low fat and no guilt and nobody will notice that it’s WW.  Here’s the recipe with full credit going to WeightWatchers.

Five-Ingredient Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
POINTS: 3
1/4 cup(s) unsalted butter, divided
1/4 cup(s) packed light brown sugar
3/4 pound(s) canned pineapple slices (rings) in juice, reserve 1/4 cup juice*
1/4 pound(s) unprepared vanilla cake mix, about 1 scant cup
1 large egg(s)
Preheat oven to 375˚F. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a 9-inch round, flameproof, aluminum pan over medium-low heat (make sure to cover entire pan bottom); sprinkle sugar over top. Carefully place pineapple rings in a single layer in bottom of pan. Increase heat to medium-high and cook until pineapple caramelizes, flipping once, about 2 minutes per side; remove pan from heat.

Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter on stove top or in microwave. In a medium-size mixing bowl, beat egg with remaining melted butter. Add cake mix and reserved pineapple juice; combine well. Pour batter over pineapple; bake until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, about 30 to 35 minutes. Allow cake to cool for about 15 to 20 minutes; when still warm, loosen sides with a knife and invert cake onto a serving plate. Slice into 10 pieces and serve. Yields 1 slice per serving.

Let them eat cake! Happy Weekend!

P.S. I did drop the camera in the cake while I was shooting it. It doesn’t look as pretty as the picture anymore – neither does my camera

Tis the season

Every spare moment I get, I’ve been taking photos, editing and uploading to Etsy and 1000 Markets. I’m not done yet…so keep coming back.

It seems like this part of getting it online is harder than the actual creation.

‘Tis the season….

The shape of things to come

Today I was lucky to carve out some time to photograph my new pieces. They need naming, editing and descriptions – but I’m soooo excited to share them with you, I thought I’d throw out a little tease….

Angel hair…

Mermaid’s Tail.

Angel Hair.

Party Gras.

To add to the excitement, I’ve been accepted to my first juried show in February! More on that later.

Happy weekend!

A Cast of Characters….

Some fun photos from our recent trip to Columbus. By chance on Saturday night, we were lucky to find a Gallery Hop in Short North.

Great atmosphere, great people, and great opportunities for photos.

Very appropriate with the “spirit” of the season…Enjoy!

And finally, this gentle soul sought me out and wanted me to take his picture. He was a homeless person who was deaf but wanted his picture taken.

He just wanted to be noticed.

Sneak Peek

I need a whole day just to shoot all the pieces I’ve been working on. Getting a whole day to myself these days is an impossible task, so I’ll have to be happy with getting a few pieces shot, edited and uploaded into 1000 Markets.

I’ve been working with new techniques in riveting that I learned in a great workshop this past month. I’m also having fun with color!

And I’m waiting to hear if my work has been accepted in a juried show for the spring. In the meantime, I’ll be keep on creating – after I shoot more photos.

Stay tuned.

Blog Jewels – Weightwatchers’ Style

As I’m waiting for the perfect sunny morning to shoot photos of my new pieces – hopefully, tomorrow – I thought I’d take a break and do some “blog jewels”. I have not done a blog jewel posting in a while and it’s way overdue. It’s no secret that Gary and I have been avid WeightWatchers fans. We joined WeightWatchers about six weeks ago – and I’m so impressed by the program. We’ve both lost weight – he more than me – but the thing I love about WeightWatchers is that we’re on a path to change how we eat and most importantly, why we eat the way we do.

Keep in mind, weight has never been an issue for me until I approached those “M” years. Ladies, you know what I’m talking about…you slow down, you eat and the weight doesn’t shed like it used to. Another issue in our house is that I love to cook – it’s a creative excursion and Gary comes along for the ride. I have a fabulous kitchen (thank you Gary!) and an audience -  a man who loves my cooking (thank you Gary!)

But enough’s enough. Dealing with our parent’s health issues, it becomes too real when you see them struggling with diabetes and heart issues. So we joined WeightWatchers and my new mission now is to continue to cook and enjoy my kitchen – with a little less oil and sauces and much more fruit and veggies. So far – we have been delighted with the recipes that WeightWatchers provides.

I decide to venture out and found some excellent blogs out there that helped in providing recipes, tidbits, personal journeys and a few laughs along the way. This list is by no way complete – and I may have to expound on this as I explore more.

Crown Jewel goes to HungryGirl.com: I heard about HungryGirl in a WW meeting. This site is more than a blog and it seems to me that Hungry Girl has been hungry for a while as her site is deep with information and I do notice that she has a book out. Good for you, Hungry Girl! You have taken an issue that many of us hungry girls have dealt with most of our lives and made it real – but most importantly, you have made it fun!

I’m not a nutritionist, I’m just hungry.
My name is Lisa and I’m just an average female, struggling with the same food issues most females struggle with every day. I try the latest fad diets, chomp on new fat free foods & diet products, and yes, I too order everything on the side. I consider myself a foodologist…not because I have some kind of fancy degree, but because I am obsessed with food, how wonderful it is, and how much of it will make it impossible for me to fit into my pants. Food is my passion and it has been my lifelong obsession.

I love the honesty, the graphics, and the categories like “Girls Bite Out” and “Chew the Right Thing“. I feel like you’re an old friend and I can’t wait to see what you have to share next. I come by often and I’m “hungry” for more. You may have a very creative marketing team working for you – so what, it’s working.

Blog Jewel for ‘Don’t judge a blog by it’s url’: Gina’s WW Recipes – Don’t let the title fool you nor the long url. I was blown away when I went to this blog with beautiful, inviting graphics, borderline “food porn” photography but most welcome – an easy-to-navigate and find-what-you’re-looking-for navigation. I haven’t tried the recipes yet but I do drool over the photos. I have bookmarked the site and it’s one of the first ones I’ll go to when I’m in one of my “creative cooking” moods.

Blog Jewel for Honesty: Growing older, skinnier and sexier – I’m not sure if that is even the correct title and the url has no meaning to me as an outsider. However, this blog is honest and real about the issues of losing weight and doing it through the “M” years. The blog is inspirational, informative but most of all – real. The blogger is witty and obviously has a  great following because she is so willing to be herself.

Blog Jewel for “So Much Information”: Dotti’s Weight Loss Zone (or DWLZ for short) – Dotti’s been around for a while as I remember seeing her site a few years back when I had my first tryst with WW. Dotti’s site is not glitzy and if you didn’t know who Dotti was – you probably wouldn’t find her. However when it comes to information – Dotti is like the white pages of WeightWatchers with restaurant points, message boards and now Dotti has a cookbook. Go Dotti! You don’t need a graphic designer or marketing team – just keep the information coming.

Even if you don’t understand the WW concept, you would enjoy the sites and with a bit of adventure, some of the recipes.

Nothing tastes as good as thin feels

We all need more fun!

The campaign The Fun Theory of Volkswagen is a series of experiments, captured on video, to find out if making the world more fun can improve peoples behavior.

Have some fun this weekend!

A Glorious Day

“No spring nor summer beauty hath such grace as I have seen in one autumnal face.” – John Donne

In the meantime…

What a week it’s been!

I have so much to show – new pieces of jewelry I have been working on…loaded with color! I want to show you what I made in my workshop last week. I wanted to take photos of these pieces to put on my website and my 1000 Markets shop.

But I didn’t.

This week, we made progress with Mom as the doctor tried new medications and she was sleeping better. She’s been more alert and we were planning some field trips to get her out. That all came to a crashing halt as she fell in the house and broke her back.

Three steps forward. Two steps back.

In the meantime, enjoy some photos from our trip last week to German Village in Columbus.

More on my Flickr account. Enjoy your weekend. Enjoy your family.

A Muse-ing

It’s late Monday night and we just got back from a delicious weekend in Columbus, Ohio. The focus of  this weekend was for me to take a metal smithing class to learn some new techniques. Gary and I decided to grab the opportunity and make a weekend getaway out of it and what a getaway it was.

A very creative weekend with the full moon overlooking as it shone its light over the special ones.

More to come in other blog posts this week, but let’s start with a stroll through Short North. We were lucky that it happened to be the Gallery Hop and many of the Short North Galleries were open as were the restaurants. The big cultural surprise happened in the Revue Antique Store.

This store is filled with antique delights and memories to tickle your heart. It’s easy to become lost in the memories and enchanted by the piece that you are holding in your hand.

I heard music. At first, I wasn’t sure where it was coming from but the closer I walked towards it… the more it told hold of me. It was beautiful and enchanting. And just like the sirens of days gone by, the music was calling other towards it – to drink of what it was giving.

I felt like I was at a concerto, enraptured by the music as did the others around me as they gathered in curiosity to find the siren. We gathered around her with old furniture and  vintage reminders of days gone by…the muse played the Steinway as it was in it’s glory days just because it was there.

And it was there. She was there. And she lifted us to a different, gilded place. A Muse was in our presence…and we celebrated her.