I volunteered in South Africa once - I was there for about two months. I was up in Northern Province (aka Limpopo) not far from the Zimbabwe & Mozambique borders. Great experience!

Good morning! My menu is pretty standard to any other day. I got up this morning feeling extremely tired, weak and a little bit dizzy as I navigated the kitchen getting things ready for my walk to work. So I ate 1 oz of cheese and a half a small-ish banana as I walked the 5.5km stretch and I felt fine. I'm getting over a month-long chest/head thing that has been ravaging my household. It's been brutal and sapped energy like I've never seen, but I think I'm on the tail end of it finally.

B: that stuff on my walk, plus my protein shake with extra water. I've got some meat sticks on hand too, to bring my salt up if I get to them. But I'm full at the moment so they'll just sit there on my desk.

MS: If I get to it, 1/2 cup ff greek yogurt with 1 tsp chocolate pudding mix. Given the bit of extra I ate this morning to see if I felt better, I'll probably stick this in the fridge here at work.

L: 1 cup of pulled pork leftovers from 2 nights ago. I had it for lunch and supper yesterday too, but I'm not one that's ever cared about eating the same thing again and again. It's good, it's protein-forward and so am I. Plus it's pig and I'm down with that now, apparently.

AS: see MS

S: beef/cabbage veggie stew

ES: decaf coffee and a walk.

Still haven't had the call from the local bike shop re my bike repairs, so exercise will again be the walk home and an evening 5k with my coffee and my ear buds. I seem to walk a lot. Hmmm...

QOTD: I started out life on a farm, so chores were my first job and I remember feeding cattle and piglets at 4 yrs old, and collecting eggs. Once we moved to town I had a paper route, then worked at a pizza joint for years, at one point I was a cemetery worker, digging graves by hand (because the excavator would collapse the older graves....a headache to say the least). That job taught me a lot about myself, and I refer to it in my mind when my current job is driving me crazy, which it does sometimes. I've worked on the livestock floor at an abbatoir, been a recording/session drummer for hire, driven transport, a bit of a mixed bag of everything I suppose.

Pig is good... Pig is yum!

I need a pork roast in my near future!

That digging graves sounds really sobering... I'm not sure I could work in a cemetery or a funeral home... dead people freak me out, even to this day.

Honestly, you get used to the grave yard. When the plot has shifted in the frost and you're digging beside someone laid to rest, and a bone falls into your dig, it's a bit unnerving the first couple of times. But death is just a part of life. You handle it with grace and respect and move on. The kids liked to vandalize the graves on devils night and Halloween, so I used to walk the cemetery those nights to keep them in check. It was dark, cold, often foggy and wet, but quiet mostly. It was really quite calming to walk around all night on watch, and it gave me the next day off. Hard work though.

Good Morning Teena and Menu Family!

QOTD: I babysat and worked at my dad's architectural office, but my first "real" job was as a sacker / stocker / sign maker at a grocery store. I worked there for many years and the people I worked with were a really close knit group. We used to hang out after work and were really great friends! I made banners and displays for the grocery store. They let me use my art skills on the signs which led to me eventually starting my own sign making business.

Accountability: Yesterday: Protein - 61, Calories - 913, Carbs - 97.

B: prosciutto & mozzarella sticks

L: turkey breast & vegetables meal

D: chicken stir fry

S: light & fit Greek yogurt, prosciutto & mozzarella sticks

E: Walking the dogs around the subdivision

Have a wonderful day everyone!

~ Karen

Happy Wednesday everyone. Its rainy here in the PNW, which I love!

QOTD- My first job was when I was 14 with the Forrest Service. I worked on a tree farm. I pulled weeds all day. I think it paid $ 3.85 an hour. They called us "weeder babies".

I am going to do AMAW for a few weeks. I feel like my weight has been stagnant the past few months. I see my surgeon in November for my one year. I would really like to be a goal. Time to kick it in gear and get the last 20 lbs off. I have got to stay focused and on track!! I have come to far not to finish this!

My cousin gave me a wonderful compliment yesterday. She said that she never realized how big I was until she saw a facebook memory with my picture. She said that my surgery was a wonderful gift that I have given myself.

So, my plan for today-

B- 4 chicken breakfast sausage links

S- chomps meatstick

L- 4 oz shredded chicken breast with hot sauce

D- 4 oz rump roast with A1

Lots of water

Calories 579 Protein 86 Carbs 4

Sometimes those Facebook memories really hit home with me... especially when I've forgotten how far I've come! They are both a nice thing and a curse sometimes!

B1: 4 s******presso with 1/4 cup half and half (over the two cups of coffee).

B1: Hard boiled egg, 1/2 cup baked beans, 1/4 cup drunkin noodles

L: 1/3 chiptole burrito, extra beans, no rice

D: 1/3 red pepper with tzaki, 3 oz pork tenderloin

E: cardio kickbox (45 min) + 12K steps.

STarting marathon training. Last night was my first 2.5 mile run/walk. Felt calm afterward. Running for me is the best anti-anxiety med/technique

What are drunkin noodles???

Something that is not on our low carb menu. It is the left-overs from taking a dude out to repay/say "thank you" for saving me and my broke down car. Especially since another jobless "friend" abandoned me in a time a need.

So-cleaning out the left overs from the fridge. Then back to that chili. That chili recipe made like 32 meals.

But on the drunkin noodles- it is an asian dish.

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/drunken-noodles