What's on your Menu Today (PHOTO FRIDAY) RNYers?

Good morning Menu Gang!  Happy Weekend! Its PHOTO FRIDAY, lets see those pics of our Christmas Tree or mantle with stockings hung or holiday decorations or lights on our house or your favorite Christmas display! My photos are ceramic Santa's that my Mom hand painted back in the late 90s. I love and cherish these, they are "Santa's of the World" so there is a French Santa, and Irish Santa, Polish Santa, Father Time Santa etc.  There is more to the collection, but my sister and I and one Aunt each got some when my Mom bought all new Christmas decorations for her home.  I keep 4 at work at my desk and the rest are at home, I really love them and looking at them make me feel like Christmas and I love that my Mom made them & the pictures don't do them justice how gorgeous they are in person!

So you all know I am in operation no Christmas cookies/treats ****il Christmas day! LOL) and I did not lose today, stayed at exactly same as yesterday 127.6.  Well at work yesterday I got more YUMMY treats dropped off on my desk that I can to mention. I wanted to die.  And of course they are ALL my favs!  I did not eat one.  I literally would open some of the packages, smell them and close them back up.  But it nearly killed me to resist.  All was homemade, there was chocolate cupcakes with frosting, gingerbread men, shortbread, jam thumbprint cookies, coconut bars, brownies, some chocolate & marshmallow concoction, seriously it was torture for me but I did it so WIN!!

Who has fun plans for the weekend?  Us its last minute shopping UGH!!! and hanging with my husbands Auntie & Uncle & awesome cousins on Sunday.  These are our fav people on this earth!  One of the cousins wife is 5 months pregnant and they are having a party to reveal the gender, I can't wait!  I get to be an honorary Auntie and I am thrilled.  Didn't make it out yesterday to the Mall because as I was on the commuter Train home it started to blizzard!! And it snowed and snowed, the kind where you can't see your hand in front of your face for hours.  We shoveled our sidewalk and driveway four times last night and again this morning at 5am.  We are getting more snow this afternoon, overnight and all day tomorrow. Yup its a winter wonderland here.  Will take some pics for all your Southern people who don't get snow!

QOTD: I know we have a lot of newbies on the menu board but think back to your last Christmas when you were MO/SMO.  How is or will this year be different than the year when you were MO/SMO?  I have to go back to Christmas 2012.  I was MO then.  I hated going shopping in malls because walking hurt my ankles, knees & back and I would get SO HOT with all the people and heat on in the Mall, I hated it.  I hated getting ready to go out, having a hot shower made me sweat and then I could not cool down and I would be trying to dry my hair with a hair dryer and that just made me hotter and then I would be late because I could never find anything to wear. Everything felt too tight or too ugly or I looked like I was wearing a tent.  After eating Christmas dinner because I would load up on stuffing and pumpkin pie and really have very little turkey I would crash and not be able to move off the couch.  It just felt like work and not fun.  This is just me, everyone has such different experiences when they were big but moving my body at that size was so hard and so exhausting! 

Time since surgery 3 yrs + 1 month

B: greek yogurt, raspberries & 1 tbsp bran buds

L: greek chicken skewer & a bit of greek salad

S: 2 babybel

D: leftover from lunch - greek chicken skewer & some greek salad

S: greek yogurt, raspberries & 1 tbsp of bran buds

TOTALS: 664 calories, 84 protein, 38 carbs - having a small pouch day, not hungry at all

V: patches are on

L: coffee all day, water with SF cran all day

E: hoping to take the dogs out after work if its not too cold & not blizzarding!

Have an awesome weekend everyone!  9 sleeps, yes 9 sleeps to Christmas!!! Be fabulous! 

Good Morning! TGIF!!!!  This weekend, I'll be assessing what is needed to fill stockings for my grown children (more difficult than when they were children). And I have to get some food/wine items for gifts.

The picture below is the tree in our sunroom - we have another tabletop one in the living room.

B: usual eggbeaters, cottage cheese, roasted tomatoes/chilis

L: tuna, pickles and cottage cheese

D: leftover burger and veggies 

S: quest chips, cheese, maybe protein bar

Boy, my meals are boring - I eat the same thing (though I've always been this way for meals - it was the snacking especially after dinner that did me in previously)

QOTD: Last Christmas I was already dieting in preparation for surgery, so I'll probably eat less this year at a meal but it won't be significantly different.  HOWEVER, on prior years I can remember holiday dinners where I would eat until my stomach hurt (and then would be uncomfortable for a long time).  Also, Christmas cookies wouldn't have a chance in the house - I'd scarf them up as quickly as I could. This year I'm not making any, and any received as gifts have to be put out of sight by my husband!

Beautiful tree, Liz!

Beautiful tree Liz!

Lovely tree!  Stockings are a bear now that the kids are older.  I stuffed them with body wash and shower poofy things.  LOL They are full...just kinda boring. 

~E

Your tree is outstanding Liz!  I love it!!

I pretty much eat the same thing every day too, i even did it before surgery, some of us just can! Don't change what "ain't broke!"

I have had many dinners pre surgery where my tummy hurt, its so good now to feel the complete opposite!  Good for you for giving away the goodies!  I do that too!

Beautiful! Now that we're all adults in my family, we actually all contribute to everyone else's stockings. It makes it more fun for everyone! And it's fun to see what people come up with! 

Morning! 

Despite the reminders, I forgot about photo Friday, so I just ran around taking pics of the living room with my iPad, so they aren't very good. Typically I would say I'm more of a minimalist in my decor choices. Christmas....is different....hahaha 

Like you Daisy, we have some ceramics my mother in law made and painted! I love my ceramic tree!

qotd: Our holidays have always been relatively active, but I feel like this year will be more so. They usually included long post meal walks, tobogganing with hill climbing. Preeetty confident we're having a white Christmas, so I'll be bringing my snowshoes! The big difference for me this year will be not constantly eating... especially at my inlaws. They are the family with bowls of nuts and chocolates in every room. Appies, and food aplenty at all times! And they entertain a lot, so lots of alcohol etc. none of that for moi! 

Menu:

B: protein shake

L: tbd today is the last day of shopping. Everything is getting checked off.

D:see above, I won't come home until the end!

have a great day all!

so nice!

Lovely tree!