Come to Australia!

I recently did a 'COME TO AUSTRALIA - Facts 'n Trivia' video which was well received by my subscribers on YouTube (and one loyal subscriber at LiveVideo -bless her Adelaide-ian heart!) As always there are punchy-pictures and this time, a small handful of songs (including some good Aussie one's among them). If your internet speed is fast enough, turn up your speakers and enjoy! :-)

http://www.livevideo.com

Getting paid to do what I love?

I've heard it so many times, "Do what you love". Then it will never feel like work. When delving into the belly of my blog (settings, template etc -as you do!) -I've more than once come across little 'click here' opportunities to make money on my blog. You probably would have too if you have your own blog. But I've not been interested because it has required something tantamount to blog-slaughter - ie. "the attack of the flashing banners!!". For example, underneath my 'Food Weakness' section I'd potentially have a flashing ad. for a search engine or something. Always there, always making the blog look commercial and ugly.

Have you ever looked at the top of your blog and seen a thing you can click on that says 'Next Blog'? Have you ever clicked on that? It seems to shuffle you to other blogs randomly, like a lucky dip. I've done it a few times and sometimes you might get to see the same blog two or three times.. and sometimes the blogs are in foreign languages. But sometimes if you keep clicking you'll find a good blog. One day recently, I came across a "girly blog" that caught my attention. In one of the posts I read about how the blogger was occasionally paid for blogging. Ok, what kind of 'scheme' is that, I thought? I read more and what I read I liked! The blogger was registered with a site called PayPerPost

There are businesses out there that know our blogs receive traffic from all over the world and they would like the opportunity to have their product or link seen or exposed to your blog traffic. Still sound like blog slaughter? Read on! Does that mean you have to put giant, permanent flashing banners all over your blog? Not at all apparantly. All they want you to do is write a post. That becomes your job. Not every day. Just whenever you want to be paid for a job! Your post isn't supposed to sound contrived and look weird on your blog. You choose the jobs you want to take on. Choose a product that you know you could talk about in a blog post. Include a link or image on the post (whatever the job requires) -so if anyone is genuinally interested, they can follow-up -and you've done your work!


I decided to check out other blogs to see how other bloggers had tackled this work. And to my surprise it seemed harmless. And fun! One guy for example uses a particular cream (like Dencorub here in Australia) and had two extra boxes of it at home as it happened. He wrote about it and could give a personal testimony about it. He provided the link and was paid money for it. Just one post, that's all. There might be a professional website that really wants exposure, for example a Web Design company. I know I could write about that as I tried to get into a Web Design course once. I could tell my story about that and then include a link to the Web Design company in my post. My writing would then bring attention to that link. Whether my readers will click on that link or not is up to them. But there are companies out there interested in your blog traffic.

My blog will still be my blog! The weight loss journey is staying, the photo' s, banter, recipes and video's are staying. It will all still be 'Foodie Wanderings'! But now and again, I'll take a PayPerPost job and earn some dollars on the side. Post payments range from US$5 to US$25 on average. I love writing posts on my blog and so when you pop back, you'll see me attempt my new writing job sometimes! See what you think?! I'm replacing eBay as my spare-change cash cow. My PayPal account which I opened when I became an eBay seller will be handy as that's how I'll receive my funds. (It's the only way I could receive money from overseas when overseas eBayers purchased from me).

So.. before I started work writing, I was going to tell you all about it anyway of course (hence this post). And as it happens, this post is actually my first job!

Cast away - Reflecting where I am

My husband's (former?) nickname for me translates to 'little bunny'. I'm of Hungarian descent so one day a couple of years ago he started calling me this endearing moniker. When his phone rings, a bunny-picture flashes on and off with the ringtone to show it's me calling. Yet, take a look at the rabbit above. It's me. I will be moving out of the house with my girl. My husband now knows it... and whatever pain I had before in our marriage (including stress-related health problems) -the boot is really being stuck into me now.

On Wednesday I had a specialist appointment to go to several hours after a parent/teacher interview. I had this appointment for 2 months. I'd been counting down the days almost. The day before a secretary rang me to confirm my appointment. On the day, before heading over to my girls school, I thought about the appointment. Then at about 7pm that night while I was eating my dinner I stopped and thought "I didn't go to my appointment". I completely forgot. How on earth did I do that? The same way I went to the chocolate aisle at the supermarket as I need dark chocolate to bake my WW mini-florentine's. My girl was unpacking the trolley for me at the register (I have difficulty bending down.. it does something to my heart strangely enough). I get to the confectionary aisle which happens to have the bread in it too. I realise we need bread. So I grab some bread and head back to our groceries, pay for them and leave. At home I realise I didn't get chocolate.

This is not what I ever wanted. Sure I was a single mum for 5 years before hubby came along, but now I feel like I've never done it before. I have no plans for divorce -that is the furtherest thing from my mind. My hope and my heartfelt prayer in this is that after taking the heat off our situation and living in separate residences, we will be able to begin the healing process. And grow from it. Really grow. And really be happy. But we can't do it the way we are now. We've been to counsellors individually and together, I've read books, I've turned to my church. I can't change him. I can't. I can only deal with me.

But just because we are leaving, doesn't mean the marriage is over. We are still married, period. My husband thinks this is preposterous. The way he see's it, I'm doing the unthinkable, I'm bailing out of the marriage which proves I was never committed to begin with and how dare I ruin his life like this? And so I feel alone.. and lonely. And I wonder where on earth I'm going to get the strength to do what I have to do to get well, feel 'safe' again, yet (whilst I'm still here with my girl), endure him freezing me out and/or punishing me. I have no parents and my sisters are interstate.

I had a cup of chammomile tea with a lady from church this week. I was so unwell that day as I'd been copping the manifested anger at home. I didn't know how I would make it to the cafe. But I can't see that lady every day, she's a busy woman. Who are my friends? Who would drop everything and meet me within an hours notice if I really needed the company? Who, where I live now, locally, would do that for me so I could forget about my life for an hour over a cup of something? This is why I'm here now. Talking to my blog and whoever reads this (locked away in this office trying to stay away from my husband who can't really enjoy my company anymore). And my girl is doing the bending-over work and unloading the dishwasher.

On a more positive note (and I plan to keep my blog as upbeat as possible --I just needed to get all of the above off my chest) -we (my girl and I) are looking forward to getting a pet, once and for all and finally-at-last! Wherever we have lived we've not been allowed to have a pet. The next place we go to I will make sure we have definite approval, no-question-about-it confirmation that we can have a pet -before I sign on any dotted lines. A kitten to be exact. It will be so good for my girl -she's held onto the dream of the pitter-patter of four, furry feet for so long.

Since selling on eBay has regrettably lost its appeal for me because the packaging and posting commitments have been too much for me to take on (including the inevitable bad-egg customers that serve to quash my spirit further). I'm going to be trying a new venture that will pay me to do what I love -and that's writing. Stay tuned! Oh.. and my Weight Watchers results this week: a 300 gram loss. (Being .66 of a pound) But I didn't take my black cardy/jacket off which I usually do, every week before stepping on the scales... (another thing I forgot to do this week). So I'm thinking I lost half a kilo (1.1 pounds)! But I'll take the 300.

I've got one word to say to you...

Who'd have thunk it? I dont think I've lost weight this fast ever. And I'm really eating. I'm talking a whole variety of foods. I'm still eating things like bread, cheese, chocolate...and I'm still having a bit of takeaway.. and daily sweet treats. But I've engaged 'food-swapping'. Eg. Having one or two WW mini-florentine's and at worst, maybe alongside it a mini-vanilla cake rather than 5 chocolate Tim Tam's. More often than not, 1 florentine is ok.

Or last night for eg. I marinated some chicken tenderloins in taco seasoning with some lime juice and WW sourcream and 1 egg. I rolled the tenderloins in crumbs (no flour) and grilled them after spraying with oil. 1.5 points a tenderloin I worked it out as (they weren't large tenderloins like in this file photo). I had 4 of these tender, crunchy things with about a cup of roasted pumpkin, a baked potato in its jacket (with WW cottage cheese mashed in instead of butter.. it really tastes good) and some broccolini.

Four weeks ago I might have had; 3 chicken drumsticks with skin-on, creamy mashed potato and other vegies with butter. I have increased my fibre intake, cut down on my salt a tad, staying away from preservatives as much as I can (as they give me unpleasant symptoms) -and I just keep track. I write it all in my food journal. I'm not even back at the gym yet. Anyway, that's 4kg's (8.8 pounds) in 3 weeks. And I'm just as surprised as any of you! That's not saying I'm never challenged or tempted by the idea of a serious drive-through supersized meal. Our internet was down for the last 24hrs and in my spare time I read more.. but I also wanted to eat more. I have long ways to go yet. It's only been 3 weeks back on the wagon after all. And I'm taking it one week at a time. One day at a time actually.

I'm off to buy my girl another pair of school shoes tomorrow, she's already outgrown the one's that fit in January. I'll have to go to a specialist shoe store to find what I need this time of year (middle of the school year). Today I have felt like the kitty (to the left). Yesterday I went to Weight Watchers, then went to an op-shop, followed by some grocery shopping (nothing major) -but today I've felt like I'm recuperating from a hen's night or something. That is how sensitive my system is to stress at the moment, so I've been indoors all day and catching up with computer things since the internet problem was fixed (several suburbs were affected).

The Optional Maria Poll #5 today is: What are you missing on TV that you wish was back on? For me it's this series right here:

I have another video attached for your viewing. The sandwich making competition closes text Tuesday (UK time), so I'll learn the results of that then. But another subscriber had a competition going and it was "Tell us a joke". (Prize is: US$25 Amazon.com gift voucher). The joke rules were it had to be rated G or PG, basically clean.. and no more than 5 minutes long. That comp closes in 2 to 3 weeks time. Here was my entry (it has sound):

In closing I leave with you a photo from our trip in June to Brisbane. This is my sister and my daughter holding a 'Churro' each. Long, Mexican doughnuts sprinkled with cinnamon/sugar at the Southbank markets.

And here is my youngest sister this past Christmas (taken when we went to Sydney). She is holding some fresh-out-of-the-oven tasty bread/foccacia dish she made, one of Jamie Oliver's. It is filled with cheeses, prosciutto, basil I think and hard boiled eggs from memory. My sister made the dough from scratch.

Life In Pink - A Movie Review

I don't know if my girl has forgiven me for taking her to see this 140 minute film entirely in French with subtitles! I honestly didn't know it was a French movie. Of course I knew Ms Piaf was French but I just assumed it was a Hollywood project. I had seen a La Vie En Rose trailer maybe once before seeing the film but I think it only had Edith Piaf's music playing in the background. And the movie is about Edith's life, of course. "The Little Sparrow" as she was nicknamed. I vaguely remember reading a review on the film after seeing it which claimed it wasn't so much a film as it was an ordeal. Harsh, I thought.

But on reflection, it did often feel like an ordeal because Edith Piaf was used/abused and didn't have any soft places to fall as she was growing up. Come to think of it, as an adult her 'soft places' were either shallow, transitory or illusionary which added to the tragedy. It kind of explained the "get out of my way" arrogance she adopted once she hit the big time, in an "ok, my turn to push people around" way. At times this film felt depressing but I'm glad I went to see it. In conclusion I must give 5 stars to the young woman who played Edith; "Marion Cotillard". Who IS she? I asked myself. What a brilliant job! Upon research I learned she appeared alongside Russell Crowe as a French girl in 'A Good Year' and in 'Big Fish' and is a famous actress in France. Marion is more ravishingly beautiful in those other films. There are some 'ugly-stick' moments in La Vie En Rose (Edith had a hunched-over posture, a deep, LOUD in-your-face voice & manner and eyes so big you could drown in them). Accolades also for superb cinematography from "the slums of Paris to the limelight of New York"!

P.S. I have updated my reading/watched features on the right and added a new movie feature because sometimes we don't enjoy every movie we see -do we? It's called "watched and thought "ho-hum". There is also a 'book review' feature where I give you a quick run-down/opinion about the last book I read :-)

Sandwich Competition Entry

This is a sandwich video! A subscriber of mine on YouTube has a competition currently running called 'Make Me A Sandwich'. I was planning to use up ingredients in the fridge that day so I didn't attempt a special sandwich for the video (I probably would have gone more exotic than this). I used what we had at home and it was a 'warm' sandwich for a cold day. I also made it as low-point as possible and it fit within my daily allowance! If I had of been in 'points-anarchy-land' I would have used more oil, more cheese (full fat & creamy), more mayo... oh.. you get my drift! ;-) P.S. The guy who is running the comp doesn't live too far away from Maldon in the UK where my beloved salt comes from! The prize is yet to be determined.

My Sandwich Competition Entry

Which Meeting?

A loss! So the tracking is working.. Amen to that. Things done differently: I'm making better choices like trying to control portion sizes as much as I can. Having a *small* amount of fast food about once a week - not a meal, just a snack portion as it's a treat I enjoy (and I'd feel deprived if I didn't have it). If I eat it, it's in my food diary.. (same new habit as the week before and since I was feeling well enough to stay for the meeting - I received a silver 'bravo' star for writing it all down -the food that is).

I've been keeping WW mini-florentine, 1 point bikkies on hand (easy to bake and they have a thin coating of dark chocolate on each). In the past I may have gone 3 or 4 Tim Tams instead of 1 or 2 florentines. Snacks are so important. I'm thinking about what I snack on. Rice crackers and a tablespoon or two of hommus for example. A portion of WW coffee icecream (deeeelicious)- 2 points a serve (they are sold in a two pack).





I especially took notice of a recipe for some vanilla cakes on this weeks WW handout. Sometimes only cake will do! Only 1 point per cake too. I decided I have to make these as I don't want to get bored with the florentines and dread them. So I made sure to buy real vanilla extract (I prefer it to essence) and I also needed a mini-muffin tin! $10.99 in Kmart for a 24 cup non-stick tin. I considered it an investment and I will love having little cakes on hand!


While in KMart I also picked up a pair of slippers on sale for $8. I DID buy a pair in Coles for $10 about a week ago and they have already come apart! Ugh!

I'm at odds about what I'm going to do re: my WW meetings. Recently I was asked to join some ladies I know (from church) at their meeting in town. They want to help cheer me on, encourage me.. and for us to just 'do it together'. I went once with them and then that very night I became ill and went to hospital. I wasn't able to attend last weeks meeting with them as their location requires going up 3 flights of stairs -and I've been unable to extend myself that far. It took two weeks of solid rest and lots of extra sleep to make me feel a tiny bit better (with regards to my heart). So last week I was given a ride to my old meeting. I weighed-in, but didn't stay as even that would have felt like too much at the time. (Random Before and After photo taken from the internet --great transformation)!!

Today I knew I couldn't do the 3 flights of stairs again, but I drove myself to my 'old meeting' and stayed at the meeting with my girl who is on school holidays. And I really liked it. Our new leader at the 'old meeting' is a lovely lady. Our former leader goes to where my friends are on Wednesday -and btw she didn't even say goodbye or tell us she was giving us up of a Thursday. I feel unsure about what I'm going to do.


Our former leader clashes with one of my friends (but she's ok with it). My friend 'Carol' says she's in denial as she keeps getting bigger and not following the advice she gives out. I did hear her say she worked out at the gym 4 times on a particular week and she had gained weight and she didn't understand it but had to soldier on regardless. But later that morning she was telling us how her chickens had died (her mothers dog had attacked them -which really upset her) and she hit the peppermint-filled Cadbury chocolate and polished off a family sized block. We did the math in our own minds about the comfort eating.. but earlier she'd told us she had no idea why she hadn't lost weight.


She also (in the past) has encouraged us to try WW 'Core' plan which means no tracking.. just eating pretty much only healthy food and being sensible about portions. That's fine when you have got used to making regular, healthy choices and it's an inground habit for you. Or if you can't bear to keep track. But for a lot of us, if we don't write it down.. then we fool ourselves and turn a blind eye to many incoming calories.

Carol says my former leader (her current leader) needs to switch to the 'Points' plan because the 'Core' plan obviously isn't working for her. The 'new' leader at my 'old' meeting today (oh gosh I hope I'm not confusing you).. well she brings in samples of WW recipes she's made and today she had some vegie sticks alongside the WW 'Nibblies' (which are like a corn/rice snacks.. like Sakata's). I was pleased to be able to try the 'Nibblies' for myself without having to spend $5 for a box. I'm leaning towards staying with my old meeting & the new leader (as opposed to 'new meeting'/new location with people I know with my former leader). I don't want to discared these ladies who are saying "come to our meeting, we want to support you". But I already feel supported at my old meeting too and like the new leader. I'll give it more thought. What's your take on it?


Movie and book review to come!

Loss AND a learning

Recently I had a lady from the church inform me that she goes to Weight Watchers too (unbeknownst to me) along with a few other ladies I know-of from church. My normal meetings were on a Thursday but the church-girls attended Wednesday morning meetings in the city. The lady (lets call her 'Carol') invited me to their Wednesday meeting and offered general support and encouragement. I had a good think about it. Of course I wanted the support and encouragement. Did I want a change? It took me about a month to get used to my own meeting and I liked the location (a little baptist church hall in a leafy suburb not too far away from home). After giving it some thought I agreed to make the swap!

I felt a bit like a failure around them as Carol had already lost 14kg and was near goal. Another girl there had lost 25 kg's (and I hadn't even seen her yet because I have been going to our early morning church services as opposed to the 10.15am). Another lady (who asked me three times 'how are yoooou?') was in tight, black jeans and a black leather jacket and high boots. She had obviously lost her post-baby weight and was bouncing off the walls with confidence (but seriously.. and ok, selfishly.. one "how are you?" would have been enough for me that morning. And here I was weighing in at higher than my Jan/Feb starting weight! I actually felt like I wanted to cry. My eyes did glaze over. But I stopped myself.

My WW leader had moved to this city location without telling my original group.. so there was that familiarity (I knew her too). It was different. But I was surrounded with this new real-life thing called 'personal support'. That night I took ill and ended up in hospital, but since then I have just concentrated on "keeping track". If it's in the mouth, it's in the book.

[[Note: No matter how many times I publish this post, it won't edit with the paragraphs I insert, it has a mind of its own.. as it happens sometimes. Grrrr.]]

This week I wouldn't have been able to manage the 3 flights of stairs for the Wednesday meeting so I was ever-so-kindly given a lift to my old Thursday WW meeting. Turns out Carol couldn't make it to her Wednesday meeting either for two reasons, so it was meant to be. I couldn't stay for the meeting (too much for my senses at present), but neither could she as she had a different meeting to go to.. so it really was meant to be! She lost 500gm's and well, as you can see from the 'card' up there - I lost two whole kilograms. Eating three meals a day and 2 to 3 snacks. I really needed the victory.

Thank you Nannette for the link to the catalogue card maker --which I tweaked with my own photoshop program as I has mispelled the word 'lost' if you can believe that? It's been that long since I've used that word in that context! :-)

Food@FoodieWanderings

Disclaimer: I didn't make the above sandwich and I was nowhere in sight when these gargantuan sandwiches were made (and consumed?). This is what you get when you order a 'Pastrami on Rye' at New York City's famous 'Carnegie Deli'. My advice: Sneak in (a small crowd) + some multigrain bread rolls (gluten free for Wanna).. filled with salad and order one Pastrami on Rye sandwich between all of you. Then evenly distribute the meat between 6 to 8 bread rolls (depending on how many in your party). Eating even half of one of those sandwiches would be tantamount to ingesting a brick for me and I'd be useless. Put me on a horse-drawn buggy for the day in Central Park with some Tums, Gaviscon liquid & a blanky over my knee's or something....

For meatlovers out there, the Carnegie Deli is at your service with bells on. Of course, American style, you can get anything including cantelope with cottage cheese washed down with black forest cake. How about a tongue and egg sandwich? Tongue features heavily on Carnegie's menu and all sandwiches with egg have 3 eggs in them. Maybe they should have a sign out the front that says "If you can only afford to eat once a day in New York, eat here!" More brisket for your buck.

Ok.. onto other things. I've been accumulating food photo's that I wish to delete, so it's about time I posted some here for you now. Meals we've had. First I will show you some more 'gourmet food products' I bought a few weeks back;We have: Johnno's homemade Tasmanian pasta sauce ($6.95 - Made in Wanna's hometown of Launceston) - Look, it was a good quality sauce.. but toooooo sweet! Apples are one of the main ingredients alongside tomatoes, but maybe Johnno used Golden Delicious instead of Granny Smith's? I don't know but I think this sauce would be better served in modest dollops over roast lamb, bbq'd fish or something. As a pasta sauce... it's bordering on being labelled a 'dessert sauce' for my tastes.

Then we have: A Gourmet Hot Chocolate Sachet ($1.75). It did two cupful's quite easily. It's an Italian cocoa infused with hazelnuts. Very good.

And lastly we have: Locally made Lemon Slice called "I love this lemon slice". Well, I did. It actually tasted exactly the same as the lemony-lemon slice I make. Maybe we have the same local recipe that was published last year in a newspaper mag? This slab (equal to 6 slices) cost $6.95. I bought it weeks ago.. so enjoy the photo because I won't be buying much else in 'slabs' as I embark on taking care of myself better.

Photographed two paragraphs below is what we ate last night. Tuna tagliatelle with sweetcorn, garlic & chilli. Flash photography doesn't become meals, but when photographing in winter.. what else can you do at tea time? (Cooks note: This was my small cereal bowl portion. I used to eat pasta from a large noodle bowl [see Laksa photo] - but I know better now to implement what I know... is actually better). During the last month or so, I have committed to include more fibre in our meals. When it comes to rice and pasta, we do 'brown' 95% of the time. Since I'm at the 'bored with wholemeal pasta' stage, I decided to use a lovely egg tagliatelle last night (white pasta - a 375g pack instead of the usual 500g).

With 'pretty-please' squints coming from my eyes, I implore you to buy the best tuna you can afford when tuna is the main attraction of a dish. The end product tastes so much better. I usually buy tuna in springwater for my sandwiches to keep the WW points down, however, for this recipe I used 'Sole Mare' tuna in olive oil (drained). It really is a superb can of fish & even won a local, blindfolded-panel, tuna taste-testing session. Other things in this pasta are sundried & (low fat) semidried tomatoes, fresh garlic, parsley, seasoning..(lemon to squeeze = essential) and 'pasta water'. Yes.. I've finally listened to the chef's that ask you to do this when making a quality, natural sauce for your pasta. Jamie says that the pasta masters in Italy all do it. Who am I to argue with the Professori's of Aldente-ness?


Next we have a weekly favourite breakfast of mine. It's my creamy, cheesy scrambled eggs. I love scrambled eggs made with real cream but this version I think is even better and is low in WW points. To substitute the cream I tear apart a slice of FREE cheese (Kraft) and add a flat tablespoon of WW sourcream. You have to trust me, the finished product really is good. I fold in the extra's once the egg is a third-of-the-way-cooked through, then add seasoning at the last minute ((essential.. to turn off the pan when things still look a smidgeon runny, because overcooked = ruined)). 4.5 points for these eggs. My pumpkin seed bread was 1.5. The rocket is '0'. My daily allowance for weight loss is 24. These were still steaming when I took the photo.

One day a few weeks back I felt like a bacon and egg sandwich. So I used some shaved light ham and seared that alongside a free range egg in a pan (sprayed with oil). This is a 5.5 point sandwich. It was hearty, filling and hit the spot. Other ingredients included 'FREE' cheese (half a point), Oak leaf lettuce & hydroponic tomato on sunflower & oat seed bread.

Sri Lankan Chicken Curry with Spinach served over Jasmine Rice. This was another 'break from brown' moment. I used a 'Herbie's' blend Sri Lankan curry mix from one of their famous spice pouches. Around $5 & it will do many curries.

Here we have a Pork 'n Vegies dinner. Seared pork fillets with an oven tray-full of roasted, seasoned vegetables. There was potato, butternut pumpkin, parsnip, red & green capsicums, carrot and onion from memory. Seasoned with rosemary from the garden, garlic and olive oil. Served with a light gravy.

Bowls full of Laksa with chicken. Rice noodles, chicken breast pieces, bean shoots, spring onions, fresh coriander.. swimming in a fragrant, light coconut/chilli, lime-y broth. In the past, I've found my favourite laksa paste (in a sachet) doesn't do the quantity I want to make, so rather than overdo it with two sachets, I bought a 'Laksa Blend' pouch of spices from the 'Herbie's' range (at a local gourmet store). Much larger pouch than usual.. around $7.95. A teaspoon of that added 'oomph' and made the broth go further with added water. Once again, pardon the flash photography.

This is what I had for breakfast today. Seems weird I know. I started with some peaches/pears (the tinned variety) sprinkled with psyllium husks (not pictured, 1 point). I've had baked beans and eggs and things this week, so I felt like a salad sandwich! My girl commented that the picture made it look huge, but it's the corrugated-frilly coral lettuce that gives this sandwich swelling properties. There was a smidgeon of shaved ham in this, WW cottage cheese, 'free' cheese, carrot, red onion & the lettuce. I'm one of those people that would rather eat lunch-time foods at breakfast, so this was a cinch for me to eat after my fruit. Fruit/fibre & sandwich on pumpkin seed bread = 6.5 points total because I enjoyed some whole egg mayo instead of butter/margarine.

And last of all.. I will add my latest video. It answers 10 questions in the 'Are you normal' series that can be found on YouTube. Though I've been using LiveVideo for embedding here as LiveVideo produce higher quality vid's.

It's my 21st video & I break new ground using other video's within my own video! With some internet searching, I finally figured out how to do it. Very rewarding. The video is fast paced & you can learn more about me... remember to turn your speakers on too! Best wishes to whoever is reading & thank you Zanna & Wanna, Tall Girl & Gail for your lovely comments in the last post. I'm kind of home-bound at the moment.. & being a success at daily tracking. A big step forward for me. P.S. Current book & food weakness updated (top, right). :-)