Finding Fat-Free Fair Fare??? Updated!

We're thinking about heading to the MN State Fair tomorrow, and I'm on a quest to find some healthier than average food on a stick...or off a stick. I really don't care, as long as it's not deep fried.

I have been searching online to see what I might be able to eat without using my entire WW point allotment for the week. I know that a lot of people go to the fair strictly to eat...I'm not one of them, but the sights and smells that I will encounter there might be a bit too much for me to take, especially if I don't have a plan beforehand. Not that I won't indulge a little bit...after all, it is the State Fair! I'd just like to get a head's up on what's available and maybe plan for what I do want to allow myself to eat, before I arrive there and just decide to throw caution to the wind and pig out. Speaking of "pigging out", I will NOT be sampling the "Pig Lickers" from Famous Dave's, which from what I understand, are chocolate covered bacon pieces ~ ewww...that sounds absolutely disgusting to me.


I have been looking on the MN State Fair's website, where they have a "food finder". So far I've found a few promising food stands to keep an eye out for. Here's what I've found so far:


I am updating this blog on Monday night, to let ya know what I did try...and what I didn't...just in case anyone wants to know for next year.

"Veggie Pie"(Located south wall in Food Building)
Offering: Fresh vegetable pie, fruit pizza, fruit bowl, vegetable bowl, watermelon, frozen grapes on-a-stick, pineapple, oranges, cherries on-a-stick, Dasani bottled water.

That might be a good place to start. Either there, or this next one:

This was not all that great looking, apparently the vegetable pie is the same thing as the veggie pizza we get at Coborn's...not that it's bad, I like it...I just didn't feel the need to try it at the fair. We did have the frozen grapes and pineapple on a stick, because we had a coupon for it. The only other thing I got here was a bottle of water.

"Andre's Watermelon" (Located at Underwood St. & Carnes Ave.)

Offering: Watermelon cubed in a bowl, fresh fruit bowl (watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, grapes, strawberries), vegetable platter (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, celery, green pepper, cherry tomato) with dip, passion cooler (mixed fruit juices including watermelon), fruit and cheese kabob, watermelon flavored Fuze, Ocean Spray juices, milk, Dasani bottled water

We all shared a large bowl of watermelon chunks from here. It was very sweet and tasty. It was nice to have something refreshing on a hot day that wasn't fattening.


I'd also like to try the "Pickle Pop" (or a picklesicle as I would have called it). That's frozen pickle juice in "push-up" form. That should be absolutely "pointless" as far as WW is concerned, and I'm sure Molly would love that one as well. She's even more of a pickle freak than I am. They are available at:

"The Preferred Pickle" (located inside the food building) Offering: Preferred Pickle (crumb coated deep fried pickle slices), cajun style, optional cream cheese, pickles on-a-stick, dry packaged pickle mix to go. NEW THIS YEAR: Pickle Pop (frozen juice in a plastic push-up sleeve)

I decided against the pickle pop, because I had just eaten a wrap and wasn't very hungry at the time. Molly did get a HUGE "naked pickle on a stick" from here though. The line was very long for this place. I'm not exactly sure if it was for the pickle on a stick or the pickle pop, or what.


This one sounds rather intriguing to me, something that would be good tasting and not too terribly fattening:

"That's a Wrap " (also in the food building)
Offering: Wrap sandwiches (chicken caesar, turkey, oriental, chicken, vegetable), Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Sprite, Mello Yello

I did have a turkey wrap. It was pretty good, but if I'd realized there was going to be bacon on it, I would have told them to "hold the bacon". Oh well. Live and learn, right?

And...if we end up staying for supper, this place looks like a possiblity:

"The BALL PARK CAFE" (Located outside the Garden on Underwood St. MAP AREA C)

Offering: Scrambled eggs (with ham, cheese, green onion, tomatoes), fried eggs, sausage, steak, hashbrowns, danish, hamburgers, cheeseburgers, pork burgers, cheese pork burgers (with barbecue, salsa and blue cheese sauces), ball park franks, chicken strips, jalapeno poppers, chef salad, garden salad, rotisserie chicken salad, grilled chicken sandwich, rotisserie chicken dinner (with garlic mashed potatoes, vegetable, roll), french fries, garlic fries, Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Sprite, Vault, Dasani bottled water, Red Bull energy drink, pink lemonade, beer and brewed malt beverages.

I especially like the sound of a chef's salad or a grilled chicken sandwich of some sort. Or even the rotisserie chicken dinner doesn't sound just too bad. I guess it will depend on how many points I've had by that time of day. I could always give the mashed potatoes to my dd Molly and the bread roll to Ray, after all I need to do something to sabotage his weight-loss progress so I can catch up. (cue evil laughter here)...Bwahahahaha...

We did end up staying until after 7pm, but we didn't actually have lunch until late afternoon, so we just waited until we got home and ate leftovers we had in the fridge.

Anyway, I think I have a little bit more of a handle on what's available now, and I don't feel too bad about planning to go there tomorrow. I guess if it is hot and humid, like it's supposed to be, we're bound to sweat off a few pounds with all the walking we'll do. I'm pretty sure we'll go, because my Ray and Molly really want to go. I'll let y'all know how it all turned out on Tuesday.

I didn't go too overboard in the food dept today. I did try a caramel apple sno-cone, and snitched a few cheese curds from Molly. Ray had a turkey leg...that's his thing he has to do at the fair. We also bought a bag of apples in the ag building...and I had two of them. They were very good.

Our regular WW meeting night is Monday here in P-town, so because of the holiday this week, we won't have one here. So far, I haven't decided if I'm going to go elsewhere to weigh in on Tuesday morning, or maybe just skip a week. I'm leaning toward just skipping a week, I haven't missed one since I began this journey on March 31st.

Happily Ever (Before and) After

Just a little over a year ago, my step-son, Dan married his wife, TeriAnna out in Oregon. Here is a picture of what Ray and I looked like then, at Yellowstone National Park, on our way out West for the wedding:

Weren't we cute??? Actually, we are standing in front of the Upper Falls in this picture, my daughter, Jessica was supposed to get that in the picture too...but apparently we were just too fat! Well, she was trying to hold her son, CJ while taking the photo too, which may have had something to do with it.

Now, almost exactly one year later, my step-daughter Ruth and her fiance, Dan decided to put their marriage plans into fast-forward, and had a small civil ceremony last Saturday. This is not a great picture of Ray, since he's somewhat hidden by his Aunt Marilyn, but I think you can see how he's lost weight even in his face. I look quite a bit smaller than I did a year ago myself...but I've still got a long way to go. Others in the pic are (l to r), Sharon, (Dan's mom), his Grandma Mary, Dan, (the groom), Ruth, (the bride), and my daughter Molly next to Ray and me.

To date, I have officially lost 33.2 lbs, and Ray's got somewhere around 40 lbs gone. Not bad for about 5 months of "losing it". Congratulations and best wishes go out to the happy couple for a wonderful marriage!

Ughhhh...People Who Create Viruses Ought to be SHOT!

I've been dealing with trying to get "Antivirus XP 2008" off of this computer. It is NOT an antivirus protection program at all...but is in truth a "Trojan Horse" virus. Yuck!!! I have most of it gone, so that I can at least blog. I now have a theory too...I'm pretty sure that my other computer was infected with it, causing it to slow way down and then eventually crash. I'm not positive about that...but it's possible.

Protect yourselves, people! I didn't have any kind of virus protection on this one because it is an old borrowed computer, but I need to get something on it...even if it is a free one. Just to make sure I don't pass anything along, I'm not going to be emailing anyone from this computer. I don't know if I can spread it that way or not...but I'm not going to take the chance. Hopefully, I can figure out how to get the rest of it gone in the next few days.

Week 21 Weigh-In ~ Moving Forward Again

I did it! I took off the 1.2 lbs I put on last week, plus an0ther 2 lbs for this week. Hopefully, I can get past this plateau and keep going down again. I had really wanted to have 50 lbs off by the end of September, which would be 6 months on the program...but that's not looking very realistic anymore. My next goal is to be in "onederland" by Christmas. That would be cool.

"Winning It" ~ Congratulations, PEFC Softball Team!

As I mentioned in my last blog, my husband Ray had the last 2 games of their tournament last night. They won the first game, and since the other team was undefeated in the tourney, they had to play them again. The last game was for "all the marbles", and they won it 7-6. I am so not a sports fan and therefore have a lot of trouble even paying attention to any kind of a game, but I was having fun trying out different features of my new camera. I got pretty lucky with some action shots, so I thought I would post them here:

This is the way the sky looked last night while I was "watching" the game. It looked pretty cool with the sun shining through the clouds, like heaven was smiling down on us...so I took a pic.Here is a picture of last night's cheering section from church. I think that helped the team play their very best. I've never seen this many people come out to support the team, since Ray has been playing for the past 6 or 7 years or so. The above pic is my hubby Ray, ready to take a swing. Below, (in an unbelievably lucky shot), I was able to capture the ball leaving the bat! I'm not sure if I could do that one again if I tried.Above, is the team's captain, Joel in action. I didn't get the ball leaving the bat this time...but the bat was obviously in motion. Below, is one of pitcher, Mike in action. Unfortunately, he looks a little blurry.I would have tried to get a better one of him...but this happened to be his very last pitch of the evening. I never got another chance. Above, is a shot of Joe H. with a little too much action...he was just too quick for me I guess. Below, you will see Joe's dad in action...sitting in the cheering section, holding my friend Jody's baby Kassie. Rick says he loves babies and will make an excellent grandfather someday.Above is a shot of the First Place Trophy being awarded to the team. The man awarding it was almost in tears according to Ray, he really didn't think this team could pull it off...but they did! Below, the team is all smiles as they pose for a picture for me with Nate holding on to the coveted prize. Back row l to r: David H, Nick N, Mike S, Ray G, Joe H, Dan. front row l to r: Jacob, Nate S, Joe O. and Jared L.
Here's a closeup of the 1st place trophy. Below is one with Ray holding it, and below that, you'll see what Ray looked like from behind after the game...can you say ewwwww? Maybe I should go find that shirt and get it washed. Either that...or have it framed for him! Congratulations, guys!

Week 20 Weigh-In ~Two Steps Forward, Three Steps Back

Well, considering we've been camping for 3 days, and I've been away from my bathroom scale...I suppose gaining 1.2 lbs isn't all that bad. At least I still have my 30 lbs off, since I was down exactly 31.2 a week ago. I didn't stay for the meeting last night, because my hubby had to go play a church softball tournament game (or 2 depending on whether they won or not) and we were down to only one vehicle. I'm going to have to get down to business this week, and get back to losing at a faster rate. Basically, what I've been doing lately is called "maintaining", and that's okay for awhile. I think our bodies need to adjust to weight losses every so often, but I've maintained long enough...I want to lose again...so I guess I'll have to work harder.

Who Is This Kid???

My 11yo dd, Molly decided to take it upon herself to change her look recently. She and her friend did this at her friend's house. At first, I was very upset, and still don't especially care for it, but I'm getting used to it. Here she is "before" and "after". What do you think of her new look? I'm thinking this too shall pass...it will just take a while for it to grow out. As long as she doesn't come home with a pierced nose or tongue, (don't get any ideas Mo), or starts to wear nothing but black and chains etc...I guess she'll be okay. If she does that, I'll have to send her to military school or something.

She has also grown so much over the summer, that people don't even recognize her, (especially with the black hair). She was at the doctor this morning...she is officially 5' 8" and a whopping 114.5 lbs...yes, on the doctor's scale. I suppose she could be a model some day...but I have higher expectations for her than that. Believe it or not, she's not just another pretty face...the girl has a brain too...(even though she sometimes doesn't put it to great use). She just got her Spring testing results back today, and has once again scored higher than the average student in the school, the district, and the state in both Math and Reading. Maybe there's hope for my "little" girl yet.

Thursday Thirteen ~ 13 Pictures of my Summer so far

It has been a very busy Summer. We've had many grad parties, a church picnic, two 50th birthday parties, (including mine), a 30th birthday party, an 80th birthday party...something every single weekend. This makes it a bit difficult for those of us who are trying to lose weight. It's not just the temptation of wonderful desserts and foods at these parties, but mostly the fact that there are generally not a whole lot of healthier choices to be had...unless one brings one's own food to each party...and that's no fun. All in all, I feel like I'm doing pretty well just to "maintain" lately.

The first half of the Summer, I didn't have a digital camera...and then a couple of weeks ago, after I'd gotten a camera for my birthday, my computer crashed. Therefore...I'm going to try to upload some of the pics I just now got off my camera. Here we go...

1. Above is our church picnic, once again, graciously hosted by the Peterson's. The pork chops were provided and grilled by other church members, and then beans and coleslaw were made and served by still other members who worked very hard to put on a delicious meal, (not to mention the numerous desserts brought by everyone to share). I did indulge in a very small sliver of cheesecake there, if I remember correctly. Thanks everyone, for all you did to make it a day of great food and fun.
2. After the dinner, we made our way down the hill to "gather at the river" for baptism. Below is the lovely little Lydia, just before her "dunking" by Pastor Al.


3. We do Karaoke the 4th Friday of every month at our church. This was perhaps our youngest Karaoke participant yet. Some of you will recognize him as Lisa's little guy, Sam. Actually...he was "helping" his Daddy, sing a song here. It may have been "The Streak"?
   
   
   


4. In June, two of my late sister Patty's daughters, visited MN from AZ. Above is me with April who is 17. I'm wearing my new size 16 capris in the pic. Yes, I have lost over 30 lbs, even though I look HUGE next to little Miss Size 0 there.
5. Below is one of me with her 15 yo sister, Sarah. She's such a sweetheart.
   
   
   


6. Above, is a picture of me, April and my sister Laurie. Some people say she and I look a lot alike, as we get older. I never used to look like any of my siblings when I was a kid.


7. Below, April wanted a pic with her 3 uncles, and they were all happy to oblige. L to R: My brothers, Dan, Mike and Bob give April a "lift" while Bob's wife, Rose looks on.

8. In August, Ray's Aunt Marilyn turned 80! Above: she is opening the gift from us. The date on the pic is wrong, it was actually 08/02/2008.

9. Below, is a pic of Marilyn with her nephew, (my dh Ray) and niece, (his sis Cheryl), and some of our children and grandchildren. Is Marilyn not the youngest, (and shortest), octogenarian you've ever seen? She barely comes up to my chin!

L-R: Molly, Sarah, with her husband, Brad behind her, Dan D. (Ruth's fiance), Ray, Ruth, me with Marilyn in front of me, Cheryl, her hubby Darryl, their sons Alan and Kevin, and Alan's wife, Becca holding their daughter Brooklyn. Their son, Brian is standing directly in front of his Great-Great Aunt Marilyn.

10.The next day, we had a get-together at my parents' house to see April and Sarah off. They were both heading back to AZ the following day. Above is my sweet niece Katie, and her cousins, Tiegen and Grayson.

11. Below: "sisters holding sisters"- April is holding cutie-pie, Elizabeth while Sarah has Liz's big sis, Katie in her arms. I think they're all adorable. 12. Above is a "Kodak moment" of my mother reading to 3 of her youngest grandchildren, L to R: Tiegen, Shelby (Connie's daughter), and Grayson. Mom's oldest grandkids are in their mid 30's now. She also has a few great-grandchildren and one great-great-granddaughter!

13. Below is another cute one of "2 sisters and 2 brothers", my brother Bob's little girls and my sister Kathy's little boys on tractors. I'm pretty sure I have the cutest nieces and nephews on the planet...but then, I may be a little biased.

Wordless Wednesday # 8 ~ Hot Pink Magical Kitties?

My dd Molly (R) and her friend, Liz after a face-painting class at a local church's Art Camp.
As you can see, they very creatively "modified" their T-shirts too. Apparently they were not "Pink Tigers" as I had thought, but "magical kitties". Silly me.

Week 19 Weigh-In ~ Up and Running Again

Hey there people! I borrowed a computer from my friend, Lisa. So far, although it seems to be a bit temperamental, it is working for the moment. Meanwhile I will bring my two computers to my son, (the computer geek), and hopefully, he can make one working one out of the two and save all the info on the hardrive of the one I had been using.

In weight loss news, there's not a lot to write about. I was down a whole .6 lb on Monday night for a total weight loss of 31.2 lbs. As long as it keeps going down, I guess I'm happy. However, I am a bit upset with my husband, for some reason he keeps losing at a fast rate than I am...and I guess I should use that as incentive to get off my butt and do some walking or something...I sure as heck don't want to weigh the SAME as him any time soon. You see, when we met, he outweighed me by about exactly 100 lbs...now he doesn't even weigh 20 lbs more. Eeeeek!

My daughter took a picture of us at Yellowstone park about a year ago...in fact she was supposed to get a waterfall in the picture between us...but we were so fat...you couldn't even SEE the waterfall!! I'll have to have her send that one to me again, since it's on my other 'puter, and then have someone take a picture of this year's model of the two of us. Speaking of pictures, I have all kinds of them that I have to get off of my camera and send to various email addresses...post here and there and perhaps even share some of them with you people...Give me a few days to get caught up, okay??? Oh, btw...Happy Birthday Jody!!!!

Week 18 Weigh-In ~ Keeping The Status Quo

Here I am at the library again...just a quick note b4 they kick me off of this 'puter...The good news is, I didn't gain anything this week. The bad news is...I didn't lose anything either. Not an ounce, I stayed exactly the same. But I'm okay with that, I realize that after a few good weeks, there's nothing wrong with maintaining for a week or so. Hopefully, we'll get our home pc up and running again soon...I have lots of pics on my camera to upload. Have a good week!