Top Ten Ways.......

Top Ten Ways You Can Tell You Are a Victim of Snow-Mageddon 2010

10. You don't even bother putting the shovel way.

09. You have played at least on MMORPG.

08. The forecasters call for six more inches of snow and you don't even bat an eyelash.

07. Taking a trip to Target or McDonalds is the most exciting thing in the world.

06. You have dressed your pets up at least once.

05. You can put on your gloves, hat, scarf and jacket in under 30 seconds.

04. You understand what the Torrance family from "The Shining" went through.

03. You swear you have seen either a polar bear or The Thing walk by your window.

02. You have watched so much TLC that you can name all 19 Dugger children.

01. You have joined a Facebook group about the 2010 February Winter Storm.

The only thing that is keeping me sane right now

As a lot of the women can attest, there is nothing worse than being stuck inside and being on a diet.

All you want to do is eat comfort food, but you can't.

Thanks to Hungry Girl (HG), this awesome Web site that gives low fat/calorie options on favorite foods, I can have some of the foods that I love.

One thing that I love are cupcakes! (But, who doesn't.)

Cupcakes, and cake, are such a staple in our culture that it is hard to imagine going to a party and not eating one.

But HG is to the rescue with her Yum Yum Brownie Muffins recipe.

You take a box of cake mix (HG suggests that you use devil's food but I have used white cake mix as well and it has turned out really good) and a 15 oz. can of pumpkin.

You mix the two together and don't add anything else. (I know you are thinking who in the world wants pumpkin in their chocolate cupcakes, but just trust me.) The batter will be really thick, but don't add anything else.

Dispense the batter into 12 muffin tins that are sprayed with Pam or have the cupcake papers in them.

Stick them in an 400 degree oven for 20 minutes and BAM, you have the most deliciously moist cupcakes you have ever tasted, with no pumpkin flavor insight!

Here is the best part, each muffin is 181 calories, 3.5 grams of fat and 2 grams of fiber. For those of you doing Weight Watchers that is three points!

The only problem with the recipe, at least where I live, is trying to find cans of pumpkin. My DH went to the store and bought me three of the five cans of pumpkin that were left on the shelf.

I guess the secret about the Yum Yum Brownie Muffins is out!

My Alli

According to recent statistics one out of three women and one out of four men, at any given time, are on a diet.

If that dieting statistic is not enough for you, Americans spend over 40 billion dollars, that's right it reads BILLION, a year on dieting and dieting supplies.

America is the land of milk and honey, and outrageous diets to purge ourselves of the milk and honey.

I have had my fair share of milk and honey and tries at weight loss.

I am the queen bee of diets.

I have tried the peanut butter diet, the ice cream diet, Richard Simmons Food Mover diet, the hospital diet, Slim Fast, Weight Watchers, counting calories and those are the ones that I can remember at this time.

I even tried meeting with a nutritionist for a year, in which I was on a low-carb diet and lost about 50 pounds with the diet and prescribed diet pills.

But, after the pills stopped working so well, my doctor pretty much said that I would have to lose the weight on my own and really did not give me any options.

I had felt like I had failed, just like I had done with all the other diets.

So, I did what I do best when I get upset and I ate and put on about 20 of the 50 pounds that I had lost.

This brings me to about a month a go when I decided I really need to lose this weight, and lose it for good.

My biggest motivation is the cruise we are going to be taking in October. Since most of our time will be spent in a bathing suit, I want to make sure I feel comfortable. (Notice I said "feel comfortable" not "look good" not "look hot." This is one of the biggest changes I have had to make in my mindset; I need to just be comfortable with who I am, not be skinnier or look better than the girl next to me.)

So after we signed the papers for the cruise, I decided to dig out my Weight Watcher books and give it a try again. The diet was fairly simple. I could eat what I wanted to as long as I remained in my allotted amount of points for the day.

I also have decided to give the diet pill another shot and this time I am trying Alli.

I know everyone has heard about the "treatment effects." But, if I stay in my allotted amount of fat, than I have nothing to worry about. This will at least keep me honest.

So this morning, I took my first pill. I am a little nauseous, but that could just be my nerves because of ingesting a new pill.

I also used my Wii Fit this morning and I had lost 5 pounds since I last weighed myself 24 days ago!

I am just determined to make it work this time and say farewell to the fat for good!

If anyone is reading this, and has any questions about Alli or Weight Watchers please feel free to leave a comment and I will get back to you.