Going to Weight Watchers (updated at bottom)

Hello! Hope you had a nice weekend. We did. The weather was good, some projects were worked on, and everyone is healthy. We had a speaker from a missionary organization come and talk about their work in Mexico and Papua New Guinea -- fascinating as always. Ever since I was a little girl, whenever the missionaries would come, after hearing them speak and seeing the pictures, I was ready to get on the next plane. Things haven't changed. I'm mentally off to Papua New Guinea this week. Makes me wish I'd gotten that medical degree after all since I'm qualified to do exactly nothing on the missionfield. Maybe one day that can be rectified, I don't know. Six children isn't ALL that many, right?

I was planning to do a Wandering Weekend post but since we didn't go anywhere, due to the current need here at home for curriculum planning (got new science curriculum that needed looked at and planned for), yard and garden work, and stuff like that. Annie turned 4 weeks old yesterday, so she is still a little young to tote around to public events anyway.

Recently I got the movie Babe from the library for my little kids -- they loved it, and I was hoping to get them to a local sheepdog demonstration this past weekend. But, never mind. I know they do the demo's at the local fairs in the summer, so we'll have a look then. I grew up watching sheepdog comps and I love them. Such well-trained, clever little dogs.

I will share with you that I am, today, getting serious about managing my weight. I'll also share with you the previously top secret info that I currently weigh at least 225 lbs! Considering that is only 4lbs less than what I weighed 4 weeks ago at 41 weeks pregnant, that's not really a good omen for the future. And my body is complaining a LOT. I have joint pain anyway, have for years, but the past few weeks have been torturous with pain in my lower back and hip joints. It's always worse after I have a baby, due, the doc says, to fluctuating hormone levels. So just when I plan to feel better, after having a baby -- I don't. And I guess all the extra weight doesn't help much.

So tonight I am toddling (waddling?) off to Weight Watchers, to sign up for the umpteenth time. I need retraining. And an audience. And encouragement. And to lose at least 75lbs.

I'm putting a ticker in the sidebar for bragging rights for me, or nagging rights for you. Accountability is a good thing, right?

I spent some time this weekend writing appropriate recipes that I would actually use, on index cards. I have all the recipes that I use on index cards. It's easier than looking them up in the collection of cookbooks. Also, when I make up my weekly menu, I can just pull the index cards, keep them in an easily-accessible spot, and I can see at a glance which side goes with which main dish, what ingredients I need, and whether I need the crockpot or the oven or what (I code for these things in the corner of the cards).

So today I will make up my menu for the week, since tonight is also grocery shopping night, and get the recipe cards out, and make my grocery list, and I'll be good to go.

Now, I have a question for you. Does anyone have a good way to keep raccoons from fishing from your garden pond? The kids have already lost two of their koi and we are pretty sure it's raccoons. Not sure what to do about it. Nature is awesome. LOL.
---------------------------update below -------------------------------------------------------
So, I just got back from my first WW meeting. First in a couple ways: first American meeting, first using their new Momentum program, and first time I've ever gone away from a WW meeting with a sugar high and melted chocolate on my jeans. (Is this a good thing? I think yes. I mean, no. Or whatever. Yum. Sigh.)

Bad news: According to their scales, I weigh 5lbs more than I do on mine. Which puts me at, yes, ONE POUND HEAVIER THAN WHEN I ARRIVED AT THE HOSPITAL, 40wks, 6days pregnant, TO HAVE THE BABY, FOUR WEEKS AGO.

Oh my.

See why I didn't wait to go.

Wish me luck!