Burrrrrding in the Burrrrrrkshires....

Help me! I have fallen behind on my blogging and I can't get up...

okay I couldn't resist that.

We have never been to the Burrrrrkshires in the winter. Mainly because it's cold. It's very cold.

But there were birds we wanted to see and we decided to brave the elements, don our winter gear and head north.

We forgot our ice cleats, which would have made the third of a mile walk up, down and up the icy driveway to Sue and Roy's house much easier. What city people we are!

After all, this was exactly the conditions that I bought the damn things for!

D-UH!

How I missed my Stabilicers this weekend.

We were watching our friend's feeder's from the warmth of their living room, when a flock of Common Redpolls-our target bird of the weekend-came to feed. We were so excited! There was one beautiful male with a pink chest. We were so happy!

The next morning it was 18 degrees in Stockbridge MA, in Washington MA, it was 9. We went out birding. I was so cold. I should have brought my flannel lined pants and heavier socks. I just was too lulled by the forecasts of the mid 20's for the area, and forget, they were talking about the highs. Oh well...seeing a flock of Bohemian Waxwings, warmed my heart. (I wished they would have warmed my fingers and toes also)

These Waxwings weren't love birds....

like these two love crazed fools!

We saw another flock of Common Redpolls by a feeder further down the road.

I was so excited to see them again. But so was everyone else in NY and NJ. There was a Common Redpoll eruption this weekend and they were reported, 15 minutes away from the house in Prospect Park, on Long Island and all over New Jersey.

Here is another shot of a waxwing. They are great looking birds.

So seeing that bird eating, reminds me that I haven't been posting my dinner pictures and my weight is reflecting my sloppy attitude toward my diet.

Here are my dinners for Feb 17 and 18th and tomorrow I will start photographing them again.

I tried to make swiss chard pancakes which didn't come out well, and that cheesy mashed cauliflower with meatloaf and tomato sauce.

On, Feb 18, I made more cheesy mashed cauliflower ( I had 2 huge heads to finish up) and grilled chicken with baby bok choy, red peppers and onions.

This weekend, even though I didn't photograph my dinners, I had so many NSV (non scale victories). I took home a huge banana nut muffin, I skipped potatoes 3 times-twice at breakfast, once at dinner), I didn't have lunch at my friends house, when they offered, because I just had breakfast an hour or so earlier. I had fish for an entree, skipped dessert, munched on fruit and had salad for dinner tonight with low fat goat cheese. All these small things hopefully will start to add up to the scale moving south again.

Another in the series of self portraits...

And here are pictures of Stockbridge, MA right after a night of snow falling.

It was a winter wonderland!

We stayed at the Red Lion Inn and had a really great weekend.

Even though, I was really cold, and there was a Redpoll eruption here in Brooklyn, I needed to get away and relax.

RITE AID RIP OFF!!!

I am miserable.

My hip has a dull ache in it.

Rite Aid drug store tried to rip me off (again). Last time they gave me a refund. Lets see what the rip-off artists are going to do this time. They have no idea that it's really not a good idea to rip me off when I am feeling miserable.

My doctor called in a prescription for a Ventolin Inhaler for me. Ventolin is considered a Tier 1 drug on my plan with a $10 co-pay. Rip off Rite Aid didn't have any Ventolin in stock, so they substituted a more expensive Tier 3 drug, called Pro Air. On my plan a Tier 3 drug, has a $50 co-pay. They didn't call me and advise me of the substitution. When I was at the counter questioning why I am being charged $50 for a drug that I am used to paying $10 for, they treated me as if I was some sort of dull witted idiot. They gave me a cock and bull story how I had an insurance deductible to meet. And then they tried to deceive me, by telling me that this was the drug that the doctor ordered. I knew it wasn't because, I specifically asked my doctor to fill it with the less expensive Tier 1 drug.

I called my doctor's office and verified that they did call in an order for Ventolin. I called my health plan and verified the prices with them. Then I called Rite Aid Pharmacy, I was fuming. This is when they admitted that they didn't have the less expensive Ventolin and substituted the more expensive Pro Air. I then called Rite Aid customer service and the woman on the phone didn't quite get why I was annoyed. She thought that they substituted the cheaper drug for the more expensive one, not the other way around. It took me a while to explain to her what happened. And then SHE had the nerve to be annoyed that I informed my insurance company of what had transpired.

I would have complained right away to NYC Consumer Affairs, but on the form, they ask for store's resolution to the situation. You have to give them the opportunity to rectify the situation, before you can report them.

What is annoying is that this is not the first time that Rite Aid has ripped me off. One time they had the nerve to charge me $9.99 for 4 prednisone pills. I found out that any amount that falls under your co-pay doesn't have to be approved by the insurance company. So they added a $2.50 dispensing fee to hike up my cost. After the series of letters I wrote, I received a refund.

Rite Aid's catchy slogan is With Us, It's Personal. Same here with me!

I had lots of vegetables to use up in the house. Tonight I made a stir fry with chicken, onions and red pepper. Larry came to the table with a handful of cashews, it was a good addition.

That's diet Canada Dry green tea ginger ale in the glass, not beer.

day 41

I totally forgot to bring my camera to the restaurant tonight.

D-uh! I am really distracted by the pain in my hip. I was worried that I wasn't going to be able to walk all that well this evening and the dinner project slipped my mind.

So tonight just visualize a Cobb Salad and diet soda.

I did make a really beautiful salad for lunch and photographed it, because I was so proud of it.

I made it for Larry and me. We actually ate lunch together today. I used 1/2 baby greens, 1/2 baby spinach packaged salad mix, roasted beets, blood oranges, goat cheese, walnuts and raisins. I made a vinaigrette from Muscat Orange vinegar, canola oil, spicy brown mustard, salt, pepper and herbs de Provence. (that I bought in Provence). I served it my wok because it was already in the dish rack from last night. I also had a Japanese sweet potato with my salad and a couple of slices of ham.

It's been a long day, made longer by the fact that I am still achy.

Dinner tonight...

Tonight I hit the cookbooks for inspiration. I found a recipe from a cookbook called the New Basic Cookbook from 1989, not so new. It was stir fried broccoli with walnuts. Very easy, I jazzed it up with the addition of some of Larry's hot sauce and sesame seeds. I also had some pasta and sauce, because I wanted to eat less meat.

I have all the ingredients for a great lunch tomorrow. Salad, beets, blood oranges, goat cheese, nuts, raisins. Can't wait.

my poor deprived husband...

He went to read my blog tonight, to find out what I had for dinner and there was no entry. Like old Mother Hubbard's cupboard, my blog board was bare.

I had a horrible day. I woke up really early to get some of my work done. Then I went to the physiatrist to find out what was wrong with my hip and had a cortisone shot in it. The shot only hurt a little bit, but the anticipation was awful. I had other cortisone shots that were much more painful and totally ineffective. I was expecting to hear the crunch of the needle going through the joints as the other shots I had done. But that didn't happen. My hip now just aches at the injection site.

Because of the pain and everything else, I really didn't want a heavy dinner. I craved sweet, cold comfort food. Luckily we don't have cake, cookies or candy in the house, because I would have ploughed through them. Instead I made a big fruit salad with bananas, frozen cherries, pineapple, and nuts and raisins.

I put the fruit salad on top of Fage 0 Greek yogurt and put flax seed and sugar free pancake syrup on top of that. All that really did the trick, I didn't crave sweets afterward and didn't have any guilt about my sweet indulgence either.

But back to my terrible day...I got back home and felt emotionally and physically drained and I still had to work! I managed to get through the workday and then took a nice nap. My hip doesn't hurt as much as it was prior to the shot. But my experience with cortisone is that tomorrow will be an awful day.

I made my coffee and ordered more diet soda from Fresh Direct. What I really want is ice cream and cookies, but I bought blood oranges, 1/2 spinach 1/2 baby green salad, and goat cheese. Tomorrow I am going to make a big salad with all those ingredients, beets and walnuts. Should be good.

day 38

Very lazy day today. Decided to wait to tomorrow when I go to the doctor to find out why my hip hurts every time I take a step on it to exercise. My only venture outside today was to get fruit and vegetables for dinner. I limped home.

Tonights dinner was really easy.

Cheesy mashed cauliflower with broiled turkey tenderloins

A.K.A, turkey breast.

who is the birthday girl today? a day late and a dollar short.

who is the birthday girl today?

who is the birthday girl today?
who is the birthday girl today?
it's litte Shari Zirlin!!!!

That's my Sugar Free birthday cake, they said that it served 3 and it was 270 calories per serving. We served 3 and have 1/2 the cake left.

I have been taking it really easy and cooking very little these past few days.

Dinner Feb 3rd.

Yes that is a Bloody Mary with my meal. I really needed all that vitamin C.

Salad with Blue cheese dressing and a grilled chicken on a roll.

Feb. 4th

Still taking it easy

I made oxtails a couple of days ago.

Like any stew, it tasted better as it aged a few days. That's sweet potato oven fries with sauteed cabbage and the gravy from the oxtails, with a couple of oxtails.

The NY Times had an article about Jamaican Oxtail stew yesterday. Mine sounds so much better. One day when I am not behind on my posts. I will write it out.

Larry said that he hasn't seen his mother enjoy a meal as much as she enjoyed the oxtails since Aunt Rose last made her Baccala.

And here it is...my

Birthday dinner!!!!

Feb 5th.

London Broil with Polenta, steamed asparagus and mixed vegetables.

and finally today's dinner

The brown lump is meatloaf, a baked potato and salad.

The meatloaf was really good.

Another day I'll post my meatloaf recipe.

Yesterday was a dismal day. It was raining, raw and I was chilled to the bone. The only place to go on a miserable day is to a jewelry show. We went to the Newark Museum and saw the show that was there. It was really beautiful.

Today was a great day! We went down the Jersey Shore to Brigantine NWR. It was like a spring day to us. Warm (in the 40's), no snow and sunny.

The Mansion at Historic Batsto Village, NJ.

What's missing? Snow, maybe???

Everyone we saw said Hello! to us. I am so not used to strangers wishing you a good day.

One of the volunteers offered to take our picture. So here is a rare picture of us together.

We only saw one Great Blue Heron at Brig today.

and only one Barred Owl!

Considering that this was Super Bowl Sunday

this was one Superb Owl to see today.

XOXOXOXO OX

Not much in the mood to write...

I am exhausted from a spin class.

I made a big pot of oxtails,

I love oxtails, yum.

oxtails...yum!!!!

And here is it plated

a real good dinner for a winter's night.

stick to your ribs good.