Happy New Year!

As the rather tumultuous 2012 draws to a close, I wanted to thank everyone who reads and comments on LFD. I know my posting has been erratic this year, but I appreciate all of you sticking with me and encouraging me through the ups and downs. You are a fun, smart, vibrant group of people, and my life is richer with all of you in it.



I will be posting tomorrow about my resolutions -- I have a few this year, unlike last year -- and playing catch-up on some other items -- but the main resolution I am making is to post more often in 2013. Who knows, maybe I will get myself on a schedule like Shelley and Helen! (I can't possibly do a daily one like Sheila. That kind of discipline eludes me.) Blogging is a lot of fun, and it really does help me strengthen my habits. So that's my main resolution.



I hope you all have a safe, warm and fun New Years Eve. 2013 is coming! What will be in store for us next? I am looking forward to finding out.

October musings

October is my favorite month. Fall is always truly here; the last vestiges of Indian summer that dog September have faded, and that unmistakable nip in the air feels refreshing after long months of sweltering heat. The bitter cold of winter is fast approaching, but it's easy to push it away in the brilliant sunshine.



October is pumpkins: soups and breads, and huge displays of fat orange gourds everywhere. Sweaters and coats getting worn again. Soups and oatmeal replacing salads and cereal. Leaves turning brilliant shades of yellow, orange and red, crunching under our feet.



Even though I don't follow the sport much, every Saturday in October feels like football weather.



October is also my wedding anniversary; this Friday will be our sixteenth. 16!! That doesn't seem possible.



October starts the whole holiday season; we start to nail down our plans for Thanksgiving and Christmas, deciding whose family we are visiting for each. Discussing how many vacation days we need, booking flights and hotel rooms. Lately I have been hosting Thanksgiving at home for my in-laws, so October is the month when I get to menu-plan. One of my favorite chores. :)



October, of course, is Halloween. I still remember as a kid, bundling up in long underwear under my hobo costume, or trying to figure out how to wear a coat and gloves and still look like a scary witch.  I loved walking through our neighborhood with my sisters and my dad, trick or treating from house to house. (Mom stayed home to pass out candy. This was always Dad's holiday.) As I grew up, Halloween celebrations turned into adult parties with drinking and sometimes skimpy costumes, then giving up costumes (and parties) entirely, then just eating way too much candy at work. Now with Babyfriend around, trick-or-treating is coming full circle back to my Octobers, and it feels right.



The only thing I don't like about October is that it goes by much too fast.

Thank you, Mom

Dear Mom,

Thank you for teaching me to work hard, to be proud of myself, and to value education. I've watched you go from beauty queen and the doted-upon baby sister, to an elegant wife and hostess, to a dedicated teacher for those hardest to teach, to a principal and leader who commands and earns respect from all of those around her. You showed me by example that self re-invention is not only possible, but it is the very best way to grow and evolve.





Thank you for teaching me how to throw a great party. To make sure there is plenty of interesting food, to ensure all the small details like napkins and forks are within everyone's grasp without them even noticing, to provide the right kind of space for conversations and interaction. Most of all, thank you for teaching me how to interact at those parties; from you I learned the often-overlooked art of making small talk and making people feel comfortable and welcome. I will never forget driving in the car to Old Lyme every summer for the Yale dining hall party, listening to you quiz Dad on the names of his employees' children and wives. I fondly remember the seemingly-impromptu boat cookouts and vacation dinners, and the days of planning that went into our annual Christmas brunch and all of Yale football tailgate parties. I can't express how much I still miss all of those. I loved your parties so much.


Summer cookout on Block Islands, late 70s


Pina Colada party in Montauk, early 90s


Surprise party for Dad, 2007 or 2008

Thank you for teaching me how to be a loving wife and partner.  I didn't marry a guy like Dad; I modeled my marriage after yours. I watched you stay together and lean on each other through good times and bad, and I found someone I could do the same with. Watching you, I learned that marriage is hard work requiring compromise and patience, and it is well worth the trouble. You also taught me that marriage is private, just between me and my spouse, and everyone else's opinions and thoughts about it don't matter. I don't share it with my girlfriends, my sister, or even you; it's mine and my husband's, and it is the most important relationship I will ever have.







Thank you for teaching me to be a liberal Democrat, proud citizen, and contributing member of society. You were never very religious and neither am I, but because of you I understand right down to my bones that it is our responsibility as Americans to help those who can't help themselves, to feed the hungry, and to care for the ill and elderly. That government is "for the people", and should be used as such; it is there to protect us from corporations' and humanity's own ability to harm each other. Everything I believe about politics, government, and how we should behave toward each other in general, stems from what you taught and showed me.








Thank you for teaching me the value of self-beauty. I rebelled against it and you for many years -- as is a daughter's wont -- but a few years back I finally embraced the concept of fashion and makeup and style, and most of all, your contribution to my own style preferences. I look back at pictures of you from the 70s and 80s and I wish I had paid more attention then; I still remember those cool jungle print hostess pants you had, and the velvet-and-bangled Miss Connecticut gowns we used to sneak into the hall closet to pet softly.





Thank you for teaching me how to be a great storyteller, using humor, timing, and a flair for the dramatic to make my point. I even find myself doing your silly voices or breaking out in song (much to my husband's dismay, LOL). Listening to other people in meetings "um um um" or trail off without finishing their thought, I am grateful every day that you taught me how to express myself in forthright speech and demeanor. Sometimes we're both a little too big for the room, but I wouldn't have us any other way.



Thanks for everything, Mom. I love you.

P. S. Happy Mother's Day. :)

Friday Bouquet

1. Wow, thanks to everyone who chimed in with some awesome righteous indignation on my behalf as well as some excellent ideas to get me to incorporate 30 minutes of daily exercise for the Bottom Line Challenge at work. Lots and lots of good ideas, and you all definitely nudged me out of my foul mood about it.

Especially my sister, who responded with a cheery, "Suck it up, buttercup!" 

Nice, right? ;-D



 2. Since it is going to have to be every day, I think using a flexible combination of exercise types will work best; I can adjust depending on my time and stress levels of the day. Some of the ones I will be doing are:

-Wii yoga in the morning, either 15 or 30 minute increments
-Wii dancing in the morning, either 15 or 30 minute increments
-walking with Hubby in the early evening
-walking on breaks with co-workers
-walking on my own, with my "cans" on and zoning out to my music
-possibly swimming on the weekend mornings. I have to check if the park district pool has morning lap time on the weekends, or I might look into joining another gym with more pools.
-10-minute increments with the weights and heehee the Shakeweight I bought and never used while watching TV
-make sure my membership at the Chicago Botanic Garden is renewed and do some weekend morning walks there. (Where all the photos in this post were taken over the years. You can thank my mom and dad for buying me a membership for Christmas for many years.)

I'll be starting this weekend.



3. Weirdly, the one suggestion that I won't be doing right away is buying new exercise clothes. I have drawers full of them already; buying cute workout clothes has been my usual default preparation step when I think I am going to start working out, and honestly, those drawers of barely-worn clothes have been just another reminder of my repeated failure to actually implement those plans. So I don't really need them, and I don't want them. I don't want to do this the same way I've done it before; clearly that hasn't worked. So I am just jumping in and wearing what I already have. Maybe later as a reward I'll buy something cute. :)



4. I am so, so glad you guys are enjoying the "They Walk Among Us" series. I am absolutely loving it; while everyone is so different, there are certain themes that echo among all of them, and have already taught me a lot about my own journey.

• Losing significant weight stretches out over a long period of time. Patience and persistence over the ups and downs is necessary; just don't give up.
• There isn't one particular diet that works for everyone, and many of them used a variety of them along the way. 
• Eating whole, healthy food is how you take it off and keep it off.
• Exercise in some form is required.

5. I do have several more interviews queued up, but if you are a maintainer and are willing to tell your story, I would love to have you join us! Email me at lowfatdressing1012@gmail.com and I will send you the questions. I hope to hear from you!!



6. This week has been so strange: my husband has been in London for work, I've had a training class onsite for most of the week so there have been new people roaming the office and I've been working late, and of course the weather has been so amazing the windows are wide open at home all day long.  The cats are completely befuddled; all of their routines are disturbed and there is a person missing in the house. They are not pleased.

Hubby comes home this afternoon, and next week will be our first week of having a full staff on my team. I am sure the first few weeks will be just as busy as the last ones, since the two new people need to get up to speed, but I am beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Hurray!

Have a lovely weekend, everyone.



1. African Daisies, 2. Purple echinacea, 3. Field in wider perspective, 4. Orange and Purple coneflowers in a field, 5. Gargoyle Fountain, Spring, 6. Irises around the pond, 7. Faces to the sun, 8. A welcoming entrance, 9. Baby Blue Eyes, 10. Inverted Baby Blue Eyes, 11. Like, wow. Totally., 12. Lilies of the Valley, 13. Bleeding Heart, 14. Allium, 15. Colombine, 16. African Daisy

Winter Foods

I am obsessed with butternut squash right now. Every recipe I save to Pinterest -- like the one above from Budget Bytes -- involves butternut squash.

That's not necessarily a bad thing.

Winter is a time when we bundle up, when we bulk up against the cold. There are tons of studies documenting how most people gain 5-10 pounds in the winter (and then lose it in the spring. Who are these people and how do I become one of them?) Sure, right now there are many holiday foods and parties, but in party-less January and February, it will still be cold and there will still be lots of carbs and fattening foods around. I disagree with the premise that it's the holidays that cause winter weight gain; I think it's the foods that are in season, and sheer primal instinct.

Think about what types of natural foods are able to be stored over winter, versus what is available in the summer. Summer squash and zucchini versus kabocha and acorn squash, delicate leaf lettuce over hardy kale, tomatoes versus potatoes. Winter foods are usually "starchier", which we have been conditioned from years of dieting to think of as bad things.

But they're not. The "bad thing" is the processed version of those foods. For example, French fries have almost no nutritional value (especially when most aren't even made out potatoes anymore), whereas a baked potato is loaded with nutrients and will keep you satisfied much longer. (Just don't bog it down with sour cream, bacon, etc.) Bread is not the enemy; fluffy white bread is as effective for your digestive system as eating a piece of cardboard, but a nice slice of whole-grain bread will fill you up and keep everything humming along. Sweet potatoes are great for you; candied yams from a jar then covered in marshmallows are not.

The trick is to concentrate on bulking up with the good winter foods. The kind that replenish our Vitamin C and D (to make up for the lost sunshine), the creamy ones like squash that offer comfort and good carbs with few calories. Eating Well had a list of the 5 Healthiest Winter Foods. I could easily incorporate 4 out of the five in next week's menus:

1. Pomegranate. I had this one on my list for this week, but I didn't have time to make it. Pomegranate seeds, mint, and goat cheese with quinoa (or couscous, my choice).

2. Swiss Chard. I am terrible about eating leafy greens beyond spinach. Maybe this is the winter we finally go for it.

3. Oranges. I have already expressed my love for oranges in this blog. The clementines are great right now, and I saw bags of tangerines at my market last week. Mmm, great snacks for the afternoon.

4. Potatoes. This potato-leek soup WILL be made, and darned soon. I love the idea of some chopped olives on top of the crouton; potato soup can be bland, but a nice dose of salty savory would take this dish to a higher taste level.

I am also thinking about just baking off a couple of potatoes on Sundays and reheating to eat later in the week. I love, love, love the thick skin of a good baked potato done just right in the oven; they wrap them in foil in restaurants so the skin never thickens up like they do at home. And they're so easy! Even peeling and boiling up some only takes about 20 minutes. (Mom and Dad, I am completely flummoxed by your love of the Idahoan instants. The real thing just cannot be beat.)

5. Butternut squash. See the recipe at the start of this post, or the soup I made two weeks running. I will be substituting whole wheat pasta in the recipe above, of course; we haven't had white pasta in our house for years.

I would add a few more foods that I crave more in the winter than other seasons:

6. Popcorn
7. Cabbage
8. Milk
9. Olives
10. Carrots

My goal right now is to keep my kitchen stocked with these winter staples. I keep the potatoes and squash in bowls on my counter, constant tantalizing reminders to stick to the basic, that these are not my enemies. The candy bowl at work -- THAT'S my enemy. (So to speak.) I have mini-bags of microwave popcorn in my desk, ready in minutes to fight against the lure of the candy bowl.

I am so in love with my new grocery store, because it has a lot of Polish food, the fattening delicious stuff right alongside the veggies. It's good to remember to eat BOTH; one of my favorite meals growing up was the one pot of boiled carrots, potatoes, and kielbasa, with a side of sauerkraut or boiled cabbage (and lots of mustard). But as we have gotten older, I've noticed that the veggie part of the meal faded away, at my in-laws and at my house. So we have made a concerted effort to bring it back. My husband and I ate a variation of that this week: we (he, actually; he likes to cook this one for us) cut up a couple of small kielbasa into silver-dollar slices and sauteed them in a skillet of shredded cabbage, carrots, garlic and Polish seasoning. Then he boiled a handful of mini pierogi stuffed with potato and cheese. It was delicious, portion-controlled with a base of veggies and full of memories and comfort.

Perfect for winter.

I am betting this winter I can eat all of these starchy foods, and still lose weight. It's about moderation, balance, and satisfaction; they can all be a regular part of your diet, whether you are dieting or not.

What kind of winter foods are you craving right now? Are you making an effort to incorporate any into your meals?

Team Infinity Scarf, represent!

Angie at YLF posted a Team poll about whether we preferred regular scarves to infinity scarves, and I was amazed at how many people not just preferred regular scarves, but actively pooh-poohed the infinity scarf! Heresy!

Ok, maybe I have been a little spoiled; the last couple of years it has become a regular thing for my mother-in-law (with the help of my fashionable sister-in-law) to buy me an infinity scarf for Christmas and/or my birthday, so I now have a small but lovely collection of them. Don't get me wrong, I looooove my scarf collection, but these days it is definitely the infinity style that I keep reaching for again and again.



As I said on Angie's post, what I like about them is the way they lay flat on my chest, and that there aren't edges or fringe to deal with.






They work for business casual and for casual. And they're so pretty!






They're just fun!



They're Spidey and Elvis approved!

Do you wear infinity scarves? Why or why not?