Um, guess what? It’s January in Chicago.
My brother Charlie sent me this hat for Christmas. I sent him a picture of me wearing it and his reply was “sorry you have to use it!”
At least it was sunny out!
Breakfast was a mix of sweet and savory. Blueberry pancake (4), hard boiled egg (2), 4 slices of 97% reduced fat ham (1), the last tangerine from my parents-in-law and some blueberries. 7 points for the whole plate.
I was super busy at work – so busy I worked right through lunch and ate at my desk. The day went by fast though! I reheated my chicken tikka masala with 1/2 cup of rice and sauteed zucchini, with apples and blueberries on the side. The apples I got this week on sale are called Cameo apples and I wish I would have bought more. I love the texture and it’s a bit sweet and tart at the same time. Lunch comes in at 9 smart points.
I am loving doing my own dinner at home. No more wondering whose hungry, who ate a late lunch, etc. And I have to remember that the kadults have coffee shop hours – either super early, or closing, so they aren’t necessarily ready to eat at 7 p.m. like I am. I had chicken soba noodle stir fry on my menu, but I just wasn’t feeling it. So, after pizza, tacos will always be the next best thing. I used one Ole Wellness tortilla (1) one Old El Paso crunchy taco (2) four ounces of cooked chicken (3) that I sautéed with salsa sent from my blog reader Jaclyn – love this stuff!
Then filled my tacos with chopped fresh kale, red cabbage, pickled jalapenos, Red Gold sriracha salsa, and Chobani’s mezze dip (1). Two tacos for 7 smart points #winning!
Some people thought that the Ole one point tortillas taste gummy to them – I actually like that they are soft and pliable. And 11 grams of fiber! Oh, and because it’s the dead of winter, and it’s dark by the time I get home, I thought you’d like to see my new photo studio set up!
I am sure all the professional food photographers use their corner lamp in their dining room to take pictures. 
I decided against going to the gym last night because it was just so cold. The thought of driving 15 minutes, working out and getting sweaty, then going back outside in single digits did not do it for me. But luckily Hannah and Jacob bought me Apple TV last year, and I went to youtube to find a workout.
This workout was 37 minutes long, and I liked that it gave you a count down of not only how much longer each exercise was, but how close you were to finishing.
This was actually really hard – I was about to do about 85% of it, and was sweaty at the end, and I loved the stretching at the end, which always reminds me that I don’t stretch enough.
The funny thing about watching exercise videos on my Apple TV is just like the computer, it will go to the next video, and it went to “Pets vs. Exercise!” This was pretty much how Roman was during my warm up:
So today is my second WI of being on track. I don’t know if it will be a slight loss since I lost 3.8 pounds last year, or not, but I had a good week. I have Blue Dots! Blue Dots are on the WW app – I get 30 points a day + 37 flex points for the week. If my points stay between 27-37 per day, I get rewarded with a blue dot.
You may notice that I didn’t track at all during the middle weeks of December! And I haven’t had any wine since Christmas day, so that helps me stay within my points – but let’s be honest, I never counted points for wine anyway, which may have been another reason why I maintained! 
My boss is back at work today. Not sure how busy it will be, but I plan on taking the earlier train and weighing in before work, so I won’t have to wait in line on my lunch break and miss the meeting.
It’s another cold day Chicago – only 74 days until the first day of spring! Ha – make it a great day!
Thursday Thought: “Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending. – Carl Bard
I’m just not willing to give up wine! I do track it though – and I limit it to Friday and/or Saturday. I’ve been doing workout DVD’s too — way too cold here to be walking. You’re doing awesome Biz!
Thanks B! I thought it would be harder to give up but last year I went from New Years until the end of March without any alcohol ? ? ????
Congrats on the awesome WI these lasts two weeks!
Thanks Amanda! Sorry I got in late and didn’t have a chance to talk to you – stay warm!
Happy New Year to my blue dot friend!!!! Hugs!
Thanks Roz! Happy New Year 😀
Love the quote, Biz!
Thanks Carrie! Hope you stay warm! 😛
Breakfast, lunch look wonderful. You had me at dinner too until I read there is kale in the tacos. I just can’t seem to do the raw kale yet. Maybe with all the other stuff on the tacos I could get past it. I know it is suppose to be good for us. 🙂 Big smile on cooking for just yourself. Great job on finding the workout video. What I want to know is how do you have space somewhere to do such a workout? I always wondered when you were doing your insanity workouts. Maybe I should clear out my dining room and turn it into a workout area. I can’t remember the last time it was used.
Kym, I never used to like kale either, but I was cutting the stem with the leaves like romaine lettuce, and the stem is what tastes like ass. I don’t like it really cooked though 😛
Well look at it this way Kym, I get home at 6:30 and I normally don’t go to bed until 11:00 – so that’s 4 1/2 hours to get a lot done. When I did Insanity I usually did it from 8-9 p.m. while Tony watched one of his shows I didn’t like. I haven’t watched any t.v. at night since Christmas day, so that helps!
Beth, where do you get the 1-point Ole tortillas? I’d like to try them!
Thanks!
Hey Karen! Walmart – click the link in my post to see what they look like ???
You know I always hate to see your weather get really cold because generally whatever Chicago gets, we get a few days later. I’m just going to concentrate on the fact that it’s sunny here today, which is nice after all the grey, wet, foggy, crappy days we’ve had.
Your new hat looks almost identical to my head sox that I use for running when it gets below 20 degrees. Mine actually will close up my entire face except my eyes – not my favorite way to dress for running but necessary in those temps!
Yep, this one closes up really tight over my face, but I was in the train station and it gets hit under there ? we have highs in the teens until next week, then temps above normal – 35 will feel balmy!
Hi Biz
My daughter in law and some of my WW group are doing the blue dot challenge. We see how many does we can get for the month. It’s very motivating.
We also challenge each other on reaching daily step goal on Fitbit.
Cathy from Balance Board
Can you add me to your Fitbit friend group? Mybizzykitchen@gmail.com ???
The light above my dining table and in the kitchen is pretty bright for winter photography.
I know professional Dutch food bloggers either cook their meals for their blogs in the afternoon during Winter or use a Daylight lamp.
You’re on a roll at the beginning of the year. Congrats.
I feel good Fran – ditching the wine is always the first step because I love my wine ? ? but I never really measured or counted the points for it ?