Tip of the day: iPad screen lock

Ever since I upgraded iTunes to the latest version, my screen lock has been gone. It's been driving me crazy. Sometimes I like to read in bed and if I turn to the side the screens turns too. It kept bugging me that Apple made the change of having the switch on the right side of the iPad be a silent mode instead of a screen lock. All this time I've been grumbling that it was so stupid of them to make that change -- and how in the hell do I get back my screen lock.

Well, leave it to my 10 year-old nephew Caleb to be the one to find the key to locking the screen. I love that little boy!

How to lock your screen on the iPad:

Double click on the Home button (right above the synch slot) and you will see your most recent apps used come up on the bottom of the screen. This let's you move from app to app. Now take your finger and slide that row of apps to the right. You will see a lock key and also a rewind, play and forward button; and a brightness and volume adjuster. (I didn't know these were there either.) Click on the lock to set it to whatever orientation you want. Simple.

Remembering Dale Earnhardt

Ten years ago today the sporting world lost a great man. Dale Earnhardt, Sr. lost his life in the last lap at the Daytona 500 on February 18, 2001. It was a brutal crash and this year, Speed TV put out a great story on Dale that includes clips from the race and footage I've never seen from after the race. The movie was so tastefully made and tells the story through the eyes of those that were there that day.

Dale Earnhardt was one of those men who was so good at what he did you either loved him or hated him. But through it all you had to respect him for his accomplishments. His nickname was "The Intimidator" and he drove the black number 3 car. Many who have raced since his passing have tried to emulate him but none will ever replace him. He was a special person and only wanted to do one thing in life -- race. He could care less if you liked him or what you thought of him but you'd better get out of his way.

These two quotes are my favorite ones of his:

“Put a kerosene rag around your ankles so the ants won’t climb up there and eat that candy ass.”

“God created bumpers for a reason."

I wasn't a fan of NASCAR in 2001. I didn't actually start watching it until around 2005. I had been a fan of Indy Car racing when I was a kid then after Danny Sullivan left I quit watching. My dad has always been a huge fan of racing so I started watching the NASCAR races with him as a way to spend some time with him. I'm so glad I did.

When I visited Charlotte last May, I had a chance to visit the Dale Earnhardt Inc. Museum and it was magnificent. Pictures, trophies and everything you'd ever want to see about Dale Earnhardt. I'm hoping to take my father and the kids there this year.

I know had I been watching NASCAR back then I would have loved Dale Sr. As it is, his death has impacted me so much all these years later and he simply won't be forgotten. Rest in peace Dale.

Here is a great story NBC did on Dale.

Recommitting to Weight Watchers

The last time I was completely on plan with Weight Watchers was December 8, 2010. That was the last time I had a loss at a weigh-in. Then I started baking holiday goodies for my family and preceded to eat everything that wasn't tied down. When I weighed in again at the beginning of the year, I had gained 6.2 pounds in those short weeks. Incredible.

Was it worth it? Absolutely not.
Was I proud of myself? Absolutely not.
Did it kick my butt in gear and get me back on plan? Absolutely not.

What did make me want to get back on that horse was reading all these weight loss blogs and hearing the success other people were having.

I finally weighed in tonight and stayed the same which in my opinion was a success because I still had not completely gotten back to tracking everything until today. NOW I feel like I am on track and ready to get back to it! So thank you to everyone who is sharing their story!

This week's Twitter Weight Watchers chat (#wwchat) came while I was still at work so I'm answering the questions here again:

1) Do you plan your meals ahead for the week, why or why not, and does it work?
{I'm not that organized to plan ahead like that. I do have recipes that I know I want to make, like this sauteed shrimp and zucchini, but it just depends on how the work week is going.}


2) What are some of the ways you prepare or things you bring to work or travel to help you stay on plan?
{When I was traveling a lot for work, I would literally pack a box of goodies to carry with me so I wouldn't snack on fattening foods. I actually posted about this a while back. I also keep a drawer at work with WW friendly snacks as I tend to eat more when I am stressed - which happens at work a lot.}


3) What are some low point fast food options you reach for if need be?
{My local Randall's has this snack pack that has carrots, pretzels, grapes and cheese that comes out to 3WW points. I will keep some of these in the refrigerator at work occasionally. I also like to have apples, bananas and oranges readily available. And Jiffy Pop Kettle Popcorn and sweet pickles. My newest favorite though is this 2pt Lemon Mousse Pie mini bar from Weight Watchers - so delicious. Tiny but delicious.}


4) What keeps you going to meetings each week?
{I've been awful at going to meetings so I'm going to hope others can help with this question.}

Tip of the day: Size does matter -- at least in URL's

I am not a lazy person, but I do not like to hit the shift key when I am typing if I don't need to. I've been known to type sentences with a small letter starting the sentence because the computer/iPhone/iPad didn't change it for me.

But all that changed when I typed in a shortened link (from ow.ly) and got something completely different than what I was expecting. I was looking for the cupcake recipe Paula Deen shared on Facebook. I mean, come on, it was a microwaveable cupcake that baked in around :90 seconds. what I got was a gentleman who talks about social media. Granted, I'm now following him on Twitter but the point is that he's not what I was looking for. And all because I typed in ow.ly/3twhg instead of ow.ly/3TWhG.

So the tip is: pay attention to capitalization for shortened links; or make sure you copy and paste from now on.

my weight watchers relapse

I have been struggling with sticking to my Weight Watchers plan ever since Thanksgiving. That darn turkey and dressing did me in man! Instead of regrouping and getting back on the wagon I kept on eating right through the new year and broke the wagon.

When I am doing horrible with tracking and eating, I have a tendency to skip meetings. I finally worked up the nerve to go back to a meeting on January 5th. I wasn't shocked when the scale showed I had gained 6 lbs. but I was angry at myself.

I know better than to eat six cookies in one sitting. I know better than to grab a snack pack (fried chicken and fries) because it's on the way home. I know I'm supposed to drink water, lots of water, every day but still it sits there at my desk while I go buy another diet coke. Just because I drink diet now doesn't mean I can go crazy drinking it. I know the food I have been cooking isn't the healthiest but I do it so I can add something to my cooking blog. I know all this is bad for me so why do I let myself keep doing it.

Today's lunch was the end of the rope for me. Carl's Jr. thank you very much! Just because I got the low carb burger I thought I was doing good. Don't believe it. That burger WITHOUT THE BUN was 13 friggin points. That did it for me. After work I went to the grocery store and stocked up on fruit and points plus friendly lunches.

When I got home I checked in on Twitter and saw that @foodiemcbody was in a #wwchat. Well hello! It was a sign! I found some peeps who are going through what I am going through and we can offer each other support. I'm looking forward to chatting with everyone. And thanks to @gettinfitbritt and @tryn2bfit for welcoming me with open arms. They shared some questions that were asked tonight so let me get to them:

1) What are your trigger foods? IE-- what are foods you can't keep in your house or avoid eating because you'd eat too much?
{I would say any sweets. Especially Girl Scout Cookies. And bread. Ugh I've got to get off white bread.}

2) What are things you can do to not eat when you're not physically hungry?
{Read. Or work out.}

3) What do you do when you find that you are eating emotionally or out of boredom?!
{I usually bury myself in work but that is not good either because I also eat when I am stressed. I could definitely use some suggestions here.}

4) What do you do to get the people around you exercising and healthier?
{I try to get my nephews to use the Wii or Kinect to get some exercise. I love to cook so I usually try to cook healthy foods when I'm not sabotaging myself.}

Tip of the day: Snapshot/Print Screen from your iPhone or iPad

I am a big believer in "print screen" on the computer. It has helped me out so much. There have been times when I am on my iPad or iPhone and wanted to grab a snapshot of what is on my screen. Like if I had a particularly hilarious auto correct that I would want to submit to "Damn you, auto correct!".

And then there are times when I don't want the screen to save and lo and behold it ends up in my photo library. Nothing dirty now, just a pic of my high score on Ranch Rush or something innocent like that.

I couldn't believe how simple it was to do this and how long I wondered how to do it. I hope I'm not the only one.

How to print screen/snapshot from your iPad or iPhone.

Simultaneously hold down the power button (located at the top) and the home button (smack in the middle at the bottom). You only have to hold them down together for a second and release it. You will see a blank screen for a split second and then it will show up in your library.

Easy peasy.

"A Family is a Gift that Lasts Forever" Mini Scrapbook

This mini scrapbook goes back to Mother's Day 2005 and is something that I absolutely treasure. It sits on my desk at my office and brings a smile to my face every time I see it. I made one each for me, my mom and my sister to get a snapshot of the kids favorite things, their handwriting and what they felt for each of us at 4 1/2 years old. Their answers were so funny and at that age, writing that much for 3 different books was not fun -- I had to do them with the kids in batches and in secret.









These do take time to complete but they are fairly easy to make and is something you will always look back on with fondness. I had completely forgotten that Caleb used to call me "Mr. Bossy Pants" until I saw it written down. I can't wait for him to wake up in the morning so I can remind him of this. I can actually hear him saying the words now. Or maybe I won't remind him - he may start calling me "Ms. Crabby Pants" now that he knows the difference between Mr. and Ms.

I've gotten out of the habit of scrapbooking but revisiting this book makes me want to start again. Maybe I'll try digital scrapbooking now. I plan to make Valentine's mini scrapbooks for the kids this year and will post those when they are done -- probably on the 15th.

I can always tell I've given someone a good gift if I make them cry. I know that's horrible of me but it makes all the hard work worth it.

Snow, snow, snow......

It is rare for our little area of Texas to get snow so when we do get some, we tend to be in awe. And, I'll admit, happy because that inevitably means a SNOW DAY from work. The snow we got last week was not very much. In fact, by early afternoon it had pretty much melted.

Now, the rest of the country got hammered. See that picture above? That was a picture from space provided by NASA and shows that pretty much everyone would be getting snow.

See that arrow in the same picture? That shows you about where we are. {sigh} So I guess we should be grateful for the dusting of snow that we did get.

One funny thing to see as a result of this cold weather was the car washes and all the frozen sheets they had in them. The photo above was one my cousin took but I saw almost the exact same thing at another car wash but the one I saw also had the blue scrubbing brush down and icicles falling from it. But it was too darn cold for me to get out and take a picture.