Lefse and Facebook

Just a quick checking-in blog. The new year has been (thankfully) pretty dull. Lots of snow, lots of exercise procrastination (ugh), and lots of layers of clothing. I’m very excited, though, to pick up G-baby Claire for a sleepover tomorrow. We’ll have 24 hours of Grammy/Claire/Papa fun before the crew arrives for a lefse-making marathon on Monday.


Making lefse is usually something we do before Thanksgiving, but that was NOT happening this last T-day. Lots going on, too much stress…you know the story. Sure, on Monday, it’ll be a little crazy with three babies and four adults (Cassie, Carlene and my friend Pam, who volunteered to help…god love her) roaming my teeny-tiny little house, but it’s so much fun AND we’ll have golden brown deliciousness to show for it.

FYI: A lefse round is 1 Point. I spread a sliver of butter and a sprinkling of sugar for another Point. It’s white-flour/white-sugar hell….but so very worth it. See? I’m not the purist some folks seem to think I am. At least during lefse season.

I taught Carlene and Cassie to make lefse last season. Carlene rolled out a “round” that looked like Jay Leno.

This is Cassie with yet-to-be-born Luca on board.

Carlene learning the perfect rolling technique.

And here’s me with flour-encrusted Claire who was “helping.” How little is she? Wow. How fast they change.

Maybe you’ve noticed, but I’ve changed the blog a little, adding a cool little search tool on the left and adding a “fan page” for Lynn’s Weigh on Facebook. (For the record, I hate the term “fan page.” It implies hierarchy and that’s just not my style. I’ll explain more later.)

Regarding the search engine, let’s say you want to know what I’ve written about hummus. Type in “hummus” and links to the blogs in which I’ve mentioned hummus will appear on the right. I added this feature mostly for my benefit, since I can never remember what I wrote when.

Regarding Facebook, my personal presence on FB is so I can keep in contact with my kids and a few close friends. I’ve had several requests from people who read my blog to be my “friend,” but I’m so terminally dull on my personal FB page that I decided to start a Lynn’s Weigh page just to shake things up a bit. No biggie and no earth-shattering insights, I assure you. But do you bloggers ever get a thought and think, “I’d like to share that on my blog” and then forget or it seems like not enough of a thought to turn into a blog? My Lynn’s Weight FB page will be that place I write down those things that pop in my head throughout the day. Well, the more interesting things anyway. I’m sure no one’s interested in my mundane thoughts like, “Do I feel like shaving my legs?” or “Where did I put the hammer?” or “Do I wear jeans or leggings today?”

Things like that.

Not sure how long the FB thing will endure, but for now, it is what it is and I like it.

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Yoohoos! and WooHoos! and a Pilgrimage

I want to send a big old Lynn’s Weigh “Yoohoo!” to Sahar at Fat Fighter TV and thank her for the “WooHoo!” on her site. She made me sound and look gooood. Can’t wait to meet her and a whole lotta other bloggers at FitBloggin’10 in Baltimore in March. I haven’t signed up yet, but – god and weather willing – I’ll be there. Are you going?


Another “Yoohoo!” and congrats to Carolyn M from Georgia who won Joy Bauer’s “Joy’s LIFE Diet” book in my giveaway on Tuesday.


And another “Yoohoo!” to reader Tina from Lancaster County PA who sent me the nicest email the other night and like a bonehead, I erased it on my Blackberry which erased it on my PC. If you’re reading this, Tina, please shoot me another email so I can reply!


Now, about that pilgrimage…


In between weather advisories on Tuesday, I hitched up the Jeep and went on my bimonthly pilgrimage to Trader Joe’s and threw in a side trip to Whole Foods. I’ve been out of Shirataki Noodles since October (I’ve had an awful hankerin’ for spinach noodles Florentine), and – thanks to Kalyn at Kalyn’s Kitchen  – I’ve been wanting to try Spike and Za’Atar seasonings, things I can’t find in Podunkville.


Other things I can’t get in Podunkville: chickpea flour; tarragon vinegar; lower (really lower) sodium soy sauce; hearts of palm; cheap(er) tahini; lower sodium pinto, black and garbanzo beans; light coconut milk; fire-roasted tomatoes with no salt added; frozen cherries; Fage; Skinny Dippers crackers (which are being discontinued…*tear*); tuna steaks, turkey bacon, and nan (for hubby); organic honeycrisp apples, Swiss chard, garlic and leeks; shelled edamame; TJ’s infamous low-fat/low-sodium parmesan ranch dressing; and of course:

Yes, I’m eating a bit of chocolate again since the scale is going nowhere whether I eat it or not. Doc says I’ve gained muscle mass and that was her final answer. This after I spent five minutes on Monday whining to her, “Why, why, WHY have I gained four pounds since May!” Have you been working out more? she asked. “Yes,” I said. “But…” Apparently there are no “buts.” So OK, I can live with that.


Anyway….


Whole Foods is a foodie’s Disneyland (not to mention the good looking men who shop there…) and usually I can’t escape without dumping at least $100. Not this time! I faithfully stuck to my list and spent less than $100. My only complaint (other than the prices) at Whole Foods is damn do they keep that place cold! By the time I get to the bulk foods, my fingers are numb – and that’s BEFORE I hit the freezer case! Sadly, I look like Nanook of the North when I shop there and the before mentioned good looking guys tend to avert their eyes.


A few more things before I let ya’ll go…(and I consider this first one a WooHoo! since I love when you guys as me about vegetables…*happytear*)


Many of you asked about the roasted rutabagas in my last post. Here’s what I do: Spray a baking sheet with Pam, thinly (as in 1/8- to 1/4-inch thick) slice a peeled rutabaga (I used a mandoline http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandoline); lay the slices on the pan; sprinkle with pepper or whatever spices you’d like; spray with Pam; roast at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes (maybe longer depending on what meaty to crispness ratio you prefer), flipping them occasionally so they cook on both sides. That’s it. Very simple. I do the same thing with peeled beets.


Hope this finds you fully ensconced in your resolutions and the nutritional changes you vowed to make in 2010. I accomplished one of my resolutions already this year – to become a little, just a wee bit, more social. I’ve had coffee with TWO “new” friends (yoohoo! to Kara and Libby!).


Happy Thursday, everyone!

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Decluttering 2009

Each new year I like to clear out clutter both in my house and on my computer. Make way for the new or at least an improved version of the old, I say.

I spent six hours taking down Christmas decorations on Friday and tweaking the décor of the living and dining rooms. I decided to keep the tree up, sans decorations, because it’s not really a traditional Christmas tree. It’s a tall, narrow fake pine with lights that I picked up cheap at a bargain-basement kind of place around Thanksgiving and it makes me happier than any fake tree I’ve ever had. I decided I’d decorate it throughout the year with holiday-appropriate decorations starting with Valentines Day.

I also took out a bookshelf, moved an antique desk, swapped out a chair for a table, and moved a few plants. Nothing major, but the rooms look just different enough to not feel like 2009. I would be the pessimist in this quote: “An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.” – Bill Vaughan

Buh-bye 2009.

Same kind of clean-out applies to my computer clutter. I had duplicate files of this and that, and several unfinished mini-blogs and accompanying photos littering my folders so I decided to combine them into one big blog.

Let’s start with this photo:

These carrots look like deformed outcomes of atomic testing. I bought them from a local organic farmer back in August. Makes me wonder what animal's manure he’s using.

If the second one from the left was a person, I’d want that ass. See how perfectly round it is? A far cry from my flat ass, which leads me to the carrot on the far right, which I’m sure is what my real butt muscles look like after a day of hiking.

So much for squid-looking carrots. On to the next photo:

We spent Christmas, as always, with the kids in Pittsburgh. In preparation, I asked Cassie to buy cinnamon rolls – a traditional opening-presents fare. If I don’t make them from scratch, we buy the frozen Rhodes’ cinnamon rolls (nutritional facts: 200 calories, 5g fat, 230mg sodium, 35g carbs which equals 4 WW Points). While they aren’t something I’d eat regularly, I’m OK making for the family on Christmas and eating a few bites while we open gifts.

This year, while shopping, Cass had the kids with her and was in a hurry and instead of Rhodes, picked up the mother of all instant cinnamon rolls: Pillsbury Grands (nutritional facts: 310 calories, 11 g fat of which 2.5 are trans fat, 650mg sodium, 54g carbs which equals 7 WW Points). Yikes!

Here’s what Pillsbury says its “homey” rolls:

“There is one thing we all as families have in common: our hectic schedules. A leisurely weekday breakfast with your kids and family dinners seem to happen less and less. Sundays are a perfect opportunity to reconnect and spend quality time together. Why not take time out to create a sweet moment with your family with our cinnamon rolls and turn Sunday into Funday?”

Sounds like a Sunday morning gastrointestinally arteriosclerotic nightmare to me. I know life can be hectic, but let’s not equate hectic with “Toss something nutritionally shitty in the oven.” Why does sugar and white flour always get associated with warmth and family? What’s wrong with fruit, oatmeal, eggs, and whole wheat toast? Food companies have the ability to change public perception of what constitutes “homey” foods. Oh, but wait, Pillsbury Grands rolls probably cost a fraction of a penny to manufacture. Fruit and other healthy breakfast food would cut into the company profits. Silly me. When will I learn?

Stepping off the soap box….

I like this photo:

They look like potato chips, but they’re rutabagas. Thinly sliced, roasted rutabagas. My new favorite roasted veggie.

My favorite photo and not-long-enough-for-a-blog topic is this one:

My office doubles as my workout space. In one corner is my computer desk, another is my elliptical (actually, that takes up an entire wall) and another is my recumbent bike (which is a fold-up type so it takes up very little space). A workout bench and assorted hand weights line another wall. Grandbaby Claire loves to rearrange my workout space. She picks up every hand weight - not including the 10-, 15-, or 25-pounders, although she tries - and places them in the middle of the room. She decorates the elliptical with Thera-Bands and plays with the exercise ball pump because it squeaks and blows air on her face.

Claire also loves stickers. She puts stickers everywhere: my face, my hands, my shoes, her face, her hands, her shoes, on Christmas cards, the refrigerator, her little brother and, as you can see, the exercise ball.

My new year hair:

I was beginning to look a little like Andrew from “Family Ties” (specifically, the young Brian Bonsall, not the now Brian Bonsall with the tattooed neck and criminal record). Between the holidays and time constraints…you know the routine…I couldn’t fit in a trim.

I didn’t think I could go shorter, but apparently I can. This style is something I’d never have considered at 300 pounds when I didn’t care much about me, let alone my hair. Cared as in I stopped taking it to a stylist. Salon chairs didn’t comfortably accommodate my 54-inch hips, and I didn’t like looking at myself in the mirror for very long. Most of the time I trimmed my hair when necessary and threw it back in a scrunchie.

Now…well...I’m all about flat irons and “product.” My hair is even easier to style this way, physically and emotionally. Hair comes with its own baggage, just like weight.

Goodbye 2009. Hello clean computer and a partially redone living room and a partially renewed doo. Hope this finds you all ready to tackle 2010.

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NOTE: You have until 6 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 5, to sign up to win a signed copy of Joy Bauer’s book “Your Inner Skinny: Four Steps to Thin Forever.” Click here to read my interview with Joy for the details.

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My New Year’s Interview with "Today Show" Nutritionist Joy Bauer

Before we get to the meat (or tofu since I’m a vegetarian) of my interview with nutritionist Joy Bauer, I want to mention that I was not paid nor do I receive compensation for my participation in Joy’s book, “Your Inner Skinny: Four Steps to Thin Forever” (previously published as "Joy's LIFE Diet"). I simply believe in Joy’s message. Her commitment to and passion for teaching and supporting healthy food choices and good nutrition is – in a word – infectious. The minute I met her, I knew I’d met a kindred spirit.

Joy Bauer is the nutrition expert for the “Today Show” and founder of the Joy Fit Club, of which yours truly is now a member. Joy is also the nutritionist for the New York City Ballet, author of several bestselling books and a contributing editor to Parade magazine.

Even if you’re already following a weight-loss plan or are maintaining your weight, “Your Inner Skinny” is full of no-nonsense nutritional advice, recipes, and – my favorite – real-life success stories that can inspire you, especially after the glow of starting a diet has waned. I’m honored to be one of those success stories, but mine isn’t the one I read when I’m not feeling the maintenance love. I read the lessons learned and words of wisdom from folks like Veolia, who lost 252 pounds; Howard, who lost 219 pounds; and Mary, who lost 177 pounds and says this about maintenance: “Once you get to your goal weight…you can’t revert to what you did before. It’s not a free pass…it’s a gift. No one can take it away, but you can choose to give it up and put weight back on.”

Ah…choice. That’s what it all boils down to. What we put in our mouths is always a choice. Cake doesn’t leap into our mouths. Fattening sauces don’t sneak out of nowhere and slather themselves on our pastas. So “choice” is how I decided to start this interview.

Lynn: So glad to have you on my blog, Joy!

Joy: Hi Lynn! I'm honored to be here! I love your blog. It's the perfect blend of wisdom, humor, and fun. You are an incredibly talented writer and one true inspiration. Thanks for sharing your life (and the trials and tribulations of weight maintenance) with all of us.

Lynn: I love this quote from your book: “Maintaining weight loss is about understanding the power of choice…(T)he commitment to maintenance and good health has to be as strong as the commitment to shed pounds. Stronger, even!”

So what is it about maintenance that either trips people up or emboldens them to be even more determined? Do you counsel people at the beginning of their journey that they need to rethink their entire way of eating now and in the future?

Joy: Yes!! In my experience, it’s so hard for people to adopt that mentality of permanence – that, in order to lose weight and keep it off, you have to make a lifelong commitment to eating healthy.

People like to view a diet as a short-term deviation from their “normal” eating habits, because then there’s always the promise of returning to all the junk food, take-out, and restaurant food that they know and love. But we all know this strategy never works. Successful maintainers are those who develop a completely new outlook on healthy eating, and adopt it as part of their everyday routine. So many of my Joy Fit Club members and personal clients tell me that they’ve grown to love the crisp, fresh, clean taste of fruits and vegetables, and actually prefer the taste to the heavy, salty, fatty food of their “before” days. And although it’s perfectly normal to crave fattening fare from time to time (let’s face it, we all do), the payoff we receive from fighting that urge and not eating junk on a regular basis is well worth the fight!

Lynn: In my experience, “It takes a village” to lose weight. We need role models whose eating and exercise habits we aspire to emulate. The weight-loss successes you feature in your book are extraordinary, and yet their stories reflect the stories of everyone who deals with weight issues.

Joy: I agree 100 percent. Research and personal experience has shown me over and over again that having a strong support system in place (whether its friends, family members, co-workers, or an online community) is crucial to weight loss success. These people don’t necessarily have to be health role models; they can simply be supportive people, generally speaking, who are there for you no matter what goal you’re working towards. Of course, they can also be people who are in the same boat as you and can help you creatively troubleshoot solutions to your biggest dieting challenges.

Reading others’ success stories can be incredibly motivating, especially if it’s a person whose story you can relate to (they come from a similar background or shared similar childhood experiences, for example). That’s why I love inducting new Joy Fit Club members each week. I feel like every time I share another person’s unique story, I reach another pocket of viewers at home who are watching, desperate for inspiration to make a change.

Lynn: We’ve all heard the statistic that 95 percent of people who lose weight gain some or all of it back within five years. While this stat has been proven to be not completely accurate, the odds are still pretty high that people who lose weight will gain some back. For someone starting a weight-loss program for the first or tenth time, this can be daunting.

Joy: Unfortunately, weight regain is a common problem. But you never know which time your weight loss efforts will finally “click” and you’ll finally understand and accept what you need to do to stay slim and fit forever. Just look at the Joy Fit Club members I’ve inducted over the years, nearly every one of them was a chronic yo-yo dieter who had tried and failed on dozens of diets in the past. Yet, for each one of them, something about their last attempt was different, and they finally found their weight loss groove and stayed there permanently.

At the start of the journey, it’s really hard to predict when people have found the resolve to stick with it for the long haul. Ultimately, I think it’s important to be losing weight for the right reasons if your want to make a permanent lifestyle change. You have to really want it, you need a significant and enduring source of motivation for finally losing the weight, like being around to see your grandkids grow up or preventing another heart attack. Superficial reasons like fitting into a dress for a special occasion or getting in shape for a beach vacation tend to work for the short-term (and they certainly serve their purpose), but they can also set you up for weight rebound. Once the event or vacation has passed, your inspiration is gone and you slip back into bad eating habits. I’m all for making short-term AND long-term goals.

Lynn: You’re fit and look great! I assume you practice what you preach?

Joy: Thank you!! It’s definitely something that I work at every day. And please know that I am not one of those “genetic lean machines”. In fact, after each one of my three pregnancies it felt as though I was left with 10 pounds of cement – had to fight like mad to get it off.

Currently, I walk on my treadmill most days a week for at least an hour. I’m a huge multi-tasker, so I use the treadmill time to catch up on emails, read new nutrition research briefs, or take conference calls. Lately, I’ve been increasing the amount of strength training I do as well. I aim for at least 20 minutes 3 days per week. And, of course, I make healthy food choices 95% of the time, but my soft spots are ice cream, red wine, and cookies (crunchy kind only!).

Lynn: I love many of the recipes in your book, particularly the Maple Dijon dressing, Thousand Island dressing, Stuffed Portobello Mushroom Caps, chocolate pudding, popcorn ideas, and cauliflower mashed potatoes. How do you create your recipes, and do you experiment on your family?

Joy: I personally love to cook! I am constantly experimenting in my kitchen and testing the results on my husband and three kids (plus their friends, extended family members and neighbors). I also work with talented chefs, often budding young culinary students in the New York City area. I give them specific guidelines when it comes to nutrition and ingredients, and they never fail to impress me with their creative and flavor-packed recipes.

I have a new cookbook coming out in April 2010 called “Slim & Scrumptious” and it’s filled with tons of recipes geared towards satisfying kids’ palates (as well as adults) with healthy, nutritious food. And yes, I tested every single recipe on my kids because they always give their honest opinion! Some of their favorites in the new book include Chicken Lettuce Wraps, Spicy Shrimp Jambalaya, and Double Chocolate Pancakes. There’s even a recipe called AJ’s Mac-n-Cheezy, named after and developed especially for my youngest daughter, Ayden Jane. It took me a dozen tries before I earned her 5-star rating! I am really excited about this new book.

Lynn: My granddaughter calls mac n’ cheese “doggies” because the pasta she likes best is shaped like dogs. I’ll definitely try AJ’s Mac-n-Cheezy “doggies” out on Claire. The Double Chocolate Pancakes, though? They’re all mine.

Joy: Claire will be in cheezy heaven! Promise! And I hope you love the pancakes. Any excuse to have chocolate for breakfast, right? You'll have to let me know how they turn out.

Lynn: What projects are you working on for 2010?

Joy: At the moment, I am very excited about my paperback release “Your Inner Skinny” and my website, http://www.joybauer.com/. The website currently provides a comprehensive diet program for a small weekly charge, and a daily newsletter called “The Daily Plum.” However, in a few months, JoyBauer.com will be expanded to provide massive amounts of free nutrition content on everything from lowering cholesterol to managing migraines, arthritis, blood pressure, osteoporosis and much more. I am really looking forward to getting science-based nutrition information out there (for free!).

Lynn: I’ll put up a link here when it’s up and running.

So…you’re a nutrition expert, you help people get healthy, you work at 30 Rock several days a week, but I know you have a family and a life beyond all the grit and glitz. Care to share the “softer” side of Joy?

Joy: Definitely! There's more to me than meets the eye.....and I bet you laugh out loud when you hear some of my out-of-the-box details.

A few JB fun facts:

I was in a rock band in both high school (called Eclipse) and college (called The Space Sharks). I played keyboards. Thankfully for our fans, I did not sing!!

I was a competitive gymnast from ages 11-18 and spent most waking hours in a gym.

I am only 5 feet tall and still praying for a growth spurt!

Lynn: Yes, I can attest to that. You make me feel tall at 5’5”!

Joy: I was a hostess, waitress, and even a hat check girl in multiple restaurants throughout high school and college. I was NOT very good (lousy tips validated this!)

While getting my graduate degree in nutrition from New York University, I was a personal trainer and aerobics instructor – all over town. This is how I managed to make enough money to support myself while I was going to grad school. My undergraduate degree from University of Maryland was in kinesiology (combo of anatomy and exercise physiology), so I had the appropriate credentials and loved every minute of it. Go Terps!

Favorite book: “A Fine Balance”

Favorite movies: “Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory” (original version), “The Godfather” (all of them), “Shawshank Redemption,” and “Thirteen Going on Thirty.”

Lynn: Oh…Thirteen Going on Thirty. I watched that movie when I was on vacation in the Adirondacks in 2004, just a few months before I decided to lose weight. I spent the week contemplating whether I wanted to stay the weight I was or lose it. I had to make a choice because I was so emotionally conflicted. That movie touched something in me, something that said, “You can change and yet still be, at your core, the same person you always were.” Fun movie, but very personal for me.

Joy: I completely understand what you mean. For me, the best part about “Thirteen Going On Thirty” is that the entire Bauer brood loves it. And believe me, it's a feat to get all 5 of us on board wit the same flic!

And as far as my biggest food vices (because I know you're going to ask about that!): hard/crunchy sugar cookies, ice cream, red wine, and frozen peanut M&Ms. I am also a true nut-a-holic – I love almonds, pistachios and cashews.

Lynn: So even Joy Bauer has food vices :)

Joy: Of course! I've always supported a 90/10 philosophy: make 90% of your food choices healthy and treat yourself the remaining 10% of the time.

Lynn: Thank you for spending time with me here on my blog. Best of luck to you with the book!

To win a signed copy of Joy’s book, write a comment or send me an email at lynnbering@verizon.net. I’ll draw a winner on Tuesday, Jan. 5.

I hope this finds you all inspired for the new year and ready to begin or continue on the path to good health and nutrition. I meant what I said earlier, it takes a village to do this. I know you’ve all helped me more than you can ever know. My hope is that my blog helps you in some small way on your own journey.

Happy 2010, everyone!

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Six-Word Resolutions

I see the dumbest things when I watch football on Sundays. Even worse than the mindless beer commercials yesterday was the commercial for Taco Bell touting itself as healthy drive-thru fare. Yikes! They’re even calling their menu the Drive-Thru-Diet. Here’s the disclaimer: “Drive-Thru-Diet® is not a weight-loss program. For a healthier lifestyle, pay attention to total calorie and fat intake and regular exercise. Taco Bell's Fresco Menu can help with calorie reductions of 20 to 100 per item compared to corresponding products on our regular menu. Not a low calorie food. For complete nutritional information please visit TacoBell.com.”

It’s not a weight-loss program, and yet they call it a “diet.” Hmmm… Tell you what, Taco Hell, I’ll just keep staying away from your restaurant as I have for five years. That way I'm guaranteed a “healthier lifestyle.” Besides, I make better refried beans, use real lettuce, and am much more generous with tomatoes when I make tacos and burritos at home. Drive-Thru-Diet my ass…

I’m skipping the “frescolustions” this year and making some real resolutions. As many of you know, my weight loss is the result of a New Year's resolution that stuck. Five years ago, I decided to lose some weight. How much I wasn’t sure. I just remember thinking, I want to be in Onederland again. A year later, I was.

Because a year will pass whether I change anything or not, I’m resolving to make a few tweaks to the old way of life. And I’m going to be succinct about it because it’s more fun that way.

Here’s what I mean: Smithmag.com created the Six-Word Memoirs project in 2006 and have since published two books of six-word memoirs submitted by readers. I first found the site when they held a Six-Word Resolution contest in 2007. Of all the winners, my favorite resolution was, “Kiss Jon Stewart on the mouth” submitted by Martha Garvey. I haven’t talked to Martha for awhile, so I’m not sure if she ever resolved that resolution.

So here are my 2010 six-word resolutions:

In terms of my body: “Make friends with my flabby bits.” And once I’ve done that: “Wear shorts higher than my knees.”
Professionally: “Stop giving it away for kudos.”
Financially: “No pedicures until Mastercard’s paid off.”
Nutritionally: “Go vegan for awhile, maybe longer.” (P.S. I fell in love with a new blog: FatFree Vegan Kitchen. I lost myself for an hour looking through her recipes. What to try first…)

So what are your six-word resolutions for 2010? And if it’s “Try Taco Bell’s Drive-Thru-Diet,” that’s OK, you can tell me. I won’t say anything. Really. I promise.

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And The NAN Winner(s) Is...

Tisha and Sunny will each receive a subscription to Nutrition Action Newsletter! NAN is having a special so I could give two subscriptions for the price of one so I drew two winners. If you're interested in subscribing to NAN, click here to get to the website.

Thank you everyone for sharing your nutritional goals. They will make great springboards for blog conversations in the new year.

Look for my interview with Joy Bauer on Wednesday, Jan. 30.

I'll be back with a regular blog this weekend. Those of you in the Midwest, stay safe and warm! I grew up in Minnesota and know how rough those blizzards can be.

Merry Christmas, everyone! Glad you liked the Christmas blog (see "Now For Something Completely Different"). Keep your wits about you as you peruse the food tables!

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And Now For Something Completely Different

I like to post something once in awhile that has nothing to do with weight loss or maintenance or food. How dull would life be if that’s all we ever talked about! (Quick reminder: You have until about 6 a.m. tomorrow to throw your name into my Nutrition Action Newsletter giveaway! Click here to read how. I’ll announce the winner tomorrow morning.)

‘Twas The Night Before The Night Before Christmas

Tonight’s the night Santa always visited the Haraldson house: the night before the night before Christmas.

We were the only family I knew who opened gifts on Christmas Eve. My parents convinced my brothers and sisters and me that Santa started his trip in Minnesota (at our house specifically) in the early morning hours of the 24th before heading to the International Date Line where it was the next day already. That’s why we put out milk and cookies on the 23rd and our Santa gifts were under our tree on the morning of the 24th. It made total sense to me until I cracked the whole Santa thing when I was 9. More on that in a minute.

On Christmas Eve, Dad would read Luke’s account of the Christmas story before we opened gifts. I always felt sad for Baby Jesus. What was a kid supposed to do with gold, frankincense and myrrh? Sure I got boring things like socks and underwear for Christmas, too, but my parents always got me a few things from my Sears catalog wish list. I just hoped Luke forgot to mention that Baby Jesus got a cool Matchbox car, too.

My parents were awesome gift givers actually. In 1969, I was 6 years old, and on Christmas Eve, my parents gave me a gift that was too big to wrap. They told me to stand by the fireplace and shut my eyes. I was so excited and my imagination went into overdrive. What was it? A pony? A princess dress? My thoughts were dashed when my stupid little brother insisted that he stand there with me and I started yelling at him to go away, that this was my present. Mom gave me the finger snap and “the look” and told me to knock it off and shut my eyes. So I shut my eyes.

It felt like forever before she yelled “Open them!” There stood my dad and older brother holding a two-story wood-frame dollhouse with glass windows, and carpet in the living room and linoleum in the kitchen. Way better than a pony or a princess dress! The best part was that my dad made it. Forty years later, that well-loved dollhouse is in my basement, and will be Claire’s when she turns 3in October.

On Christmas Eve 1973, I had to shut my eyes again for a gift that was too big to wrap. Again my imagination went wild, but thankfully this time my brother stayed out of my glory. When Mom and Dad yelled “Open them!” there in the middle of the living room was a cage and a beautiful little parakeet inside. I’d like to deny that I cried, but as usual my mother caught the moment with her camera and there’s a permanent record of me smiling, tears streaming down my face, talking to my new pet, Pari the Parakeet.

I loved that bird. For seven years Pari heard all my stories and kept all my secrets. He got sick once and lost a foot, but adapted well to having only one. He died one morning when I was 17 and we buried him in the garden.

The week before Christmas 1980, I came home after working the dinner shift at Country Kitchen and found a large tin can on our front stoop. On top was written “To Lynn From Santa.” I brought it inside and asked if anyone knew who left it. Dad said it wasn’t there when he came home from work earlier and no one had heard a car pull up in the drive.

The can was about 12 inches tall and decorated with a holiday scene. Whatever was inside had been sealed like a can of peas and it could only be opened with a can opener. When I went to the kitchen to find one, my mother said, “You can’t open that until Christmas!”

“But why?” I asked. “We don’t even know who it’s from!”

That didn’t matter. Haraldson Christmas Rule No. 1: No gift shall be opened until Christmas Eve. No exceptions. So I spent a few hours analyzing the handwriting on the lid, the same way I did when I cracked the mystery of Santa.

Santa always left a note of thanks for the cookies and milk, and when I got old enough to notice, I realized he used the notepaper my mom kept in the cupboard. It disturbed me to think of some old guy wandering around our house looking for paper and a pen. It was bad enough that we didn’t have a fireplace and had to leave the front door unlocked so Santa could get in, but imagining him turning on lights and sifting through our personal stuff made me a little uncomfortable. I was quite relieved the year I realized Santa had the same handwriting as my dad, only I had to keep it under wraps because my little brother was still too young to figure it out. I felt superior with this knowledge and was quite smug the following year when he learned who Santa was and I told him I’d known “for a long time.” “Well la-di-da” I think was his exact retort as he stuck his tongue out at me.

This time, the handwriting wasn’t so obvious. Was it a boy’s writing? A girl’s? I couldn’t tell. There were a few strange regulars at the restaurant I worked at who’d probably want to leave me gifts outside my house, but that creeped me out too much to think about and so I just let the can sit under the tree for seven tortuous days.

I sat on the couch with a can opener in my hand while Dad read the Christmas story and my little sister and little brother opened their first gifts. (Haraldson Christmas Rule No. 2: Gifts are opened in order according to age.) When it was finally my turn, I cranked open that can as fast as I could. Inside was a little teddy bear and a note: “Merry Christmas. Love, Dad.”

Told you my parents were awesome gift givers.

Wishing you all a very merry night before night before Christmas!

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