Well here we are almost into February and I’m another 10 pounds heavier. I figure by boldly stating this to everyone who reads this there could be a possibility that I will try and eat better, get some exercise and not always have an excuse of why I don’t do it. It seems to me that every night before I go to bed I tell myself that tomorrow I will get up at 6 a.m. throw some clothes on, get the dogs and go for a walk, make ahead a prepared lunch (portioned perfectly), get bottles of water ready for work, have portioned snacks so I won’t get hungry throughout the day and overeat, so on and so forth – some of you probably have said this before, too.

But let me tell you how the morning inevitably goes. First of all I hear my neighbor start up his car to go to work so now I already know that I have overslept an hour and it is now 7 a.m. I get up and realize my son’s bedroom door is closed which means he’s still sleeping and has missed the bus which picks him up at 7 a.m. I yell at him to get up, realize my daughter is still sleeping, wake her up (we won’t even discuss her response), give the dogs a slice of cheese to share before letting them – out a habit I wish I had never started – throw a quick lunch together for my son (he forgot to make one), yell again at the kids which reminds me to take my blood pressure pills, get myself ready, yell again and listen for movement. Finally they seem to be up ready, but I forgot the dogs outside so I let them back in and give them a dog biscuit, get the kids to school and have time to grab a cup of coffee and, of course, a nice calorie-filled bagel and cream cheese or a danish. Oh well, there’s always tomorrow.

I’ve realized I’m really more of a night person which reminnds me of a great new low cal cocktail I’m hooked onVodka & Lime cocktails they seem to make the hectic nights just go a little smoother or that is until I wake up i the morning and once again forgot to do the dishes and start all over again.

Have a great day! Lee Hollis

 Vodka & Lime

 1 1/2 oz. vodka

5 oz. diet ginger ale

Juice of 1 fresh lime

Handful ice cubes

 Add all of your ingredients to a cocktail shaker (I don’t have one, so I stir vigorously) and mix well. Strain out ice, pour into chilled glasses.

 And after a few low cal cocktails why not have a tasty low cal dinner?  I’m slowly learning that not everything needs cream sauce and cheese, but it would be nice.

Slow-roasted Salmon

 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/3 cup chopped fresh dill

2 tablespoons kosher salt

1 3-pound salmon fillet

Cooking spray

1/2 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

 Combine first three ingredients in a bowl. Place fish, skin side down, in a 13×9-inch baking dish. Rub sugar mixture over fish. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours. You could do this in the morning before you go to work or start your day.

Preheat oven to 175. Wipe off remaining sugar mixture from fish with a paper towel. Coat a jelly-roll pan with cooking spray. Place fish, skin side down, in pan.

Bake at 175 for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness.

Combine mayonnaise and mustard; stir well. Serve mayonnaise mixture with fish.

Recently someone told me I had to get “out of my box” and join the age of technology. But I really have been quite happy in my box without this knowledge – my life is complicated enough. But after some persuasion I decided to start texting from my cell phone in hopes that possibly the kids would answer instead of screening my calls. So after a rough start, one new phone and unlimited texting added, I’m now slowly getting better at it but I really need to reread what I have written most of the times – now I have the kids calling me after I’ve texted them to please “let the dogs out,” but it came out “please let the hogs out!” Personally I don’t see why they can’t figure out what I mean, it’s not like we have any hogs. So I continued my venture into the cell phone age and purchased a Bluetooth so I could talk on the phone and still fold laundry. I’m not exactly sure why I thought this was a good idea either. Anyway when it arrived it only took me two days to set it up – not the “you can do this in 15 minutes.” I should have read the instructions first, because if I did I would have found out for the two days I was trying to pair the Bluetooth with my cell phone I was using the volume button. (Who knew you only had to push it on the front and it was ready to go?) So while trying my new Bluetooth out the other morning driving to school I placed it in my ear and my daughter looks over at me in horror and shouts like I’m hard of hearing, “When did you start wearing a hearing aid? I never noticed it!” and I got to give her that look that teenagers usually give their parents that says, “Oh please, get with the times.” It was actually a thrilling moment for me. One big downside I found was while shopping for a gift; I was crouched down looking at children’s books and talking and laughing on the phone when I noticed people were stopping and staring at me. You really do forget you have something in your ear and just keep talking away while everyone who sees you thinks you’re talking to yourself. I really don’t know why I felt the need to explain this to the entire store, but I guess I’ll get used to that too. And lastly, the other morning while I was getting my things together for work, I began to realize that my jump into technology may not have been the best of ideas as my one purse has now turned into one purse another bag for my phone charger, Bluetooth charger, extra bag for snack, extra bag for essentials … you probably see where I’m gong with this. So this blogging thing is very new to me but I have really decided to give it a go. I’m sure you will see mistatkes and erros but please feel free to let me know and please comment on any of my blogs it will be nice to know that at least someone out there has heard me! Have a great day and now it’s time for a refreshing beverage (that I’ve posted below) because remember it’s always 5 o’clock somewhere!!!!      Lee Hollis

During this learning process of technology I’ve had to prepare simpler meals, so this recipe is really easy and delicious. But one must never skimp on the before dinner cocktail, so this week I’ll be sipping on a sloe gin fizz trying to slow myself down after my busy week of technology.

Sloe Gin Fizz

1 oz. Sloe gin

1 oz. gin

3/4 oz. fresh lemon juice

1 oz. simple syrup (you can find easy recipes for this in bartending books or online)

3/4 oz. soda water

Shake the gin, lemon juice and simple syrup with ice and strain into an ice-filled glass. Top with soda water and garnish with a slice of orange and a cherry. (I never find the time for that part.)

Italian Chicken Salad

1 8 oz. bottle favorite Italian dressing

2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

1 tsp. Creole seasoning (don’t worry if you don’t have it)

8 thin-sliced, skinless chicken breasts (you can use less)

Mixed salad greens (I buy this in bags.)

Cherry tomatoes

Combine the Italian dressing, lemon, Worcestershire and seasoning in a bowl and whisk together to blend and mix. Set aside for basting on the grill.

Place chicken breast in a gallon-size Ziploc bag and add some of the remaining marinade, reserving some for basting. Press out the air and seal bag. Turn thoroughly to coat chicken and marinate at least one hour in refrigerator. Remove twenty minutes before grilling. Start your grill and close lid until hot. Remove chicken from bag and discard. Grill uncovered while basting with reserved marinade, 2 to 3 minutes per side until cooked through. Remove and let rest about 5 minutes. Thinly slice chicken breasts crosswise and serve chicken slices on mixed greens and cherry tomatoes.