Hi, I'm Earth. Have we met?

Well, folks, I have some good news and some not-so-good news.

The good news is that I’m officially in the 140s!!!

The not-so-good news is that, as of last night’s weigh-in, I’m still 0.6 pounds from my next milestone and 0.8 pounds from my WW goal.

I was mildly disappointed, but whatever. I’ve lost more than 69 pounds for cryin’ out loud! I weighed this much when I was at my fittest in high school. I didn’t really weigh myself back then, so I don’t even remember the last time I was in the 140s. I’m loving it so far!!!!!!!!! I’m soooooo skinny! Haha OK not really, but I feel great :)

I do know that I weighed between 150 and 155 when I entered college a little more than six years ago … and I weigh less than that now. Gotta say, that’s pretty darn cool.

Here’s a picture of me the summer
after freshman year of college
(about 5½ years ago).

And here’s a picture of me from earlier this month.

Aside from the differences in hair color and crazy tan, I don’t think my face looks too different. And that’s a good thing! As I got chunkier and chunkier, I definitely noticed my increasingly plumper face. I’m finally back to normal Amanda face! YYYYAAAYYYY!!!!

I really should have been able to reach my goal last night, though. SHOULD have been able to. But I wasn’t working as hard as I should have been. I didn’t eat that well or work out at all during the week. Did I really think that tracking what I ate and working out ONLY on Saturday and Sunday would undo my lackadaisical week?? Please. I was obviously living in Fantasyland.

I’m back in the real world now and I’m ready for a superb week. The goals I made for myself yesterday are not difficult, and I’m actually looking forward to a regular workout schedule, a nighttime routine and daily food/drink tracking. Holllaaaaaaaaaaaa. Let’s do this.

Oh my gosh. I can’t believe I haven’t posted my Spicy Sweet Potato Chips recipe yet. I made them for Thanksgiving … and now it’s time for sharing.

Spicy Sweet Potato Chips

2 large sweet potatoes, scrubbed well
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1-2 tsp dried red pepper flakes
½ tsp salt

Directions: Preheat the oven to 400°F. Slice the sweet potatoes into rounds as thin as you can get them. Place the sweet potatoes in a bowl and add oil, pepper flakes and salt. Toss until the potatoes are well coated. Spread the rounds on a baking sheet (no overlapping) and bake until they are browned, crispy chips, about 20 minutes.

I used beige sweet potatoes when I made these for Thanksgiving, and, unlike my Brussels sprouts, they were a hit with everyone! Next time I make them, however, I’m going to change a lot of things.

First, I’ll use FOUR large sweet potatoes because there were just not enough noms to go around. Maybe I’ll try orange sweet potatoes next time, just for funsies.

Second, although I’ll have twice as many potatoes, I’ll still use ¼ cup of oil. There was just too much oil on these babies last time, which makes getting crispy chips very difficult. I’ll also try drying the potato slices thoroughly with paper towel before tossing with the other stuff.

Third, I’ll add more red pepper flakes and probably more salt. The sweet, spicy, and salty make a major party on your tongue.

Last, I’ll bake the chips for 20 minutes on one side, flip them all, and bake for another 20 minutes. I’ve found that it’s pretty difficult to bake sweet potatoes and get them crispy. And you should take my experienced word for it, considering I’ve made sweet potato fries once and sweet potato chips once ;)

Peace to you all, my lovelies!

PS This is my 50th post. Neat :)