Bathing Suit Weather???

Just wanted to show my friends over in weight loss land, that I'm thinking of being slim enough to wear a swim suit. Until then I'll just pretend....

Yep, this is what I did with the snow on my deck. I got that exercise I promised myself (and a bit of a stiff back, too) but it was fun.

Everyone is finally digging out from the snow, but they are calling for an ice storm Christmas Eve. I hope everyone stays safe and has a Merry Christmas.

Take care and enjoy your week. If you have snow, break with the traditional snow man and go wild. Who knows what you will come up with.

Wow, did we have snow...

We had snow here in the Star City, about 16 inches. I am now a "stay at home-r", so I don't have to worry about getting shoveled out to get to work. I am working on my laptop, so I cannot post any pictures here, but if you click on this, you can see the pictures of my deck that I posted on my other blog.

My hubby and I tend to hunker down and stay in when the weather is bad. We enjoy each others company, but have plenty of room here in the house to do our own thing, in the event that we do start getting on each others nerves. One of the things I love to do is cook, and I keep my storm pantry stocked year round with comfort food, as well as staples.

We almost got stuck in the beginning of the storm, another 10 minutes and we would not have gotten home. Since then we have eaten:

cinnamon buns with icing
Canned Beef Stew
homemade vegetable soup
brown sugar oatmeal
turkey sausage, eggs, homefries and toast with warm homemade strawberry compote
Fritos, chips, popcorn, pretzels
raisin bagels with buttery spread
coffee and/or tea with condensed sweetened canned milk or with just milk and sugar
oranges, apples
crackers and cheese
angle hair pasta with butter and Parmesan cheese and broccoli and cauliflower
(and this is just what I can remember right now)

We're talking 48 hours here, folks. I am just using the snow as an excuse to eat. It's not that I don't have anything else to do. I'm an artist and have an entire basement full of things to do. We have power and cable and there is really no real reason to be stuffing myself (and my hubby) as if we were going to need extra calories.

All this is just to say, that I'm aware of how I sabotage myself when it comes to being healthy. I think it's human nature to eat more during the holidays and especially during a storm. I am so grateful that we didn't get stuck on interstate. Some folks got stuck for over 24 hours in our area. Some in our area have been without power for several days. I know how blessed I am and I feel myself becoming stronger, I'm going to get back on track.

I made my way to the storage area today and found our shovel. Tomorrow we will dig out, (taking it easy, of course) because we are both over 50 and while I don't like to admit it, age does complicate things like lifting huge shovelfuls of snow.

So tomorrow is a new day. I will get some exercise tomorrow. I will be more conscious of what I eat tomorrow.

That's it for today. Hope you are all staying healthy and happy. Hang in there, friends...we're going to make it though this.

Still here...

Just a quick post to let you know that I'm still here.

When it comes to food, the holidays are my most difficult time.

My own family is just about gone. No Mom, Dad or Uncles or Cousins left. It's only my younger brother and his wife, who have their own lives that apparently include only her children and grandchildren. My older sister lives on the West Coast and while we are very close, we do our Christmas there in October. My Darling Hubby's family is about the same, both his brothers both live several hours away and his daughter lives in London.

I think that is the reason that I want to bake cookies and make party mix and pretend that we still have people that might stop by and say hi. I'll send some cookies to the neighbor, but other than that, anything that I cook has to be consumed by the two of us. Poor hubby has gotten heavier as the years have gone by, also. I'm a really good cook and while most recipes can be cut in half, you are still confronted with 12-18 cookies to be chomped down on.

Oh, well, I'm just whining. I know not to console my lack of family with food and I know that if I went out to local events and such that we could cultivate more friends. I know all that. Knowing something and doing it are two completely different things.

So for now, I'll just hang in there and remember that I have a healthy husband that loves me very much. I have a nice roof over my head and a really decent car. I have a lot more than some folks have. Maybe tomorrow I won't be such a baby.

Well, that's it for me. I'll be back soon with something more interesting to discuss. I promise.

Every day is a new day

That's what I love about being allowed to wake up each morning. I don't care if it's raining, snowing, or so hot that I sweated all night, I feel so blessed to be able to have a new day. Thank you, Father, for allowing me to have this new day to eat better, to hug my hubby more, to be allowed to make the decision to wear sweat pants and watch TV all day. Yep, I'm a blessed woman.

My hubby got his stitches out yesterday and now he can eat real food again. We have both gained weight this year, (not what I had planned when I named the blog, obviously), but he developed gall stones and I have had to deal with severe acid reflux. Not an excuse, just stating that we both have some dietary restrictions. Plus we eat according to Leviticus and don't eat pig, shrimp, catfish, mushrooms and some other things that are usually part of a diet plan. Being Christians, we don't follow the kosher food laws, but our dietary choices are very similar.

I'm not advocating any specific plan, but I do prefer eating clean foods. Here is an interesting site, regarding clean foods that I just found, I haven't had time to study it, but I am saving it as a favorite.

I haven't decided exactly what we will be doing on our way to get back optimum health, but the first plan is to avoid sugary snacks. No donuts, chocolate bars or layer cakes.

It's a new day, after all.

Happy Turkey Day

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Since the hubby still has dental stitches, I made a nice pot of veggie soup and chopped the veggies and beef very small. Didn't want to puree it, as we like a bit of texture in our soup. It's really yummy and I'm glad I didn't do the traditional turkey dinner.

Hope everyone is staying on track and not putting themselves down for extra calories consumed. You know you did it and you knew your were going to. Bounce back and get on with the program (whatever it may be).

Take care and avoid Black Friday. Shop homemade. Try Etsy or Artfire or Shop Homemade.

If you really prefer to shop locally, check out the artsy area of your town or city. Flea markets and local craft shows are a great way to buy homemade. Enjoy the holidays...stay within a budget and only buy for people you really care about.

That's all from me for now. I'll be back soon, I'm sure, with numerous gems of wisdom.

TTFN

Do you see yourself here?

I am mad at myself right now. I go to the store on Mondays and for some reason we have gotten in the habit of having a treat on grocery day. I got way too many sweets yesterday and the hubby and I both felt awful last night. This morning he had an early dentist appointment to help prepare for Friday's big dental surgery appointment.While he was gone I baked two small sweet potatoes that had started to gaze at me from the counter top. I didn't eat anything until he got home. He takes the rest of the donuts in to the living room to have with his coffee. I initially said I didn't want any, but went on and had one (Krispy Kreme Glazed Pumpkin Cake) with my coffee. Hmmm. Tummy felt ok. Went back into the kitchen to read, where I can put my book on the bistro height table and be oh, so comfy. I stay and read in the warm kitchen and couldn't get those sweet potatoes out of my head. Had to get up and fix a sweet potato, adding butter and salt , and it was so yummy that I got up and fixed the other one. Hmmm, still feeling ok. Not quite sick yet. Oh, what is that? Can it be my remaining candy bar from yesterday? Yep, more coffee and now I have consumed the candy bar. You realize that I am, in essence, hiding in my kitchen eating? This is something I haven't done for quite some time. I am mad at myself for doing this, and I carefully hide all the wrappers in the trash and make my way back into the living room and hubby stops me and says "what is that on your face?". Busted. Chocolate on my face. Now I'm embarrassed and mad at him for calling me out on it. This leads to me flinging a tiny, unwarranted fit about something completely different and now I'm saying I'm mad at him, when I actually am mad at myself and don't want him to know it. Anything like this ever happen to you?

Not the best day for the happiest girl in the world. It's got to get better from here.

Later, TTFN.

Why am I dreaming this?

On Tuesday night I dreamed that my husband and I were on some type of vacation. There was this really good looking gal that was assisting us is some way, perhaps as a tour guide. She kept giving my husband the "eye". Even in my dream, my husband was unaware of this flirting. (He never knows that chicks are checking him out. He is quite a hunk and all women love him. He is super friendly and just thinks ladies are being nice to him.) Anyway in this dream, we are all three set to go somewhere and I can't find the things that I need to join them. He is patiently waiting for me to find whatever it is I am hunting, but she keeps inching closer and closer to him as he waits. I can't remember everything about the dream, but it did include me not locking the door to where we were staying. It was very open to the outside, like a sun porch or screened structure and I remember seeing wild animals of sorts, maybe a gorilla roaming freely outside. I remember knowing I needed to lock things up and I found pad locks, but instead of extra keys, there were bolt cutters to cut the locks when you lost your keys. This dream when on for seemingly hours and contained all the usual dream elements, but the main theme was this chick wanting to be with my hubby.

If I want to be honestly analytical, this dream probably occurred because of our recent trip to California. We rode in several open vehicles, we saw lots of wild animals at the zoo and before the trip, the hubs had to cut our old locks off of our luggage with wire cutters.

Therefore, I know that this dreams really mean nothing sinister since it contains all the elements of things that have actually happened to us recently. Right? I even discussed the dream with hubby and was laughingly reassured that he loves me and will never leave me and it was just a dream.

Well, then last night-the next night, by the way-I dreamed about this girl again and this time I realized who she is. Angelina Jolee! Yes, Angelina Jolee is trying to steal my husband! Guess what? In this dream, he went with her and he told me he was going to go with her. This dream involved all my usual dream themes. We were in a large room where folks were eating cafeteria style. Perhaps a hospital setting? I remember lots of former friends being there and asking me what was wrong? Was I sad? I remember piling all these food items in industrial plastic type packaging on my tray and trying to get to a table with them. Then instead of eating, I was trying to find a seat so I could draw a sketch of someone in the cafeteria. I don't think it was Angelina, but I'm not sure. Again, the dream seems to go on forever with lots of other stuff happening.

When I told hubs about this dream, he laughed and reminded me that when he was out of town last week, when I called him, he told me he watched one of Angelina's movies in the hotel room.

So here is what I'm thinking. Perhaps I am feeling like I need to do more for my hubby. He is very concerned with current events and keeps up with the news, some might think he is almost obsessive about staying informed. I try to stay aware of what is going on and feel like I am helping to keep him grounded, while supporting him in these areas, as well as others. Do I feel like I am losing him to his computer, television and radio? No, it can't be that, he has always been very intense and passionate about his interests, so I'm used to that.

Am I unconsciously concerned about my body image, and only acting like I really don't mind being 30 pounds overweight? What do you think? Are dreams sometimes just dreams? Or do they always have to mean something? Let me know what you think before Angelina takes my husband!

Old habits die hard

I suppose this is quite true. It's funny how a change of scenery motivated me temporarily to become more active. I walked like crazy and really pushed myself when I was on vacation. I get back home and fall right back into the habit of going from my chair in my computer room, to the couch, to the chair in my studio. It's no one's fault but my own, I know. I just want you to know that you aren't alone in your bad habits. It's like we are our own enablers.

Well, the new fitness center near my house will be opening in January and I am hoping it will have some programs that an overweight, sassy Baby Boomer like me can handle. I know I won't be comfortable in a room full of hotties that want to stay fit. I just want to stay motivated and build my endurance and my flexibility. I know that I'll never be able to put my heels around my head, like I did when I was a kid, but I know I can do better than I do now.

Today's plan is to stand outside and watch my hubby do yard maintenance. That usually means running back and forth and getting tools and such for him, so at least I'll get some fresh air and a bit of motion. Well, I'd better go start the coffee, he'll be back soon with his goodies from Home Depot.

Enjoy your day and stay healthy!

You call it corn, we call it maize

Remember that commercial? I have a new one available if anyone is asking.

You call it polenta, we call it grits.

Now I'm sure the purists out there will say, no it's not the same. The grind is different, and such, but no matter what you call it, this is a yummy treat made from ground corn. It's a good way to keep calories low and the tummy warm. I use instant grits by Quaker, not only for the convenience of just adding water, but they have a really cool interactive web page. You can buy flavored grits, I usually just get the butter or plain and add my own extras. I really like to add some grated (read powdered) Parmesan cheese.

So that's my low cal, low fat, high flavor tip for today...GRITS!

(By the way, that also stands for Girls Raised In The South) that's me, too.

Just my luck...

I told you that I was using my treadmill again and quite successfully, I might add. For some reason, the rollers had loosen up and the belt was too far over on the left and it was rubbing and making a crazy noise. As a temporary measure, I trimmed about 1/2" of the belt off and that seemed to do the trick. Yesterday when my hubby saw his utility knife on my table, he asked what I had used it for. Short version, he insists on getting his tools out and fixing the roller so it wont slide to one side. What happens next? He broke it and how it either has to have a part ordered or even be replaced. Grrrr.

Anywho, in the mean time, what is your favorite treadmill type piece of equipment? I just might go ahead and replace it, as it is about ten years old, even if it is a NordicTrac. Do any of you have those ones that are either elliptical or the glider type (think Tony Little)? I'd like to know what really works best for someone like me, specifically baby boomer, bad knees, overweight and not very athletic.

Let me know.

Getting back on track

Once a year, my DH and I get first class tickets to fly to California. This is a wonderful way to travel and I'll take five hours in the air over three days on the train, any time. The only problem is on flight snacks. We take off from Virginia and fly on a commuter jet to Atlanta. This flight usually takes about 90 minutes. The attendant brings the snack trolley only once during this time span, but you can depend on at least a soft drink, juice or coffee along with a snack of either chips, pretzels, peanuts or cookies. You can request more if you want to, there is usually plenty.

Then there is the layover in Atlanta, fortunately on the way out there was no extra time to stop for snacks in the airport and we high tailed it to the boarding area. This is the plane that actually has a first class compartment and first class it is. Bottle water waiting at your seat. As soon as you sit down, you are offered a beverage while the rest of the folks are boarding. After take off, when the plane has leveled off, you give your order for the meal. Since we flew early it was breakfast. I chose an omelette. It came with choice of bagel or croissant, with butter/cream cheese and jam. It also included quite a large bowl of fruit and another beverage or two.

As soon as these were consumed and all the dishes returned to the front, the attendant comes back with a hot towel. When she comes back to pick that up she is already taking orders for more beverages. This goes on and on until it is time to buckle up to land.

Upon landing, you usually meet your ride and make the required plans to....yes...go somewhere and eat. It was eat and sightsee and eat and visit and eat and watch TV. On the way home, reverse the trip and you get the same amount of food, usually with a two hour layover in the airport for even more snacks. You get the picture? Is it any wonder that the DH and I gained five pounds each in five days? Yikes.

Well, I got back on track today with fruits and veggies and water and even (drum roll please) twenty minutes on the treadmill. I feel very motivated and not inclined to beat myself up for the weight gain.

So I'm back home and ready to take care of my hubby, myself and my home. It's what I love to do. I am not ashamed at all to say I love being married and doing housework. I have plenty of time to do fun things for myself and I am blessed to no longer have to punch a time clock.

Regarding life and staying healthy and fit... remember that we are all in this together. For me, it's all about building each other up. We don't need any help tearing ourselves down, we're pretty good at that already. I don't blog here about political leanings, or religious beliefs. It's not because I don't have strong convictions. If you know me, you know these things already. I guess what I'm trying to say is this...I never say anything online that I wouldn't say to someone's face. For me blogging is the same as speaking in public and I was raised to be polite and I expect others to be. I hope that's not too much to ask. I made a comment on someone's blog last month, in response to a very rude thing that was said about someone I knew and it set that person's followers on fire. I was called out quite rudely by the blog author and I sent her an e-mail of apology, telling her I was unaware that she and I didn't see eye to eye on allowing rude comments and wished her well and we mutually agreed to withdraw as each other's followers. I then removed the comment (which she didn't have to post in the first place, knowing how inflamed her group would be).

Why am I telling you all this? I'm not sure, I just know that I don't feel bad for limiting myself to positive blogs. I do know that I will be more careful about commenting on blogs that I'm new to. I know there are bullies on blogs. They all seem to have excuses for their behavior. It's not even easy to feel sympathy for someone that is supposedly ill, when they spew hate through comments. Why don't I have sympathy for them? Because they were probably like that before they got sick. Mean people don't become sympathetic in my eyes just because they are sick. They are still mean. I'm a very discerning person and I can recognize evil and I stay away from it.

Well, what started out as a positive post about getting back on track, turned into a rant on mean people.

In any event, I hope you all had a fun weekend and are ready to face the world tomorrow. Raise your face to the sun and feel it's warmth. I know I will.

Would you still read?

Having several blogs sometimes means neglecting one. I will be on vacation next week and one of the things I will be reflecting on (in between sight seeing around Mission Bay, and just enjoying riding the trolley) is this blog. I am not ashamed to admit that I love comments and while I know that I have followers here at my weight loss blog, I don't get the same feedback that I get with my other blog.

My question is this...would any of you follow me over to A Walk In The Park if I stop posting here? I am thinking about making more posts there regarding healthy living, as well as the usual chatter that I engage in.

I wish I could take everyone on vacation with me and as I said, I will be relaxing and deciding if I need to reduce my computer time. I will be using my comments here as part of this decision. I have 28 followers here and would love to have you move over to my other blog, but if you prefer to stay here and read about healthy living, recipes and occasional weight loss, but with much more sporadic posts, please let me know.

Well, I have tons of stuff to do to get ready for my California vacation next week, so I'll be absent until I return.

I hope you all have a great week. Stay healthy and happy.

Birthday Cake

I know that this was originally supposed to be a weight loss blog and I did lose weight this past year, just not as much as I had planned. I suppose for the purists out there, I should change the name of my blog to "Let's Stay Healthy This Year", or perhaps "Let's Make A Birthday Cake For Our Husbands".

In any event, the hubby turned 52 yesterday and all he asked for was a birthday cake. I do love to cook and bake, even if it's with a mix, so here is what he requested...

(Don't you hate how your favorite pan looks gnarly in pictures?)

A chocolate cake - "you know, one of those real fudgy, dark cakes" - it called for a stick of butter and three eggs, so it turned out really rich, but still very light. He is funny in that he prefers cakes from boxes and icing from a can. Hey, works for me!

Only two more weeks until vacation, so my posts will start to become more sporadic as we get ready for our yearly trip to the West Coast.

So grab your coffee, have a piece of "virtual cake" and enjoy your week!

My pet peeve of the day

Ok, if this is you, your feeling are going to be hurt, so keep that in mind. The hubby and I went to Lowes today in search of poultry netting to keep the neighbors leaves out of our yard. It actually works really well. In front of us, slowly making her way across the parking lot, to the store was a chick about our age. Why was she moving so slowly? Was the main reason the fact that she had on Birkenstocks and footies? Or was it the baggie shorts that kept crawling up to "you know where" with every step, causing her to take a step and then "stop and dig". This drives me crazy. Those shorts weren't new. She knew that they ride up with every step and yet she decided to wear them out in public anyway. I saw things I didn't want to see today. I'm nobody's petite ballerina, hence the name of this blog, so in my opinion that gives me the right to say "wear some clothes that cover your overly abundant thighs" and "put on a pair of trainers or athletic shoes" and maybe you could get across the street without embarrassing yourself, as well as me and my hubby. Sheesh.

Seacrest out.

Something Sweet

Since it's been over a year since I ate ice cream and it was too soon for my Krispy Kreme fix, I needed something sweet. Do you every remember hearing of something called Apple Pan Betty? I have searched every where on the net to give you a definition, but can find recipes only. Any way apple pan betty is made by sauteing an apple in "butter" (I'm sure your favorite substitute spread would work here) with a bit of cinnamon and sweetener (I used regular sugar). After the apples start to soften up some, you add 1-2 slices of bread that have been cubed. I used raisin bread and used just enough to absorb the remaining butter. Then you just stir it around in the pan until the bread cubes get warm or even slightly toasted.


Here you have a warm, sweet treat with few leftovers staring you in the face, tempting you like an entire apple pie or cobbler would. Ummm, enjoy.

On another matter, my husband and I are dealing with a disheartening matter with our longtime dental professional and I want to vent, but am hesitant to do so. I keep praying for strength and wisdom in this matter, so keep us in your thoughts on this.

Take care, and enjoy the upcoming week.

Hidden Ingredients

I am one of those folks that always reads ingredients on food labels. I pride myself on trying to use the best ingredients when I cook. I try to avoid excessive sodium, trans fats, sugars and such.

My hubby has been craving macaroni and tomatoes, like he had when he was a youngster. It's such a simple dish, you cook the macaroni and then drain and add it to a skillet that has a large can of tomatoes that have been simmering while you cook the pasta. I chose a can of Del Monte Diced Tomatoes seasoned with basil, garlic and onion. It was yummy, almost to the point of being delightful. We loved it.

When rinsing the can to put it in with the recyclables, it struck me that I hadn't read the label on the tomatoes. Why should I, it's just tomatoes and seasoning, right? Wrong. I was stunned when I read that the third ingredient was high fructose corn syrup. I still don't know why it was there, but it's a lesson learned. Check the ingredients, even if you KNOW there can't be anything bad in it. The next time I will make sure to check that label.

Don't know if I had mentioned that I have been almost incapacitated by what I thought was tennis elbow for a week or more and nothing I did brought any relief. Well, I woke up yesterday feeling so yucky that I could not stay out of bed. Nausea and stomach yuckies and other muscle aches when I was up. Today I feel back to normal today, no tennis elbow and the stomach is ok.

I had forgotten that whenever I am fighting off a cold or something of that nature that my arms and legs hurt. I am so seldom sick, that I don't even recognize the symptoms. I was almost ready to head to the hospital since we know that heart attacks in women, have unusual symptoms. Well, I'm ok now and ready to face the world.

I do have to say that I even feel lighter now and am going to watch what I eat. I had gotten a bit complacent and maybe that's why I got sick. My immunity levels must have dropped. You are what you eat, after all.

That's it from me for today. Remember watch what you eat and if you do get a "bug" take care of yourself.

How are you to know?

Since I'll be going on vacation next month, I have been trying to re-introduce some "hard-to-avoid" foods back into my diet. I was concerned that if I didn't, I would spend my vacation not feeling very well. Two of those hard to avoid foods are refined sugar and flour. Since I tried to to add things back, my elbow has started to hurt, my knees hurt and my thumb hurts. Is it because of my diet? Is it my body fighting off a cold? Is it too much time staying in one position while I sew, crochet or read? I really don't know.

I am looking forward to my vacation more this year than usual and hopefully next month I will have lots of pictures that I will post on my other blog and I'm hoping lots of healthy recipes that I'm going to be using when I come back. I know that vacation is still a month away, but I'm getting a bit excited already.

Back to the subject at hand, have you been experiencing any unusual body aches or mystery pains? I don't usually believe in "old age" aches and pains. Should I? What do you think?

Does this count?

I was all pumped up to work out yesterday. Got on the treadmill for about 12 minutes and the phone rang. Since my husband was out running errands, I thought it might be him with a question, so I stopped and answered the telephone. It was the car insurance folks responding to an inquiry we had, so I had to take some notes, etc. Finally got back on the treadmill for 10 more minutes when the hubby comes in with, of all things, chicken biscuits from BoJangles. I turned everything off and instead of working out, I worked on that biscuit. After having a heart to heart with the hubby about junk food I went on with the day. Never finishing the treadmill workout.

Question, is walking in increments of 10 or 15 minutes several times a day, really as effective as staying at it for the entire 40 minutes?

What have you experienced?

Six weeks until vacation

Yes, I know...most folks take vacation in the summer. Not us. My sisters live in San Diego and they always give us a trip out to see them and to do fun stuff. We usually stay in a hidden resort where it is very quiet and we go to the spa and take it really easy for a few days. This time we are staying at a resort on Mission Bay and will be within walking distance (sort of) of lots more stuff. So this means I've got six weeks to build up my endurance so I can keep up with my hubby. He doesn't like to dawdle.

I just got off the tread mill. I did 1.25 miles in 35 minutes. I started slow for about 10 minutes and them did 10 minutes on 2.5 and 2.7 MPH (which is about as fast as I can handle at this point) and then raised my incline to 3 for 5 minutes. I brought it back down to 1 on the incline and stayed at 2.5 until the last 5 minutes where I did a cool down at 2.0 down to 1.0 and stopping.

I had already eaten way too much today. I went clothes shopping and had to have a snack on the way. Dr. Pepper and .99 bag of Utz party mix. My favorite treat. Then swung by KFC and got popcorn chicken and fries which I dipped in ranch dressing. I said I had eaten too much.

So my trip shopping is done and I can concentrate on eating right and walking on the treadmill and making sure all my tops have matching necklaces and earrings. You probably know how I am about my adornments.

So want to join me in my six week training session? Maybe motivate me by your success? I am awful at losing weight. I have been in XL tops and size 16 bottoms for so long (and I'm just barely 5'4"). I really think I can see some changes in six weeks if I stick with it.

So that's it for today. Oh, another thing...my husband is going to D.C. this weekend with a group of folks, so I am going to stay at home and keep my telly and radio off and have a weekend of silence. I will only talk to him when he calls to check in. I suppose you might say it's a mini vow of silence. Drinking lots of water, bible reading and reflection are on the schedule. I plan to be rested and refreshed when he returns Saturday night. Feel free to join me in this little plan, also.

Take care.

My Friend Sandy

Not much news today, just wanted to mention this...

My friend Sandy is the most wonderful artist. She does things like art pillows, art clocks and even sculptures. Please check her out, you will be so amazed at her talent. She has an Etsy account if you are interested in purchasing her art. If you aren't into Etsy, she might even sell directly to you from her blog. At any rate, check out her stuff on her Flickr site.

Why America Hates Fat People

If you haven't already seen this article from Newsweek, please click in on it. It's 3 pages long, so you may want to save it to your desktop and read it at your leisure.

I'm surprised by some of the things that I just read. Wow.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

What have your heard?

At the risk of sounding like I try every fad diet that comes along (really, I don't), I am interested in researching the Alternate Day Diet that I read about in Woman's World mag. It sounds like something that a person could deal with. Only "dieting" every other day. The every other day diet is supposed to be low calorie, healthy foods and then the off day, you are to eat what you want in reasonable portions (not the whole cake for example).

Anyway, I was wondering if any of my weight loss/healthy living buddies knew anyone who has tried either this or CRON. That stands for calorie restricted optimal nutrition. I know that there are a lot of nay sayers to restricted calories (1500 and under per day), but I was just wondering.

That's it for today. I'm having a better bloggy day, since I got some comments from you kids. Thanks for that and stay as healthy as you can.

No more long boring posts...

I'm having a "poor me" moment. I am thinking of revamping this blog in some way. Only my few faithful friends ever comment here. What can I do here to make it more interesting? Do you really want to hear that my weight is up five pounds again and that I have new creases showing in my neck and that at 56 I still have breakouts and that even though I have narrow feet, narrow shoes make my toes hurt? Is that what will bring you out of your shell? I didn't think so. I'll think of something. Really, I will.

Until then, carry on...

Learn to cook

Just a quick post to remind folks that cooking is fun and easy and so worth it. A little meal like this is healthy and almost prepares itself.

The green beans were easy, instead of snapping and stringing, I used canned beans and dumped two large cans in the pot. To this I add 3 beef bullion cubes, and two tablespoons of olive oil. I brought them to a boil, then reduced the heat to about low/medium (3 on my control) cover with the correct sized lid and let them simmer for 1-1/2 hours. (Down here in the South we like stuff cooked a while, none of those crispy green beans for us)



About an hour into the beans cooking, I started on the rest of the meal. The chicken was a snap, also. I always purchase boneless, skinless chicken breast when they are on sale. I freeze them and then the night before a meal I thaw them out in the fridge. There are several ways to thaw chicken, but that's for another post. Anyway, I just put my chicken breasts in a baking pan lined with foil (no clean up much to speak of), squeezed half an orange over the pieces and then shook some seasoning on it. I used lemon-pepper, but you can use almost anything. Baked it uncovered in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes.

While the chicken was cooking, I put a pot of water (seasoned with chicken bullion granules) on to boil. I peeled the new white potatoes using a veggie peeler. I find it is so much easier than a paring knife, as you don't have much waste of the veggie. Sliced them long ways and about 1/4 " thick so they would cook in 20 minutes. (This is how I time everything to be ready at once) When they are done, I drain and mash with a potato masher with a small amount of 2% milk and a bit of trans fat free "butter".

Put it all on a plate with some sliced tomatoes on the side and sliced peaches for dessert and you have a really nice home cooked meal.

Remember not everything has to be completely from scratch to be healthy and if you are intimidated by "home cooking" check out Sandra Lee's Semi Homemade series. She has a television show on the Food Network and several books. She really is good for someone who doesn't know how to cook. If you don't have access to her show, go to YouTube and check out some of the cooking videos, they are so helpful.

Well, that's it for today. Remember to take care of yourself, and stay hydrated. If you aren't able to or just not in the mood for "exercising", do some stretches and deep breathing. You'll be surprised at how much better you will feel.

That's it for now. Remember that I really mean it when I say take care. I do care about you and want you to carve out a little time to take care of yourself, as well as your family.

Enjoy your weekend!

For Security Reasons

This may sound unusual, but I love hair curlers. I like the feeling of having my hair in rollers. Perhaps it's because I come from an era when we rolled our hair on big brush curlers and slept with the hair dryer on. The kind of dryer that had a tube and a soft plastic bonnet that covered your head with heat. You may not remember them, but I certainly do...

So even these days, when life is good and you don't need the security that having really great hair brings, I still love to roll my hair and sit around and read until it is ready for the unveiling.

Yep, there's a lot to be said for doing things the old fashion way. Don't get me wrong, I'm as hip as the next chick is, but I just love the feeling of nice tight curlers in my hair.

That's my thought for today. Don't know why. Do you know anyone who still rolls their hair? Well, you do now. Take care and wrap yourself in your own security blanket until we meet again.

The Best Day Ever

In honor of the most special event in my life I am re-posting this. I know you won't mind reading it again, sorry if you just read it on my other blog, but that makes it twice as good!


Please join me in celebrating the Best Day Ever...
August 8, 1988

I don't have an picture from the actual wedding, but here we are soon after.

The wedding was a spur of the moment thing. One of the girls I worked with convinced me to go ahead with the plans that my sweetie and I had sort of talked about. I said to her that morning, when I looked at our office calendar, "ahhh, I wanted to get married today". She said "Well, the boss is on vacation, so we have most of the day to plan it out. Call your sweetie, go get the license while I find a preacher". No more encouragement was needed. We did get a parking ticket while we were obtaining the license, but other than that everything went off without a hitch.

Yes, my sweet friends, twenty one years ago today, we said "I Do" and promised to love, cherish and obey. We meant it then and we mean it now. We got married in a little wedding chapel. I wore my favorite denim skirt and top and pinned Baby's Breath in my hair and carried some fresh wildflowers. (Sandy thought of everything). When we went to pick up Denise, to go along as our attendant/witness, she was wearing a yellow terrycloth tank top with matching short shorts and flip flops (she was the singer in the band Sweetie was in) and had already gotten a wedding cake for us that had little gold rings on it (there is still a piece in our freezer, we have taken it whenever we have moved). I carried my sister's Bible and wore my Mom's long forgotten wedding band. I have no recollection of what he wore, but we went to the Sizzler afterwards and had dinner. I am a little sad to admit that we didn't think to tell either of our families until it was over. We were more impulsive in those days.

I have to let you all know, I was crying as I wrote this originally. I am so blessed and fortunate to have him in my life. We have been through tough times just like anyone else, but we made it this far and we will make it through anything that comes our way. He is the love of my life and I will never stop thanking God for allowing me to spend my life with him. I remember I couldn't stop crying as I typed and guess what... I am crying again, as I re-post it. Whenever I blog, he gets his guitar and plays and sings songs for me as I type, I don't think he realizes how romantic it is. He and I aren't big party people, and we still haven't decided how we will celebrate. It doesn't matter what we do, as long as we are together.

I can't think of a better way to share my joy with all my friends, than through this little blog. That is why I am posting this happy, grainy picture from so many years ago. Hope you like it.

To help us celebrate, please kiss that special someone and say "this one's for Susan and her Hubby".

Are we in the same boat?

I think that perhaps some of us are in the same boat. There are certainly some ultra-success stories out there in blog land. Success is relative to the individual, though. I think that for the most part, lots of us are just trying to lose a little bit of weight, while some of us consider no weight gain a success. I have mentioned before that I don't exercise, even though I know that all the advisers stress you must exercise in order to lose weight and stay healthy.

Staying healthy is really key for my husband and me. I am 56 and he is not quite 52, so we are seeing a bit of difference in things. He is finally noticing a gray hair here and there and those of you that know me, know I sport a head full of silver locks. We are both starting to do crazy things that we never did before, like putting freezer foods in the regular part of the fridge and putting on two pair of undies. You know, the usual absent minded stuff.

With the possibility of health care options becoming limited for the elderly, I know that I must keep us as healthy as I can, as we plan on being around a long time. With all this being said, don't be discouraged if perhaps this blog becomes more about living healthy in general, with an occasional article about actual weight loss.

Just know that when I am at the keyboard, it will usually be as positive as possible. I am a positive thinking person by nature and that just sort of spills over into my writing. Even when I was at my worst (and everyone has had those days) I was never angst ridden or a poor me baby.

Blessedly I am healthy and happy and hopeful. Combine that with a loving husband, the freedom to do my art and to make jewelry, and the ability to sift through a bunch of junk to get to the "good stuff", and that makes me one extremely grateful chick.

Enjoy your week and make one good choice today. That's all I ask. Just one. It might be not eating the whole pack of cookies... it might be adding an apple... it might be parking further away from the store. Whatever it is, just do it.

Well, that's it for today. Take care and have fun.

Body Image

"I never meant to transfer any negative body image issues to you, but..."


I don't mind if you chew it up completely!

Do we need to talk about it?

I mentioned a few days back that I was thinking of doing South Beach. The first phase is very much like Atkins, in that you are very low carb, which means high protein...which for me, means constipation. Yes, it's a condition that sometimes needs to be addressed. Even if you are squeamish discussing it, you need to know that everything is "moving along" correctly. Be honest with yourself. If you aren't going to the bathroom as you should, you will be uncomfortable and unhealthy. Do what you know works. Don't do high protein if fruits, veggies and peanuts keep you regular. Eat your FIBER! Drink LOTS of water. Get some exercise. Usually there is no need to take laxatives. Take care of yourself in a natural and healthy way.

Well, that's my rant for today. Take care and enjoy your week!

When the weekend catches up with you...

If the holiday weekend was your excuse to overindulge, and the skinny jeans just are too, too tight. Take down your pony tail and use the elastic as an extension. Sometimes it's the little things that help.

Shucks, I'll take all the help I can get. Enjoy the weekend and keep plenty of hair elastics with you.

Worst Drinks in America

My husband sent me this link from MSN and I have to admit that I have had several of the beverages on this list. I do want you to click on the article, but I wanted to go ahead and post the worst offender.

1. WORST DRINK IN AMERICA

Baskin-Robbins Large Chocolate Oreo Shake

• 2,600 calories
• 135 g fat (59 g saturated fat, 2.5 g trans fat)
• 263 g sugars
• 1,700 mg sodium

Is this the worst drink on the planet? All signs point to yes. First off, it has an ingredient list that reads like an organic chemistry final. Those 70-plus ingredients conspire to pack this shake with more sugar than 29 Fudgsicles, as much fat as a stick and a half of butter, and more calories than 48 actual Oreos. Oh, it also has 3 days’ worth of saturated fat and, most bizarre of all, as much salt as you’ll find in 9 bags of Lay’s Classic potato chips. Need more proof? Let’s hope not.

It seems like, as a nation as a whole, we have gotten quite complacent. Don't let it happen to you. I have seen myself gradually convincing myself that a soda here and there won't hurt, but that's not true. It will hurt and I'm going back to completely sugarless. It was easy. As far as "dieting", I am starting my South Beach Phase One today. The first phase is only two weeks, so that should put me in a good place for my wellness appointment on the 22nd.

Well, that's all for now. Be sure and visit the blog of my kitten, Amos, and mark it as a favorite or become a follower. I wanted to share pictures of him with you, but didn't want you to have to see them here. It will always be kid friendly, so don't be concerned about that.

Take care, and watch what beverages you are drinking!

Let's make a salad

Ok, y'all, before everyone gets hyper because this is iceberg lettuce, let me clue you in to the fact that the hubby and I are on a very good vitamin program and what vitamins I lose out due to the lettuce I make up for with vitamin therapy.

That being said, this is usually what I use for our salad. It's a good way to get lots of fiber into our diet. I know I always make the salads too large (we get all of our fruit and veggie servings for the day in one bowl), but it is so tasty this way.


We usually do add a spiced up olive oil and vinegar dressing and some whole grain crackers.

I am going to break bad and have regular buns with our extra lean hamburger patties Saturday and I'm going to put full fat cheese on them AND have potato chips.

So that's my treat for Independence Day. Hamburgers, chips, melon chunks and grape juice spritzers.

Hope everyone has a great weekend and if this weekend is Independence Day for you, stop and think of everyone involved, past and present, in making this such a great holiday. If it's not a special weekend in your part of the world, enjoy your weekend and stay healthy!

Yikes, It's only six months till Christmas

I had plans to be quite thin and in shape by now. I really had. Our new fitness center will be open in January 2010 and I had visualized myself all tarted up in new work out gear and cushiony new Rykas...silver ponytail swinging in sync with arms held at the perfect angle as I whiz around the new walking track.

Reality check. Uhh, ok, I've still got six months to get in shape to go to the fitness center. I really don't want to be the old chick with the pretty face. The one that is gasping for breath just going up the stairs to the track. I don't want to have to stumble over too long yoga pants because these dimpled thighs are too hideous to fit into spandex shorts. I really don't.

So here's the plan...kick it into gear, starting tomorrow. I've already had a Weight Watcher's pizza and some potato chips for dinner, so logically I need to stuff my face with everything I can tonight.

I have a tread mill that works (I need to move my loom and a fan in order to use it, but I digress), and I have a really good knowledge of nutrition and blah, blah, blah.

Quit blabbering and start doing. I can do it, I know I can. I will do it, I know I will. (This is me giving myself a pep talk)

Well, anyway...tomorrow is another day. We'll see how it goes. My sweet hubby told me that perhaps I could shoot for an award from the gym as client "most improved since buying membership". I'll take that,too.

We'll talk later. Take it easy, dudes and dudettes.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

This has been a rainy spring.

I love this world and am thankful for everyday that I awaken. However, I am getting a bit tired of the rain. The next few words you read will be me sounding like a "poor me baby", but hey, every once in a while won't hurt. The rain makes my allergies act up. That makes my nose run and my ears tingle. My skin feels crawly and my neck is stiff. Gosh, all those symptoms sound serious...not. My skin feels crawly and burning when I am fighting off a cold. So I know that my immune system is working quite well. I'm not getting sick, just some vague symptoms that I can live with.

More whining...Monday we went to get a new DVD player. Since it was raining then also, I stayed under the shelter at the front of the store, holding the purchase, whilst the hubby went to get the car. He pulled up to pick me up and the door was locked, so I had to stand in the rain very briefly while he clicked the lock open. Long enough for me to think I was going to melt like the witch in the Wizard of Oz. Believe me, it didn't take long for my hackles to rise. The very nerve of him, driving around to pick me up and not having the door already unlocked. Humph. So I grab the door open, try to dramatically fling the package into the car to show how "put upon" I was, and promptly scraped my mouth on the corner of the box. That is the way this week has been.

Tuesday wasn't too bad, we did find a new restaurant to go to that has a really good selection on the menu. I normally do salad and unsweetened tea because I monitor my flour and sugar consumption, but yesterday I had a turkey sandwich on rye and a Dr. Pepper. AND split an order of deep fried onion rings with the hubby.

Since this is a weight loss blog, I will mention that I am still 170-172 pounds, but actually I feel pretty good about that. I am not gaining and my knees no longer hurt going up and down stairs.
I am hanging in there and glad to be alive.

For those of you that don't follow my art blog, just for fun, check out this post to see what my hubby made. If you have time to leave a comment, he would get a big kick out of it.

Take care and stay dry.

Another rainy weekend

I love a rainy weekend and it looks like one is rolling in. A rainy weekend lets you get caught up on things you avoid when it's sunny. I have been lax about my dishes for several...

sorry, I had to stop and talk about monkeys with my DH...

anyway, I had been rinsing my dishes off and stacking them in the sink for several days. I know, I know. It's been a busy week with errands to run and friends coming over. Fortunately they never seem to mind dishes stacked in my sink, neatly covered with a tea towel as camouflage. So today while it sprinkles rain outside I decided to do the dishes. One reason I always hesitate to do my dishes is that, in addition to our stoneware, we use lots of disposable cups and because we have no recycling for Styrofoam, I always use them several times, washing them in between times. This means when I run my dishwasher for the dishes, pots and pans that I still have Styrofoam and Solo cups left to wash. This means I still have to fill the sink with soapy water and have rinse water. I was just thinking that the main reason that I don't do all my dishes by hand, is that I don't have enough draining room for all these cups and I have to dry them in between batches.

Hmmm....since I'm washing dishes anyway, why not just pull out the racks on the dishwasher. It's right next to me at the sink and it makes the perfect dish drainer.

So, my friends, that's is my post for today. Have you wanted to cut down on the usage of your automatic dishwasher, but you don't have drying space on your counter for your dishes? Fill the sink up with warm sudsy water for washing and the other sink (or a large vessel) filled with water for rinsing, wash away. It's calming and therapeutic. It's not work at all, and it saves on electricity and water. Nobody loses this way.

Enjoy your weekend and do something good for yourself. Even if it's as simple as having positive thoughts, do it for yourself.

Take care, and we'll talk soon.

I couldn't stop thinking...

This evening while preparing a yummy pot of beef vegetable soup, I purposely kept the television off. I am not afraid of quiet, as some people these days seem to be. I am a thinker. I think best when it's quiet. While peeling potatoes and carrots, and chopping onions and browning beef, I began to think of this...

If I knew that God would grant me one request right before I died, what would that be?

There is a song called Live Like You Were Dying, it's a great song and it lists some of the things a person would want to have done before they died. That's not really what I'm all about. I love my life and really can't think of anything that I wish I could have done, or places I wanted to visit. My request would be something else. I would love to know that everyone that I have hurt in any way, be it a hissy fit that I threw or an unintentional slight, or any thing I said that caused pain... that when I pass away that memory passes with me. I am not talking about leaving a legacy behind or asking for anyone to sing my praises. I'm not even talking about forgiveness. Usually if I have had words with someone or something has happened, we can usually talk it out. I just think it would be so wonderful, if when loved ones pass away, we really wouldn't remember anything but good. Wouldn't that be neat?

Well, after all that thinking and peeling and chopping, we had a lovely bowl of soup followed up by an nice orange. I hope you all have a nice evening and are looking forward to another day. I know I am. I always do. Tomorrow is always the day that we can do something a bit different. Tomorrow is one of my favorite days.

Take care and stay healthy and happy.

XOXOX

Arm rest...

Ok, I have to admit something. Well, several things actually. I am a slacker. I am lazy. I dislike exercise. None of those things are really true, but we all feel like saying that sometimes. I promised myself that I would be in shape when our local fitness center opens up. Well, I went past it today and it is making much more progress than I am. It is supposed to open in January and here I sit, still in my size 16 jeans, still weighing 170, still telling myself "just one more handful of peanuts, you need the fiber". Part of my reluctance to ramp up my methods to lose weight is the fact that (and don't get me wrong here) I look pretty darn good. For the most part, that is. I still have good skin, even though it is a bit looser than it used to be... and I still have good hair and am digging on the silver... and a good sense of humor. I laugh all the time. I have always been slightly overweight. I'm used to being chubby and I'd rather be sitting down doing art, or blogging or reading than I would be out hiking. I do love to putter around in my back yard, but it's a Catch-22... I have to be so careful because I am out of shape. One wrong reach and your back hurts. Then you are hesitant to even go back down there. You all know what I'm talking about.

Anyway, the reason for the title of this post is this. I recently realized that while I am sitting on the couch at night with the hubby, watching The Match Game reruns and laughing like a nut, that I have been using my "spare tire" for an arm rest. You know that area, just below the bust line? Well, I find that I cross my arms in front of me and nestle them under aforementioned bust line and rest my arms on my spare tire. This is not good. I do not want to have an arm rest under my bust line. This will not do.

Am I alone in this?

Shimmy

Quick Little Mini Post...

People have known for years that belly dancing is great exercise. I took a great course at our YWCA waaaaay back when. Imagine my delight when I clicked over to FIT TV and found Shimmy. If you don't have this on your cable, you can go to the website from this page and check out the moves there. Remember you can do this in the privacy of your own home and it is effective. I can really tell that I used muscles that have been hiding for some time. Feels good. Check it out.

Raining again

This is day four of the rain. My allergies are acting up and the backyard is way too slick to hike around in. No puttering for me. You may already know that I am a stay at home wife and artist/crafter/jewelry maker. This puts me at a work table for long periods of time. I have a tread mill that I seldom use and I just don't get enough exercise. I am 56 years old and have never been athletic. All of this combined, is not that conducive to staying fit, let alone losing weight.

There is a new family center being built about one mile from my house and my original plan was to lose weight in the year that it is being built, so I would more able to exercise and such when it is completed. I have lost about 10 pounds since November and plan to lose more before the grand opening in December. I am really looking forward to this family center. It will have indoor and outdoor pools, weight rooms, indoor track and lots of activities for all ages. I am looking forward to water aerobics, walking the track and who knows, I might even apply for a spot to teach jewelry making, or something of that nature.

In the meantime I have several habits that I need to break, that I know are adding to my body's resistance to losing weight. The following is a list of what I usually eat during a day, see if you can spot the booby traps.

Breakfast:

2 slices of Ezekiel Raisin Toast 160 calories
2 tablespoons cream cheese 70 calories
Coffee with milk & sweetener 60 calories
1 orange 65 calories

355 calories total

Not bad, though I would probably do better with oatmeal and fruit, because the raisin toast with cream cheese is....wait for it....comfort food. Yep, and I usually read while I'm eating (also not so good) so I go and make two more slices and more cream cheese, then I have to have more coffee with fructose sweetener to keep my food to drink ratio correct...(seeing the pattern here?)

If I am working at my table in my work area, I get busy and forget to eat lunch. This means I have forgotten to feed my work from home hubby, also, so for an early dinner we usually have

Late Lunch/Early Dinner

Large tossed salad with fruit and chicken in it
ranch dressing (left over idea from Atkins, and I use way too much)
additional fruit, because my hubby eats slowly and I don't want to be finished before him
Water

Snacks (while watching TV)

numerous handfuls of dry roasted peanuts, another comfort food
(I justify this as needing the extra fiber, while I'm probably craving salt because I'm dehydrated from not drinking enough water)

Sometimes another complete meal is consumed, due to the late lunch/early dinner...

You notice how quickly I stopped counting calories? It's easy to do, isn't it?

The whole point I'm making is I know that I'm eating too much and not exercising and have developed some bad habits. My cholesterol levels are fabulous and I have great blood pressure, heart rate, etc. I'm pretty darn healthy, I'm just a creature of habit, as we all are. I know the proper measures to take and I plan on taking them.

I don't use artificial sweeteners, I don't eat any refined flours or sugars, I monitor trans fats. I eat healthy. I feel extremely good. I wear a size 16 jeans and have for about 5 years. I have a healthy body image, I just want to make sure I'm healthy in my golden years. So to bring this rambling post to a positive close, I want to say this...we know how to do it, so

LET'S LOSE WEIGHT THIS YEAR!!!

I'm cheering us on, I know we can do it. Hang in there diet buddies, it will be worth it! Let's do something healthy each day. I'm going to start by measuring my food again, as portion control is my downfall. I'm a member of SparkPeople and I am also going to utilize those tools more. What will you do? Make sure it's healthy and for the right reasons.

That's all for now, take care of yourself...no seriously, I mean take care of yourself. OK?

The weather here is beautiful...

For about four days in a row, it was super hot and humid. Today the breezes are blowing and it was a pleasure to take my trusty loppers and my red walking stick and play around in the woods. I can only work for about 30 minutes before my face gets hot and scary red and I have to go back in. I am extremely fair skinned and I want to think the redness is from that and not my lack of fitness. On the other hand I can hike around for long periods of time, it's just when I start pulling vines from trees and sawing branches that I get overheated. I suppose that's to be expected, but it certainly makes me feel limited and I don't like that.

I had my 56th birthday Saturday and in my family that's like 36. My mother and grandmother and all my uncles lived long, long lives. They never did a lot of physical activity, they just "puttered around" with flowers and yard work. Maybe I need to pace myself more.

This weekend the sweetest cheerleaders from our local high school came by selling candles. As they were leaving one of them got stung by a yellow jacket on my porch. I hate bees of any kind and I know how it is to be freaked out by them. The little thing was in such pain and so scared, that I brought them in and cracked ice with a hammer and had her hold a baggie of ice on the sting. I will see them again when they bring my order. Boy, am I glad I had already made my purchase when she got stung, otherwise it would have looked like an "I'm guilty" purchase.

That's all for today, still hanging in at 170-171, but with this heat I'm not eating as much and hopefully I will jump start myself back into actually losing. Maintaining is important, but I wants to lose!!

Have a great week kids and stay healthy and happy!!

Don't Give Up On Me

Just a quick post to let you know I'm still hanging in there. I seem to have blogger block today. I want to post something inspiring and witty and wise, but it just isn't coming to me.

I did have to cut down a pair of jeans because they were too big. I love to sew and being able to alter jeans is pretty cool.

That's it for now, if anything stupendous hits me, I'll be sure and let you know.

Take care, and eat healthy!

No sugar, no problem

This is the first time in my memory that I did not eat Easter candy. I didn't miss it at all. I am still hovering at 168, 169, 170. I have been doing some walking in my woods and am looking forward to making a path that I can keep cleared enough for walking.

It looks like a nice gentle slope and when it is cleared of vines, stickers and such, going down to the creek is pretty easy...


It's getting back up the hill from the creek that always looks daunting. I keep my trusty red broom handle to use as a walking stick, and I haven't fallen yet.

It just doesn't look that far when you start out, but once you get down to the bottom...yep, you have to trudge on back up.

I figure if I do this every day that it's not raining, I'll get in great shape. That's my plan for now.

Hope everyone had a great weekend. Take care and enjoy the rest of it.

Beam Me Up, Scottie

I have been having the most vivid, lengthy dreams lately. The only thing I can remember about last night's dream is that I had a Star Trek transporter on the rug in front of my kitchen sink.

Maybe I will start interspersing dreams into this blog, along with my weight loss journey and the occasional recipes.

Also, I was wondering who here checks out my other blog, which is mostly art and jewelry.


Well, that's it for today, take care and eat healthy.

quick update

Just to let you know, not only did I see 169 this week, I also saw 168.5. I weigh more than once a week. It's the only way I can keep on track.

That's it for now, except for a quick soft drink recipe.

Take your favorite natural fruit juice (bottled pure orange juice works well)
pour over ice to about 1/2 of your cup and the fill up the rest of the way with sparkling water.
Add a bit of fructose sweetener to taste...

and you have an old fashioned orange-ade, just like at the soda fountain, minus the simple syrup they used.

Enjoy...ahhh

Still no loss, no gain, but still in the pink!

I will not be unhappy with this plateau. As soon as the weather permits, I will be working quite vigorously in my back woods and I am sure that will help with the stall in weight loss that I am experiencing. In the mean time, just a quick mention of something I did today. I love hot tea on a rainy day and I really love flavored and spicy teas. Alas, I had no flavored teabags. I tried this...

heat water for teabag
dunk said teabag for however long y'all want
heat (I used the microwave on 14 seconds) a tablespoon
of your favorite fruit spread and then remove the solid fruit (if any)
stir the remaining melted syrup into hot tea and WOWZY, WOO WOO!!!

Hold on to your socks, cause this is delish!!!!

Seriously though, the all-fruit spreads (not jams and jellies, check that label) are not sweetened with sugar, but juice and concentrate. Fruit juices and concentrates make for great sweeteners when you are avoiding refined sugars and honey. Be sure to check out the book and the website, "Dr. Gott's No Sugar No Flour Diet" for more interesting information on this subject.

That's it for now. Take care and enjoy your day.

Dress up that boring chicken

We all know that baked chicken is healthier than that yummy, crumbly, fried Southern delight. Sometimes plain baked chicken is just not that tasty. You can, of course, crush up potato chips/crisps to use as a coating and then bake your chicken. While this is really tasty and is flour free, it does add quite a bit of salt and oil, depending on the chips/crisps that you use.

Since most of us want more control in our cooking, I decided to zip up my chicken by using gluten free (since I don't do flours of any kind) cracker crumbs. I use Mary's Gone Crackers, that I get at my super market.

These crackers are not what you are used to. They are very thin and very crisp and probably an acquired taste. When you are going flour free, your search for more natural products may include some pretty gnarly tasting food stuffs. I tried these without much hope, but quickly realized that these rustic little crackers are really pretty good.

I crushed about 6-7 crackers in a plastic food storage bag, using a juice glass. I use a plastic bag, because you can see which pieces need more crushing, but you certainly can be more earth friendly and use a paper bag. I then rinsed off my boneless chicken pieces, making sure the water was shaken off good and put each piece singly into the crumbs and shook to coat. You know, just like that fancy name-brand stuff where you shake and then bake.

I baked them at 350 degrees for about 17 minutes and they were so yummy, I was astounded. When doing my research today, I found that Mary has a website and blog. She now carries prepackaged cracker crumbs and I just may order some. In the mean time, this is an excellent replacement for that refined flour, bread crumb mess that you have been using in the past.

Try it, you just might be surprised.

Scooty-Pootin ...and a recipe

I used to know a girl who used this term all the time. Whenever anyone asked her how she was doing, she always said "Scooty-Pootin' along". That meant everything was running smoothly. Same thing here. No loss, but no gain and this is week number seven without sugar or flour. I try to stay motivated. I am reorganizing my kitchen cabinets, finding lots of good stuff to send to the Rescue Mission. I made a table cloth for my kitchen table today and then put together the yummiest pot of potato soup for dinner tonight. Potatoes really warm a body on a rainy day. Potato soup is so easy to make, this is what I do.

1. peel, rinse and cube 5-6 russet bakers
2. dice up some onion (to suit your tastes)
3. dice up some celery

Toss all this into a fairly large, heavy bottom pot with enough filtered water to cover all the ingredients by about one inch, add several spoonfuls (or cubes) of chicken bullion granules and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to a lower setting, cover and let simmer until all is tender and the water has reduced some. Usually around 15-20 minutes. There is usually enough time to read a few blogs while the soup is cooking. When the potatoes are tender, I then lower the heat to the lowest setting on my burner.

Since this is a pretty large amount of potatoes, I now start sort of stirring and mashing at them in the remaining water and allow some of them to break up to start thickening the soup. If you have not used enough potatoes, or have too much water, and stuff looks really thin, you can shake in some instant potato flakes to act as a thickener. Or you can get mad and mutter under your breath. I don't usually have to do this step.

Now, let's gradually start adding some milk to the pot. If you want, you can put some of the soup into a deep bowl and add the milk to that before adding to the hot soup. Some folks don't like to put cold milk directly into a hot dish, as it may curdle the milk. I have never had this happen with this soup. Add as much milk as you want, but very gradually, keeping an eye on it, so it doesn't get thin again, making you roll your eyes heavenward while clinching your left hand very hard, and remember keep the soup on low to make sure everything is nice and warm.

Dish up and enjoy. It looks pretty to put some finely grated cheese and a pinch of parsley flakes on top of the soup. Try not to inhale or aspirate those dry parsley flakes and sneeze onto the soup. I sometimes have several pieces of buttered Ezekiel bread with my bowl, while my hubby likes organic wheat crackers with his.

Whatever your choice of accompaniment is, be sure to enjoy yourself some Southern style potato soup. It's the ultimate comfort food.

Have a great weekend.

Just checking in

Just popping in to say hi and to admit that I'm still at 170. I cannot break that barrier. I did see 169 one morning when I was "willing" myself to be lighter. I knew it wasn't real, because next time I was back at 170.

That's ok. I feel so good. My knees no longer hurt when I go up the steps and I am doing quite well on the no flour, no sugar plan.

Here I am sitting here in a T-Shirt that I have flash-danced,

because I can't stand the neck of a shirt touching my neck. I know it's a bit weird, but that's ok, too. Anyway I'm in this t-shirt because it is really warm here in Virginia today. I love the warmer weather, although I love winter, too...shoot I just love waking up each morning. So everyone is looking forward to Spring, although we usually skip Spring here and go straight to the 80's and 90's. I got a good dose of sunshine while I was sweeping the rest of the snow off the deck. Ironic, huh?

Yep, this is me in the flesh, actually, I kind of like this shot. It shows what I usually look like. Now, I do clean up real good and have been known to dress up and go out and get some culture, but for the most part this is the way I am most comfortable. Ragged jeans, flash danced tee and always, always, make up and earrings.

Anyway, on another subject, for those of you interested, the bread that I use is flourless and sugar free. It is made from whole grains and seeds and is very tasty. They have several different choices and are available in the larger supermarkets (we have Kroger) and at most health food stores (we have Nature's Outlet). It is stored frozen, but I keep it in the fridge. Yummy.

Well, that's it for today. Here's hoping everyone feels well and is positive and motivated towards keeping themselves and their families healthy. Take care, y'all, we'll talk soon.

Fiber in a pot

Good day, all. I just realized that I haven't been posting pictures on this blog. Duh, what is wrong with me? I have a good digital camera and take pictures of everything. Today's picture is "fiber in a pot".


I don't know about you, but in my house with both the hubby and I moving towards the second half of our century mark, we need more fiber in our diets. Back in the "olden" days, my grandma called it roughage and it sounded horrible to me. I now realize that fiber just might be the "end all, cure all" in nutrition.

So many foods are good sources of fiber that I won't take the time to mention them today. I am going to go on and on about how much I like soup. My hubby likes his vegetable beef soup in a tomato base. I used lots of fresh, organic veggies in both of these soups, but I also added frozen spinach to my chicken vegetable with barley soup. Just for good measure I tossed in a handful of barley to his soup, also. Both of these soups are so tasty and are warm and comforting. No sugar, no flour either. I will toast some yummy Ezekiel bread and follow it up with some fresh fruit (if we have room).

Well, that's it for today. Need more fiber? Make a pot of vegetable soup. Take care and enjoy.

Hey, it's me again

Just a quick post to let you know I'm still kicking. I have been pretty busy with home life and making my little art pillows, so I don't really have any awesome words of wisdom to impart.

Just a quick update to let you know I am still doing No Flour No Sugar and am losing very slowly, but I am losing. One half a pound a week will eventually add up and as soon as I start becoming a bit more active, that will probably increase. I'm just one pound away from 169. I haven't seen the "60's" on my scales for a long, long time (probably six years), so I'm ready for it. That's my short term goal.

Take care and remember, warmer weather is on it's way.

The numbers are good

We went today and had our cholesterol checked by Life Line Screening. This was the first time in several years for me. The last time, I think my total cholesterol (TC) was 243. Today's number was 193. I am quite happy with this . I won't bore you with the specifics of each reading, but even though they are not in the "optimal" range, they are all falling in the "desirable" range.

That's it for today, with the exception of something interesting and a bit funny in a sad sort of way. Lately I have been experiencing some weird stomach sensations, almost like an ache or something. At first I thought I had a bug of some kind, it didn't really feel like nausea, but it was just something I couldn't identify. Since we had to fast for eight hours prior to our testing today, I didn't eat anything at all, and about one p.m., I got this weird sensation in my stomach again. Then it hit me...duh...I was hungry. I haven't allowed myself to be hungry for so long, that I didn't recognize what it felt like. I think that is almost sad. Have I been stuffing myself for so long, that I couldn't recognize a hunger pang? Well, at least now I know what being hungry feels like and I won't worry about it, I'll just grab a piece of fruit and be on my way.

Take care and stay healthy!

A pleasant surprise

Hello all. The Hubby and I went out today. My hairstylist was able to work the hubs in for a much needed cut. Afterwards, we went to lunch at one of our favorite Mom and Pop restaurants. Our waitress hadn't seen me for several months and was seemingly astounded by how great she thought I looked. She said she could tell I had lost weight and my new haircut is great and I look so rested. It was a pleasant surprise.

I have, certainly, lost no more than ten pounds since she has seen me, so I can only assume that my healthy look is from the No Sugar, No Flour way of eating. Sugar and flour were clogging my entire system. I feel so much better than before and I, honestly, do not feel deprived at all. I was afraid that not having any sugar would really be tough to do. I don't do artificial sweeteners and although Stevia is a good substitute, I'm not crazy about the taste of it. I do, however, really like everything about fructose as a sweetener. The brand I am using is by Now Foods, but others are available in the organic sections of most larger supermarkets.

I've been hypoglycemic for a very long time and I can always tell when I'm not feeling right from too much sugar. This sweetener is perfect for me. I can tell that my GI levels are staying where they should be. I don't mean to sound vague, but I know when something is off kilter with me. It is not calorie free, (15 calories per teaspoon, same as sugar) and I am not saying it is right for anyone else. Just wanted to let you know that if you are concerned your GI levels, this is a great sweetener. Well, I'll get off my soapbox about fructose.

I was able to sneak in some "exercise" today. We had a record breaking warm day today and decided to take advantage of it and do yard work. I'm a bit out of shape, but I can pick up sticks from the yard. Sounds lame to you? Try it. It's like doing 100 "touch your toes". You can also do a bit of stretching and a lunge or two while you're at it. I topped that off with doing laundry and I kept the basket on the floor beside me, instead of putting it on the table. That way I have to bend over to pick up the clothes to fold them. More "exercise". See, there are so many ways to incorporate activity into our daily lives.

You know, we really are all in this together. Whether you have twenty pounds to lose, or two hundred, we all benefit from encouragement and support. We all have a "magic number" on the scales. It can be the weight you were when you were the happiest and healthiest. For me, I also have that weight that I absolutely won't allow myself to go over. Uhh, I went over that number five years ago.

My point is this, having a blog and sharing our fears and our victories with others really is important. I don't respond well to negativity or "constructive" criticism. I know what my weaknesses are, as well as my strengths. I don't particularly appreciate, for instance, a family member that tells you what you should be doing or eating, when they are even more out of shape than you. I think that is why I love my bloggy friends, we encourage each other and offer support that is heart felt because we really are all going through the same thing. I don't know if I'm making myself clear here, I just want to let you all know that I care about you and I really do know how you feel. Whether it is a scale that won't go high enough to weigh you anymore, or a school mate that shouts at ten year old you, "Hey Truck, drink some Metracal". We really are in this together. Hang in there my friends, we're going to make it.

One Quick Thing...

Just a quick note to all my friends here on the "weight loss circuit", I am having a Valentine giveaway on my art blog and I hope you will come by. Hope to see you there!

Just a quick tip

I mentioned in my last post something about motivation. Here is another thing I noticed this week. I think this applies to everyone, not just me. If you are home during the day, make it a point to dress as if you have something to do. For me, this means putting on jeans and good athletic shoes. One day this week, it was really cold and I put on stretchy comfy yoga pants and knee socks and house shoes. I realized after sitting on the couch and drawing all day, that I would have been more motivated if I were dressed differently. If you want to be motivated to work out, put on your work out gear while you are doing your daily chores and soon you will be making strides on the treadmill or hopping and bopping to your favorite exercise video. It works, try it!

Well, that's it for today. Have a good one and stay motivated!

Quick Update

Just a quick update to say how much better I feel without the flours and sugars. I have spent the past two weeks learning what foods work best for my hubby and me. Lost 5 pounds just while doing research. Since it is the day of the "Big Game" I wanted to fix something different for us to eat. We had pinto beans and made from scratch hush puppies. It was quite yummy and not difficult to fix.

I am going to try to get in a bit more exercise this week, and go into this week with actual weight loss in mind.

Once again, I must say...the No Flour, No Sugar plan is easy, easy, easy.

Have a great week, and stay motivated and positive!

It's too easy to work...but?

Just one quick post, I have been doing the No Flour, No Sugar program for one week and I am back down to 172 pounds. This is my lowest since October. All I have done is avoid anything that has any type of sugar (you regular dieters know all the culprits) and anything that has flour or any type of flour ingredient in it. I have been watching portion size also. The premise is that, as we know, sugar has no nutritional value and is therefore, empty calories. Well it seems that refined flour of any kind (wheat, rice flour, soy flour, oat flour...) is the same on the G.I. (glycemic index) as table sugar. That's a good enough reason for me.

Have a great Sunday, be thankful and grateful and tell you family you love them.

Take care.

I like this book

At the risk of sounding like I try everything that is written, I thought I would use this book as a guideline for ridding my diet of sugar and flour. I have been thinking of doing this for some time and I like Dr. Gott's take on it.

It is actually quite simple, remove anything with any kind of flour or any kind of sugar from your diet. Combine that with portion control, moderate exercise and other healthy choices and you are bound to feel better.

That's my take on things for today. Take care.

It's a warming trend...

We are taking part in the current "cold snap". It has warmed up to 7 degrees. If you are like me, you want to reach for the comfort food during the winter. I have done this several times lately and the scales are up 2 pounds.

I know that I am an emotion eater. I snack mindlessly when I'm bored or when I reading. I learned to eat while I read by reading the back of the cereal box on the kitchen table. I'm not saying that if Mom had put away the box after pouring our cereal, I would not be overweight...I'm just pointing out how easily unhealthy habits can be started and how early they start.

When I stayed with my grandmother as a child, if I was bothered by something, she gave me money to go get fudge Popsicles at the little store at the corner of our street. Then she had a nervous breakdown and they sent me (at seven years old) to stay with her. Both of my unmarried uncles lived with her and worked out of town and I guess I was supposed to call someone if Gram had a "spell". All I know is that by the time I went back home to my mom at age twelve, I was at least 30 pounds overweight. Short version of this story is I was an overweight child, and it really wasn't my fault, but that's how I learned to be an emotional eater.

On another subject, my hubby has been having pretty bad stomach and back pain for several months now and I finally got him to the doctor. Then off for x-rays and ultrasound. They called yesterday to say we need to set up an appointment for a surgeon, as he has gallstones and a hiatal hernia.

He is not going to agree to surgery without looking into all other alternatives. I could insist that he have the surgery, and he probably will, but any real life input would be appreciated here. I had a boss that almost died when his bile duct got blocked with a stone, but I can't remember enough of the specifics to be able to use this as a reason to convince hubs to have the surgery.

That's it for now, remember to check my other blog this week, as I will be putting up some new art soon. Take care and stay warm.