...those Bill Cosby records

When I was a kid, my little brother loved Bill Cosby's records about Fat Albert and the Gang. This was before there was the cartoon show. Anyway, he could recite every line about the Chicken Heart and little brother Russell. My mom just didn't get it. She would state repeatedly to little bro, "if you put half as much energy into learning your school work, as you do in those records, you would be on the honor roll". We were extremely smart kids, in a school that had the traditional curriculum , so we sought out stimulation through things other than studies. Ahhh, but I digress. My point in this little story is this. She was right. I find myself putting so much time into art and reading and fun things that I don't spend quality time on getting healthy. I think that I'm one of those folks that thinks because I'm healthy now and always have been, that I always will be.

Don't get me wrong, I have made lots of changes over the years. I don't drink, or smoke and have been married to the same hunky/sweet guy for 22 years. I don't engage in risky behavior, at all unless you count being 40 pounds overweight risky. At my age, I suppose it is. I care about how I look, although not quite as much as when I was younger. I apparently drove my uncle crazy standing in front of the mirror doing my hair.

But, they're all gone and I'm still here and it's time I take responsibility for my weight gain. I have always struggled with my weight. From the time I started to gain as a second grader, until now. It's been and up and down saga with me. I have lost 50 pounds three times. I have lost 25 pounds probably five times. I can't even count the times I have lost 10 pounds. It would be safe to say that I have lost at least 300 pounds in my career as a professional dieter. Well, losing weight and keeping it off is difficult. People will tell you this and that about losing weight and maintenance and blah, blah, blah. I've heard it all and done most of it. I'm guess I'm just tired of thinking about my weight all the time. I can say, "oh, I just want to be healthy or firm up a bit", but it's not true. I want to lose weight because I look good when I don't weigh so much. So, at age 56 (almost 57) with silver hair and a sagging jawline staring back at me in the mirror, I still want to lose weight because I'll look better thin.

Sorry, this is such a rambling post. I want to snap my fingers and zip up a size 12 jeans. I want to wave a magic wand and be worried that my boobies are shrinking too much from so much weight lost. I want, I want, I want...

You know what? I think I want a blueberry bagel and some hot tea. Thanks for letting me vent. I'll do better later, I promise.

xoxo
Susan

Sweet Dreams

For those of you that don't read my art blog, I am re posting this collage...


It shows the conflict that we sometimes experience when dealing with wanting sweets, when we know we should have fruit. The meditating girl was from an ad in Fitness magazine (the one sent to me anonymously), the cake at the top was from Cuisine magazine, and the strawberry sundae is from an old Life magazine. The verbiage at the bottom that is hard to read, says torn between two lovers, which I think says it all.

I do love fruit, but I just don't get the emotional release that something less healthy gives me. It even comes through in my art. Ahh, well.

That's it for today. Have a healthy weekend.

Don't call it lazy...

I used to hate to hear someone even say the word lazy. I'm not lazy at all, but sometimes I am unmotivated. I'm a hard worker, a quick study and an all-around good egg. Just don't call me lazy, "them's fightin' words". Anyway upon reflection, as we are so apt to do at this time of the year, I decided to get this book.

It's written by the founder of SparkPeople.com, a weight loss website that I've been on for about 16 months. I haven't worked the program and I have gained 10 pounds. It's not their fault, at all. I think I need more motivation. The reason that I got the book, is that even though I love the internets and the world wide webs, I love to have a nice hefty book to carry around with me. I need to have something to go to as a guide, when I'm feeling sluggish in my drive to be what I want to be. Sometimes I'd rather go to page whatever, than go to the computer. I'll let you know how it works for me.

How are things going with all you cats? Are you motivated and pumped up? Have you started new programs? Let me know what keeps you motivated. Keep me posted.

That's it for today, talk soon. xoxo

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.