Monthly Archives: July 2018

July 26, 2018 · 5:13 pm

No Good Deed

Goes Unpunished.

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Since it was overcast all of a sudden, I decided to add to my “keep moving” list for the day and went out to do as much weeding as I could in the flower planters.

I saw some ants on the side of the planters (there are three planters – each 8 feet long – in a line separating our front yard from the driveway) I went back in the garage and got the EIGHT bug killer spray and hosed everything down.

I got one side of one planter weeded and pruned. I emptied the basket of weeds and was setting up on the other side of that planter when I felt a really sharp pain on the inner part of my right upper arm. A large red wasp was unhappy with me and was stinging me as if his life depended on it.

Moving quite rapidly for an old broad, I leaped up, yelling and swatting at the wasp. I got him off me, but he was coming in, ready to sting me again. I ran to the house and got an ice pack from the freezer. I held it on my arm until the pain subsided a bit, and then got up and took some Benadryl tablets, since my arm is pink and pretty swollen. I then got a tissue and dipped it in bleach, because I THINK my friend Laufrain said that would take the pain away.

Since I’ve calmed down a bit, I looked at the back of my right hand. When I leaped up, throwing things in all directions, I hit the back of my hand on the palette of bricks we bought a while back to rebuild two of our planters. Apparently I rapped it quite smartly because I have two small bruises plus a pretty big lump.

I guess I should have quit while I was ahead earlier, rather than trying to add one more activity to my day.

Maybe I can enjoy reading my book without hurting myself….

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July 26, 2018 · 4:06 pm

A Little Here, A Little There…

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Progress Report to Date: – I’ve lost 18 pounds and 17.3 inches.

I still seem to be off my weight loss plateau, so I’m happy about that.

I mailed Nutrisystem Customer Service yesterday, asking what can be done about them discontinuing my husband’s favorite lunch (and dinner) item – BBQ Pulled Pork. I also mailed a letter to management in Pennsylvania, hoping that if customer service can’t or won’t do anything, maybe someone at management cares and can. Things are calm for the moment, but we may need to make drastic changes after the next order. We’ll see.

I did the 12 Phase 1 exercises on the 0-6 Pack Abs DVD this morning. Today I must have been doing better about breathing and position because I definitely felt my stomach muscles trembling! It seems to me that that means I’m getting the attention of some of my core muscles. I did several reps of each of the 12 exercises slowly and carefully, watching them and listening and then trying to replicate. I plan to do this same level daily for the next couple of weeks before trying the Phase 1 Workout session. I want to concentrate on doing each position as correctly as possible.

I also did my yoga stretches for another half hour of exercise, so I’m happy with my efforts. Tomorrow I’ll do both of these and try to add something else.

It looks like it MIGHT actually rain this afternoon! Because it’s now overcast, I’m going to head out and see how much progress I can make on weeding the flower planters.

My mantra is ‘KEEP MOVING!’

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July 26, 2018 · 10:49 am

Lost in Translation – Complying with Rules?

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July 26, 2018 · 10:47 am

Beautiful Baskets – Take 20

 

 

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July 26, 2018 · 10:44 am

Abdominal Exercises

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I tried the new abdominal exercises DVD called, “0-6 Pack Abs” yesterday. It’s good for everyone, but especially for pear-shaped old broads like me who really need to build the LATERAL core muscles. There are 12 positions that are put together to make up 4 exercise routines in Phase I. Once I master these, I can move to the next group, hopefully getting stronger as I go. They emphasize that once I get to the 4th group, I should continue the the 4th workout at least once a week in order to keep my core strong.  I have the DVD so that I can listen to and see what I’m supposed to be doing, plus a book with pictures for reference.

What I wish is that I could afford to go to California where the doctor who created the DVD is, so I could make sure I’m doing the positions correctly. Not being able to do that, I’m going to go slowly, reviewing the 12 positions, listening and watching carefully, trying to do what they’re telling me. The way I’m breathing and holding holding stomach muscles while I move is key.

I’m hopeful that I can make this work for me. I’ve done sit ups and crunches in the past. The result is that I achieve only a backache and aching neck and still have a belly. These exercises in combination with my yoga stretching, in combination with other stuff during the week should help me get stronger.

Other things I’m planning to add in some combination to the every day abdominal exercises and yoga are

  • my elliptical trainer or
  • “Annoying Leslie” walking DVD or
  • and another DVD, called, “5 Minutes to Look Younger – Anti-Aging Follow-Along Workout” that promises to make me look and move like Julia Roberts (just kidding).  and
  • I have a pedometer in my pocket that encourages me to walk more
  • I’m using an over-the-door shoulder pulley system that is supposed to help with my neck and back pain
  • I’m doing an exercise with a 3-lb weight for the same

Otherwise, I’m doing short sessions of yard work in the yard or in my garden, trying to go through my house to get rid of more things (that necessitates a lot of bending, hauling, cleaning, reorganizing), and just downright cleaning (mopping, vacuuming, etc.

Along with my Nutrisystem plan to make sure I’m eating healthy, I’m hopeful that in time I can shed the pain and embrace doing more, relishing it, rather than ever taking it for granted again.

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July 26, 2018 · 10:19 am

“Fight for Food”

“Fight for Food” – Paul Militaru Photography

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July 26, 2018 · 10:16 am

Today’s World – Take 1

Today’s World via Bill Lites

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July 25, 2018 · 12:37 pm

“Thistle”

“Thistle” – Paul Militaru Photography

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July 25, 2018 · 12:35 pm

Oil Paintings I Love – Take 21

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July 25, 2018 · 10:43 am

Pet Peeves – Short Rant

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I’ve told you that my husband and I are trying to get the lard off and get healthier with the Nutrisystem program. We did this years ago, quitting because my husband was able to order fewer and fewer things he liked due to NS discontinuing his favorites. It’s happening again! :0(

Yesterday I spent a LOT of time contacting NS via email and then chat, trying to find out when the BBQ Pulled Pork lunch would be back in stock. They finally told me that it had been discontinued.

On the website on our previous order, it had said something similar to, “Due to high demand and popularity of this item, it is temporarily out of stock.” To find out this month that it has been discontinued was almost a deal breaker for my husband. He isn’t the most flexible person and doesn’t adapt well. We had a tense hour or so while we tried to figure out what to do. He doesn’t care for many of the lunch choices, so he wanted to eat the alternative “BBQ Seasoned Chicken” for lunch AND dinner. It’s only offered for dinner. We finally decided to order only 4 items for his lunches, order other choices for me to use to make flex meals for us, and then order 20 a la carte BBQ Seasoned Chicken items (having to pay extra) and order a bunch as part of his dinner items, as well. WHEW!

The discontinuing of an item that is out of stock ‘due to high demand and popularity’ doesn’t ring true for me. That seems like stupid business – plus you’re teeing off your customers. I would think a company as large as Nutrisystem could either make a deal with the current supplier, find another supplier who makes this, or figure out a way to make it themselves.

The NS program is expensive, but worth it when you’re trying to make a lifestyle change. To have to buy a la carte because my husband has tried, but doesn’t like a lot of the lunch items is really frustrating.

I will try to contact someone there who might be able to do something about this. I really want to stay on the program. Just a couple of weeks ago, my husband was saying he didn’t see why we couldn’t stay on NS essentially forever – but this was before his choices were being discontinued.

END OF RANT

Madeleine Jacobs

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July 25, 2018 · 10:27 am

Winston Churchill Wisdom

AZ Quotes

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July 25, 2018 · 10:24 am

Beautiful Baskets – Take 19

 

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July 25, 2018 · 10:21 am

Artistic Pots – Take 7

Susan Kadish – susieart.net

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July 25, 2018 · 10:16 am

Get the Lard Moving Day

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My 0-6Pack Abs video came yesterday afternoon – FINALLY – so today is the day I’ll get started with it.

These are several levels of exercises to strengthen your core muscles. They are designed by a doctor of physical therapy especially for people who are trying to flatten their bellies, get rid of back pain, and more. Especially for old, overweight, sedentary, pear-shaped women like me! It seems like I’ve been waiting forever for the DVD and book to arrive, so I’m excited about getting started.

Since we don’t have anywhere we HAVE to go or things we HAVE to do today, I’m devoting the day to sessions working in the yard, followed by some rest and water, then exercise of one type or another, then rest and water – and REPEAT.

I came in a while ago from half an hour or so in the yard. I finally got our rose bushes pruned and some really healthy weeds pulled out of our flower beds. I’m almost back to regular temperature now, and am drinking a bottle of water.

I’ll do my yoga stretches for about half an hour, and then I’ll drink more water while I watch the first part of the 0-6 Pack Abs DVD and read about Phase 1 workouts and exercises.

I’ll do another session in the yard, and then come back and actually try to DO the Phase 1 exercises with the DVD.

I’ll keep going, hoping to have a good, healthy day – keeping the lard moving.

 

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July 24, 2018 · 4:59 pm

Frustration

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Dieting is never easy, but some things really complicate our efforts.

We are on the Nutrisystem programs. I’m on the one with most choices for women with too much lard and my husband is on the diabetic men’s program.

We were going along just fine until this past order. The BBQ Pulled Pork that my husband REALLY likes for lunch wasn’t available. He doesn’t handle this well. In fact, when we tried Nutrisystem several years ago, he (and then I) quit because they kept narrowing his choices until he gave up in a huff. This is like an instant replay.

I spent a lot of time on CHAT today trying to find out if and when BBQ Pulled Pork would be available again. Bottom line after lots of time the answer was “it won’t be.” Needless to say, that didn’t go over well with my husband. We explored various options – him huffing and puffing all the while – and finally decided to order an A LA CARTE addition to our next order for him so that he can eat the substituted BBQ Seasoned Chicken that IS available for lunch or dinner as he chooses. (He’s almost to his weight goal so he doesn’t have to worry overmuch about calories, and we’re monitoring his blood sugar on a regular basis.)

I would really like to lose my lard.  An unhappy husband, though, isn’t worth it. I’m hoping that they don’t discontinue the BBQ Seasoned Chicken. If they do, that will be all she wrote. :0(

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July 24, 2018 · 1:05 pm

Dreams

BeachBumBrian via Svetlana Milenkoic via Akiva Huber – LinkedIn

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July 24, 2018 · 11:13 am

Playing in My Art Room

My good friend Marsha suggested that, instead of trying to give myself PERMISSION to play in my art room, I SCHEDULE it at least twice a week as a part of a program to be better to myself. I’ve taken that suggestion and have found my spirits lifting and getting excited about trying to learn something new.

I have a book called Keys to Painting Fur & Feathers, edited by Rachel Rubin Wolf. It gives you hints about how to capture the essence of animals and birds, zeroing in on their most distinctive features in order to try to draw better pictures of them. It also addresses trying to paint realistic fur and feathers.

 

I decided to take a couple of my previous drawings and reproduce them, trying to concentrate on the feathers techniques.  Then I found others I’d like to try, as well. I’m trying to get a bunch of these drawings into a sketch book and then play with them, using all kinds of different media and see what I get.

I have to tell you the time flies as I ‘work’ in my art room. I turn on an mp3 player, listen to some of my favorite music in the comfort of my CLEAN, air-conditioned and ceiling-fanned room, a cup of coffee or a bottle of water beside me at the table.

I’m excited about learning a completely new skill, and I’m very thankful to have this book for examples, suggestions, and inspiration.

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July 24, 2018 · 10:57 am

The Truth Will Out

My husband and I go bowling once a week with our good friends. I love getting together, catching up on what has been happening the past week (or weeks if one of us has had to call bowling off for some reason). I enjoy the extra FUN exercise, too. It doesn’t really matter how well or poorly we bowl, we ALL look forward to going to Braumn’s afterwards and getting a scoop of our favorite ice cream. Sometimes the ice cream is to celebrate, but more often it’s helping us deal with another two games where we struggled to get over 100…

Last night was a special evening. Our friend, Laufrain, won the first game handily, bowling a 158! I love watching her bowl because she’s very dramatic. She is so delighted when she bowls a strike or gets a spare. Sometimes she’s really ‘on,’ as she was last night, and it’s a joy to celebrate each good throw with her.

A very rare occurrence happened in our second game: I won – and with a 174! I got several really SOLID strikes – something that never happens. My strikes are like trees falling in a forest – reluctantly. I even picked up a spare or two! I have to admit that I like to bowl whether I do well or not, but the truth is that doing well is SO much MORE fun! :0)

My husband, being the ‘balloon pricker’ he is – pointed out that I COULD have gotten into the “175 Club” if I’d gotten one more point, but I’m still smiling. It probably won’t happen again any time soon, so I’ll savor my victory – quietly…

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July 24, 2018 · 9:36 am

So True

Winston Churchill – AZ Quotes

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July 24, 2018 · 9:34 am

Beautiful Place to Be

Rachealgrace Adams – LinkedIn

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July 23, 2018 · 10:10 am

Getting the Lard Off – A Bit Afraid to Hope

The Little Engine That Could said something like, “I THINK I can, I THINK I can,” enabling him to get to the top of the mountain. I’m feeling cautiously confident that MAYBE I’ve broken through the plateau from Hell I’ve been on for a couple of months now.

The chat counselor was helpful, looking at my NuMi log. She said, (I’m paraphrasing and putting a bit of my own spin on what she actually said) –

  • It didn’t look like I was eating enough (I had skipped the Powerfuel serving at breakfasts, for example)
  • My snacks didn’t have enough calories many times, giving my body the message that it “needed to store fat for the winter”
  • It might be a good idea to switch lunches and dinners – giving me ‘heavier meals with slightly more calories earlier in the day

I did these, and they helped a bit, but didn’t actually impress the scales or the tape measure much.

The message I’ve gotten is that I need to shake things up some, since doing the same thing each day expecting different results is stupid.

I’m changing WHAT I’m eating for snacks, thinking that the variety will cause my body to take notice, rather than acting like a slug. I’m doing my yoga each day, but I’m also changing some of what I’m doing for exercise, thinking that will also get my body’s attention for the better.

I started these changes 3 days ago and I’ve lost weight the past two days. It’s early to think I’ve found the answer, but at least it seems to be PART of the answer for me. I’ve been old and sedentary for a long time. I’m still old (and hopefully getting older!) but I CAN do something about shaking things up and moving more effectively.

“I THINK I Can….”

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July 23, 2018 · 9:53 am

Artistic Pots – Take 6

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July 23, 2018 · 9:46 am

Simon Kenny Art

Simon Kenny – http://www.etsy.com

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July 23, 2018 · 9:43 am

Patience is my Strong Suit

Margaret Thatcher – Real Simple via Daily Thoughts

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July 23, 2018 · 9:39 am

Wonderful Watercolor

“Blue Crab” Original Watercolor Painting – Canotstop – http://www.etsy.com

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July 23, 2018 · 9:36 am

“Supervision”

“Supervision” – Paul Militaru Photography

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July 22, 2018 · 12:30 pm

BE KIND TO LINDA DAY!! :o)

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My friend Marsha and I email several times a day. We are very close, even though we’ve only actually met face-to-face once. We’re good buddies, helping each other see things in different ways, helping each other over rough spots in the road, making each other laugh, and cheering each other on.

Yesterday I was telling her I felt overwhelmed. Everywhere I looked there was something that needed my attention. It doesn’t matter what I do, I feel guilty that I’m not doing something else also needing my attention. I don’t have the time – much less the energy – I need to get everything done. This is a recurring theme in my life. Sometimes I handle things better than others. Lately I either work myself into the ground or ignore the whole thing and dive back into my current Eve Dallas “In Death” series book.

Marsha said,  “My suggestion:  a priority list INCL TIME FOR THE ART ROOM. Doesn’t have to be every day, tho that would be nice.. maybe once or twice a week? I truly believe you owe yourself the “battery recharging” time in the Art Room.  That your mind and body will both feel better, more energized for the time spent creating & also doing yoga.  Today is BE KIND TO LINDA DAY!!  :o)  Observe it with reverence!  :O), Marsh.” 

Is it any wonder I treasure her?

I’m going to try to take her suggestion today. I do have things on my list that I really NEED to do today, but I don’t HAVE to more than 4 things that are priority. (I already did the grocery shopping.) I’m going to make it a point to get up to my art room. It’s still clean from the last purge I did, so I’ll actually be able to sit on my chair at my drafting table without moving several things first. I may just turn on my music and sit there and soak up the joy of being there. I may get an idea for something to try. It’s a wonderful place I can shed concerns and dream….

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July 22, 2018 · 11:36 am

Encouraged

I lost a pound yesterday. I don’t know what happened, exactly, but I’m smiling today, happy that I seem to have broken through the weight loss plateau on which I teetered.

I’ve lost 17 pounds and 17.3 inches – definitely a good start.

My husband is doing well, too. He’s on the diabetic plan for men.  I don’t really see any difference in our plans, since Nutrisystem cuts out salt, fat, and sugar, still making things that taste good. Our choices each month seem to be much the same – all healthy.

My husband is to the point that he’s taking his blood pressure medicine every other day. We take our blood pressure daily, so we’re monitoring that – plus his blood sugar numbers – carefully. Since we’ve been trying to cut his sugar (before, but also continuing now with NS) he’s gone from having double vision for a scary time, shooting pains in his feet, having to have TUMS with him at all times, headaches, and high blood pressure and cholesterol, to good vision, no pain in his feet anymore, no TUMS in about 8 months now, lower blood sugar numbers and much lower blood pressure.  We’re hoping his A1C test will be normal, or very close to it this time.

We have our quarterly appointment with our primary doctor in August, so we’re hoping that our tests will show good improvement in all areas. I’m hoping that our doc will confirm that we’re on the road to better health now. A pat on the head would be nice! :0)

 

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July 22, 2018 · 11:14 am

Zipping It

Thanks to my good friend, Marsha Koenig, for these.

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July 22, 2018 · 9:28 am

“In the Mountains Relax and Rest”

“In the Mountains Relax and Rest” – Paul Militaru Photography

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July 22, 2018 · 9:26 am

Is This Possible?

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