This seems, to me, to be a good goal, though I’m far from it now.
As my husband and I age, I feel this more and more.
Source: http://www.yesemails.com via an email from Marsha Koenig
Filed under Attitude, Favorite Quotes, Good Thoughts
Your Daily Encouragement via Bethany Kerr
Filed under Attitude, Encouragement, Favorite Quotes
Filed under Attitude, Favorite Quotes
Huffington Post
Our son is living in Thailand. He sent me this today –
“Last night Christian and I went out walking and drinking. When we got back to where he and Effie live, the doorman was playing a guitar, and wanted us to play. I strummed around a little bit. It was fun. Today I went back and gave the guy my capo and showed him how to use it. He seemed really happy.”
Amy Adenoro Terrell-www.keyword-suggestions.com
I’ve been on a roller-coaster since about the middle of October. At that time my husband finally got serious about trying to avoid sugar. That might sound easy, but it’s been pretty traumatic around here. He LOVES sugar and was in denial about his problem and its inevitable consequences. I’ve been scrambling to figure out what we’re eating while trying to find something he can drink instead of soda, something to eat besides candy, and then some kind of dessert for him to look forward to.
I’ve also found, in my research so far, that simply trying to get sugar-free everything isn’t the answer. First my husband is REALLY sensitive to any alternative for sugar aftertaste. This week we’ve finally settled on Arizona Peach Sugar Free Tea, after buying and trying at least six other things. We found sugar-free hard candy easily enough, but he’s finding out the hard way that eating too much sugar-free candy has its consequences. He’s cutting that back on his own now. We’ve found ‘no added sugar’ pies that are good, and he likes a kind of cobbler that my wonderful cousin-in-law/friend Murray gave me.
I also discovered in my reading that, even if you cut out all the sugar you can, your body uses carbs to manufacture its own sugar! He tried giving up his cold cereal, but was unhappy, so we’ve done the next best thing – Special K is the best one for diabetics, since it’s not made from wheat.
Since low carb eating is also good for diabetics, I found a low carb for diabetics cook book. This is an ongoing process, but it took my attention and motivation away from my own challenges. In the past week I’ve gotten serious again, trying desperately not to eat after dinner, except for my orange dream bar as I used to do. This has been remarkably hard to do, since I’m staying up until at least midnight because my husband’s restless leg problem is better if he goes right to sleep, rather than our reading in bed as we’ve done for a hundred years or so. I found that delaying our dessert until 10:30 or so helps with my eating anything in sight…
________________
I’m finished with the excuses now. I’m back on my “low carb and exercising” horse again. With all the flailing around for almost a month, my weight loss is now 41 pounds. My inches loss is now 18.25″.
I started yoga (for old broads, 60+) about a week ago and I have to say I enjoy it. I’m not in any danger of becoming a gym rat, but I don’t dread doing yoga and really do feel relaxed afterward. Today I’m planning to do the last two sections on the 2nd DVD: “Legs” and “Overall Flow” (I think it’s called.) The DVD series is called, “Gentle Yoga.”
We’re supposed to get rain late tonight and into tomorrow morning, so I’m planning to do weed eating across the back yard where we have to clean up a bit after wonderful Shane cut down a bunch of stuff to open up our view again and create a fire break. I also plan to create a lot more leaf mulch while the leaves are dry, harvest lettuce, etc.
I’m disgusted with myself that I allowed myself to be thrown for a loop over the changes needed in our lifestyle. I excuse myself a bit because I’m very fond of my husband and want him to live – feeling better and better – for a good, long time. That involves finding replacements for the important luxuries in his life. He seems to be adjusting pretty well now after some depression. He still threatens to stop all the good efforts if his sugar numbers don’t get lower as fast as he would like. That’s an ongoing discussion as well…
I feel good that I’ve stayed on my low carb plan really well the past two or three days now, and some of the regained lard is coming off. The yoga is making me feel looser and stronger, though I did have a bit of leg aching last night. I think I’ll feel better and better as I continue my practice. The last two sections today, plus my day doing yard work, will be a really good amount of exercise for me today.
I hope that you, also, will try to
taolife.com
Filed under Acting Like a Grownup, Attitude, Challenges, Changes, DIET!, exercise, getting the lard off
Laila Ali via Akiva Huber
I’m going to print this one and hang it up so I see it over and over. I’m impatient by nature and have to really talk to myself (I know – I’m nuts) to keep going, whether I’m trying to lose weight and build strength and flexibility, undo several years worth of ‘stuffing’ things into drawers or onto shelves in our master bath, or get our garden and yard under control.
I’m looking at this as a character-building exercise, something that will make me a better person in the long run. I AM making progress on learning my own limitations as I age and modifying my expectations of what I can now do in a day. I still tend to overdo, spending the next day trying to recover. I’m learning to do projects in ‘sessions,’ stopping when I’m feeling overwhelmed, then doing another session until the job is done.
With my weight and strength, there is no time limit. This isn’t a ‘diet.’ It’s a lifestyle change. Now things are complicated because we need to do low or no sugar for my husband. It’s a worthy goal to achieve because it’ll do both of us good. I want my husband to live as long as he is able, feeling as good as possible. Scrambling to learn what I can do to help is something I really want to do. An example, I’ve discovered that avoiding gluten for him is counter-productive, since the gluten is offset by alcohol sugars and other additives. We MUST do a good job of reading labels!
On the master bathroom going through/throwing out/reorganizing/cleaning project – right now it looks as if a bomb exploded in there again, since I’ve emptied out my three large drawers and put things on the step that goes around or bathtub. I’ve already thrown a bunch away and plan to do more of that before deciding what do to with what’s left. Assuming I can finish that today, I’ll plan on the last session tomorrow – pulling out the rugs and doing a deep cleaning of the whole area, including the tub, shower, vanities, floor, and rugs. If I falter, I’ll reread the reminder above…
Pinterest.com
I apparently did too much with the leaf mulching yesterday. I slept in, yet still feel I’ve been run over by a truck. Not ‘sick,’ just completely without energy. I’m going to take it easy today and see if I can find the old broad who usually lives here….
Filed under Attitude
yourellipticals.com
Yesterday I did pretty well on getting my body moving. I started with 15 minutes on the elliptical trainer in the garage. (I took it easy because I had sore muscles from helping my husband put up another raised bed planter in the garden the day before. ) This low impact exercise is good for me because it’s easy on my joints and encourages range of motion.
AskTheTrainer.com
I had my first session with my exercise ball. It was pretty pathetic. I kept trying – but failed – to quit picturing myself trying to use this new tool. I had as much or more trouble getting ON the ball in the right position without falling off as I did trying to do whatever the exercise was. I wallowed a lot, but persevered. The biggest problem was when my husband came in, took one look at me and laughed. (GRRRR!) I then offered to share my workout with him and he left. :0)
I have a few sore muscles this morning, having used different ones that I apparently do doing ANYTHING else. I figure, though, that my TRYING to do each of the exercises will result – eventually – in improvement. To say I have a long way to go is a vast understatement, but I AM moving.
The combination of the elliptical and the exercise ball seems to be a good one. I’ll try to do this a couple of times per week. The alternate days I’ll try to concentrate on my strength exercises with weights and stretching.
I’m trying to take breaks from whatever else I’m doing and MOVE – either exercising or walking out to the garden, or….
Wish me luck. I’m lucky enough to continue to get older each day so far. I’d LIKE to think I’m getting better than I’ve been in a long time.
taolife.com
pinterest.com
We are in a bit of disarray around here as we put an emphasis on “sugar-free” for my husband’s efforts to control his sugar and my low carb efforts to get my lard off. Eating and sleeping patterns are new, resulting in HIS losing weight and MY gaining. :0(
SO – as we search and scramble – the result has been a bit of exhaustion around here, wacky meals and wackier hours – so less emphasis on getting the lard off and a LOT on getting our act together for the long run. The healthier we can get, the better. As I’m fond of him, I want my husband to last as long as possible – AND feel good doing it. We’ll take each day at a time, concentrate on what we’re learning to do right and building new healthy habits.
If you’re having similar challenges, I hope you’re finding the help you need and are making steady progress toward your goals.
One meal at a time.
keetons via keetonsonline.com via cathy ruggiero
I love this. It perfectly describes how I feel much of the time. It’s a very happy state of mind where I am bubbling with thoughts/pictures/ideas I want to share with you, plus ideas for what I would love to do the next time I can make time to be in my art room, or my husband and I have time to create something in the shop.
I’m truly blessed to have too many wonderful things to choose from than I have time or energy to do. The day starts, and then is over in the blink of an eye. I have to write down the things I MUST – upon dire consequences if I don’t – do each day to be sure we mainly stay out of trouble. :0)
We were going to put up the last raised bed planter in our square foot garden today, but then I remembered that tonight we go bowling with good friends, so we’ll put the planter on tomorrow’s list.
I hope that YOU have a fun day planned, with the time and energy to do several things on your list!
Filed under Attitude, Creativity, Dreams
parents
We’re enjoying two days of fall here in Greenwood, Arkansas – today and tomorrow – before going back to ‘summer’ and a/c for another week or so at least. High of 68 today and 74 tomorrow. I feel just like this cute little girl!
The cooler temperatures make me feel a lot more energetic and simply happy with the world. I love opening our front and back doors, getting a delicious cross-breeze and turning on the ceiling fans. As I type Molly (a cocker spaniel/schnauzer cross, is asleep under the counter at my feet. One of our cats, Smoke, is asleep on my daytimer on the table to my right. Our pit bull, Bambi, is snoring on the big dog bed on the other side of my desk, and our 2nd cat, Abby, is happily enjoying sleeping in my husband’s lap as he works at his computer across the room from me. The only pet that isn’t with us right now is our new fish, Sally, who hides in her neon house in her goblet fish bowl, only coming out enthusiastically when I feed her.
I’m enjoying refurbishing a shovel bird we gave the Taylors a few years ago. I got the second coat on it last night and will tackle the feathers today. I’ll spray him with several coats of polyurethane for protection, and then glue on new googly eyes, finishing the project.
Today I plan to tackle exercising with the big exercise ball. I DID do 30 minutes on the elliptical for the first time since we got home from our wonderful trip to Thibodaux.) I meant to try exercises on the ball yesterday, but ran out of time and energy after spending the whole afternoon going from place to place in Fort Smith, trying to find sugar-free goodies for my husband. Happily, we found a gold mine of a store where we found pies and cookies! I’m having trouble finding a white sugar free cake mix that doesn’t have pudding in the mix. None of the stores had it, and I got on the net when we got home, to no avail. :0(
Today, with a lower temperature, seems ripe with opportunities. I’ll figure out some trouble to get into….
cliparting.com
Filed under Attitude, Mother Nature
William Ward and Anita via Zen to Zany and Cathy Ruggiero
Filed under Attitude
diamondhomesupport-com
“I decided to change calling the bathroom the John and renamed it the Jim. I feel so much better saying I went to the Jim this morning.
Last year I joined a support group for procrastinators. We haven’t met yet…
I don’t need anger management. I need people to stop irritating me!
Old age is coming at a really bad time!
When I was a child I thought Nap Time was a punishment… now, as a grown up, it just feels like a small vacation!
The biggest lie I tell myself is… “I don’t need to write that down, I’ll remember it.”‘
Filed under Attitude, Grin for the Day
Live Life in Color
I’m celebrating today because Pinterest finally was able to resolve my problem loading my favorite pictures to my boards there. I was going into withdrawal. I love being able to share things with you on my blog, and then I go to Pinterest to save them there, as well. It’s been about 2 weeks since I was able to do that.
Each day I went to the site, tried to upload a pic, and then went away, disappointed when it wouldn’t work. I contacted the support people at Pinterest. Since I didn’t complain daily, they marked my issue ‘solved,’ but emailed me to let me know. I immediately wrote again, giving them as much information about exactly what happened when I tried and failed.
Today I tried to upload THIS picture and voila! it worked!!!!! I tried to reply to the last issue ticket, thanking the support team for their good help, but they sent me an email saying that I would have to start a new ticket if the problem was still alive. Since I don’t want to bother a probably overworked support team, I’ll just tell YOU.
I love working on computers when things are working. I have NO patience and feel completely DUMB when they don’t. I’m very grateful that there are knowledgeable people behind the websites I frequent who can make things right again.
Filed under Attitude, Challenges, Changes
quotesgram.com
Life is about attitude – seeing weeds or seeing flowers and food. When we first married, my husband went along with my love of flowers. When I wanted to build a food garden, he went along. Now he points out the zinnias in the planter by the driveway. He puffs with pride when his clematis flowers are profusely blooming. He trains our Mandevilla vines, trying to get them to go up the trellises and across the deck up high. We go out to see how the garden is doing. His favorite food plants are the tomatoes because we LOVE sliced tomatoes, but he is pleased when I get the garden planted and bring in harvests.
The quote above can be taken at face value, the love of gardening, but I think it applies to every aspect of our lives. If you focus on the weeds, it colors your whole world, your relationships with friends and family, coworkers, bringing down your hopes for the future. We need to remember to focus on the flowers in our lives – for there are many. Nurture the people in your life. Take care of yourself as much as you are able. Focus on what is going RIGHT. Enjoy all the special moments we might otherwise miss or take for granted.
My garden is full-to-overflowing right now. I hope yours is, too.
Filed under Attitude
Ann Gilstrap posted this on Facebook recently. It’s a video by Steve Forsythe showing what too many children find at school, rather than the environment we HOPE they would. The only difference is attitude – and we can do it!
Here’s the URL to the video in case the link above doesn’t work –
Filed under Attitude
im-so-tired-i-dont-care-if-you-pet-me-or-not-by Jonathan Cruz
We didn’t sleep well last night. I was downstairs reading from about 1:00 to 2:30. My husband said he was up at 4:00 and then slept in his chair until about 6:30.
We went to Lunch Bunch and then had a whole list of errands. We did them and got home about 3:30. I then got the sleepies and took a cup of coffee in to the living room to sip while I sat to finish a favorite book by Robert B. Parker. (This one was when he was explaining some of his early life to the love of his life, Susan.) I just woke up with my book on my chest, the light on, and my coffee still on the warmer. It’s now after 5:00.
I’m supposed to be planting lettuce this evening, and then cutting down more weed trees across the back of the civilized part of our yard. I’m supposed to be making some important phone calls. I’m supposed to be planning dinner. I’m supposed to be exercising – walking 2 miles with annoying Leslie and then doing lower body strength exercises….
Here I sit, typing to you instead.
My cat, Smoke, is on my lap, purring happily. Abby, our other cat, took over my chair in the living room as soon as I got up, and is asleep. My husband is across the room, working at his computer on our genealogy records. Both of our dogs are asleep on the dog bed on the other side of my desk. My new angel fish, Angie, is in her humongous champagne glass on the divider between the kitchen and dining room.
All is quiet on a Friday afternoon. I think I’ll give myself permission to NOT be productive this evening. I can tackle my to-do list ‘tomorrow,’ like Scarlett O’Hara in ‘Gone with the Wind…’
Filed under Attitude
Unfundamentalist Christians via Bethany Kerr
One of my really good friends here surprised and delighted me with a kindness awhile back. I thanked her profusely, telling her how much it meant to me. Her answer surprised me, and – frankly – changed the way I look at things.
She told me she looks for kind things she can do for others every day. It doesn’t have to be a big thing – smiling at a stranger, opening a door for someone, carrying a package to the car for someone, picking up something dropped and returning it, thanking someone sincerely when they don’t expect it….
The big thing to me is the different way you look at life when you have the idea of kindness in your heart. It’s a much more proactive way of looking at everything, and everyone you meet. It’s a small – but vital – difference that takes little or no time, just awareness and a willingness to see and do.
I’m so glad my friend opened my eyes to the small kindnesses I can do each day!
Filed under Attitude, Bright Ideas, Changes
http://www.marcandangel.com via Peaceful Daily via Marianna Bellantoni
I’m half-finished with “DAY 5” of my new exercise regimen of
I’ve tried to do this and failed before. I’ve told myself that I’m busy enough working in the garden and the yard that I don’t need the formal exercises. I’ve proven to myself once again that the movements I do in the yard, no matter how strenuous DO NOT equal the DVD and the exercises with weights.
Once again I have worked up to two miles – rather than one – on the DVD, and I’m then doing the strength stuff later in the afternoon.
I’m counting the days, both in my head and on paper, because I know you have to do things over and over every day for a length of time before something becomes a habit. Right now I’m having to push myself hard enough to do this I can’t even FEATURE it becoming a habit or something I would miss, but stranger things have happened.
A year ago I really didn’t believe that I could lose 45 pounds and 22 inches and change to eating a low carb diet. I didn’t believe that I could actually make a difference on my quarterly blood tests, or not have to take cholesterol medication anymore. I didn’t believe that I might actually be able to completely avoid having knee or hip replacement. I didn’t believe that I could work in the yard for over half an hour a day.
It’s one year later and I’ve done some real good for myself. I’m about half way to my goal now. I’m hoping that I can make the above exercise my daily HABIT and that then I can build on that, getting stronger and healthier as I lose the lard.
I’ve printed this reminder and put it up on the side of my filing cabinet beside my computer. “No matter how many mistakes you make or how slow you progress, you are still way ahead of everyone who isn’t trying.”
taolife.com
Zen to Zany via Cathy Ruggiero
My husband and I are very, very lucky.
Several times a week one of us will look at the other, saying, “Our life is so good.” It doesn’t mean we don’t have our problems. It doesn’t mean that everything is perfect. It means we CHERISH the fact that our lives are as good as they are.
I’m always trying to win the Publisher’s Clearing House Sweepstakes or the MegaMillions Lottery, but I fully realize that I truly have everything I need – right now.
Our son is across the world from us, and I have no clue when we’ll see him next time or for how long, but we communicate via a chat program, being able to reach out across the miles (and oceans!) to find out how the other is, what’s going on, and share virtual hugs. We “talk” most every day, feeling closer than a lot of families feel when they’re in the same city. How very lucky we are!
My husband and I make each other laugh regularly, arguing over important stuff, such as what mailbox decoration we should try to cut out next on our CNC machine, or what colors to paint it, once it’s cut out… :0)
Our home is full of love. We share it with Bambi, our pit bull; Molly, our cocker spaniel/schnauzer cross; Abby, our tortoiseshell cat; Smoke, our relatively new kitten; and Freckles, our black goldfish. We’re finishing up our hot weather garden and getting ready to plant our fall garden on newly-constructed raised bed planters. Our lives are busy, full, and fun.
Someone said that being rich is not necessarily having a lot, but cherishing what you have. I couldn’t agree more.
Filed under Attitude
creativeartworksblog 