Category Archives: Changes

January 22, 2021 · 8:33 am

Hold On To Hope

source unknown

One of my favorite ‘memes’ – or things by which I try to live is, “Today I will not stress over things I can’t control.” I have it printed and up with magnets on the file cabinet near my computer so that I am reminded.

We are submerged right now in all kinds of things we can’t control and it’s easy to become depressed and frightened. There is a lot of fear, hate, and hurtful labels flying around that only compound our negative emotions.

I am reminding myself to breathe a lot. Just one breath at a time, slow and deep. (Yeah. I’m nuts. I talk to myself a lot in an effort to retain SOME portion of sanity. :0) ) I’m doing my yoga stretches in the afternoons – again – s l o w l y – trying to end up relaxed and looser. If I get sleepy, I’m OLD – so I can give myself permission to take a nap, whether to cover up my head and get away from what’s bothering me, or a power nap just to recharge for whatever comes next.

I go to my art room. Sometimes I’m actually productive, but other times I just sit there, clean things up a bit (or a lot), consider possibilities, dream… I listen to music on my MP3 player or on my computer. That always transports me, lifting my spirits. When the weather gets better, I look forward to working in my flowers and my garden. (Now I am plotting and planning which plants will go in which squares in my raised bed, square foot planter veggie garden in the spring. I’m going to TRY to get some plants going on my counter in the garage starting mid Feb or early Mar)

I hope that you have things that help you cope, too. The world is a scary place now and SO much of is made up of things over which you have no control. My suggestion is that you control what you can in your everyday living to insulate and isolate yourself from things while you protect yourself physically and emotionally.

Things will get better eventually. One day at a time. Stay safe and well.

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January 16, 2021 · 10:32 am

Finding the Joy

ABC News – go.com

My efforts to keep hope alive continue.

Things that I have found helpful include –

  • Doing one concrete thing on my to-do list for the day.
  • Finding something hopeful to share on the blog.
  • Playing in my art room.
  • Reading
  • Listening to music – I have an MP3 player, plus I listen to my favorites list on YouTube
  • Learning something new on YouTube, such as a demonstration of an art technique
  • Singing (I do this outside while I’m walking around our yard. I used to play the guitar a bit, enough to accompany myself back in the dark ages of folk music. I gave my guitar to our son years ago. I only croak to myself now.)
  • Playing with Amber (our 95 pound yellow lab) – I’m trying to teach her ‘throw and bring back.’ She prefers ‘tug-o-war’ and run around the yard in a victory lap, shaking the toy.
  • Feeling good about doing my exercises and putting a gold star on my desk calendar when I’ve finished my elliptical trainer and my yoga stretches for the day.
  • Consciously mentally listing good things in my life

Life these days is challenging on a whole lot of different levels. If we really try, we can help each other find the joy.

Pin on Rainbow Connection

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January 12, 2021 · 4:43 pm

Best Laid Plans…

123RF.com

I was going to get a big list done today, but my plans went awry.

I was getting ready to go out to the garage to put in my 35 minutes on my elliptical trainer. My husband wanted us to go to Walmart and get some glue, so I switched gears, grabbed our Walmart list and we headed for town. We DID manage to leave our trash at the bottom of the driveway and get our mail on the way. We got what we needed at Walmart, even though my husband was in the mood to wander around. Since we get very little entertainment these days, I tried to be patient.

By the time we got home, it was time to fix lunch, so I did that. Then I started getting ready to go to Rags & Roses to change out my products and rearrange the booth. My husband got a reminder on his computer that he was supposed to check the oil in the generator, so he went out to do that. Just as I was getting ready to go out the door, he came in, saying that we needed to get another battery for the generator. He insisted we go back to Walmart.

We took the old battery in and left it in a receptacle at the customer service desk where indicated, found a replacement battery and brought it home. We had a bit of trouble getting the new one in, but finally managed to get it hooked up and tested. Then we ran a quick test on the generator and it was good.

My husband went to put a tool back in the well house and decided he wanted to start the propane-powered gas heater in the well house to keep our pipes from freezing. (We have a small electric heater that turns itself on when it gets too cold in there, and it was on. ) He had a bit of trouble getting the pilot light lit and the heater on, but we finally prevailed.

On the way back to the house, we saw that the new pvc pipe we use on our irrigation system on one of the planters was broken in two. We thought about tackling replacing that, but we were just too tired at that point to care much.

Both of us fell asleep in our chairs.

Now it’s too late to go to the booth in town, too late to do my elliptical trainer in the garage, and too late to do my yoga practice.

SO –

I will write this day off as far as trying to get my list done and hope for more success tomorrow.

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January 7, 2021 · 1:18 pm

Decision

Oberto

For my husband and I today is DAY ONE.

This morning we started an honest effort to get ‘back on the horse’ of our healthy diet – and for ME – daily exercise – in a real effort to continue our efforts to get the lard off, get and stay healthier. Our ‘diet’ has no time limit. We are trying to make a lifestyle change. This is not to say we won’t celebrate occasionally, or indulge in a favorite goodie when we reach our goals. This IS to say we will eat mindfully, trying to eat fresh, clean, REAL food.

I made tuna fish salad for our lunch. We had sugar free jello, and I had some black olives.

I read today that drinking broth is a good way to solve any hunger problems. I have some here at home, but will try to find a bone or chicken broth with the lowest sodium I can find. I will plan to make a cup for a mid afternoon snack.

Clipart Library

I have earned one gold star so far today for doing 35 minutes on my elliptical trainer. It’s in our garage, so I got a little cold, but I consider this a character-building – as well as physical – exercise. :0) I will try for a second gold star this afternoon, when I plan to do about half an hour of yoga stretches. I will also make note of my steps, although this is more of a monitoring effort right now, just to make me pay a bit more attention to it and motivate me to move a bit more.

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January 4, 2021 · 10:53 am

W-D 40

Momma Giggles – Facebook – Pinterest

I’m pretty dense (aka ‘stupid’) when it comes to exercise. It’s one of the many things I would LIKE to do – wishing I felt the orgasmic high people on TV commercials get while they pump and sweat, looking great doing it. Sad to say, I have to talk myself into exercise. I know it’s GOOD for me, but it’s one of the many lessons I seem to need to relearn over and over.

During our holiday splurge time, I kept finding excuses for not doing my walking, my elliptical trainer, and my yoga. My exercise DVDs sit gathering dust on my shelf in the living room. I’m a slug.

The thing that has finally gotten me doing at LEAST my half hour or so of yoga stretches daily is the fact that my body is hurting. I’m creaky when I get up from my chair and start walking. My back is stiff. My right shoulder seems to be on strike, affecting my movements at odd times.

My reaction to the stiffness and pain has been to move LESS – because it hurts or is uncomfortable. My body’s reaction to THAT is to hurt more. And so the cycle goes.

My brain finally caught up with the pattern and I started doing my yoga stretches. Granted, the stretches are modified right now, but I’m doing them, breathing into the poses, moving slowly and steadily.

Once again, I am re-learning the getting older lesson – “Use it or lose it.”

I’m feeling better each day now. Starting Thursday, I’ll try to do my elliptical trainer every other day. My gold stars are ready to be put onto my desk calendar.

I may be dense, but there is hope.

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December 8, 2020 · 11:45 am

Fiber Optics are Coming!

PPC Broadband

If we live long enough, we are getting fiber optic services here! Work has been done in fits and starts over the past year. My husband and I have followed the progress with great interest because – though our service now is the best we have had – it’s pretty laughable.

A young man came a few days ago and wanted to look at what had been done lately. He looked at our telephone pole, and one down the hill from us, planning to add some hardware. Our stuff had apparently been done differently, so he was a bit worried and said he would be back with his boss at a later time.

The man came back this morning. The ‘boss’ was his dad. We all took a look together and decided there was no problem. The younger man is supposed to be back this afternoon to do the work.

These men were super nice. The boss/father was very complimentary about the view in our back yard, saying he wanted to have something similar when he retired. We laughed together when I told him we pretended we owned all of it – saying it we could SEE and ENJOY it, it was OURS…. :0)

He actually took a couple of photos of the view on his tablet.

It was a pleasure to meet such nice people. It lifted my spirits today.

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December 8, 2020 · 9:24 am

Terrific Tuesday

Forward from friend Bill Lites

The photo above was just what I needed to lift my spirits this morning. I hope it does the same for you.

We are all living through a roller coaster of emotion this year with politics, the pandemic, the economy and worry about what lies ahead.

My personal way of dealing with all of this is to concentrate on doing things that bring me joy or a sense of accomplishment, things that allow me to escape for awhile, to concentrate on one day at a time, working on things I can control, cherishing the wonderful things in my life, trying to sustain through humor.

Forward by Bill Lites

I am concentrating on how very lucky I am at this very moment. My family is doing well. We are trying to stay safe, being as careful as possible. I have a wonderful group of friends who mean the world to me. I’m concentrating on trying to let them know.

I’m working to fill each day with as much joy as I can.

This is a terrific Tuesday. I hope you feel the same.

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October 27, 2020 · 10:37 am

Finally an Answer!

Eric Geiger – Effex

Ever since WordPress (my blog host) ‘improved’ their website, I have not been able to see or choose categories for my posts. They have all been ‘uncategorized,’ lumped into the great mishmash in the sky, never to be found again.

I had looked and looked, not even able to figure out how to talk to a real person, much less find where my categories were listed, or if they even HAD category options anymore. Yesterday I finally found a CHAT and talked to a nice man who gave me URLs to the information I needed. They didn’t work, though, and he showed me screen shots of what HE was seeing.

Google Chrome – Wikimedia Commons

It finally dawned on me that some other websites I use, such as my bank website and Amazon Handmade, among others, weren’t happy with my Chrome browser. I have the latest version of it, but I had to use Firefox to get to the sites that wouldn’t accept Chrome anymore.

Firefox – Wikipedia

When I was able to move my blog website to Firefox, I was suddenly able to SEE and ACCESS my categories again. I am in the process of editing each of the posts I’ve written since the WordPress upgrade – a laborious process, but it will give my posts a home.

WordPress – Wikimedia Commons

Along with this, I decided I would finally move ALL my stuff from Chrome to Firefox. I now have Firefox as my main browser, moving each thing from one to the other, making sure my usernames and passwords work. This is a huge, scary project for an UN-TECHNICAL, almost Luddite, like me. I am looking at this as another of life’s character-building exercises.

I DO feel good that I figured out what was happening and am on the road to getting my act together again. HOORAY!

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September 24, 2020 · 10:45 am

Wish

Jim Rohn – SayingImages.com

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September 4, 2020 · 12:58 pm

A Character-Building Exercise

Lolly Daskal

I may not live long enough to list my stuff on Amazon Handmade.

This is really a character-building exercise.

I filled out a long, thorough application to list my work. I finally got an email that said I had been approved! In the email there is a box that says, “Register Now.” I clicked it, and was sent to a page that said I needed to upgrade my browser to be acceptable. I did that and restarted my computer. I again clicked on the box and was sent to the same screen.

I then hit an option that said, copy the link URL and put it into a different browser. The URL wasn’t recognized.

I then started reading, and noticed one frustrated account of a person finding that you were only allowed to hit the ‘Register Now’ button one time. So now I have replied to their email, telling them I have upgraded and asking them to send me another email.

We will see…

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August 31, 2020 · 9:17 am

Stress

Freepik

Stress  (forwarded by my sister-in-law)

Management for Women!

A young lady confidently walked around the room while leading and explaining stress management to an audience with a raised glass of water. Everyone knew she was going to ask the ultimate question, ‘half empty or half full?’  She fooled them all. “How heavy is this glass of water?” she inquired with a smile.  Answers called out ranged from 8 oz. to 20 oz.

She replied , “The absolute weight doesn’t matter. It depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute, that’s not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I’ll have an ache in my right arm.  If I hold it for a day, you’ll have to call an ambulance. In each case it’s the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.” She continued, “and that’s the way it is with stress. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won’t be able to carry on.”

“As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we’re refreshed, we can carry on with the burden – holding stress longer and better each time practiced. So, as early in the evening as you can, put all your burdens down. Don’t carry them through the evening and into the night.

1 * Accept the fact that some days you’re the pigeon and some days you’re the statue!

2 * Always keep your words soft and sweet just in case you have to eat them.

3 * Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.

4 * Drive carefully… It’s not only cars that can be recalled by their Maker.

5 * If you can’t be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.

6 * If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.

7 * It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others.

8 * Never buy a car you can’t push.

9 * Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won’t have a leg to stand on.

10 * Nobody cares if you can’t dance well. Just get up and dance.

11 * Since it’s the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late.

12 * The second mouse gets the cheese.

13 * When everything’s coming your way, you’re in the wrong lane.

14 * Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.

15 * Some mistakes are too much fun to make only once.

16 * We could learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box.

17 * A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

18 * Have an awesome day and know that someone has thought about you today.

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY

19 * Save the earth.  It’s the only planet with chocolate!

Today someone asked me if I liked you.  I laughed and said, “Ha! That’s funny!  I absolutely LOVE that woman!  She’s funny, caring, crazy as heck, sweet, beautiful, she’s reading this e-mail right now and I love her!”

Send this to ladies you love!  Be the kind of woman that when your feet hit the floor each morning the devil says “Oh crap, she’s up!”

—Eleanor T. Cicerchi

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August 22, 2020 · 9:55 am

Sticking My Neck Out

Getty Images

I have a happy feeling this morning of my parents reaching down and encouraging me in my efforts to join Amazon Handmade in selling the products I make. They seem to like it when I leave my comfort zone, trying something new, learning a ton in the process, adrenaline flowing. They are doing a combination of enveloping me in a huge hug and shooing me out to get with it.

sayingimages.com

I submitted an application yesterday to be able to list my earrings in the jewelry section. They sent an email saying they had received my application, and that I would hear something within 15 working days.

I have decided to call and see if I can reach a human who can answer questions about

  • whether I need to submit a separate application for each category I would like to be able to list products in, or if the one I have sent is an ‘umbrella’ application.
  • whether the Handmade group is handled the way their used book section works,
  • how I submit products, etc.

I’m nervous and excited. I dreamed about it last night, showing my subconscious KNOWS I’m trying to enter uncharted territory.

I hope to be able to tell you I have been accepted…

123RF.com

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August 21, 2020 · 5:50 pm

New Horizons?

2STARart

 

 

Amazon Handmade

Today I applied to Amazon Handmade to see if they will accept me to list my stuff there. I still have a lot of questions, but I’ve made the first step. They said it will take up to 15 business days for me to hear from them on acceptance or rejection. So that means it could be the first week in September before I know.

I applied in the Jewelry category. They asked for my ‘process,’ plus 3 representative pics of my stuff.

Right now I have no clue on whether I can have one store and sell one type of thing on it, or have a store for each type of products I make. Either way, I’m excited to be trying something different.

If you would like to check them out, here is their website – Amazon Handmade

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August 20, 2020 · 11:00 am

Pet Peeve

123RF.com

I wonder if I.T. website people get paid on the basis of how seamlessly the website works or for how many changes they make?

A new pet peeve is changes that only seem to make what I have done for a long time harder. I love it when problems or glitches are fixed. I also like it when there is someone available on a chat program to help me if I can’t figure it out by myself.

I have sold used books on Amazon for years. I would look up the book, hit the ‘used’ button, then the ‘sell yours’ button and list my details. Easy peasy.

For over three weeks now , I haven’t had a clue what was going on. The ‘sell yours’ button disappeared!

I finally reached a chat person. She checked and checked and then said someone with more knowledge would get back to me within 48 hours.

I received an email telling me about a trade-in program…

Two days ago, instead of automatically hitting the ‘used’ button on the main page for the book, I was determined I would find SOMETHING that would get me on the road to being able to list our books again. I finally saw a link to the far right of the page saying, “Condition.” I clicked on it, and another button showed up saying, “Sell product.” 

THEN I was able to list the book for sale under ‘used.’ 

HOORAY!

I quickly listed the pile of books I had been saving.

We sold one overnight.

The next day we sold three more.

The person who made this change probably thought it was a good thing. When the chat people who work there aren’t able to figure it out, and neither are the ‘more knowledgeable’ people to whom I was sent – it makes me feel a bit better that I had so much trouble figuring it out, but this has really become a pet peeve!

 

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August 19, 2020 · 11:41 am

Planning for FUN

Freepik

Managing stress is super-important.

Stress crawls into all your nooks and crannies, wreaking havoc in your mindset, your health, your ability to function. It colors EVERYTHING – painting with a broad brush.

I’ve been having some, due to various things, such as having to have one of our dogs euthanized due to cancer and health issues with my husband. I’ve been aware of it, but have just shoved it down deep, staying busy – rather than actively trying to deal with it. I finally decided to get proactive when my doctor asked how I was and tears sprang up.

Now I am thinking of ways I can help myself. My situation is not going to change. In fact, it will get worse. I’m actively gathering ideas for what I can do to take care of myself so that I will be strong enough to deal with whatever is ahead.

  • Value the family members and friends who care. They allow me to vent whenever I need to – I try not to abuse the privilege – but knowing they are there is everything.
  • Make a plan for each day, listing ONE thing I would like to accomplish. (Today it is listing my newest earrings on EyecatchingEarrings at Etsy)
  • Eat right and exercise daily ( we are on Month #2 of the South Beach diet. DIY dinner tonight – bacon-wrapped chicken breast and salad – now that the main yard cleanup is finished, I’ll go back to my elliptical trainer and yoga)
  • Dive into a good book daily – I’m enjoying the Rise of the Iliri series by Auryn Hadley. I’m on book # 6 now.
  • Spend time in my art room – Even if it’s just messing around, something usually grabs me. I play some of my favorite music while I’m up there, making it a double-escape, creative time.
  • Work in my garden or flower planters. Right now we’re having a bit cooler temperatures with lower humidity, so it’s lovely outside.
  • Listen to music. I either arrange a mini-concert of some of my favorites via YouTube, or spread out in my recliner and plug myself into my MP3 player.
  • Actively plan for FUN daily – something that brings me pleasure – for the moment or longer term.

AND, as I do these things, my problems lessen – allowing me to get a better perspective and be thankful for all I have.

I hope that YOU can plan for some FUN in YOUR day, too!

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August 5, 2020 · 10:23 am

Raccoon # 10

Nat’l Wildlife Federation

We returned awhile ago after relocating Raccoon # 10.  Saying this is a record-breaking year for raccoons is a vast understatement.  We are hoping they meet up at the creek and continue to live happy lives elsewhere. We also sincerely hope this is the last of the bunch.

Our tomatoes have slowed way down. I only got cherry sized tomatoes yesterday when I harvested. We can’t be greedy, though. We have been enjoying wonderful ripe tomatoes with lunches and dinners for weeks now.

We are at the time of year here where, no matter how much you water, the sun is so strong it just boils the plants. I checked on my garden yesterday. There are still a lot of plants, and my onions are continuing to grow, but there was just ONE, lone ROUND zucchini. I’m not even sure this will be edible. I’m about to give up and pull the plants for the season. I’ve had a fun year in the garden, growing lettuce and spinach, tomatoes, and some celery (though I’m not sure if we’ll get actual stalks or not – or just leafy plants.

 

While I was out, though, I gathered some Rio Samba Roses to enjoy in the house.

 

Today is a sad day for us. We are having to say goodbye to Molly, a canine member of our family for over 15 years.

She was diagnosed with malignant cancer of the jaw several weeks ago. We have had her on antibiotics and pain/inflammation meds since then to try to give her as many happy dog days as we could. She has milked all the extra attention for everything she’s worth – demanding to go outside, then demanding to come in again – with a treat, of course. I have made sure we had enough treats that she could have all she demanded, and even a few more. Up until a few days ago, she was still having fun, even trying to play with us in the yard. She has given us over 15 wonderful years of her happy personality, cheering up her people and fellow dogs and cats alike. For that, we will be eternally grateful.

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July 29, 2020 · 10:58 am

Working on This

Positive Energy via Michael Remillard

 

This is a wonderful quality to have. I have never had it, but I’m striving to practice it. If you remain calm, it saves time, keeps everyone else calm, and helps you do what is needed at any given time.

Our son has gained a lot of this through meditation. When he comes to visit us, it flows through the house and lasts until he leaves again. It has allowed him to control much of the frustration and anger that challenges him from time to time. I have tried to meditate – not nearly as hard as I should – but I just can’t shut my mind down.

What is helping me is my yoga stretches. It takes me a long time to relax into each position. (I have to fight the ‘the body is old and creaky with discomfort’ aspect of each position before I can relax, but I CAN relax finally. When I finish my stretches of about half an hour each afternoon, my mind is clear and my body feels good.

It is important for each of us to find that thing that works for us – listening to music, getting outside, talking to a friend, etc. – so that we can find the calm that is healing.

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July 26, 2020 · 10:29 am

Plea

PictureQuotes.com

If I can get right to sleep, I’m fine.

If not, it’s a loop of recurring thoughts –

  • the wording on composing a difficult letter
  • ideas about things I want to try to do in my art room
  • things to remember to put on the grocery list
  • trying to remember if I ______?
  • worrying about various things

Once the loop starts, I have learned to go downstairs, get some water, and sit down in my chair and read until I’m sleepy again. The second time I try to go to sleep, I have no trouble.

I keep a pad of paper and pen on my bedside table to make notes on trying to get things on lists, or make notes of what I need to do the next morning. The other things REQUIRE I get up and check to reassure myself, or read to stop my poor brain’s cycling.

I have asked Santa for a “brain reboot” button, but so far no dice.

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July 20, 2020 · 10:08 am

Relaxxxxxxing Jaw – Relaxxxxxing Face…

Clipart Library

I failed to make time on Thursday, but I did 35 minutes or so of Gentle Yoga stretching every other day last week – earning 6 gold stars for my desk calendar.

I don’t know why the actual silly gold stars are motivating, but they are for me. I’m not sure what that says about me, but – hey – it’s working.

My biggest problem in getting back to my “old-lady, not-REAL-yoga-as-I-think-of-it” practice (standing on your head, folding yourself up like a pretzel) is that I am all hunched-up, stiff, and creaky again.

123RF.com

I don’t know what it is about getting older, but I have observed that people seem to ‘draw up’ as they age. Hunching over, taking smaller, hesitant steps while walking, moving more slowly, turning inward. The tendency is to end up in a ball.

Right now one of the things I’m working on is relaxing when I lie flat on my back on the mat. That doesn’t sound like much, I know, but it is for me. I have to start with a wedge pillow under my neck. I breathe into the position, trying to concentrate on relaxing my jaw, relaxing my face, actually letting the wedge pillow support my head. Yeah. I’ve gotten that bad.  I then trade the wedge for a sofa pillow and do the same relaxing. Finally, I can lie flat on the mat with no pillow. Each position is like this, with parts of my body either clenching up or yelling at me as I try to get into the stretches. I am concentrating on just doing what I can do, trying to push just a tad more with each day of practice.

I’m making progress after the six days of practice last week. I’m still stiff, but I can relax more quickly now into each pose. I keep reminding myself that Cat Kabira, the lady on the Gentle Yoga DVD, stresses that ATTEMPTING each pose, and holding while you relax and breathe into it, does your body good. As long as you are doing the best you can, your body will eventually ‘yield’ and release the muscles.

OshiPrint.in

I’m going for 7 stars this week.

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July 18, 2020 · 12:17 pm

Getting the Lard Off “Progress” Report?

We are ‘regrouping’ on our weight loss and exercise efforts. I say ‘we’ – my husband and I are on two months of the South Beach Diet Plan now, trying to reboot our efforts to lose weight. Excuses abound, but the bottom line is that we have been regaining the weight we lost previously and are trying to get our heads back in the game and remotivated.  “I” am exercising. He encourages me in my efforts, but won’t do any himself.

To date, I have now lost 33 pounds and 28 inches from my most ‘zaftig.’ I’m disappointed that I allowed myself to gain back pounds and inches, but that is in the past now. I am again losing weight and exercising. So far I am walking 10 minutes twice a day, morning and evening. It is too hot in the middle of the day. I AM working in the yard, and I think that should count toward my “30 minutes of exercise each day” goal. I am also doing another 30 minutes of Gentle Yoga stretches daily.

Our initial impressions of the South Beach food are mixed.

Anything in the small cups is good. That includes soups so far. The shakes are fine. I like a chocolate nut bar snack, and my husband likes a toffee bar.  The dinners are okay. We are eating them with a lot of fresh tomatoes from our garden. We have changed our coming order to try to find something we like…

The big thing we are getting is a reality check.

  • portions do matter
  • eating a small amount of the right things several times a day works well on keeping hunger down
  • saving something nice for after dinner snack is good for the morale
  • tracking what you are eating and drinking is a good way to stay accountable
  • watching the scales show general downward progress is a nice thing

I am personally learning (again!) that if my husband slips things we shouldn’t eat into the grocery cart, that doesn’t mean that “I” have to heed the voices calling me into the pantry. I am responsible for what I eat.

My initial feeling is that our decision to do a two-month reboot was a good one.

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Filed under Attitude, Challenges, Changes, DIET!, exercise, Family, getting the lard off, Healthy Eating, taking care of yourself

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July 17, 2020 · 9:37 am

Running

KT Lyons Design via Stephanie Youmans Wilson

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June 15, 2020 · 10:33 am

Learning Lessons

Leading Learning

I am learning the hard way that I need to pay attention to the ORDER of my activities to get some control of the civilized part of our yard.  As I type, I’m TRYING not to scratch all the chigger bites I gathered yesterday while trying to clear a path on the north side of our shop. It was totally overgrown, so I had sprayed it pretty heavily a couple of times with weed killer previously. It hadn’t done the job, so I got serious yesterday.

I got a path cleared, but learned-

  1. to spritz on Ben’s Tick and Insect Repellent before heading outside. We just got this. It got really high ratings from Consumer’s Reports.  It says it is the “wilderness formula” 30% Deet, and repels mosquitoes that may carry the Zika virus. At any given time we are outside, my husband is unaware of bugs. I come back in with bites all over. I will TRY to get in the habit of spritzing this on before I even think of going outside.

 

2) I will then mix up bug spray (We use Eight – great on killing bugs, but doesn’t harm plants or our animals) in our 2-gallon container and spray it over the areas I will try to weed whack in.

 

123RF

3) After I have sprayed the bug killer thoroughly, I will weed whack, getting everything cleared out.

 

4) Then I will spray the weed killer (we use KillzAll) again, hosing down the area.

5) Then I will spray again with bug killer.

 

I’m HOPING that if I build this habit, I won’t end up looking like someone chewed on by zombies with my usually sunny disposition marred by trying really hard not to scratch….

 

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June 15, 2020 · 9:48 am

Gotta Hand It

Your Tango

One of my many pet peeves is people putting things on high shelves. “High” in my case encompasses anything I can’t reach without getting a step stool or ladder – a LOT of things. I am 5’4″ and shrinking.

I have finally ALMOST gotten my husband to stop doing this, although his first inclination is to put everything WAAAAY up – ‘out of the way.’ I have modified his behavior by SWEETLY ignoring the step stools and ladders, going to get him, making HIM get up and come get whatever it is that he stored up there. I thank him profusely for the help, and then do it again without guilt when I can’t reach the next thing.  FINALLY, he sees the pattern and the NEXT time stores it down lower… :0)

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June 13, 2020 · 9:16 am

Dogs Have a Way

Thom Jones – PlayBarkRun.com

 

We found and adopted Molly in 2005.  She was 15 in February. She brought a light-hearted goofiness to our home, even making our pit bull, Bambi, smile.

Bambi is gone now. We have Amber, a 95-pound 3-year-old yellow lab now. Sadly, Amber is jealous of Molly – after initially getting along fine – and so we are very careful to keep them separated.

I told you recently that we discovered that Molly has cancer.  The vet examined her, cleaned out a really ugly place that had sprung up on one side of her mouth, and sent her home with antibiotics and pain/inflammation medicine for 14 days.  We had agreed that if she had some quality time left, we wanted her to have it.

You see her sleeping at my feet as I type. She now rests well. When she awakes, she is full of energy and barks sharply for us to let her out. Many times she barks again within a very short period of time, knowing that she gets a treat when she comes back inside. She is taking great joy now – gaming the system – going in and out countless times each day. Her bright black eyes sparkle and she grins each time she gets another treat.

She is prancing around the yard, hopping around, playful as she hasn’t been in years. I’m playing with her, then spending as much time as I can each day, giving her as much love as possible. She is getting a lot of happy dog days now, and we are treasuring each one.

One happy day at a time.

 

 

 

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June 10, 2020 · 9:20 am

Freeing

Everett Ruess via Lisa Bearnes Richey

My personal situation has forced me to live one day at at a time – sometimes one HOUR at a time. With this change in focus, I’m actually finding some good coming from it. Though things are tense here many times, being forced to ‘stay-in-the-moment’ is freeing.

Instead of worrying about my ‘to do’ list, all the other stuff I might – or even SHOULD be doing – slips WAAAAY down in priority. As I’m learning to focus on the most important, wringing out every moment of joy possible, my mind is less burdened. If I do anything else during the day, that’s good, but it is no longer NECESSARY.

I am being given the chance to keep my head on straight. I have people who are very, very important to me. I have animals who continue to give me unconditional love. Enjoying whatever time I have with them is paramount.

Making every day count – “while I am alive, I intend to live.”

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May 25, 2020 · 10:22 am

Back on Track – I HOPE

Askideas.com

The Pandemic is my latest excuse for not sticking to my diet and exercise program. (I have a whole sackful of excuses – and add more at a ferocious rate.) My husband is another excuse – he doesn’t have as much weight to lose. We grocery shop together, and all kinds of things I shouldn’t eat show up at home when we put the groceries away. I have decided to stop using this as an excuse, though. I’m hoping the man will live for MANY more years, so I will just have to be stronger on avoiding his ‘extras.’

Yesterday I got disgusted with myself – FINALLY. I re-read the first part of Simply Keto by Suzanne Ryan. I am feeling re-motivated to get back on track and start losing the lard again.  I am now, (starting again yesterday) tracking my food intake on MyFitneesPal.com. Suzanne tells you how to tweak the settings there so that you can follow your macro and even tweak it from time to time as needed. (Your ‘macro’ is the comparative percentages of fat, carbohydrates, and protein you should consume each day in order to try to lose the girth.) I have also decided to spend more time on KetoKarma.com, Suzanne’s website, to try to STAY motivated.

Before I fell off the wagon, I had lost 40 lbs and 43 inches. I have gained 9 pounds BACK since the Pandemic started. :0(  Since it is beyond stupid to try to stay safe from the virus while simultaneously stuffing food I shouldn’t be eating into my mouth, I’m promising myself to treat myself better.

Because of my good friend and hair dresser Michael Remillard, I learned that maltitol is to be avoided. Yesterday, when I was re-reading Suzanne’s intro, I noticed that she mentioned it, too, but apparently I simply read over the top of it. It’s in a lot of sugar-free and no-sugar-added products. It can spike blood sugar and is to be avoided.

Also, because of Michael, I have discovered an ice cream I can eat when I must! The brand name is Rebel, and the flavor I think is wonderful is Mint Chip. I’m also on the lookout for Triple Chocolate.  The PINT has 4 net carbs!  The pint lasted me for 4 servings. Hooraaaaaay!

One of the things that Suzanne said that really resonated with me was that  when you make a mistake at one meal, instead of just blowing off the rest of the day and eating whatever you want because the day is ‘blown,’ you should redouble your efforts by eating correctly the rest of the day, giving yourself a break and sticking to the plan. You don’t have to be perfect – you just need to be consistent.

 

Yesterday I made her “Sausage, Egg, and Cheese Breakfast Bake.”  

“Sausage, Egg & Cheese Breakfast Bake” by Suzanne Ryan, Simply Keto

She encourages you to throw extra low carb veggies in wherever you can, so I throw fresh spinach into her already delicious recipe. (I tried broccoli previously, but my husband didn’t care for it.)  He doesn’t mind the spinach at all. :0)  6 servings. We each enjoyed a wedge of this with a big salad.

I’ve gotten pretty good at avoiding carbs. (My personal macro has me staying at 14 carbs or under daily. )  My biggest problem is adding fat. I am studying her meal plans at the end of the book this time to get a better handle on what I can choose to better reach the 70% fat in a healthy manner. I have been tending to eat too much protein, and that can throw you off, so planning my eating with MyFitnessPal will help there. I can enter what I’m planning to eat, see how that meets my requirements, and adjust BEFORE I eat a wrong thing.  I am learning to pay more attention – using the tools that will help me, reading labels more carefully, etc.

Snacks and desserts are danger areas for me.  I have avoided these area in Suzanne’s book, but found something I want to try after the next trip to the grocery store – “Chocolate-Covered Macadamia Nut Fat Bombs.”  I love casseroles, so I’m also going to get set up to try her “Twice-Baked Cauliflower Casserole.” 

Another lady I find who has good keto recipes is Kyndra of Peace, Love and Low Carb.   She sends recipes to my email inbox.

Sorry if I’m talking your arm off, but as you can see, I am newly motivated. I am hopeful that by NEXT Monday, I can report that I have lost some weight, changed a measurement, or I can report on the new recipes I’ve tried.

Meanwhile, I’ll bake a loaf of my keto bread today.

 

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May 17, 2020 · 1:00 pm

Request

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April 7, 2020 · 11:59 am

Washin’ the Dog

“Walkin’ the dog,
Just walkin’ the dog
If you don’t know how to do it,
I’ll show you how to walk the dog.” ~ Rufus Thomas

NOW substitute ‘washin’ for ‘walkin’ and you can sing along with what I’ve been doing for the past couple of hours.

At the Lewis house, we enjoy two-dogs-in-one: Fuzzy Molly that you see above and Sleek Molly, below, after she has been to the groomer.

Molly is truly at her FUZZIEST right now. Add to that the fact that she is NOT a sweet ‘lady’ dog, but a ragamuffin who LOVES to stick her nose in the dirt; bring all manner of stinky things out of the woods and into the front yard; dig up moles, voles, and other oles; and you have an idea of how very dirty she gets. Usually about the middle to the end of March, she starts her once-every-six-weeks or so trips to the groomer. We get her hair cut short all over so that we can save her from the ticks and/or fleas who manage to get on regardless of collars, sprays, and medicines made to help with that. There is also a time of the year that she runs through the grass, coming back to the house COVERED in tiny awful burs from her nose to the tip of her tail. With her hair short, I can use a comb to remove most of them without causing her much grief.

Another adaptation to the virus outbreak is that we can’t take her to the groomers. We’ve had off and on yucky rain for at least a couple of weeks now, and she comes in, dirtier and dirtier, with her hair starting to mat, no matter how many times I brush her.

This morning I spent about 45 minutes with the Furminator tool we got that you use like a brush.

Furminator

It removes a lot of the excess hair without teeing off the dog too badly. I filled up half a trash can (!) with the hair I removed, stopping when her patience ran out.

Then I took her plus three dog towels into the kitchen and lifted her into the kitchen sink. She is quite docile when she’s thoroughly wet, so I scrubbed her as well as I was able with no-tears dog shampoo and spent a LONG time getting her rinsed. She has supe- thick, combination cocker spaniel and schnauzer type hair, so I rinsed her for a good twenty minutes.

It took all three towels to get her to quit dripping enough that I could take her to the back bathroom and use my hair dryer on her for as long as I could before she protested.

She is now lying on the carpet at my feet as I type.  She is still coming over and rubbing herself all over my jeans, trying to dry her face more. When she dries a lot more, I will brush her again and we will add a new flea collar we got for her. (We already put one on Amber, our 95 pound yellow lab.) They are supposed to last up to six months, protecting them from fleas and ticks. We found them when we Googled, “best flea and tick collars.” They had good reviews on Amazon. The brand name is Rolf Club and the collar is called 3D. Fingers crossed the collars are worth the price.

My shirt is wet and has white dog hair all over it, even though I tried to use a sticky roller to clean up some. I did get the kitchen sink cleaned up and the towels are in the washer. I hope I don’t smell like I’ve been, “washin’ the dog” …

 

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April 6, 2020 · 4:59 pm

Slug Fest?

Bright Side

YESTERDAY I –

  • Vacuumed the first floor – office, living room, hallway, dining area, kitchen, pantry, utility room and two half-baths
  • went grocery shopping and put stuff away
  • fixed lunch
  • did 3 loads of laundry
  • changed the sheets on our bed
  • changed the tires on the truck with my husband – from the snow tires to its regular tires. It took us two hours, but we got it done
  • fixed dinner
  • cleaned up the kitchen

TODAY I –

am being a SLUG. I have done very little. I did almost nothing in comparison. I got a keto chili in the crock pot this morning and fixed lunch. I fell asleep in my chair. (I had the heat pad under my back in the recliner and the throw over me the perfect ‘sandwich’ of comfort.)

I am just now writing some blog posts. I feel like a slug, but I guess I needed a day of rest. It’s funny. I feel just fine while I’m working. Then it all catches up to me and I’m reminded that I’m no spring chicken anymore.

So – slug fest for me today. Maybe I’ll have more energy tomorrow….

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March 20, 2020 · 11:01 am

Thoughts on a Friday 3-20-2020

Wild and Wonderful

Well, yesterday I called and told my friend Kay that my husband and I had decided that we would stop going to Lunch Bunch on Fridays until the coronavirus pandemic calmed down. We are in the high risk group for the virus, so we’re trying to limit contact as much as possible. This was a really hard decision because Linda, Kay, and I (plus various others) have met for lunch every Friday for almost 19 years now.

This morning I discovered that the governor of Arkansas has ordered all restaurants, bars, and gyms in Arkansas closed until further notice. (Restaurants can offer take out.)  Schools will remain closed through April 17th. I also learned that we have to make an appointment if we want to enter the lobby of our bank, though the drive-thrus and ATMs will be functional. City Hall and the Police Department buildings are closed to the public, too.

I have to tell you that – as worried as I am about the virus – I’m MORE worried about the economic effects of all this, and the changes that are being made in the power of the government as we try to get through this. I hope that we are able to get a handle on testing, possible medicines and equipment that help people suffering with the illness, and protect those trying to help the ill as soon as possible.

This being said, here are things that are NOT being cancelled –

Lisa Parkhurst Blaisdell via Ginger Charles

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March 3, 2020 · 11:24 am

Funny

Clive Staples Lewis from RaiseYourMind.com

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