Category Archives: exercise

October 30, 2019 · 12:48 pm

Thoughts on a Wednesday 10-30-2019

Stefka K Foerster – LinkedIn

It’s cold (46 degrees F.) and rainy here today.  We did not get the freeze, but the low is forecast to be 29 tomorrow. BRRR! My husband drove down to get the mail, but we decided today was a GREAT day to stay inside.

Since my husband has asked a couple more times about when we’ll have the Keto Chili again, (Suzanne Ryan, Simply Keto), I got the ingredients into the crock pot first thing this morning. Our son texted from Thailand, asking if I could give HIM the recipe. I took a pic of the page and sent it to him. :0)

Our wonderful bug man, Adolpho from Tri-Hill Pest Control of Fort Smith, came for our last spraying of the year this morning. Since it’s cold and rainy outside, he said he will come back next week to do the outside. I’ve told you before that we think this is a great company and our dogs vie for Adolpho’s attention.

I have decided that I need to be SURE to live at LEAST as long as my husband. He had to have an implant at the dentist’s office several months back. The new protocol is that they do the implant, wait several months and THEN do the x-rays and prep for the new tooth, and THEN insert the actual tooth at a third appointment. I’ve told you my husband had a stroke in July. He is now on blood thinners. He was going to agree to an appointment without telling the dentist’s office about his situation OR checking with our primary doctor. I have now contacted our primary, called the dentist’s office back to explain my husband’s situation so that NOW they will be prepared to handle any problems that might occur.  (I have told my husband that his wife is a pearl beyond price…)

This afternoon I plan to do more experimenting with Unicorn Spit in my art room. I’ve told you that this wonderful STUFF can be used on paper, wood, glass, ceramics, fabric and more. I’ve done the wooden plaques now. Next I’m going to see what happens with tote bags, glass Christmas ornaments, and flat wooden Christmas ornaments, and paper. Can you see me smiling even THINKING about my afternoon?

I’m delighted that my elliptical trainer time and yoga stretching time seem to be resulting in MUCH less pain, stiff joints, etc. This means a LOT at my age – 72 – so I’m really happy about this discovery.  I’m hoping that by the end of the year – or before – I can add something else to the daily exercise mix.

I hope you are having a wonderful Wednesday.

 

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October 29, 2019 · 11:36 am

Thoughts on a Tuesday 10-29-2019

День Вдохновения- LinkedIn

It’s 47 degrees F. here today and rainy.

We’re supposed to have freezing temperatures tomorrow morning, so my husband and I have been dashing around trying to get house and vehicle prepared for this super-early phenomenon.

We –

  • shut down our irrigation system that waters all the flowers in planters around the house. We had to pull hoses from the well house wall and plug the holes, light the pilot light in the well house, and plug in the thermostatically-controlled electric heater there, too.
  • we unhooked hoses around the house and put styrofoam faucet covers on.
  • we closed outside vents
  • We lit the pilot light for the heating system in our shop.
  • We changed the truck tires from the regular ones to snow tires
  • We ran one of the riding mowers out of gas
  • We turned on the humidifier systems in the basement and the attic for the house

We are mostly prepared now for the freeze. The silly thing is that, after all this rushing around, we’ll probably have a week of freezing temperatures and then it will warm back up again… I’ll wait to do the rest of the list until later.

I’m looking forward to playing in my art room this afternoon. I’m going to try the Unicorn Spit Stain/Glaze on some glass Christmas ornaments I have and some flat wooden ornaments.

Because of the all-day rush to get ready for the freezes, I haven’t done my exercises in TWO DAYS. I’ll start today getting back into the groove with my elliptical trainer and then my yoga stretches.

I tried a new recipe for ‘Keto Fried Chicken’ by Makinze Gore of Delish.com last night. My husband pronounced it “Yummy!” so well enjoy eating this again.

I hope you have a terrific Tuesday, too!

 

 

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October 27, 2019 · 3:30 pm

Thoughts on a Sunday 10-27-2019

Slice of Life

Today when we were shopping for groceries, we saw families with big pumpkins in their shopping carts. Since we live on top of a ridgeline 650+feet up a steep driveway, we don’t get trick or treaters anymore. I love to see the delight on the children’s faces. I wish I could say we made wonderful jack-o-lanterns when our son was young and we were BURIED in so many trick or treaters we had to BUDGET to be able to pay for all the candy. Alas, I was lucky to manage the traditional jack-o-lantern without cutting off a finger or two. That’s why I truly love searching the net each year to see what the creative people are coming up with. I’m amazed at all the wonderful ideas and the amazing talent I find!

When checking our local weather website, I discovered that starting Wednesday of this coming week, we’ll have FREEZING temperatures each morning! My husband and I were out in the yard yesterday happily looking at some blooming roses, impatiens, and some clematis. It looks like they only have a few days left.

Because of the coming freezes, we got busy with our ‘Prep for Winter’ list. We have added to this list, starting many years ago, having learned the hard way that if we don’t pay attention and be proactive, we end up in a world of hurt with freezing pipes, etc. One year we lost the generator in the well house. We now have  a larger, propane powered generator that is much more reliable. When you live out in the sticks, you learn that you’ll be last in line when help is needed. The more you can take care of your own needs, the better.

So today we turned off our irrigation system that waters all the flowers around the house and on the deck. We unhooked and drained the system as much as possible. We pulled hoses out of the well house and plugged the holes in the brick for the winter. We plugged in a thermostat-controlled electric heater our there, plus lit the pilot light of the propane-powered heater that keeps our pipes from freezing. We then walked around the house, closing outside vents, unhooking hoses, and putting styrofoam faucet covers on the outside faucets. We unhooked the irrigation system hose for the veggie garden and wrapped the control in bubble wrap and a baggie with tape. We ran one of the ride-on mowers out of gas for storage. There is much more on the list, but we’ll handle those another day.

We had a nice texting chat with our son who is back home in Thailand. He is finally making progress on getting his hours straightened out, rather than being awake and asleep and hungry at the wrong times. He is back to morning exercise, meditation, and working with his partners.

I fixed the ‘keto chili’ by Suzanne Ryan of Simply Keto last night. My husband pronounce it “Delicious!” Went on to say, “I’ll be happy to eat this ANY time!” and finally, “Can we eat what’s left tomorrow night?”

I’m going to try to get reasonable pictures of the 5 plaques I painted with the Unicorn Spit stain/glaze and list them on ArtFire.

I’ll also make time for my elliptical trainer and my yoga practice.

I hope you’re having a wonderful, sunshine-y fall Sunday.

 

 

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October 26, 2019 · 12:40 pm

Thoughts on a Saturday 10-26-2019

Cheap Trip

Our weather is 53 degrees F. and raining, so it’s a great day to stay inside, feeling grateful for a warm, dry home. I put together a keto crock pot chili recipe (thanks to Suzanne Ryan, Simply Keto)  so we can look forward to a nice comfort meal this evening.

I’m finishing the last plaque in the 5 plaque series using my new Unicorn Spit Stain/Glaze kit sent to me by my wonderful sister-in-law and FRIEND, MaryLou. It’s truly the gift that keeps on giving. I’m going to also try it on some glass Christmas ornaments I have, plus some flat wooden ornaments next. :0)

 

Since my body told me quite clearly Tuesday morning that it really NOTICED that I hadn’t exercised Monday, I’m actually finding it easier to work in my elliptical session and my yoga session daily. I don’t HAVE to do them at some particular time ( a SURE recipe for failure, since things always come up -giving me an excuse to skip it).  I do rest in-between the two sessions, but that’s the only limitation.

I’m doing 35 minutes on the elliptical trainer

Penn Fitness Warehouse

 

and 35-45 minutes on my yoga stretching

Why Kol

 

I’m enjoying book #38 “Concealed in Death” (of the 50 in the series so far) of J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts) “In Death Series.” I make myself wait until the books come out in paperback and then read the whole series again before I give myself permission to read the newest one I’ve bought for my collection. Even though the main character, Eve Dallas, is a homicide cop, I find her, and all the people in her world, fascinating.  I feel extremely lucky to have found several favorite authors who allow me to dive into the worlds they create and live there awhile each day. :0)

 

I’m enjoying bouncing from exercise – to cooking – to playing in my art room – to reading – to taking dogs out – and back again today. I hope your Saturday is a satisfying one, too.

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October 24, 2019 · 12:16 pm

Thoughts on a Thursday 10-24-2019

Alma Maghakyan – LinkedIn – Imgend.com

I’m in awe of people who can create .gifs like this.  You can almost HEAR the rain!

I just came back from having a glorious massage by my therapist, Lynn Moody. She is so kind and caring, as well as a master at finding all the tight, sore spots, knots, etc. and making them go away. AHHHH! If you’re in the  Fort Smith/Greenwood/Hackett & surrounding area, call for an appointment. Her number is 479-629-7601. You’ll never stop thanking yourself.

I’m working on another wooden plaque using the Unicorn Spit stain/glaze. I think I’ll have it finished by the end of the day. I’ll take a pic to post here.

I will never be an exercise ‘enthusiast.’ I don’t look forward to it, and still have to be determined to make these sessions priorities on my daily to-do list. But I have to admit that I’m still shocked that my BODY told me it missed my exercise sessions on Monday, when our dogs got into a fight and my day was spent trying to tend to our smaller, elderly dog, Molly, instead of anything else. (She is stronger each day, is eating and drinking and able to go outside with me. Whew!) My BODY complained about my lack of exercise! I felt sore, stiff, and creaky Tuesday morning, and MUCH better after I did my NOW usual time of 35 minutes on the elliptical and 35 or so minutes of stretching yoga. So my attitude has changed from “SHOULD” to “NEED.” This is a sea change for me, and I’m pleased to recognize it.  So today is gloriously physical with massage, elliptical trainer, and yoga.

I’m looking for a good beef stew that fits my keto-macros needs and will be accepted by my husband, who truly loves traditional beef stew I’ve always made, full of potatoes, carrots, etc. I tried one recently while our son was still home. My husband ate one bowl, said, “hmmph” and wasn’t interested in eating more of it. Our son and I ate the rest, thinking it was really pretty good, but until I find one my HUSBAND determines is YUMMY, the hunt continues. I’ll get more serious about the hunt right away because our temperatures are dropping around here, and my husband is looking for comfort food.

I wish you a happy, healthy Thursday.

 

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October 23, 2019 · 4:09 pm

Thoughts on a Wednesday 10-23-2019

Wild and Wonderful

Isn’t she beautiful?

It’s 76 degrees F. and sunny today – a truly gorgeous fall day. I just opened up our front and back doors, giving us a delicious breeze wafting through the house.

As I told you in another post, Joshua came and made sure our geothermal system and thermostats are working as they should, so we’re feeling secure about the coming winter. (I called the company and told them that Joshua deserves a raise for truly wonderful service and for just being a really nice guy.) :0)

I did the first step in creating another plaque painted with Unicorn Spit. None of the steps takes long. I wait for what I do to dry, and then go up again and do the next step, over and over, until the piece is finished. Wonderful fun.

I’m on DAY 51 of daily yoga practice and DAY 36 of getting-serious-about-keto-macros.  I’m saying this even though I missed Monday exercise, except for bowling in the evening with friends. Our dogs got into a fight suddenly Monday morning.  Amber, our 94 pound yellow lab and Molly, our 25 pound elderly cocker spaniel/schnauzer cross were suddenly in a serious fight. Needless to say, Molly lost. I was really afraid we would lose Molly, but she rallied finally. She is recovering, eating, drinking, and going outside now. We have no clue what caused the fight, but I have insisted that my husband help me in trying to protect Molly now. (She is sleeping at my feet as I type)

So, when the crisis had eased Tuesday,  I did both my 35 minutes on the elliptical trainer and 35 minutes or so of yoga stretching. Tuesday morning my body felt old, stiff, and creaky. The exercising loosened me up. I’m beginning to BELIEVE that the daily exercising is just what I need, rather than just thinking I SHOULD, or that it would be good if I WOULD… Today my elliptical time seemed to go faster. I have my MP3 player and ear buds, and kind of zone out, enjoying the music as I walk. Some days I find myself saying, ‘another 5 minutes,’ over and over. Today I was pleasantly surprised that I still had some energy left in me when my time was up!’

I just finished my yoga session and I feel good. My body is ‘giving’ more in several of the stretches, making me feel I’m making progress. Tomorrow I’m looking forward to my monthly massage – AHHHH!

Our son made it back to Thailand safely – traveling for over 30 hours. He is still trying to straighten out his hours (imagine that!) but he’s settled again and is managing to go to the gym in his apartment complex each morning, and enjoyed dinner with friends. He’s a great communicator, so – other than his world-class hugs – it’s almost as if he were still here.

A lot for which to be thankful!

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October 19, 2019 · 2:07 pm

Thoughts on a Saturday – 10-19-2019

Marcie Patterson – LinkedIn

We have a good chance of rain today and tomorrow, plus deliciously cool weather and sunshine now. I have absolutely no complaints!

We took our son to the airport this morning for his trip back home to Thailand. We are SO lucky to have a caring, compassionate son who loves my husband and I to pieces. We’ll miss him terribly, but he has set up good communications so we can talk daily, plus a conference call program where we can see each other and talk, when we’re all up at the same time. (There is 12 hours difference between us.)

 

I am finally into new territory on my efforts to lose the lard!  Lately I have been re-losing poundage, so imagine my JOY this morning when the scales smirked at me, showing me new, lower numbers!  I am finally getting the hang of the keto eating plan. To me, the key is the macros (5% carbs, 25% protein, and 70% fat.) You can cut way back on carbs, but if you eat too much protein, it throws you off and prevents weight loss. If you concentrate on eating so that your percentages stay close to right, you get results, even if you’re old, like me. :0)

Pinterest

I am on DAY 47 of doing 35 or so minutes of daily yoga stretches, and DAY 32 on getting-serious-about-the-keto-macros. I’m also doing 35 minutes daily on my elliptical trainer. I’m hoping that the combination of all this will result in my measuring tape smirking at me by the end of this month.  Since I’m immature, even at my advanced age, I give myself a gold star on my desk calendar each time I do my yoga, elliptical, or work hard outside in the yard.  This is shaping up to be a 16-gold-star week!  To date, weight loss is 44 pounds and I’ve lost 45 inches. 

I am having a blast playing with the Unicorn Spit stain/glaze kit my sister-in-law sent me. I am trying to finish a second plaque today. I’ll take pics of it and post them when it’s finished.

I hope you are having a nice Saturday, too.

 

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October 17, 2019 · 11:36 am

Thoughts on a Thursday 10-17-2019

We Love Earth

 

We got an early start to the day with a doctor appointment for my husband followed by a glorious, large keto breakfast (for me) with the addition of hash browns and toast and jelly for my husband at The Dari in Greenwood. We did errands on the way home, so we’re in for the day now.

I re-lost some poundage and am again ready to get into new territory on the scales – hopefully tomorrow. To date I’ve lost 43 pounds and 45 inches.

I’m on DAY 45 of daily yoga practice

Why Kol

and DAY 30 on the getting-serious-about-keto-macros eating plan.

The fact that my husband and son are saying, “YUMMY!” about our dinners (THANK YOU, Suzanne Ryan of Simply Keto), I’m finding it easier to make the substitutions desired while we all eat together. For example, I have roast beef and salad while they have corn or other more high carb veggie with the meal. Or they have rice while I have either zucchini noodles (Zoodles) or yellow Squash noodles (Yoodles) or Cauli-rice under a sauce of chicken chunks, onions, mushrooms, and cream of chicken/mushroom soup. (I have my substitutions ready to pop into the microwave from individual portion bags in the freezer.)

I love the Cronometer.com website. I have entered my macro (5% carbs, 25% protein, 70% fat) into their program. I can ‘play’ with what I’m going to eat for the day. If I find that I’m planning to eat something that will trash my efforts for the day, I can delete that and plug something else in BEFORE I mess up.

I finished my first experiment with Unicorn Spit Stain/Glaze.  I have to say I had a BLAST playing with it and can’t wait to start another piece.

 

I finally harvested our onions from the garden. I still need to clean them up a bit more, and then I’ll put them in a large, stretchy, mesh bag and hang it in the pantry.

 

I hope that you are having a wonderful Thursday, too. :0)

 

 

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October 15, 2019 · 11:32 am

Thoughts on a Tuesday 10-15-2019

We Love Earth

It’s not raining yet, but severe storms are forecast for us this afternoon. We scooted out the door this morning to avoid the worst of it while we did our errands. It only sprinkled on us a bit.  I’m hoping we just get a good bit of rain, rather than flying hairballs.

We put up a different mailbox decoration while we were out –

I added some Day-Glo orange paint to this one, so it shows up nicely when headlights hit it in the dark. :0)   Because of Columbus Day yesterday, the mail is being delivered later than usual.  We’ll check again after lunch sometime to see if we received anything.

I’m having a wonderful time playing in my art room, experimenting with the Unicorn Spit stain/glaze. I’m trying to use it on a wooden plaque we cut out years ago. I did the first layer yesterday. I’ll add a second layer today. I have no clue what I’m doing, but it’s exciting and fun.

Elliptical and yoga await later in the day. FIRST, I’ll play in my art room before I need to fix lunch. :0)

Have a glorious Tuesday!

 

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October 12, 2019 · 5:49 pm

Trifecta!

NPR

I had a GREAT day.

  1. I worked in the yard for an hour – finishing cleaning out the tomato planters and weed-whacking around them, and around in the back yard.
  2. I did 35 minutes on my elliptical trainer, and
  3. I did my yoga session.

This may not sound like much, but it’s a great day of movement for me – a THREE GOLD STAR DAY!

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October 12, 2019 · 10:07 am

Thoughts on a Saturday 10-12-2019

Beautiful World

 

It’s 40 degrees F this morning and sunshine-y.

It’s too cool to have our doors open this morning, but I am REALLY enjoying the relief from our relentless summer here. It’s nice to NOT have a ‘heat index’. Somehow, knowing that makes me even hotter. I’m planning to work outside this afternoon, cleaning up around the tomato planters where I pulled out the plants a couple of days ago. I may have to throw on a sweatshirt!!!! Woo HOOOO!

It makes me a bit sad that in one week our son will be going back to Thailand. He came home at the end of July (27 hour trip with the flights and the layovers) to help us through the aftermath of my husband’s stroke.  There were lots of tests and decisions to be made. It was a super tense situation, but we finally got the information we needed and did what my husband would allow to avoid another stroke. The crisis is over. My husband is almost completely back to normal. It’s time for our son to get back to his life. I’m collecting lots of hugs (thank goodness he is super generous with them. We communicate almost daily when he’s halfway across the world. He set up a secure chat program we use, plus a conference call program we use from time to time so we can see each other. The only thing missing is his world class hugs. We are SO lucky.

 

I am still fighting with technology, but I’m happy to have two shops on Etsy now –

ArtworthyNoteCards –  hand-painted personalizable stationery, note cards, and greeting cards

TotablyYours  – hand-painted, one-of-a-kind tote bags

 

Amazon

 

I’ve admitted that I’m like a little kid when it comes to motivation to do things I would rather not. I’ve been giving myself gold stars on my desk calendar each day when I practice my yoga, do my elliptical trainer, or do a job in the yard that is drudgery, rather than fun. This week – if I stay on track today and tomorrow, will be a 15-star week!  It makes me happy to look at all the stars on the desk calendar, but I’m also FEELING better for the exercise – and that is really the point of it all.

If I can get my technical problems solved today, I’ll try to get up to my art room this afternoon. I have the BEST of all dilemmas – whether to experiment with my new crayon melting tools or experiment with my new Unicorn Spit stain/glaze kit my wonderful SIL sent me.  :0)

 

 

I hope that you are enjoying YOUR Saturday, whether it is with relaxation or fun.

 

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October 11, 2019 · 6:30 pm

Yoga as Therapy

Animated GIFs

 

After acting like a slug most of the day due to my back reminding me that I MIGHT need to remember my age, I did a S-L-O-W careful yoga session this afternoon.

After initial protest at lying flat on my mat, my body slowly breathed a sigh of relief. I didn’t do my normal routine today. I just did what I though I needed, doing several poses over and over again, feeling my body finally start to loosen up.

I knew yoga was good for me in general. As we age our bodies stiffen up. We tend to hunch our shoulders, and protect ourselves from possible harm by moving more slowly, shortening our steps, tensing up if we feel our balance might be in jeopardy.

Now I’m beginning to consider the therapeutic value of my yoga stretching. When I’ve overdone and my back is yelling – as it was today – I spent most of the day trying not to move so much. Resting is good, but it seems that if I had made it a point to do the yoga stretching this morning, rather than waiting until late this afternoon, I might have had a more comfortable day. Food for thought, anyway.

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October 10, 2019 · 12:48 pm

Thoughts on A Thursday 10-10-2019

Jeff Jett – LinkedIn

Right now it’s pretty pleasant outside. This evening we’re due for possible severe storms (wind, rain, hail, lightning, and flying hairballs) so I’m enjoying the weather while I can. Last week was summer, with the a/c on. Tomorrow, the lows are supposed to be in the 30’s!!

We just got back from Lunch Bunch – usually this is on Fridays, but one of our group is having a yard sale starting tomorrow, so went went today, instead. Everyone was good and all appendages are crossed (including my eyes) for ONLY cold and not rain, for her yard sale tomorrow and Saturday.

I’m going to go out as soon as I finish this – and my cup of coffee – to take down our tomato plants, clean up the planters, weed whack around them, etc. There are no green tomatoes, so it’s time. We’ve had a good season this year in spite of the weirdness of the weather. For the first time ever, I was able to only to eat all the head lettuce we personally wanted, but could share with our friends. We also shared tomatoes, radishes, and leaf lettuce. It was too hot to start seeds for a fall garden in my greenhouse and I didn’t find any fall veggie plants for sale, so I’m not plotting and planning what I want to do for the spring.

We may have the cold snap tomorrow, but we usually have it warm up again to fall-like weather, so we won’t stop the irrigation system. My husband is hoping he’ll only have to mow once or twice more….

So – this afternoon the plan is to get rid of the tomato plants, do my elliptical trainer, and do a session of yoga. I would also like to get up to my art room. The big dilemma is whether to play with my new crayon melter tools or my new Unicorn Spit Stain/Glass first. :0)

 

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October 9, 2019 · 6:09 pm

This Old Broad is Moving!

Awesomelycute

I did 35 minutes or so of yoga stretching this afternoon.  This is DAY 37 of daily yoga practice and I’m not having to MAKE myself do it. I can’t say I really look FORWARD to it, but I DO feel better afterwards and I can FEEL the progress my body is making as I breathe into the poses.

 

Penn Fitness Warehouse

I did 25 minutes on my elliptical trainer this morning. I’m trying to do 20 minutes daily. If I reach that point and am feeling good, I continue.  I’ve also decided that if I’ve reached the point where I having to MAKE myself do much more, I stop.

I just finished an hour out in the yard weed whacking and then blowing off the debris from our sidewalks, porch, and driveway pad.

So I’m feeling pretty good about my efforts to move the lard today. :0)

Tonight I’m making some spaghetti using Rao Marinara Sauce and hamburger meat. I’ll make elbow macaroni for my husband and son, since my husband doesn’t like to fight with spaghetti and my son will eat whatever. I’ll make zoodles (zucchini noodles) for me.

I hope you’ve had a good day, too.

 

 

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October 8, 2019 · 11:43 am

Thoughts on a Tuesday – 10-8-2019

Mountain Pigmy Possum-We Love Earth

I’ve already had a busy day.

It’s beautiful here – 65 degrees F and sunshine-y!

I’ve been online and on the phone straightening out a bunch of little, piddly details that add up to big stuff if not handled, so I feel I’ve accomplished something. :0)

I’m on DAY 35 of my daily yoga practice and DAY 20 of my getting-serious-about-keto eating. I just finished doing 30 minutes on the elliptical trainer and will do my yoga this afternoon.

My scales finally smirked at me this morning, FINALLY telling me I have lost the re-gained weight and am back to my lowest since I started trying to lose the lard.  To date I have lost 43 pounds and 45 inches. NOW hopefully I’ll break into new territory. I’m trying to lose another 30 pounds or so. I’m HOPING that by the end of this month, I will get a smirk from my measuring tape, too.  Since I got serious about figuring out my macros (5% carbs, 25% protein, and 70% fat) and tracking them with the use of Cronometer.com, I’ve lost 9 pounds, so I feel good about being in more control. I like the fact I can ‘try out’ different foods to eat during the day and see how everything adds up. Then I can tweak until it’s good. :0)  Also, thanks to Suzanne Ryan’s book, Simply Keto, I have lots and lots of really good recipes to try. My husband keeps requesting I do some again, so it’s hard to find a night when I can try something new!

My new shop on Etsy is up, and I finally did a banner that looks reasonable. Totably Yours

I’m looking forward to playing in my art room – continuing to experiment with my new crayon melting tools. So far, I’m just making a mess, but it’s so much fun!

I hope the weather is good where you are today and that you’re bursting with fun things to do.

 

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October 5, 2019 · 10:57 am

Thoughts on a Saturday – 10-5-2019

Backyard Garden Lover via Yolanda Vanveen

I marvel at the way some people’s minds work. I LOVE the creativity that resulted in the cute ‘birds’ above! I just hope there is a way to preserve these.

Penn Fitness Warehouse

After almost two full weeks of using my elliptical trainer 3 times a week for 35 minutes each session, my body told me that was too much at one time. Thursday I went to two 15-minute sessions, and that seemed to be better, though 15 minutes seemed a bit short, plus it was difficult to work the 2nd session into the day. Today I started with a 20-minute session. That seemed good, so I’ll do it daily for the next week or so and see how it goes. The cooler days now are bringing up my energy level, so hopefully I can get in my elliptical early.

Y is for Yogini

My daily yoga practice is going well. (I’m on DAY 33 today.)  This poor old stiff, sore lady emerges from my yoga stretches feeling better, moving more freely. I’m FEELING a bit of progress. Our dog, Amber,

Amber

‘helps’ me do my positions by oozing off her ‘place’ (bed) closer and closer until she can nuzzle me. When I start to laugh, she dives right in for a good hug.

Today I’m cooking TWO recipes worth of “Sausage, Egg and Cheese Bake” by Suzanne Ryan of Simply Keto at my husband’s REQUEST.  I have one more pound to lose before I’m ‘into-new-territory’ on my efforts to lose the lard. Cronometer.com is a great site for showing you where you are on your macros (percentages of fat, protein and carbs for the day). I like to add what I’m planning to eat, and then be able to modify it, if needed, before I make a mistake. I have the site bookmarked on my computer, plus added the app on my phone.

The fish haven’t complained, but it’s time today to clean out the aquarium. I’ll scrub things out, vacuum the gravel, put in different decorations, and then fill it back up again. The four goldfish I have are at least triple the size they were when I got them. They still seem to be fine in the 5-gallon tank. I’ll try to show you pics of their new digs later.

I’m working on three designs for a banner to go across the new Etsy shop I’m going to open soon. I’ll also try to post pics later to see what you think.

The weather is SOOOO nice! We have doors open again today. It’s really nice to air out the house and not have to use the a/c.

I hope that your day is full of fun things to do.

 

 

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October 3, 2019 · 10:26 am

Thoughts on a Thursday – 10-3-2019

Jeff Jett

Seeing this cute photo of a raccoon reminds me how HAPPY I am that we finally seem to have encouraged all the raccoons to go elsewhere. At least for a while.

We love seeing animals around our place. We see deer, possums, racoons, squirrels, road runners, birds of all kinds….   We have lots of feeders on our deck because we love watching all kinds of birds flit around while we sit at our dining area table. This comes to a halt suddenly, several times in the spring, summer, and fall, when we find ALL the feeders empty, hanging at half mast, or down on the deck, ruined. Our raccoons seem to arrive in families. We use a humane trap to catch them, one at a time, and then drive them out further into the country about 5 miles or so, and let them out at a creek to hopefully catch up to the ones we’ve relocated before and go on to live a happy life – away from us.

If they would SHARE or wouldn’t trash our feeders and make a mess, we could live in harmony. SADLY, they want it ALL.

Right now we still have hummingbird feeders up and filled since we are still seeing up to 4 at a time, darting between the two feeders and our wave petunias. We’ll keep them up to feed late stragglers who haven’t gotten the memo yet that it’s probably time to head south. (Mother Nature is still giving us summer here, so it’s no wonder the sweet hummers are confused.)

We also have black oil sunflower seeds and small seeds so everyone can find something to their liking. We had kept the feeders empty, trying to discourage the raccoons, for a LONG time, so it’s good to be back to normal now.

I just finished the first of 2 sessions on my elliptical trainer in the garage. I overdid a couple of days ago, and ended up like a slug in my chair most of the day yesterday. Dividing up my time into two sessions will hopefully allow me to keep moving without my body going on strike. I do another session later today plus a session of yoga.

My creative juices are starting to rummage around in my brain, so I’m hoping to get up to my art room this afternoon and start plotting, planning, and playing. (I hope you get a kick out of alliteration :0) )

*Today is Day 31 of daily yoga. Day 16 of getting-serious-about-keto-macros, and Day 5 of three-times-a-week elliptical trainer time. I’m going to give myself a gold star EACH time I do an elliptical session, hopefully making it so I don’t slough off the second session of the day, so I can earn THREE today. I cooked “Cheesy Bacon-Wrapped Chicken” by Suzanne Ryan, Simply Keto last night. Both my husband and son said, “YUMMY!”

The weather people are saying a cold front is coming through over night. I’m holding them to their word that this will happen, and will finally break the back of the too-hot temps with too-high humidity that have become the norm here. Fall – here we come!

I hope YOU have a star-filled and raccoon-less day, too!

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October 1, 2019 · 11:29 am

Thoughts on a Tuesday 10-1-2019

Slice of Life

Though it’s supposed to get to 90+ degrees today, fall is coming. We’re supposed to get a cold front, some rain, and highs in the 70’s THURSDAY. Can you SEE me dancing around and grinning?

Peace-Love and Smiles

I’m doing better with eating according to my keto macros – (5% carbs, 25% protein, 70% fat.)  I love the cronometer.com tracking site. I’m basically doing intermittent fasting (not eating from dinner the night before until 1:00 or so the next day) then eating lunch and dinner. I lost another pound yesterday. I need to lose ONE MORE and then I’ll be at the lowest I achieved before our world fell apart and we needed to focus on my husband’s health. He is much better and things are much calmer now, so I can concentrate on things like macros – so I am TRULY thankful. I’m on DAY 14 of ‘getting-serious-about-Keto.” I’m looking forward to finally breaking into new territory on my weight loss.

Yesterday I finished undoing the work of the gremlins who ate part of my data on my monthly tax prep and bookkeeping spreadsheets. I printed them and saved them to another spot on the computer, plus my outside backup drive, so I SHOULD be good again. A character-building exercise for sure, but I feel good that it’s up to date now.

This morning was a 3-hummingbirds- with-breakfast day. We LOVE sitting at the dining area table and watching all the birds flitting (or dive-bombing-then-hovering in the case of the hummingbirds).

Funotic.com- Where Fun Never Ends

I’m on DAY 29 of my daily yoga practice. My husband noticed yesterday that I was getting lower – or farther into – some of my poses yesterday!

Today I have the opportunity to earn TWO Gold Stars – one for the elliptical and one for yoga.

I hope that YOUR day is full of things that bring you joy.

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September 30, 2019 · 12:52 pm

Progress

Jeff Jett

This – on the last day of September – is DAY 28 of my daily yoga practice. My face doesn’t look nearly as blissful as this sweet lion’s face, but I AM making progress. It’s exciting to finally feel my body ‘give’ as I breathe, moving closer to the goal. Each time I start with stiff, sore parts from one end to the other. After I finish, though, I feel much looser.

This is DAY 13 of my ‘getting-serious-about-keto’ eating. I am using a carb tracking site called Cronometer.com. I filled out a short form to find out what MY macros (percentages of fat, protein and carbs) should be for the day.

pinterest

I had no trouble eating protein – in fact, I discovered I was eating way TOO much protein. I was staying under the 5% carbs easily, but nothing was happening. I discovered I wasn’t eating enough fat! My son helped me figure out good ways to add healthy fat to my diet. I can put a tablespoon of heavy whipping cream in my coffee, for example. I got some avocados. They are good for you and high in fat. I don’t really LIKE them, but I can eat one a day.  I can eat macadamia nuts. I can put a tablespoon of olive oil in my salad…

As I plan for the day, I can ‘test’ what I would like to eat and see graphically what it does for my macros for the day. Yesterday I did well on fat by eating an avocado and having the cream in my coffee for breakfast. The macro showed me I needed to concentrate on protein the rest of the day. The carbs took care of themselves.

I’ve now lost a bit over 6 pounds this month. That’s slow, but it’s better than I HAD been doing, and the weight loss is mainly in the past 12 days of watching my macros. I’m hopeful that October will continue to show good improvement. I would like for there to be 30 pounds or so less of me one day.

I’ve told you I’m also adding 3 days a week on my elliptical trainer. It is in the garage and the temperature is FINALLY cooling off so that I can use it out there without getting heat stroke. :0)

Motivation:

  • This has always been hard for me. Our son is really encouraging. He’s leaving soon, though, so I need to buck up and find good things even though he won’t be here. My husband asks me if I’m going to ‘yoge,’ and occasionally tells me he’s proud of me trying to exercise. He says he is ‘with me in spirit.” :0)  I have the wonderful book by Suzanne Ryan, Simply Keto which has provided us with several recipes we like so much they keep me busy cooking without trying more. To have my husband REQUEST meals is the ultimate compliment.
  • GOLD STARS on my desk calendar. SILLY, I know, but it works for me. Right now I have the opportunity to earn 10 for this week (7 for yoga, 3 for elliptical).
  • Scales – I KNOW that the experts tell you to only weigh once a week. I do it once a day, not expecting to see great things, but to remind myself that I need to watch what I’m eating and keep moving in order to get the lard off.
  • Measuring Tape – Every once in a while I’ll get a nice surprise. I figure the measuring tape is objective and will give me an honest answer as to whether things are going in the right direction.
  • Fit of my clothes – I’m tired of shopping where I’m hoping that they have clothes that are large enough for me. I have come down several sizes in jeans, and it feels really good to give them to someone else who will be grateful that a pair of jeans will be large enough.

TO DATE –

I have lost 43 pounds since my lardiest  and there are 45 inches less of me than at my lardiest.

I look forward to the day when I am at a healthy weight for my height (I’ve given up trying to get taller), my BMI makes insurance companies sing with joy, I can buy clothes most anywhere I can afford, and I FEEL good. I want to be able to do a lot of things easily that now are off limits because of pain, stiffness, soreness, or fatigue. I don’t picture myself climbing mountains, but a good long walk with friends or one of my dogs would be nice!

 

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September 30, 2019 · 9:30 am

Thoughts on a Monday – 9-30-2019

Wild About Nature

September came and went so fast my hair is blowing!

I’m excited about Thursday of this week, when fall is finally coming to Greenwood, Arkansas. We’ll have some rain and the highs for the rest of the week as far as I can see will be in the 70’s. AHHHHH! I’m more than ready.

Our son, who came home to help us through the aftermath of my husband’s stroke, will be leaving Oct. 19th. We are SO lucky to have such a generous, caring son. It’s time for him to get back to his life in Thailand now.

We will do errands, change the decoration on the mailbox, and then settle in to enjoy the day. Yoga and art room are planned. And that’s it from the exciting life of the Lewises! It’s so wonderful NOT to have drama. :0)

Enjoy the last day of September.

 

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September 29, 2019 · 10:23 am

Thoughts on a Sunday – 9-29-2019

Patti’s Pasticceria

First HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our cousin/treasured friend MURRAY. I hope you have a wonderful day celebrating YOU, Sweet Murray. I love you! Love, also, to all there with you today. :0)

We are having a nice, calm morning so far, and for that I’m truly thankful.

Our son helped me find another carb counting site. We compared it to the one I’ve been using and it seemed to be more accurate and easier to use, so I’ve switched to Cronometer.  So far, it seems easy to figure out what type of thing I need to eat in order to meet my percentages of fat, carbs, and protein for the day.  I can also type something in there I’m planning to eat to see if it is good for my goals. If it isn’t, I find out BEFORE I mess up. A really good thing! :0) I’ve lost 4 pounds this month, but have only gotten serious about the keto percentages (macros) for 12 days now. I’m hoping to be able to report next month a much more satisfying number. I’m planning to lose another 30 lbs or so.

I am earning Gold Star #10 this week (7 for daily yoga practice and 3 for elliptical trainer exercise three times this week.)  Even though I really am adverse to exercise, not relating at ALL to the fit folks in their cute little exercise outfits who LIVE to get to the gym, saying it feels so GOOD, I CAN tell you that I can feel that my body needs what I’m doing.  I stiffen up again after I exercise, but even that is getting a bit better as I move the lard. :0)

I tried my new crayon melter two days ago. I made a huge mess and had a blast doing it. I will watch more YouTube demonstrations and enjoy playing in my art room – if not today, then hopefully tomorrow.

Lots to do today to end this month and start a new one.

I wish you a really good day.

 

 

 

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September 28, 2019 · 10:28 am

Thoughts on a Saturday 9-28-2019

Amazing Things – Linda Orrell

Progress Report – Lardage

  • Weight Loss – 43 pounds to date. 
  • Measurement Reduction – 45 inches to date.

I lost a pound yesterday, but it was a RE-loss of a pound that was gone and regained. I’m working with my MACRO daily to try to get the right percentages of carbs, protein, and fat. This morning I ate an avocado and put heavy whipping cream in my coffee, resulting in over 1/3 of the fat I should have for the day. I don’t really like avocados, but I’m impressed with how good they are for you. They are high fat, which kept me away from them before. Now I’m looking at them as a relatively painless way to get a lot of the fat I need (other than my own, homegrown). I like the fact that on CarbManager.com I can ‘test’ what I plan to eat for each meal and see what happens to my numbers BEFORE I make a mistake. I can then modify my plans. Wonderful!  Ultimate goal is to lose another 30 pounds or so.

Flipkart

I have a good start on my efforts to move more. I have been doing yoga stretches daily now for 26 days, and I just started my elliptical trainer 3 times a week. Since Gold stars on my desk calendar are a really good motivator for me (one for each yoga practice and one for the elliptical) I’ll be adding stars # 8 and 9 for the week today. I’m doing 35 minutes on the elliptical at a regular pace, listening to my MP3 player, basically just trying to zone out and do the time right now. Later I’ll think about doing a couple of intensive (for me) times in there. I try to make changes slowly – trying not to make this body rebel and go on strike for a couple of days in protest – hopefully culminating in more and more of my week spent in moving myself around in ways that will help my strength, balance, and flexibility.

The Guardian

It looks like fall will officially begin here in Arkansas on Thursday of next week, with highs in the 70’s, according to the weather people here. I HOPE they are right, because my energy levels rise when the temperature and humidity decrease.  I’m more than ready for fall.

Daily Dose of Flowers

Today is a quiet one for us. I’ll do my elliptical, my yoga, and plan to spend time in my art room again. Yesterday I tried my new crayon melting tool. I had fun, but am only making glorious messes at this point. I’ll enjoy playing with it again today.

Fill your day with things that bring you joy.

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September 27, 2019 · 3:35 pm

The Saga of Folding Myself into a Paper Airplane

Pinterest

“Relaaaaaaaaxing jaw. Relaaaaaaaxing face.” ~ Cat Kabira, “Gentle Yoga” DVD set

I just finished doing my yoga practice for the day, earning my 5th gold star for the week for yoga (+ two for my elliptical trainer). I’m going for 10 gold stars on my desk calendar by the end of the day Sunday.

 

Pinterest

“Yoga. Because punching people is frowned upon.” — Anonymous

My husband watches me practice each day, reading his tablet in his chair. He says he is exercising and stretching with me ‘in spirit.’ His favorite pose HE calls, “The dog at the fire hydrant pose.” :0)

 

Laughspark

“Yoga is not for the flexible. It’s for the willing.” — Anonymous

I AM feeling a good difference since I started the DAILY sessions of yoga 25 days ago.  Even though my husband is still having to rub muscle gel with Arnica on me most mornings, I’m feeling looser, and I feel good after my practice.  This is really good for me because, at 72, I tend to get stiff and ‘brittle.’ This is a great way for me to stretch s-l-o-w-l-y and c-a-r-e-f-u-l-l-y without hurting myself.

 

Best Healthy Magazine Canada

“Remember, it doesn’t matter how deep into a posture you go – what does matter is who you are when you get there.” – Max Strom

The Gold Stars are a stupid, silly way that WORK to keep me motivated to continue daily practice. Now that I’ve added my elliptical trainer 3 times a week, I’m working toward 10 stars a week. :0)

 

Photo by Photosport Int / Rex USA
Longleat Safari Park, Britain – Sep 2006

“I bend so I don’t break.” — Anonymous

It’s fascinating to FEEL my body resist a pose at first, many times being uncomfortable at first – and then start to ‘give’ toward the stretch as I breathe into it.  I’m feeling the difference here. I still can’t go all the way to the floor on some things, but Cat Kabira, the wonderful teacher on “Gentle Yoga” emphasizes that if you are stretching toward your goal, that’s enough. It’s really what kept me going at the very first of getting into this.

 

The Animal Zone

…just enjoy yourself. For many years I mistook discipline as ambition. Now I believe it to be more about consistency. Do get on the mat. Practice and life are not that different.” — Judith Hanson Lasater

So, this old lady is grateful to have found a way to start a practice that will help me get and stay as flexible and strong as I can be. Hopefully, I can keep this going for many years to come.

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September 27, 2019 · 12:48 pm

Thoughts on a Friday 9-27-2019

Alma Maghakyan – Imgend.com – LinkedIn

We are enjoying a beautiful day.  The sun is shining and the temperature is in the low 80’s. How CIVILIZED after Mother Nature’s snit where she was routinely boiling us in oil!

We just returned from enjoying our long-time good friends for Lunch Bunch – a thing we’ve done every Friday for over 17 years now. We as a group have had more of our share of challenges lately. We’re helping each other get through them. A happy thing – Kay’s daughter from Albuquerque is here and we always enjoy her wit and humor. Another happy thing – Linda’s daughter dropped by with Linda’s great-granddaughters! They were sweet and shy. My husband’s reaction when we got in the car was, “How come come I can’t have some of those?” He would be a WONDERFUL grandfather.

We’ve grocery shopped and just finished putting everything away, so we’re well stocked for the moment. Our son is trying to get into the habit of rising really early, fixing breakfast, then going to meditate, so he didn’t go to Lunch Bunch with us today. He asked me NOT to get the things we’ve been routinely adding to the grocery list since he’s been here. He’s trying to ‘wean himself off of’ some things he considers bad habits… He came home to help us when my husband had his stroke. I’m trying to prepare myself that he will need to go home soon. I wish he would stay with us forever. He’s such a fine man.

I’m happy to tell you that one of the two crayon melting tools came in the mail today!  I’m going to try to get up to my art room this afternoon and start playing! :0)

I’m on DAY 25 on my effort to do a session of yoga daily, and DAY 10 of getting-serious-about-Keto eating. I have six gold stars on my desk calendar so far this week (4 for yoga and 2 for the elliptical trainer.) I’m hoping to have 10 stars by the end of the day Sunday.

I hope your weather is beautiful and your outlook hopeful.

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September 25, 2019 · 10:57 am

Thoughts on a Wednesday 9-25-2019

We Love Earth – Blue Footed Boobies Bird

 

 

We are trying to change out two ballast transformers on fluorescent light fixtures in the garage. We had quite a fight with the first one, but FINALLY got it finished. We decided to ‘declare victory’ and rest for a bit before tackling the other. These have last 31 years, so you could say we have gotten our money’s worth. Still, it’s really stressful with my husband on the ladder, hands above his head, trying to get the job done with his inept go-fer trying to help as best she can…

I am on DAY 8 on getting-serious-about-keto. I lost 2 pounds yesterday!  Last night my son and I talked about how I could add more fat into my diet, since my macro showed I should be eating 5% carbs, 25% protein, and 75% fat. I had been eating way too much protein and not enough fat. I can add whipping cream to a cup of coffee. I can eat some macadamia nuts. I can – and did – add a tablespoon of olive oil to my salad last night.  I’m already eating eggs and cheese, but will try to find a ripe avocado. The last time I tried one, I didn’t care for it, but now is now and I’ll try again.  I will ‘test’ each addition on my CarbManger.com tracker, so I can be confident all is good on the macro and the total number of calories. I’m encouraged that the weight scale is finally starting to smirk at me, rather than showing a sad face.

DAY 23 on daily yoga today.  I’m happy that I can FEEL a difference in my body giving into the stretches as I breathe. The biggest problem is real stiffness when I’m in a sitting position and trying to stretch in any direction, but I’m making gradual progress. I’m also happy that I didn’t have any muscles yelling this morning about yesterday’s combo of the elliptical trainer and my yoga. I do that again tomorrow.

Funotic.com-WhereFunNeverEnds

I finished painting the last stained tee in my art room yesterday.

 

Here’s hoping we can get the second ballast transformer installed and still be in one piece and speaking to each other.

I wish YOU a calm, satisfying day.

 

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September 24, 2019 · 1:00 pm

Thoughts on a Tuesday 9-24-2019

Awesome Earth via Mara Spirig – LinkedIn

It’s really overcast today with heavy rain and flash flooding predicted.

When my husband and I went to take our trash bags down to the bottom of the driveway, there was lots of heavy equipment there – big trucks, backhoes, etc. We asked them what was happened and were delighted to hear they are running fiber optic lines!  That means that the news we heard awhile back that we might be getting an offer for a bundle of phone and much faster Internet services within a year and a half might be coming true!!!  I was so happy to hear it, I was clapping my hands and grinning like a loon. The man who told me flashed a big grin at me. :0)

Amazon.com

I decided to add my elliptical trainer to my exercise ‘regimen’ since our weather is finally cooling off some. My elliptical is in the garage, and with heat indices in the 100’s, I just let it gather dust out there. I did 35 minutes on it this morning – old lady speed, but worked off 260 calories and worked the muscles in a way that won’t hurt my joints. I’m planning to do this 3 times a week – Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. So this is Day 1 on the elliptical.

Penn Fitness Warehouse

Day 22 on yoga and Day 7 on Keto.  I MAY be getting into Ketosis. From what I’m reading it can take up to 10 days. I also learned from reading that I may be eating too much protein, and that might be delaying things. I’ll read more today and try to adjust my food. Meanwhile, I’m eating a piece of cheese. :0)

 

The Animal Zone

I’m still working on the long-sleeved tee I’m painting in my art room. I’m really having fun experimenting. (There is a freedom in painting a tee you would have had to throw away or use as a rag due to stains that won’t come out!) :0)  I’m trying to paint a snow scene. Yesterday I used SnowTex – a product that adds a bunch of texture and a 3-D look. I have no clue whether it will work or not, but I’m having a blast trying this.

Oakridge Elem Sch – Arlington Publ Schools

 

I hope that YOUR day has good news, hope for the future, a nice rain if you need it, and FUN.

 

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September 23, 2019 · 10:27 am

Thoughts on a Monday 9-23-2019

cheezeburger.com

HAPPY FIRST DAY OF FALL!!!!! It’s raining here today (Ahhhh!) and cooler – at least for now, and I am one happy camper. :0)

Shop NZ

We had 5 hummingbirds at the feeders while we at the dining table this morning. A truly beautiful sight to start our day.

 

Laughtard

It’s DAY 21 for my daily yoga practice. Yesterday, after I had spent time weed whacking and then blowing the debris off the concrete areas, I was really tired and sore. As soon as I had finished a bottle of water and cooled off a bit, I did my yoga session, and it HELPED! Since I’m old and out of shape, my back stiffened up before bed, but I’m encouraged that I could FEEL it helping yesterday.

It’s DAY 6 on my getting-serious-about-keto efforts. To be honest, I’m not really sure where I am. The scales aren’t showing anything. I’ve been staying way under the 20 grams of carbs I’m allowed daily, figuring that even if I screw up on portion size or forget to add something, I should be coming out well. I’m really happy with the CarbManager.com carb tracking website.  It’s easy to use and I can quickly add food, water, or exercise from my computer or my phone.

123RF.com

Fingers crossed I will see some tangible results on either my scale, with my measuring tape, or both in the near future.

 

Our doggies seem calm after their fight yesterday morning. I will never know what started the fight. I’m just grateful that both doggies are doing fine today.

I didn’t make it up to my art room yesterday. I will try to get up there and play today.

Sleeping Should Be Easy

 

Our son, who lives and works in Thailand, came home after my husband’s stroke to help us through all the testing and the aftermath of the stroke. He will probably go back to his life soon. I’m am SO grateful that he wanted to be with us during this time. He has been a rock. SUCH a generous, caring man!

I hope you enjoy the first day of fall today – doing good things for yourself, feeling good, and finding great reasons to smile.

 

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September 21, 2019 · 10:29 am

Thoughts on a Saturday 9-21-2019

 

The rain has stopped and we have a sunshiny day today – but the HIGH will only be 83!!!! Woooo HOOOO! We have front and back doors open and ceiling fans on to enjoy the glorious breeze….

If you’ve been reading my blog, you already know that I’m a bit weird and maybe even a little nuts. If you didn’t, here’s an example – I’m on DAY 4 of getting serious about keto. Last night I woke up with a cramp in the back of my left leg. I’m HAPPY about this – although I admit I wasn’t at the time – because it’s a sign I may be getting into ketosis!  I’ve been very careful about what I’m eating and I’m tracking it all on my new CarbManager.com website which lets me know how many carbs I have left for the day and the percentages of carbs, fat, and protein I’m eating. I’m mostly concerned about staying under 20 carbs a day right now. I’ll pay more attention to the other things later. I really want to lose this last 30 lbs of lard. Truly tired of the plateau and ready to break new ground on the scales, rather than re-losing some pounds for a second time…

I tried ‘zoodles’ (zucchini noodles) with the chicken chunks and soup topping my family loves. I made rice, too, giving my husband and son the choice. No surprise that both of them had rice while I had the zoodles. Our son DID come back for a second helping, trying the zoodles that time. I’ll check with him today on what he thought. We have leftovers, so we’ll have it again this evening. This time I’ll try cauli-rice under mine.

Downshiftology

 

Pamela Salzman

 

I’m on Day 19 on my daily yoga practice.

Women’s Health

Some positions remain really challenging. I’ve spent a long time getting old and stiff, so I’m not surprised that it will take some time for me to loosen up. I AM feeling a difference, though, in several of the positions. I feel better after my practice, so it isn’t as hard to make myself get into the living room and grab my mat. My husband and son are being very supportive of my efforts on eating (my husband is amazed that I gave up my nightly sugar free ice cream, and says it’s good I’m going to ‘yoge’ each day.) Our son is always very supportive. He wants us to do what we can to get and stay as healthy as possible. He is getting back into meditation now after a time away, and is making good progress, so we compare notes daily and hug each other. :0)

My husband is having fewer anger spurts – a side effect of the stroke he had in July. I’m learning to adapt MY behavior so I don’t trigger events, and I’m learning not to react when one happens, unless there are other issues, too. I’m just keeping my mouth shut and walking away. I’m hoping this is gradually fading. This is not like my husband and he has a full plate working on  day by day improvement on the speech and balance issues.

Our son came in, after we listened to a session of the day’s news, and started talking, seemingly earnestly, about the priorities of the coverage. Since we agree that much of what is covered is of little importance in the grand scheme of things, I listened, smiling, as his sarcasm began to sprout. Toward the end of his ‘discussion’ I was begging him to stop, being totally exhausted from laughing. He is a treasure.

I’m going to try to finish painting the tee shirt in my art room upstairs, practice my yoga, eat right, and enjoy my family on a beautiful day.

I wish YOU a quiet, satisfying day.

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September 19, 2019 · 11:45 am

Thoughts on a Thursday 9-10-2019

Jeff Jett – LinkedIn

My husband and son were out checking the irrigation system at about 7 pm last night (all is well) and saw 5 hummingbirds at one time! That’s the most we’ve seen at once this whole summer.  A sight like that makes everything right.

I told you yesterday that I was really trying to get serious about eating Keto and losing more of my lard. Thanks to my friend, Robin, I’ve signed up at a new website called CarbManager.com  I signed up for their Basic service, but they have a premium service, as well that I may consider in the future. My big thing on not switching was that I couldn’t find a carb tracker that would accept recipes from other places and let you log them in for the day without having to list each ingredient separately. This one did fine with Suzanne Ryan’s “Sausage, Egg and Cheese Bake” from her book Simply Keto easily. They have a good section that walks you through their website, explaining how to do things. The website on my computer links up with the app on my phone now, so that’s really handy, as well. Yesterday I ate 18 grams of carbs. They did NOT give me a message saying I wasn’t eating enough, so I was happy about that, too!

I found a wonderful artist who makes baskets that will make you drool. I’ll be sharing them with you in a bit.

Today I’ll make time for my yoga practice this afternoon (Day # 17) and I plan to play in my art room!

I hope that YOUR Thursday is full of cute squirrel photos, hummingbirds, and fun.

 

 

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September 17, 2019 · 11:40 am

The Art of Folding Myself into a Paper Airplane

Seattle Yoga News

“Yoga is a light, which once lit will never dim. The better your practice, the brighter your flame.” — B.K.S. Iyengar

 

 

Petful

“Move your joints every day. You have to find your own tricks. Bury your mind deep in your heart, and watch the body move by itself.” — Sri Dharma Mittra

 

 

Seattle Yoga News

“The body benefits from movement, and the mind benefits from stillness.” — Sakyong Mipham

 

Vitamin-Ha

 

“The yoga pose you avoid the most you need the most.” — Anonymous

“Yoga. Because punching people is frowned upon.” — Anonymous

 

Today is Day 15 of my efforts to practice yoga every day. Because I’m a kid at heart and need the visual encouragement and acknowledgment, I’m giving myself a gold star on my desk calendar each time I complete a practice. The first week I started on a Tuesday, and so earned 6 stars. Last week I got 7! Today I’m going for the 2nd one for the week.

Aside from the gold star nonsense (but if It WORKS….) I AM feeling looser. I overdid one day last week, getting a little too enthusiastic for this old woman’s body, so I’ve been waking up with a sore back each day since. My husband is applying muscle gel with arnica, which is like Icy Hot and makes it feel better quickly. Then I continue my yoga practice, loosening, stretching and hopefully strengthening my muscles each day. My back is hurting less each day, so I think I’m doing a good thing for myself.

I’m 72, so I’m doing “Gentle Yoga” (A DVD put out by sixtyandme.com with the wonderful instructor Cat Kabira. Actually, I’m kind of doing my own thing at the moment, rather than trying to keep up with the DVD, just stretching in all directions s-l-o-w-l-y, CAREFULLY, B-R-E-A-T-H-I-N-G into the stretches, one area at a time.  Ahhhh!

If I DO find myself folded into a paper airplane, it’s my own fault.

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September 16, 2019 · 1:41 pm

Thoughts on a Monday 9-16-2019

Amber

I’m late in blog posting today. Amber went out to the veggie garden with me and helped clean up the remaining planter boxes. I encountered fire ants twice, but had gone in ARMED with EIGHT bug killer in a 2-gallon sprayer and hosed them down. I didn’t get stung, thank goodness! I’ll take pics later of the cleaned up garden, but I was simply too hot when I finished to go back with the camera. (The heat index is 106 or more right now). Once I’m SURE we’ve killed all the ants in the boxes, I’ll try Robin’s suggestion of putting Vaseline around each support leg.

I was actually able to gather quite a few small tomatoes yesterday from the converted brick planters on the other side of the house. I didn’t have a basket with me, so simply used the bottom of my shirt as a carrier. :0)  We’re about to the end of the season now. The plants look pretty sad, but we’re still getting small ripe tomatoes, so we’re happy.

The main water line from the well house to the irrigation system had a blowout last night. Our son was able to cobble it back together, but it’s obvious we need a longer hose length of super sturdy stuff to handle the pressure. We got two lengths of hose cut at the hardware store today in two different diameters, thinking one of them will fit. I’m not sure if we’ll get to the replacement today.

My husband started thinking about our truck battery this morning. He keeps a log of our important purchases on his computer so that we can look things up quickly. We discovered that we bought the battery for the truck in 2014!  Since our battieries usually die suddenly with change of season, we bought a replacement battery while we were in town today. We’ll change it out later today and take the old one back to the store tomorrow for credit.

Our long time good friends will go bowling with us tonight! Our son is still home with us (a thing for which we are thankful every day) and so we’ll have a lot of fun this evening bowling terribly and then commiserating with ice cream at Braum’s afterwards.

When I finish cooling off and glugging water, we’ll have lunch and then I’ll do my first session of yoga for the week.

I hope your Monday is off to a good start.

 

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