Category Archives: exercise

February 8, 2021 · 9:17 am

Not Sure

Twitter

Oddly enough, we had our splurge last night during the Super Bowl, but my weight was down a bit today. Probably just a teaser – waiting to lower the boom tomorrow when I’m not expecting it.

We are finishing getting the freezer reasonably stocked up today. Last week we ordered from Stu’s Clean Cookin.’ Today we’ll pick up our order from Real Food. Our weather is supposed to get much more winter-like starting Wednesday, I think, so we’ll be in good shape if we’re snowed or iced in. I feel very fortunate to have two places that provide really good, healthy frozen individual meals.

After our splurge last night, we’re back to our regular eating regimen of tuna fish salad, sugar-free jello, maybe a few grapes, olives for me and sweet pickles for my husband for lunch, and one of the frozen dinners, sometimes sharing some extra veggies, for dinner. I will make sure I have some raw veggies ready for a snack, if needed.

I also have marked my desk calendar with “E’s and “Y’s” each day, hoping to add gold stars next to them for doing my time on the elliptical trainer and my yoga stretches daily. I’m hoping to make the scales and my tape measure sit up and take notice by the end of this month.

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February 6, 2021 · 10:35 am

Diet and Exercise Run Amok

dumpaday.com

It’s run amok because I am a stress eater. My appetite would choke a horse on regular days. Under stress, I could win awards at the hot dog eating contests at the fair.

When we were dating, my husband would suddenly decide we should stop and get something to eat – a thing I later realized was a reaction to my getting terse, sarcastic, and maybe even downright ‘snipe-y’ when I got too hungry.

My appetite is endless and I end up stuffing my face with all sorts of things I shouldn’t eat. Afterwards, my more mature side comes out and takes the lead. Happily, MOST of my days are more controlled. I’m having a bit more trouble lately.

The good thing, as far as I’m concerned, is that each day is a new one. I’m coming up with more and more things to do that are fun and distracting – or productive – to do, resulting in fewer ‘stuff-my-face’ binges. I’m trying to plan our meals and any snacks. When my husband brings home things we shouldn’t eat, I put them somewhere I don’t see them – or, better yet, have HIM put them somewhere HE can access them if he wants, but that I don’t run across them continually.

I’m writing down my elliptical practice and my yoga stretches on my to-do list, scheduling them in my day as priorities. As a part of the to-do stuff is one project each day that will make me feel productive. (Today’s project is working on a clean-up of my art room.)

SO – as I type, my mouth is firmly closed. :0) I’m going to heed this suggestion –

Elizabeth Gilbert via 2STARart.com

One day at a time.

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February 3, 2021 · 10:24 am

When Dinner is at 6:00

forwarded to me by a friend

I have always had one healthy thing – a healthy appetite. My appetite would kill a horse.

I can eat a full meal – actually an amount that includes servings for me AND my friends, relatives, and acquaintances… and then feel hungry again a short time later. I am teaching myself now what a ‘portion’ is. That varies, of course, by the food you are eating, but is usually much larger for something you consider truly odious and a dot in the middle of the plate for something you love. :0)

I am learning things that help me put off ideas of eating, like drinking a bottle of water several times a day, but particularly in the middle of the night, if I can’t sleep, I could eat the side of a house AFTER drinking the *^&%$_@$% bottle of water.

In my NEXT life, I am coming back several inches taller, maybe 5’7″ or so. I will be one of the people who ‘forgets’ to eat, or eats only as ‘fuel.’ The high point of my day will be my time for exercise – one that makes a good amount of endorphins. I will enjoy the idea of needing to GAIN weight and my clothes being too large.

It’s good that I live in a time where – if I can get my act together – there is plenty of help handy to get the lard off and keep it off. Right now I have a elliptical trainer in our garage and can do my yoga stretches in my living room. I have several exercise DVDs I can use to address all kinds of issues.

I have TWO new stores in town REAL FOOD and STU’S CLEAN COOKIN’ providing healthy individually portioned frozen meals I can pop into the microwave, rather than having to cook a lot. I have good raw veggies and some sugar-free ranch dip I can enjoy with them.

The dogs above and I are on the same page, as far as being READY whenever there is any chance of food. I am trying to get to the point where I’m so distracted by doing fun things that I ‘forget’ what time it is, and am actually surprised that it’s meal time… well, it COULD happen. :0)

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January 29, 2021 · 9:47 am

‘Enthusiastic’ Eating

My husband has requested that I cook a roast in the crock pot, so I’ll do that tomorrow. I’m am learning to put any leftovers into individual meal containers for us and put them into the freezer, to be put into the regular rotation.

Mostly, though, we center our eating around two new places in Greenwood that offer healthy frozen individual meals. REAL FOOD and STU’S CLEAN COOKIN’ both offer really delicious meals, and we are thoroughly enjoying them.

We center our eating for the day around our dinner frozen meal. We are usually sharing a homemade tuna fish salad and sugar free jello for lunch. My husband has some sweet pickles and I have green or black olives. I usually add another portion of veggies to our evening meal.

Our biggest problems center around snacking. I am trying to decide what my snack for the day will be and stick to it. I am also trying to drink lots of water. Sometimes I think that all the water-drinking advice is a ploy to get even the most sluggish among us to get some exercise – running to the bathroom! We both really want ‘something’ as we move toward bedtime. I’m trying to work on things for that, too.

We fell off the wagon during the pandemic and should be up for an award or two for creating new excuses for not eating the way we should and exercises. We are back in the saddle now and are seeing some steady progress.

Even though the winter and the pandemic encourage our desire for comfort food, I’m trying to look at this as an opportunity to have MORE control over what we are putting into our mouths and how we are spending our time.

I will try to be a good little girl and get my gold stars for my exercises today. :0)

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January 27, 2021 · 11:20 am

Frozen

Alliance of Therapy Dogs

I just came in from doing 35 minutes of my elliptical trainer in our garage and I’m FROZEN. The garage is the only place we have a hard floor that isn’t in the way, so the trainer lives there. In summer, I have a fan on the wall right in front of the trainer so I don’t melt. In the winter, I’m on my own.

Today the computer says it’s 33 outside. It MAY be 40 up here on our ridge line, but it’s COLD in the garage. I had on a long-sleeved shirt and my puffy vest, but it wasn’t enough. Tomorrow I’ll wear a sweatshirt, THEN my puffy vest, and some gloves….

I did give myself a gold star on my desk calendar, so I feel good about my efforts right now.

This afternoon, I’ll do my yoga stretches.

I hope that YOU are feeling good, too.

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January 27, 2021 · 10:05 am

Crunchy

Veterinarian Bend Oregon

I’ve been doing my stretching yoga poses for several days in a row now and I’m definitely feeling looser. The thing I’m NOT is smarter.

I have proven to myself several times now that I hurt less, feel looser, AND feel better about myself when I do 30 minutes or so of yoga stretches (old lady version) every day. I even give myself a gold star on my desk calendar when I do my practice. And, yet, STILL it does not become a habit, where I notice and miss it when I don’t do it. I would really LIKE for that to happen.

Soon I will be another year older – (unless I get hit by a bus or something before then.) I would LIKE to be able to report that I am taking better care of myself – eating healthy food, eating reasonable portions, losing some of my lard, and moving easier with less pain, building a stronger core.

This is not merely a New Year’s Resolution. I am trying for a true lifestyle change. I am trying to take one day at a time, rather than being overwhelmed by the hugeness of the challenge. I have plans for what I’ll eat today. I will go do my 35 minutes on my elliptical as soon as I finish my blog posts here (and my coffee). We have errands to run and then I will do my 30 minutes of yoga this afternoon.

I will try to be better than I was yesterday.

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January 25, 2021 · 10:30 am

Take the Next Fork…

Diet Humor – Jypseegirl – Pinterest

I lost a pound yesterday – Whoo HOOOO!

123RF

Only 800 to go!

We are thankful that we have TWO frozen individual healthy meal places that have opened in the past year in Greenwood. We plan our eating for the day around these, trying to keep our calories down and portions good in our efforts to NOT each sugar and lose the lard. I will go pick up our order for the week from one of them today.

Yesterday I really worked to finish the tax prep and the reorganization of my booth basket, so I didn’t exercise. :0( I will get back on the exercise horse today, with the elliptical trainer as soon as I return from errands and then yoga this afternoon. If it will stop the spring-rains-in-the-middle-of-winter weather, I’ll also try to get outside and at least walk around the yard.

I hope that you are managing to stay safe from the Covid virus, eat right, and exercise your way to better health, too.

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January 24, 2021 · 8:57 am

Talking to Myself

Askideas.com

I’ve been talking to myself again; sometimes it’s the most intelligent conversation I have all day! :0)

One of the things I’m talking to myself about is NOT stuffing something into my face. I’ve been doing better on that lately, even though I’m a stress eater. I also could eat the entire house when I’m up in the middle of the night, not able to sleep.

The last several days I’ve been slogging my way through tax prep. (I’m hoping to essentially finish that up today). When my brain goes glassy, I get up and move around. I get some water. If the weather is reasonable, I put on a jacket and walk around the yard a bit. If not, I do a few minutes on my elliptical trainer in the garage. In the afternoon my ‘break’ takes the form of stretching yoga.

It is my hope that all of this will come together – resulting in

less lard

less pain

feeling good

In the meantime, I tell myself to take it one day at a time and

taolife.com

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January 22, 2021 · 8:57 am

Thighs

Jim Hunt

I lost half a pound yesterday, so I’m happier today. I also earned a gold star for my desk calendar for doing almost 45 minutes of slow, easy stretches. I’ll try to do that again today, plus add back my elliptical trainer this afternoon.

We go to Lunch Bunch today, so it’ll be great to catch up with my good friends. We were finally altogether last week for the first time since before Christmas. I’m reminded over and over of how rich I am in friends.

I’m still up to my eyeballs in bookkeeping from 2020, tax prep for the CPA, and opening spreadsheets for 2021. My goal is to have that zipped up and ready to take as soon as a few more forms are available.

My husband and I are ‘OLD,’ and so qualify for the Covid-19 vaccine. Sadly, there is only one place doing vaccinations in Greenwood, Arkansas, and they have a waiting list hundreds long and won’t take any more names. They told me to call back in February.

We are having glorious weather for this time of year. Right now it’s surreal outside with lots of fog. This afternoon it’s supposed to get into the 50’s with sunshine. I will try to get out a bit and enjoy it. Tomorrow, Sunday AND Monday are forecast to be rainy.

Have a wonderful Friday. Stay healthy and safe.

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January 20, 2021 · 9:26 am

Thoughts on a Wednesday 1-20-2021

Cheezburger

My diet and exercise effort have been sporadic this past week. Until I can get my act together, I won’t see any progress. At this point, I’m just trying not to fall off completely. I feel stressed, and that brings on ‘stuff-my-mouth’ behavior. There are many things over which I have no control. I will try to concentrate on the things I CAN.

I feel happy this morning because I got to chat with our son before he went to bed. There is a 12-hour time difference between Arkansas and Thailand, so it’s a bit of a challenge to have both of us up at the same time. He sounded happy, and that’s all that matters.

Yesterday I stopped by the booth my friend Carla and I share in Rags & Roses Collective in Greenwood to take a few new things and visit with the owner a bit. She showed me a couple of videos of her son doing all kinds of gymnastics with the cheerleaders for a basketball game at school. WONDERFUL! We sold some things yesterday, covering half our rent. Hopefully, this will continue!

I got a haircut yesterday, and two of my best friends in the world thought it looked good!

I hope that YOUR Wednesday is a safe, happy one.

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January 14, 2021 · 10:17 am

Back in the Saddle

“I’m back in the saddle again
Out where a friend is a friend
Where the longhorn cattle feed
On the lowly gypsum weed
Back in the saddle again” ~ sung by Gene Autry

PictureQuotes.com

I earned 2 stars yesterday for exercise, so I’m feeling ‘back in the saddle again of daily exercise :0) When I finish getting some blog posts up, I’ll head for the garage and my elliptical trainer. I’m hoping that both the scales and my tape measure will show some progress by the end of the month. One can hope!

Speaking of that, I’m really trying to find good things lately in an effort to not be buried in gloom. My husband was doing a bit of the ‘whine and cheese’ bit last night, and I gave him a pep talk about concentrating on the GOOD in our lives, rather than the bad. He saw my point, particularly when I was able to give him several examples that were personal to us. I really think this is important for our sanity and general health.

One hopeful thing is that we might be able to get the COVID vaccine eventually. I read a thing online saying that people 70+ could start getting it Jan. 18th at one pharmacy locally. I called, discovering that they weren’t taking names to add to their list right now, since the list was several hundred people long. She suggested that I call back the 1st of Feb. to see if they had opened the list again. The fact that we MIGHT be able to be added to a list in the next month or so is good news.

Yesterday I took a bunch of new products to the shop where I share a booth with a good friend. I rearranged everything and am hopeful that someone will take a look, like what they see, and take something home with them. :0)

I hope that you are having a good Thursday.

Stay safe and well.

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January 13, 2021 · 9:08 am

Diet Woes

I learned yesterdaythat, without a doubt. I am an emotional eater. When I’m upset, I can’t seem to stuff in the food fast enough. I’m much too old for this kind of reaction. We didn’t even have anything really upsetting happen – I was just thrown off my new diet and exercise regimen – and I went the other direction with a vengeance.

So – no stars yesterday for exercise and the scales were laughing at me this morning.

I have a nice start to the day. I will do better.

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January 12, 2021 · 9:43 am

Thoughts on a Tuesday 1-12-2021

BBC

Happy Tuesday!

AceGif.com

Happy Birthday, Laufrain!!!!! Have a wonderful day celebrating YOU!

I will go to town twice today. TRIP ONE: drive trash down to the bottom of the driveway, get the mail and run errands. TRIP TWO: drive to Rags & Roses Collective in Greenwood, taking the things I want to put in to the booth I share with Carla, reorganizing the booth, and bringing some things home.

I have 2 stars on my desk calendar for my exercising yesterday and hope to earn 2 more today.

I’m planning to spend time in my art room making more magnets, plus clean up a bit so I can decide what I’ll try next. I’ve been having a lot of fun experimenting, trying new forms of art, playing with techniques, seeing what happens.

We’re having a gorgeous day with sunshine and a high of 53 degrees F. today – can’t beat that for the middle of January. :0)

I hope that you will make this a good day, too.

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January 11, 2021 · 10:35 am

Determination

Tenor

I have gotten past the stage where the most difficult part of my yoga practice is getting back up off the floor. Enough time has passed that I have devised ‘methods’ for this and don’t have to hire man with a crane. Still, this sweet, fat kitty resonates…

Last week was a good week. I am almost to my first 5-pound-off goal! (I am still re-losing weight gained during the pandemic and holidays, so it’ll be awhile before I break new territory, but progress is progress. I am down 4.4 pounds since the beginning of our ‘get-serious’ decision. I will measure at the end of the month and see where I am on lardage.

I have admitted before that I have never grown up and am STILL motivated by the idea of the gold stars I used to try to earn from my teachers for good work in school. Last week I earned 6 gold stars for exercising – doing my elliptical trainer in the garage and yoga stretches in the afternoon. This week I will try to earn 14.

I am moving more, too, as documented by the small, cheap pedometer I keep in my pocket. I’m a bit teed off that the steps on the elliptical don’t show on the pedometer, but that’s life. I’m afraid I’ll never be a walker, unless I can solve the problem of my hips yelling at me after I walk a short distance. (Oddly, if I sit down for just a moment, my system ‘resets’ and I can walk again without pain.) Unless I carry a chair, or there are places I can sit along the walkway, I’ll just try to keep walking around my yard when the weather permits.

As soon as I hopefully build the habit of elliptical in the morning and yoga in the afternoon, I’m thinking of trying to add back my ‘Annoying Leslie’ walking video a couple of times a week. She really grates on my nerves (I hate people who are bubbling over with joy at exercising), but she really knows her stuff.

I have a good start now and hope to be able to report that I’m keeping it going. For now, I have a gold star to earn – as soon as I finish my coffee. :0)

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January 10, 2021 · 9:33 am

Under Height

I’m doing well so far with getting serious again about eating right and exercising. My scales are starting to take notice and do something besides smirk. I’m doing my elliptical trainer in the morning and my yoga stretches in the afternoon and trying to concentrate on moving in-between. I felt bad Friday afternoon, but other than that have done well. :0)

Instead of a commercial weight loss program as we’ve tried before, we are enjoying frozen meals for dinner from Real Food and Stu’s Clean Cookin’ – both new to Greenwood, interspersed with my own cooking, the leftovers from which are stored in individual servings in the freezer with the other meals. This encourages paying attention to what a ‘serving’ is. Sometimes I fix an extra veggie or salad on the side, but most of the time, it’s just the meal.

For lunch we’re having homemade tuna fish salad – made from one small can packed in water for the two of us – sugar free jello, plus I have olives and my husband has sweet pickles. We are trying not to snack in-between meals or before bed.

I’m trying to drink lots of water.

I’m hoping to be able to report a good amount of poundage loss by the end of the month, but it will take as long as it takes. As long as the scales are showing a downward trajectory and my measuring tape is showing a bit of progress, I will be satisfied.

I will be delighted if I feel stronger, more flexible, have more energy, and feel fewer balance problems as I continue to exercise daily. I smile when I see the gold stars on my desk calendar. I will have earned 6 stars this week – and will have a chance to earn 14 next week. :0)

With so many things happening in the world over which I have NO control, I take comfort that THIS is something I CAN control.

TaoLife.com

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January 9, 2021 · 9:42 am

Me on a Diet…

Meme

I love this picture. Sweets – even chocolate – are not my downfall, though. My personal problems are salty things, breads, and pastas, starches.

So far, we’re doing well on our ‘get-back-on-the-diet-horse’ effort. I’m losing weight even with Lunch Bunch yesterday. For some unknown reason, I felt bad yesterday afternoon – so no exercise stars – but got over it in a few hours, so am finer than frog fur today. I’ll go do my time on the elliptical trainer as soon as I finish here.

As far as goals, I’m officially doing this in 5-pound increments to manage the overwhelming thoughts that might sabotage my efforts. ‘5 pounds’ is doable. Each time I attain a goal, I’ll do a happy dance around the house and then set my goal to the NEXT 5 pounds.

First, I’m trying to re-lose the lardage I gained over the holidays and that has been creeping up during the pandemic. Since I do my exercising at home, I have no excuse for being a slug.

I’m also going to be trying for 2 stars each day – for my elliptical trainer practice and my yoga stretches – with my goal being better balance, more flexibility, less pain, and gained strength.

My overall goal remains –

TaoLife

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January 8, 2021 · 12:36 pm

Sing It!

photo forwarded by a friend

We’re having a good day. It’s cold outside (35 degrees F., cloudy and gray, with a bit of spitting rain.)

We just got back from Lunch Bunch. One of our good friends and her husband was there. The other friend and her daughter weren’t. (My friend wasn’t feeling well, so maybe we can see each other and catch up next Friday.)

We hadn’t seen each other since the Friday before Christmas, so it was GREAT to be able to share a meal and catch up. We came straight home afterwards so that we could try what will be the last attempt at a ‘fix’ for our broken microwave.

We bought it in 2004, so we can’t complain that we haven’t gotten our money’s worth, but it would be wonderful if we could fix it. The mechanism that goes between the rotary turntable motor in the bottom to the part the plate sits on inside the microwave is the problem. We have mixed up some really good, apoxy-type glue to see if we can bridge the gap and make the parts work together again. (The plastic parts are not replaceable and we cannot remove them because one part is under a metal plate that is welded in.) So, this is a last-ditch effort before we either live with a microwave where the plate doesn’t rotate or we buy a new microwave. We have it glued now, and will look at it again tomorrow.

I will head out as soon as I finish a cup of coffee to the garage to do my elliptical trainer exercise for today. I’m looking forward to playing in my art room this afternoon. I have another piece started and am eager to see how it turns out. I am planning to take the bleeding tissue paper artwork I’ve done recently to Rags & Roses (the local shop in town where a friend and I share a booth ) either tomorrow or Tuesday. I will do my yoga practice when I finish in the art room. Today is DAY TWO of getting serious about our diet and exercise plan.

My husband is working on an addition to our house security system. He has the physical part done now, and is waiting for help on a password before he can finish up.

I’m in the middle of re-reading #32 in J.D. Robb’s (Nora Roberts’) In Death series. I’m re-reading the series in preparation for the latest to come out in paperback (# 51 Shadows in Death) that I received recently.

It’s a good day to have a warm, dry house and too many interesting things to do for the time I have.

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January 8, 2021 · 9:20 am

Day 2

HaHaStop.com

Hahahahaha. I just love the look on his face. :0)

We are in Day Two today. We ate healthy yesterday. My husband ate a last “French Toast Fritter” for breakfast, but neither of us ate anything between meals or before bed. I gave myself 2 stars for the day – one for 35 minutes on my elliptical trainer and another for more than 30 minutes doing slow, careful yoga stretches. We are back in the saddle now.

Today we have Lunch Bunch. I will try to eat half and bring half home.

I wandered around yesterday feeling hungry, but have now devised a TEST to see if I’m really hungry or just in the slightly anxious/depressed state that results in stress eating for me. I have some low sodium bone broth now. If I’m hungry enough to fix that, I will do it. If not, it’s stress/boredom/general ornery-ness rather than true hunger. Yesterday afternoon I did chew on a piece of sugarless gum for a bit. I’m trying to concentrate on drinking more water.

I’m setting small interim goals for my weight loss, rather than looking at the enormity of all I would like to lose as a whole. I am concentrating on the progress I’ve made in the last couple of years and using that as motivation to continue.

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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 6, 2021 · 10:18 am

Holidays

Someecards

The weather forecasters were right – it’s gray, rainy and cold, with another cold front coming through today, possibly bringing some snow. Not my favorite weather.

To add insult to injury, the motor that controls the rotation of the plate in our microwave died suddenly last night, right at dinner time. My husband is taking the microwave apart as I type, seeing if he can fix the motor. We are in ‘discussions’ about what to do if he can’t. I think the rotation aspect is important. He, of course, disagrees. We will see. :0/ Update: He has the microwave apart and the motor that controls the rotation of the plate in his hand, seeing if he can get the old motor to work. (He did – and is trying now to put it back into the microwave. I have just ordered a replacement motor from Amazon. (Isn’t THAT amazing – we bought the microwave in 2004.)

YouTube

I’m having a truly wonderful time playing in my art room with my new bleeding tissue paper. I’m trying to do something different on each one, seeing how it works. My poor brain has ideas rattling around, pushing to come out and be tried. I LOVE it.

Photographer Unknown

Tomorrow morning is DAY ONE of ‘stopping-the-splurging-and-indulgence-that-has-marked-our-holidays’ and starting ‘eating-like-an-adult and exercising’ – which will last until further notice.

I hope that YOUR Wednesday is a productive and enjoyable one.

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January 5, 2021 · 10:07 am

Diet Perspective

Fodors Travel Guide

My husband and I will be getting serious about our diet again on Thursday. Why Thursday, you ask? I have trouble eating right when my husband is not on board – at least with the main thrust of it. I can handle his sneaking ‘goodies’ into the shopping cart that only he will eat, but if he’s not on board with the main program, it’s a waste of time and only results in frustration and arguments. Life is too short for that. HE has decided that Thursday is the day, so I’m gearing up for that.

We’re enjoying a ‘last hurrah’ by eating some of the wonderful things we received at Christmas. We have bought other things, and have been enjoying sandwiches and other things in the bread family, plus a bit from the greasy/salty food group, plus some truly ‘awful’ things from the sugar ball food group. All this ends Thursday morning. We have agreed.

We have given away a huge bunch of stuff. We will put other things in the trash for pickup today. We will thoroughly enjoy eating our way through more today and tomorrow. We will buy good, healthy things needed for Thursday and beyond, and I will plan some healthy snacks.

OUR ‘New Year’ will begin Thursday morning, and hopefully, by the end of this month we will have made some good progress. I have re-started my yoga practice, and will do a session on my elliptical trainer in the garage on Thursday morning. I have my gold stars ready for my desk calendar – one for yoga, one for elliptical, and another for steps.

If YOU are also trying to get healthier in 2021, let’s encourage each other.

TaoLife.com

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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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January 4, 2021 · 10:27 am

And the Crowd Goes Wild…

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Actually, the ‘crowd’ was my husband, our dog, Amber, and our cat, Abby, and me, but HEY! – you have to take your joy where you can get it.

We have been eating the things we don’t eat at all – or rarely – in the last days before we get serious about getting the lard off again. Yesterday I made a crock pot full of beef stew. And we had rolls with it. Amber and Abby licked our bowls in the kitchen while we were cleaning up.

My husband said two or three times while eating it how good it was, and a couple of times afterward. Then, this morning, he asked if we had leftovers and if we could have more tonight. :0)

As I gathered trash this morning, I got rid of some more things that we shouldn’t be eating in preparation for our getting serious about trying to lose the lard. We should be starting formally, as well as upping my exercising on Thursday. Right now I’m doing yoga stretches, but that’s pretty much it.

We have had a nice long break from doing what we are supposed to do. Part of me is actually looking forward to being in control again. Isn’t THAT a kick in the head!

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January 3, 2021 · 11:04 am

Thoughts on a Sunday 1-3-2021

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Actually, the past week was a mixed bag.

THING ONE: FOOD-DIET-EXERCISE – I raked myself over the coals about stuffing too much food into my face and not exercising enough. My sister-in-law kindly told me to give myself a break and make little changes on a regular basis to get back to my better habits. My husband is determined wait to go back on our diet on the 6th – or maybe 7th – we haven’t completely hashed that out yet. I don’t know why we’re waiting. I guess it’s because we still have some wonderfully delicious bad stuff to eat our way through, though I am determined not to buy any MORE of it for myself. I got the makings of beef stew in the slow cooker this morning. We’ll have a bowl of that with a roll this evening. I will do my yoga stretches this afternoon.

THING TWO: WEATHER – Arkansas ran the gamut on weather this past week. We had sunshine and spring-like weather, as we’re having today, with sunshine and low 50’s. We had sleet and rain and gusty wind. We had drizzles and gloomy gray days. We had a PERFECT snow – with HUGE fluffy flakes coming down while we fixed lunch, making us feel we were in the middle of our own, private snow globe. (This was perfect because that gorgeous snow, though heavy, melted as it hit the ground and caused no trouble. :0) )

THING THREE: PLAYING IN MY ART ROOM – I discovered an art form that is new to me – bleeding tissue paper art. The effect is watercolor. The sky is the limit on what you can do with it. I found it on YouTube and watched some demonstrations, drooling. I found some people who do mouth-watering art with it, giving me some really high goals to try to reach as I practice. My sister-in-law sent me a package of large sheets of the special tissue paper to get me started. I ordered some pre-cut shapes in different sizes today that will be delivered in the coming week so I can concentrate on playing, saving the sheets for larger, more complicated shapes. I’m having a BLAST experimenting. :0)

Another thing for which I am setting up is painting some wooden fridge magnets. I can play with my Unicorn Spit paint for these. I can also see what happens with my alcohol inks, my new bleeding tissue paper, and more. I have the magnets, and my wooden circles should be delivered sometime next week.

THING FOUR: SUNDAY CHORES – I don’t have a lot to do today (translated to mean that I CHOOSE to do), but I WILL spend some time cleaning my aquarium so my fish can start the new year with sparkling clean water and some different decorations, just for giggles. I wish I knew what they THOUGHT about the decorations they have. I really wouldn’t mind it if the two of them held their noses when I started to put something in the aquarium they really don’t care for. They don’t say anything one way or the other. The only thing they DO that shows me they are really interested is both of them get into the corner of the tank, wriggling their bodies and opening and closing their mouths to HINT that they would like to be fed yet again. (Seems like they, too, are on a SPLURGE eating push until the 6th or 7th…. )

Have a happy Sunday!

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January 1, 2021 · 9:11 am

Encouragement

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My sister-in-law and I communicate every day. (Some ‘glorious somehow’ occurred and we became FRIENDS, rather than just relatives.) She said something this morning that really resonated and I wanted to share it with you –

“It seems like you’ve been sort of beating yourself up about enjoying fun foods during the holidays. I would encourage you to remember all the pounds you’ve lost and kept off as you head into 2021. So you enjoyed yourself for a few weeks? Eating better is always going to be around so enjoy and start to get back on track slowly so you don’t feel deprived. The healthy eating part is important but so is getting some exercise which I know you do with your machines now that working outside is more limited. ……Just saying!!!”

I’ve printed this and put it on my fridge.

If I could bottle my sister-in-law’s kindness and sell it, I would be the richest person on the planet. :0)

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December 31, 2020 · 11:43 am

Happy New Year – A Bit Early

Happy 2021

I just had the joy of chatting with our son. He lives in Thailand, and so is 12 hours ahead of us. He said the fireworks were starting there.

I also went ahead and started my 2021 calendar, needing the boost of another gorgeous Australian firefighter with sweet animal to start my day. I figure with the way the world is, YOU might need a boost, too –

http://www.australianfirefighterscalendar.com

So, here are Richard and Abigail to welcome us to January 1st tomorrow. :0)

Our weather sucks – it’s 33 degrees F. right now with heavy rain and local flooding forecast for this afternoon through tomorrow. It’s a very good day to have a warm, dry house on top of a ridge line.

I am enjoying watching YouTube video demonstrations of the bleeding tissue paper art technique. I’ve watched two very different techniques, both with stunning results. My wonderful sister-in-law sent me a big package of large bleeding tissue paper sheets in assorted colors, so I spent last night dreaming of things to try with it. I also received 1″ round magnets I ordered that I’m going to try to paint and sell at our local booth. I’ll spend some time watching a few more videos and then go up and start getting my act together to try some new art!

My husband has requested I make chili mac tonight for dinner. I’ll do that – kind of as a ‘last hurrah’ from our ‘hang-the-diet’ eating splurge of the last few weeks. I am talking to myself (I know) – trying to get ready for a new day, new year, ‘new-motivation-for-diet-and-exercise’ frame of mind for tomorrow.

Enjoy your New Year’s Eve celebrations wherever you are. I wish you the very best for 2021.

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December 29, 2020 · 10:04 am

Kidding Myself

KryptoniteBlonde – Global HD – El Montagista via Tumblr – TellMeNothing

At this point I’m limping along, kidding myself about my efforts to get back to my diet and exercise regimen. Suffice to say, I’m not back yet, but HOPE to be soon. (We are still eating our way through delicious no-no’s. )

I am about to leave to do a bunch of errands. I’m leaving the trash for pickup at the bottom of our driveway, getting our mail, changing out the things I’m trying to sell in the booth at Rags & Roses in Greenwood, then stopping at Real Food on the way home to see if I can get more kielbasa frozen dinners.

We’ll eat a quick lunch and then head back out again for more errands and a couple of appointments.

Our weather is deteriorating, culminating with a cold front and LOTS of rain for tomorrow and Thursday, so getting our mail may be all we do until Friday. Since it’s a holiday, Lunch Bunch is called off for Friday, so we may just stay up here, hopefully safe and dry in our house on top of our ridge line, celebrating the new year by ourselves and getting ready to start 2021.

I am happy that we’re about to see the end of 2020. I have high hopes that 2021 will be a much better year for all of us.

AND a year where there will gradually be less and less of a more fit me! :0)

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December 28, 2020 · 10:53 am

Exercise Question

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December 23, 2020 · 8:54 am

Good Exercise

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Yesterday afternoon my husband and I spent about an hour with a chainsaw, cutting down a huge branch that broke off recently. It was hanging down into the civilized part of our front yard (as opposed to the woods that slope all the way down to the street that runs in front of our property.) The branch would have made it difficult, if not impossible, for my husband to use the riding mower there.

Since the land slopes, I had quite a challenge of trying to get the ladder braced against the back of the tree so that my husband could get up high enough with the chain saw. I breathed a sigh of relief when we got the main part of the branch cut and I could quit worrying about that part of it.

The rest of the time was spent cutting smaller branches off the large one so that I could grab them, pull them away from the main one, and throw them down the hill farther so they would be out of the way.

We don’t like to think about it, but we are considered ‘elderly’ by the people deciding who should get the Covid-19 vaccine, so I guess that means we’re older than dirt, whether we want to accept that or not. I have to admit that after we finished the job and had rested in our chairs awhile, both of us were wincing a bit at sore muscles.

Today my husband would like to use our pole saw to cut down a few branches along the side of our driveway. They are about a third of the way down, which means we’ll need to put two 100-foot extension cords together to get power down that far. Hopefully we can get them cut down and thrown off to the side of the driveway without too much problem.

Please wish these ‘elderly’ people luck…

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December 21, 2020 · 10:12 am

Di-et-Attitude

PinonFunny

My husband and I have decided that life is too short to feel guilty all the time. During the holidays, plus the change of weather, plus this awful pandemic, plus – we will finish out 2020 stuffing our faces. Well, not really, but not raking ourselves over the coals, either, when we overindulge.

We got lots of goodies from friends. We are going to enjoy some of them. We are freezing some for later, enjoying some now, and enjoying some comfort foods.

We are now – finally – into a lifestyle of eating good food, watching our portions, foregoing lots of things, such as sugar, bread, starches, excess carbs, etc. I am trying to exercise on a daily basis, and move more in general. We want to lose the lard, become more flexible, improve strength and balance, and improve the numbers on our quarterly or every-six-month routine monitoring blood tests.

BUT – for a little while – we are allowing the kid in us to come out and play, enjoying the ‘season’, smiling as we enjoy the lovely things that aren’t so great for our health, but make life much more worth living for a few days each year.

May we all be much healthier in 2021, eventually free from worry about the virus.

Stay safe and well.

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December 16, 2020 · 10:38 am

Exercise?

“Exercise” –

ekser,siz – verb

a verb, believed to be a myth

Tiebreaker

I love this picture. I’m still smiling. :0)

Penn Fitness Warehouse

My elliptical trainer is in our garage. It’s the only place we could put it where it would not be on carpet and wouldn’t take up too much room. Therefore, the outside temperature affects my willingness to use it. Most of the year, this is not a problem. My husband mounted a nice box fan on the wall in front of the elliptical. I can turn it on all spring, summer, and fall to make it more comfortable to be out there. I have a problem when it gets too cold in the winter.

Right now it is 27 outside. Even with the effort on the elliptical, I freeze. I use that as an excuse not to do it. That works for today, and possibly tomorrow, but my excuse won’t be good when it warms into the 40s and 50s by the end of the week.

BoredPanda.com

I AM doing my super gentle yoga for old broads daily, though, and that is truly helpful. Without it, I tend to fold up like a tent. I notice this in particular when I have monthly massages. My therapist spends a lot of time pulling on arms, legs, and head, trying to ‘pull my head out of my rear’ (if you’ll pardon the expression) because I tend to implode. Right now I’m not getting my massages because my therapist is recovering from surgery. I’m hopeful we will be able to resume in February or March, when she is feeling sassy again.

My yoga is not the ‘fold-yourself-into-a-pretzel-or-paper-airplane’ type. It’s good, quiet, long, gradual stretches that make my body say, ‘ahhhhhhhh!’ when I finally am able to relax into each pose. I move into it as far as I can, then just BREATHE. I can FEEL my body giving a bit at a time, stretching more and more. I started my practice a few years ago, when I was 71. I’ll be 74 in March, and I’m hopeful I can continue this the rest of my life. I want to get and stay as flexible as I can. It also helps with my back, plus my balance.

I am trying to do some walking, but again, the weather is a factor. I’m not desperate enough to get out my “Walking-with-annoying-Leslie’ DVD yet, but it may come to that as winter sneaks in.

I hope you’re trying to take care of yourself, too.

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