Nanea Hoffman-Sweatpants & Coffee
Filed under Encouragement, taking care of yourself
I’m getting ready to leave for a much-needed massage. It looks like I’ll get a second shower, too, as it’s dark outside with thunderstorms predicted. I’m not water-soluble, so I’ll be happy if there is no hail associated with the storm.
I’ve been working hard lately cleaning, so I’m hoping to reward myself with time in the art room this afternoon. I have a new design for earrings in my head, and I would like to see how it goes. :0)
Our irrigation system brains in the well house keep getting zapped by the various short power outages we’ve been experiencing lately. We ordered a UPS (uninterruptible power supply) lately and my husband put it out there and hooked it up. Hopefully, now we won’t have to reset the thing over and over again. Fingers crossed.
I gathered some tomatoes yesterday. Most were the size of cherry tomatoes, but I will happily use them in salads. Nothing else from the main garden at this time, except some good-looking weeds.
I hope that your day is filled with fun.
memesbams.com
This poofy lady has lost pound # 8 via South Beach – (37 pounds via various methods since my heaviest). I still have more to lose before I hit ‘new territory’ on my weight loss efforts, but I feel that I am on a roll now. I don’t care how long it takes for me to lose it. I feel good that my scale numbers are going in the right direction now.
My measuring tape is showing positive signs, too, as there is less of me now – 40 inches less – than when I was at my lardiest.
I am going for gold stars # 13 and 14 today for the week – for my elliptical exercising and my yoga practice. I am feeling less like a fool that I ‘exercise for stars’ as if I were a little kid. There are lots of ways I haven’t really grown up, and if this works – RUN IT! :0)
-ClipartLibrary
We are on Month #2 of South Beach. I will figure out on which days I will fix DIY dinners, lunches, breakfasts, and snacks (morning and afternoon) – 2 of each during the week.
Fingers crossed the progress continues.
Filed under DIET!, exercise, Healthy Eating, taking care of yourself
Penn Fitness Warehouse
My first gold star for the day was my practice on my elliptical trainer. I made it to 35 minutes today! This is the first time in MONTHS that I have made it this long, so I’m feeling good about it. I have a box fan attached to the wall in front of the trainer, so I don’t melt into a puddle out in the garage. I also have my MP3 player, with some of my all-time favorite music on it, to listen to. Pretty nice set up, except for when it’s really hot or really cold.
Bored Panda
I am about to go do my yoga practice for my second star of the day.
I do about 30 minutes or so, mostly of old lady stretches, but also abdominal exercises of various types. I am beginning to feel a difference in how my body is reacting to my practice, after about a month of practicing daily. I am still fighting general stiffness everywhere (I AM old, you know) but I feel looser, and I have less discomfort. I definitely feel more relaxed after I finish.
I am happy about my daily exercising now. I’m trying to stay motivated, listing elliptical and yoga on my to-do list each day now.
Time for my yoga practice!
Filed under DIET!, exercise, taking care of yourself
unknown
Hahahahahahahaah! I love this picture. :0)
Our South Beach orders for Month #2 arrived yesterday. I have been DIYing most of our meals, since we were out of most everything, using up the dregs of what was left in our boxes from Month #1 when possible. So we started in with lunch yesterday on our renewed supplies.
I called in and cancelled our subscriptions/memberships/auto-delivery orders yesterday, once our delivery came. She tried to change my mind. Asked me how much weight we had lost. Why we were quitting. I didn’t want to list the reasons, so just told her we needed a reboot, and were pleased that they provided it for us. I got confirmation emails that our subscriptions had been cancelled, and there was a chance to do a survey. I tried, but it wasn’t working.
I know the coronavirus has caused big problems for everyone, and that this will continue. I’m assuming the problems we experienced were due to that:
CONS –
PROS –
I am happy that my husband will have probably met his weight goal by the time we finish this second month. (He only has about 10 lbs to go.) I wish he would exercise, but at least he is encouraging about MY efforts.
My goal is another 30 or so. I’m also using this ‘reboot’ to remind myself that just because something is in the pantry does NOT mean I have to listen to it call to me or eat it. I’m HOPING that my husband won’t go back to putting a lot of frowned-on foods into the cart, but if he insists on it, I don’t have to give in and feed my face. I will make it a priority to keep DIYing what I SHOULD be eating – including some good snacks – and hopefully that, plus my exercises will make ME healthier, too as I pursue my goal.
I love the recipe book Simply Keto by Suzanne Ryan. She doesn’t use a lot of ingredients you need to scrounge to find. The recipes are simple – and to me, the less time spent in the kitchen, the better. They taste really good. My husband’s reaction when he learns I’m cooking one of our favorites, or trying a new one for us, is “GREAT!”
Here’s to Month #2!
Early Morning Showers
I’m feeling good that I am “back in the saddle again” on my efforts to get the lard off and get stronger. I fell off, using everything excuse from the pandemic, to my husband going to the store with me, and back again, but the fact was I had stopped exercising and I had gained some of my lost weight back again.
We signed up for the South Beach Diet Plan, deciding we would try that for two months to get back on track. It was the closest to our keto eating plan and would remind us how we are supposed to be eating, hopefully giving us a boost. The second month’s order should arrive any day now. It’s a good thing. We are down to meat sticks and some shakes, so I am DIYing a lot now.
To date – since my lardiest – I have lost 36.6 pounds and 40.45 inches. I’m working my way back down to where I was before, and I feel really happy about that.
My exercise regimen – motivated by gold stars on my desk calendar – is helping me feel stronger, a bit more energetic, and definitely looser and more flexible.
Penn Fitness Warehouse
I’m trying to do my elliptical in the mornings, since my trainer is in the garage. I won’t get it done in the morning today, but I can do it when I get back from errands. I started a couple of weeks ago, at 10 minutes. I’m doing 20 each day now.
You Tube
I am doing about half an hour of yoga stretches plus abdominal exercises each afternoon. I have no clue why I tend to ‘hunch up’ during the day, but I’m almost looking forward to my yoga sessions now, where the first thing is to lie flat on my back, trying to get my back muscles to relax. Thankfully, this is accomplished more quickly now and I am seeing progress in my ability to push a bit farther into the positions, breathing into them. I feel relaxed when I finish, and pleased with my efforts.
By the end of this next month on South Beach, my husband will have probably met his weight goal. I would like to lose another 30 pounds. I am seeing progress on both the scales and the tape measure, plus I feel more in control.
taolife.com
tvoydosug.com
We are about to begin Month # 2 on our South Beach Diet. We have not yet received notice that our orders have shipped. We are down to meat sticks and shakes, and we will use these up while waiting for our new food. I did the DIY meals in the program (2 dinners, 2 lunches, 2 breakfasts, 2 morning snacks and 2 afternoon snacks each week) but I will be doing a lot more until we receive the next shipment.
One good thing is that my husband appreciates my cooking even more now, since we are eating strangely most of the day. :0)
Another good thing is that I am VERY aware of portions. Example: I cooked Suzanne Ryan’s “Bacon-Wrapped Cheesy Chicken” (Simply Keto) last night. We each ate one half of one chicken breast and some fresh tomatoes on the side.
A third good thing is that my exercise efforts are going well. I have done my elliptical trainer every day this week, plus a session of yoga stretches. I will finish off the week today, earning two more gold stars for my desk calendar (a total of 14 stars!)
On the 5th I will post a progress report on my efforts to lose the lard. Hopefully, we will have our new food order, and I can post some good results!
doyouyoga
Tomorrow I will finish three weeks of doing a 30-minute-or-so session daily. I think it was last year when I discovered SixtyandMe.com That led to me finding and ordering the “Gentle Yoga” DVD with Cat Kabira teaching basic stretching techniques for ‘mature’ women – even though who had never tried yoga before. I wasn’t interested in trying to fold myself into a paper airplane or tie myself up into a pretzel shape, but I WAS stiff, sore, and feeling pretty brittle. I worked through it, and then decided to simply do the poses that seemed to help me the most rather than having to find time to play the DVD. Cat stressed that it was the PROGRESS that mattered – not whether you actually aced the pose to PERFECTION. I did well for awhile, and then just quietly stopped doing it. My reasons are stupidity and lack of sufficient motivation.
Three weeks ago, when we had decided to do the South Beach Diet plan in order to ‘reboot’ our efforts to commit to the keto eating plan, relearn ‘portions,’ smarter choices, etc., I also decided that I would get back into my yoga.
After three weeks, I am starting to feel some progress! I am 73 and RELAXING is a difficult thing to do. Just lying down flat on your back on the mat doesn’t sound like much. It IS – when several areas in your back are clenching. After a minute or so of CONSCIOUS focus on relaxing and breathing, the discomfort and clenching goes away. I am also seeing progress in several of the stretching positions. One came just yesterday. I’m lying on my back with my arms on the floor above my head. I pull up my right leg, bend the knee, lay my leg to my right side. I can DO that on my left. On my RIGHT, that was really uncomfortable. I’ve been doing it anyway daily for 3 weeks, breathing into it and not pushing myself, just breathing into the discomfort and trying to relax. Yesterday I was able to let the leg down almost completely onto the floor without pain! HOORAY!!!!!! I feel better when I finish my stretches, so that’s a wonderful thing, too. Even my husband is trying to encourage me, asking me if I’m going to ‘yoge’ today.
I’m giving myself a gold star for every practice. Likewise on my elliptical trainer session in the garage. I’m going for stars 11 and 12 for the week today.
Filed under DIET!, exercise, quality of life, taking care of yourself
Bono-SayingImages.com
Music is a quality of life thing. I have seen the faces of people I love when one of their favorite songs plays. They are transported back to a time of wonderful memories. They smile. Their eyes get dreamy. And the feelings simply spill out. It’s a beautiful thing.
I’ve seen people in nursing homes ‘come alive’ when their favorite music is played. The years fall off. Their eyes are animated. Some will actually get up and dance. Those who cannot still ‘bop’ in their chairs.
Music is a miracle.
I create ‘mini-concerts’ via YouTube when I have the time, giving myself a needed rest and relaxation. I choose one musician I love and play a medley of greatest hits, or combine several. By the time I am finished, I feel renewed, ready to tackle whatever awaits.
We are rich when we can ‘teleport’ to when we were teenagers. or escape via the lyrics of a beautiful song, or bop along with favorite tunes that DEMAND you get up and shake whatever you have. (I’m glad no one can see me do this, too!)
How lucky we are to have so many talented people who give us joy!
Filed under music, quality of life, taking care of yourself
Positive Energy via Michael Remillard
This is a wonderful quality to have. I have never had it, but I’m striving to practice it. If you remain calm, it saves time, keeps everyone else calm, and helps you do what is needed at any given time.
Our son has gained a lot of this through meditation. When he comes to visit us, it flows through the house and lasts until he leaves again. It has allowed him to control much of the frustration and anger that challenges him from time to time. I have tried to meditate – not nearly as hard as I should – but I just can’t shut my mind down.
What is helping me is my yoga stretches. It takes me a long time to relax into each position. (I have to fight the ‘the body is old and creaky with discomfort’ aspect of each position before I can relax, but I CAN relax finally. When I finish my stretches of about half an hour each afternoon, my mind is clear and my body feels good.
It is important for each of us to find that thing that works for us – listening to music, getting outside, talking to a friend, etc. – so that we can find the calm that is healing.
Filed under Attitude, Challenges, Changes, quality of life, taking care of yourself
You Tube
Weight comes off MUCH more slowly than it goes on. The older you get, the harder it is to get the lard off.
Lovethispic.com via Pinterest
In our current quest to get ‘back in the saddle” of the keto eating plan, my husband and I have signed up for two months of the South Beach Diet. That is the closest plan of prepared meals to how we are trying to eat. We are about 2/3 of the way through the first month.
So far, we have each lost 5 lbs. We are not very pleased with the number of choices on the food plan, or the taste of many of the entrees. We DO really like anything they offer that comes in a small cup and the shakes. My husband really likes the candy bars ( both snack and entree) and I love the small bags of nuts. Otherwise, it’s a very good thing we have fresh, ripe tomatoes to eat alongside the entrees for lunch and dinner.
That said, the first month is helping me re-realize what a “portion” is. We were eating many of the right things, but we glossed over – or ignored – the portion amounts. When we are doing the DIY dinners, lunches, breakfasts, and snacks each week, I am trying to pay particular attention to how much I am serving. Also, my husband is saying he will cooperate with not throwing things we shouldn’t be eating into the grocery cart. If they aren’t around, they can’t call to you from the pantry…. “Linnnnnnnn dahhhhhh!”
By the end of the second month (approximately mid-September) my husband may REACH is weight loss goal. We have talked about the fact that his ‘cooperation’ will need to continue so that he can KEEP the weight off. I have consoled him by pointing out that he can increase enjoy some fruit then, and that we may buy the candy bars he likes A LA CARTE from South Beach to tide him over, or to simply keep a supply for him. He also readily admits that he really likes many of the recipes we have found by Suzanne Ryan in Simply Keto.
For example, I have Suzanne’s recipe for Keto Chili in the slow cooker right now for one of our DIY dinners tonight.
I will earn Gold Star # 7 this afternoon with my yoga practice.
Next week, I will TRY to add a few minutes of my elliptical trainer to each day. It’s very hot here, and my trainer lives in our garage, so I’ll have to get out there early and limit the minutes I spend – Maybe I’ll try Mon, Wed, and Fri to start. I figure that even though I won’t be doing 35 minutes out there, anything I’m doing is better than none. AND, if I do the time out there, I’ll give myself another Gold Star!
My weight loss journey will be much longer than my husband’s. That’s okay. If I am seeing a reasonable amount of progress – either from the scales, the measuring tape, or my flexibility – I will try to “keep on keepin’ on. “
Wish me luck?
Filed under Attitude, DIET!, exercise, motivators, taking care of yourself
New Animalbook
I hope that your Saturday is a good one. Take care and stay safe.
Clipart Library
I failed to make time on Thursday, but I did 35 minutes or so of Gentle Yoga stretching every other day last week – earning 6 gold stars for my desk calendar.
I don’t know why the actual silly gold stars are motivating, but they are for me. I’m not sure what that says about me, but – hey – it’s working.
My biggest problem in getting back to my “old-lady, not-REAL-yoga-as-I-think-of-it” practice (standing on your head, folding yourself up like a pretzel) is that I am all hunched-up, stiff, and creaky again.
123RF.com
I don’t know what it is about getting older, but I have observed that people seem to ‘draw up’ as they age. Hunching over, taking smaller, hesitant steps while walking, moving more slowly, turning inward. The tendency is to end up in a ball.
Right now one of the things I’m working on is relaxing when I lie flat on my back on the mat. That doesn’t sound like much, I know, but it is for me. I have to start with a wedge pillow under my neck. I breathe into the position, trying to concentrate on relaxing my jaw, relaxing my face, actually letting the wedge pillow support my head. Yeah. I’ve gotten that bad. I then trade the wedge for a sofa pillow and do the same relaxing. Finally, I can lie flat on the mat with no pillow. Each position is like this, with parts of my body either clenching up or yelling at me as I try to get into the stretches. I am concentrating on just doing what I can do, trying to push just a tad more with each day of practice.
I’m making progress after the six days of practice last week. I’m still stiff, but I can relax more quickly now into each pose. I keep reminding myself that Cat Kabira, the lady on the Gentle Yoga DVD, stresses that ATTEMPTING each pose, and holding while you relax and breathe into it, does your body good. As long as you are doing the best you can, your body will eventually ‘yield’ and release the muscles.
OshiPrint.in
I’m going for 7 stars this week.
Filed under Challenges, Changes, exercise, taking care of yourself
We are ‘regrouping’ on our weight loss and exercise efforts. I say ‘we’ – my husband and I are on two months of the South Beach Diet Plan now, trying to reboot our efforts to lose weight. Excuses abound, but the bottom line is that we have been regaining the weight we lost previously and are trying to get our heads back in the game and remotivated. “I” am exercising. He encourages me in my efforts, but won’t do any himself.
To date, I have now lost 33 pounds and 28 inches from my most ‘zaftig.’ I’m disappointed that I allowed myself to gain back pounds and inches, but that is in the past now. I am again losing weight and exercising. So far I am walking 10 minutes twice a day, morning and evening. It is too hot in the middle of the day. I AM working in the yard, and I think that should count toward my “30 minutes of exercise each day” goal. I am also doing another 30 minutes of Gentle Yoga stretches daily.
Our initial impressions of the South Beach food are mixed.
Anything in the small cups is good. That includes soups so far. The shakes are fine. I like a chocolate nut bar snack, and my husband likes a toffee bar. The dinners are okay. We are eating them with a lot of fresh tomatoes from our garden. We have changed our coming order to try to find something we like…
The big thing we are getting is a reality check.
I am personally learning (again!) that if my husband slips things we shouldn’t eat into the grocery cart, that doesn’t mean that “I” have to heed the voices calling me into the pantry. I am responsible for what I eat.
My initial feeling is that our decision to do a two-month reboot was a good one.
Filed under Attitude, Challenges, Changes, DIET!, exercise, Family, getting the lard off, Healthy Eating, taking care of yourself
Andy Seliverstoff via Jeff Jett – LinkedIn
If you’re like me, you look for things to bring your spirits up each day while we’re facing such an awful time worldwide. The photo above is one of those things for me, and I wanted to share it with you.
Another thing that will brighten our personal day is that we’re meeting our good friends for Lunch Bunch today. The restaurant has been able to open its doors, so we can enjoy the comfort of air conditioning while we eat and catch up.
The governor of our state of Arkansas has now issued the mandatory wearing of face masks in public, starting Monday. My husband is on notice that he either complies, has to sit in the car and wait for me, or stays home. His brother even cared enough to order and send him a Marine Corp-themed face mask. It will be interesting. If you look up “stubborn” in the dictionary, my husband’s picture and name should be there. :0/
We want to put something in our safe deposit box at the bank today. I also want to verify our master list of what is there for our records. In order to do this, we had to call and make an appointment. Life used to be so much simpler. As I sigh, I’m glad we can do this at all now.
I am still trying to get up to my art room to play with the idea of pulled string art. Life happens each afternoon, so I haven’t been able to try it yet. Maybe I will find the time (and energy) this afternoon.
123RF.com
ABSTRACTS by Sabina via cathy ruggiero
We had a nice bunch of tomatoes ripe today. I now have a bowl of them, plus a container of much smaller, cherry type tomatoes that I will eat with other raw veggies as snacks. This is one of our favorite times of the year. We are rich in tomatoes!!!!
I told you that my husband and I are doing two months of the South Beach Diet in an effort to get back on track on our keto eating plan. Yesterday I finally figured out that we should be eating PHASE 1 foods for two weeks (until the end of next week.)
I went onto the website in order to ask a question about the snacks and the soups. Some of the snacks didn’t have any stripes and said nothing about what phase they were, plus the soups said nothing. They are short-handed there, I guess due to the coronavirus, so it took a long time to reach someone. After the chat, I am more confused than ever.
She said, “We aren’t doing the phases anymore.” All the stuff I read and printed the day before stressed staying on Phase 1 for two weeks, so I asked again – getting the same answer.
I am still going to mainly try to stick with stuff marked Phase 1 until all is gone, but won’t stress over eating a Phase 2 thing, when needed.
If you read what is provided on the website, there are a number of other discrepancies; one example being the use of salt. In one place it stresses you should look for “low salt” canned veggies. In another, it says ‘feel free to use salt liberally.’ I am watching my salt, so I will continue to use it the way I am now.
So far, I’m happy that we are trying to get back on track with our keto eating plan. We are getting a much-needed wake-up call regarding ‘portions.’ We are learning to plan ahead better so we have healthy snacks. (My husband was happy with his DIY celery and cream cheese snack yesterday afternoon.) I made a salad to go along with our ‘Texas Chili” entree last night.
I am hoping that by the end of the two months on the program, we’ll be better able to handle things on our own again, having received a boost from the good people at South Beach.
Filed under DIET!, exercise, getting the lard off, taking care of yourself
I told you yesterday that I felt dumb because I finally noticed – after 2-1/2 days – that “Phase 2 and enjoy with Phase 3” was printed on my husband’s package of pancakes. Intelligent woman that I am, I thought, “Maybe we’re screwing up.” I spent a half hour or so finding some information on the South Beach website and printing it. I spent another hour or so reading the information, discovering that
I separated the aqua-striped packages (Phase 1) from the purple-striped stuff (Phase 2) in my husband’s box, and then did the same in mine. I did the same with our frozen foods. There is a bit of confusion, as the soups don’t say what they are, and it is unclear about the prepared snacks, but I will see if I can reach someone to talk to on the website today.
I told him we are only eating and drinking BLUE stuff – except for DIY meals and snacks – until the end of next week. (Actually, we’ll continue until all the BLUE stuff has been consumed -whenever that is – before going on with Phase 2.
My husband is still upset that so much chocolate stuff was included in his box, when he carefully ordered what he wanted. He really doesn’t like chocolate, and has no patience with the coronavirus causing supply chain problems. I have given him the vanilla stuff they put in mine – also not ordered. He will have to make do with some of the chocolate stuff if our supplies don’t last until the end of the month.
I have gone onto HIS account page and MY account page, making sure that he has no chocolate ordered and I have no vanilla – with high hopes.
My husband only has about 10 or 15 pounds to lose to get to his goal, so he is much more cavalier about the diet than I am. He wants to cancel after the next month’s order is confirmed as shipped.
I have more to lose than that, but I’m hoping that this two-month ‘pay attention’ time will remind us of things like eating something sensible every few hours to avoid hunger, to eat reasonable portions when we do eat, and to avoid things we know we shouldn’t be eating. I will continue to use the carb tracking they provide, whether we are eating the prepared foods or not, as I am more likely to keep with the program doing that.
I am trying to walk for 10 minutes 3 times a day, as they suggest. I’m also doing a half hour of “Gentle Yoga” stretches daily. (I think that the 70+ times I have to get up and go to the bathroom each day, due to all the water I’m drinking, should also count as exercise. :0) )
Fingers crossed.
I am feeling pretty dumb right now.
We just started the South Beach diet after lunch on Wednesday. We are messing up, mainly due to stupidity – MINE.
They don’t include a lot of instructions – that’s on them. I read the paperwork that came with the order, but I haven’t been reading the packages and boxes of food carefully enough. They are clearly labeled, “Phase I,” “Phase 2 and enjoy in Phase 3”. I just noticed THAT this morning when my husband wanted to fix pancakes.
He decided that it was ‘too much work’ to make for just himself, so we got out another package and he cooked for both of us. He technically followed the directions, but I’m not really sure of that, since I was doing other morning chores. We ended up with really THICK, pretty hard – pancakes. We decided we will not pass judgment on these until “I” cook a batch. THEN I noticed that this was a “Phase 2” food, and we shouldn’t have been eating it yet. Oh, well.
I will have to get on the website and see if I can find more information. We probably shouldn’t be doing the DIY meals, either, yet. Oh, well, again.
They sent my husband a whole bunch of chocolate stuff he didn’t want. I guess they were having trouble filling orders and just did the best they could. He immediately dumped all that out on the table, refusing to eat or drink them. (Patience and ‘going-along’ have never been his strong suits.) I went on the site yesterday and modified his order for next time, eliminating all the chocolate. I hope their warehouses are in better shape for the 2nd order. Meanwhile, I had some vanilla stuff in my box, so I gave that to him and I took the chocolate.
When we get back home from Lunch Bunch (our DIY lunch this week), I’ll get on their website and see if I can figure out what we’re SUPPOSED to be doing.
Duh.
Can Stock Photo
I had a lovely massage this morning. I asked her to just leave me there and let me drift off to sleep, but she made me get up, pay her, and leave. Imagine that! She is truly a miracle worker. I feel a lot better.
It was getting dark as I left – at 11:00 in the morning! I got home just before storming started. I shut the garage door, and closed up the house. It has rained, but it doesn’t seem to be severe at this point. We have more waves of storms coming this afternoon and tonight.
I chatted with our son in Thailand this morning briefly. There is 12 hours difference in our times, so we have to chat quickly sometimes. He sounded really happy. He said, “last night when i was falling asleep i was listening to the rain, and i think i heard some kind of religious singing from somewhere, maybe the nearby wat, and i was feeling the breeze from my fan, and i thought to myself how fortunate i am.”
We are on our official whole first day of the South Beach Diet today. (We started after lunch yesterday.) So far, we’re doing fine, although we’re fumbling around some. We like the shakes, and the ‘ice crushes.” Mine are chocolate, of course. :0) I got home from my massage late for our morning ‘snack.’ We went ahead and did that, deciding we would delay lunch for an hour or so. I have keto chili in the crock pot for one of our DIY dinners for the week. I’m interested to see what we think of our lunch options. I have found that their ‘peanut butter bites” (a package of small cookies) is delicious. I am trying to record what I eat and drink on the tracker on their website. It’s different that the other I have been using, but I’m determined to make it work.
I received one of the new wooden earring shapes I ordered yesterday, and am eager to get up to the art room to see what I can do with it. :0)
I hope you’re having a wonderful day.
Our first shipment of the South Beach Diet was delivered this afternoon – right after we ate lunch.
1st impression – there was a lot more frozen food than I expected. I apparently didn’t read carefully enough, so I was scrambling to find an organized way to store my husband’s choices in one place and mine in another. My husband immediately wanted to know what he could have for a snack. We had JUST finished lunch, so I firmly told him I needed some time to get my act together, and that we would have our ‘afternoon snack’ around 3 pm.
2nd impression – we will be eating more TIMES each day than we have been. We have been doing intermittent fasting and then eating lunch and dinner (with an occasional dessert) before bed. This obviously hasn’t been working – though we have helped the failure along by eating stuff we shouldn’t and not paying enough attention to portion size. Now we will eat 6 times each day – having breakfast, a morning snack, lunch, an afternoon snack, dinner, and a dessert type snack each day. I will be doing ‘do-it-yourself’ meals and snacks – 2 of each spread out over the week. I’ve gotten out my calendar so I can do some planning. One regular ‘DIY’ lunch each week will be Friday’s Lunch Bunch. Since we’re starting Wednesday afternoon this week, I’m doing the best I can to get in as many DIY’s as seems reasonable.
3rd impression – We have just enjoyed our first ‘afternoon snack.’ My husband had a vanilla shake and I had a chocolate. They seemed a bit ‘thin,’ but the flavor was good.
4th impression – This is not as much ‘just heat up the food and eat it’ as the Nutrisystem we tried quite awhile back. There is cooking even on the meals provided in the program. (For example, I have tried to prepare my husband that he will be mixing and cooking his breakfast pancake mix.) I really think this is a good thing. We will be constantly aware of what we are eating, preparing much of it, actively engaged, rather than just nuking something and taking no responsibility for it.
5th impression – we are supposed to be eating 3 non-starchy veggie servings each day. (I’m happy because we’ll include tomatoes from our garden and some salads, as well as small servings of other good veggies.)
6th impression – I may have to live in the bathroom! We are supposed to drink half our body weight in fluid each day. I will make every effort to drink more, but my eyeballs are already floating, trying to drink 64 oz of fluid each day.
7th impression – they suggest that you keep your exercise routine to a minimum during the first week since your body is adapting to a new way of eating. They suggest walking 10 minutes 3 times a day. I will plan to add my old lady stretching yoga routine to that, since that is not at all strenuous, and is relaxing.
Filed under Attitude, DIET!, exercise, motivators, taking care of yourself
Our good plumber is supposed to come today to help us figure out why the hot water in our shower is cutting off mid-shower.
We have a tankless water heater. This allows us to have all the hot water we need, regardless of how many things we run during the day or even at the same time. We are getting all the hot water we want downstairs, and in the sinks upstairs – but not the shower.
With the pandemic – plus the hot weather and working outside , we are taking even more showers than our usual one a day. My husband thinks we need a new water pressure tank in our well house. The job is too large for the two of us, so we have called our wonderful plumber to come take a look and see what he thinks will solve the problem.
I’m hoping that tonight I will be able to take a nice shower with hot water to rinse with, rather than cold… Fingers crossed!
Eternally Sunny
I am back to the land of the living today, after sleeping half the day yesterday and then TEN hours last night! I have noticed that since I am a MATURE woman – aka “old broad” – it takes me a lot longer to bounce back after getting sick. (Another one of the many perks of getting older.) I actually feel some energy this morning!
I will still take it easy today, doing stuff in our home office, rather than doing yard work or heavy stuff inside.
I hope that YOU are having a good day and staying healthy.
Filed under taking care of yourself
BBC.com
I’ve been under the weather for a day and a half, but am feeling mostly human now. I’m lucky that I have a husband who stepped up and took good care of me.
Needless to say, I have been a total sloth – not accomplishing anything. I’m going to continue that for the rest of today, at least, hoping to be back 100% in another day or so.
I received a nice note from a visitor to my Etsy shop for hand-painted wooden earrings Eyecatching Earrings on Etsy –
she wanted to know if I could make larger earrings. This pair is about 1″ in diameter, and she would prefer 2 to 3″. The largest ones I could find like this were just under 2″, and I have ordered those. I have asked her her color preferences. I’ll write her again when I have some painted and listed to see if she would like a pair or more. :0)
I KNOW I’m feeling better because I found some other shapes I haven’t used and ordered THEM, as well. My juices are starting to flow…
I hope you have a nice day.
Filed under taking care of yourself
Unsplash
I told you that when we were at our routine doctor appointment Monday I received a pneumonia booster shot. My doc also wanted me to get an A1C to check for pre or actual diabetes this time.
My husband has Type II diabetes (although he will deny this and say he just has a ‘sugar problem’) so we have cut out as much sugar as we can – opting for the keto eating plan and he is on medication for the condition. It scared me that she wanted me to have this test.
The nurse called first thing this morning to tell me ‘there is absolutely NO sign of diabetes or pre-diabetes’ on the test. HOOOORAAAAAAAAY!
I will give my arm another day to stop hurting, but I am planning to do more spraying for weeds and do a careful session of Gentle Yoga this afternoon.
For an old broad, I am doing well. :0)
Filed under taking care of yourself
Yesterday when we were at our routine doctor appointment, the nurse said I should get the follow-up booster pneumonia shot. (Prevnar 13) I got the original one sometime in the past, so I said, “sure.” She gave me the shot, and I have to say I have never had a shot hurt less.
Later my arm got REALLY sore. It not only hurt at the injection site, but halfway down my arm. It was not red or swollen, though. By evening I couldn’t lift my arm without pain. I griped and moaned to my husband, who looked at it and couldn’t see anything.
I slept badly. Every time I moved, my arm hurt and I awoke. Since I apparently move a lot when I sleep, I didn’t get any rest at all.
This morning I was still in pain, so I sprayed TheraWorx on my arm and gingerly rubbed it in. When we got downstairs, I took two Tylenol. I felt like I had been run over by a truck, so when we finished our morning chores, I went to sleep in my chair. I slept for almost 3 hours.
SOMETHNG I did worked. My arm still feels a little bit sore, but nothing exciting. I no longer feel as if I were run over by a truck. I am actually getting hungry for lunch soon!
If I had it to do again, I would have done all of the above last night when the pain first started. I’m glad I have the protection.
Filed under taking care of yourself
Leading Learning
I am learning the hard way that I need to pay attention to the ORDER of my activities to get some control of the civilized part of our yard. As I type, I’m TRYING not to scratch all the chigger bites I gathered yesterday while trying to clear a path on the north side of our shop. It was totally overgrown, so I had sprayed it pretty heavily a couple of times with weed killer previously. It hadn’t done the job, so I got serious yesterday.
I got a path cleared, but learned-
2) I will then mix up bug spray (We use Eight – great on killing bugs, but doesn’t harm plants or our animals) in our 2-gallon container and spray it over the areas I will try to weed whack in.
123RF
3) After I have sprayed the bug killer thoroughly, I will weed whack, getting everything cleared out.
4) Then I will spray the weed killer (we use KillzAll) again, hosing down the area.
5) Then I will spray again with bug killer.
I’m HOPING that if I build this habit, I won’t end up looking like someone chewed on by zombies with my usually sunny disposition marred by trying really hard not to scratch….
Positive Energy via Michael Remillard
I’m older than dirt and I have yet to even come CLOSE to doing this.
I have always admired people who calmly decide what is necessary in any given situation and do it.
I am TRYING to repeat this every day in an effort to FINALLY be able to remain calm and function like a normal human being with more than one brain cell before I croak.
Example – Years ago, my husband and I lived in Tulsa, enjoying our very first house. Our property had a garage apartment that we rented out, happy for the extra income. I came home from my job as a teacher one day to find smoke coming from the garage apartment. Like a complete ditz, I called my mother before calling the fire department!
clipartkey.com
My mom was stopped by a policeman on her way to our house. The cop said, “Where’s the fire, Lady?” My mom, answered, “At my daughter’s house!” He waved her on without giving her a ticket.
The two renters had renter’s insurance, our insurance enabled us to rebuild the garage apartment, and I was able to handle all the details of that without problem.
If you have a similar problem, feel free to print the image in this as your reminder (as I have) and say with me, “One of the best lessons you can learn in life is to master how to remain calm.”
Filed under Attitude, life lessons, taking care of yourself
creativeartworksblog 