Happy Independence Day – 2018

Each July 4th I remember one of the many reasons I decided I wanted to spend my life with my husband.

My dad’s health was failing fast. One of the things that bothered him the most was that he couldn’t see well enough to do the Cryptoquote in the daily newspaper, read, watch TV, etc. My mom would carefully print out the Cryptoquote clues on a large piece of paper in black magic marker so that he could see them. He was delighted with her for this and spent much of each day trying to solve it while my mom worked the NY Times crossword puzzle AND the cryptoquote.

My father’s favorite holiday was Independence Day. He loved getting a big, long string of ladyfinger firecrackers. They’re the little ones tied together in a long double string. You’re supposed to untie them and shoot them off one at a time. My dad would take the whole string, light it, throw it out in the yard and enjoy the seemingly endless explosions, laughing.

One of his last years he was very depressed. My then ‘boyfriend’ and I went out and bought fireworks for a back yard display. We of course got ladyfingers, TWO strings, sparklers, my favorite ‘snakes,’ and lots of inexpensive night time fireworks. My husband-to-be worked so hard that evening, setting off one firework at a time. It was so hot my poor guy was dripping. My dad’s grins split his face. He could SEE them! He thanked us over and over again, saying it was the best 4th of July he’d ever had. Our display teed off a neighbor on the next street, but we didn’t care. If I hadn’t already fallen in love with my husband, I would have that night. I will never forget his kindness to my dad.

Now my husband and I enjoy the friendly (I hope!) competition of some down-in-the-valley behind us neighbors, each trying to outdo the other in wonderful fireworks. We sit on the back deck, put our feet up on the railing, drink our cold drinks (water this year – we’re dieting) and enjoy the show. I’m not sure if our yellow lab, Amber, will be afraid of the fireworks or not. If she is, we’ll put her inside. Sweet elderly Molly is so hard of hearing now she might not even be able to hear them!

I hope you are with family and friends this celebration day.

Happy Independence Day!

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Defurminating the Dog

Amber is miffed at me because we went out onto the screened porch with a trashcan and a ‘furminator’ tool and I proceeded to try to thin her hair. She’s been panting like crazy in this heat even with plopping herself into her kiddie pool almost every time she goes out. I even gave her a cookie after she had taken all she was going to tolerate, but she’s still miffed.

furminator

This started when I was watching the news today and Amber sat down on her bed which is right under the TV. She plops, rather than sitting more elegantly, and this resulted in a cloud of hair flying in all directions.

After getting 1/3 of a large trash can full of hair today, I’ve decided that we’ll try to do this at least every other day. Even though I’m not winning any popularity contests with this, it will make her more comfortable and it will help MY mood. I’ve been vacuuming a LOT (for me) and each time end up with a canister full of dog hair and YUCK from our floors. Maybe I’ll feel that I’m making more progress in this as we thin Amber’s coat a little.

Meanwhile, she looks at me, huffs, and lays her head down again – on the floor because she can’t fit into Molly’s bed. :0)

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Pencil Drawings – Art by Julie Rhodes

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Green

“Green” – Paul Militaru Photography

 

“Brown and Green” – Paul Militaru Photography

 

“Grass and Clover” – Paul Militaru Photography

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Pastel Paintings I Like – Take 2

“A New Daisy” -kemstudios.blogspot.com

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Glorious Glass – Take 13

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Cute T’s – Take 4

email from Bill Lites

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It’s Official

household-tips.thefuntimesguide.com

We now have clean, repaired gutters with screen covers, plus no more huge dead tree limbs hanging down over the driveway, ready to fall on us as we pass!

Yesterday Ryan Edwards and his partner from Edwards Gutter Cleaning, 479-462-2663, spent 4 hours in 97 degree (heat index 108) heat, getting us fixed up. I provided bottles of cold water and a bathroom, and they handled everything else. Surprisingly, we actually HAD screens in part of the guttering! He repaired one end of the guttering in the back, where it was drooping at the wrong angle, replaced some of the screens that weren’t tight, cleaning everything out and making sure all was working well. They took a ‘break’ at one point, cutting down the dead branches from the mimosa tree at the bottom of the driveway, then came back up to continue work on the gutters. They found almost nothing in the guttering that is the closest to the few large trees we have around the house. Mostly they found tiny gravel from the shingles.

We had agreed on a price for the guttering and branch removal, but he cut the price due to the fact we already had screens in part of the gutters!

When he finished, I told him and his partner how much I appreciated them. I stressed that I was pleased that he did what he said he would do. He called to keep me informed of when he would be here. When he was delayed, he called to tell me that. He treated us like real people who might have a life and plans that didn’t include waiting around for service. He did a beautiful job, leaving everything clean. I told him that I had already written about him on my blog and that I would do so again. He was really happy about that. :0)

Ryan Edwards is an honest, hard-working man you can depend on. He doesn’t try to gouge you on prices. He doesn’t pressure you. He listens carefully when you’re explaining what you would like estimates for, and gives them straightforwardly. He doesn’t try to sell you anything you don’t want. He takes pride in a job well done. I recommend him highly and will call him whenever I have outside handyman type work. I hit the jackpot on great companies!

 

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Hard-Working Guys

deckerhomerepairs.com

The gutter cleaning guys called and said they were delayed, and that they would be here around 2 pm. They got here as promised, and started work.  I received an estimate from the owner for cutting the broken branch off the mimosa tree at the bottom of the driveway, so they’re going to do that, too.

I showed them the garage fridge which has bottles of cold water, as well as where a bathroom was before they started. I just went to check on them, because it is SUPER hot out there. They seem to be doing fine. They were at the back of the house, trying to realign and support the end of the gutter run that is drooping. They’re cleaning the gutters, too.

One surprise – on the front of the house, one end of the house already has ‘screens’ on the guttering! They’ve been up there some 30 years or so, and WE haven’t had any interest in climbing up a two-story ladder to check things if we aren’t having problems, so I was really surprised. So was my husband!

I don’t know if they’ll change the estimate because of part of the guttering already having screens or not, but I’m inclined to pay them the full amount. The heat index is 108 this afternoon. I made sure they had cold water. They’re taking breaks every once in a while, sitting in the car a/c. I still feel bad it’s SOOO hot while they’re trying to work for us.

jaxstorm.realverse.us

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Addition to my Exercise Plan

funnypicclip.blogspot.com

I found an interesting guy online recently who seems to specialize in helping ‘the less fit in our population’ (read old, obese, sedentary, non-exercisers) get healthier and feel better.  He says we can do his program with no equipment and at no charge.  (skepticism here, but we’ll see.)

As you know, I’ve been using the elliptical trainer two or three times a week, and have been doing yoga stretches more often, but not daily. I’ve also been doing a weight exercise and an over-the-door-shoulder pulley exercise to try to address pain in the muscles that go from my neck to my shoulders, across the upper part of my back. The list of my problems might be impressive if I listed them, but I perked up when this enthusiastic man said he might be able to help me if I get the right mindset and cooperate with him, doing the work conscientiously.

He started sending me a lot of emails, plus his associates sent some – kind of putting me off. But I decided that I would look at one of them a day, no matter how many he sent, and give this an honest effort.

I looked at the first email yesterday. The focus of this one was to get down on paper WHY I wanted to do this. Not stuff like, lose weight, get fitter, etc – but WHY. What was the reason BEHIND all the obvious stuff? I finally got down to the fact that I want to be able to walk with our son when he visits from Thailand, not pooping out because my hips are screaming. I want to be able to keep up with him to enjoy every minute of our time together. (Our son is very generous, having provided a secure chat program where we can type at each other in real time, send messages, pictures, etc., PLUS a program like Skype, but tons better, that allows us to SEE each other and talk.) None of these, however, can make up for the fact that my ‘hugs bucket’ is empty, so I’m really happy when he says he’s trying to plan a trip home to visit a bit.

I want to be able to go to the local park with him, walk the new walking trail around the city, go with him to the mall, wherever he wants to go, whatever he would like to do. He walks a lot in Thailand, to and from town to get supplies (1.6K each direction). He doesn’t even notice he’s walking. I would only last about 100 feet and then my hips would be screaming and I have to sit down and ‘realign’ or something. They stop hurting soon after I sit down, and then I can continue for another session before having to stop again. I want to be able to walk without pain.

The online fitness guy says he can help me, showing people older than I (can you imagine?) and lardier than I (imagine that!) doing exercises that are helping them feel better and look better over time.

I’ll read his second email and listen to his next video today. I want to add this program to what I’m doing now. Maybe this will work!

(If I continue with this, I’ll give you his name and URL. I want to check this out before I give any more details.)

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Fierce Doggie!

Amber thinks she’s a fierce doggie, alert to all comers.  She weighs 92 pounds and is like a bull in a china shop, bulldozing her way around inside and out.

Today I was in our guest room going through books for possible sales and Amber pushed the door open with her nose. She came in happily, looking all around the room, licking me on the arm. Suddenly her hackles rose on her butt and on the back of her neck. She saw this –

 

She jumped backward and barked, looking very upset. I laughed and tried to pet her. She was still upset, hair still standing up as she moved closer to the dog, sniffed, and then backed up again, over and over.

Finally, I picked up the pile of books and called her to come with me. She did, but reluctantly – keeping a close eye on the intruder…

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This Never Happens

MommyGoneViral-www.pinterest.com

We were scheduled to have our gutters cleaned out, one part repaired, and then gutter covers installed – plus an estimate to cut down a tree branch that broke during the last storm – this afternoon at 4 pm. I had told the man that we need to leave at 7:30 this evening, and he said if they didn’t finish, they would be back tomorrow.

Then the phone rang this morning. I thought, “Oh, great. They aren’t coming.”

To my surprise, he asked if it was ‘okay’ if they come at 12:45 this afternoon since they were running ahead of schedule. I GRACIOUSLY said, “That would be GREAT!” and then did a happy dance after I hung up. :0)

So far, I’m really impressed with this guy. His name is Ryan and his company is Edwards Gutter Cleaning.  479-462-2663. He does all kinds of outside handyman work. I found him through HomeAdvisor.com.

He has called when he said he would; called to give me updates or to check on things; came and checked what we needed carefully, and will now come sooner than scheduled. This never happens, but it’s such a beautiful thing when our luck with contractors is less than stellar.

Now if his work is good, I will put his card in my ‘dependable people’ file and call him first for outside handyman type jobs in the future.

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“Fashion 1”

“Fashion 1” – Paul Militaru Photography

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Steve Morvell Painting

Pastel on Paper – Steve Morvell via Graeme Stevenson OAM-CEO – PutSomeColourinYourLife

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Cute T’s – Take 3

Email from Bill Lites

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Jennifer McChristian Painting

Jennifer McChristian – jmcchristian.blogspot.com-Reverenceblogger

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Orange

“Echinacea” – Paul Militaru Photography

 

“Imperial Lily” – Paul Militaru Photography

 

“Pipe of the Turkish” – Paul Militaru Photography

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Lunacy

workingtruckworld.com

Recently I told you that we found a wonderful guy who is coming tomorrow afternoon to clean out our gutters, install covers, PLUS give us an estimate for taking down parts of two trees. He’ll have his chainsaw in the back of his vehicle so he can do the tree work while he’s here if we like the estimate.

Yesterday I was sitting in my comfortable chair in the living room reading when I heard a strange sound in the back yard. I looked out to see our truck backed up toward the evergreen tree that has a huge dead place in the middle of it due to the power company clearing things for their lines, cutting stuff down in a really careless way.  My husband was up on a ladder, precariously balanced on the slope that runs down to the actual tree trunk, trying to tie a nylon rope to the dead part of the tree.

I screeched silently, grabbed my sweatband and sunglasses and ran out to the truck. I held onto the ladder while my husband got the line tied. The other end of the line was on the trailer hitch on the back of the truck. Amber was in the back of the truck, looking delighted.

We tried the technique several times before we finally pulled the largest dead branch off the tree. We untied it and rolled the whole branch into the easement behind the evergreen, across from the greenhouse and the ham radio tower. We were then able to use another tool to grab another large piece of dead stuff and pull it down.  We couldn’t get all of the dead stuff, but it looks a lot better than it did.  We’re all still alive and no one was hurt.

We still have the mimosa at the bottom of the driveway that suffered a broken branch. It’s hanging down halfway onto the driveway. I’m picturing the two of us tackling THAT, too, today, ahead of the handyman coming tomorrow.  To do this, my husband will have to stand in the back of the truck and try to use the chain saw on the branch. I’ll be in the truck – positioning it as closely as possible – and then dragging the branches across the road as they’re cut and tossing them down into the ravine on the other side of the road from us.

I’m thinking that this is a pride thing, where it’s better to kill ourselves than have to admit to someone else we’re too old to do it…

Please wish us luck.

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Gorgeous Glass – Take 12

Minden Pond Stained Glass – http://www.ryanfineartgallery.com

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Cute T’s – Take 2

Email from Bill Lites

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Practicing!

Kurt Vonnegut via GrowingBolder.com via Cathy Ruggiero

My friend Debbye Hughes, who was dying of recurrent metastatic breast cancer, got angry with me because I was afraid to even try to draw, paint, or do anything artistic. She looked at me, sitting in her bed, paintbrush in hand, and said, “Who CARES if your work never gets off your own refrigerator door? Who CARES if others don’t like it? JUST DO IT!!!!!”

That was in 2000, and I started painting, crafting, trying to draw, experimenting with all kinds of things that gave me joy. I started a website with the wonderful help of my son who designed my website to show my own stuff and then expanded it for me so that I could add the work of others. He helped with the the business, end, too, and I enjoyed 17 years of association with some of the most creative, talented people from all over the world I’ve ever known. I made friends long distance. I worked my heart out trying to do all I could with the tiny budget I had to promote all of our work. I wouldn’t give up the opportunity I had for anything.  I shut down my website, Creative Artworks, last year, and put my stuff on ArtFire and Etsy.

I love playing in my art room. The problem is that I have to set an alarm now so I don’t lose all track of time!  I just love experimenting with color, texture, and different techniques. I’m like a little kid with finger paints taking joy in the process.  Most of the time I make a mess. It just doesn’t turn out the way I envisioned it.  That doesn’t matter, though. I’m doing something I love. I’m practicing!

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Happiness is Lips Blowing in the Wind

I don’t have a picture of Amber’s joy at putting her head out of the window so that her lips and tongue blow in the wind, but this is a pretty close picture of what I see when I look in my rear view mirror. All we have to do is look like we’re getting up to leave, or say the word, “CAR” and she’s in. It doesn’t matter where we’re going. It doesn’t matter what the weather. She doesn’t like it when we LEAVE the car, but is happy when we return and the trip continues.

Today we took her to a yard sale on the way home from errands. She had already smiled at people who talked to her at Walmart. I can’t tell you how much I enjoy having a dog who isn’t growling or looking quite serious if people speak. The only thing I worry about now is that she wants to go with everyone! She goes right up into the truck of our UPS and FEDEX delivery people, and happily greets anyone coming up the driveway. The greeting is a bit exuberant, and we have to warn people that she doesn’t realize how big she is and might bowl them over…

She greeted people sitting under a tree at the yard sale with her usual smiling face. She started to whimper when we went to look at things quickly. We didn’t want to stay long because we had Amber – and a container of cottage cheese – in the car and it’s in the high 90’s, with a heat index of about 103. We hurried, and she was happy when we came back to the truck, each with goodies in our arms.

My husband got a really pretty lavender cylindrical glass vase and two votive holders he thought I would like. (I did!)

 

I fell in love with this handmade birdhouse! It’s made of real wood with something sturdy used as ‘shingles’ for the roof.

 

I think I’ll hang it up near a larger one on the porch so it doesn’t fall apart in the weather. I just love it!

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My World

hooplaHa_via Carol Auclair Daly

I worked every summer from the time I was 14 through college, and then at full time jobs as a teacher, reading clinic owner/teacher, administrative secretary. medical transcriptionist/bookkeeper, and website owner/artist for some 57 years all told. Now I am retired, and busier than I’ve ever been. I honestly don’t know how I used to have time to work full time!

Some people have real trouble adapting to a retired lifestyle. I’m very sorry for that. I have so MANY things I would like to do that I rarely have enough energy or time in the day to even make a dent in my list. I get overwhelmed with my ‘shoulds’ from time to time, and it’s been a long time since I gave myself permission to play in my art room, but I love the world my husband and I worked so many years to create. We also had the good fortune to inherit from our parents, so we’re comfortable financially if we don’t get stupid and greedy.

I love being able to decide my priorities for the day – being free to be really productive or enjoy NOT being. :0)

I’m happy that I can entertain myself. I guess I could be a hermit with little trouble, spending days and days up here on top of my ridge line with my husband and our animals, my flowers and my garden, my greenhouse and our shop, my books and my art room, my computer and my blog – plus the chat program that is a direct line to our son far away – one day spilling into the next – the weeks, months, and years flying past my head, making my hair blow.

I’m lucky enough to have relatives and friends that add so much fun, joy, and love to this hermit.

“I live in my own little world, but it’s ok, they know me here.”

 

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Gorgeous Glass Art – Take 11

Dale Chihuly blue glass art

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Red

“Fire in My Heart” – Paul Militaru Photography

 

“Geraniums” – Paul Militaru Photography

 

“Guzmania Flower” – Paul Militaru Photography

 

“Red and White” – Paul Militaru Photography

 

“Woman’s Scent” – Paul Militaru Photography

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Amber’s Pool is Clean-ER

Our yellow lab ‘puppy’ is now is almost 16 months old. She weighs 92 pounds (officially on the vet’s scales) and to say that she loves water is the understatement of all time.

I try to clean her pool every 3 days or so, and I have to say, it’s a big job. When it’s half full, as it is in this picture, neither my husband nor I can lift the edge to try to empty it. We tried it together, with both of us on one side, and still can’t do it.

What we’ve finally come up with is to push down on one side, in effect, crumpling the plastic, pushing down hard as the water flows out. Then I take the car broom (long handled and really soft brush) and scrub it out with the rest of the old water. Then I crumple the side some more, getting as much water out as possible. THEN I’m barely able to lift one side as the rest of the water goes out.

When empty, it’s a simple thing of using a cleaner spray, scrubbing with the broom again, and then lots of rinsing. When the pool is clean, we put the hose on full blast with the thingie on the end that keeps the water flowing whether you’re holding it or not and put it in the pool with two bricks on top. When the pool is about half full, the job is done.

Today my husband wanted to help and insisted we bring Amber. He immediately figured out that wearing his socks and sandals wasn’t the best for dealing with LOTS of water, so he stood back.

Amber took my messing with her pool to mean it was play time and she kept trying to get into the pool with the yucky water. As I got the water out, it of course forms mud all around the pool, since the place my husband wants the pool now is in the shade and out of the way of the mower. Amber thought it was great fun to play in the mud – laying down in it at several points, and then trying again to get into the pool.

I finally got the pool half full. My husband got Amber to sit and I hosed her off – with her trying to bite the spray from the hose.

She jumped into the pool as we hung the hose back up on the end of the house, probably putting a bunch of mud into the freshly cleaned pool. I just ignored it, not wanting to see the damage so soon.

At least the water in the pool is clean-ER and cool now. I won’t cringe – at least for awhile, when Amber drinks it as she walks around the inside of the pool before plopping down in it.

  • Addendum – just now she barked at the garage door wanting to come in. I got her toweled off enough finally that I could let her in. She headed straight for the big dog bed in the living room for a well-earned nap.

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Cute T’s – Take 1

email from Bill Lites

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Melting

“Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul.” – Luther Burbank

The heat index today is 103, and might get to 105.  The only thing that really bothers me – having the luxury of staying inside in the a/c when the weather is this hot – is that this is happening in JUNE, not mid-July or August, when it usually does.  Makes me really wonder what it’ll be in our usual HOT months.

We have already switched to summer mode around here, where we’re inside during the day, if possible, and then dash out at about 7 pm and do as much in the yard as we can, leaving more for the next evening.

Last night I weed-whacked the front yard while my husband mowed in the back. He ordered new blades for the mower, and they came today. He put them on in the shop this afternoon, after having the a/c on out there for about an hour, then came back in to cool off.  I’m not sure if he’ll mow the front yard tonight, but I’m going to see if I can finish the basic weed whacking.  Amber doesn’t care that the water in her kiddie pool is yucky after the storms, but I do! I’m going to see if I can get that cleaned out and refilled, too.

As we age, my husband and I have noticed that we’re ‘comfortable’ in a MUCH narrower range of temperatures. I used to love to sunbathe when I was a teenager. I really loved the heat, baking until I could throw myself into a pool, then baking again. I would have loved to live near the beach, so I could play with some sandpipers a bit, too. Now I walk from the house to the car in the garage and I’m already too hot. I can work outside now only if I wear a sweatband. I quietly picture myself as looking if I’m on a tennis court, dressed and ready for the first volley, even though I KNOW I’m an actually an old broad trying to last an hour while weed-whacking. Last night I came in, practically gasping for breath after working an hour, going straight for a bottle of water and a towel. I saw myself in a mirror and laughed aloud when I saw what I looked like. I looked a bit more human after a nice shower and clean clothes :0). I think our range of ‘comfortable’ temperatures now is about 20 degrees before we’re too hot or too cold.

I’ve told you we live on top of a ridge line in Greenwood, Arkansas. When we found our land and built our home over 30 years ago, we had the construction people use dynamite to blow up the back yard while they were already blasting for our septic system, etc. We (mainly me) dreamed of having a swimming pool. My husband wanted one with a diving board. I taught swimming each summer from the time I was 14 until after I was in college. I dreamed of being able to dump myself in our pool just before bed at night, swimming my heart out until I was relaxed and exhausted. We ran out of money before we could build the pool, so it remained only a dream. Now – if I win the lottery, or the Publisher’s Clearing House, I would still like to build a pool in the back yard, along with a really great-looking young pool boy to keep it perfect at all times…

In the meantime, I’ll delight in working in my garden and my flower planters in the hour before dark, trying to figure out the best way to use my new greenhouse to best effect. (It’s over 120 degrees in there now, even with the exhaust fan going.)

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Painting – Ivan Aivazovsky

Ivan Aivazovsky – todiscoverrussia.com

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“Lunch Bunch” is Renamed “Breakfast Bunch”

amazing-creature.blogspot.com

A nice counselor from NutriSystem (NS) helped me work through a plateau in my weight loss efforts recently. The chat facility is one of the things I really like.

She suggested that I NOT skip anything on the list of what I should be eating for the day, and that I should try swapping the NS lunches and dinners for a week to see if that helped. She also told me to make sure that the powerfuel and smartcarb snacks each had 80 calories.  I’m really happy that these suggestions have worked!

I went for a celebration FLEX  lunch this week for getting to 1100 subscribers to this blog. :0)   I had a delicious lobster tail, steamed broccoli, wild rice, and a Red Lobster biscuit. I don’t get many celebrations, and I LOVE lobster tail, so I threw caution to the winds and enjoyed every butter-soaked mouthful. AND gained 2 pounds. 

I lost one of the pounds yesterday, but today we’re going to ‘Lunch Bunch.’  We like their fried chicken fingers.  I’ve tried counting this at a FLEX ‘lunch,’ but we eat this too early for it to be ‘lunch,’ for us, really making a mess of the rest of our day, so today I’m going to call it a FLEX ‘breakfast.’ This way I’m hopeful that we can do more or less our regular eating schedule the rest of the day.  We skipped our NS breakfast and our FLEX breakfast will take the place of that AND a snack at 11:30. We’ll have a snack at 2:30 and then we’ll be back on schedule. At least I HOPE that works for us.

The FLEX thing is the hardest for me to work into our eating. We need to be able to do our normal social things with friends we love. We look forward to real ice cream after bowling on Monday evenings (FLEX snack) and then our “Lunch Bunch” (FLEX breakfast) on Fridays and fried chicken fingers. If we can make this work, we’ll be home free on the rest of it.

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How to be Happy?

polyvore.com

 

“Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” –  Marcel Proust

“Happiness is a by-product of an effort to make someone else happy.” ~ Gretta Brooker Palmer

 

 

Leo Tolstoy -sayingimages.com

 

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Filed under Attitude, Encouragement, Favorite Quotes, Good Thoughts