Tag Archives: yoga

June 28, 2021 · 9:57 am

Baby Steps – In the Right Direction

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I accomplished my goal of losing 2 lbs. last week. I am almost to my goal of reaching the 30-pounds-off-from-my-heaviest weight landmark. I am happy that I’m making some progress toward my goal of losing my lard and getting as strong and flexible as I can.

I did my second yoga practice yesterday. My husband was encouraging, though he has no appreciation for how stiff, sore, and inflexible this old lady can get. He asked me if I were having an easier time of it. I had to tell him that SOME of the positions were a bit better, but some were more difficult, because I hadn’t been practicing as I should – that it would probably be at least Sunday of THIS week before I felt much difference. He is encouraging me – as HE stretches out for a nap in his chair – :0) – and that is good motivation, too.

I feel calm, happy that I am now on the way to being healthier, am practicing good eating habits and exercising. One day at a time. Baby steps – in the right direction.

taolife.com

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June 13, 2021 · 11:17 am

Getting Older

suzyswede.com

I have a yoga routine that I am trying to do every afternoon now. It’s “Old Lady” yoga, emphasizing good, long, slow stretches rather than asking me to fold my body into a paper airplane and then fly out the window.

I’m grateful to Kat Kabira for making a DVD that got me started several years ago now. She has given me the opportunity to get more flexible, strengthen my core muscles, lessen my pain, and learn to relax. (Of course, I actually have to DO the routine in order to reap its benefits. I am finally caught up enough from gremlins causing problems in our house that I am actively making time for my practice now.)

I’m also adding some positions to my core routine. Since it will be too hot, even with the fan on the all, to do my elliptical trainer out in the garage, a longer, richer yoga routine should take up some of the slack. I’m trying to add at least one new position to my routine each day.

I don’t want my body parts to fall off as I’m working in the garden. It’s good motivation to keep up the yoga…

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April 2, 2021 · 10:04 am

Good Job for an Old Broad

Wiffle Gif

I’ve been moving a LOT more lately, but I’m not nearly as cute as this sweet girl.

Yesterday I started going through things that I brought home from the booth I shared with a friend in town. I’m planning to add more of my products to my page on Amazon Handmade. I will then put away the other stuff. This means a lot of bending over, cleaning out boxes and bags, stacking things I want to list, taking some stuff to my art room upstairs, taking other things out to my bins in the shop, etc.

I had gotten a pretty good start on this when we discovered that the work on the house would be starting at 8am this morning. That meant that everything on the porch needed to go elsewhere. My husband was working on our mower, so I spent a couple of hours going up and down on a step stool, taking down our decorations and taking them out onto the deck or into the garage, depending on whether they could stand to be rained on or not. Now the deck and garage are full of stuff and the porch was clean and empty.

Today I will do a bunch of weed whacking since my husband is doing the mowing. I will also do clean up of the debris with the leaf blower.

In the meantime, I’m weeding the new spring garden, cleaning out planters, getting flowers to plant, and we will check the irrigation system for the yard, repairing any blowouts or leaks.

If there is time and energy, I’m trying to work in my yoga stretches and time on my elliptical trainer in the garage.

This old broad is moving! Just hope that this makes and keeps me stronger and stronger. It DOES help me sleep well…

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March 1, 2021 · 10:11 am

New Month – New Chance

Spoon University

My scales are finally beginning to take notice of my efforts to lose the lard.
Though I vary on eating between meals, my basic program remains the same. I am eating healthy individual portion frozen dinners prepared by good people at either REAL FOOD or STU’S CLEAN COOKIN’ in Greenwood. The ingredients and amounts are listed on the meals. No unpronounceable additives or preservatives are used.

Otherwise, a sandwich or tuna salad, sugar-free jello, and olives or grapes for lunch.

Now that our weather is finally warming up, I don’t dread spending time on my elliptical trainer in the garage as much. I’m trying to do 35 minutes on it three times a week and my yoga stretches every day. I’m doing pretty well at that, even though I have missed days due to helping my husband fix all the stuff that is falling apart around here lately.

I gave up on my efforts to start seeds. I got some messy sprouts, but all were trying their best to die, so I stopped. My title as ‘Serial Seed Killer” remains. :0( Happily, some plants are available locally. I’m trying to decide if I should go ahead and plant things, even though our average last frost date isn’t until April 5th.

I hope that today is a good day for you.

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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 4, 2021 · 10:53 am

W-D 40

Momma Giggles – Facebook – Pinterest

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I may be dense, but there is hope.

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December 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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December 6, 2020 · 9:45 am

Making Calories Scream

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I am trying to get outside about 30 minutes to an hour each afternoon to continue making the yard as presentable as possible for the coming winter. I’m doing it in the afternoons because right now it’s 32 degrees F. and absolutely too cold to care about yard work. If it warms up to the low 50s as it’s supposed to, I’m planning to stick with my plan.

I enjoy working in the yard unless it involves lots of hauling or things that make my back hurt. Happily, most of the things I’m doing are simply good exercise. I can enjoy the sun, fresh air, get some good exercise, and earn a gold star to go on my desk calendar while making the yard look a bit nicer. :0)

Yesterday I PLANNED to weed whack in the garden area. I MEANT to do it, PLANNED to do it, THOUGHT about doing it, but didn’t actually get out there and DO it. My only excuse is sloth. I DID so some cleaning and cooking, but hopefully I’ll do a better job today.

I’m also trying to do a half hour or so on my elliptical, but the yard work is tending to take the place of that – particularly since it is in our garage, and the priority is to get the yard work done while the temperature is warmer. I AM doing a session of yoga to stretch everything out before the afternoon is over daily.

All this makes me wish I were what I call an ‘exercise nut,’ who LIVES to run a million miles a day, or work themselves into a frazzle at the gym, or fold themselves into a pretzel while touching their nose to the floor – their feet stretching to the wall behind them, forgetting to eat in their zeal for a lithe, slim, limber body.

I’ll have to content myself with the IDEA that I might be making a few calories scream…

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November 30, 2020 · 10:01 am

An Old Broad’s Exercise

I gave myself TWO gold stars on my desk calendar yesterday:

One for 35 minutes on my elliptical trainer in the garage; and another for the 30 minutes or so of old lady yoga stretches I did in the afternoon. :0)

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I am planning to do this again today – not making excuses or giving other things priority – a difficult thing for me.

Even though I KNOW that I actually feel better when I exercise – feeling more in control, a bit ‘virtuous,’ and actually looser – I fall into my bad habits over and over.

I’m hoping that the fact that I keep trying is a good thing overall.

I will get some added exercise today – we had a freeze overnight. I thought my plants had come through it, or it didn’t actually get to freezing, but just discovered I was wrong.

Before the freeze

My elephant ear plant leaves are hanging over, completely done in by Mother Nature. It’s really cold outside now – 29 degrees F. with a stiff wind, but I will go out and try to cut the leaves off and bring the bulbs into the garage for storage in peat moss and potting soil.

Maybe with the added work outside, I can give myself THREE stars today…

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November 16, 2020 · 10:04 am

Good Food

LiveAbout

Isn’t this the sweetest dog? I really like this gif!

I LOVE the fact that I am losing weight AND enjoying the food we’re eating from REAL FOOD in Greenwood, Arkansas. We will pick up our newest order today.

I’m doing a better job of staying active, too, now that the weather is more fall-like. My elliptical trainer is in the garage, and – even though I have a fan in there – I really get too hot out there. NOW it’s great. I’m trying to do 35 minutes daily. I’m doing a half hour or so of old lady yoga stretches daily that are really good for trying to building strength and flexibility, plus even some balance. It’s also good for getting rid of the sore muscles I get from doing other physical stuff. Rounding these out with the yard work I’ve been doing means that I’m getting a good workout most days.

taolife.com

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August 8, 2020 · 2:29 pm

Earning Gold Stars

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!

 

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July 27, 2020 · 11:33 am

Muggy Monday

Attack of the Cute

My husband and I did a few errands this morning and then I got on my elliptical trainer for the first time in umpteen months. My trainer lives in the garage and it’s really hot out there. I managed 15 minutes this morning – better than nothing. I’ll try it again on Wednesday and see if I can do 20. I will, of course, do my 35+ minutes of yoga stretching and abdominal exercises this afternoon. (I gave myself a star for the elliptical and will earn another with the yoga this afternoon.) :0)

One of our errands this morning was refilling our sweet Molly’s prescriptions for antibiotics and pain/inflammation relief medicines. I’ve told you she has malignant cancer. It’s in one side of her jaw. She has quite a sizable, firm lump there that is growing. The vet and I talked frankly. Molly was 15 in February. We decided to try to keep her as comfortable as possible, giving her as many happy dog days as we can in the time she has left. She is still able to eat and drink, and enjoys demanding to go out, and then come in again – for a treat. I’m making sure we have PLENTY of the two treats she loves, and am VERY freely dispensing them. She has been with us since she was a small puppy. We are cherishing each day.

My husband is grinning because our grass is at the PERFECT stage, according to him – brown and crunchy! He wishes it would stay that way the rest of the summer. We are due for some rain this week, though, so he’ll have to enjoy it while he can. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday forecasts show a good chance of rain, plus a little bit of relief from the humidity.

I made Suzanne Ryan’s (Simply Keto) recipe for keto chili yesterday, and we ate a bowl last night. My husband sighed with pleasure. We will enjoy a bowl for the second DIY dinner, plus one of the DIY lunches this week.

I haven’t decided what my next clean up project will be. I’ll look around and decide priorities, planning on taking a donation to the Disabled Vets in Fort Smith by the end of NEXT week.

I hope that YOU are having a good day today.

 

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July 26, 2020 · 10:58 am

Diet Progress

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?

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July 25, 2020 · 4:50 pm

Today’s Project

Leaderonomics.com

I have told you that I am a championship level procrastinator.

This time, I’ve been giving everything else priority over updating our important spreadsheet records and ignoring the monthly bookkeeping – just shoving the paperwork in file folders and watching glumly as the pile grew.

This week I’ve been working hard on the important spreadsheet updates. I make copies of everything for our files in a couple of secure places in the house, plus copies for the safe deposit box. I will also arrange with our son for him to have access to the updated versions. I try to do this every six months. Sometimes it’s amazing how many things change in that period of time. Things happen one at a time and you just don’t really notice. Anyway, I feel good that those are up to date now. :0)

The monthly bookkeeping paperwork was piled up from APRIL. Yeah, I know. I should be flogged.

Now all of THAT is up to date, with all of the filing that goes with that!

And, finally –

Pets | Animals

Clipart Library

I just earned gold star #6 for the week on my yoga practice! I’m starting to actually FEEL some improvement now. I’m taking things slowly, stretching things out and breathing into the poses, taking as much time as I need to relax as much as possible, or to do as many repetitions as I can in order to breathe into the poses. I spend around 30 minutes daily on the mat. I’m trying to combine the stretching with abdominal exercises.

Today, Abby, one of our cats, joined me. She WANTED to lie down on my stomach while I was stretching out on my back. When I discouraged that, she moved to my side. I finally got her to get up on the couch and stare holes through me as she watched my practice. :0)

I’m feeling victorious in my efforts to actually get something significant done today.

Happy Saturday!

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July 15, 2020 · 10:17 am

Folding Myself Into a Paper Airplane

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As part of my ‘get-my-act-together’ effort lately, I’ve started to do yoga again. I do “Gentle Yoga” stretches from the DVD “Gentle Yoga” with Cat Kabira through SixtyandMe.  Due to stubbornness and stupidity, I don’t make time for it as I should, even though it makes me feel better. That said, I’ve gotten started again, realizing that over the time I HAVEN’T practiced, I’ve stiffened up again and am feeling sore. DUH!

The fact that the pounds I’ve gained during “COVID-19 stay-at-home-mostly ” are starting to come OFF with our South Beach Diet makes me feel more like exercising. It’s as hot as an oven outside now, so the walking for 10 minutes three times daily they suggest to start is actually twice a day – in the morning and before dark.

It was really hard to get started with the yoga again. It took me several minutes to relax enough to actually lie still and breathe into lying on my back on my yoga mat. Whatever the muscles are behind my shoulder blades were screaming and not wanting to let go. Once I got THAT done, the rest was just moving through the poses I know help me, SLOWLY stretching me out and breathing into each pose, doing what I can do now.

I felt better – plus fairly virtuous – afterwards, so I’ll go back to putting a gold star on my calendar each day I complete the yoga and see if that keeps me going.

Less lard, more flexibility, gold star, and a happy face from me. A good way to spend part of the day!

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June 20, 2020 · 9:12 am

Thoughts on a Saturday – June 20, 2020

Citizens State Bank

“A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken.” — James Dent

The sun was out earlier here, but now it’s overcast. We have an 80% chance of storms today – the first day of summer. All people and animals are good today, and we’re hoping for a quiet weekend.

I pre-ordered the latest paperback “In Death” series book by J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts) awhile back. It comes out in July.  To celebrate this, I’m enjoying my dive into the world of Eve Dallas, Lieutenant in the NYPSD in the year 2058+.  I’m picking up details I missed the first time, as well as just enjoying inhabiting her world – so different from mine. I’m re-reading book # 23 right now (out of 50) and will be ready to add the newest book to my collection when it arrives. (I’ve also pre-ordered the paperback of #51 which will be out at the end of December.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are due for a rainy weekend. I’ve been working hard in the yard, trying to keep the weeds at bay. I see evidence that the ‘wild’ would simply take back the land we have enjoyed for over 30 years now if I lost my determination to win the war. The civilized part of our yard looks pretty good now. My next focus will be on weeding my veggie garden and my flower planters around the yard. I’ll enjoy it if I get a bit of a break from the work this weekend.

I heated up the leftover spaghetti with meat sauce I made this week for dinner last night. I used the spaghetti made from chickpeas (brand name Banza) that has half the carbs of regular pasta. It’s still a splurge, but I sure enjoyed it. I made garlic toast for my husband with hot dog buns, and used the keto bread I made for mine.)  My husband said, “This was delicious. Thank you!” :0)  We will have leftover pork chops tonight with a side salad.

Animal Wellness Magazine

I will continue the longer, slower sessions of gentle yoga I started yesterday. I’m concentrating on relaxing – harder to do these days – and S_T_R_E_T_C_H_I_N _G everything I have slowly and thoroughly. I’m feeling better because of it.

I hope your first day of summer is a nice one, too. ENJOY.

 

 

 

 

 

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June 17, 2020 · 2:39 pm

Earning My Salt Today

Where did the phrase originate – The expression to be worth one’s salt, which means you’re competent and deserve what you’re earning, is most often said to have its roots in ancient Rome, where soldiers were sometimes paid in salt or given an allowance to purchase it.

I just came in from filling our 2-gallon container of KillzAll weed killer twice and spraying it around the civilized part of our yard. I’m making progress. I can tell where I have been, and that’s a good thing. My husband continued to work on repairs to our irrigation system for the yard while I did that. We’re both pooped now, having ‘earned our salt’ for the day, and will relax with lots of cold water and our comfortable recliners.

We are lucky. Our temperatures are pretty warm, but the humidity isn’t lethal yet. Hopefully, we can get the irrigation system working the way it should before the really hot weather hits. We have one system that waters the front planters first, and then switches to the back on a timer so we don’t have to get out and hold hoses every day like we used to do.

One of my goals with the weed killer is to make it so that there isn’t so MUCH to weed whack every time we mow. I don’t mind doing SOME, but it takes me two DAYS or more to weed whack everything now, and it all has to be done again the very next week. We have a lot of poison ivy bordering the civilized part of the yard, so one of my missions is to get that killed off as much as possible, too.

As far as exercise today, the carrying the heavy container and spraying is one part. As soon as I cool off some, I’ll do some nice gentle yoga stretches.

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March 15, 2020 · 2:31 pm

Keto Cooking

“Keto Chili” from Suzanne Ryan, Simply Keto

My husband requests this chili regularly. We both love it. A nice comfort type food for cool, rainy days as we have been having.

 

myketokitchen.com

This keto bread has allowed me to stay on my eating plan without feeling deprived. I was REALLY missing bread. My husband, who is almost at the weight he should be, and who is only having to watch sugar, eats regular rolls, bagels, toast, etc.   I tried to be upbeat about it, but it was bothering me more and more. Sometimes I just gave in and had some of his bread, and then felt really guilty. The scales, of course, told me how bad this was.

I finally found this keto bread recipe. I wanted ONE recipe that could serve several purposes – I could butter a slice as if it were a roll with dinner,  I could put a slice in the toaster and eat it with bacon and eggs. I can even use it for a sandwich, though it’s a bit crumbly for that. It doesn’t rise as much as a regular loaf of bread, but I like it – a LOT.

Eating like this, plus doing my yoga daily (this is Day 3 of my restart) and planning to add back my elliptical trainer sessions starting tomorrow, will hopefully help me shed my excess poundage.

 

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February 15, 2020 · 12:33 pm

Thoughts on a Saturday 2-15-2020

The sun is ALMOST shining today and it’s warmer, so I’m a happy camper.

We just got back from running errands. We have two main things on our list today –

THING ONE – getting a replacement collar for the shock collar we use rarely with our 94+ pound yellow lab, Amber. The shock part is still working, but the collar is too short now. Once we get one we can use, we’ll start working with her again in the yard. We need to be able to take her to the vet, for example, without worrying about her pulling my husband or me down and making us face surf on the ground. Our biggest problem is that she minds well when we are by ourselves. She looks at us as if she has never seen us before and is totally deaf when we are out in public.

THING TWO – adjusting a door knob assembly so that the door to the guest room closes and stays closed, rather than opening with the nose of a dog or cat.

I told you that we don’t really celebrate any holidays like birthdays, Valentine’s Day, anniversaries, etc. My husband was raised without big celebrations and I don’t want him to feel obligated to get me something just because of the calendar.  When we find something we think the other will like, we get it and give it, regardless of the day.

I have also told you that I’m a very happy, spoiled lady who is treated better than I deserve 99% of the time. Two examples –

He bought me these earrings a couple of weeks ago. I just love them. They gave me some trouble trying to actually get them into my ears, though. The post is curved and didn’t want to go through the hole in my ear. I kept trying. I finally decided to wait until my earlobes were completely happy and THEN try them. I wore them yesterday!!!! My husband was a bit disappointed, saying they were ‘small,’ but they looked pretty. I tried to get a pic of them with me wearing them, but I wasn’t able to.

TODAY I opened a package in the mail to find these –

The picture doesn’t show how sparkly they are. They are called, “sidewinders” or something similar because you see the whole circle while they are in your ear, not just an outside edge. I will put them on and try to get a picture. Fingers crossed!

See what I mean about being happy and spoiled?

After several days of running like a nut, I’m fairly caught up today.

I am planning to –

  • Bake a loaf of keto bread
  • Get back into exercising – with my elliptical trainer in the garage plus a session of yoga later today.

I hope that YOUR Saturday is a fun one!

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January 8, 2020 · 11:56 am

Hello!

Wild and Wonderful

I hope you’re having a wonderful Wednesday.

It’s nice and fall-like here, with sunshine. It’ll get to 60 today. I’m lovin’ it!

My back is almost completely healed now, so I’m very grateful.  I’ll continue to do the multiple sessions each day until the soreness is gone.

I’m continuing to gather things for the first declutter donation.

AND I’m hoping to sneak up to my art room this afternoon.

Have a wonderful day, everyone.

 

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November 1, 2019 · 1:04 pm

Slow but Steady Progress in Getting the Lard Off

Spoon University

I have been on the plateau from Hell for a long time now.  I’m FINALLY in a regimen that is breaking through that. My eating plan is intermittent fasting and keto, paying particular attention to macros.

 

 

Pinterest

I was kidding myself, THINKING I was eating keto, but didn’t actually make any progress until I started making sure I was eating according to the percentages of fat, protein, and carbs I should have daily. I use a program called Cronometer    which allows me to log what I plan to eat, modify if necessary, and add the exercise I’m doing.  I’m still doing a bit of yo-yoing, since eating out is a bit of a challenge, or life gets in the way, but at this point I’ve lost a total of 43 lbs and am showing signs of a smirking set of scales in my future.

 

Rabbit Care Tips

My bigger news is my exercising efforts. I have gotten more serious about doing 35 minutes on my elliptical trainer and 35 or so minutes of yoga stretching daily, adding gold star stickers to my desk calendar when I have been a good girl. My efforts have yielded some definite smirks from my measuring tape this month. I have now lost a total of 47.2 inches. 

Though my weight loss goals remain the same (I’m planning to lose another 30 or so pounds and whatever inches go with that), the exciting thing is that I FEEL BETTER. I have much less pain in my joints and back. I have more energy to do what I want to do (like play in my art room). I am feeling more confident now that I can continue losing the lard and one day meet my goal.

Thanks to Suzanne Ryan of Simply Keto, and Makinze of Delish.com, I’m finding lots of good recipes to try. My husband is VERY pleased with my cooking efforts and actually requests that I make many of the recipes again. The latest favorites are “Keto Chili” and  “Sausage, Egg & Cheese Bake” – both from Suzanne. A close second is “Keto Fried Chicken” by Makinze of Delish.

Feeling in more control and that I CAN one day meet my goals is making me a much happier person. I want to stay as healthy as possible for as long as I can.

 

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October 26, 2019 · 12:40 pm

Thoughts on a Saturday 10-26-2019

Cheap Trip

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

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

 

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

I’m doing 35 minutes on the elliptical trainer

Penn Fitness Warehouse

 

and 35-45 minutes on my yoga stretching

Why Kol

 

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

 

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

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October 19, 2019 · 2:07 pm

Thoughts on a Saturday – 10-19-2019

Marcie Patterson – LinkedIn

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

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

 

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

Pinterest

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

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

I hope you are having a nice Saturday, too.

 

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October 17, 2019 · 11:36 am

Thoughts on a Thursday 10-17-2019

We Love Earth

 

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

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

I’m on DAY 45 of daily yoga practice

Why Kol

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

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

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

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October 15, 2019 · 11:32 am

Thoughts on a Tuesday 10-15-2019

We Love Earth

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

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

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

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

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

Have a glorious Tuesday!

 

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October 12, 2019 · 5:49 pm

Trifecta!

NPR

I had a GREAT day.

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

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

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October 7, 2019 · 3:51 pm

Thoughts on a Monday – 10-7-2019

Jeff Jett

Our weather is perfect today – sun shining and 73 degrees F.  Just gorgeous!

We went shopping this morning. Ever since then I’ve been working to get my second Etsy shop opened. It isn’t completely finished yet. I’m back to the drawing board on banners. I don’t like the way any of the ones I made looked. But if you’d like to see it without the banner, the shop is called, Totably Yours.

Last week was a 12-Gold-Star week  (7 for yoga practice and 5 for elliptical.)  I’m now doing a new exercise regimen I started yesterday, doing 20 minutes on the elliptical trainer every morning and yoga practice for 35 minutes every afternoon. I’m thinking about adding either Annoying Leslie’s Walking Video or a Dance Video in the middle several days, but we’ll see. The cooler weather is making me want to move more, so I’m looking forward to a good week. :0)

I’m heading upstairs to work on a new banner now.

I hope that the weather is such where you are that YOU feel more energetic these days, too!

 

 

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October 3, 2019 · 10:26 am

Thoughts on a Thursday – 10-3-2019

Jeff Jett

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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September 30, 2019 · 9:30 am

Thoughts on a Monday – 9-30-2019

Wild About Nature

September came and went so fast my hair is blowing!

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

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

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

Enjoy the last day of September.

 

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September 21, 2019 · 10:29 am

Thoughts on a Saturday 9-21-2019

 

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

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

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

Downshiftology

 

Pamela Salzman

 

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

Women’s Health

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

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

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

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

I wish YOU a quiet, satisfying day.

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September 19, 2019 · 11:45 am

Thoughts on a Thursday 9-10-2019

Jeff Jett – LinkedIn

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

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

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

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

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

 

 

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