The secret ingredient is crack (just kidding!)

Can I tell you how good the chicken was last night? We agreed next time we’d do 2 roasted jalapenos per stuffed breast instead of one, but it was awesome. And it tasted like homemade jalapeno poppers! It got me thinking and I said we could use the idea to recreate other flavors (I miss pizza!). I suggested pizza and the response I got was “How about fettuccine alfredo?” Yes, it’s on hub’s “most missed” list. If you stuff the breast with broccoli and mushrooms and put alfredo sauce on top I bet it would be awesome! So not only a good meal, but a concept for more really good meals!

I have been disappointed with my weight loss this week – only half a pound. Since everything is the same, I find that a little frustrating. Oh well, consistent behavior leads to a trend of consistent results, there are always blips up and down of that trend line. I’ll just stay on course and things will even out.

Have a great weekend!

mid week

This morning I helped hub get his lunch packed. After that I made juice (carrot, apple, cucumber) as well as a green drink. The green drink contained: 1 banana, mixed frozen berries, bee pollen, VitaMineral green powder, chia and flax seeds, spinach, and water. Now that my mom isn’t here, I will probably stop with the juice once we use up the carrots & stuff – we are both eating so many veggies it feels a little redundant. OTOH, the dogs love the carrot pulp in their food, so I may still juice periodically. I think the green drink feels more important for us these days. Any excuse to get extra greens.


Breakfast (for both of us) this week is a hamburger with baked beans. Lunch is a salad the size of Montana with grilled chicken. My snack is 12 almonds (if I feel hungry mid morning) – hub is taking a couple of boiled eggs, sardines, apple, and almonds for him to nibble on as needed during the day.

Last night’s dinner was awesome – I have a recipe for doing a chicken in the crock pot with just spices and a diced onion that is so simple and tastes amazing! Tonight we had “jalapeno popper stuffed chicken breast” – I beat chicken breasts until they were thin then covered them in a mixture of cream and shredded cheddar cheese (not too much) then added a roasted jalapeno (hub did them on the grill and I pulled the skin off and took the seeds etc. out) and a slice of bacon. Then I rolled it up. When I got home I baked them - amazing. We had sweet potato and roasted brussel sprouts on the side.

Last night I had a good workout at the gym – 45 minutes on the arc trainer. Today was AMP class with Jeff. Woot!

I must figure out why the frogs love our back yard and figure out how to make it inhospitable.

Das boy wants me to drive up and pick him & Katy up after her mom’s birthday July 6. Mom told him she didn’t think that would work. Uh, no. Unless death, birth, or marriage of someone every important is involved, I do NOT travel in July. Two reasons: Pennsic prep and Tour de France. Sorry. Coverage is anywhere from 2-6 hours per day. (The only really long airtime is on days of critical mountain stages – usually only 2 of those, one each from the Pyrenees and the Alps). Still, miss a day or two and you are totally lost on what is going on. Also, watching the Tour is my Pennsic prep – sewing, mending, cooking, packing – it all goes on this month, with the Tour as the backdrop. I become a recluse.

I guess that makes me sound terribly selfish, but I’m tired of being accommodating for everyone but me. I need my prep time darnit!

For the curious - Overhauling your food

I am fortunate in that for years now I have planned and cooked most of our food. I thought we ate pretty healthy (and we did eat healthier than a lot of folks) but when hub got diagnosed with diabetes, we had to take a hard look at the menus and cupboards.

I threw away open boxes of pasta, crackers, etc. It was just easier not to have it around. We have eliminated bread, pasta, and all grains except quinoa and I have some sprouted wild rice mixed with quinoa. I know that sounds hard.

We eat a lot of stuff that anyone following a paleo diet would turn their nose up at: some cheese, an occasional diet soda or popsicle, last night we had a couple of corn tortillas each with dinner. We simply chose what we were willing to give up in order to achieve the goals of weight reduction and hub’s blood sugar reduction. The processed carbs had to get the boot, no question. We opted to leave some things that aren’t healthy (sugar free popsicles are nothing but chemicals), but that would make the transition easier. In time those things may go as well, or we may just accept a certain amount of crap in our diet – I don’t know.

But I will say this: it gets easier. Some meals are so easy to adapt it requires no thought: tonight we had a chicken in the crock pot with baked organic sweet potatoes and steamed artichokes. Other things were tougher (lasagna). Some things I’ve adapted (like lasagna) and others have simply fallen by the wayside (homemade chicken and dumplings are gone with the white flour).

Here’s the thing: 1) it’s not like we can never eat those things again, ever. We can, but right now it is simply too important to mess around with “moderation.” Define a moderate amount of cyanide, for example. If something is pure poison, how much is it okay to ingest? My body treats a chemical like a toxin and processes it as such (like a popsicle) but it doesn’t do the kind of active damage that pasta will to the hub. That’s where we drew our line in the sand. Your line may be somewhere else.

But overall it hasn’t been too hard. We eat meat, vegetables, fruit, nuts & seeds mostly, with a little bit of other stuff to smooth the path. Our allergies and allergy headaches have improved dramatically, so has sleep, and other bodily functions. We are seeing the payoff in terms of our health – and not just on the scale or in hub’s blood sugar readings (which were again out of the diabetic range this morning).

Because I am a list making fool, I made a list of menu ideas. I was able to come up with 31 dinners out of what we used to eat that I can make without processed carbs. Since we eat out once a week that means we could go about 5 weeks without ever having the same dinner twice!

It has required some planning, but the payoff has been well worth the investment of time.

Well, we left the dogs today. Luke (the kid next door) came over a couple of times during the day to check on the pups while we are both at work. Butch has been doing better, so hopefully things will be okay between him & Jordan. (Hub is working a temp job the next few days.)

Speaking of pups, did you catch the news about the pet treats? http://vitals.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/22/11798368-nearly-1000-dogs-now-sick-from-jerky-treats-fda-reports-say?lite

I have a very good recipe for dog treats that the dogs LOVE and they are easy and cheap. I buy organic kibble (Blue Buffalo or Wellness) and make their wet food and dog treats. I bought a cookbook for dogs. That’s just how I roll.

Today was yoga at lunch and gym after work.

Friday is our 10 year anniversary. By marrying each other we’ve saved two sane people from a life of misery. Ha!

And I am spent!

It was a very busy weekend. The usual meal planning, shopping, and food prep on top of which we organized all our craft stuff! Two closets stuffed full of jewelry making supplies, garb accessories, sewing supplies, etc. I still need to organize my sewing stuff, but it’s at least all together on the shelves next to my sewing table. I also need to go through my patterns, but that can be post vacation since the only garb I’m making beforehand is a pair or two of fighting pants for hub.

We also enjoyed pool time both days and went to the gym for a good workout yesterday. I also bought a new MP3 player – my one I had for years died and I bought a cheap replacement which was a pain in the butt. So I sucked it up, went to Best Buy, and bought one which seems like it will be pretty easy to use for $45. I’ll find out tonight when I attempt to load music on it!

Well, it’s happened. In a little over a month my husband has caught up to me in the weight loss department, and I’ve been at it for months! I call justifiable homicide! Ha ha ha. Seriously though, I am proud of him!

I pestered Jeff to lift weights with me this afternoon. My own free personal trainer! How lucky am I?

Ugh

Ugh.


I left work yesterday missing NC very much, wondering just what the heck kind of life I want to create for myself – here, after here, for forever…. (Mid life crisis???) I was looking forward to a serious workout, but it just wasn’t meant to be.

Hub called while I was on the way home – the plumbing under the sink broke (“fell apart” was the phrase he used) – he was on his way to Home Dept for new pipe and couldn’t make the gym. Okay, so I go alone.

When I got home the noy called to let me know N was on his way over (his best friend in Florida). His dad had kicked him out (this happens regularly.) They’d gotten into a fight and the boy said N was crying. The child lives a mile or so from us, so I finished changing, got in the car, and headed out to find him. I picked him up, let him in, and headed for the gym.

It wasn’t much of a workout, but I got there and did something.

He stayed for dinner and hung out until his grandma came to get him.

All in all, not much of an evening.

In good news, Hub is going to be working at a temp job most of next week. In bad news, I don’t know what we’re going to do with Butchie.

Thank heavens it’s the weekend. I need it!

Down another half a pound!

Dinner last night was awesome. The pork chops were really good, but they were so big that we ended up splitting a small sweet potato because neither of us could eat a whole one! I made 4 pork chops so there are plenty of leftovers. Actually, we are just having leftovers for dinner tonight because there is enough to feed the two of us tonight, Saunooke’s lunch today, and probably still be leftovers. I’m not very good at cooking for 2 apparently.

We got to the dog park last night so that was good. It was a little wet but not too bad. The dogs had a great time.

I brought leftovers for lunch today. It’s yucky and rainy and I decided that a hot lunch sounded pretty good. I generally eat salad every day. Now, I change up the ingredients and dressings a lot, and in my world lettuce isn’t even required (nor is any leafy green), but it’s nice to have something different every once in a while.

AMP class yesterday was awesome, as usual. I left feeling slightly woozy and mucho sweaty. Win!

Donna Summer passed away today. When I was 11 or 12 I really wanted to be just like her when I grew up. (Yes, I loved disco!)

Quick Wednesday

The shepherd’s pie last night was awesome. Hub couldn’t believe that it was made with mashed cauliflower. I think it was that good and had nothing to do with the tough workout at the gym prior to eating. Hee hee hee!


On the vet’s advice, we tried getting a muzzle for Butch, thinking that would be a way to keep Jordan safe during the day. (They make them so the dog can drink so they are humane.) Uh, no. Hub took him to the store for a fitting and he busted out immediately. They tried 2 stores with no luck. We can’t crate him – he was very close to destroying the crate we have – and really, he’s 13. It just seems cruel to lock him up for hours every day when he’s always had free run of the house and yard.

After the gym and dinner I did pretty much nothing last night – it was lovely. I’ve been going to bed at 9 and reading a few minutes. I have a book from the library “The Blood Sugar Solution” by Dr. Mark Hyman that I need to start. I just finished “A World Lit Only by Fire” by William Manchester and I was in that mood so I picked up Book 4 of Durant’s “Story of Civilization”, “The Age of Faith”.

We are both down another pound (yay!).

We plan to take the dogs to the park today even though it rains every evening these days. I would like to go to the park, but not in a thunderstorm – hopefully it’ll be okay!

Today was AMP class. I had a meeting up until class time so no time to swing kettlebells beforehand. Which is okay because class is hard enough on its own!

Dinner tonight was pork chops, baked sweet potatoes, and sautéed zucchini. Yum-o.

There is a crossfit gym near my house, and there is one a little farther away that offers the first 2 classes for free. I can’t afford to join another gym right now, but I’m keeping that in the back of my head for later.

Interesting article on why we have become overweight:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/15/science/a-mathematical-challenge-to-obesity.html?_r=2

I’ve read a lot of articles along similar lines. Any time I get into a serious discussion about nutrition (which isn’t often, it’s as bad as talking about religion or politics) I feel like I should be wearing a tin foil hat to protect myself from the MIB or something. A discussion of agribusiness and government food policy quickly begins to sound like some X-Files induced paranoid conspiracy theory. I don’t think it’s that complex – I just think that humans are that greedy.

Link courtesy of Norma. http://www.notnormajean.blogspot.com/

There are times it’s very helpful to have your mom or a close girlfriend around. I’m talking clothes advice. I’ve lost about 25 pounds and I think some of my clothes are too big and probably look dumb, but I hate wearing tight clothing so honestly I can’t really tell. I really don’t have anyone I can ask down here. Sigh.

Tuesday - no lizards

More evidence that the end of civilization is near: my husband is drinking UNSWEET tea! And judging by the sounds last night, I do believe it must’ve been raining frogs.


Last night’s dinner was shrimp diavolo over quinoa with a big salad. It was very good and since I had extra sauce already made up in the freezer, it was very simple. Tonight I have a shepherd’s pie I made over the weekend with mashed cauliflower in place of the mashed potatoes. I also have a bag of organic sugar snap peas from the CSA box. Since we are going to the gym it will be nice to have a meal that only involves heating stuff up.

I stopped buying store bought salad dressing years ago. It’s expensive and not very good IMO, not to mention full of chemicals. Making my own is easy and cheap. Also, the one good thing the 1970s gave us was green goddess dressing. (Love the 50s, but the 70s were just plain weird.) Yes, Kraft does sell a chemical faux green version, but homemade is so good. Apparently its popularity died with the 1970s as well because you never see it in restaurants or anything (I guess ranch killed it) except that one lone bottle of Kraft lurking amongst 1000 varieties of ranch. Being a big eater of salads, I demand variety, and I expect my dressings to be tasty and healthy. Hub, OTOH, eats the same French dressing I’ve been making him for years.

Yesterday was a kettlebell workout at the fitness center at work and an AM walk in the hood. Today was yoga at lunch and gym after work.

Last night was odd in that we had so little to do. We sorted through some stuff to send to Goodwill, worked on our project list for what we want to get done around the house and watched a couple of “Star Trek: DS9” episodes. We had planned to go to the dog park, but an evening thunderstorm nixed that idea. Lifestyles of the rich and famous down here in south Florida, I tell ya.

Uber productive weekend

First of all, I saw an amazing lizard on the fence last night. He was a knight anole – a foot or so long and bright green with bright yellow markings on his face. We were inside and he sat there for a long time.

Hub has lost 18 pounds in just under a month and his fasting blood sugar was below the diabetic level yesterday. He’s doing great. We went to the gym yesterday and had a really good workout. We love our gym. It’s so convenient and has enough equipment that it’s not crowded at all – of course, we’ve generally gone in the morning. Tomorrow we’ll be going after work, but there should still be plenty of equipment.

This weekend was all about giving the house a deep cleaning, picking up, decluttering, and doing a bit of rearranging in the kitchen. The house feels much better but we still had a good amount of time to just relax. If it weren’t for Mothers Day, it would have been an excellent weekend.

Hub texted The boy last night and reminded him to call me. He was crying the whole time he talked to me. He’d had a really lousy day at his grandpa’s house. His uncle and grandpa get along about as well as fire and gasoline (they both want to do things their way on their terms) and he feels caught in the middle. Add the fact that the whole reason his uncle is there is to help out since his grandpa can’t do the stuff due to his cancer, and you have an all around tense situation. Luckily today was better.

I think The boy thought it would somehow magically be okay since he would be closer to Katy (ugh!), who doesn’t get out of school for another month. Le drama. Thank god I’m not 17 – I don’t think humans are able to survive that more than once.

It was a nice day, but not much of a Mother’s Day. In any case, things are coming together around the house.

Up next weekend: organizing craft stuff. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Weekend!

TGIF


The boy and mom left for NC yesterday. I know he’s worried about his grandpa, but I will say I’m very hurt and disappointed that he was in such a rush that Mother’s Day was pretty much blown off this year. I know that sounds horribly selfish (and I guess it is), but that’s how I feel. Please allow me a few moments to pout.

Thursday was tough. He had a math review, then the final, then the chemistry final. It was a very long day. I gave blood yesterday and felt awful after. I mean, I had to go to the nurse’s office and lay down for a while. I felt like I was in 4th grade or something. Giving blood is generally no big deal, so I really don’t know what happened. Weird. Fortunately (or unfortunately) I was leaving work early to go to the dentist. I still felt woozy, but Hub talked to me till I got home then he drove me.

My weight has stayed the same the past 2 weeks. Between the cold, the trip, and the crazy schedule at home, exercise levels have been down and some sub-optimal food has crept into the diet. One up side of it being just the 2 of us for a while is more time for exercise. We plan to hit the gym 3 days a week together. Hub’s commitment to losing weight and eating healthier is making my commitment easier to keep. The other morning his fasting blood sugar was in the 120s!

This weekend we are giving the house a thorough scrubbing and planning a schedule for operation “finally get everything in this damn house organized!” Because I am tired of never knowing where anything is! If we tackle a room a week we’ll be done just in time to pack for vacation. (Good thing there are no projects that need to be done!)

In sadder news, we are going to have to put Butch down soon. Have I written about this? He’s just gotten too snappy with the other dogs. He doesn’t seem to be in any pain, but he’s 13 years old and he’s always been a bit touchy. He’d been in the shelter a long time when we got him and I’m not sure he’s ever really gotten over his bad experiences early in life. But he’s had a good life with us for the past 11 years.

Our anniversary is coming up. Because our minds think alike (I won’t claim they are great) we both thought that the German restaurant would be the perfect place to go for dinner. We were thinking about a trip to Key West, but I think our plan will just be to chill out in the peace and quiet of our own house, in our own pool, with our own dogs.

Have you ever heard of the group “Friends of Alice Ivy”? Jango and Pandora are so cool – I’ve heard some awesome music that way.

When the mangoes fall off the tree into the yard, if we don’t spot them quickly Belews (“the puppy”) thinks they are balls and likes to play with them, which sort of ruins them for eating. Luckily they are a bright color and therefore pretty easy to spot, even on the other side of the pool fence. (We have one of those mesh pool fences which we now keep up at all times. It looks ugly, but keeps the dogs from accidentally falling in the pool while chasing each other.)


Last night The boy randomly decided to drag out the overhead projector and put a large sun on his wall. Since I put celtic knotwork all over the last kitchen, I can’t really say anything, can I? I think it’ll be pretty cool when he finishes.

Last night’s dinner was spaghetti squash, baked fish, and roasted green beans. I made a pot of chicken and dumplings for mom and The boy. We have been getting thunderstorms most days for at least a little while. It was pouring when I was driving home yesterday, which meant no pool time. Bummer.

In other exciting news, we have a dog sitter for vacation! It is hard to find someone to move into your house for 16 days. The kid next door (18) is very mature and responsible – not to mention just next door. We were planning to drive the dogs up to NC to stay with my mom, but this will be much easier, if more expensive. So that’s a good thing.

Today’s workout: AMP class. Jeff is back from surgery, and while he is limited in what he can do, he can boss us around. Hurray!

Have you seen this already?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX9FSZJu448&feature=youtu.be

One step at a time

First of all: My cold is all gone. It was gone fairly quickly (3 or 4 days) but it was a doozy! I’m so glad it was gone before we went to Georgia.

Trip to Georgia: Did I mention this? Mom and I went to Georgia to visit my great aunt. We drove up on Friday (it took just over 9 hours) and drove back Sunday (just under 9 hours). We did the usual things – antique shops, eating out, visiting the cemetery for flower checking and grave cleaning, the obligatory trip to W-M for a few items for Alma, putting a little extra money in her bank account.

We did do something a bit different – we rode over to Warm Springs (home of President Roosevelt’s “Little White House”) for new antique shops and a new place to try for lunch. It was a nice ride over, but the GPS (her nickname is “Brunhilda”) took us through some serious back country. But it was just beautiful – so different from south Florida. Also, we ate at a good restaurant with excellent vegetables, which Alma thoroughly enjoyed. All in all it was a terrific trip.

The antique report: I bought a cute little painting of a chipmunk on a tree (he was so cute and it was only $3 so it had to come home) a couple of fat quarters of pretty fabric for MIL for Mother’s Day, and a 1974 hamburger cookbook (Betty Crocker, I believe). I actually did get a couple of good ideas and so many laughs that it was well worth $2! I’ve been eyeing a beautiful walnut lazy susan but couldn’t justify the expense at my fav antique shop. Maybe next time.

Not sure exactly when the boy and mom will be heading to NC – given the circumstances he is anxious to get going the second school is done. He may not even be here for Mother’s Day, which makes me very sad but I know how worried he is about his grandpa.

It’s rare you get to do something that your teenager thinks is cool, but I managed it. The boy decided to do a little rearranging in his room and wanted some new art. I had a bunch of old posters, so we decided to look through them. He was unimpressed with Garfield (high school) or Spuds Mackenzie (various barracks rooms), and he just laughed at Jean Claude van Damme (I don’t even remember owning that!). He was mildly impressed with the Marine Corps posters which were from the then senior chief petty officer of the MC (my friend Glenda’s dad), but what really blew him away was a large collection of Soviet propaganda posters purchased in 1991 in Moscow. He thought they were awesome (and they are!). He hung one in his room. I don’t think of myself as a packrat, but the Garfield poster from my high school dorm room? Really???

Hub continues to make progress, with the occasional lesson learned. The other night he went to a friend’s house and had a couple of slices of thin crust pizza. He also tried skipping his walk a couple of days. His blood sugar results and scale are keeping him on the straight and narrow – he is feeling better and seeing results, which helps.

We traded in the gas guzzling truck for a Honda CR-V – much better suited to what hub needs for work and we need as a family vehicle. So that’s good.

I’m looking forward to some nice quite routine and puttering around the house this summer. Let that commence – the summer weather already has! The pool yesterday afternoon felt fantastic. I love having a pool in the backyard.

Today’s workout: 560 kettlebell swings.

I am a germ bomb!

I have the worst cold I have had in years. I am tired and I am a coughing, sneezing, nose blowing germ factory on 2 feet. I can’t wait for this to be over. Especially since we are going to Georgia this weekend and I do not want to be sick and give this to my great aunt!

We are working very hard to get school wrapped up by Mother’s Day so mom and the boy can head to NC. The news on his grandpa keeps getting worse. They were hoping with aggressive treatment to knock his cancer into remission, but it has progressed farther than they thought based on the most recent tests. The boy just wants to be done with school (well, sometimes he doesn’t even care at all) and get up there. This is so hard.

Apparently it is now the rainy season (the down side to living in a sub-tropical climate). It has been raining since Friday. Since we live maybe 50 yards from a canal, the wild life tends to seek drier ground. Frogapalooza has gone on for 4 nights now. Thank goodness for child size ear plugs. There was the largest roach I’ve ever seen in my kitchen the other morning. (And remember, I lived in Texas!) Tough girl that I am, I jumped on the counter and screamed. I really, really, loathe bugs.

I went to the gym Sunday morning – the last day that I felt decent. Unless sneezing counts as exercise, I’m not getting any. Hub has it too – he’s the one that gave it to me, curse him. I have homemade soup and hot tea and medicine, but mostly I just want a nap.

Friday

Down a half a pound – which puts me down 2 pounds since Monday. Yay! Hub’s blood sugar was 132 this morning – so clearly the change in eating plus exercise is making a HUGE difference. He has been stunned by the change. And the day earlier in the week when it had been down then spiked back up? He admitted he’d had a Gatorade that day. He said he learned his lesson about THAT. I’ve been reading about nutrition so long, I sometimes forget that he genuinely doesn’t know how some things are going to affect his blood sugar or what foods have sugar. To me it’s like “duh” – but he has to learn it for himself. If I just tell him he may not get it. But he’s also listening, which is a refreshing change. Ha ha!

Stomach is feeling better this morning. I left work early yesterday – I was in misery. I did eat some dinner (salmon patties, quinoa, and broccoli) but I just felt like crap. I hope I don’t have a repeat of that any time soon!

Tomorrow we are planning to head to Coral Castle (http://coralcastle.com/). Random fact: The story about the construction inspired the song “Sweet Sixteen” by Billy Idol. Anyway, the weather is supposed to be dodgy again this weekend, so this is a fun little half day trip that gets us out of the house but isn’t entirely weather dependent.

My step brother headed up to our stepsister’s today - she’s about 3 hours up the road. Truck work was all finished up! Ready for things to quiet down a little around case de crazy.

Not good news on the boy's grandpa's cancer: very rare, very aggressive.  No ure, only treatment.  But knocking it into remission could buy him years - not just months.

Weight was the same today. I was hoping for a loss, but oh well. I knew to expect it. Sigh.


In good news, hub’s blood sugar was 130 this morning. 130. Awesome. His weight was up about half a pound. I reminded him that some fluctuations are normal when you are weighing daily. Now, I need to take that advice myself!

Workout yesterday was awesome. First I did 505 kettlebell swings, then I did AMP class. Jeff is having shoulder surgery next Wednesday so he is in crazed workout mode. He was a self described “mean man” – and I loved it! We did a total body workout full of crazy stuff. Like: Imagine a push-up but with one hand on a step and another holding a weight. Do a push up, but when you come up lift the weight toward the ceiling and twist your body and hips so you are looking at the ceiling. Lower the weight and do another push-up. I was a red-faced sweaty mess at the end!

Nevertheless, I am feeling kind of down today. I don’t know why. (I really wanted to get a ham croquette at the cafeteria this morning - thankfully they didn’t have any today). I think its money stress. It just sucks. I’ve tried not to worry and just have faith that things will work out. They have so far for the past year in spite of hub’s surgery and unemployment. And I tell myself there’s no point worrying because there is only so much I can do, you know? And for the most part I am doing the things I can, but I just hate the unsettled feeling.

My step brother was supposed to leave for NC today – he drove his truck over Tuesday night so he could work on it at our house. Now he’s headed back to NC for a while. He was doing some more work on the truck but I’m hoping he’ll be heading out tomorrow. He was recently at our house for a VERY long stay, and a break is in order. I feel mean saying that, cause we love him and all, but....

Last night was math – we went over 2 lessons on sequences and series. They were both pretty short. Tonight is only a quiz on those 2 lessons. Uh, ok. Anyway, schoolwork this week hasn’t been as bad as I was worried it would be. It takes a lot of time, but for the most part I have enjoyed sitting down and doing this stuff. It’s been a pretty unique experience – it feels a lot like home schooling. Even though our dispositions are a little too similar to make it ideal, I think it’s brought the boy and I closer together. But I will admit I’m looking forward to more free time this summer! Ha!

Today was lunchtime yoga. I have had a stomach ache for some reason for most for the day. (I couldn’t even finish my salad at lunch – I just picked at it.)

I am very ready for the weekend.

Back side of the week

Down another half pound! I expect to stall for a day or two, as that seems the way of things with my weight loss, lose big then pause, lose then pause. But that’s ok – the numbers are heading in the right direction and I am so pleased with the progress I am making.


A certain amount of this is vanity – finding clothes when you wear anything over a size 12 is hard IMO. Maybe it’s my body shape – I tend to have big-ish hips at any size, but at higher weights finding clothes that fit and that I like is tough.

But honestly, a lot of it is simply about being comfortable in my body. I like feeling strong and feeling like I can do the things I want – camping, hiking, snorkeling, etc. without being overly limited by my lack of fitness.

And then there’s the fact that I just turned 46 years old and I am on no medications. I don’t need any – and I intend to keep it that way for many years to come. I think many modern medicines do as much harm as good and I simply don’t want to have to go down that path. At the end of the day, whatever motivates you is great for you!

And then there’s the fact that I happen to enjoy moving my body – challenging myself to go harder, faster, or lift more. Ever won a lifting competition? It rocks. Finished a triathlon or road race? Also rocks. Those are moments that I feel truly alive.

How much muscle is too much? There’s no such beastie unless a person is taking so many steroids that her face is beginning to get what I call ”the horsey look”. (And I would still admire the muscles.) Check out the book “The Women” by Bill Dobbins (which I own). Just amazing. I don’t have the desire to do what I would have to do to look like that, but I can be fit and strong and feel good. That’s achievable and valuable to me.

The dentist yesterday was – ugh. Two hours! First the cleaning, the my oral surgeon came over to the dentist’s office so they could look at my mouth together and come up with a plan (I’m losing a bridge because the 2 teeth on either side are dying because they aren’t strong enough to support it). Then they had to make multiple molds (yuck).

I got home worn out and demoralized. I’m guessing this is going to cost in the neighborhood of $8000 out of pocket. Seriously, who has that kind of money these days? Heck, I’ve never had that kind of money just lying around! Ugh. Well, it’s that or wait for the thing to fall out and get dentures. Uh, no thanks.

Last night was cool (I turned on the heat in the car this morning – it was 57. Clearly my blood has thinned). I slept with the windows open and it was so nice. I didn’t want to get out of bed! But I did. Breakfast this week is a big veggie & egg casserole type thing – all I had to do was scoop out a serving to take to the office. For lunch I chopped a tomato, a huge cucumber, and a big orange bell pepper and divided it into 2 produce bags. Then into each bag went a diced grilled chicken thigh and boiled egg. I’ll buy a bed of greens at work from the cafeteria and lunch is done!

Dinner tonight is leftover night. I have vegetable soup with ground turkey and a chicken soup. I’ll make a big salad to go on the side and call it good. I have loads to kale to use up and ends & odds of veggies. The CSA box comes tomorrow so I’ve got to make room in the fridge!

Random musings on a Tuesday

Hub and I were both down another pound this morning. Oh yeah! One nice thing about tracking my weight so long is that I can tell you the last time I weighed less than this was the week of February 12, 2010. Woot! Right now losing weight feels 1) very exciting and 2) pretty easy. I’m eating well and plenty – I may get hungry an hour or so before a meal, but I’m hardly starving. Sure, there are times (like last night) I would have liked a cookie, but I got busy doing something and it was no big deal. Amazing.

I am listening to Kraftwerk’s album “Tour de France” in the car these days. Now, I love Kraftwerk (I always envision Dieter from SNL dancing around. I’m totally in touch with my German heritage and am so happy I got to live there.) But this album is special because it was commissioned to celebrate the 100th year of the TdeF – and if you’ve been reading this a while you know how I feel about that! Last year the Tour sorta passed me by. I wasn’t home – we were living in a hotel at the time and I wasn’t able to relax and enjoy it – indeed, relish it, the way I normally do. This year will be so different. Watching TdeF and working on projects for Pennsic – July is the best month of the year.

Speaking of which, I doubt I’ll be making too much for Pennsic this year. We’re both good on garb and I haven’t stayed in our camp for a couple of years so I don’t really know of anything I want or need for camp. So I’ll probably just check to make sure everything is in good repair and call it good. I have lots of fabric, but nothing is truly needed and I still haven’t organized my craft stuff. I’ve never even found my Viking wire weaving stuff – in any case I’ve probably forgotten how to do it. Oh well – I guess that means Eilis and I need to go shopping and maybe she can teach me (yet again)! Bummer – shopping with Eilis. *lol*

Today is an early day at work – I have a dental cleaning. Good times.

Lunch today was yoga. The agenda for tonight is going to the gym, probably for the arc trainer.

Monday, again

So, nice weekend even though the weather was terrible Saturday and we cancelled snorkeling. On the plus side, we live here so we can go any time! Lots of yard and house work accomplished. The boy and I went for a nice walk last night – the dog park was voted “too muddy” to take the dog. Ha!


Saturday morning I went to the gym with hub (for cardio mainly – I do my weights at work or at home with the kettlebells). His weight routine takes an hour so I programmed the dreadmill for 60 minutes of hills. Each piece of cardio equipment comes equipped with a tv and a fan. I never understood folks who could read while on an elliptical or something, but I’m not averse to watching the tv to change it up from my mp3 player. I watched British soccer on ESPN 8 or something – that was the channel it was on and cute guys being sporty seemed like a pretty good choice.

In a week hub has lost over 5 pounds and his blood sugar has come down from the 180s to the 130s (137 this morning). Behold the power of food and exercise. It has to be over 125 to be considered ‘diabetes’. Granted, a reading of 80 is better, but he is on his way and thrilled with how quickly he is seeing changes. He already feels much better!

Tomorrow I go for a teeth cleaning and I’ll ask the dentist what the outcome of her consult was with the oral surgeon. That giant sucking sound you hear is money going from us to the dental professionals. I have shallow roots. I have great hygiene – just lousy roots.

I’ve lost 4.5 pounds since my last WW visit 2 weeks ago. Sweet! Workout today was kettlebells. I am doing the front and back side of the minute for the first 2 rotations of Tracy Reifkind’s “Give and Take” video – it works out to 20 swings per minute for 18 minutes, plus warm-up. I am currently using my 18 pound kettlebell.

In other news, I was a cooking fool this weekend. I made kale chips (in the dehydrator) and crackers. The boy pronounced kale chips “too weird” and the crackers as tasting “just like seeds” (considering the fact that the recipe is just 2 cups seeds to 1 cup water and a little seasoning, I don’t find this a shocking development). Hub loves the crackers and thinks they make a great snack with a little pb.

Dinner last night was a roasted turkey breast (cheaper than fancy Whole Foods sliced turkey), corn on the cob, and roasted green beans. Tonight is fish and salad and broccoli and quinoa. Death by green vegetable is the current motto in our house. Just kidding. But I’m not. I’m out of green vegetable ideas and I’m a woman who gets a CSA box! Luckily everyone loves roasted brussel sprouts.

Congrats on the kettlebell Val!  Tracy's blogs are great - I followed her old one for years and it was a great source of inspiration.  Her book and her video "Give and Take" are both awesome!

As a matter of fact, this morning I did the first 2 rotations of Tracy's video - the front and back side of the minute - roughly 400 swings in a little over 20 minutes.  Then I went to the gym with hub - walked on the dreadmill for an hour doing the "rolling hill" program.  I love walking outside, but I like to go when he goes to support him.  Then took the dogs to the park for a walk!

I didn't get enough done today - I have loads of picking up around the house and food prep, and not nearly enough time to do it all tomorrow! Oh well.  That's the way it always seems to be.

Didn't go snorkeling today - it was stormy in the Keys and rainy here all day.  A nice day to piddle around the house.

It's been a pretty nice and very productive weekend.  Not looking forward to going back to work Monday. This has been like a mini "staycation" - thoroughly enjoyable!