Wancing...

Well, if you read my comments yesterday (after the first 2) you know I went out and "got my groove on." I went wancing!! (That's a combination of walking and dancing.)

What a wonderful wance it was!! I tuned in to Brooks & Dunn on the iPod, strapped on the heart monitor and took off. I wanced all around the driveway. Bet you all can't do that on a public trail without people staring in disbelief or rolling on the ground laughing there heads off. But I have it all, with my privacy. When Boot Scootin' Boogie came on I did it. I just stopped where I was and started line dancing. All by my little (yea, right) self. I was so tickled when I got done I had a hard time restraining myself long enough to get my shoes off. Hey, the blahs are gone too.

I even got the heart monitor to work. Have no idea what I did and hope I can do it again the next time. I just started punching buttons and all of a sudden I realized it was working. I started putting my walking stats on my site yesterday so you can all see how I did and that will make me accountable in another way. I even burned twice as many calories by 1:00 PM than I had consumed. I almost broke my arm patting myself on the back.

And another plus...I'm into a smaller size undies too. I couldn't figure out why I was having trouble with the ones I was wearing while sleeping. They kept creeping up in strange places and I would wake myself up unscrunching them. So I tried a smaller size yesterday evening and wow, got to sleep well last night with out the discomfort.

I also did really well on my food intake. Only 1151 calories and 22.5 points.

See if I can do it (the laziest person I know), then so can you!

Aren't you glad you don't have to listen to me whine today?

Carbs, Fats, Protien and Exercise...

Good grief, is it Friday already? Where has the week gone? You know the older you get the faster time goes by.

I started (last Sunday) logging my food consumption into SparkPeople as well as WW. One of the interesting things I found is the ratios of carbs, fats and proteins I eat. WW doesn't give you a breakdown of that and that is a bad thing. I like the charts they give you at SP and it has opened my eyes to the fact that I have not really been doing so good. Even though I've lost weight on WW's points system I have found out this week that sometimes when I stay under points I am way up on calories and sometimes way up on the fat calories to be exact. So since I don't go to meetings (non in my area close) and just use the home scales to log my weight into their website weekly, I'm considering quitting them and just sticking with SP. I'm not going to make any rash decisions and do it right now but it is in my thoughts. Think I will keep the double journaling up for another week or so and see what happens. Right now I'm trying to keep my ratios of fat, carbs and protiens within the ranges SP has set. Then after a couple of weeks if the pounds start coming off better I will make my decision. What are your thoughts on the matter?

This will be a lonely weekend without any company. But hopefully the weather will be nice to me and I can get outside and walk. Nope, haven't started up again yet. "Come on, Debbie, you've got to get back in the groove. But I don't want too, it takes too much effort." This is the battle that has been going on in my mind for 2 weeks now. And it's not working. I know what the problem is though. I had someone to walk with and get exercise with there for a while and now it's just me (what a let down). And I don't think I like my own company that much. I'm just too boring to walk with. Come on guys and gals, I need some encouragement here. You are the ones that got me started in the first place. Reading all your blogs about your exercise routines and it finally struck home. I needed that too. But here lately I just read them and say, Whew, that sounds like too much work. Thanks for all the encouragement you've given me so far though. Without all of you I probably would have quit this weight loss journey a couple of months ago.

Hope your weekend is grand!!

5 Things About Me...

I've been tagged by Sparky with a meme, so here goes.

The rules:

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.
2. Share 5 facts about yourself.
3. Tag 5 people at the end of your post and list their names, linking to them.
4. Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment at their blogs.

Five Things About Me:

1. I sleep on a feather bed.

2. I went to 9 schools in my 12 years of public school. Yep, we moved a lot. I have a teaching degree with certification in elementary and middle school math. And only lack 6 hours of having a masters in information systems.

3. I can pick up most anything with my toes.

4. I have a beauty mark near the corner of my left eye.

5. I have a 41 karat amethyst ring that didn't cost me a thing. I won it on a TV gem show.

I tried to share things I haven't blogged about or shared in my profile.

Now to tag 5 more: Cara, Maryfran, Donna, Candace and Sally. Sorry if I've tagged some of you that have already been tagged but I don't have a very large selection to choose from. :-)

Thursday Blues

I'm in a funk. Don't know why.

Got up this morning and went to get dressed and oh my goodness, I didn't have anything clean to wear. I don't have all that much anyway and for some reason I let the laundry get away from me. So, still in my jammies, and freezing because it got cold last night and I had the heat pump turned way down and the windows opened, I covered up in an afghan. I started throwing clothes in the washer and transferring them to the dryer. Boy did it ever feel good when I finally got a warm pair of pants out of the dryer and put them on. And warm socks too. At least my loads are smaller and I can use less water since I don't have that much that fits. I am going to have a real blast when I finally get to goal and can go shopping and know that I'll be wearing them for a while not just in the interim 'til I'm down another size.

I did the vegetarian thing today for no good reason other than I just didn't feel like cooking and I had lots of veggies left over from the weekend. It wasn't so bad but I ate more than usual, just lots of veggies. I stayed within my points and calorie count but I think I missed the meat though.

The neighbor came up and removed the wreath for me and luckily there weren't any critters in it. It's on the porch right now and I think I'll find a place outside to hang it. It won't be coming back inside at all.

Have a great day!!

One Tiny Step Closer

One more pound down!! Really didn't expect to lose a pound this week. Sure it was the workout my body got on Sunday. Yay!! Gotta remember to keep active. (But I'd really rather lay around reading a good book.)


Was laying in bed last night and heard a weird sound coming from my living room wall. Got up and grabbed a flashlight and searched for the sound. I have a huge wreath hanging on my wall and the sound was coming from there. It was a chirping sound but not the kind birds make, the kind squirrels and chipmunk's make. Yep, I think I have a chipmunk nesting in my wreath. I can't reach the wreath at all to take it down and wouldn't if I could because I don't want to encounter a critter up close. ::shiver:: A neighbor friend put it up for me and I am going to call him today and ask if he'll come and take it down for me.


Took my doggies to the groomer yesterday and when I went to pick them up Mikey had been throwing up and had diarrhea all the time he was there. They even had to give him 2 baths. This really concerned me because he hurt his leg last week and has been limping but it was getting better. I kept an eye on him all evening and he didn't get sick once. He even ate dinner when he got home and he usually won't do that when his tummy is upset. Then I got to thinking. When I take them to the groomers they don't put them in a cage but let them both have the run of the place and they also had a couple of chihuahuas running around as well, yapping. Bet he just had a nervous stomach.


Have a great "Hump Day!"

Oh, my goodness. What a bad girl I was yesterday. I had left overs from the cookout and had planned that for the evening meal. Waste not, want not, right? I should have just chucked them. Well, maybe it wasn't the left overs, as I think on it. I was busy talking to my daughter before they left yesterday and helping her remember the things she needed to take with her that she'd left here, that I didn't eat breakfast until after they left at around noon. By then I was STARVING!!! Instead of my usual half can of soup I ate a WHOLE can. It sure felt good and I was just too hungry for the half can anyway. To my surprise I didn't get hungry again in 2-3 hours like I usually do and I was thinking that maybe the whole can was the way to go. NOT! I went over my points yesterday by about 5 and over calories by about 400. Not good! Course maybe it was the 2 "100 cal. snacks" I had that I usually don't. I don't know what it was because I did journal my food and I can't figure out what I did wrong. I didn't feel like I was eating too much but I definitely did. Oh, well, today's another day.

Have to take the dogs to the groomers today and it's going to rain. I so enjoyed the few days of sunshine we had. When I was a little girl I used to pray to God before I went to bed, to only let it rain at night so I could play outside every day. I used to get so mad because He didn't listen to me and now I know He listens, He just has other plans. The rain has made everything so beautiful and green, and I'm rejoicing in that right now.

My legs aren't as rubbery today so I will have to get my walk in. No excuses today for me.

I know there was more in my tiny mind that I wanted to write about but for the life of me I can't remember what it was. Must be "oldtimers" setting in.

Have a great day!!

Great Memorial Day Weekend

I had another fun day! Wow, two in a row! That's a record for me in about 2 years. The only thing that would have made it "funner," is if my baby girl could have been here too. (See yesterday's post for the other fun.)


We cut down trees yesterday. To see the before and after pictures you'll have to go to my photo gallery, but the one on the side shows what I now see from my porch swing (will post another one taken on a day when the valley isn't so hazy, there's a little town down there). Did you notice I said "we?" Well, my daughters boyfriend would ask me if I had a mouse in my pocket :o), but I helped too! I got to be the supervisor!! And believe you me that's hard work! (Yeah, right.) Well I did do a lot of walking up and down part of my driveway to supervise and I was so pooped last night I don't even remember turning over in bed to get comfortable before I nodded off. The muscles in my legs still feel rubbery today. I definitely logged that in as exercise. But, you know I couldn't find tree cutting anywhere on any of the web sites to tell me how much exercise I got. Bummer.

The tree cutting started off because in the summer time I have some tall trees that interfere with my satellite reception when the wind blows and I needed some taken out for that reason. Then we just got carried away and kept opening it up to give me the view my neighbors below me have. We cut about 15 trees down and after that I want more gone. Boyfriend was too tired to continue yesterday and they had to go home to NJ today so the next time they come he will do some more for me.

Got the hummingbird feeder hung in a different place so I can see it while I'm blogging. And that is a lot more fun.

We had a cookout in the evening and I invited a neighbor couple to join us. We had a good time. I fixed burgers on the grill, homemade potato salad, homemade baked beans, summer squash stewed with onions, "roas-n-ears" (for you non-mountain folk, that's corn on the cob), cucumbers, tomatoes and onions. And for the "piece de resistance," strawberry pie. It was soooooo good. I did really well staying on track with all that because (and I didn't tell anyone, but) I used all low fat or fat free stuff and Splenda in my recipes. They couldn't tell the difference. Then came late in the evening when everyone left and there were 3 ears of corn left and I just couldn't resist them (which threw me over the hill). With all the exercise I got it was a wash though and that was good.

Hope your holiday was just as good.

Wonderful Saturday

What a fantabulous Saturday it was!!

We worked around the house for a while in the late morning and early afternoon. Got my gutters cleaned out and the garage cleaned. We then went for a drive and I got to walk at Cranberry Glades. Daughter and boyfriend kept telling me I looked pale and needed some rest. The were just being lazy and didn't want to walk anymore. What babies they are. So I only got to walk for a mile :o( before they just petered out on me. Just couldn't keep up with the old lady, I guess. To see more pictures click here.

We then took a drive and went to Droop Mountain and climbed the lookout tower. Then to the Gesundheit Clinic (Patch Adams place). Stopped on the way into town for supper and had an ice cream cone. Don't ya just love being an adult and getting to have dessert first :o)?

When we got home just before dark we hopped on the ATV's and took off on some trails that I'd never been on. Wow, what scenery! Was too dark to take pictures so I think we're going back later today armed with a camera. Will share those with you later.

And after all that, can you believe it, I stayed within my points!! And got some exercise to boot!

Couldn't ask for more.

Weekend with family...

Got most things done yesterday. Whew!! Friend called to tell me he and his wife won't be coming and that was a relief. That means I get to sleep in my own bed this weekend and don't have to cook so much. Yay!!!

Daughter arrived late last night with boyfriend in tow. They are off this morning to town and taking my garbage in for me. Another yay! They talked briefly last night about going to SnowShoe for some happenings up there. I think there will be bands and a movie under the stars. Sure hope we get the walk in though. I was thinking that if they don't want to do that then I just may do it by myself when they leave. I've got itchy feet to walk up there. And already have my camera in my purse so I won't forget it this time.

Got up this morning and washed the dishes from last nights supper. Just couldn't make myself do it while daughter was setting here. When they went down to his mother's camp to sleep I was just too tired. So in between the dishes I baked some bran muffins for breakfast. I made a double recipe this time so I will have some to freeze for myself later in the week. Even though you can keep the batter in the fridge for up to 6 weeks, I prefer baking them all at once and freezing them. It's a lot easier to just pop one in the microwave (since one is all I eat a day anyway) than heating the oven up for just one.

I didn't count points yesterday and may not for the remainder of the weekend because I just don't want to. I'm still keeping it in my head what I have eaten and what I can eat to come out pretty much on target so we shall see how that goes at weigh-in next week. Then again I may break down and enter my foods later today or right after typing this now that I'm feeling so guilty about not doing it. The conscience is a strange thing. It always kicks in when I don't want it to. Can't keep it buried at all. Durn!!

Now I have to get off my duff and wash the dishes that I dirtied making the muffins. Woe is me.

Have a great holiday weekend.

Get Off the Bubkiss..

I've been visiting my regular blogs and reading, reading, reading. Just trying, in between each one, to come up with what to write about today. I have this mind set that "I must post every day." I think because it keeps me on track, being accountable for my healthy actions and sometime not so healthy actions.

Yesterday was a back sliding day. I didn't exercise. I ate too much. I rested too much. I didn't clean house like I'd planned. I was just down right lazy about everything I knew I should do. Now I'm facing today with "too much on my plate." I gotta get the house cleaned before company arrives, gotta get food ready because won't have time while company is here, gotta get some exercise in or I'll quit all together, gotta...gotta...gotta...

That's what I get for taking a one day vacation from life. Yeah, yeah, I know we all need it at times but I don't think I really needed it. It just happened.

Now back to my original paragraph. I wasn't going to post at all today until I read Sally's post. It is a must read. Seriously folks. It really opened my eyes!! Go check it out!!!

Have a wonderful long weekend for you US folks, and a wonderful regular weekend for you non US folks.

Walking Plans...

I'm having a really hard time putting the book down to get other things done. I'm carrying it from the bedroom every morning to snatch a few pages during the day and then taking it back to bed with me at night to snatch an hour or so. I'm reading "Final Approach" by John Nance. It is one of the best he has written and I've read most of his. It is certainly a page turner. In case you're not familiar with him, John Nance is a pilot and writes about airplane stuff. This one is about an airplane crash and the investigation following. It's a goody.

Got all my errands done yesterday except the dump. While talking to my daughter before I headed out, she told me to leave the garbage and she and her boyfriend would take care of that for me when they got here. Yea!!

Now, I have today to get the cleaning and straightening up done. That will definitely take all day. And tomorrow I gotta cook. Promised her I'd make my bran muffins and gonna make some potato salad for cook-out on Sunday. Hopefully we'll be too busy Saturday to do any cooking so I plan on eating out. Here goes another weekend of food. But I'm worth it sometimes and am not going to fret. Daughter doesn't come that often. Her being here 2 times in one month is really, really rare.

I talked to her about walking while she's here and told her where I wanted to go. She's never been there and was excited at seeing it. I'll be sure to take my camera this time and have some pictures for you on Monday or Tuesday. We're going to Cranberry Glades which is a wilderness/botanical type place with paths and bridges to get over the swampy areas. And it's all on top of a mountain. That's one of the places where we can go and set (in the car) near some fields and watch for bear. No one's been attacked by bear there so I'm not worried much about that aspect of the walk. It will probably be crowded though since it is a holiday weekend. The paths are for walking and mountain biking so we'll have to be on the lookout for fast moving bikes. I think the entire loop of the main trail is 11 miles and I know I'm not going to make it anywhere near that far (since I've only worked up to 2 miles) but some of it will be nice. Daughter is having some trouble right now with allergies and her breathing so know she won't be wanting to walk that far either especially in this thin air that she's not used to.

Speaking of thin air. It's interesting that when I go somewhere close to sea level for more than a couple of days that I have more energy than I do up here. It took me a couple of years to get used to the elevation when we moved up here. I just couldn't understand why I had no energy at first until someone pointed it out to me that we are above 3000 feet and that makes a difference.

Didn't get my walk in yesterday because of all the errands but walked a lot doing them. Will most definitely, positively get it done today. Can't slack off. There's no excuse.

Have a good day :o)

I'm EXACTLY Half Way There!!!

Company coming again this weekend. Guess it's the nice weather and all the green on the trees here. This place is sooooo green in the spring and summer. It is one of the things that drew us to this area for our retirement. This county is mostly National Forest which means mostly wilderness. I just love it and guess my company does too.

Company coming means filling the cupboards with yucky stuff like real soda, real butter, real cheese, etc. I know that they would understand if I didn't but one of the "company" coming is my daughter from NJ and she is so skinny and I like to have the things she likes in the house. If it were just friends I wouldn't worry about it and they'd have to eat what I eat, but when it comes to our kids we tend to do extra things for them, don't we. So this means a trip to the grocery store is on the agenda for today. Then cleaning tomorrow since they will start to arrive on Friday. And since it was weigh-in today (lost another half pound and am at the exact half way mark) I get to splurge and have a hot dog today.

That happy feeling didn't last long. Just remembered that the propane ran out on the grill and have to take the container to be filled before the weekend and have to go to the dump to drop off all the garbage bags, YUCK!! I hate those tasks. So far I think that is the only reason I need a man around the house and that is NOT reason enough to get one. So there. Quit complaining, Deborah.

Started a new book Monday night and am half way through it. Was a rainy day yesterday and spent most of it curled up on the couch with the book. Only have one more in reserve so watch out Amazon, here I come. Think this time I'll order more than 4 so I don't have to order as often.

Have a great Hump Day!

Hoppin' and a Boppin' and a Singin'...

Yea, I got my walk in yesterday and increased it by 10 minutes. Gonna try to increase it every 2 weeks for a while until I get it up to an hour and then see what happens. Don't know if I'll ever get to the running stage. I'm just too old for shin splints and sore ankles and sore feet. And I might break a bone and it would take a long time to heal. Do those sound like good excuses to you? They do to me!!

I created a 30 minute play list with some oldies and really enjoyed it. I didn't even keep looking at the watch to see how long I'd been going like I usually did every 2 minutes wondering if the 20 minutes was up yet. When I was on the cruise there was an a cappella quartet that sang some of the oldies like, Rockin' Robin, Under the Boardwalk, Chain Gang, to name a few and I bought one of their CD's. I just "bopped" across the driveway singin' along. That is the neatest gadget. I also used the HRM for the first time and kept my heart rate between 133 and 147 most of the time. Was so anxious to see how many calories I'd burned and dumb me somehow reset the thing before I retrieved the info. Oh, well, will have to try again tomorrow. And I think I'll review the instructions to make sure I don't do that again.

I had a request to show where I walk so this is it.

All the way down one way (see kitty cat laying in the driveway?)

and back the other.

And all of this is in front of my cabin.

Course they probably meant the pretty place I walked last week but forgot to take my camera with me then but will definitely do it the next time I go. Do want to share that beautiful place with you.

Rainy Days and Mondays....

OK, just shoot me!! I didn't walk yesterday. Poured down the rain all day and was really depressing. Today is beautiful!! Blue skies and small cotton candy clouds, but it sure is cold yet this morning. In the mid 40's. When it warms up I'm hittin' the driveway armed with my new gadgets (that I haven't used yet).

With company and all the exercise (and extra eating) last week I am trying to stay right on target with my points until weigh-in on Wednesday. So far, so good.

Nothing else to report. Have a nice work week!

Just needed a change. Hope you don't mind the new lay-out and colors.

Down Time

Well, what can I say? I didn't get my walk in yesterday. I felt horrible all day. Was cold all day and the temp here wasn't any cooler than it has been this past week. I just couldn't get warm. Kept cranking the thermostat up and using an afghan. So I just laid around most of the day. This was probably due to all the activity I did while my friend was here and since my body isn't used to that much all at once it needed a day off. It had gotten 4 straight days of activity so maybe it was telling me something.

Was looking forward to grilling a pork chop last night and half way through I ran out of propane on the grill. ARGH!! Sure wish those things had a gauge on them to alert you when it is getting low.

I know this will probably bore you but I just have to tell someone about a new accomplishment with one of my dogs. My male dog lost an eye in a scuffle with a lab about 3 years ago and the eye that he has is very poor. He has little sight in it at all. My bed is so high that I can not just set on the edge to get in bed but have to get in by putting my knee on the edge and boost myself up. So neither of the dogs can jump into bed with me and I had been lifting them in and out. I was going to buy some of those doggy stairs but can't find ones that are high enough for them so I improvised some. I had a trunk that is about half as tall as my bed and I draped a blanket over it and shoved it on the other side of the bed. My little girl dog learned right away how to use it and I've been working with the male for about a month. He is very scared of heights and would panic every time I would lift him into bed and he would lay in the floor beside the bed and cry if I didn't. Last night he was a little slow in coming up stairs to bed and I was already laying down reading when I heard his little paws come up. I was just getting ready to get out and lift him in when he jumped on the bed from the trunk. I was so proud of him and gave him lots of extra love for learning that.

Looks like my Sunday is going to be a rainy one. Haven't gotten to walk in the rain yet and if I feel like it today I will have a new experience. Hope your Sunday's great!!

Another Friend Saga

My friend had an appointment yesterday morning to meet some buddies for breakfast at 6:30 before heading for home, so I had him take the couch so he wouldn't wake me. I just sighed when I heard the door close and thought that finally I'd get to relax. NOT!! I settled into my morning routine (which I hadn't been able to do for a couple of days) and started reading blogs and posting. About the time I finished posting the phone rang. Yup, friend was still in the area and wanted me to meet him at the mutual friends rental cabins and help clean them for the new arrivals later in the day. The usual cleaning woman couldn't make it yesterday for some reason or another. I at first said no, because I hate cleaning house. But then he told me how high the owners blood pressure was and she needed the help, so I hopped in the car and away I went. They have 4 cabins and one was occupied so there were only 3 to clean. One was already done by the time I got there so I proceeded to strip the beds and sweep the floors. Someone else got the really sweet task of cleaning the bathrooms and kitchen counter and sink. I had really worked up a sweat by then and thanked him for giving me a workout that wasn't planned. And this time he really did go home. Whew!!

Since I was already out I motored on down to Wal-Mart and picked up an iPod Nano and some other things. Got some size 14 jeans and after getting them home realized they weren't the brand I usually buy but thought, what the heck. Tried them on and started to laugh. They are young girl jeans. Oh, they almost fit but they are low rise and oh, so, skinny in the legs. They only lack 1/4 inch to get them buttoned, so I put them in the bottom drawer where my other "I'll be able to wear those soon" clothes are and will just have to pretend I'm younger when I wear them. Got 4 new t-shirts and had to put 2 in the same drawer because of the spandex. My middle just isn't ready to wear anything that tight yet, but will be. I know, I know, why didn't I try them on at the store instead of waiting until I got home. That would have been the smart thing to do but who said I was smart?

Now I have my HRM and an iPod and am going to enjoy my walking today. Will let you know tomorrow how it all went.

Yesterday was a so, so day food wise. I ate a little more than I meant to but not really too much over my food "budget." I really had the munchies last evening but managed to keep it mostly under control with a big salad. All in all, I don't feel bad about what I ate. And that's a good thing.

Hope you all have a fun weekend. Mine will be, relaxing and enjoying the peace and quiet of my solitary life.

Bad Hair Day...er...Months

One thing I am really disappointed about with this weight loss is my hair. I used to have shiny hair, full of body and a little natural curl, but no more!! Now it's dull and lifeless!! I'd have to wash it every day or you could fry an egg on it and now I could go a couple of days without washing it but I don't . I don't because it is so ugly. It won't do the things it used to do. I can't just wash it and run my fingers through it to let it dry and have it look good. Now I have to use moose and the old curling iron to get it to look decent (not good). I don't think it will ever look good again. And what's with the thinness? I know that is just age and not weight loss but I still hate that part too. My hair is very soft and fine and I can never get any beautician to understand that it curls easy and they always use rollers to small and/or leave the solution on too long. I usually come out of there with a head of kinkiness. Has anyone else experienced this? Does anyone have any suggestions on a good product to use that will help my woes?

I discovered a new way of folding laundry!! Well, actually I read it somewhere many many moons ago but was always too lazy to do it. When I take the laundry out of the dryer, instead of folding it and laying it on top of the dryer or taking it to the couch to set and fold it, I fold one piece at a time as I walk to the kitchen and lay each piece on the table. That way I can sort it as I go and I'm getting in a little more walking and staying off my duff. And if it's on the table I tend to put it away where it belongs instead of letting it pile up on top of the dryer.

My friend called me yesterday on his way home and gave me two choices. I could either meet him and go walking then or meet him at a local restaurant at around 5. I didn't have to think about this long, because if I was going to eat out I definitely had to do some walking before hand. None of the restaurants in our area offer anything for the diet conscious. Everything is fried. The salads or salad bars don't even have any low fat dressing on them. And I wasn't about to turn down eating out even if the food isn't so good. We went to the same area as we walked before but drove farther out before parking the car and it was the most beautiful walk I've done in a long time. WOW!! It was on a seldom used gravel road that still had the beautiful creek beside it and we walked all the way to the Greenbrier River. Luckily I kept my eyes on the road a lot of the time because there were hundreds of little orange salamanders crossing the road. I definitely didn't want to be a killer so I kept pointing them out to friend so he wouldn't step on them too. The walk even included a hill and I was skeptical at first but I did fine without huffing a puffing at the top. YEA!!

My friend is such a hoot. When the waitress came to wait on us she asked us how we were doing and friend said, "Fine, we are traveling around to the different restaurants in the area writing a guide book to good eating." I had the hardest time keeping a straight face. We could hear her bustling around in the kitchen (it's a small place and just opened in March) alerting the cooking staff. We have fun with the people that don't know us well because he always tells them that he comes to the mountains to sleep with "the widow woman" with his wife's blessings. Since I usually give him my bed (and I take the couch), he tells them that he sleeps on the left and me on the right. He just doesn't tell them that we aren't in it at the same time. People usually just stand there and stare with their mouths open. My friend and his wife are such good people and I am looking forward to another visit in late June when the wife will get to come too. He's bringing some old school chums of his and they are renting a cabin a few miles away and the wife will get to stay with me, away from the guy stuff. She's never come by herself before so this will be a real treat for me. She is the type of person they call "the salt of the earth." This friend went all through school with my late husband and after he died the friend didn't dessert me and I am thankful to him and his wife. I really love them and was worried at first that they wouldn't come around anymore but I found out that I had become their friend too and their visits weren't just to see my husband.

Frustration to the Nth Power

Yesterday was a uneventful day until my MP3 player arrive. Then the "fun" (not) began. To my horror the instruction booklet was missing!!! So I plopped the Start-up CD in the ole 'puter and started there, thinking to myself that I'm smart enough to figure this out. After getting to the point were it said to attach the miserable thing to the computer I thought I was on a roll. Boy was I wrong. The first thing it said was to download the latest version of the software on the web site (now why didn't it come with the latest version?). So since I have dial-up and can't get high speed in my area I had to let the thing run for 5 hours. So after finishing that wait, it started installing, which took another 3 hours. When it finally finished I was set to transfer music and pics to the player. IT WOULDN'T SYNC!!! I retried it several time and then gave up and went to the website where I ordered it and went through another 1 1/2 hours completing all the forms and getting a return shipping label from them. This thing is going out in today's mail. What a bummer. I will just have to make a trip somewhere and buy one local and this time I will really check things out and make sure all the stuff is in the box. So much for my excitement of finally receiving it.

Think that was enough complaining?

Hope you have a wonderful Thursday!!

Beautiful Walk

What a wonderful day yesterday!!

My friend called me when he got near and I met him at a mutual friends cabin rental place. We walked all around his place and took off down a gravel road toward the river. There's a beautiful creek that runs through the property and to the river so we enjoyed the sound of the mountain stream along the way. We walked for 55 minutes which is quite a bit farther than I was used to but I just didn't want to stop and turn around as soon as I should have. Sure was fun walking and talking with someone instead of doing it alone. We didn't make it to the river because it is 3 miles one way and I just wasn't up to that far yet. I will be though before too long. My legs were yelling at me last night to prove to me that I did more walking than they wanted me to do, but I just told them to shut up because I had fun.

My energy was depleted when we got home so I fixed us a chicken breast on the grill and I had a whole baked potato instead of a half like I usually do. I was starving!!!

We watched a movie after supper and I kept yawning. What's with that I'm a night owl!?! My friend goes to bed with the chickens and I usually stay up being quiet while he retires. But last night I was ready when he was. I always let him (and his wife when she can come with him) have my bed and I take the couch. When he went up to the loft to sleep I crashed on the couch and read for a little while, but not long last night. Couldn't keep my eyes focused.

Lost a pound and a half last week according to my weigh-in this morning. WooHoo! But I think after reading Janette's book, Half-Assed, I'd like to quit obsessing on the numbers on the scale and start judging how I feel and the sizes of my clothes getting smaller. I don't think I'll be able to do that very well because I love seeing those numbers go down. I ate all but 11 of my flex points last week and logged in 16 activity points. I know you all do a lot more exercise and walking than I do and your activity points (if you count them) are way higher than that, but that was a real accomplishment for me and I'm really tickled about it.

According to the tracking on the MP3 player it was on the truck yesterday and supposed to be delivered then but I never saw nor heard from them. They probably have no idea how to find me so I'm hoping I'll get a call today and meet them somewhere to pick it up. The HRM is supposed to be at my post office tomorrow. Then I'll be set (until I can think of another gadget I can use).

Acceptance

Not much to report today. I had a successful day yesterday with food and exercise. It wasn't raining when I walked (bummer, I was so looking forward to a new experience) but it was cold and I had to wear a jacket. Was even cold in the jacket at first until the calories started to burn away. Looking forward to warmer weather that sticks around for a while, instead of just teasing us like it has in the past couple of weeks.

A friend is supposed to stop by today on his way to visit one of his daughters and I hope he gets here early enough for us to hop in the car and drive somewhere that I can walk that's different and prettier. It's not my scheduled day to walk but I really want to walk somewhere else and I am a little leery about doing that alone. The only places around here to walk are secluded and usually on woodsy trails and I just don't feel safe doing those alone. What if I fell and hurt something and couldn't get out of the woods and back to the car? Or what if I crossed a bear's path and couldn't run fast enough? Or what if I encountered a psycho two legged creature and no one else was around? Those make me shudder. So on a regular basis I'll just stick to my driveway until I can make it up the steep part and then I can walk on another part of my mountain where I feel safe.

I was thinking the other day about my solitary life. When my husband died I thought I'd never be able to live alone and the thoughts of another man (one from my area at least) was gross. Somewhere over the past couple of months I have accepted my life and it ain't so bad. Don't know when that happened but I'm glad it did. I have grown to love my aloneness. The thought of sharing "my space" with another human being is just not what I want. Oh, I feel lonely from time to time but not to the extent that the tears start streaming any more and that feeling only lasts for minutes instead of days like it used too. And I'm a lovin' my new fitter life style! And it's gonna get better still!

Restful Sunday

I had a rather restful Sunday after the company left around 2:30. Read for a while and watched a movie and napped some. Course as soon as the company left off came the "upper undergarment", I just hate those things. And that made me relax more.

I just couldn't get full yesterday. Went way over my allotment again. But I won't fret about it. I'll just get back in the groove today (I hope). Don't know if it was all the eating I did Friday or what I ate that made me want so much yesterday, but I couldn't get full on the regular amounts. Could have been the breakfast out that prompted it all. Oh, well, I'll be back in my routine today and that will help.

Didn't walk yesterday because it wasn't my scheduled day to do it. Guess I'll be walking in the rain today because it isn't supposed to let up all day. That will be a new experience for me. And I'm kinda looking forward to it. I have come to learn that it isn't good for me to walk in the mornings so I've been doing it in the afternoons. Haven't tried the evenings yet but might do that today because I hit a wall around 5:00 or 6:00 and can hardly keep my eyes opened. Think I might do it then to see if it wakes me up some. If I gave in and went to bed at that time I'd be up at 2:00 in the morning ready for the day to begin and if I nap that late I'd be up all night. So I think walking around that time may be a good idea.

There are three of the most beautiful "little" bluebirds in my yard right now and I have never seen this kind before. They aren't the ones with the orange and while bellies, but blue all over except a little bit of black on the wings and tail. They're small like a gold Finch. And I can't find my bird book anywhere. I'm pretty sure someone borrowed it and never returned it and I will probably never see that person again. Here I come Amazon with another order.

Got company coming again tomorrow just for the night. He emailed me and asked if "the Inn" was opened then. He's on his way to visit a daughter and wanted a stopping over-night place. Then my sister-in-law may stop by on her way home from a funeral Wednesday or Thursday. She's never been to my cabin and I sure hope she stops. Their usual route takes them within 30 miles of me so she really doesn't have an excuse not to get off the beaten path a little. Course her hubby is a real pr&*k and may put a damper in it.

Finally, with all the rain we've gotten in the past week, it's green here. This is such a beautiful state when the leaves are on the trees.

Hope your Monday's great and not too stressful.

Feeling Better

Saturday was a better day. I got my walk in and really enjoyed it even though I had to wear a coat because it was COLD. I get kinda tickled because half way through the walk I think to myself that I really don't want to do this and it is soooooo boring just going around and around my driveway but then I remember why I'm doing it and how much better I feel when it is completed. Then the rest of the time seems to fly by. Got an email notification that my HRM and MP3 player have been shipped. Yea, I will have them sometime next week. Will make walking a little more bearable and healthier. I realized that I was doing the walking all wrong at first because I was really doing it fast and my heart was beating way too fast (like at the cardio level). Then after a day of reading about the optimum fat burning rate I've slowed it down but can't really tell what the rate is unless I stop to count the beats. Now with the HRM I won't have to stop.

Well, I'm not going to eat the steak after all, Cammy (but I did get taken out to breakfast this morning). Daughter and company came back from rafting starving and I fixed them the steaks in the freezer. Will have to save that treat for another time. I had a great day staying on my eating plan. I went over a little but got to use some activity points and I think that is way cool. And I feel much better today too.

My daughter kept telling me over and over again how much weight I'd lost since seeing her last and that was the first of April. I had to admit to her that I had only lost 2 pounds since then and she said it must be the exercise I'm getting because I look a lot smaller. That was a real self-esteem boost. And I think she may be right because these jeans are getting a little baggy in the butt. Oh, no, I'll have to go to Wally World and get a smaller size. What perils we face when losing weight. When I bought the ones I'm wearing now they were the second ones I bought. I've already sent those first ones to the fat clothes pile in my garage. So I think when I get new ones I'll do the same thing and then I'll have something else to look forward to. When I went thrift shop shopping with my friend in the fall I found the cutest, homemade, pair of bibs that I knew I wouldn't be able to wear until I was at goal but I'm so anxious to wear them. Don't have any idea what size they are since they're homemade but I hope I will be able to wear them sometime.

My company left this morning to head back home and that's a bummer. So it's just like any other Sunday at this house. I miss my Mom and wish she were still alive so I could call her or go visit her and take her somewhere special, so those of you out their that still have your Mommy, enjoy her immensely and tell her how special she is.

Have a great day!

So-So-Friday

Yesterday was a good day and a bad day. An old saying just popped into my head. "Some days you get the bear and some days the bear gets you." That's how my Friday went but they both happened in one day.

I didn't get my walking in yesterday. Was really busy cleaning and cooking that I forgot all about it until just minutes before my company arrived (my oldest daughter and her significant other/boyfriend came to visit from NJ). Will be sure to do it today.

I made a big casserole (the marzetti) and had a salad and Texas Toast for the company, then cheesecake for dessert. About an hour before they arrived I realized that they are all (they brought a couple of friends with them) skinny and I didn't have any salad dressing that they'd eat so I whipped up some homemade thousand island (with real mayonnaise) for them. It was so much fun cooking for someone else. Everything was fine until we sat down to eat. The Texas Toast wouldn't shut up and I ended up giving in and had a half a piece. Then the homemade dressing started screaming at me and I caved. Ole mister cheesecake didn't get my attention and I had my "diet" dessert, YEA! We didn't eat until late and I was sure I wouldn't be hungry the rest of the evening, but alas, I was wrong. And the worst thing about back sliding is that I didn't want any of my usual "GOOD" snacks. And, guess what, I caved again. Went way over my points for the day so the yummy steak I was looking forward to on Sunday will have to wait until another week.

The worse part or maybe the best part of the over indulgence yesterday is that I feel horrible today. Not just mentally, for doing what I did, but physically as well. I feel like I have a hangover and I didn't even have any alcohol. I've learned my lesson!! Stay away from Texas Toast and homemade thousand dressing. And especially on a day I didn't exercise.

Was so enjoyable visiting with my daughter and getting lots of hugs. They are white water rafting on the Gauley River right now and don't know when they will be home but I am anxiously await that arrival. Wish my baby girl was here too.

Half the Mountain Gone

Well, I've noticed lately that some of you have been posting before and after (and in some cases during) pictures of yourselves and I have no one to take a picture of me now and started feeling disappointed. I don't have a time delay on my camera so can't do it that way. I just improvised and stood in front of the bathroom mirror with the camera at arms length (looking in the mirror to make sure I was centered) and got some head shots. So here is me before in 2006 at 249 lbs. and one taken yesterday at 195 lbs. Until I put them side by side I hadn't really noticed the difference. Got 55 lbs. to go so I'm almost half way there.

It poured buckets here last night. And thundered and lightening-ed. I just kept praying, "Please don't let the power go off...Please don't let the power go off." It worked! We're supposed to get rain and thunderstorms off and on for the next several days and I haven't had to walk in the rain yet. Maybe if I time it right I can avoid it until another day. So far the skies are clear but that can always change in a heart beat.

I took some more of your advice and went over my daily allotment of points and dipped into my flex points some yesterday. I'm still afraid to go over by much. And I bought a nice steak for grilling on Sunday. I had forgotten that that usually kick-starts me into losing. Steak is one of the things I really miss on this diet (and fried chicken). And I like the fatty ones like rib eyes. Oh, I am so looking forward to Sunday. But in the mean time, I will be a good girl. (and after too)

Cutting this a bit short this morning, 'cause I gotta clean house. Got company coming and I'm one of those that puts it off until someone besides myself will see it. I don't really have much of a mess, just need to vacuum and dust and do the dishes.

Thought for the Day

Thanks sooooo much for the advice yesterday. I think Candace and Fatinah may have hit my nail on the head or rather hit me on the head where I needed it. I had definitely been in the wrong mind set on walking (which is exercise for me) and eating. I was thinking that getting the exercise in and eating less would produce better results. I was so wrong (as the scales indicated). So I took the advice and added to my daily intake. Did some munching last night on good things and haven't recorded them yet so don't really know how many of my flex points or activity points I used but I do know that I dipped into them.

A few months ago when I lost another daily point I was toying with the idea of just mentally dividing my flex points up, adding them to my daily points and making that my new daily point target. I didn't do it but maybe I should. Think I may try that for the next few weeks and see if it makes a difference. The idea is scary though.

Ok, I decided to put on a pedometer yesterday to check how far I walk in a day. I kept hearing the thing go click, click, click...all over the house. Cool, I thought, at least I'm getting off my rump. Then while setting in the "throne room" I got to thinking. The thing clicked when I dropped my drawers and will surely click when I pull them up! Now this wouldn't be a problem for men but us gals gotta drop the drawers frequently through-out the day and I surely don't want to call that a step or is it? Wonder how much effort it takes to lower yourself and then raise yourself from the porcelain? :o) Just a thought for the day.

Hey, there goes a ground hog across my driveway! It's the first one I've seen around my cabin! One nice thing about living so high is that I don't see any poisonous snakes. Everyone around here tells me that they don't live this high, so lets just hope they're right. Actually I haven't seen any snakes on my property except the one the gravel truck brought it with it when I had my driveway re-graveled and it was a little fella.

I was reading Andrew's blog yesterday when he was talking about Jacob's Ladder. There's a place near me that has three water falls and I've never been to the one at the bottom because there are a WHOLE BUNCH of steps to climb to get back up. Now that I'm getting in shape a little I wonder how long it will be before I'll be able to go down and see the beauty for myself? Not going to push it right away but I may try to go down to the second falls sometime this summer and see how hard it is to get back up.

Wednesday Weigh-In :-(

What's with the scales? I've only dipped into my flex points this week by 2, and I think that was on weigh-in day when I always treat myself to something little. I've stuck with my walking schedule and have been walking vigorously not just sauntering along. I haven't even logged my weight on the WW site yet because I just don't want to log a gain. Yes, I'm up a pound. (I keep reading a blog then get up and re-weigh myself, read a blog and get up and re-weigh myself...)Think I will wait until after my walk today and see if that helps, before I log.

Looking forward to the weekend. One of my girls is coming to visit. They have plans to go white water rafting on Saturday so I won't see her much but seeing her a little is better than none. I'm even going to make two of her favorites (Marzetti and Pot Roast) for dinner while she's here. And the best part is that I can eat them too! I just love having someone to cook for besides just me. When it's just me I go the quickest and easiest route.

My new breakfast regiment isn't going so good. I just can't make myself eat so soon after getting up in the mornings. Yesterday I had to gag down the food because my tummy just wasn't ready for it yet. So, I've decided to go back to the old way of doing things (since it didn't help this week anyway) and eat when I'm ready to eat and to heck with the "experts." I've lost all this weight so far doing it the old way so maybe it is working for me.

Two hours later:
I changed my mind and went ahead and logged my weight gain :-(

I did order a Heart Rate Monitor yesterday because after some research on the matter I found that I was walking too vigorously because my heart rate was way too high for my age and novisness (wonder if that is a word). Sure hope it is shipped sooner than the Zune. It still hasn't shipped and Amazon says they will ship within 5-9 days. Yea, right. It's been 13 days. Well, if you only count business days, today is the 9th. So in order to keep their promise they better ship it today.

Heart Rate?...Calorie Burn?...

Yesterday was uneventful in my life.

Got my walk in and did it very vigorously.

Stayed under points by .5 (and even ate the pumpkin custard that didn't get baked the night the power went off, I baked it yesterday morning).

Wait, those to are an event!!

Didn't get the laundry done (or even started) like planned but what the heck, I'm the only one here needing clean clothes and I can always find something to tied me over until I get motivated.

I never even changed out of my "jammies" yesterday. Living alone and secluded I just felt like being comfortable all day and even did my walk in them :o).

I kept checking my heart rate (with my hand at the carotid) during my walk and got to wondering what heart rate is good for burning calories so guess I'll go searching this afternoon and find out. I know for sure that this "old" heart hasn't had a workout like the one I'm giving it with my power walks in a long time and I know that it's good for it. My doctor will be really happy when I go in for my annual next month. And I haven't needed to see him since I lost 50 pounds either. Wonder what he'll say? It better be a compliment or I'll scream. I say that because I've seen several people lately that I haven't seen since I started this weight loss and they didn't even notice, and I didn't tell them.

Sorry so short and unrambly.

Breakfast Hater...

I know, I know, breakfast is the most important meal of the day but I still hate it. Well, I hate eating when I first get up. Tried to research breakfast and find out the perfect time to eat breakfast and the perfect what to eat for breakfast and got no where fast. Then, when searching for ways to break the plateau I found out about breakfast. Strange, huh?

I now know that I should eat no more than an hour after I get up and that, I think, is doable. I also found out that I should eat grains and I hate cereal or anything else sweet in the mornings, so after considerable thinking decided that I'd go the bagel route. Now I know we are supposed to vary our meals and not have the same thing day after day, but until I can come up with another substitute for cereal (hot or cold), I'll stick with the bagel and cream cheese to get the dairy in too.

One of the suggestions, to break the plateau, said to vary the calorie count daily. It said to stick with the weekly calorie alotment but to go below or above on some days to fool the body. That, I'm a little skeptical about. Or rather afraid of. Then again maybe that is what I am doing when I don't eat all my points in a days time and go over another day? Hmmmm, food for thought.

I had a pretty good day yesterday. Only went over daily points by 1.

Last evening I whipped up some pumpkin custard and put it in the oven and sat down with my crocheting to watch a move while the custard baked and everything went black. The best laid plans of mice and men... The power was off!!! ARGH!!! Called the power company to report it and they already knew about it. Said it wouldn't be fixed until 6 something this morning. So I lit some candles and a hurricane lamp and pulled the custard out of the oven (which had only been in there for less than 5 minutes) to let it cool so I could put it in my "not working" fridge for the night. Didn't want it to spoil since it was my last can of pumpkin. I got out the trusty flashlight and grabbed my book and headed for the bed (after blowing out the candles and lamp) where I read for about an hour before deciding to go on to sleep. At around 3:15 this morning the light beside my bed came on and woke me up. Good, I thought, the power's back on so I turned off the light and dozed off into la-la land again. Just about the time I had fallen back to sleep the phone rings. I panicked, jumped up and answered it. I mean, who calls at 3 something in the morning if it isn't an emergency? The power company, that's who. Yep, they called to ask if my power was back on. Now it was only one of those automated cally thingies but shouldn't someone reprogram it to not call in the middle of the night? Ah, the wonders of living in the country.

New Shoes and New Friends

I was armed with the print outs and ready to shop. But I thought I'd better do some more research and find out where they sell these shoes or others like them. Back to the search engine. The first brand I was looking at (Columbia) had the closest retail store as Roanoke and that's a 3 hour drive, so I scratched them off my list. Then the other ones (The North Face) had one within 18 miles of me. Whoopee! It was a little shop at SnowShoe Mountain. Well, I live in this area and know for sure that SnowShoe is more than 18 miles from me but it is a lot closer than Roanoke. So I called them to make sure and sure enough they had the brand and guess what, they had the other brand too. I grabbed the credit card and car keys and off I took. Just out of curiosity I reset the tripometer. There are two ways to get to Snowshoe from my house so I went there one way and back the other. The scenic route was 51 miles and the sensible route was 41 miles. I always thought that the map sites were quoting mileage as the crow flies and now I'm sure of it. Oh, well, it was a pretty day so I opened the sun roof, turned Jimmy Buffet up loud and just enjoyed the drive.

I ended up not getting either brand. I was looking for a light weight hiking shoe so my footing would be good on the gravel and then on the trails (there are hundreds of them around here) when I decide to venture out a little. I ended up getting a brand called Sanoma and they are way cool. Extremely light weight and very flexible and best of all they had the best arch support.

When I got to the little store there was a sign on the door that the sales lady had stepped out and wouldn't be back until 12:00 noon which was 20 minutes from when I arrived. ARGH! I had just called her and told her I was coming. My first thought was, "Why didn't she wait for me?" Then I cooled down and decided that since I had 20 minutes to wait on her I'd just get my 20 minute walk in so off I went, around and around the resort. It wasn't as flat as I've been doing in front of my cabin but I knew I'd benefit from it and did. And it was nice to walk somewhere different. See, Cammy, I found a new place to walk yesterday too. I was so excited with my new shoes that I was disappointed that I'd already gotten my walk in but I wore them home and enjoyed them on the trek back to the car, which wasn't really close to the store. All the shops at SnowShoe are in a little court yard kinda place and you have to park a distance from the court yard to get to them.

On the way back (going the sensible way) I stopped at a local hardware store and bought another humming bird feeder. (Now that makes 5, and I still can't find the other 4.) The hummers are happy now and I'm glad.

I'd like to take a little time to thank all of you out there for your support, opinions and all around help. I am so glad that Cara talked me into starting my own blog. It sure has expanded my world and you are keeping me going on this slow journey. And you've turned me on to walking. What wonderful people you are!!!!!

Productivity and Forgetfulness

Goooood Morning! I had a pretty good night's sleep last night. I only woke up once wincing in pain and the pain wasn't as bad as the night before so I must be healing. And I can type two handed this morning instead of using one full hand and just a finger of the other. Although the finger still looks like a "banger."

I had a pretty productive day yesterday. It all started with a humming bird hovering just outside the window where the computer sets (and this is not where I feed them). They arrived early so I went to get the humming bird feeder out of storage. Alas, I could only find part of it. Where is the rest? I couldn't remember putting it away last year so I wasn't sure. I decided that I'd probably put the other part under my kitchen sink since I'd probably washed it good before retiring it for the season. So, I sat on my fanny in front of the sink and proceeded to look for it. This wasn't going to be easy, just looking, so out came EVERYTHING. This is a task that I've been meaning to do for at least 2 years and kept putting it off. Now all the stuff under the sink is straightened up and all the stuff that had only a dribble in it is in the trash. Sure is a nice feeling to get that done. But...I still can't find the rest of the feeder! I did this last year too! The year before I had 3 humming bird feeders hanging on the porch and couldn't find a one of them. I knew that I'd cleaned them and put them away, but for the life of me I couldn't find them. So off to the store I went and bought another one. Guess what, I think I'm going to have to go buy another one this year. I am so disorganized.

Thanks for the advice on shoes. Sorry, Fatinah, I searched online and couldn't find a Running Room in my area. So I continued searching for the ones that Cammy suggested and found 2 that look like just what I need. I'm skeptical about buying shoes online (have tried that and they never fit right) so I printed out the pictures, info and prices and will carry them with me when I go shopping, maybe tomorrow. Gotta go to that dreaded mall I guess. Actually I'm pretty limited with places to buy good athletic shoes so I may do a little more research to find a place that carries these shoes.

Looks like it's going to be a good day for being outside so I know I'll enjoy my walk. Sure wish the MP3 player would get here. I kept checking the status of my order and it was supposed to be shipped on April 29th. At 10:30 PM it still hadn't shipped and that's when I became skeptical, with good cause because checking it the next day I found that they'd changed the date to May 5th. Here goes another week of singing to myself and it's not a pretty thought since I "can't carry a tune in a bucket." I don't know why I didn't get the gene that helps people carry a tune because I love to sing. At least now I can do it without anyone telling me to shut up, since the dogs are the only ones that have to listen to me and they can't talk.

Saga of a Thursday Walk

Well, people I got my walk in yesterday, but at what cost? I even added something to it and put in a trip down the steep part (one baby step after the other) and back up the non steep part. I did that in the middle of my walk and it felt great to get that accomplished. Heart rate was 180 when I finished. Is that good?

But the saga begins just before the walk. I decided to walk after catching up on all the bloggers that I frequent. When I had finished I put on the old sneakers (note to self: buy new sneakers) and headed out the door. As I was descending the porch steps something went awry. I slipped and bounced down 4 of them. Tried to catch myself with my left hand and injured not only the butt but the middle finger. I hit so hard that I lost my hearing for about 5 minutes. I sat there for a while and just cried, then hobbled into the house and crashed on the couch until the hearing came back. All I could think of was that the evil one was trying to keep from walking. Let me digress a little and say that the first thing I looked at when I fell was the middle finger. I thought I'd broken a nail. Now tell me that's not a girly thing. Then I realized that it was much worse than a nail when I couldn't hear. Well, I wasn't going to let the fall get the best of me and I didn't think I needed an ambulance so, still having the sneakers on, out I went for the walk. About half way through it the hip joint of my left leg started hurting and I just kept limping and it worked itself out. So now you know why I used baby steps to get down the steep part. I was scared to death that I'd fall again. And keep in mind that since I live in the country the driveway is not paved, only gravel.

Sleep last night was horrible. Every time I shifted positions the tail bone hurt like...well you get the picture. And I must have hit the finger on the bed a few times because the pain from that wasn't pleasant either. This morning I tried to look in the bathroom mirror at my rear without success but the finger looks like an over stuffed sausage.

I'm taking today off from walking since I'm not supposed to do it more than 3 times a week at first. I'll probably just do it every other day for a while.

On a happier note, when I logged my points in last night I had 4 points left over for the day. My first thought was, "Wow, I can eat something else," then my second thought was, "Why, you're not hungry." So I went on to bed. I was exhausted from the ordeal of the day and was in bed 2 hours before my usual time.

Since I'm not going to be running anytime soon I don't need running shoes. Do you have any suggestions for the best walking shoes? The ones I have aren't really old but really stiff and I feel like I have club feet when I walk in them. And they are a little tight, can't even get them tied. They are hand me downs from a friend. I need something with a good sole because of the gravel but I sure would rather have a more flexible pair.

Hope all of you have a wonderful weekend. I haven't got any plans except walking tomorrow.

Walking and a Recipe

Didn't do my walking this morning, so here's my plan. I'm getting it in this afternoon or evening. Think it's a working plan?

Actually the reason I didn't do it this morning is because I was just too tired to bend over and tie my shoe laces. I sure wish my bladder held more. After 6 hours it's just too full to wait any longer and this morning when I came downstairs to empty it I didn't feel like going back upstairs so I just hit the couch and got in another 3 hours. So I'm a little groggy this morning and just couldn't make myself go out there and do the boring walk around and around and around the driveway. Gonna cheer myself on today to "get-r-done." I gotta do this...I gotta do this...I gotta do this...Rah, Rah, Sis Boom Bah.

On a happier note I was looking through some of my favorite recipes that I can't have anymore and came across one that just might work, so I typed it into the recipe builder on WW and low and behold it worked. So now I will share it with you. This recipe came from my Aunt Ella, who used to take care of me after school while Mother worked. She was my great aunt and I loved her dearly, and not just because she gave me a duck when I was in 3rd grade either. This recipe makes a huge amount and I'm giving it to you in it's entirety so if you have a lot of people in your family it will work and if you don't you can cut it down or freeze some. It freezes well.

MARZETTI

1 lb. lean ground beef (or your substitute for beef)
1 medium onion (chopped)
1 medium green pepper (chopped)
1 bunch of celery (chopped), yep, lots of celery
1 medium can mushrooms
1 large can stewed tomatoes (diced or squished up)
1 tsp basil
8 oz package noodles (cooked per directions)

In a large dutch oven, saute onion, green pepper and celery until almost tender. (Now here is where Aunt Ella used a stick of butter to do the sauteing but we know this isn't good for us so I am going to use just a little olive oil.)
Add ground beef and brown.
Drain noodles and add them along with the rest of the ingredients.
Stir and place a lid on pot and place in the oven at 350 degrees for an hour.

I divided it up into 8 servings and it is only 4 points per serving. And believe me that is a good sized portion. So if it is too much for you it will be less points. And I would guesstimate the calories at around 200 to 250 (since the 100 cal. snack packs are 2 points). Gonna have to do some research and find out the calorie content of my recipes for those of you that aren't on WW. I do understand that WW is not all powerful but it does work for me and we all know that we have to do what works for us.

I've discovered that there are days that I don't log my points in and those are the days that I am usually under or right on the points. My mind has decided that it knows when I'm being good and what to eat to make me good, I guess. The funny thing is that when I set down here every time I eat something and log in my food I usually go over by a few points. Maybe it's because I look at the points left and think to myself what else I can eat the rest of the day, so I've been waiting until just after supper to log my points. That way I keep myself on track in my own little way. Whatever works, right?

Gotta walk...Gotta walk...Gotta walk...still chanting.