A Mountain of Weight to Lose

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA...

2009-07-04T05:06:00.001-04:00

It's Me Again...

2009-06-18T09:17:00.003-04:00

HELLO everyone!! :o) :o)

No, I'm not sick. No, I'm not on a cruise. No, I haven't left "healthy-land." I've just been preoccupied and not much in the mood to blog. I don't really have much to say lately because I haven't been doing anything extraordinary. Been just doing mundane stuff and since it doesn't interest me, I didn't figure it would interest you either.

I'm more or less stuck at 185-190. Tried to get down to 180 but I think my body likes it here, so here I'll stay.

Our summer weather has been rather cool. All the new summer clothes I bought are a little too skimpy for this kind of weather. Suppose it will get warmer eventually. I probably shouldn't complain because I know a lot of you are having heat waves, but I'm ready for warm enough weather to be able to open some windows and the door to let some fresh air in but haven't been able to do that more than a couple of times, and here it is more than half way through June. ::talk about a runon sentence:: It also has decided to be a wet summer so I'm having a hard time finding it dry enough to get out and mow the lawn on a regular basis. But I do take advantage of a sunny day once in a while and mow, mow, mow.

The weekend's just around the corner, working-blog-buds, so enjoy it to the fullest.

I HATE TO CLEAN THE KITCHEN...

2009-06-02T10:33:00.003-04:00

I think you all know this if you've been reading me for any length of time but yesterday it got ridiculous. When I got home from my shopping trip on Sunday with my "chatty buddy" I just unloaded the car onto my kitchen table. Groceries, clothes, empty water bottles, etc. After putting away the cold stuff from the groceries I vegged out the rest of the evening. After all, shopping IS hard work :o)

Well, yesterday (around 4:00 PM) I couldn't stand it anymore so I started on the kitchen. Ran some water for the dishes while starting to cook my supper. I finally got the kitchen done at around 11:00 last night. Yep, it took me that long. No, it wasn't that dirty or cluttered. I just couldn't make myself stick with it until it was finished. I'd wash a few dishes, then go to the computer, then back to the sink where the water had escaped and had to run more (that happened 3 times), then back to the computer. I think I'm addicted to the computer. What do you think? Maybe I need a life :o) Don't know if I've ever told you but I almost have my masters in computer programming (that's where I met my last hubby). Course that was before the Internet was so popular and they didn't offer classes on HTML and the other stuff that is so popular now (you know like back in the olden days). But that's how I got addicted to computers.

Thanks for all your great comments on buying clothes, it was fun and to heck with the gas costs. It's kinda funny because all I really bought was stuff to wear around the house. That's what I was lacking in. I bought 3 pairs of carpi's made out of t-shirt material and 7 t-shirts (all on sale of course), and some undies and athletic socks. I was so looking forward to the comfy carpi's that I put on a pair with one of my new t-shirts and pranced around thinking I looked grand, until I looked in the mirror. Oh, well, that's a story for another time. After having supper where I had spilled some on my new carpi's (but they wash well) I noticed a 6 inch row of little holes in them about mid thigh. ARGH! and I had already soiled them! Now I know why they were on sale. I grabbed the other two pairs and checked them out at length and they are ok. Think I'll just ravel out a piece of fabric and put a funky patch on them, after all they are just for around the house.

My eating was great yesterday and it showed on the scales this morning :o) Got outside yesterday afternoon and fired up the weed eater and hit the sides and middle of my gravel driveway. I almost fell about 3 times going down the steep part and decided then and there that I'm no spring chicken and I'll leave the driveway for someone younger when they come to visit. Got the replacement blade for my lawn mower and now I'm ready to get out there and mow, but it doesn't need it, durn. I'm not the type that likes a lawn cut too close. I like it green and lush looking so I'll wait a few days.

Have a great day blog-buds!!

My Weekend...

2009-06-01T12:19:00.002-04:00

Had a nice weekend. Took a friend shopping and out to lunch for her birthday (2 weeks late, but we just couldn't hook up earlier). I over did it eating wise but that's ok. I don't feel bad about it because I expected to do that. Am back on it today.

Spent 7 hours with the friend and I don't think she ever took a breath. She talks constantly!! But I love her just the same. Don't think I'll be calling her for a few days. Need some peace and quiet :o)

I had to go shopping for some summer clothes. I only had one pair of shorts that fit and jeans and they are too heavy for around the house in the summer. Found some good bargains but had to hit several shops to find them. We won't talk about all the gas I wasted looking :o) But I'm all set now.

Hope your weekend was grand!!

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall...

2009-05-29T08:20:00.004-04:00

I talked yesterday about blogger giving me fits with not keeping the posts current and now there is another problem. Or at least I think it's blogger. For some reason I can't view Sandy's "A working Mom's joy" or CYa Girl. Every time I try to read their posts I get an error. Is that happening to anyone else?

I keep looking at the forecast every morning to see if it will be conducive to mowing that day and it looks like it will be Sunday or Monday now. Then this morning as I was setting on the throne it dawned on me that my mower isn't in working order right now. The bent blade is in the back of my car and I had totally forgotten about it. So, if I'm going to get out there and cut that high grass I'd better head to the hardware store today and get that blade.

"Weight loss is relative." By this I mean...I've lost 70 pounds and when I started on maintenance I felt that I looked pretty durn good. And all my friends and relatives were calling me skinny and such. But now that I've been on maintenance for a few months I feel and look fat again. I can remember looking at my legs a few months ago and thinking, "Wow, they are skinny." Now not so much. So, what to do? Do I go off maintenance for a while and get more of this fat off or do I just accept myself as I am? I started out at 250 and have gotten down to 180. At 5' 4" that is still obese, but a lot healthier than at 250. When I started this weight loss/healthier me program I had 150 in mind for my goal. Then when I stalled at 180 and became obsessed with food and so miserable I decided to stop there. But now I don't know what to do. If I get down to 150 will I look at myself again in a few months and have the same thoughts? Will this turn into an eating disorder? That kinda scares me. What are your thoughts?

Have a great weekend!

What is that Smell?...

2009-05-28T08:27:00.002-04:00

Not much going on in my life right now and I'm a-lovin'-it. Company is nice but I much prefer my routine.

Got an email from the company last night that he had cooked a burger for my dogs and left it on the grill. I ran out to the grill and opened the lid and whew, the smell hit me full force. That sucker got frisbeed into the woods.

Gotta head into town today to get some staples and stuff. Don't really want to do it but I must.

And the durn grass is going to drive me crazy with all this rain. I think I can actually see it grow. Looking forward (NOT) to a couple of dry days so I can mow. Now I know how my hubby felt when he looked outside and grumbled about the grass. It's right up there with all the dishes that keep getting dirty and needing washed. Think I'm lazy? Nah, not me!!

Hungry? Not Me...

2009-05-27T09:33:00.003-04:00

I just scrolled down my blog bud list and discovered some that I hadn't visited in a while. Actually, it said they hadn't posted in several days or weeks but the titles looked different to me so I checked them out and found out that they had posted in the past day. What's with this blogger thing? So sorry if you haven't gotten a comment from me in a while and thought I was snubbing you but I wasn't . I was counting on the blog list to let me know when you had posted a new blog and it didn't. I will be more careful in the future and check in with you no matter what the date says.

I'm having a rough time sticking with this "diet" thing right now. Don't know what is wrong. I'm not eating the wrong stuff but just too much of the right stuff. I gotta get my butt in gear and quit this. And the worst part of it is I'm eating when I'm not hungry. Don't know what has gotten into me. And instead of my usual one cup of soup, I am sometimes eating another cup, thinking that tasted so good I'll just have another. There is one day's menu that will keep me on the straight and narrow but it gets so boring that I can't seem to stick with it for more than a couple of days. And if I go off it, I over eat. I just have to get this 9 pounds back off so I can continue this maintenance correctly.

Been having some trouble with one of my doggies. He has been nipping lately and out right bit me the other day. There was another dog involved when he bit me but he wasn't in the middle of a ruckus with the other dog. He was nipping at him from across the room for no reason and when I reprimanded him he turned and bit me. It didn't bring blood but bruised my hand. I'm going to keep an eye on him and try to find something that he has done wrong and try the reprimanding again and if he turns on me again, I'll have to have him put down. It's just too dangerous to have a biting dog around. The worst part is he has always been the gentle one all his life and his sister has been the high strung one and now she is the gentle one. They are 10 years old now and that isn't really old for a small dog but maybe he is getting senile or maybe it's because he only has one eye and the sight in that eye isn't very good. I just don't know.

Have a great Hump Day!

Bat and Carpenter Bee Update...

2009-05-26T09:11:00.003-04:00

But first, forgot to mention that the tunnel we visited Sunday was carved using only hand tools. That is what makes it so awesome. And you can see by the size of the people standing in front of it how huge it is. Don't know why I forgot that little tidbit. And as we were walking through it in the dark the neighbor that visits it regularly informs us that people ride horses through it all the time and that we may step in a pile. We all just froze wishing we'd brought a flashlight. But we ventured on and didn't get our feet dirty.

Now on to the unwelcome critters in my life...

I subscribe to a free magazine called West Virginia Wildlife that is published 4 times a year. In it for spring, they had a long article on bats. They told how to keep the bats out of your house and when to do it. It's not the time of year to do it right now because they talked of doing the stuff to the outside of the house but if I can get someone to help me we can bat proof my cabin from the inside. Just gotta find someone that isn't afraid to get on a ladder and help me. If you're interested in subscribing to the magazine and since it's free, click here. Then click on subscribe at the bottom. It's not a very big magazine but it has some really neat stuff on the critters in this mountain state. Oh, and in the article on bats they said the droppings are great for gardens. Thank goodness I only have one or two and don't have to worry about shoveling the stuff up, or I'd use it on my flower beds.

Now to the bees...Orkin was just here 2 weeks ago and the bees are really active. Have to dust their residue off my coffee table daily now. So I called them last Friday to let them know that what they did the last time didn't help at all and got a call this morning that Jeremy is on his way to do something that should stop the problem. Cross you fingers that this treatment will work. I'm so afraid that they will continue to eat on my main roof support beam that my roof will come tumbling down on me. The bees are so bad right now that even setting on my porch they buzz me. So I haven't been doing much setting there.

And speaking of flower beds (back there somewhere), my company loves to piddle in the yard so she cleaned out one of my flower beds and my dragon bed. She even painted my dragon. Well, she gave it a base coat, and I'm going to work on highlighting the scales and stuff when the rain stops. But here's a pic of her when she finished.

Have a great week!

My Sunday...

2009-05-25T09:32:00.006-04:00

Company just hit the road for home. So sad to see them go and so great to have the house to myself.

They brought their new puppy (6 month old lab) with them and my dogs were none too happy about it. They were really grumpy and fussy. So much so that we had to separate them a few times. When they come to visit I give up my bed for them and I take the couch. I was awakened every morning by a really thorough face washing by a LARGE tongue. I knew it was time to get up and let her out to potty. She is a very well behaved and sweet dog and I wish I could have enjoyed her more but mine wouldn't let me.

We had some neighbors (mutual friends) over for dinner last night. Burgers on the grill. They always bring beef with them from the half cow they purchase every year. I was watching him make the burgers to put on the grill and was aghast at all the fat in them. I was leery about eating that but didn't want to hurt his feelings so I ate only about half of mine without a bun or bread and I fixed a few veggies to go along with them. The neighbor brought a cake (oh, drats).

While we were setting there eating and talking about things in the county that are fun to see I remembered a railroad tunnel that the neighbors had told me about several times and that is really hard to find and I've never been there. So in between dinner and cake we all hopped in the car and took off to see it. And I left my camera home, drats! So the pics are from the web. This is a really neat place and really off the beaten path so the only people that see it from out of the area are probably those that hike or bike the Greenbrier River Trail.

The tunnel is 511 feet long and really dark. We started walking and just as the light behind us started to fade we could see a bend in the tunnel up ahead and a little light. It was really enjoyable. Just outside the tunnel is a bridge that used to be a railroad bridge and has been converted into a walking or biking bridge.

While on the trip there, I was riding in the backseat and talking to the two ladies. I started getting car sick so had to face front. I keep forgetting about that little problem of mine and keep hoping I'll out grow it but I don't seem to be able to do that. Just as were were entering the town on our way I had to hit a restroom in the worst way. It wasn't the car sickness but the fat in those burgers that hit me all of a sudden at the other end. I know TMI. But I really won't be eating that much fat again. And to think that was such a part of my previous life. "I've come a long way baby."

When we got home I had a very small piece of the cake and smothered it in fresh strawberries from my companies garden.

Hope the weather holds out today so that I can get out there and walk some. I may even start up the weed eater and head down my driveway hitting the sides and middle to get it to looking like someone lives here :o) I was really surprised that I enjoyed the weed eating the other day so I won't be dreading it so much any more.

Hope your Memorial Day is a grand one and the weather is cooperating for the picnics many of you are going to.

Company and Walknng...

2009-05-24T07:30:00.002-04:00

Company's here and we are enjoying each other. Went for a really, really long walk (well, for me it was long) yesterday. Have no idea how long it really was but it was so long that I treated myself to a soft serve ice cream afterward. Actually it was right before coming home to fix dinner so we had our dessert first. Dinner was grilled chicken breast, baked sweet potato and a salad. It was so yummy. Mainly because all I had to do was bake the potatoes and make the salad. Ron grilled the chicken and he does it so much better than I do. It was moist and tender. Mine seems to be hard and dried out. I never can figure out how long to leave chicken on the grill and always have the fire too high. Maybe I should have watched him but I didn't think to.

Waiting for the rain to start today and last all week.

Enjoy the last two days of your long weekend.

Grass Cutting Disaster...

2009-05-23T08:31:00.000-04:00

Yesterday started off as a good day. Got the windows done. Then it went downhill from there. On my first sweep of the yard I ran into an old gas line that the propane man had just thrown down there when he replaced it last fall. It was hidden in the grass and bent the lawn mower blade in an almost 45 degree angle. I was pissed. I had heard my neighbor with his weed eater a little earlier so I waited until I thought he was inside and called him to come have a look at it to see if it could be bent back in shape. In the mean time I got the weed eater out and after 300 tries got it started. I couldn't start it last week and I finally figured out why. It didn't have any gas in it. Well, DUH! So I finally got it started yesterday and proceeded to get rid of the high grass around my flower beds and the fire pit. Then I thought what the heck. I started on the rest of the lawn. Have you ever cut your entire yard with a weed eater? It ain't fun. Ernie showed up as I was about half way through and I took a break while he tried like crazy to fix the blade. It couldn't be fixed. He'd brought his lawn mower up when he came and got it down off the truck and finished the yard for me while I hit the perimeters with the weed eater. He is such a great neighbor and friend. I am blessed to have him.

I waited for him to leave and stripped down on the porch all the way to my undies (Bet you can't do that) so I wouldn't track grass all over the house. Boy that shower felt good.

Grabbed my Kindle and hit the swing on the front porch. So the day ended nicely.

All I had to eat yesterday was a chicken sandwich, a couple of ounces of cheese, some pretzels and a huge salad. Then before bedtime, some rice pudding and a granola bar.

Company called last night and are heading my way this morning, so I've got a lot to accomplish before they arrive. I thought they weren't coming until tomorrow but they surprised me.

Have fun this weekend y'all.

My New Technology...

2009-05-22T12:41:00.002-04:00

Have you ever had a "well, DUH" moment? I seem to be having them a lot lately. I'm having a hard time getting used to my DSL. Hey, did I tell you I have DSL? Just kidding.

It's making me realize how long it takes to form new habits. I will sometimes be online and wonder if someone tried to call while I was online. Well, DUH, I would have heard the phone ring. But I catch myself picking up the phone to check my voice mail. And there's the times that I'm setting here and get hungry and jump up to get myself a sandwich and think to myself, "I'd better disconnect first in case someone wants to call." Then it hits me that I don't have to do that anymore. It's been almost a month now and these thoughts are getting fewer but they still happen.

Hey, I didn't share with y'all what I got for Mother's Day.

I'm a lovin' my new Kindle. It is a little weird getting used to not turning pages to read but I think this habit will form eventually too. Well, gotta fess up, I bought it for myself for Mother's
Day. But the girls were both thrilled that I'd gotten it so I just think of it as being from them. I don't want either of them spending their hard earned money on me. And what on earth could they get me anyway. They know that if I want anything I'll get it for myself.

I just finished cleaning all my windows and am having a bite of lunch before I go out and cut the grass. (Of course I'll let it settle a while first, don't want to get sick.) Got company coming Sunday and will have a lot to do Saturday to get ready for them so I couldn't put it off any longer. I hate cleaning windows!

Have a great holiday weekend!

A Welcome Critter...

2009-05-21T21:33:00.006-04:00

Didn't check in yesterday (weigh-in day) because I was really disgusted. The 2.5 pounds that came off last week were back on this week. I have no idea why! I'll just keep on doing the right thing and it will come off eventually. But it is a real bummer.

Just had to share another "critter" with you. At least this one isn't inside the house. But I was really happy to see it. I have a family of ravens living near the cabin. You can't tell by this picture but they are huge. They are bigger than either of my cats and almost as big as my dogs.

I do enjoy watching them, though. I can sometimes see them flying off my porch and more than once there was something in their mouths. So I'm pretty careful not to leave anything laying around out there that I want to keep. I did catch sight of a clothes pin once.

Hope you have a great Friday.

More Critters???

2009-05-19T09:08:00.003-04:00

GOOD GRIEF!!

The past couple of nights I was hearing something downstairs after I went to bed. Sounded like one of the cats roaming around, but...the cats are outside. I kept coming down here to check it out and found nothing. Just before bedtime last night I heard it again near the back door. I have a huge box there that I collect junk mail and old bills and stuff to burn. It was coming from the box. I picked it up and shook it a while and no sound or site of anything. Then I picked up a another small box that was in there partially crushed and EEEK, a mouse! The whole big box is now on the front porch on it's side hoping the mouse has escaped. But it will stay out there for at least another day to make sure. I'm not really afraid of mice (I think their cute), but I don't want any in my house.

My eating has been good but I'm back up to where I was when I started trying to lose this 9 pounds. Drats!! I'll keep at it though. Have to get out there and mow the lawn in the next day or so and that will help burn some calories.

My Internet was down from yesterday until just now and I was really having withdrawals. Guess I could have cleaned the house instead of pining away for Internet, but...that's too much like work.

Have a great day!

EEEEEWWWWW...

2009-05-17T09:22:00.004-04:00

It's cold out!! No wonder I slept so well last night. I have a hard time sleeping when I'm hot.

I moved my bed out away from the window yesterday. Why, you ask? Well, here goes another bat story. Get ready. You're all going to say EEEEWWWWW.

This pic gives you an idea of what I'm talking about when I say that I have high ceilings. See the apex way up there? That's where the bat comes in. Either there or through the one in my bedroom and I'm bettin' it's the one in my bedroom because...

I was lyin' in bed, night before last, just sleepin' away and all of a sudden felt myself being pelted with little thingys. I jumped up and turned on the light and found bat droppings all over the top of my bed. These were dried up ones and they look a lot like mouse droppings except they're a little bigger. (Now comes the EEEWWWWWW's) So I surmised that a bat had just entered the cabin and dislodged some of the droppings he'd left while hiding out up there in the daylight. I ran downstairs and grabbed my rainbow sweeper with all the long attachments, I paid extra for, and proceeded to climb on the bed and sweep up as many droppings as I could from the crack in the apex, and of course from my bed.

So now my bed is in the middle of the floor and I'm thinkin' about changing things around up there and making it catty cornered, but don't know if it will work or not. I really can't sleep under that apex anymore until I can find someone that can climb up there and seal things off. I've tried to get someone to do that but can't find anyone that is willing to climb that high on a ladder and do it for me. And believe you me, I'm not getting on a ladder that high up. It's about 35 feet off the ground on the outside and I'm too old for that sh&%.

Was going to mow the grass again today but it's still too wet. Looks like I'll have a good opportunity to do it any day this week as there's no rain predicted.

Have a great Sunday!!

Two and a Half Pounds...

2009-05-16T09:34:00.002-04:00

YAY, 2.5 pounds gone this week. And here I was fretting all week, hopping on the scales daily and sometimes 2-3 times a day. Just "shows to go ya" that you have to be patient and wait for a whole week to be over. I know this next week won't be as grand. I always did have a big (well, this was big for me) loss on the first week after a huge stumble. Stumble? More like rolling down the mountain. Remember doing that when we were kids? You got started and couldn't stop until you got to the bottom? Thank goodness I did stop before hitting bottom. I'm even thinking that I may try to get a little more off this time. I don't know for sure, it will all depend on how long this 6.5 pounds takes and how I feel at that point. I stopped at 180 because I had become so obsessed with dieting that I wasn't a happy person anymore so we shall see how I feel when I get back down there.

And when I do get back down there I'm going to remember something I saw on Biggest Loser a couple of weeks ago when they sent everyone home for a month. When Jillian showed up at her teams homes she stressed allowing ourselves some comfort once in a while and just remember that we all have to allow it and learn to deal with it through our calorie counting and exercise. I'm going to have to find a way to allow myself the little extras without going overboard.

Have a great weekend!

Life of a Mountain Woman...

2009-05-15T09:06:00.004-04:00

Yay, the Orkin man came on time. Did his regular spraying inside and out and then he brought the extension ladder in the house. He had to climb up to my ceiling which is about 25 feet up. He checked and checked and couldn't find any bees or ants (of the carpenter variety), but he laid out some ant bait. He didn't want to spray the stuff needed for the bees in the house. So we took the ladder outside and set it up there and he climbed again and the bees were swarming up there. Well, not really swarming, but there were about 5 of them and they were very active going in and out of some cracks that I can't reach to caulk. He still couldn't spray what he really wanted to spray because it is in a huge back-pack that he wears and its so heavy he's afraid he'll get top heavy on the ladder and come tumbling off. So he's going to go back to his boss and see if they can't rig something up so that he can spray from the ground 30 feet into the air. He's even afraid to wait my normal 2 months for the next appointment. He says as active as they are he'd better come back in a month or less.

Then...I'm lying in bed reading last night trying to get sleepy and see something out of the corner of my eye. I look that way and there's nothing there. So I go back to reading. Then it happens again. I put the book down and look really good this time and find nothing. I got up and walked all over the bedroom and look over the balcony to the living room and find nothing again. So, it's back to bed and the book. When it happened again I was quicker and discovered a bat flying around. Oh, joy! I watched it for a while and since there was nothing I could do I just read some more and then went to sleep. I've come to find out that they won't bother me since they are just flying around up toward the top of my ceiling. And...there's no way I could ever reach them to take a broom or anything to them to bat them down. I'm just a brave mountain woman, I guess.

Eating was really good yesterday. Hopefully today will be the same.

Have a great Friday and weekend!!

Disillusionment...

2009-05-14T08:36:00.004-04:00

Yesterday was a bust. Neither thing I mentioned in yesterday's post happened. Right after I posted I started having to run to the bathroom (and I do mean run), so I had to call and cancel taking the dogs in. Then the Orkin man never showed up. I called the office around 5:30 and they had no idea why he hadn't come. He just called a little while ago and told me the office was supposed to call and let me know he was running some one else's route yesterday but they didn't. So he's coming today.

Eating was much better yesterday, mainly because I was afraid to eat too much. I didn't want to spend too much time in the bathroom. But that part of it passed after a few hours and the "feel bads" took over. I spent most of the day lying around. So far today I feel fine. Must have been something I ate on Tuesday.

The fun of the new Mini computer has worn off. Actually it is more like a disillusionment. That thing may be 3 years newer than my main computer but it is 3 times slower than the main one too. You would think that being that much newer it would be faster or at least as fast. Setting down with it and surfing the net is almost like having dial up again. It's not quite that slow but almost. My first thoughts when I got it were that I'd use it for the web and that way I wouldn't get viruses on my main one but I can't stand the slowness of it. I did a defrag on it last night and haven't tried it this morning to see if that helped or not.

Not much planned for today except waiting for the Orkin man. At least he told me he'd be here between 2:30 and 4:30. That's when he usually comes. Was going to take the walk around my driveway and take pics for you guys but the weather isn't going to be conducive for that until Monday at the earliest.

Have a great day!

No Walking Shoes...

2009-05-13T08:15:00.001-04:00

2009-05-13T07:45:00.006-04:00

I sort of went on an impromptu walk yesterday. I started out just walking around the yard and then kept seeing something else and before you know it I was down one side of my driveway and looking back up. The worst part was that I didn't have on walking shoes. I had on my winter clogs, just because they were by the door and easy to slip into.

Does any one know what the names of these flowers/plants are? The purple one, I found in the woods around here several years ago and transplanted it by my porch. I've never been able to find out what it is but it is definitely a wild flower. The other two are ground cover that has been given to me and I wasn't told the names of them. The bushy one with the yellow flowers on top is really soft. Even the leaves are as soft as a feather. It sends off underground shoots and pops up just anywhere it wants too, as you can see in the last picture of the little lone plant.

My eating wasn't any better yesterday than it was the day before. Still famished all day. I didn't "splurge" on anything, meaning that I ate all healthy foods but there was still too much of them. My official weigh-in day has changed since I started on this on Saturday. So we shall see what this Saturday brings. But I have been hopping on the scales every day and have watched it go down and up for the past 5 days. Today it's back to where it was when I started again on Saturday.

Did you watch Biggest Loser last night? It was great. I was so pleased with both winners. Since this was the first season I've ever watched I didn't know what to expect or how things worked. Needless to say I was glued for 3 hours. Thank goodness for my DVR so I could go potty and, unfortunately, hope up and make myself a salad.

I almost missed the beginning. I was so tired around 7:00 that I was lying on the couch and dozed off for just a little while. Then what do you know but I couldn't get to sleep when I went to bed. Kept turning the light back on and reading some more until around 2:00. And with a busy day ahead of me. Have to take the dogs to the groomers and go back a pick them up before Orkin gets here. My carpenter bees are back.

Have a great hump day!

Ups and Downs...

2009-05-12T08:59:00.004-04:00

Things aren't going as well as I had expected. The first 2 days of my "getting back at it" were great, then came yesterday. I was famished all day! I did learn one thing for sure. I have a few favorites that I can eat that keep me on the straight and narrow. I ventured off into another world the day before yesterday and tried some other stuff. That was my downfall. The downfall didn't happen the day I had the other stuff but the day after. So maybe I'll just stick to the things that are my faves and see if that helps. Just do the same ole, same ole and maybe I won't eat the entire kitchen. Actually when I did eat the entire kitchen it was the good stuff but almost half again what I had planned to get these pesky 10 pounds back off.

I did get in some exercise on Sunday. Got outside and mowed the lawn with my self propelled push mower. You do remember that I live on a mountain, right? That's why I have the self propelled kind. It's "fairly" flat where I have to mow but there are some places that I couldn't push the heavy thing around without the automatically turning front wheels. It took me 48 minutes to get just the mowing done. When I paid a young whipper snapper to do it he had the yard mowed and the weed eating done in 30 minutes. Me, I didn't get the weed eating done around the flower beds or fire pit. I couldn't get the durn thing started. I just don't have the strength it takes to pull that cord to start it. So the weeds will just have to wait until my daughter and her fiance come to visit or I may get out a pair of scissors and set on my bum and scoot around them and clip away. At least I did remember to put on my heart monitor and found out that I'd burned 850 calories in that 48 minutes.

It's supposed to be pretty again today so I'm going to walk around my place and see if I can take some halfway descent pics of the new spring growth. You'll find out tomorrow it the pics were good enough to post.

Have a great week!!

Happy, Happy...

2009-05-10T10:53:00.004-04:00

Wishing all Mothers out there and Happy Day!!

And for you non-Mothers, you need to have a Happy Day too!!

Award time!!

Thanks VRaz60 for the award. Now I feel really special.

And I'm passing it on to 5 more super bloggers:

Cammy of The Tippy Toe Diet: You've helped me so much along the way. You have been my true inspiration. Thanks.

Maryfran of A New Start Losing Weight: You have given me insight into eating healthy while still cooking the things I love. Thanks.

Grammy of The Kintz Family News: You are always a delight to read. I enjoy your little stories and the wonderful pictures you post. Thanks.

JC of This and That With JC: You are a wonderful person to get to know. Your faith has boosted me more than you will know. Thanks.

Donna of Losing the Fluff: You have shown me that even if we stumble we can pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off and get right back on the wagon with fervor. Thanks.

I hate this...only 5? There are so many more that I want to mention...I gotta make it 6.

Cara of Cara's Weight Loss Journal: I wouldn't be your healthier Mom if it weren't for your inspiration. And you are the one that introduced me to blogland and all my blog-buds. Thanks.

Ok, I still don't like to be limited so consider every one else that I visit regularly on this list too...You have all helped me so much.

Just right click on the award, save it and post it on your blog somewhere and pass it along to other deserving bloggers.

Have a great Sunday!!

I Miss You Momma...

2009-05-09T09:03:00.004-04:00

Mom and me.

My Mother left this world in the summer of 2001. I miss her so much.

I've been thinking a lot about my weight and my childhood lately. I've heard and read so much about eating disorders being caused by an unhappy childhood. My weight problems didn't come from an unhappy childhood. Oh, don't get me wrong, my childhood was not a happy, happy one either. The first 7 years were wonderful and then along came my brother. He was the apple of my Mother's eye and he could do no wrong. I have been so jealous of him all his life. He joined Mother in February of this year and I'm here without either.

I didn't realize until Mom was on her death bed that she loved me too. She was in a drug induced coma for comfort during her last few days. The nurses had a hard time cleaning her unless I was there. She would fight them even in a coma. When I was there I'd get real close to her face and talk to her really sweet and ask her to just concentrate on my voice and the cleaning would be over soon. She'd stop struggling and do just as I said. They tried that with my brother and the struggling would just continue, so they got to where they'd wait until it was my shift with Mom to do anything that she didn't like.

So for those of you out there that faced similar emotions growing up, just remember that a Mother's love is a wonderful thing. Even though you may think she doesn't love you as much as a sibling, she does. Maybe she just doesn't show it when you want her too. And for those Mom's out there raising children now, remember to make sure you divide your affection equally so they won't feel this way.

My weight problem came from LOVING food and a "fat gene" inherited from my Dad's side of the fence, not an unhappy childhood. I can't remember even one time that while unhappy I turned to food for comfort. Don't know if it was because of being raised in the times that I was or what. Maybe it was because I didn't stay in the house much as a kid. Anything interesting to do was done outside, even in the winter. I was born in the times before television and even after it came along there was only one channel and it was boooorrrrrriiiiinnnnngggg to a kid (except on Saturday mornings...cartoons, yay).

Mom was a great cook. We always used to laugh that all she had to do was stick her finger in the food she prepared and it would come out wonderful. That's what she passed on to me. A LOVE for food and her cooking skills. I even LOVE all those green stinky veggies that a lot of people turn up their noses at. But most of all I LOVE butter. Real butter not the fake stuff. Mother always cooked with lots of it and it began to show on my body in my early 20's. Guess I was too active before then for it to show.

Mom would be so proud of me and my weight loss. She never put me down because of my weight but would in subtle ways let me know that she wished I was a healthier weight. She worried about my health so much. Wish she were here to see me now and know that I am healthy for the first time in 40+ years. She'd be amazed to find out that at this ripe old age I take no meds for my health. But...maybe she does know and she is probably smiling down on me now with that proud smile you only see on a MOTHER.

I LOVE YOU MOMMA!!

A Reveltion and Some Other Stuff...

2009-05-08T10:24:00.004-04:00

This is going to be a long one, so if you don't have the time right now, please come back when you do.

1. I think I'm back!! Decided this morning while waiting for the coffee to brew that I have really been missing blogging and reading blogs. I think I'm all caught up on my blog-buds. I visited most and commented on most of those. I didn't scroll down too far and get all caught up on what has been going on in your lives but I did read the past 2 or 3 that I've missed. Reading all of your past posts that I've missed was just too daunting and I was afraid I'd quit before I visited everyone. I got some inspiration back that I really needed. I read so many that I don't remember who said what but they all helped me in some way to get back the control that I need.

2. When Linda and her little family came to visit weekend before last I had bought some cookies for the 4 year old. I brought them home and placed 3 each into little snack size zipper bags for her. Just wanted to do a little something extra for her to remember visiting grandmother's house. It did tickle her and she was a doll in offering to share with every one else too. At least she only wanted to share one cookie with me. I'd have loved to eat the whole big bag but I kept telling myself they were for her not me. When they left to go home I packed all the little left over snack bags up in a larger bag for her to take with her and was relieved when they were out of the house. Then came the bad surprise. A few days later while vacuuming I found one of the little snack packs under my ottoman. Oh, DARN!! I purposely hadn't bought my favorite cookies, but cookies are cookies and I had to have one. I closed the bag up and threw it on my kitchen counter and continued to vacuum. I found the bag on my counter last night and they started haunting me again. So in the trash they went and I don't mean just throwing the bag in the trash but emptying the cookies into the stinky stuff so I wouldn't fish out the bag and decide they weren't ruined. One demon gone!!

3. Exercise is hard for me. I hate to do it to begin with (and I realize I'm not the only one) and I hate it even more by myself. I haven't done anything all winter. The Wii even fizzled out after about a month. I guess I'm one of those people that sees something that I don't have and want it and am sure that I will use it all the time and realization sets in and I've found that I've wasted my money. So while this rain continues and I can't get out into the woods and walk I've got to make myself get on the Wii. How about once a week to begin with and then work it up from there? And I've been thinking that I may go out in between the rain drops and hit the driveway. Go down the steep part and up the curvy part. Think I'll take pics on the trip and show all of you. Think that will help until I can get out there where I want to and enjoy the woods?

4. I've got to get the eating under control. When I started on maintenance I quit journaling my calories. I figured I knew what to eat and how to eat. I just added a little more splurges than I did while struggling to lose this 70 pounds. Now I know that this is the wrong thing for me. I've got to get control back and the only way I can do this is to count calories again. I've got to do a little research to see what the right calorie intake is for me to maintain or even lose a little more. But I'm ready to do that now. So, Spark People, I'm coming back.

There's more I want to talk about and I've made myself some notes on them. I'll just save them for another post so that I don't exhaust you any further.

Enjoy today and look forward to tomorrow. And to coin a phrase on one of Jimmy Buffett's songs, "Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move on."

Rain, Rain, Go Away...Come Again Some Other Day...

2009-05-07T07:27:00.004-04:00

Never made it to the falls to walk. Was hoping to be able to do it every weekend but the weather hasn't cooperated. It started raining well over a week ago and hasn't stopped. It hasn't been continuous or hard but with every day predicting 80-100% chance I just didn't want to get down the falls and have to walk back up in the rain. If it were July or August I wouldn't mind but it is still a little chilly out to be walking in the rain. Clear skies are predicted for this Sunday so hopefully I'll be able to do it then. I've invited a friend to join me so we will see if she comes through.

Still haven't received pics from my daughter of our trip down there. She's been having Internet problems off and on and it seems when it is on she is too busy to set down and send them. She will eventually and I'll share them when she does.

One nice thing with all this rain is that the leaves are on the trees now. There wasn't a leaf to be seen weekend before last and now they all have them. So things are starting to get green again on the mountain. I know it has been all the rain we've had but the bad thing is that my yard needs mowing really bad. Can't do it in the rain so it will just have to wait.

I just finished reading Deception Point by Dan Brown and it as a good one too. I've either read it before or it was turned into a movie and I saw the movie. But which ever it was, even though I remembered the basic plot I didn't remember most of the things that happened or who the "bad guy" was.

My durn dogs!! They started growling and boofing early this morning and wouldn't let me sleep. I wasn't ready to get up yet but they relented so I couldn't sleep. I just let them back in and the little boy went back upstairs and back to bed. I think when I'm finished here I'll go upstairs and bounce on the bed so he can't sleep. Pay backs are hell.

Eating has been ok. Not good or bad. I haven't gotten off the pounds I put on yet but at least there's no more creeping on.

You'd of laughed at me last week when the guy came to install my DSL. Lazy ole me wasn't lazy that day. He was supposed to be here between 8:00 and 10:00. By 10:00 I had two loads of laundry done, the dishes washed and put away, the sweeper run and showered. Actually the shower came first just in case he came at 8:00 but he didn't make it until 10:00.

Have a great weekend out there in blog-land.

What an Alarm Clock...

2009-05-01T11:10:00.002-04:00

At six o'clock this morning some one on the mountain hit the panic button on their car's remote lock thingy. Good grief!!! I hate it when the owners of the cabins that don't live here year round come up. They are city folks and have no regard for the peacefulness of the mountains. You'd think that was the reason they have a cabin up here anyway. So, today is going to be a long one for sure.

My weight is up a little more than I feel comfortable with so I'm going to start today to do something about it. Think if the weather clears some I may go to the falls by myself and do some walking. And take some pictures of my own since my daughter has never sent me copies of the ones she took last weekend. She's been really busy and I understand but I am by nature an impatient person.

There have been some personal things going on in my life that have had my mind pre-occupied. That is why I have not been too regular on here and why I haven't left many comments on your blogs. With the mind on other things it's hard to come up with encouragement for someone else. Hope you will forgive me.

Hope you have a great weekend!

Pics as Requested...

2009-04-30T09:50:00.005-04:00

I HAVE DSL!! Oops, I think I already mentioned that. Well, you know how old people are. We forget easily and repeat our selves a lot. So I know you will understand :o)

This first picture is with a coffee mug and the second one is of the mini sitting on top of her big sis (my regular laptop). Just in case you still can't tell, she measures 7" by 9".

I haven't gotten on the scales since last weekends fiasco but I have been eating correctly and healthily since then.

I HAVE DSL!!!

2009-04-29T16:10:00.002-04:00

YAY, finally!

Got hooked up this morning. I had to call the telephone repair man out again last week because of my phone cutting out and while he was here I mentioned that I wanted DSL and lo and behold he said he could get it for me. They were having a promotion and I got a mini Dell laptop free for getting DSL. So I'm setting here on the couch and trying like crazy to type this on this LITTLE computer. Sure isn't easy with long nails.

Haven't received pics from my daughter yet but I will post them as soon as I get them.

Happy Wednesday, out there y'all.

Nice Weekend...

2009-04-27T04:49:00.003-04:00

Hey guys!! Have those of you in the east been enjoying the warm summer weather as much as I have? Don't think we are going to have a spring here in West Virginia. It's just moving from winter into summer. We had snow last Wednesday and by Friday it was 86. This old broad ain't complainin' at all.

New Jersey daughter and her family came to visit this weekend and just left this morning to head back home. I had a wonderful visit and hated to see them go, but that's always going to be the case.

We went to the Falls of Hills Creak yesterday and I am so out of shape I only went half way down. Was hard to get around all evening after that. Will have to work on my stamina now that the weather is better. I'll have pics for you later in the week cause I forgot to take my camera but Linda took hers and will email me the pics. There has been so much rain lately that the falls were awesome this time. Instead of the trickle last summer the water was roaring.

We went to Food and Friends Saturday night for supper and I over did it a little but it had been so long since I had gone out to dinner I just wanted something special. They do have a lighter fare on their menu but I wanted to try something that I hadn't had before and I got their stuffed chicken breast. You'll have to check out their menu and see all the scrumptious stuff they offer, or maybe not because it'll make you drool. But, hey, I worked it off at the falls the next day so I hope that compensated for it. At least now that I know how to eat and have been at this for almost 2 years I'm sure if I gained anything I will be able to get it off soon. It's also really cool that I don't eat nearly as much as I used to even when I over indulge. It amazes my daughter that I only eat half my meals now and am full. She remembers the old me that used to eat everything that was put in front of me.

Hope your weekend was a wonderful as mine and hope you have a great week.

Alive and Kickin'...

2009-04-18T11:27:00.003-04:00

I'm still alive and kickin'. Haven't been sick but have been reading a lot. That's not the real reason that I haven't blogged. I just haven't been in the mode. Sorry I scared a few of you and probably made a lot of you happy to not have to read my dribble. Just haven't had much to say or advice to give lately.

I went out to eat Friday before last, celebrating a birthday. Ate a little too much of the wrong things (pecan pie, yummmmmmmm) and gained 4 pounds. It's back off now and I'm not panicking like I was that morning that I had gained. I've just sort of given myself a 5 pound leeway in either direction since I've been on maintenance and really wouldn't care if it dropped below that 5 pound lower range I set for myself but definitely don't want to go above the high mark.

Was really pretty here yesterday and I was able to go out and sit on my swing for a while. Looks like today is going to be about the same and then the cold will be hitting some more. Sure hope we don't get that snow storm that is hitting Colorado. This has been a really long winter, not a bad one, just long. And I'm really tired of it. That may be part of the reason I've been absent lately.

I'm also pretty lonesome. No company since December and that has added to the longness of the winter. I know, I know, some of you remember me complaining about all the company I had last spring and summer and are laughing for sure now. But I really didn't mean to jinx it all by complaining and then no body visiting at all. I could hop in the car and go to visit some family that's only about 4 1/2 hours away but it just seems like too much of a hassle for me to do that with my dogs. They are welcome at the families homes but it is a hassle to have to take them out to potty on a leash all the time and I found out about a year ago that I can't trust them not to run off. I got a real scare when they disappeared on me and only the little girl came home. Luckily a neighbor found my little boy and called where I was staying to see if they knew who he belonged to. Since then I have gotten name tags with my phone numbers on them but it is still a hassle that I just don't want right now. They aren't happy being boarded and it just adds to my stress when I have to do that. So I guess I'll just stay home and hope someone comes to visit soon.

I'm into the Jesse Stone books by Robert B. Parker and they are really good. I discovered them when watching a Jesse Stone (starring Tom Seleck) movie and noticed that it was adapted from a book. There are 7 of them and I went on Amazon and order all of them. The really nice thing about reading the books now that I've seen one of the movies is that I can picture Jesse as Tom. Whew, and that is a nice picture!!!

Have a nice weekend!!

Good Reading...

2009-04-08T18:25:00.002-04:00

I just finished reading "Angels and Demons" by Dan Brown. WOW!! It was a great book! I'd had it for several years and hadn't even cracked it open because it was 700+ pages and I wasn't ready to get into something that long. Well, let me tell you, I couldn't put it down the last couple of days. I figured I'd better get it read since the movie is coming out this week and I know I'll want to be going to see it. I hate to read a book after seeing the movie so I got right to work on it on Sunday.

Just had my first whole wheat pasta for supper. It was yummy, 'course the cheese I put on it probably helped the taste a whole lot. Will try it with my spaghetti sauce this weekend. I won't be buying the white stuff ever again.

Happy Hump Day!!

More White Stuff???

2009-04-07T09:21:00.004-04:00

So far so good today on the phone service. I almost wish it would just quit all together so they could find out what the problem is but then I wouldn't be able to call them to tell them it isn't working. What a conundrum.

Good grief, I thought we were through with this stuff. It started snowing here yesterday late afternoon. We've got about an inch and they were predicting less than a tenth of an inch. It's funny how the entire community/county was talking about getting ready for the snow on Tuesday. They started talking about it last Wednesday. It amazes me how the people in this area are better at predicting the weather than the meteorologists.

I am sick to death of washing dishes. I guess I'm gonna have to just quit cooking. Wonder if I quit cooking then I could quit eating too? Probably not a good idea. It seems that every time I get all the dishes cleaned up I decide that I want to play "Suzie Homemaker" and start cooking again. Oh, well, it's just a vicious cycle, I guess.

Got the test results on my mammogram and bone density test and all is well. Guess I'm all set for another year. There's only one other test the doctor wants me to take and I have refused to do it. She wants me to have a colonoscopy. My problem is that the only place they will do it is approximately 60 miles away and I can't just go there in one day and have it done, nooooooo, the doctor there wants to see me first then set an appointment for the procedure. Then there's the problem of not having anyone to go with me and drive me home after the procedure. That's the biggest problem. So that one is not going to happen any time soon.

Have a happy day out there in blog-land.

The Phone Again...

2009-04-05T17:20:00.002-04:00

I'm having trouble with my phone line again which means that my dial up doesn't stay connected either. So, if you're missing me, I'll try to visit everyone that I can in between the phone cutting off. It has taken me three tries to get this far.

Other than that, things are fine with me and nothing new's happening.

And...News...

2009-04-01T17:27:00.005-04:00

Just got back from Lewisburg and having my mammogram and bone density test. Piece of cake. Gee, they didn't even have to squish them so much since I've lost all this weight and they are already flat :o), and for the first time it didn't hurt. My appointment was at 3:00 and I timed it wrong and got there at 2:30. They took me on in and I was on my way to Wal-Mart by 3:08. I just love that place. It's the first place I've had tests done that I don't have to wait. I didn't even get to open my book to read for a while because they were on the ball.

I stopped on the way to the tests and had lunch at Ruby Tuesdays. I had a petite sirloin, 1/2 cup of mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli and a salad. Washed it all down with water :o) I was such a good girl!!

Hit Wal-Mart on the way home and guess what....go ahead and guess.....I'll wait.....

I got a new pair if jeans, and guess what size they are....go ahead and guess.....I'll wait....

SIZE 12

I'm so excited!!

AND

I got a smaller size bra!

AND

They had whole wheat pasta.

Still no whole wheat tortillas but they will get them eventually. It was just six months ago that I was complaining that they didn't have the pasta. Guess WV is a little behind the times in getting the up to date stuffs.

Looking at myself in the full length mirror at the test place made me feel really good about myself. I don't look half bad. I don't have any full length mirrors in my home and the ones in Wal-Mart where you try on clothes are the pits. So when I went to Wal-Mart I threw my shoulders back and acted like I was the most beautiful person in the whole store. That really lifted my spirits. You aught to try it sometime.

And all of this is not an April Fools joke either!!

Love, Love, Love...

2009-03-28T08:52:00.003-04:00

I had all these plans yesterday morning that got foiled or at least delayed a little. It was about 11:00 and I was just about to start making some chicken salad and rice pudding when all of a sudden the power goes off. WHAT?!?!? The sky was blue, no rain, no snow, no wind. I hooked up the trusty "old" phone (the cordless doesn't work without power) and called the power company to report it. They already knew but I did it just in case they didn't. I was told by a recording that it would be out for about 7 hours. So I got my Sudoku puzzle book out and settled in on the couch. The phone rang and it was my sister-in-law from Virginia.

I had a banana with peanut butter for breakfast and wasn't looking forward to a cold lunch and possibly a cold supper but there was nothing I could do about it. While talking to SIL the power came back on. It was only off for a little over 2 hours, YAY!! By then my tummy was growling a bit so I decided I'd hop up and start supper. I was so hungry and was going to try a new recipe and decided to have it for lunch instead. I made Grammy's Cabbage Burgers, YUMMMM. I made way too much filling for them so I ate a few of the burgers for lunch (they were real small) and had the left over filling for supper with a salad. Never did get the chicken salad made but did get the rice pudding done. Chicken salad is on the agenda for today for sure.

David tagged me with a love thingy.

The rules are that you list 7 things you love and tag 7 bloggers that you love.

1. I love my daughters (does that count as two?)
2. I love my dogs (there goes another two)
3. I love God.
4. I love my cabin.
5. I love my mountain.
6. I love reading.
7. I love ALL of my blog buds.

~~Sorry~~ happy to say that there are way more than 7 bloggers that I love so I couldn't choose. I have tagged you ALL.

Have a great, great weekend out there.

Spring? Weather...

2009-03-27T07:59:00.005-04:00

Yesterday's weather was down right eerie. As I've shown you before we get fog in the valley in the mornings and I've even shown you the fog around the cabin. Well yesterday was different than any thing I've seen so far in my 6 years up her on top of my little world.

This fog was in the valley ALL day. Poor folks down there didn't see the sky at all. It even crept up between the mountain across from me. And stayed there.Then there was this beautiful sunset, still with fog. I tried to take a picture of it but couldn't capture it.

At one point I ran outside because I saw smoke billowing up from just below me. My neighbors across the road have been burning brush and I was afraid it had gotten away from them, and it was fog. Really a strange day out there.

The deer were back and drove my dogs crazy. I wouldn't let the dogs out to chase them, so they just sat on the top of the couch at the window and barked for over an hour. I tried to get a picture of them through the window but it didn't turn out with the screens in the way so here's one that I took last year while riding my ATV.

But the same ole same ole in here. Eating was good again yesterday. I made bran muffins to freeze and had a couple before freezing them. YUMMMMMM.

Have a great weekend y'all.

The Weekend's Getting Closer...ARGH...

2009-03-26T07:38:00.004-04:00

Yesterday was a great day! Eating wise that is. And that's the only way it was great. I don't want to become one of those old ladies that tells everyone about their ails so we'll just leave it at that.

Anyway back to the eating part. I had a ham sammie (210 calories) for breakfast then talked my self into heading to town to grocery shop. (And believe me that was a long and hard talk I had there.) I had intended to eat out while there even though it wouldn't have been healthy eating. I just thought it would perk me up a bit. I was on my way home when I realized I hadn't stopped to eat. Well, I wasn't going to turn around and go back so I just came on home and fixed myself a frozen french bread pizza (432 calories) as a treat for lunch. Then the ails came and I took a short nap. I had a large salad for supper with creamy Parmesan dressing and an ounce of whole cheddar cheese (169 calories). My snacks included a serving of rice pudding (60 calories) and a banana (106 calories) with peanut butter (190 calories) on it. Bringing my total to 1167 calories. And I wasn't hungry when I went to bed! Got a good nights sleep last night so maybe things will be better today.

It's so funny about me and grocery shopping. I hate it like the plague and put it off until I just can't wait any longer. Then when I get home and get everything unloaded it feels like Christmas. I'm so happy that it's done and the cupboards and fridge are full. I've been that way all my life.

I was a little disappointed with myself last night. While talking to a friend that is having trouble with his cholesterol and weight. I was sharing a couple of recipes with him and realized that I'd forgotten to get any turkey smoked sausage. Bummer! But there's no way I'll go back into town today and pick it up. It will just have to wait until next week. I'll get it when I head to Lewisburg for my bone density test and mammogram on Wednesday.

Anyone ever had a bone density test? Wonder what they do to you? I really don't think that I need one since I'm prone to calcium type kidney stones but the doctor suggested it and one of my daughters talked me into keeping the appointment to use it as a baseline. And I guess at my age I should have stuff like that checked out.

Hope everything's rosy out there your way.

Tears on My Pillow...

2009-03-25T07:32:00.003-04:00

Goodness, gracious! Does any one else out there need to make sure the box of tissues is handy when you get ready to watch The Biggest Loser? This is my first season watching the program and it's the first series I've ever watched that has made me cry so much. Have they all been like this? I despise Tara and I think it's because she reminds me of my brother's wife, or does anyone else feel the same?

My eating wasn't so good yesterday, after I went and bragged about how it was going great. I ended up going to bed with a really full stomach and I knew I'd pay for it. I did. NIGHTMARES! It seems that I just can't find what satisfies me and I continue to try to find just the right thing. Maybe it's because I'm just tired of my own cooking. There just isn't any where around here that I can go to have a healthy meal out. Does that mean that I have to have an unhealthy one once in a while to make me stay on track at home? I don't know... I'm really bumfuzzled about this one.

Hope you are having a stellar week!

Better Eating and Phone Problems...

2009-03-24T14:03:00.006-04:00

Thanks for all the well wishes and suggestions in your comments yesterday about my binge. It sure does help to get it all out here and especially to know there are those out there that understand.

I think it's hormonal. Not sure so I'm keeping a diary for a week documenting my cravings, sleep habits, times that I eat and what I eat to see if there is a pattern. I may keep that up for a month and see if it is hormonal or not.

I am more bored than usual on the weekends. Since I'm retired I don't have a set schedule during the week that is much different from the weekend. But my girls are busy with their families and I don't get to talk to them much then. Weekends have always been especially hard for me. Usually when I get really bored I can turn on the TV and watch a movie or some old reruns of NCIS or JAG or something I've saved on my DVR from the nightly programming and the boredom goes away. But on the weekends there isn't much on to watch unless I have some stuff taped. My hobbies are crocheting, reading and drawing but unfortunately they don't keep my mind off food.

Yesterday was a whole lot better eating wise and so far today it's been great.

Been having phone problems today. It's been cutting off while online or talking and when I try to redial I don't have a dial tone. Then after a few minutes it works again. This went on for several hours this morning. The repair man just left and of course he couldn't find anything wrong. But at least he did give me his card with his local number and cell number so I can call him directly if it happens again instead of having to go through the 800 number and waiting for a scheduled appointment. He said that if it happened again he'd try to get right over to catch it while it was occurring. Guess it's like when something happens with your car intermittently. If it's not happening when you take the car in they can't find the problem.

Had planned on going to the grocery store but had to wait for the repair man and now I'm just out of the mood. Will have to go tomorrow for sure because I'm almost out of TP and that's just one thing you can't run out of. For some reason my list is twice as long as it usually is so I'm not looking forward to the trip. I HATE grocery shopping.

My daughter and son-in-law have created a new website.

It's really cool. Go check it out!!

Hope you're having a great Tuesday.

Monday, Monday...

2009-03-22T21:47:00.004-04:00

This has been a rough weekend. Food addiction took over my life yesterday and the day before. Whew, I'm glad I'm back in control today. I wasn't perfect today but a whole lot better. I sure do know now what an alcoholic feels like. Yesterday by 3:00 in the afternoon I had already had breakfast, lunch and dinner. I was wondering what I would do the rest of the day and contemplated just going to bed and staying there but I wasn't sleepy. So I just had another breakfast, lunch and dinner after that. The worst part about it was that I wasn't hungry just craving so badly that I couldn't resist eating. I never did find anything that would satisfy my cravings and that's probably why I continued to eat all day and evening. I'm ready to take back control completely tomorrow.

That reminds me of a TV doctor I listened to a couple of Sundays ago. He said that Monday is the time to start eating healthy. He said to just make it through Monday. Then think about Tuesday when it comes and continue what you did on Monday. He said to keep that up every day and if you falter one day try the next and if that doesn't work there will be another Monday at the beginning of next week to start all over again. He stressed that even if you can't keep it up all week that the days you did succeed will help greatly in increasing your health.

Hope your week was better than mine :o)

Mental Vacation...

2009-03-19T14:06:00.002-04:00

Hey, there!! I'm still among the living!!

Sorry I've been away for a few days. Actually I haven't been away physically but mentally. Just wasn't in the mood to blog or read blogs. You know how that goes sometimes.

My life has been pretty boring this week. The highlight of my week has been receiving the Biggest Loser cookbook that I ordered. Wow, it is a great book. It has lots and lots of great recipes in it. And to beat it all they don't have weird or hard to find ingredients. There are some spices that I don't usually keep ~~in my cupboard~~ on my spice shelf, but that is easily remedied. One other ingredient that is used a lot is whole wheat low fat tortillas and I can't find them here, but I'm going to check into ordering them from somewhere if they don't need to be refrigerated. And if that's not possible I'll just use what I can find.

Yesterday morning while I was using the bathroom first thing, I glanced out one of the windows and there were 4 deer on the bank behind my house. I stood at the window and just watched for a while. Then went into the kitchen to gt my cup of coffee and there were 3 more in the front. I ran back and forth to see if it was the same ones or not but it wasn't. That was a real experience to find my house surrounded by deer. I really love where I live!!

True Confessions...

2009-03-16T09:37:00.002-04:00

I was too embarrassed to let you all know what I did last Wednesday, but it's been bothering me so I must 'fess up.

I bought cookies last Wednesday at the store. There it is out in the open. I've been thinking about them for so long and I do love cookies. I'd prefer homemade but I have found out with experience that homemade cookies have a real hold on my willpower. So I decided to try store bought. And before you ask, I did get my favs in the cookie category. The first and second nights I dove in...but...I did stop myself at 4. I just kept telling myself they would still be there tomorrow and that worked. Since then I've "allowed" myself two per day, again telling myself they'd still be there tomorrow. And I have had a day or two without cookies at all. I've put them out of sight so they are not reminding me they are there but in the back of my mind I know I can have one if I want. It's working! And I'm counting them in my daily calorie intake, and enjoying a little treat.

I did this same thing with potato chips and now I don't buy chips often at all. As a matter of fact I haven't bought them in well over a month.

I used the 100 calories snacks in the beginning of this journey and got to the point that I was having several packs a day and decided that wasn't a good way to lose weight much less healthy for me. I broke myself from them by having a piece or two of cinnamon toast as a sweet. Using Splenda instead of sugar and light butter on the toast. It really worked well and the whole wheat bread was so much better for me than the processed stuff. Now I do buy a box of 90 calorie Quaker Oat granola bars about once a month but they don't have the hold on me that they did in the beginning. Maybe it's the fact that I do keep them in the house and know I can have one once in a while if I want but they have lost their hold over me.

Now I'm trying the same thing with the cookies to see if I can get them to release that hold.

We all have to experiment on this journey and find out what works for each of us. I've found that if I am too strict on myself and cut out ALL "treats," I won't stick with this at all.

I also got some strawberries and made my Strawberry Pie last night. Haven't had any yet but am looking forward to a piece tonight after supper. If you're on WW, the pie is only one point per piece!!

In the past I've always said that I wasn't addicted to sweets but I'm beginning to reevaluate myself. I must be addicted to sweets or I wouldn't be wanting them so often.

I still miss my salty snacks but I have found substitutes for them. Mostly I use roasted, lightly salted almonds. When I'm having a craving for salt I grab a very small hand full (about 10) of almonds and eat them slowly one at a time. That does it for me and I'm getting such wonderful nutrients from them. When I started this I did it about 3-4 times a day but now it is down to 1-2 times a day. I can't find almonds locally so when I go to Wal-Mart I do have to stock up. Thank goodness they are sealed and have a good shelf life.

Next I'll have to find a substitute for the cookies. I haven't made my bran muffins in a long while and maybe that will work. After the cookies are gone I will give it a try.

Fog on the Mountain and Run Boys Run...

2009-03-14T11:22:00.010-04:00

Things were so strange here yesterday evening. I've never seen this before. We got about 4 inches of snow and it got warm enough to melt some of it during the afternoon. Then in the evening the fog set in. I've never seen fog after a snow before. Woke up in the middle of the night to tinkle and the fog was still there with the full moon visible through the trees. It looked just like it was just before dark when it was actually 3 AM. I picked up the camera and went outside in my jammies and tried to get a pic for you but it didn't turn out.

We get really dense fog here often. Actually I think it's the clouds that are just hanging around on top of the mountain because when it happens I can't even see my car which is only about 50 feet from the front door.

Silly me, I've already eaten the left over smoked sausage. I had it for breakfast. I just couldn't help myself because it was calling my name really really loud (or is it loudly).

Not much on my agenda this weekend. Well, actually there's nothing on my agenda this weekend. Don't you wish you were me and didn't have anything to do? Well, I don't. I wish...never mind what I wish. I could change my life if I wanted to but I'm just to lazy to do that.

Hope you have a great weekend.

PS: I sure wish blogger would fix what ever it is that causes extra line breaks or no line breaks to occur when adding pics. This is driving me crazy!!

PPS: Cammy's having a giveaway so go check her out.

2009-03-13T16:22:00.007-04:00

This is weird for me to post twice in one day but I just couldn't wait until tomorrow to let you know how W-O-N-D-E-R-F-U-L my supper was.

It took all of about 15 minutes to make and was worth a whole lot more time if it had taken me longer.

I cut up an onion and a green bell pepper into one inch or so pieces. Sliced the turkey smoked sausage into bite sized pieces. Sprayed my skillet with Pam and tossed it all in. I cooked it on medium low with a lid until the veggies were tender.

I even had to put a couple of hot dogs in the skillet for a little while for the doggies. They were smelling it and drooling so I decided to give them a little treat.

As you can see from the first picture I had Brussels sprouts and a small lettuce salad with a tablespoon of my Creamy Parmesan Dressing on it.

I used 7 oz. of the sausage with the green pepper and onion and have enough for tomorrow night. Or maybe for lunch tomorrow :o)

Nutritional information for peppers, onions and sausage.

1 serving

239 calories

10.3g Fat

70mg Cholesterol

1084.4g Sodium

294.9mg Potassium

17.7g Carbs

2.7g Fiber

7.4g Sugars

17.9g Protein

I added one more thing to my plate after I took the picture. Didn't want to do it before because I didn't want you to throw up on your keyboard. I like ketchup on my Brussels sprouts :o)

A Reminder that Spring Isn't Here Yet...

2009-03-13T07:23:00.004-04:00

Gosh, yesterday was a long day. Not time wise but it sure seemed like it to me. I was hungry all day. I had one of my usual breakfasts, a ham sammie on light whole wheat with light mayo and mustard and less than an hour later I was starving. It usually lasts me 4 hours. And I don't mean just hungry I mean stomach growling pain starving. I tried water and it didn't help. It went that way all day with everything I ate. This morning I've been thinking about it and wonder if it was the Wendy's partial meal the day before, that got the body wanting that greasy yucky stuff. Well, it ain't gonna get it. I kept it healthy with every thing that went in my mouth even though there was a little too much consumed. Hope today's better!

Woke up to about 3 inches of the white stuff on the ground. Supposed to turn to freezing rain sometime today. But I'm gooooooood. Stocked up and ready for anything. Errr, better make sure I have water drawn in case the freezing rain takes down a power line. But I do have a couple of book lights so I won't have to balance the flash light on my shoulder to read. I'm talking about this because the last time I did the power didn't go off with our freezing rain. Maybe that will help this time too.

Got some turkey, smoked sausage links the other day and am going to try that with sauteed onions and green peppers tonight for supper. Will let you know how it was.

TGIF bloggers!

The Evolution Continues...

2009-03-12T09:41:00.002-04:00

Good grief, yesterday was a hectic day.

I didn't find out until I stopped at my mail box that yesterday was my Orkin appointment. They just say they will be here the second Wednesday of every other month and being the "oldtimer" that I am, I just can't seem to remember that. I've been relying on the bill they send in the mail to give me fair warning. It's going on my calendar after I'm through here so I won't forget again. And to beat it all I never can remember what time of day they are coming.

I dropped the dogs off and headed to Wal-Mart (an hours drive). Called Orkin as soon as I got within cell service and found out that the last two times they came between 3:30 and 5:00. Whew. That gave me enough time to do what I needed to do and get the dogs picked up and home before they arrived. Got home in time to unload the car and put away the cold stuff, run the sweeper and get started on the dishes in the sink and here he came.

He is such a nice young man. I told him that I had tried to time it to where we would both arrive at the same time so he could help me unload the car and he said he would have been glad to do that for me. He even fixed an elderly lady's bathroom sink last week for her during one of his scheduled appointments.

Now on to the "evolution." I was so stressed and getting really hungry that I stopped at Wendey's and got a single and fries with water. I figured since I'd been really good that it wouldn't hurt to do that once in a while. I could only eat 1/3 of the burger and fries and I was full AND disgusted with myself for not making a better choice. I think the main reason I was full so soon was that it just didn't taste as good as I remember it tasting. When oh when will one of my favorites taste good like it used too? Guess my palate has changed along with my body. I'm really wanting to try a Taco Bell Burrito Supreme but there is none anywhere near me. I think Tex/Mex is my favorite food and I just can't find the stuff here to make my favs or I'd make it myself.

Okay, back to the hectic day... When the Orkin guy left I was exhausted and tried like everything to stick it out until bedtime. I couldn't and crashed on the couch at 6:00 and woke up around 7:30. And I was sore all over! My back hurt, my thighs hurt, my calves hurt and the bottoms of my feet hurt! I hobbled around the kitchen to fix myself a salad and sandwich and sat down to eat thinking that I'd probably be up all night after the nap. Boy, was I wrong! At 10:30 I couldn't keep my eyes opened long enough to read more than a couple of pages of the novel I keep by the bed. Guess that was too much of a day for an old person. I sure miss all the energy youth has to offer. And now I realize why my Mother couldn't keep up with me as she got older.

Lesson leaned. From now on I'm not planning a full day like that one. When the dogs need grooming that's the only thing I'm putting on my plate for that day and a trip to Wal-Mart will be the only thing I'll plan for that day.

It's really hard for me to leave the dogs at the groomers because it really stresses them out and they are as exhausted in the evenings as I was yesterday. I don't think they mind the grooming and all but the groomers helper has two little Chihuahua's that yap at their heals the whole time they are there and they are just not used to being around other dogs. So when I put them in the car to take them I never tell them where we are going :o) But I'm sure by now they know because that's the only place I ever take them. My little boy hates riding in the car but the girl loves it. So to keep from stressing him out I just don't take them for rides. Just in case you wonder why I don't just take her, it's because they act like they are joined at the hip and I don't want to make either of them sad because the other one is not around. I guess I should start separating them some to get them used to being without the other for when I loose one of them.

Happy Thursday, blog-buds!!

Off to the Races...

2009-03-11T07:14:00.002-04:00

Got a lot of running around to do today.

Didn't sleep well because I was afraid I'd oversleep and not be ready in time to get the dogs to their beauty appointments. I refuse to use an alarm clock in my retirement unless absolutely necessary. So I was wide awake at 6:00 AM. I've been catching up on some of your blogs and will get to the rest of them this evening.

Thanks so much for the flattering comments about yesterdays pictures.

I got a bug up my butt yesterday and hit the kitchen with a vengeance. Started with the dishes that had piled up and then scrubbed the appliances with my new best friend (Mr. Clean). I'd never bought that product in all of my 60+ years until last week. It really is a great cleaner, but I digress... Then I started a pot of Taco Soup and made some Pumpkin Custard. Yeah, yeah, now more dirty dishes. I did wash some as I was going, which I never do when I cook. But after everything cooled and I could put it in the freezer or fridge I didn't feel like washing dishes anymore. So, I've got some facing me when I get back this afternoon.

Have a great "hump day!"

Enough is Enough...

2009-03-10T08:25:00.011-04:00

Durn you all are relentless. Don't you get as sick as I do of seeing my "puss" on this thing? Now when I was younger I didn't mind looking at a picture of myself.

Here, I am in my 20's (right after my first bout with weight loss). That's a whole lot better to look at than the first one. That's my Daddy Bob (grandfather). The cake says, "21 is a good age...Wasn't it?" It was his birthday and I made the cake. Sure wish we could take our grandparents into our old age with us. He's the one that taught me how to tell time and tie my shoes among other 'portant things. He had the patients of Job when it came to me. Course he was always a calm person with anyone. He even let me "help" him build their house when I was 3 years old. There are some nails in that old house pounded in by a 3 year old, by golly. (And for Kristisummer and anyone else that missed my "New Do" post here is where you can see it.)

Last night was my first good nights sleep in a week. Finally! For some reason lately I've had some horrible dreams and couldn't sleep the whole night through. That's just not normal for me. I even slept a little later than I have been lately. Sure hope that doesn't happen tomorrow because I have to have the dogs at the groomers by 10:00 tomorrow and it takes my bathroom at least a half hour to heat up for a shower, then it will probably take me another half hour to "style" my hair :o) Next thing you know, I'll be wearing make up! EEEEKKKKK I'm turning into a girly girl. I'm for sure not giving up my jeans, so there.

I think that was the most horrible thing about being a teacher...we couldn't wear jeans very often. On those occasional, rare days when we would have "jeans day" I was the bestest teacher of all. The kids even said so. But you know the system. Gotta set a "good" example for the younger ones. I should have gone on to get my masters so I could teach college and wear anything I durn well pleased. I was within 6 hours of my masters but that's a story for a another time. I've even told my girls to make sure I'm buried in jeans. I'm not crazy about dressing up and that's the way I'm most comfortable.

Have a great day out there in blog-land.

Hair Update and Yet Another Recipe...

2009-03-09T11:14:00.003-04:00

I've been playing with my new hair cut and finally have it figured out. Thanks for all the suggestions for styling and products to use. Unfortunately the only products I have in the house are mousse and hair spray so that's what I used while playing beautician. Now all I need is someplace to go to wear my new do.

I had a really delicious meal last night. I made Pepper Steak with a Twist. I got the recipe from the corn starch box and didn't have any green peppers but had some left over cooked cabbage. I didn't even use the corn starch nor broth they suggested because it already made a lot and didn't want the extra calories. This recipe makes enough for two with another side or you can eat the WHOLE big plate full like I did. And the best part is that it was only 477 calories for the whole thing. I wasn't hungry all evening after that great meal. And if you don't like cabbage you can go ahead and use the green pepper but you'll have to add 4 calories and you won't get as much. I thought that was really interesting that a cup and a half of cabbage is fewer calories than one green pepper. So, if you're interested, go on over to my recipes and check it out.

I think I'm gonna head for the big city (population 7,676 but they do have a Wal-Mart) sometime this week 'cause I'm out of almonds and a few other things that I can't find in my little town.

Hope you make it through Monday and have a great rest of the week.

PS: Please forgive any misspellings. My spell checker won't work for some reason.

Another Recipe...

2009-03-08T10:32:00.003-04:00

I'm feeling some better. Thanks for all your well wishes. You don't know how much that meant to me.

Don't know about the rest of you but I really miss creamy salad dressing. So, I decided to figure out how I could have some that was light. And I'm not crazy about the bottled stuff. I discovered Carrabba's a couple of years ago and was addicted to their creamy Parmesan dressing. Went searching the web and found a recipe. So I tweaked it to make it healthier. You'll find the recipe here. Now if I could just figure out how to make my Mother's wilted lettuce dressing in the low calorie/low fat format. I don't think that's gonna happen since the main ingredient is bacon grease and I know for a fact that another kind of "good for us" oil wouldn't taste the same. But that doesn't mean I won't try.

The funny thing about this bug I had is that the appetite didn't falter. Sure wish it had a little, just a little. Actually I ate every thing I could get my hands on the first day. That may have been just one of those days that hit me once in a while, oh well.

I did get out of the house a little yesterday in this beautiful weather. Walked all the way from my back door to the garage, taking some stuff out there that had piled up. Then a couple of times I just enjoyed the warmth and sat on the porch while my doggies were doing their business and smelling the wild life that is up and about. I have a really hard time talking them into going out when it is bitter cold out there, just like everyone else does, I'm sure. But I had a hard time keeping them in yesterday. The deer were really abundant yesterday (I saw 8 in one bunch) and they love to set and bark at them. They even chase them a little ways into the woods but they don't get too close or chase them to where ever they go when being chased, thank goodness.

Hope your weekend is going well and you remembered to set your clocks ahead last night (I didn't).

Short and Sweet...

2009-03-06T19:03:00.001-05:00

This is going to be short and sweet. 'Cause my feel bad hurts.

Just wanted to let you know that I'm not feelin' much like bloggin' right now. Guess I picked up a bug when I went to town on Tuesday.

Be back when I feel better.

Oven Fried Chicken...

2009-03-05T08:52:00.004-05:00

No beating around the bush here...I'm just jumping right in...

I had my fried chicken last night. And it was sooooo yummy. I even did it healthy!!

I started with the fried chicken recipe from the Biggest Loser show on Tuesday and tweaked it to meet my needs.

Like I said in yesterdays post I did opt for thighs because I just needed the extra taste and I know it made it a little more in calories and fat but I am on maintenance.

I made my own bread crumbs from my whole wheat light bread. After toasting the bread the night before and letting it set out all night to get good and hard, I put them in the food processor and ground he heck out of them until they were almost a powder. The whipped egg whites really helped the coating stick to the chicken and gave it a consistency more like the crusty chicken I used to fry. I then coated my baking dish with about a half tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and placed the chicken on that. I baked them on one side for 30 minutes at 350 degrees then flipped them and continued baking for another 30 minutes. (I baked them this long because I'd left the bone in.) When I took them out they looked just like my homemade! I was so excited and had a hard time waiting for my cabbage to get done so I could eat. There were a little drippings in the pan so I scraped it out and into a small skillet and made a little gravy. When I say a little I mean a really little. It made about 3 tablespoons of gravy but that's all I needed for a taste. I then baked a potato in the microwave and after scooping it out and mashing it with a little soy milk, salt and a little light butter, I poured the gravy over it. It was the best meal I've had in a long time.

The funny thing about my new eating habits is that when I fix myself something that I haven't had in a while I hit the veggies on my plate first. And it's not a conscious action either. My eyes just go to the veggies first and my mind thinks, "This cabbage (or what ever the veggie is) is really going to be goooooooood. So I ate about half the cabbage first. I first noticed this new habit during Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner this past year. Talk about new "good" habits.

Now comes the bad part. I made 2 thighs with the thought that I hadn't had fried chicken in such a long time I was going to have 2. One was enough!! Unlike in my previous life, I took my time eating and was really full after one piece of chicken. So, the bad part is that I have another piece of chicken in the fridge. I will have it all by itself today for lunch. Well, I may have some cabbage with it.

Had one serving of rice pudding left so that was dessert. Gonna make more of that today.

I'll be putting the fried chicken and gravy recipes on my recipe blog after I finish this.

It's so nice to see the temperature getting higher. It's supposed to be up to 70 here on Saturday. I can hardly wait!! I have some stuff that needs to be done outside and I have just been refusing to put on a coat and brave the cold we've been having.

Have a great day!!

Sleepless in West Virginia...

2009-03-04T02:05:00.002-05:00

Don't know what it is but I just can't sleep. Reading didn't help, even finished my book and a snack didn't help. I've tried several times and just decided to get up and come blog instead.

Now, what to blog about...hmmmm...

After watching Biggest Loser tonight I decided to try the fried chicken the way they suggested. I had already decided to make it oven fried chicken but I'm going to use the whole wheat bread crumbs instead of flour. So I've got some whole wheat bread toasted and drying out for tomorrow. I did pick up thighs this time instead of breasts as a treat. I rarely ate a chicken breast before I started on this healthier life style and I've gotten to where I'd rather have beans than chicken lately. I'm really tired of chicken breast.

I was so looking forward to fresh strawberries when I went to the store but they were half rotten. The price was so high they just couldn't sell what they had put out. I did get a big head of cabbage and think I'll cook the whole thing and freeze some for later in the week. I almost bought cookies. I've been dying for cookies lately but I didn't do it. I was good. And my local store doesn't carry Hershey's dark chocolate kisses, durn. I think I only have about 5 left and that won't last me until April first when I go to Wal-Mart again. Don't know what I'll do without them. Not to worry, I'm always good with them. I only allow myself 3 at a time and only have them 2-3 times a week. That takes care of the chocolate urge for me.

Well, that was a boring post, but hey, it's my blog and I can write anything I want too, so there.

Guess I'll sign off and play some mindless card games on this 'puter to try to make myself sleepy.

New Do...

2009-03-03T17:48:00.001-05:00

This is what I asked for (without the blond)...
And this is what I got...

I really need to find a new hair dresser.

Fright Night...

2009-03-02T11:38:00.003-05:00

I had a scare last night. I was setting here watching some inane TV show at around 9:30 and heard a vehicle coming up my driveway. Flying low!! Horn honking!! My doggies were outside and I am so grateful they stayed on the porch. They usually head for the driveway to greet whomever comes up my driveway. If they would have done their usual behavior I would have had two squished dogs.

The truck just whizzed by my front door (I have a circular driveway) and kept on going. I got to the door in time to see it leaving and knew who it was. It was the same idiot that did this same thing about a month ago at 2:00 AM. I stayed on my porch and watched to see where he would go next and he went to a neighbors house (his girlfriend). She is out of town but he has a key and went on in. I waited a little while and called down there. He wouldn't answer the phone, so I called the friend, out of town. I asked her to ask him to quit doing this. While I was talking to her he called me back and was drunk as a skunk. He swore that he didn't honk the horn that it was the heater in the truck making noises. Like I don't know the difference between a horn and a heater. I tried to get it through his drunken stupor that the horn wasn't the point. I tried to get it through his head that I didn't want him driving up here again, period. I even told him that I had my gun in my hand by the time I'd gotten to the door and he was lucky that he didn't get shot. Which was a lie. I'd forgotten to pick up the shotgun, again. But he didn't know that. And maybe that will keep him from doing it again.

I've got a "no trespassing" sign posted at the beginning of my driveway but it is weathered and not as visible as it should be. When I go to town this week I'm getting a new one. And the next time this idiot does this I'm calling the police on him.

I live about 200 feet off the road and no one has any right driving through my driveway unless they are coming for a visit.

It took me about 2 hours last night to quit shaking and as I'm typing this I'm shaking again.

My eating has been alright. Not great and not bad. My weight is fluctuating up and down within a 3 pound range. And I'd say that's good for maintenance. But boy am I ever craving the good stuff, like fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, fried liver and onions, fettuccine Alfredo, and spaghetti with lots of garlic bread. Think I'm going to have to fix myself some in a small amount or it will get the best of me and I'll binge. But I'll be careful and not fix it all in the same week. Maybe I can have one of these meals once a week and do alright. Those of you on maintenance, do you think that will be harmful?

Sometimes I Feel Like I'm in the Dark Ages...

2009-02-28T11:30:00.005-05:00

This phone company is going to drive me crazy!! I tried to get online this morning and there was a recording that "my call could not be completed as dialed." So I tried to call a neighbor to find our if here phone was giving her fits. Same message. So...I tried a long distance number and it worked. Now that led me to call the phone companies 800 number. They put me on a call back list, wouldn't even let me hang on. After a while they did call back and I reported the problem. I was told they would send a repair person out within 24 hours. At this point I'm setting here having withdrawals from blogging and started to pace the floor. I mean, have you ever had the blog-DT's? They aren't pretty, I can tell you. Within 15 minutes they subsided when I got a call from my phone company again.

Hold on a minute, my boiled eggs are done. Be right back...

Sorry that took so long, I had to stop and eat them while they were hot. Boy, was that ever good. Two semi-hard boiled eggs and a cheese biscuit with a little light butter. YUMMMMM!!

Where was I? Oh, yeah...It seems that they have run out of phone numbers in my state, finally, and they are having to change over some equipment while they get the new area code going. Which means that I have to put my area code in front of any local numbers that I'm calling. That's fine, but I did tell them that it would have been nice to have gotten some kind of notice of this happening. It seems that they did send some mailings out. Of course I didn't get one, go figure.

Now, I'm back to my Internet dial up problem. I'm pretty computer savvy at least with software and can pretty much figure out anything given enough time. But I was afraid the DT's would start again so I bit the bullet and called tech support to get them to work me through changing the telephone number for my dial up. I knew how to do this but I just couldn't remember how to get to that window. With these old brain cells of mine I guess the old saying goes, "If you don't use it you lose it."

As you can tell, it worked!!

Now I can't remember what I was going to blog about this morning. Durn those brain cells.

Hope you have a great weekend, and I hope yours didn't start off as frustrating as mine.

An Old Recipe...

2009-02-27T08:39:00.004-05:00

Here's a recipe that most people will love. Sorry, but it isn't low in calories. There's just not much of a way to do that. It's been so long since I've made it (around 30 years) that I don't remember how much it actually makes. So what I've done is list the nutritional value for the TOTAL recipe. So when you see the nutritional values please don't faint away.

Homemade Granola

6 cups Rolled Oats
2 cups slivered Almonds
1.5 cups Sunflower Nuts
1 cup Sesame Seeds
1 cup coconut
1 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup honey
3/4 cup brown sugar

Combine first 4 ingredients on a cookie sheet and bake at 200 degrees for 15 minutes.

Mix remaining ingredients with the warm ingredients.

Spread out on cookie sheet and bake at 300 degrees for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Cool and scrape off.

For TOTAL recipe:
Calories 8,892
Total Fat 554 g
Saturated Fat 96 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 212 g
Monounsaturated Fat 238 g
Cholesterol 0 mg
Sodium 176 mg
Potassium 10,558 mg
Total Carbohydrates 1,177 g
Dietary Fiber 219 g
Sugars 155 g
Protein 227 g
Vitamin A 1.4%
Vitamin B-6 402%
Vitamin C 10.3%
Vitamin E 723%
Calcium 560%
Folate 451%
Iron 758%
Magnesium 1,042%
niacin 281%
Phosphorus 1,,62%
Selenium 408%
Thiamine 899%
Zinc 661%

Now, if you add up all the cups and half cups of the ingredients and divided it out to be 1/2 cup servings it would be approximately 312 calories for that half cup. But you'd actually have to make it and see for yourselves. That is if you want to try it at all. I haven't made it since my girls were little but we all LOVED it and it's packed full of vitamins.

See the USA in Your Chevorlet...

2009-02-25T14:13:00.005-05:00

Do you remember that commercial? If you do you are like me and older than dirt :o)

I made the rice pudding (click for the recipe) using soy milk and other substitutions and it turned out G-R-E-A-T!! I usually just buy soy milk because it is lighter in calories and higher in Omega-3's. I'm not crazy about drinking it like I am whole milk, but on cereal, in coffee and for cooking soy milk works fine.

What? Two posts in one day? And here I told y'all that I wasn't in the mood to post. Actually I'm still not much in the mood but I just had to share this recipe with you, in case you like rice pudding.

A Few Mini Vacations...

2009-02-25T08:57:00.003-05:00

I haven't been much in the mood to blog lately. Don't know why because I'm not down or blue. I think I just feel boring. There's not much going on in my life to write about. So if I'm not around for a while here and there, not to worry. I'm still reading and commenting on your blogs just not writing one of my own very often.

And mentioning commenting...I was reading and "trying" to comment on blogs on Monday and for some reason the word verification wouldn't work on blogspot. Think they have it fixed now because I just tried it this morning and it's working again. So if you were expecting me to comment on your blogs earlier and I didn't, at least I tried.

I do have one question for anyone out there that may have tried this. Has anyone tried to make puddings with soy milk instead of whole milk? And did it work? I've been dying for some rice pudding and I have the egg beaters and Splenda to use as substitutes, but don't know if the soy milk will work. I may just try it anyway. I've got Dinah Shore's recipe and it is just wonderful. I did set down last night and work out the calorie difference and it will only be 90 calories (instead of 200+) for a half cup. That's the way I always ate it before, 1/2 cup here and there and it usually lasts me a week. If it works I'll post the recipe.

Off to make some cheese biscuits for breakfast.

A Book Review...

2009-02-23T13:27:00.003-05:00

I highly recommend Charlie's book. It is very informative and interesting as well as humorous. In one of the early chapters he summarizes a lot of the diets out there now and how they work. He does emphasize how dieting is just a tool and we all have to find the right tool for us. And there's just the right amount of humor thrown in. I give it two thumbs up!!

We've got about 6 inches of snow. WHEN WILL IT END?!?!?!? Is it just me or does this winter seem to be longer than the past ones? I know, I know, I'm wishing my life away.

I figured out yesterday how to foil the sand man. I decided to have a cup of hot tea, and I like it really strong, in the early afternoon. Maybe because I brewed it so strong, but I was still wide awake at 11:00. I had to get on the computer and play some mindless card games to make myself drowsy.

Hope your week is starting out just the way you want it to.

Just a Day in the Life of Me...

2009-02-22T07:23:00.002-05:00

Boy did I ever get a good laugh this morning reading your comments on yesterdays post. Now I know who my true friends are, YOU.

She is a cantankerous old lady (one year younger than me :o). She usually says what she thinks and especially with me. After I posted yesterday I decided to go look in the mirror to see what she was talking about. The only thing I can figure is that she is jealous that I've lost so much weight or it is my shaggy hair. I haven't had a hair cut in a while because I'm trying to let it grow and it really needs shaping. Either way I don't pay much attention to her. She is also the county gossip and story teller. When she's telling me a story about someone in the county her husband is behind her shaking his head no. I think she truly believes what she says because there is usually a little bit of truth in it. She just embellishes it a whole lot. A couple of examples are: The UFO lights that several have seen including her, on the next mountain over from us or the mountain lion she's seen and heard accounts of on our mountain or the ghosts she sees regularly. I just take her with a grain of salt. She's even seen ghost Bob Cats!

On a happier note, I forgot to mention something nice that happened at the post office yesterday. When I walked in the post office I could hear my letter carrier talking in the back. First of all you have to picture my post office. It's very small as post offices go. I would guess that the whole building is no more than 30 feet square if that. The person working the counter came up to the front and was helping me take care of my business when my letter carrier sticks her head around the corner of the sorting shelves and is amazed. She screeched, "OMGoodness, I didn't know who you were until you began to talk." She proceeded to tell me how great I looked and asked how much I'd lost. That's another reason that what the neighbor/friend said later in the day didn't upset me much.

I was so sleepy yesterday evening at around 8:00 that I just couldn't keep my eyes opened any longer so I just went to bed. Boy I'm taking a nap today if I get tired because that was a horrible nights sleep. I was wide awake at 10:00, forced myself to go back to sleep and it happened about every 2 hours like that all night long. When I get sleepy early in the evenings like that I usually push myself past that wall somehow but I just didn't feel like it yesterday. Never again, I'll tell you.

Before I closed my eyes last night I did manage to read the first chapter of the book and I think it is really going to be a good one. Oh, I didn't tell you, but I bought mine from Charlie, not Amazon, and he personally signed it for me!

One nice thing about going to bed early yesterday was that the munchies didn't hit me and my eating was really, really good.

Hope your Sunday is WONDERFUL!

From the Horrible Looking Old Lady...

2009-02-21T18:29:00.002-05:00

I'm still hangin' in there.

Went off the mountain today to pick up the mail and got a nice surprise. Well, sort of a surprise, because I knew it was coming but just didn't know when. I ordered Charlie Hills' book "Why Your Last Diet Failed You and How This Book Won't Help You on Your Next One." I haven't started it yet but will tonight and will let you know how it is. Charlie writes over at Back to the Fridge. If you haven't checked him out, drop on over for a chuckle or two.

An interesting thing happened this afternoon. One of my neighbors came over for me to help her sign up electronically for Social Security. The first thing she said when she walked in was, "you look horrible." I just smiled and said thanks. She's the one that keeps encouraging me to quit losing weight and is having a hard time losing any herself.

Hope your weekend is going well.

Another One Bites the Dust (craving that is)...

2009-02-20T11:10:00.003-05:00

I'm still here. And I'm doing fine. Just taking some time off from blogging once in a while. As you've probably noticed I have been reading and commenting on your blogs. I just don't have much to talk about.

Sure is cold here but thank goodness we haven't gotten the snow that has been predicted. Just a dusting after the "little" ice storm on Wednesday. Glad that wasn't as bad as they said it would be.

Eating has been fine except for yesterday. I was watching something on television and saw french toast. I just had to have some so I jumped up and made myself one slice with some homemade maple syrup. I was terribly disappointed with it and now that it is out of my system I won't be wanting it again for a while if ever. It just amazes me that when I do that I am not satisfied like I thought I would be. Is that happening to you? It seems that my body just doesn't want all that bad stuff anymore. Course I haven't tried my two faves, KFC and Taco Bell Burrito Supreme. I'm kind of afraid to try them because then I won't have anything to dream about.

I'll leave you with this picture that I keep in my mind and on the desktop of my computer.

I'M READY FOR SPRING!!

Ho Hum...

2009-02-18T13:13:00.002-05:00

Not much going on in my life.

Had an appointment to get the doggies groomed today but cancelled this morning when I woke up to sleet and freezing rain. No sense driving in that stuff unless it's an emergency or a necessity and I can put the dogs off for another week or so if I have to.

Have been eating healthy.

NJ daughter won't be coming for sure this week. Guess I'll just have to find ways to entertain myself. I could start spring cleaning but as far as I'm concerned that's a dirty word right now in more ways than one.

Have a great HUMP DAY.

All's Quiet on the Home Front...

2009-02-16T14:35:00.003-05:00

Yeah, yeah, I know I could freeze those muffins, but I DON'T WANT TO. I did well yesterday and only had one. And I even stayed within my calories :o)

I have some pumpkin custard in the oven right now. And the Cool Whip Free thawing. That will help keep me out of the muffins. I love that stuff.

Could you believe that the satellite TV people called me today and asked if I wanted to get satellite Internet? I don't think their right hand knows what the left hand is doing there.

Started crocheting something really different this morning. It's a wrap of sorts but really different. Will post a picture if it turns out.

Otherwise it's a quiet and boring day.

Hope your Monday hasn't been too stressful.

Peace Dudes...

2009-02-15T14:57:00.005-05:00

I need someone to smack my hands when I go grocery shopping and reach for the chocolate chips. I haven't purchased any in over two years and now I know why. I was cleaning out a cabinet this past week and found a package that had about a third left in it. No, I didn't throw it away like I should have. I also found a package of banana nut muffin mix. So...I decided to make the muffins and right before I was finished I got to thinking that the chocolate chips would probably be good in there too. I don't know if you've ever had a frozen banana dipped in chocolate and covered in nuts, yummmmm. It's been about 30 years since I've had one and I decided that adding the chocolate chips to the banana muffins would be good. OMG!!! Good doesn't describe them. Chocolate chip cookies were my downfall at Christmas and I am having a hard time resisting these things too. So it must be the Chocolate chips. I am never buying them again in my whole life, ahem, well, maybe not for a long time anyway. I did have two last night and wasn't even hungry, just couldn't resist. But I haven't had one today, yet. I'm going to allow myself one after supper tonight.

It's been a quiet Sunday for me. Got my kitchen cleaned up and ready to cook supper and dirty it up again. What a vicious cycle!! Ran the sweeper and took out the garbage. Then I vegged out on the sofa and watched some things I had taped last week. Gotta watch them all so I'll be all caught up on the new ones this week.

I even remembered to water my peace lily today. I've never had much luck with house plants or outside plants for that matter. I must have a black thumb. But for some reason I've been able to keep this baby alive for the past 3 years. It took me a while to learn how to care for it and I almost lost it at one point. But I finally found its favorite window and how often it likes water. I think I was drowning it before. When I finally figured out what it needed it only had two stalks left. That was a close one.

Have a happy, healthy week.

2009-02-14T08:00:00.000-05:00

HAPPY

DAY

God Must Not Want Me To Have...

2009-02-13T14:12:00.002-05:00

high speed Internet. What else should I have expected on Friday the Thirteenth.

The satellite Internet guys didn't show up this morning. I didn't even get a call that they weren't coming. They were supposed to be here between 8:00 and noon. So I waited until 1:00 and called to find out what was going on. They started giving me the run around and then said they would reschedule. I quickly told them that they would NOT reschedule, they would cancel my order. They did. So I proceeded to call the company back to talk to a supervisor to lodge a complaint. They had cancelled alright but didn't bother to issue a refund on my payment for the installation. It was all I could do to keep from using a LOT of foul words with this company. They knew I was angry but I kept it clean. (Although thinking back, when the guy wanted to reschedule I did tell him he could "stuff it.") Anyway the supervisor was very apologetic and issued a refund on my credit card for the installation charge and gave me a discount on my next months satellite TV bill for my inconvenience. I guess I just have to put up with dial up Internet for the rest of my life. I know what I can do!!! I can send our new president a letter and ask him to get high speed in my area. He thinks all Americans should have high speed or DSL so maybe if I got him on board I could get my phone service to put it in. Sound like a plan to you?

Yesterday was one of those eating days. I just couldn't get satisfied or full. At least I kept it healthy (except for some Cheerio's cheese snack mix). Still no exercise. Just can't make myself get off my lazy butt.

Hope you have a healthy and happy weekend.

Today Was a Better Day...

2009-02-12T17:19:00.003-05:00

Hope that all of you are safe after yesterdays weather through the mid to eastern US. We had a prediction of sever storms with hail and possibly tornadoes but all we got was a ten minute horrible storm and high winds, gusting to approximately 50 mph. I would love to have an anemometer to actually measure our winds sometimes but they are way too expensive. Luckily the power didn't go off this time around. I think it's because I am playing boyscout. I'm always prepared when I hear a prediction like that with extra water drawn and all the candles in the middle of the dining room table ready to light.

Hopped on the scales this morning for the first time in a couple of weeks and have lost another pound. Now this kind of maintenance I can handle. It makes me feel really good to know that I have formed so many new healthy eating habits. The real test will be this summer when I have company a lot, which means eating out some, and when corn on the cob is in season. I could easily eat a dozen ears at one setting when it's fresh out of the garden.

I've started crocheting something different this week. I'm making fashion scarves. They are about 2.5 to 3 inches wide and 55-65 inches long in varying patterns and colors. They are really fun to make. Here's a picture of three that I have finished. They are made from a soft shiny cotton. Will post one on a model (me) when I decide to put on something other than jammies. I did order more sock yarn when I ordered the yarn for these so I'm still into the socks too. Just have something else to work on so I can switch off now and then and not get too bored.

Later y'all.

I Know it's not Mothers Day But...

2009-02-11T10:56:00.006-05:00

Give your Mom a hug. If she's not close enough to hug, give her a call. I'm having a really hard time right now missing my girls. One I haven't seen since August and the other since Thanksgiving. It was so much easier on me when Larry was alive. I had him to keep me company and distracted from missing them so much. But now, alone, I need them more than ever. What got me into this mood is the fact that the one that lives closest to me was coming next week for about a five day visit. Now it looks like that may not happen. I may be getting ahead of myself in getting depressed so soon when they may still come but...my heart is aching. This horrible economy is what is causing them to maybe not come. I even offered to pay for their gas but the fiance may have a chance to work with a friend during his vacation to make some extra money and I really can't blame him for jumping on that opportunity. Still...

Yesterday's eating wasn't so good. I stuck with the proper foods but ate a little too much of it. That happens from time to time and I know things will be better today. Mainly because I feel that whatever I put in my mouth right now may come back up because of my mental state.

Does anyone out there know if pasta freezes well?

I was so disappointed yesterday with a pot of Chili I made to freeze. The grocery store was out of the regular brand of diced tomatoes that I usually buy so I bought another brand. Big mistake!! I didn't know it until after the pot was finished and I was having a cup of it that the other brand of tomatoes I purchased was sweetened (and the label didn't say this). I know lots of people prefer their chili and spaghetti sweet but I'm not one of them. The only thing I could think to do was add vinegar and unfortunately I didn't add enough before I divided out and froze the portions. So now when I take my one cup containers out of the freezer I'll have to add a dollop more vinegar to get rid of the sweet taste.

Can you tell this isn't a good week for me? Hope yours is better.

Check out the Jillian Michaels giveaway over at Pudget!!

Groceries and Gas...

2009-02-10T10:37:00.006-05:00

I decided to play hooky for the past couple of days. Just didn't have anything to write about. And not much in the mood to surf the net either. So I'll be catching up on your lives here in a little while.

I finally went into town and did some grocery shopping. Whew, I was out of a lot of stuff and the grocery bill was rather high. But the good news... My local grocery store and a local gas station have teamed up (both are West Virginia chains). Now you present your "Fuel Card" at the beginning of your checkout for groceries and at the end you get money put on your fuel card for a discount on fuel. Woohoo! I chalked up 37 cents PER GALLON yesterday. The catch is that I have to use it by March 31st. No probem there. That is a wonderful way to help out the economy locally. Everyone needs groceries and then you get a break on fuel. Can't beat that with a stick.

Eating has been rather good the past few days but no exercise. Gotta get back into that phase of my life.

I had a really big dilemma, well not so big actually. I had scheduled the dogs grooming on the same day and time next week that I was supposed to be in Lewisburg for some tests. Well, this was a no brainer. I just changed the tests to April. I mean the dogs are way more important than a bunch of tests, right? Actually I changed the tests because I don't like the thought of driving over those mountains in the winter when there may be a snow storm before or during my trips. Would rather make all appointments down there in pretty weather. So my tests will be on April Fool's Day.

I just love the way I've rearranged my living room. So glad I did that. Now I've got to tackle my desk. I have a great "piling" system that I have to get a handle on. There's just no room for a file cabinet and I have a couple of those small file boxes under the desk but they are both full. Guess I'll have to go through them and cull out some stuff. I hate doing that. It hasn't been done since my husband died (he always did it) and invariably he threw something out that in a couple of months we needed. I loved that I could blame him for it but now I'll have to blame myself and I hate that.

Hope your week is going well and healthy.

Goodbye Snow...

2009-02-07T12:05:00.002-05:00

How wonderful that the entire country is thawing out this weekend!! I'm thrilled and I'll bet so are you that we can all get outside this weekend without wearing 12 layers to keep warm. I didn't have any plans but think I may at least hop off the mountain to get my mail. And then see what happens.

But first, I'm sticking my head in my freezer to see what is in some of those bottom bins. then tweak my grocery list a little for Monday. Would go to the store today but I really need to go to the bank and it won't be opened this afternoon, so that can all wait until Monday.

Have a fun weekend.

$%#* &^$# &%$# and piffle-snot-boogers-crap...

2009-02-06T18:04:00.006-05:00

Those were a few choice words I YELLED after the satellite Internet guys just left. I haven't gotten on-line all day waiting for their call to get directions on how to find me. They were supposed to be here between noon and 5:00. They finally called at 4:45 and were here by 5:30. They told me when they called to get directions, that it would take 4-5 hours to do the installation. I informed them that was fine with me. So after they got here they discovered that I live in a log home and the dish can not be mounted on a round surface. So they are going to have to dig a hole and put the dish on a pole behind the house. To do this they have to call some company called "Dig Safe" to get permission to dig and this company has to come out and survey the ground to make sure it is safe to dig. GOOD GRIEF! I told them that we built the cabin and I know where every electrical, phone or gas line is and where all the plumbing lines are. But he wouldn't accept that. So it is rescheduled for next Friday between 8:00 AM and noon. I decided I wanted the early time this time. Watch it snow a big one next week and they won't be able to get up the mountain. At least it will be the same guys and they already know how to get here.

I weighed myself this morning and haven't gained or lost. Woohoo! So that means that the maintenance is working.

I did remember to put the HRM on the other day and burned 358 calories in 15 minutes. That's a good burn! Didn't do any formal exercise yesterday because I was deep cleaning my living room and moving all the furniture to different places. I had forgotten how heavy my coffee table was. After lugging all the furniture around I felt that I had gotten enough. And my arms and legs are sore today from it. :o)

Have a great weekend.

Still a go...

2009-02-05T10:40:00.004-05:00

Ate well yesterday and got my exercise in!!

It's as "cold as a witches tit in a brass brassiere" here.

For some reason I can't get warm this morning. Think I'm going to have to leave the propane turned up a little from now on at night. I've been up for about 3 hours and the temp has only raised to 64 degrees from 50. I've got on as many clothes as I can and still move around. At least the sun is out so maybe some of the snow will melt.

Just got a confirmation call from the Internet installation people. So far so good. It dawned on me last night that I will have a different email (besides my gmail) and will have to change it with all the places that I do business with on the Internet. Yuck. Guess I'd better start making a list so that I won't forget anyone since I will be cancelling my other Internet provider. What a pain in the butt. And then again I won't have to worry about all those stupid businesses that send me stuff I don't want and have been trying to get cancelled.

Stay warm out there.

BL and Highspeed...

2009-02-04T08:13:00.003-05:00

I was setting here watching Biggest Loser last night and the local (well, not so local because it's over 200 miles away) news started running crawls across the top of the screen warning of a winter storm warning in my area. They kept saying "stay tuned." So I did, even though I was droopy eyed and really wanted my pillow. They were saying that there was going to be an additional 8 inches by 6:00 this morning. With the 4 that fell yesterday I wasn't looking forward to having a foot on the ground. So I get up this morning and trudge down the stairs and glance out the window to an almost clear driveway. WHAT? The 4 inches is down to a dusting. I must have really slept hard last night because for that to happen we had to have had one heck of a wind storm last night. So the sun is out again and the weather service says another 2 inches today and one tonight. Yea, right. I think they are crying wolf and if they keep it up we won't listen to them when one really hits.

Well, I've gotten my hopes up again. Sure hope this time I'm not disappointed. I got a solicitation call yesterday telling me that satellite Internet is now available in my area. They identified themselves as being with my satellite company. I said, "heck yes, sign me up." Then he started getting my info and when he asked me for my credit card number my doubts began to surface. Mainly because my satellite company has my credit card on file because that's how I pay my bill. So I tell this guy that I'm not going to do that and that I'll be checking him and his company out and get back to him. I call my provider and after talking to them for a while find out that this guy is from their main competitor. So I'm told during the conversation that yes indeed high speed Internet is now available in my area, (and it's cheaper than what the other guy quoted me) and proceed to sign up for it. They are supposed to come Friday between noon and 5:00. Cross your fingers that they will show up this time and get me hooked up. Then I'll be able to watch MizFits videos, yay!

Eating was good yesterday but no exercise. Gotta do it today.

Yay, hump day is here!

Houston, We Have...

2009-02-03T08:12:00.003-05:00

Snow! It finally started yesterday afternoon and it was just about the prettiest snow fall I've ever seen. It was perfect as snow falls go. And it's still going. Not too much accumulation so far (4 inches) but enough to be really pretty.

I remembered to put my HRM on yesterday when I did the WiiFit Aerobics and get this... I did it for 15 minutes and burned 358 calories. Tell me I wasn't sweatin'. I even ran for 2 minutes! It lets you set your own pace and then calculates some sort of percentage. After you reach a certain percentage it unlocks a longer run. Right now I'm sticking to the 2 minutes. That's enough for this old body. It even has a place that weighs you and figures your BMI but it only suggests doing that every two weeks. So I will keep track of my maintenance weight that way instead of the conventional scales.

Karen at Fitcetera is having surgery today. Keep her in your prayers.

Six More Weeks?...

2009-02-02T08:39:00.004-05:00

ARGH!!! Maybe I should adopt a new attitude, ONLY 6 more weeks. That sounds better doesn't it? This is my very own ground hog (West Virginia Will). He/she lives somewhere near the cabin because I see him/her often during the summer. Right now he/she is hibernating so there is no chance for him/her to see a shadow, although that is exactly what he/she would have done today. The sun is out and it is beautiful this morning. Well, as beautiful as it can be with all the trees bare of those beautiful leaves that I miss sooooo much. Watched the weather channel and kept checking their maps with the sky outside. It showed that it was raining right now and the sky is as clear as a beautiful summer day. What's with that? No clouds anywhere to be seen. Me thinks the radar is all messed up.

Wasn't that an exciting game last night? I didn't watch it all, tuned in right before half time. So I got to see the best part. But I have to say that I was disappointed with the half-time show performance. Did anyone else notice how off key "The Boss" was with his singing? I have to admit the only reason I ever watch the super bowl is to see the new neat commercials. I sat there slack jawed with them. Those were the stupidest commercials I've ever seen. If they had a good one in the first half, I wouldn't know but the second half was horrible. I wasn't even impressed with the Budweiser one this year.

I did snack too much yesterday, not necessarily during the game but snacked none the less. I'm sure I'll pay for it this week. Will have to put in a little extra effort on the exercising to compensate.

Hey, I've finally quit going to my canisters to turn on my microwave (after changing my kitchen around a couple of weeks ago)! It is a lot more convenient this way and I have a lot more counter space. I'm not the kind of person that keeps the counters in the kitchen pristine. I believe in keeping all the things I use all the time out where I can get to them easily. So it is a little cluttered at all times. I can't even imagine storing all the things that are used in cooking and getting them out each time they are needed. I'd have to spend too much time getting out and putting away and would be too tired to actually cook.

Have a great week!

Hula Hoopster...

2009-02-01T13:48:00.003-05:00

I'll tell you what, that Wii can kick butt. I'm having a blast with the hula hoop. I did it three times this morning trying to better my time with each try (which I did, BTW) and I was sweatin' like a pig. I had my doubts before the WiiFit arrived, that it was just boring and too easy. But now I know it isn't too easy. Needless to say I'm a lovin' it. I'm having some difficulty on the balancing part but I can handle the aerobic portion just fine. Will have to put in some more practice on the balancing to get better. I didn't even think to put my HRM on to see what the calorie burn was but will next time and report in.

Sure is pretty out today. Supposed to be up to 50 degrees. Talked to my neighbor this morning and he said there was a really bad storm coming. The National Weather Service doesn't say anything about it but the neighbor said it is the talk of the county and they are usually right. We shall see.

According to some of the comments about my going on maintenance, some of you think I won't be here anymore. Hey guys, I ain't goin' anywhere!!! I still need you. You are my support team. I can't maintain without each and every one of you. So if some of you thought you'd be gettin' rid of me, it ain't gonna happen. I'm here to stay. And besides, I'd miss you and what goes on in your lives too much to leave. You're my nationwide friends!!!!

Injoy Super Bowl Sunday!!

More of the Same...

2009-01-31T07:54:00.002-05:00

My WiiFit package arrived yesterday. Very interesting how that thing works. And fun to use. Sure hope the novelty doesn't wear off too soon. When it sets up it tells you what your WiiFit age is and so far I'm a year younger than the calendar says I am. Kewl!

So needless to say I got some exercise in yesterday. And eating was good.

Did I tell you that the UPS guy refuses to come on my mountain to deliver anything? Well, he won't. I could turn him in but I'm not that kind of person. Anyway, he delivers my packages to one of my neighbor's business that's close to town. Then the neighbor drops it off on his way home. Sometimes Ernie is a little lax in remembering and it will set in his truck for a couple of days. I guess he's in a hurry to get home and relax. But lately he's been bringing my packages on the day he gets them. I asked him yesterday how the mountain road was and he told me to not try it unless it was really necessary. He said it is a sheet of ice. He has to stop at the bottom and put chains on his tires then takes them off when he gets back to the bottom the next morning. He is such a nice guy. He told me yesterday to give him a call if I need anything from the store and he'd bring it to me.

Just one more month of this yucky weather (I hope). It will still be cold in March but at least the ice may melt that month. My friends in Virginia have a garage apartment that's furnished and they have offered for me to come there to spend my winters on flat ground but I just don't like to leave my home.

Have a great Saturday our there in blog-land.

Dodging the Bullet...

2009-01-30T07:46:00.002-05:00

Well, we've dodged the bullet this past week with all this horrible weather on the eastern side of the US. This is really weird for this part of our state. We usually have the worst weather when all around us are having just a taste of it. I am very thankful for this turn of events.

I've also made a decision. I'm not going to fight with this weight loss anymore. I'm going into maintenance mode, as of yesterday. Yesterday I just ate what I thought in my head was sensible. It wasn't "clean" eating but it was what I wanted and what was satisfying to me. I had bean dip with one ounce of regular cheese melted and a tablespoon of salsa on top and a few Doritos for breakfast. Lunch came around and I had 1 cup of chili and was totally satisfied. For a snack in the afternoon I had 14 almonds. Then the supper hunger pangs started and I grilled myself a burger with fat free cheese and had it on 2 slices of light wheat bread. I was still hungry and wanting something that I hadn't had in a long time and decided I NEEDED it. I cut up a medium potato (with the skin) and fried it in 1 tablespoon of olive oil. It was so yummy, I love fried potatoes. Then I got to thinking about the food and went to enter it into MyFoodDiary. When I completed the task I was amazed. The day came in at 1432 calories. Less than the past couple of weeks when I planned and planned and couldn't stay on course because I was still hungry. I was full and satisfied all evening, even without dessert!! So I have decided that worrying about what and when and how much I eat isn't working for me. I'm not a happy person with all this worrying. I'm in my 60's and I just can't imagine spending the rest of what life I have left worrying about every morsel that goes into my mouth. I'm not going to binge eat but I'm not going to be so strict on myself either. Life just seems too short for me to do that.

I'm not giving up or going back to my previous life style, just changing things a little. I've been doing this for over a year and a half and know what I can and can not eat to keep this weight down. I've lost 70 pounds, for goodness sake. I know what to do. I know I haven't been exercising as I should in the past week. I only did it twice. And I think it was all mental. After pondering all of this last evening and making this decision, this morning I'm thinking of what I can do to get some exercise in. So I guess it is all mental. I'm still getting a treadmill as soon as the NJ kids come to visit and can help me haul it home and set it up.

If I lose more weight along the way, GREAT! If I don't, that's great too. I'm into medium underwear, size 12-14 jeans, large to extra large shirts and that's acceptable to me. I no longer have to head to the plus size section of the store and that's wonderful.

I can remember being on a picnic one time in my teens and my step-Dad and I were laying side by side on the blanket while Mom was packing the picnic basket back up to head home. I, for some reason was putting my legs in the air and Jack did the same. He started ribbing me about how his legs were prettier than mine. (I was about 110 pounds then.) So we started giggling. Last night I put my legs in the air in bed and looked really good at them. They look pretty good!! Almost as good as back then!!

I'm very satisfied with this decision. I have removed my weight stats and the 6 Weeks Challenge from my side bar because of this decision (in case you were wondering). I won't be reporting weekly on my weight loss or gain and I won't be going anywhere. I'll still be here "constant readers" (to coin a phrase from Stephen King). I'll still post about my ups and downs and I'm sure it will be a happier place to visit.

Thanks for all your support and HUGS along the way. Without you I wouldn't have been able to come this far.

Hope this weekend is wonderful in every way for YOU.

The Importance of Walking...

2009-01-29T13:22:00.005-05:00

Still a little down but am a teensy-weensy bit better. I think it was all the hugs I received yesterday in my comments.

Just got this in an email and thought you would enjoy it.

THE IMPORTANCE OF WALKING

1. Walking can add minutes to your life. This enables you at 85 years old to spend an additional 5 months in a nursing home at $7000 per month.

2. My grandpa started walking five miles a day when he was 60. Now he's 97 years old and we don't know where he is.

3. I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me.

4. The only reason I would take up walking is so that I could hear heavy breathing again.

5. I have to walk early in the morning, before my brain figures out what I'm doing.

6. I joined a health club last year, spent about 400 bucks. Haven't lost a pound. Apparently you have to go there...

7. Every time I hear the dirty word 'exercise,' I wash my mouth out with chocolate. (My favorite.)

8. I do have flabby thighs, but fortunately my stomach covers them.

9. The advantage of exercising every day is so when you die, they'll say, "Well, she looks good doesn't she."

10. If you are going to try cross-country skiing, start with a small country.

11. I know I got a lot of exercise the last few years.....just getting over that durn hill.

12. We all get heavier as we get older, because there's a lot more information in our heads. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

13. Every time I start thinking too much about how I look, I just find a Happy Hour and by the time I leave, I look just fine.

ENJOY Y'ALL.

Weigh-In..

2009-01-28T09:39:00.002-05:00

Lost a half a pound in today's weigh-in.

Just a little down and don't know why. Probably because of the weather. We didn't get the snow that was predicted and now I'm setting her waiting for the ice storm they say is coming. Actually I'm waiting or spring. Just wishing my life away I guess. I think I need a hug.

Hope all is well with you guys. Off to check.

Check, Check, Check, and Check...

2009-01-26T07:50:00.002-05:00

Was able to get the first four items on my list checked off. And because of that I didn't have to do number 5. I do feel better about myself for doing that.

And here come the snows again. Prediction tomorrow is 3-7 inches. Glad I'm stocked up. There's a section of our mountain road that is a little steep. And it doesn't get a lot of sunlight in the winter, even with the leaves gone on the trees. So therefore it doesn't melt as well as the rest of the road. With the two warm days it melted a little. Just enough to turn all the packed snow to a sheet of ice. I haven't ventured down it but my neighbors called last night to tell me how bad it is. So actually that amount of snow will be a good thing on that section. Gotta tell you something funny... The neighbor that called saves her used kitty litter and spreads it on that section on her way down the mountain. So not only do we slip/slide down the ice but we have to slip/slide through cat poop too. Her husband keeps telling her that it doesn't do any good and to quit but she is a stubborn woman and won't stop.

I saw a brand new elliptical on the news yesterday that had a seat. I thought to myself that that kind of elliptical would be fun. So I went on-line to check it out. It is soooo expensive that they don't even tell you how much it is. They just tell you that you can finance it at $60 per month. Think I'll just stick to a treadmill, thank you very much.

My grandmother always had dessert after supper. And since she raised me I have a really hard time not doing that. I try every evening and when I manage to not eat dessert I munch all evening. So I decided to give in to it and had a Warm Delight Mini last night within an hour after supper. It actually helped keep me away from munching all evening. So I think I will add dessert to my evening menus. Whatever works, right? And it may even take care of the chocolate cravings. I've mentioned before that I don't have a sweet tooth and eating sweets all day just isn't me, but I do need it in the evenings after supper. Some days I'll have yogurt, a granola bar or a bowl of cereal and that should take care of it.

Have a great week, blog-buds!

Yucky Saturday...

2009-01-25T08:40:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was a lazy day.

No exercise.

Ate way too much.

Where did that renewed feeling go that I had while posting yesterday?

Out the window, I guess.

I didn't just slip and slide but stumbled.

Oh, well, today is another day.

I have a plan:

1. I've already entered my food plan into MyFoodDiary for the day.
2. Put the old Richard Simmons DVD back into the DVD player and DO IT!
3. Get the dishes done.
4. Run the last load of laundry still piled in my bathroom floor.
5. Kick myself all around the house if I don't get the first 4 completed. (Wonder how many calories that will use up?)

NSV (Non Scale Victory)...

2009-01-24T07:51:00.004-05:00

I've lost 5 inches in 4 weeks!!

Can you hear the big brass band playing in the background?

Wow, talk about getting the mind and spirit back into this. This is surely something that will do it. There WILL be exercise in my routine for today! See, those durn scales don't mean so much after all. I'm renewed!!

It took me a year to chisel 2 inches off my waist without exercise and only 4 weeks to reduce it by one with exercise. I really hate to admit it ('cause I love being lazy) but this exercise stuff really works.

To those of you out there that aren't sticking with it on the exercise front check out my 6 Weeks Challenge data on my side bar and you will see that it worked for me and I didn't even stick with it 100% . It doesn't take 100% effort to get this job done. Nobody's perfect when it comes to staying on plan 100% of the time. We're human after all and humans are fallible. We slip, we slide, but the important thing is to steer ourselves back to the straight and narrow.

I've been reading a lot of blogs lately where people are getting discouraged because they are sticking with it and the scales aren't moving. They might mention that the pants feel a little looser or some such but are you measuring? Get out the tape measure if you aren't and find a starting point as of now. Then check it out in a month and be amazed at the improvement. I didn't do that in the beginning so I had to guess (according to size charts) what my waist, hips and chest were. This time I added calf, thigh and bicep to my measurements and was really surprised to see that even with all this skin dangling like bat wings on my arms that I'd lost a half an inch there.

Their calling for a cold weekend here but I sure enjoyed the warmer weather for the past two days. There are only a few small patches of snow left around the cabin.

Have a great weekend.

We're Havin' a Heat Wave...

2009-01-23T06:53:00.003-05:00

Around noon I got poised to turn on the AC. It got all the way up to 49 yesterday and today is supposed to be the same! And sunny to boot! It was so nice not to have to smell the propane burning all day. Then it's supposed to get cold again, as if 49 isn't cold. Everything is relative, right?

Frustration city around here right now. I didn't start hooking up my Wii until last night around 8:00. Finally got all the wires run and rearranged everything to find a place for it and turned it on around 9:30. Started it up and went through the first disc to learn how to use the remote and it was in black and white! I thought to myself that maybe the first disc was just black and white for them to save money, like we used to do in the olden days with photos on film. Then I put another disc in and it was still black and white. Then I knew I must have plugged the wires in to the wrong places. I crawled behind the TV again and started trying new holes. As it turns out my TV only has one place that has the CORRECT plugs. That's gonna be a real problem because that ONE place is where my satellite plugs in. It is NOT an option to plug the Wii in there. I refuse to do without color television for a color Wii. So I get on the phone to call Nintendo and they are closed. What no 24/7 support? That I'm not used too. So I got on-line and sent them an email. Then they say that it may be several days before they get back to me since the Wii is so popular. I was seething about that time. So I just went to bed and read.

I'll be making a bunch of calls today to Nintendo, DishNetwork and Vizio to see if I can solve the problem but I have to wait until they all wake up and get to work. Dish is available 24/7 but I want to speak to a service person I can understand and who can understand me and at night or weekends there tech support is in India.

I guess my resolve only lasts 3 weeks. I'm already tired of this eating right and exercising daily. Haven't exercised the past 2 days. Eating wasn't bad though. Gotta work on getting myself psyched. Cause right now it just isn't there. Even with all your wonderful support and cheerleading, the yuck has set in. I feel like such a failure right now because I just can't make myself exercise. I am sure this will pass and I'll be ready to get back to it.

Those of you that have been with me for a while may remember that last summer there was a blow up between me and a dear friend. She really hurt me and I had a hard time coping with it. Well, she called yesterday to apologise! I was nice and accepted the apology and we had a nice conversation. Then she called someone else to apologize to and that person called me. The lies have already started again so I'm going to be real leery about this development. I will be cordial to her but the close friendship will never be there again. I realize she has had a rough time and has even spent some time in a mental hospital but I just can't put my complete trust in her again.

TGIF!!

10:45 Update: The Wii is in color, YAY! It just took some daylight to see another hook up on the side of the TV.

Conundrum...

2009-01-22T06:47:00.003-05:00

I just can't figure it out. I didn't come back and add to my blog yesterday about my weigh-in because it showed me up one half pound. That was disgusting but I figure it was because I wasn't able to exercise a couple of days because of being sick. Although after averaging my calorie intake and expenditure it came to 1248 calories. Now that should still show a loss! Then this morning I hopped on the scales and I was down to 179, that's a half pound loss from last week and a pound down from yesterday morning. So I'm going with that number! Mainly because I joined the HYC last weekend and they didn't have a 69 pounds lost button to put on my blog and I went ahead and put the 70 pounds lost on there. And now it's true!!

I wasn't very good yesterday food wise. I just felt so disgusted that I stopped at Ruby Tuesdays around 1:30 and had their Ruby Mini's. I got the 2 with fries and a salad and of course unsweetened iced tea. I ate a large salad and it was such a beautiful plate that I was sorry I didn't have my camera with me to take a picture to show you. It had lettuce, fresh spinach, a TBSP of eggs, cucumbers, baby limas, shredded beets, bleu cheese, grape tomatoes, mushrooms and a little french dressing. I had forgotten that the fries would come and sighed when I saw them. I ate ONE and that was it. I did eat both little burgers and was sorry. I was soooooo stuffed that I was miserable. This was all before the trip through Wal-Mart and I became so sleepy I was wondering if I'd fall asleep at the buggy. If I'd had to drive home on an Interstate I would have had a hard time keeping my eyes opened, but the roads that lead from Wal-Mart to my house are curvy and they kept me alert enough. Needless to say I wasn't hungry until really late last night and had a half a chicken salad sandwich and a yogurt.

I was hoping to find some Almond milk there but alas they don't carry it so I just got my regular Light Vanilla Silk. It's good and I like it with my cereal for a bedtime snack. I've been out for about a month because my little store hasn't restocked it. I hope they aren't cutting it out. I'll have to talk to them. Like that's going to do any good.

I checked out the treadmills while at Wal-Mart and one that they have on display would work and has all the bells and whistles that the one I was considering has, except the handles that add an upper body workout. I just have to wait until my NJ daughter and her fiance come to visit to get it so he can haul it in his truck and help me get it in the house. Then since that one doesn't have the handles for the upper body workout I decided to get a Wii and a Wii Fit. They had the Wii but not the Wii Fit. I got the console and will order the Fit online this week. That will take care of the upper body for me.

Night before last when I exercised I used a different Richard Simmons DVD (for the first time) and was having a hard time keeping up with his different moves. Guess I'm just used to the other one. So when I'd get off kilter I would just head to the foot of my stairs and go up and down the first step for 20 repetitions on each leg. And a couple of times I would walk really fast around my kitchen and living room. It's kinda interesting that when I first started with his first DVD I didn't sweat but now I surely do.

Guess I've rambled enough about my boring life.

Have a great Thursday our there in blog-land.

Housework and Munchies...

2009-01-21T08:36:00.002-05:00

First of all I want to answer a few comments from yesterday. I do consume a lot of water both before and during my exercising. And the day I got the dizzy spell I had just had a really protein rich meal about an hour before starting. I'm pretty sure it was my blood pressure dropping. That happens a lot with me and sometimes even when I'm just setting still. I know what it feels like, so I figure that is what it was. As for the dogs dialing 9-1-1, I wish. AND I am NOT going to start wearing one of those alert necklaces. I'm not that old!

Now on to more important things.

Durn you Katschi! You shamed me into cleaning my kitchen. I even went so far as to rearrange some stuff on the counter tops. I moved everything to a different spot except my toaster oven. Now it's all sparkly and I keep going to the wrong place to heat something or make coffee. I really think it's a better location for the stuff so I'll leave it there and eventually I'll get used to it. Please, please, please don't clean out your garage. I don't think I could do that one on my own.

Gosh, the munchies hit me yesterday, and now that I think of it the day before too. Someone must have slipped some pot in my brownies. WAIT! I didn't have any brownies. And I don't think the dogs have the money to buy any pot. Must just be that one time a month where it hits. Hope it's gone today because I have to head to the big city of Lewisburg and there are all kinds of temptations there.

Haven't weighed myself yet today but will probably do that right before I shower to leave. I'll come back then and let you know how I did on the scale.

Have a nice "hump day."

Hey Jude...

2009-01-20T08:28:00.002-05:00

Meet the newest member of my extended family. Her name is Jude (first name Hey :o). She is a rescue puppy and is part Lab. She became a member of my closest friend's family this weekend. They lost their beloved Sophie in November and didn't even know if they would get another dog and along came Jude. She was named Jude because he was the patron saint of the lost, "and now she's found." I am so excited to meet her. They promised to bring her the next time they come to visit and I hope it's soon.

Yesterday I went a little over my calories (1730) but with the 528 I burned it turned out alright. So I'm counting that as a good day because the overage was all healthy foods. I had a little problem during my exercise and had to cut it short by 5 minutes. I got right dizzy and had to set down to keep from falling down.

I have two cats and I banished them to the outside about a year and a half ago because they are long haired and I got so tired of all the hair everywhere. Well, I have let them back in since it has been so cold and the hair is driving me crazy. I have to pick them up and throw them outside (not literally) because they are afraid they won't get to come back inside. I don't have a litter box in the house anymore and I really don't want to smell that awful smell, but they have been good and held it for the outside. I'm afraid they are now expecting to live in the house all the time now so I'm going to leave them out all day today since it is supposed to be in the thirties. Maybe I can get them used to only staying in here at night. I'll have to say it really makes for a warm and cozy bed with two dogs and two cats all snuggled up against me. The cats stay at the bottom of the bed and are really good at keep me from getting toe-cicles.

Hope you're keeping warm and having a good day.

2009-01-19T06:09:00.003-05:00

Meant to post this picture earlier. On the day that the temp was the lowest I moved the doggie bed in front of the fire and they were happy campers all day. They didn't even go out to potty until around 5:00 that evening. They'd get up and tell me they wanted to go out then when I'd open the door they'd head back to their bed. I don't think they want to have their peepee freeze on their little bottoms. I have wonderful dogs if they can go almost 20 hours holding it and not potty in the house. I'm very proud of them.

Yesterday was a great day on plan. I ate 1386 calories and burned 568. Again I got a slap on the wrist for eating too few calories but they didn't look back at the days last week when I went over and didn't exercise. So I averaged it out for a week and all was goooooood. I even went back to the beginning of the 6 week challenge and I have averaged 87% on plan. That ain't bad. Being a retired math teacher I miss having math in my daily life so I try to find ways to add it whenever possible.

After my research on a treadmill, I found the one I want, but... It is so big I just don't think I'll have room for it. :o( The durn thing is almost 6 feet long and even though it folds up, the way I'd have to position it to see the television it would still take up too much room (because at 200 pounds I wouldn't be able to scoot it back against the wall). So I'm a little disappointed here. I will be going to Wal-Mart on Wednesday and will still check it out if they have that model in their store. I really could go with a manual one that would take up less room but I'm a gadget sort of person and I want one with lots of bells and whistles. I'm such a gadget person that I really want one of those new Blackberry Storms, even though I can't get cell service where I live. It's all I can do to keep myself from buying it anyway :o)

Think I'll make some chicken salad today for sandwiches. I haven't made it in a while and sounds like a good idea.

Have a good week.

Exercise and a Good Meal...

2009-01-18T08:12:00.002-05:00

What is it with me and remote controls? I got all ready to put on the DVD yesterday and get my exercise in and the DVD player wouldn't turn on. I kept pushing and pushing the remote control and nothing. So I got down on my hands and knees and found the power button and hit it and voila, it worked. So off I go to the battery drawer to replace the batteries in that remote. Let's see, I think there is only one remote here in the living room that doesn't have new batteries. I might as well replace them today, because the next time I get ready to use the surround sound again they probably won't work. Good thing I picked up a 24 pack of batteries the last time I bought them.

So...

I did feel like exercising yesterday and burned 583 calories. I ate on plan too. So all in all, yesterday was a good day.

I noticed on Biggest Loser last week that Bob gave a suggestion in between segments to sing while you exercise. In case you didn't catch it, he said that singing while you exercise will help you to breath better and will allow your body to get more oxygen. That's not hard to do with the oldies, so I did. I'm up to doing all but one song on the DVD and today I'll add it to my routine.

As you can see on my side bar, I updated my 6 weeks challenge stats. And I was honest about it instead of just deleting the chart so no one would see. After all this is about accountability and honesty.

Shhhhh, be real quiet so you won't scare them away, but there are four big deer (all does) rummaging through the snow right now outside my window. They are so beautiful. And it looks like they are finding plenty to munch on too. Sorry no pictures, it's too overcast and they blend in with the trees so well, you wouldn't be able to see them.

I fixed myself my very own chicken nuggets yesterday for supper and they were yummy. I just cut the chicken up into small pieces, coated them lightly in flour, salt and pepper, then fried them in a couple tablespoons of olive oil. And I wanted mashed potatoes with them so I baked one potato in the microwave then spooned out the meat and mashed it with some low fat Carnation evaporated milk and a little light butter. Yes, I did have vegetables too, cooked cabbage. Was a wonderful meal and kept me full for most of he evening. It would have kept me full all evening but I stayed up a little late last night, so I had strawberries dipped in Splenda for a snack. There was a restaurant in Charleston that used to have whole strawberries on their salad bar with powdered sugar for dipping. After trying that there, that's the only way I would eat them afterward. Well, the Splenda is just as good, I couldn't tell the difference.

I'm nearing the end of the 'Daniel X' book and it isn't much better. It's written for teenagers or older elementary children. I think that's why I haven't enjoyed it much. But the story has me captured to find out how it ends, so I'll finish it. Since I was a teacher, I've read a lot of teenage books so that I could recommend some to the kids and if you have one out there that likes Sci-Fi, I would recommend it for them. There is no foul language or sexually explicit content at all.

I used to read most everything I could get my hands on in the Sci-Fi genre but have gotten away from it and am into mysteries now.

Have a blessed Sunday.

Keeping Warm...

2009-01-17T10:32:00.002-05:00

I'm feeling better today, so far. I spent yesterday just laying around resting and drinking plenty of fluids. I had a little over 1500 calories and no exercise. Just didn't have the energy for it. Hopefully I will feel good enough today to get it in. Because of my body deciding to get sick my 6 weeks challenge is thrown off kilter but I'm still going to continue it and report the days that I wasn't on plan as just that. I'm not going to throw in the towel and give up just because of a few days that I couldn't complete my goals.

Sorry I wasn't able to comment on your blogs yesterday. I read a few but for some reason the brain cells just weren't working enough to come up with a comment. I'm sure you understand.

Whoa, it was 50 in here this morning when I got up, and only 1 outside (at 8:30). I immediately turned the propane up and huddled over it to keep warm until the rest of the house began to get caught up. Hope this doesn't last much longer. It is kinda hard on OLD bones. Makes me want to go back upstairs and crawl back under the covers. And speaking of covers I even had to throw another quilt on the bed the past couple of nights. Usually the dogs will keep me warm but even they were cold and needed it. I turn the propane heaters down at night for safety and even on their lowest settings, they've been burning some throughout the night.

My plans for the day are staying warm and getting into a trunk to see if I have any old "fat" sweaters to help me do that. The new sweaters that I bought when it started getting cold are light weight ones, because I usually get too hot with bulky ones. NOW I need bulky ones and I hope I've still got some. If not I'll just have to layer.

My hubby liked to keep it cold in the house and I had a lot of sweatshirts and sweat pants then but since I've been "under"growing them I've been giving them away. And I decided I didn't look too good in sweatshirts so I haven't bought any new ones. Even if I'm not at goal by next winter, I guess I'll have to bite the bullet and buy some things to keep me warmer. Especially since a heat pump just can't keep the heat up in this kind of weather.

Have a good weekend and stay warm.

BRRRRR...

2009-01-16T08:31:00.003-05:00

Don't need to say much else about the temperature, do I?

My feel bad hurts. Started feeling really bad yesterday around noon. A headache just this side of a migraine and just plain yucky. Thank goodness there wasn't a stomach virus in there too. The headache is gone today but not the yucky feeling. Tried to exercise yesterday, but just couldn't get through the first song. I just rested and napped most of the day. And today is going to be much the same.

I guess it's the way our mother's raised us but I really wanted comfort food yesterday. I wanted tomato soup and grilled cheese. And I could have made that low fat and all but it's just not as good that way and I didn't feel like cooking. I just ate what ever I had in the house that could be heated in the microwave. Late last night the "cookie monster" came a calling. Thank goodness I don't have any cookies in the house so I was able to thwart that demon. (Cookies are definitely my nemesis.) I had fresh strawberries instead and it was just as satisfying. But the rest of the day I didn't do so good. With all the yucky feeling, I was starving all day. I ate more than I should have but maybe my body was needing it more than my head. I'm going to try to get back on plan today, but no promises.

Don't feel much like setting her any longer so I may not get to reading about your world until later in the day.

Have a great TGIF.

Remote Addiction...

2009-01-15T07:52:00.004-05:00

Yesterday was NOT a good day food wise. (At least it wasn't as bad as the "crash and burn" day.) They surely didn't slap me on the wrist this time for eating too little. But today's a new day and it will be good today. I didn't exercise either. And this wasn't a planned day of rest. Well, at least, not planned by me but planned by my television I guess.

For some reason the remote wouldn't work on the TV yesterday at all. I had to do all the turning on and volume controls with the buttons on the side of the thing. I changed the batteries in the TV remote and the DishNetwork remote and that didn't help. At least I have surround sound that operates separate from the television and was able to take the volume up and down without walking across the room. But there wasn't an "input" button on the side that I could find so I couldn't get it into DVD mode. It all started working late last night and I just wasn't in the mood by then.

Eureka!! I've got it all figured out!! Everything went into the toilet because I didn't have my cup of coffee in the morning. That's it, I know it is. No, I'm not trying to quit the coffee, after all I only have one cup a day. I just thought that hot tea would be a nice change, so that's how I started my day. Guess the television didn't have it's high octane caffeine fix yesterday. Yea, that must be it.

Didn't get the snow accumulation that was predicted. I'm so glad they were wrong. I just hope they continue to be wrong. It is predicting snow through the weekend and below zero temps at night but a lot of you are having the same temps. We just have to put on an extra layer and keep our favorite blankie handy to keep warm, right?

I started a new book a couple of days ago and I'm not enjoying it at all. I keep reading it thinking it will get better. It's the "Daniel X" one by James Patterson and it is so different than what he usually writes. I keep hoping that it will get better, I guess that's why I'm still reading it. Gave a whole shopping bag full of books to the Orkin ~~man~~ boy to take home to his grandmother. We don't have a used book store here and I just can't throw them away.

Toodles Blog-Buds.

One More Gone...

2009-01-14T09:56:00.003-05:00

One more pound gone!! Only a half a pound until I hit 70 pounds lost!! And there WAS a new number in the tens place!! (See my side bar "Weight Stats.") I got a slap on the wrist yesterday from my on-line calorie/exercise counter for not eating enough calories. I had 1462 calories! But I did expend 505 on exercise. I guess they are subtracting the numbers. Don't they realize that with this old body I need to do it that way in order to lose? Of course they don't, they are basing it all on "studies." Poopoo on them, I'll do it they way I need too in order to lose this weight, so there.

I've already run the sweeper this morning. Orkin is coming today. They come in the winter because I have a one year contract with them and I guess it helps keep the spiders out of the house and mice out of the crawl space.

Biggest Loser was a tear jerker for sure last night. I'm really disappointed it went that way. I so wanted to see Joelle leave last night. And you know me I've got to gripe about the program a little, so please don't take it as a slam on all of you BL fans. What's with Bob telling the guys that if they want a cookie in the afternoons to try to chew some gum first and if they still want the cookie then have it? I thought they were supposed to be learning to be healthy. Why didn't he just suggest a healthy snack that would put the energy back in their bodies? Since this is my first time watching the program, do they ever show their eating habits or the type of foods they eat for a healthier body? I loved Bob's comment about being possessed by Jillian for his tirade.

Weather much the same here. Cold and snowy. Still not much accumulation but it is forecast for tonight. Just hope it doesn't exceed the 3 inch prediction. Is anyone else out there ready for Spring or is it just me wishing my life away?

Have a healthy day, blog-buds!

Researching Treadmills...

2009-01-13T08:28:00.003-05:00

I ate 1336 calories yesterday and burned 525. Thank goodness I was supposed to exercise yesterday. I was so antsy Sunday wanting to, that I should have just gone ahead and done it. I even wake up every mornin' singin' one of the songs on the DVD. How funny is that? Tomorrow's my official weigh-in and I've got my fingers crossed that I will see a new number in the tens place.

Been researching treadmills. Wow, there are some costly ones out there. WalMart does have one that sounds pretty good. Will go down there when the weather breaks and check them out. I've got one on my mind that has a lifetime warranty on the frame and a 25 year warranty on the motor. That will outlive me. And it has thingies that you hold on to that you can use for an upper body workout as well. There's also a workout fan and an iPod dock with speakers. The biggest problem with any of them is the weight of the thing. They are anywhere from 175 pounds to over 200 pounds. There is no way I will ever be able to get it out of the car, much less into the house by myself. So what ever I decide to get I will have to make a plan to do it when I have company coming that can help me haul it in here. And before you ask, there is no seller near enough to me to deliver it and I only have one neighbor that could help and I don't think just he and I could do it. I think it would take one more person at least.

I asked a question a couple of days ago that got by-passed (probably because it was buried in the middle of a paragraph), so I'll ask it again. To those of you out there that have personal trainers or belong to gyms, "How often do you measure the body parts?"

Hope you have a great and healthy day!

The Boob Tube...

2009-01-12T07:57:00.003-05:00

I played "Suzie Homemaker" yesterday morning. While washing all the dishes in the sink (and there were a butt load) I made a big pot of Taco Soup to freeze and supper at the same time. For supper I made the chicken/noodle/lima concoction (that I will put on my recipe page later today) and cooked some cabbage to go with it. Got it all done and to my dismay there are MORE dishes. Well, I put them off and will have to get them done today, but not right now :o), I'm too busy doing the important things, like blogging.

While I was cooking and cleaning the kitchen I had the news on to listen to in the background. What I heard was so interesting that I had to turn the fires down and jump into the living room to listen more closely. They have a doctor on there on Sundays and he was talking about eating before you go to bed. He said that he tells all his patients not to eat within 3 hours before bed time because it will encourage your body to put on weight. Then the revelation! He said that there are studies out there that say that it won't! It's what you eat the whole day that puts weight on or takes it off. It doesn't matter when you eat it. He said that he has had to rethink this and now he tells his patients that it won't encourage weight gain but how much and what you munch on in the evenings will. He said that most people tend to munch in the evenings on things that aren't healthy or just down right fattening and that's counter-productive to weight loss. So for me that has been a wonderful revelation. I just can't get to sleep with a grumbling tummy, so I've always had something right before I go to bed. Only lately I've been having a healthy snack and so far it has proven to be fine. I've worked those wonderful 100 calorie packs out of my daily routine with the exception of Quaker Granola bars. And that has been a wonderful snack just before bedtime for me.

Then there was this annoying commercial that was so loud that I didn't have to come into the living room to listen to. It was Marie Osmond for Nutra-Systems. This was a new one that I hadn't heard before and I started laughing out loud and saying a few off color words as well. She starts talking about how it took her 9 looooonnnnngggggg years to put on her 30 or 40 pounds and only 4 months to take it off. Good grief! How many of you out there, did it take 9 years to get fat? Not me, that's for sure! Geesh, I put on 30-40 pounds in less than a year! I really think they should remove that ad. It is so unrealistic it's pathetic. Now I'm not knocking Nutra-Systems, so those of you out there that have used it with great success, that's wonderful. We all have to develop a system that works for us. But we also have to be realistic about our gains and losses. Ok, I'm stepping off that "band wagon."

Yesterday was a fine day calorie wise. I enjoyed my day of rest from exercising. Although I did have a kinda withdrawal feeling, not exercising. WHAT? Again in the back of my mind I was thinkin', if I had a treadmill, I'd have jumped on it and walked for a half hour or so. I guess I'd better start shopping for a treadmill.

Hope your week is a productive and happy one.

Second Week Update...

2009-01-11T07:38:00.004-05:00

I think I'm becoming a recluse. It was all I could do yesterday to talk myself into going off the mountain to run my errands. I don't know why, because I really don't mind it after I'm out and about, actually I enjoy it. I just hate leaving the house. Boy if I could get my groceries delivered through the Internet I'd sure do it. It was pouring down the rain but it was the only window I had without snow in the forcast and just in case the snow gets high I wanted to have provisions in the house. Snow is predicted every day next week. 'Course I think the National Weather Service does that so they won't look so bad if it doesn't and they didn't tell people about it, because so far they've been wrong about the ice storms they have predicted the past couple of weeks.

I was so proud of myself yesterday. I had breakfast before I went and didn't even contemplate stopping for a goodie in town. Just fixed myself a bowl of Taco Soup as soon as I got home. Calories were 1361 yesterday and I burned 585 calories in my exercise. That's another 6 days in a row! (Today is my planned day of rest.) Those of you that have been with me from this summer can pick yourselves up off the floor now. Me, the person that was so excited about starting exercising and quiting after 2 days. Remember, that happened quite a few times this summer? But here I was last evening wishing I had a treadmill so I could get on it and get some walking in! So, how often should I measure the body parts? I've never worried about it before because I've known that it takes a long time to shed inches not exercising but now...

Since I started this 6 Week Challenge I've dropped 5.5 pounds (as of last Wednesday). I've eaten an average of 1467 calories per day and burned an average of 291 calories per day. I've worked myself up from 10 minutes of exercise to 33 minutes in these past 2 weeks. And I've set my HRM to beep when I'm out of my calorie burn range and try to stay in it as long as possible. So far I've stayed in that range for 20 minutes the past couple of days. The DVD I'm doing has a warm up and a cool off song so that accounts for about 5 minutes of that time not in the calorie burn range. My plans are to continue this DVD for another week or maybe two (haven't decided yet) and then switch to the second one, which is supposed to be a little tougher.

Off to read your blogs. I didn't do that yesterday so it will probably take me a while. Have a great Sunday.

PS: I got a comment from Mother Hubbard and have gone to her blog. It is great! You'll want to check it out. But...for some reason it won't let me comment. So this is to Mother Hubbard, check your settings because I really want to comment and become a friend in this blogland.

20/20 Vision NOT...

2009-01-09T12:24:00.002-05:00

Boy you guys need to get your eyes examined. I think you should pick up the phone immediately and call for an appointment. That was not a good picture of me! It was a horrible picture of me! And it's all Karen's fault! I even contemplated taking a picture of myself in a smaller shirt that I'm trying to get down to so that it will fit well (like she did), but I haven't yet and even if I do I surely WON'T publish it. Or at least not until it fits well and then maybe I'd do a before and after. Maybe.

Went a little over on my calories yesterday but it "all came out in the wash" with the calories I burned. So do I decide to count that as a good calorie day or a bad one? Guess I'll have to think on that one awhile. Okay I just looked at the reports and with the exercise and going a little over I still had calories left over that I could have eaten. So I'll count that as a good calorie day. YAY!

I can't figure out why I'm still on a high about losing this last 30+ pounds but I am. I'm trying to remember back to when I started and how long it took me to get fed up with it. Just looked back at a chart I've been keeping of my weekly losses (and gains) and my first zero was at the end of 6 weeks then my first gain was 10 weeks from then. Well, I'm determined to not let all that get to me again. Oh, I'll have some weeks without a loss and I'll have some weeks with a gain (heaven forbid but it will happen), but I WON'T let it get me down again. Sure hope I can stick to that promise.

Finished reading the book "Duma Key" by Stephen King last night. It was a really good one. It didn't get weird until about half way through and got really weird about 3/4 way through it. It was the old SK in good form. So if you like that genre, I'd recommend it for sure. Right now I'm trying to decide if I want to read a Nicholas Sparks or a mystery. Will let you know.

Hope you all have a great weekend! TGIF!

Exercise YAY...

2009-01-08T10:26:00.005-05:00

Another good day yesterday with exercise. I really didn't want to exercise at all but I made myself and burned 545 calories. I've been doing 4 songs on the DVD and added another one last night. And this time I was sweating. I don't like to sweat! I'm allergic to sweat! But it felt good. Eating was phenomenal, only 1180 calories. Now before you all go ballistic on me I know that was low especially with the calorie burn during the exercises but I was satisfied and my body told me that it didn't want any thing more. I'll try to do better in the future, and think about adding some peanut butter or something when it is that low.

My favorite song on the DVD (Sweatin' to the Oldies) is "Wipe Out." It really gets me moving and I love the dance steps he puts with it. I would have given almost anything to have had someone here with a camera on the cool down song. I have to get on the floor and do stretches and my dogs think that I'm getting in the floor to be with them. They were all over and around me. I just kept kissing them and telling them that they needed to stretch too, but they wouldn't do it.

It's snowing again. Took a little nap yesterday and when I woke up there was snow! I haven't' been looking at the weather reports so it was a surprise to me. It has continued off and on since then and we have about 2 inches with another 2 predicted for today. That's cool, just so it doesn't get to a foot, I'm good. And if it does I'm good to go anyway. I might not have all the things in the house that I really like to have but I won't starve either.

I had recorded DietTribe from Sunday and watched it yesterday. I like it a lot more than Biggest Loser. It is much more realistic and you go away with the same feelings of wanting to exercise and realizing that everyone out there has the same problems as I do. Of course, I already knew that because of YOU.

I'm still giving some thought into buying myself a treadmill. The more I watch these diet shows the more I want one. Do you have any suggestions as to the best brands? I'd want one that would record all the stats, in other words one that has all the bells and whistles. Before I decide to definitely get one I'd have to rearrange my living room to see if I'd have a place to put it. Don't want it setting in the middle of the floor. I just don't have another room to put it in since all I have is one bedroom. And I'd want it where I could watch TV while doing it so I wouldn't get bored.

I can't believe it's Thursday already. Gee, how time flies.