The Birds and the Bees...

Got my new do with streaks and all. Helps the grey blend in :o)

Eating went pretty good yesterday because the power went out and I had to go to bed early with my book and my new book light. That way I wasn't tempted to snack all evening. Boy is the book light nice. Before I got it I was propping the flashlight on my shoulder and it's one of those mag lights and it sure is heavy.

Now these humming birds are driving me crazy. I got the second feeder and both hold a quart of liquid. So now when I fill them up I only have to do it every other day. But the birds... Being right outside my window I see them flitting around all the time and at last count there were 11. It's sort of like a swarm of bees. They are really getting on my nerves. So much so that I'm considering moving the feeders back to the front porch so that I don't have to look at them all the time or see them out of my peripheral vision.

Happy Thursday blog buddies.

The Scales Dropped...

The scales said there are 1.5 more pounds gone!!! Fantabulariffic! I've broken below the 190's! Now I wonder how long it will take me to break below the 180's? I know, I know, you just can't satisfy me.

Going to get a haircut today. And boy do I need it. I look like a shaggy dog.

What fun to wake up to a heaving dog. And he was right by my pillow too. I got him off the bed in time but had a mess to clean up off the floor. Then to beat it all I came down to go to the bathroom and there were several piles in the bathroom floor. He must not have felt good in the middle of the night, because it has been years since he missed in the house. At least he had enough sense to do it in the bathroom where Mommy does.

Telephone people are coming today to check to see if I can get DSL. Boy, would that be nice. They finally put a hub within 2 miles of my house and the limit for the distance from the hub is 22,000 feet. Two miles is definitely less than that, so cross your fingers. I really need it with the amount of time I spend on this thing.

Have a great day blogger buds!

Pros and Cons..

Cammy asked, "Do you think living in a remote-type area helps you or hinders you in weight loss efforts?"

There are good things and bad things about losing weight and living where I do. But they are mostly good for me. I don't live near any big cities and therefore don't have to worry about the fast food joints that I love, like Taco Bell and KFC. The closest city that has either is over an hour and a half away so I don't have to worry about those cravings. No way would I hop in the car and drive that far for one of those treats. The only fast food establishment in our little town is a Dairy Queen and I'm not crazy about it at all. I do love their biscuits but never go to town while they are still serving breakfast so that's not a problem. Banana splits are the only thing I would crave from there and they are way to filling and expensive for me (even when I was fat). We also have no big chain restaurants, only Mom & Pop types. And for some reason none of the restaurants around here have any one that knows how to cook. Everything they serve is frozen or from a can (warmed in the microwave), so that is not a temptation for me either.

One of the problems is that I don't live in a farming area so there isn't fresh produce grown locally, it's all shipped in so I don't have the advantage of inexpensive produce like most of you do. And I know most of you probably don't live in farming areas either but it is easier and cheaper to truck in the fresh produce than it is here. Where I live it is 32 miles from the nearest interstate and with the mountainous winding roads it takes about 50 minutes for me to get there and a truck would take even longer because of the size and weight of it.

Then there's the exercise problem but I talk about that enough to probably bore you to tears. So I won't reiterate. I sure would love to live on flat land to be able to hop on a bike (I'd have to buy one first though) and peddle away for miles.

The biggest advantage for THIS weight loss journey is living alone. I've been on this roller coaster many times and it has been really hard. It's hard this time too but in a different way. It's hard in that I don't have someone in the house encouraging my weight loss but so much easier without someone else here. I don't have to worry about preparing meals for anyone but myself. I don't have to fix one kind of meal for someone else and one kind for me. Neither my X nor my late husband had a weight problem. And I don't have kids at home that would snarl up their noses and what I eat. And I can eat whenever I want not on someone else's schedule.

Thanks Cammy, for giving me something to post about. I was at a loss this morning too.

Not Much to Report...

It's been just another weekend and not much to tell. Couldn't think of anything to post about Sat. or Sun.

I've been really good eating wise. Have stayed under 1300 calories for the past 4 days. The scales showed it this morning but it isn't my official weigh-in day so it's not even worth mentioning. Sure hope it stays this way or gets even better by Wednesday morning.

Have a great week.

Clothes and Hummers...

Every time I get dressed I think I'm putting on someone elses clothes. Having worn 2X to 3X t-shirts for the past 20 years these L's and XL's seem too small. Well, I need to explain a little better. They aren't too small actually, they fit just right, it's the feel of them when I put them over my head. When I put my arms in them and get ready to pull them over my head my arms are so close together that I feel like I've got someone elses shirt. It feels like it's going to be too small. Wonder if that feeling will go away. Course it's a nice feeling and I revel in it every time I get dressed but... I've gone from a 3X to an XL in shirts (is that 2 sizes or 3?) and from 20/22 jeans to 14 (I know that's 3/4 sizes). It is a wonderful feeling.

The strangest thing is going on at my hummingbird feeder. In all these years of feeding them I've only had one little family of hummers. Mom, Pop and a Kid. Yesterday evening I looked out and counted 7 setting on the feeder at once vying for one of the 6 holes. The feeder was one third full at 6 o'clock and by 8 o'clock it was empty. I usually only fill it half way and only refill it once a week. At this rate I'll have to do it every day or every other day. And I'm running out of sugar. I may even have to go buy another feeder when I go to get more sugar. Are hummingbirds worth 2 gallons of gasoline it will take me to go to town to get the stuff? Probably. And maybe the store will have more strawberries today. They were out when I went on Monday.

I'm a lovin' my bedtime snack of cereal and soy milk. Actually I'm using it as my dessert and snack. Sure takes care of the sweet craving after dinner. Now I don't have to hit the 100 calorie snack packs to get rid of that sweet craving and the cereal is so much better for me even though it is more calories. Hey I figured out how many calories the french toast and homemade syrup would be and it is only 20 more calories than my cereal so I may have that tonight instead. Course after I open the bottle of syrup I'll have to put it in the fridge and the cute little bottle won't be setting out on the counter any more, but...

My plans for today are mowing and weed eating. I also need to run the sweeper but I know lazy ole' me and that will probably wait for a couple more days.

Hope your weekend is the greatest!

Some Exercise...

I still haven't walked since the 18th but I did get some exercise in today. I just got finished shoveling 3 (3 gallon) buckets full of gravel and carrying it approx. 100 yards to fill in two holes in my yard. Now I have to get some soil to put on top of the gravel. Why do I have two holes in my yard? Well the idiot that cuts my grass decided he didn't like looking at two rocks that were barely showing so he decided to dig them up and roll them over the hill. One hole was about 2'x 2'x 2' and the other about 1x1x1. And here comes the idiot part. He just left the holes there so anyone could step in them and break a leg or something. Maybe he was hoping he'd do it so he could sue me. This person is dating one of my friends and I really didn't want to make any waves so I was going to ask him "kindly" when he came back to mow to please fill in the holes. Well, my grass is about half way up to my knee by now and he stopped by day before yesterday and said it was too hot to mow now he'd come back later in the evening and knock it off. It only takes him 25 minutes to mow AND weed eat. He didn't show. So when I was talking to the friend yesterday I told her to give him a message not to bother coming back up. I'd take care of the yard myself. I don't have any doubts that I can do it now that I'm 59 pounds lighter. I just kept having him do it so he could earn a little extra money. He's always complaining that he's broke. Good riddance.

It is a beautiful day here. Not supposed to get above 75 today and it really looks like they might be right. When I was lying in bed last night I was looking out my window at the stars. They were georgous last night. I've been trying to look at them for the past two weeks because the nights have been clear most of the time but the durn moon kept getting in my eyes. No problem with the moon last night. It must be in a smaller phase or was in a different place.

Just before I carted the gravel to the holes I rode the ATV down the mountain to the mail box to put something in there for the letter carrier. About half way up I was kicking myself for not putting on my HRM. I wonder how many calories riding one of those things eats up. Then I still didn't have it on for the hole episode. Oh, well, I know I got some calories off with all that.

Another installment on pictures of my cabin. I decided that I didn't want over head cabinets because it would cover up the logs so my husband and I made 4 shelves to put on the walls just like they used to do back in "the olden" days. I have one for dishes, one for glasses and two (on either side of my stove) for spices.





Have a b-e-a-u-tiful day.

Another day on the mountain...

Just another boring day on the mountain. And I'm not complaining considering last the last week and a half. I think it's just what the doctor ordered.

The one pound gone stayed gone today. So, YIPEE!

Here's another photo that I thought you might enjoy. It's our bathroom door. My late husband and I made it out of cedar. Wanted it to look a little like a outdoor privy. And I think we succeeded.


The crescent moon isn't a hole like the real ones. It's a cut out that I painted black to look like one. There's one on the other side of the door too.

Have a great evening.

French Toast, Mmmmm...

My "Posting" Window has changed here on blogspot, has yours? I'm no longer getting the options of changing the size, style or color of fonts. Just curious.

Well I saw a new number on the scales this morning. 190. That would be a pound gone if this were my regular weigh-in day. But that's tomrrow and I know how the scales tease me. It won't be like that tomorrow. But at least I got to see a new number.

I was awakened this morning to the strangest storm. The rain came first and it wasn't all that hard then the thunder started. Of course I know from my science classes that thunder always follows lightening but my eyes were closed so I didn't see the lightening, ok. The thunder lasted for a good 2 minutes steady. That had to have been one long lightening bolt that I missed. Wonder if it was long in length or duration? That happened several times so I thought it was telling me to get out of bed.

Here's another picture of a unigue bear in my cabin.



This is setting on top of my microwave. The little jug on the right is driving me crazy. I bought it before I started on this trip to healthiness. And for some reason recently it has been talking to me and at times shouting at me. But I'm resisting. It's made locally and I just couldn't resist the cuteness of the bottle as well as the wonnderful taste. Well, I haven't tasted it yet. It's actually never been opened, that's why it isn't in the fridge.



I keep thinking I can make myself one piece of french toast with light whole wheat bread and 1/4 cup of egg beaters and give the syrup a try but I haven't given in yet.

Have a great day.

Not Much Here...

Had the dogs groomed today so I made it errand day. Splurged on a hot dog while in town. Haven't walked since Friday.

My life is pretty boring right now and not much to talk about. Just watching TV, reading and crocheting.

I've made 4 pairs of socks now. If they start multiplying like my dish clothes did then I'm going to have enough socks to outfit everyone in my county. I already have enough dish clothes to last me for 3 life times and I keep giving them away. And they keep multiplying. Stupid rabbit dish clothes.

Hope you have a great week.

Just another Saturday...

Yesterdays walking stats:

Walked for 25 minutes
Minimum heart rate was 100
Average heart rate was 133
Maximum heart rate was 152
Calories burned were 387

Just couldn't make myself go the 30 minutes as planned. But, hey, something is better than nothing.

Finished the book yesterday and it was one of the most enjoyable ones I've ever read. Sure hated to say goodbye to the main character.

I've had a hard time getting milk down since starting this weight loss and usually only get the calcium in with cheese. I'm a person that loves whole fresh cows milk and can not stand the 2% or skimmed kind. I decided to try Soy Milk. I'd heard a lot of pros and cons about the taste and just decided I'd find out for myself. I love it, well the vanilla flavored one at least. I had really missed my bedtime snack of a bowl of cereal and I've had that most every night this week with some strawberries on it. Yummmmm. Now if I can just find a way to fry my skinless, boneless chicken breasts and still have them be healthy, life would be good.

Have a happy!