A mini mini laptop

I'm typing this on my new keyboard for my new iPad mini = ) This is what is making me happy on this gray, rainy, gloomy morning. The keys are smaller and closer together but I can still type almost as fast as on a regular sized keyboard...just gotta get used to the position of some of the lesser-used keys.

And I started my day by going through emails while still in bed...including reading several devotionals. I love starting my day with these wonderful reminders!

"Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my Strength and my Redeemer".

A wonderful prayer to start each and every day = )

 

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The most wonderful time of the year!

 

Do you see what I see??? It's a little hard with all that clover there...

There...this is in the section I already weeded...can you tell what it is? I know Dorothy Erdely can, for sure!

The first bluebonnet blossom!!!

I surely do LOVE bluebonnets and consider myself incredibly blessed to have them in my very own front yard and flower beds! Every time I see them, I have a spontaneous time of praise and worship to my Magnificent Creator = )

What a wonderful time to live in Texas. I tried for years and years and YEARS to get just one bluebonnet to grow from seed. Every time I got a packet of seeds, I tried planting them, broadcasting them, potting them...whatever...just kept trying and trying because I wanted my very own bluebonnet soooooo badly.

And now, if we don't get a hard freeze in the next week or so, I will have HUNDREDS of bluebonnet blossoms! This will be the most blossoms I've had in any year so far.

The first year I got a seed to germinate, I think I had maybe 4 plants. When they went to seed, I planted the seed pods. That wasn't the right way to do it so I only added a few more plants to the beds the next year.

Then I "got smart" and started planting the seeds when and how God plants them = ) I waited for the pods to open on their own time and then broadcast the seeds around. The next year I had triple or more the number of plants. Last year was even more...this year is a banner year for bluebonnet plants!

I still can't get used to the fact that I can look out my front windows and see bluebonnets. I don't have to drive anywhere...I just walk to the mailbox! Last year we had several people come and take pictures of some particularly pretty bunches...made me so proud!

Today was weigh-in at Weight Watchers and I'm hoping to get you all caught up on those numbers tomorrow. Tonight we spent the evening working a puzzle with mom...AWESOME!

 

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Hi Shari!!

One of the fun things about blogging is when you KNOW someone reads your blog...that they're interested enough in you, as a person, to care what you're thinking or doing. The World's Greatest Neighbor, Shari, reads this blog. And Amy too...Hi Amy!

Today I started reading The Eat Clean Diet Recharged. I can tell you already that it's a better book than the first one, pictured above. The information is more clearly presented and expanded and it's a bigger book overall. I'm only on Chapter 3 but I can definitely tell that this Eat Clean book is better than the first one.

She has LOTS of books...I have 4 of them. After looking on Amazon, I only saw one other book that I might be interested in...can't remember the name of it but I'll let ya know = )

Another subject I'd like to post on is what I eat every day and recipes to go along. I may not include every day's menu but when I'm in the mood for it, I will. I'm in the mood for it....

Breakfast: pumpkin shake...organic canned pumpkin, kefir, greek yogurt, wheat germ, some pineapple juice from canned pineapple (in 100% juice), a bit of agave, loads of cinnamon, some cloves. Very pumpkinny, very yummy!

Lunch: mushrooms marinated in Bolthouse yogurt dressing, Caesar Parmigiano flavor, with Penzey's garlic salt; leftover chicken spaghetti from last night; about 1/2 cup of the canned pineapple and fresh blueberries in a bit of cream. Oh yeah...and a whole wheat scone broken into pieces and eaten mixed in with the cream and blueberries.

Supper: homemade chili sprinkled with a bit of shredded sharp cheddar cheese and 1/2 slice honey oat bread, the other 1/2 slice with a smear of jelly.

Here's the recipe for the chili...I got it from our Weight Watchers group and it's a KEEPER!!!

1 and 1/2 pound ground turkey (95% lean, cooked) ((I used organic chicken sausage))

1 can rinsed black beans

1 can pinto beans (not drained)

1 can kidney beans (not drained)

2 cans 14.5 oz diced tomatoes

2 cans 8 oz tomato sauce

1 tsp or more minced garlic

chili seasoning to taste

I also added a can of navy beans cause I like them and I added chipotle chili seasoning. You can season it however you want.

You just dump everything in and heat it up. It's great right away and even better the 2nd and 3rd days after all the flavors meld = )

And it's especially yummy with Honey Oat Bread! This lady's blog is great for recipes but you'll have to "health them up" on your own. I substituted all whole wheat flour, used egg white instead of a whole egg (although I wouldn't mind using a whole egg, just didn't have them in the house) and used olive oil. I didn't have any buttermilk so I made my own with milk, greek yogurt and a tbls of white vinegar. I didn't make the honey butter...real butter is good though!

 

HONEY OAT BREAD

Posted on November 8, 2011 by The Southern Lady

This is an easy quick bread that is so good straight from the oven spread with honey butter.

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon baking powder

3/4 cup rolled oats

1/4 cup honey

1 1/4 cups buttermilk

1 egg

2 tablespoons oil (I used Canola)

In a large bowl using a whisk mix together the whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, oats, salt, and baking powder. In a smaller bowl whisk together the buttermilk, egg, oil and honey. Combine the two bowls and mix well with spoon. Turn out onto a wheat floured board and knead, adding flour until you have a dough. Spray a 9 x 4 bread pan with cooking spray and add dough. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 40 – 45 minutes. Remove from pan and slice and enjoy with honey butter spread. Makes one loaf.

Honey Butter Spread

1 stick butter or margarine or 1/2 cup

1/3 cup honey

Remove paper from margarine and put in large microwave bowl. Microwave about 12 seconds to soften the butter. Add the honey and beat with electric mixer about a minute until smooth. Enjoy on this bread, biscuits, waffles, and pancakes. Store in refrigerator. Keeps well.

 

I'd also like to share my workouts from time to time...or whenever I feel like it...or whenever I remember! Today's workout was a Leslie Sansone DVD...I love her Walk by Faith series!! Petey and I did the 2 mile workout and then the 1 mile workout...averaged about a 15 minute pace for the 3 miles. Worked up a good sweat too!

 

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Determined...

I'm determined to blog a little bit every day (except Sunday) and maybe even a couple times a day if I can manage it since there is one blog that I read (Content in a Cottage) where she does that and I enjoy it so much! I'd love to think that there is just one person out there who gets that kind of enjoyment out of this blog. Which means I need to be consistent and I need to be interesting! I'm gonna work on both = )

I finished reviewing the first Tosca Reno book...The Eat Clean Diet. Turns out I AM eating clean! The only area where I disagree with her has to do with low-fat or fat-free food. If we're going to eat food in it's most natural state, why tell people to eat low-fat or fat-free food when God created it with the fat? I also disagree with Weight Watchers in this area. Weight Watchers also encourages you to eat artificial sugar, which is one of the worst things I can put in my body...sooooooo sick = (

Here's my nutrition guideline: if God created it, it's good, all in balance. That means I eat butter and cream and cheese and carrots and avocados and olives and potatoes. But in their proper amounts for a healthy balance. I don't eat margarine and fat-free cheese and Crisco. I do drink non-fat milk but that's because I prefer powdered milk. If they made whole milk powdered milk, I would use that and maybe water it down because I'm used to the "thinner" milks.

Reno promotes eating whole grains, which I TOTALLY agree with. She doesn't mention pasta very much, not even whole wheat pasta...maybe she doesn't even mention it at all, come to think of it! I understand that the goal is to eat minimally processed and hard spaghetti that you boil is more processed than eating the whole grain cooked.

But even in that I think I would say that I wouldn't swear off whole wheat pasta but maybe eat it a lower percentage of the time compared with brown or wild rice, quinoa and some other whole grains. I have a pasta maker...I wonder if Reno would consider homemade pasta healthier than store-bought hard pasta???

Anyhow, I have a whole lot more I could say on this subject...and I may at a later time...but it's late and I'm tired and maybe it wouldn't be all that interesting anyhow! hahahahahahahahaahahahahhahaha

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Plans for blog posts...

Ahhhh...if I blog from my new iPad app, Blogsy, I get to use Comic Sans font, which I consider to be "my voice" in typed form  = )  But I'm in front of the computer right now so I'm going to use Arial...which is "my voice" when I'm trying to be prim and proper...hahahaha

I wanted to do another blog post because I'm trying to get back in the habit of blogging every day...except Sunday, which I may take that day off because I REALLY like to have a day where my focus is on God and not normal-every-day-things. I just want Sundays to be different.

Anyhoooo...I'm still reviewing my Eat Clean books and already have several posts planned discussing that with you...things I like about her perspective...things I disagree with and why.

I'm also gathering a list in my head of all the recipes I want to share with you. Tried and true food that I consider to be very healthy and very tasty...the best combination!

And I know I owe you some weigh-in weights so that will be another post. And I have a number of things I want to take pictures of to share with you and tell you about my experiences with them...food prep equipment and so forth.

We had 16 here for lunch after church yesterday and then another 8 for supper tonight. Joel and John Chase were able to come...it was GREAT catching up with them!!!!!!!!! I surely do love my nephews...I want to put a heart here...need to find some emoticons  = )   Wonder if the Blogsy app has those....hmmmmmm....

We're having another lady from church over for supper tomorrow night...I'm making chicken spaghetti...yummmmm...looking forward to eating that and sharing a meal with Ana!

That's all for now...bedtime! 

Excited to have a subject to blog about again...maybe!

So...I'm writing this blog post on a new app for my iPad called Blogsy which I hope will make it easy and convenient for me to blog regularly again. The dogs aren't allowed in the back part of the house...the office especially, since that's where the cat food is located. Cat food makes Piper have stinky gas...nuff said! hahaha

Anyhow, my iPad is always out in the main part of the house and with the nifty keyboard, it's really like a laptop and so handy and I'm hoping that those two factors will lead to me blogging on a regular basis. I do SO enjoy reading the blogs of people who update regularly, DAILY, and I would like to be one of those to hopefully encourage someone, in some small way, to live a healthier lifestyle.

I know I owe you a long Weight Watcher weigh-in update but that will have to come later as I really need to get to bed...church in the morning!

But I've been excited for the past couple of days at my new discovery and I don't want to wait any longer to share it with you...briefly, I hope...I'll try!...and then in greater detail as I blog regularly...I hope...I'll try!!!

Sooooooo...I've been following the Simply Filling plan with Weight Watchers for over a month now and am at my lowest weight in several years (except for when my sister died and I couldn't eat and I was losing a pound a day but I don't count that cause I was basically sick). THIS is the BEST way for me to eat! I feel wonderful, I don't have cravings, I've not been having the stomach (and lower) problems that have plagued me for a long time and I rarely get headaches anymore!

What I'm excited about and what I wanted to share with you is this discovery: the other day it dawned on me, "I think this is what is meant by Clean Eating...I think I'm Eating Clean!" Now that might not seem like a reason to get excited except that I've desired to eat clean for a long time now and wasn't exactly sure what that entailed and wasn't sure I COULD do it.

I have a number of books by Tosca Reno (sp?) about Eating Clean but to be honest, I can't remember the details...I just remember being really impressed and wanting to eat that way...believing it to be the best way to eat...but not sure if I was capable or it was a "do-able" way for me to eat in real life.

I've followed another eating plan in the past which was highly effective for health and weight-loss, but was so strict that it wasn't do-able long term in real life. I wasn't even sure Simply Filling would be do-able in the long term but now I KNOW it is and I'm convinced it's the healthiest, best and easiest way for me to stay healthy and maintain my goal weight!

Gotta stop now but stay tuned for more details...

And now I hope this posts correctly!

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Let the Winter Challenge Begin!

Week #75 - 116.2
Week #76 - 116.6
Week #77 - 117.0
Week #78 - 116.8  -  earned another bead...I already have the beads for 72, 78 and 84...feels     good to actually be earning them now  = )

I'm feeling really positive about maintaining my weight through the winter. We've had quite a bit of gray, damp, cloudy, cool and downright COLD days lately and I haven't been running hardly at all and not even doing much walking! 

But I've been able to make adjustments in my eating and the numbers on the scale are staying steady. I've been able to enjoy the treats that come with Thanksgiving and Christmas and have not gained weight.

What I usually find is that if I over-indulge in too many sweets, they make me feel sickly and I end up not eating as much for the next day or two. Wow, what a perfect example of how my body really doesn't want that junk! Now if I could only convince my mouth....

I have seen a rise in my body fat percentage which doesn't make me happy but it's not throwing me into a panic either, which I'm pleased about. I have enough other stuff in my life that causes anxiety, it's nice to have something that DOESN'T cause it!

I watch the forecast for sunny days and temperate days and plan to take advantage of them when I can. I'm not pressuring myself to go out and do a workout just for the sake of getting it done. 

I have to get 55 miles for December if I want to finish with 1000 miles for the year. I was on schedule to get 1200 miles but that's not gonna happen now. Disappointed but not terribly so.

I really do want to find some kind of exercise that I WANT to do as much as I love to run and walk outside on nice days. For all you hot-weather haters...the way you feel about hot weather is exactly how I feel about cold! Give me sunny and 95* any day!!

I got the Wii out and I'm going to give that another shot. Some girls in my Weight Watchers group totally love it so I need to try again. The WW dvd workouts are REALLY strenuous for me...even when I follow the beginner leader! Somehow running 5 miles at a 9:15 pace is SOOOOOO much easier than one of those workout dvds!

If anyone has a favorite dvd for working out, please let me know. I've thought about looking into the Leslie Sansone (sp?) ones...I think my mom has one I could borrow...

I haven't been tracking...maybe some "head" tracking on some days. I find that I mostly go by my weight the night before and whether I need to have a "light, normal, or extra" day. Not very many "extra" days  = )

I pretty much just try to eat as many non-starchy veggies as I can without having to force myself to eat them. That usually works out to be about what I'm supposed to eat for the day. I try to make sure I have a couple solid protein servings since I also struggle with getting those in. 

I'm so thankful for Progresso soups...perfect for this season and weather! They fill me up for low points...provide good servings of fiber and protein too, for the most part.

If I don't talk to you til after...

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!!

Back to tracking

Week 67 - 116.0
Week 68 - 116.2
Week 69 - 116.2
Week 70 - 116.2
Week 71 - 116.6
Week 72 - 116.8 (earned another bead for my bracelet!)
Week 73 - 116.2
Week 74 - 117.4

Yes, I blew it on the last week! Oh well...as we talk alot about in our Weight Watchers meetings, I'm "owning" that number. I'm owning why it is what it is. I over-ate. I took in more calories than I burned off. 

I'm thankful that the "freaking out" is becoming less and less over time and the common sense, logical approach is growing stronger. I believe the "freak out" reaction is much more likely to lead to blowing it more and more and worse and worse. 

If I let myself believe that "I'm losing it!!! I'm gonna gain all the weight back!!!!! I can't do this!!! I'm destined to be fat and unhappy!!!!" (that's what a freak out looks like written down) then a part of me gives up and gives in.

But the common sense, logical part says "yes, that number is higher because you ate out twice on Saturday and twice on Sunday and had 4 pieces of turtle cake in as many days and cookies from your neighbor and cookies from your mom and weren't careful enough when you had the opportunity...but now you're going to be careful and track and do what you know to do and the number will come back down to the good range and you'll keep doing that as long as you live". Ahhh...isn't that so much better?!

And for the record, I didn't start tracking after the "treat weekend" but before...just because I was in the mood to track again. I tracked the extra food...I used up all the activity points I'd earned so far for the week and also dipped into the 49 extra points I'm allowed each week. It was a nice feeling to earn more activity points and add back to the 49. I don't like to use those at all.

Anyhow, that's the nutritional side of things. On the activity side...cooler weather is here... boooo hooooo!! I know, I know...all my runner friends reading this are saying "YAY!" but I'm truly a warm and hot weather runner and I don't like the cold at all...AT ALL.

I can't stand leaving the house and being so cold for the first mile or so til I warm up some. And I don't like getting sweaty and then I turn the corner and the wind blows and then I'm chilled because now I'm wet AND cold.

But I don't like the treadmill either! I have an idea to just walk and not run on the uncomfortably cold days (anything in the 50's and below!) so that I can dress warmer and not get too hot while walking. Thankfully, we have lots of warmer, sunnier days on a regular basis through our winter months and I should be able to still run regularly enough to maintain fitness until the nice heat of summer arrives again  = )

If I walk the amount that earns me the same points I would earn for what I would normally run, I'm hoping that it won't matter to my ability to maintain my weight. So I can earn 4 points for a 3 mile run in 30 minutes but to earn 4 points walking, I need to walk over four miles and 68 minutes.

I'm just a little concerned that walking the equal points value won't have the same effect on my calorie-burn as running does even though they look equal on paper. I'll have to try it out and see...

And I'm either going to have to lose another pound or two to compensate for the extra clothes I'll be wearing at weigh-in through the colder months or I'm going to have to be ok with 117's and 118's. 

Yes, I know how ridiculous that sounds but I'm owning that too!! Keeping that close track of my weight is what works for ME. It may sound lame to the entire rest of the world but it works for me and I'm gonna keep on doing it!

Enjoying a break from tracking...

Week #66 - 117.2 - up very late last night (this morning!) so didn't get to run before weigh-in... didn't mind this weight even though it was out of the 116's...actually was pleased with it knowing I didn't run my normal 3-4 miles...encouraging to me

Week #67 - 116.0 - I DID get to run this morning and sweated a TON so I got to drink most of my shake on the way to Weight Watchers and still had a good weight = )

So I haven't tracked in well over a month but I'm maintaining just fine. Before when I didn't track, there was this little voice in my head that said, "go ahead and eat that since you're not going to write it down anyhow" or "enjoy yourself! it's not like it's going down in the permanent record!".

And...my weight would creep up...of course!

This time has been different. It's a different mind-set. Here's what I've been telling myself:

- you'd better be EXTRA careful about the size of your portions since you're not tracking

- you'd better go especially light for the rest of the day since you had ____ and _____ already today

- if your weight starts to creep up, it's back to tracking so you'd better eat a little less than you think you should at times to counteract eating more than you should at other times

- this is a test...enjoy not tracking for as long as your weight remains steady...but you WILL start tracking if your weight creeps up!

- just be ready to track cause this maintaining without tracking may not last...just so ya know!

I'm highly motivated to keep doing this...well, whatever "this" is...I guess all those things I just listed to keep me "on track" without officially tracking. I like not having to track!

I've been tempted to track here and there, not necessarily to keep me on track but just because it's nice to see what I've eaten from day to day...more like a diary or a journal to go with the rest of the events of the day for the memory of it.

And I already know how I'm gonna track if and when I want or need to start tracking again. This is what I'm always telling the girls at Weight Watchers...find an enjoyable way to track... one that fits your personality, likes and dislikes. If you make it fun, somehow, you're more likely to do it.

I've tracked lots of different ways through the years. I've never found just the ONE right, best way to track. I like changing it up and doing different things...that's what's fun for me   = ))

Fell off the wagon...

...not THAT wagon!! And not the weight wagon either! The blogging wagon  = )   I guess if you're going to fall off a wagon, that's just about the best one to pick...

Here's some catch up...pretty boring stuff...and that's an AWESOME thing!!

8/1 - Week #60 - 116.6
8/8 - Week #61 - 116.2
8/15 - Week #62 - 117.0
8/22 - Week #63 - 116.2
8/29 - Week #64 - 116.6
9/5 - Week #65 - 117.0

As you might be able to tell, I'm most happy with a weight in the 116's. If it's below that, I risk getting lectured by the weigh-in ladies. If it's 117 or above, I feel badly the rest of the day.  I always weigh myself right before I leave the house and usually drink some or all of my shake on the way to boost my weight up.

Like yesterday, I weighed 115.6 after getting dressed and putting my shoes on. I'd already had part of my shake after my run so figured I could finish the rest of it and still be in the 116's. I have no idea how it made me gain 1.4 pounds though!

And even though I know I didn't REALLY weigh 117, I still feel really bad...really...that that's written in my permanent weight record. 

And I know...I KNOW...117 is a perfectly acceptable and fine weight for someone my height, frame and age. It's really not 116-117 either...it's 112-113, clean weight. My head KNOWS this when I step on the scale at Weight Watchers...so why does it bother me so?? Because the weigh-in ladies will think I'm fat???

Aaarrrrrgggghhhh!!!! I can't explain it...it just really matters to me. I wish it didn't because I think it shows that I'm lacking in sense and/or logic. Oh well...we all have our own set of strengths and weaknesses and this is one of my more prominent weaknesses, I guess!

I need to call Weight Watchers headquarters and change my height that's on record with them. I always thought I was 5'4"...and maybe I was and have shrunk some as I've gotten older...but I got measured at the doctor's office a couple months ago and I'm definitely 5'3". 

That means my lowest allowable weight goes from 117 to 113. So I could weigh in the 115's and even 114's and the ladies wouldn't lecture  = )  I'm gonna go write that down on my to-do list for tomorrow...call Weight Watchers and change my height!

Anyhow, I've been wanting to share this link with ya'll...it's more information on what I've been talking about over the last couple of blog posts.

Is Being Really Lean Really Worth It?

One thing I really liked about the article is how she talks about finding your happy spot. We all are juggling these different areas of reaching and maintaining a healthy weight:

- nutrition...how much, of what, more of this, less of that

- activity/exercise - how much, of what, see above = )

- genetics - more muscular? big muscle, lean muscle? more curvy? more beanpole?

- level of stress - too little sleep? high-stress job? sickness? etc.

Just like I mentioned previously...I know I could weigh less than I do right now and have more muscle and less fat. I know that I would run faster, feel better (physically, mentally, emotionally), look better (my opinion!).

I also know what changes would be required in my diet and exercise. And I know how my genetic make-up is trying to get me to look. I've decided that the sacrifices in my nutrition and time are not worth weighing 5-8 pounds less. 

So I've decided that 112-113 is my happy spot...mostly...seriously, it NEEDS to be my happy spot... 

- My nutrition is good...cutting out any more "fun" foods would be WAY less fun. 

- And my Nike+ app tells me that I spent 33 hours running last month...140 miles! I don't feel right taking time away from something else to add to the running time-budget.

- I already am WELL aware of my genetics and how my genes are working hard to get me to look...that makes this tough work!

- from the outside looking in, my life would appear to be stress-free. Soooo not true... but I won't get into that right now...

I keep going back to my original goal...it was NOT to weigh 105 and have 15% body fat and run sub-8:00 miles again...but that would be AWESOME...nooooo, don't go there Pony!!

My goal was and is to maintain a weight that is healthy and maintainable long-term with no great fluctuations (20+ pounds) through the seasons. I must force myself to focus on that.

Ok, I really do think I've said all I can say about that!! I know, I know...I said that the last time! hahahahahaha

We'll see  = )