Do You believe in Magic?

Okay, fess up.  How many of you read the title of this post and immediately thought of the Lovin' Spoonful hit from 1965??  (click here to enjoy a trip down memory lane) That was from my high school days and I loved that song.  And, while we're confessing things, I'll admit that while I don't believe in magic, I have certainly wanted the ability to wiggle my nose or wave a magic wand to eliminate the time and dedication necessary to many an undertaking in my life.

Ella at Halloween.  Here talented (other) grandmother
made her costume.

I'm not sure whether Ella believes in magic, but she certainly has a "thing" for princesses and fairies these days.  I am a firm believer in afternoon naps up until kindergarten (!), but allow them to have a quiet time if sleep doesn't come.  Ella has spent her recent quiet times  looking through the Usborne Big Book of Fairy Things to Make and Do.  I get her to fall asleep by promising to wake her up before Jack wakes up so that we can do some of the projects together.  It's worked two days in a row to get her to nap and there's nothing like some good quality time together letting her create girly, glittery fairies with construction paper, tissue, glitter, and glue.  Here's one she made this week.  The under skirt and sleeves are made from torn paper (rather than cut) and she was proud to be able to do it all by herself.  We didn't have the called-for glitter, but the book has quantities of pages with foil stickers that can embellish the fairies plus about 20 different projects to make with fairly simple supplies.  If you have a little girl in your life, this is a super gift.

As I lack a working magic wand, I've been putting in some effort to get back to a workable exercise plan.  My goal is to do some exercise every day over and above my normal routine.  At this point, I'm doing a lot of walking along with trips to the gym.  If the weather is good this weekend, I'd like to get in a couple of bike rides.

Jack is making great progress on the potty training front.  In just over a week, he's gone from wearing diapers 24/7 to being in big boy pants except for when he's sleeping.  He hasn't had an accident here since the first day and tells me when he needs to go.  Pretty amazing.  I wish it was so easy for me to learn new habits!

I've been enjoying pears recently.  I tend to like the anjou pears best.  I like them cold in wedges, or with a bit of muenster cheese, or even, like Lori has hers, with a sprinkle of cinnamon.  There's something about the texture of fresh pears that is very pleasing to the tongue, no?

It's time for me to wrap this up so I can wake Ella up for todays Art session!

Magic wands are great for bringing smiles to 4 year olds, but exercise and a reasonable diet are the ticket for making the changes I need for healthy living!

Be good!

"Mingos"

I'm feeling great.  Even though I've really just begun again and I still have a long way to go to reach my fitness and weight goals, I'm beginning to see changes.

Our little grandson, Jack, will be 2 in about a month.  As recently as a couple of months ago he was only saying a handful of words.  He could understand more, but he really was not very verbal.  Just yesterday I was reading him Eric Carle's 10 Little Rubber Ducks.  I turned a page and he got very excited and pointed and said "peek mingo."  Sure enough, there was a drawing of a pink flamingo on the page.  It's amazing how a lot of tiny changes over a relatively short period of time have yielded a little cutie who is now very verbal and comments freely on everything he sees.  A miracle, really.

My own changes are not quite so obvious yet, but they're happening.  I've gone from barely exercising at all to having exercised 7 days in a row (a streak!).  I've regained the ability to say no to off-plan temptations  in the grocery store.  There's a certain pair of capris that fit much better than they did a few weeks ago.  And ff cottage cheese with cold mandarin orange sections has again become a favorite lunch.  I'm so grateful for these changes.  I firmly expect that I'll see more and more changes.  I'm hoping for a happy change at my WI tomorrow, too!

We've had several days of lovely temperate weather with relatively low humidity.  All that's supposed to change tomorrow and we're in for hot, hot, hot and muggy.  I think I may just figure out some indoor exercise to do tomorrow.  :-)

All five--Jeannine's on the right.

My sister came back through on her way home from her college reunion.  We had a good time visiting and I enjoyed her company in my exercising.  We're looking forward to more company next Monday.  We have three west coast grandchildren and we get to have one of them come out each summer, rotating every year.  Aren't we lucky??  This summer we'll have beautiful Jeannine, the oldest.  Our Laura will fly out with her (while D SIL holds down the fort) and we'll have them both for about five days.  Jeannine will stay on for a couple of weeks and we'll take her back home next month.


Are you noticing the changes?  Keep on the look out for them; they add up.

Coming Up Roses

Hi, my friends, things have turned around in the past couple of days so that it seems that everything is coming up roses, as they say.

First, I saw a sympathetic doctor on Tuesday and got the mega super dose of prednisone to zap my poison ivy.  After just two days the swelling is gone, the itchiness is gone, and the redness is fading.  Still not quite ready for my photo shoot, but I'm getting there.

Then, I went to WW on Wednesday and lost!  I joined Biz's (Biggest Diabetic Loser) 101 days of Summer Challenge that started June 1st.  My goal was to lose 1 pound (or more) per week during the summer.  I am proud to report that I lost 1.2 pounds this week.

To help with that goal and to get myself back in good shape, I also joined Alan's (Pounds Off Playoff) June Boom Challenge.  For this challenge, the participants are striving to exercise each and every day in June.  So far, so good.  Yesterday I walked along my running path and this evening DH and I are going to bike our long evening route (13 miles) after dinner. So far, so good!

The weather yesterday was awful.  We had record breaking temperatures--hot, hot, hot and super high humidity to make things worse.  We've had a few days of these awful temps, let me tell you, not the best weather for someone trying to get over the worst part of poison ivy.  I confess that yesterday mornings walk got cut short because the sweat kept getting in my swollen eye and hurt like the dickens.

All that has changed.  Today's temps are in the low 80s, very low humidity and it's a joy to be outside.  I'm watching the grand babies today and we spent the better part of an hour playing outside this morning.  Lots of fun with a small wheel barrow and one red plastic ball.  Our back yard is great for running around and playing on the lawn.  DH got his heart's desire last year and put in a sprinkler system which leaves our yard lush and green--great for playing.

The children are napping now (oh good nappers, how I love 'em!) but I filled the little blue pool with a few inches of water and dragged it into a sunny spot so the water would warm up.  When they wake up we'll get out the bathing suits (or "baby suits" as our little Laura used to call them) and have some pool time.  Nothing fancy, just some measuring cups from the kitchen and a few floaty toys to play with.

My sister, Missy has been here for a few days.  She left this morning to go to her 45th reunion at Bucknell.  She'll be back on Sunday for a couple more days of visit before returning to Atlanta.  Talk about hot weather . . . at least we're usually a few degrees cooler than Georgia.

A big welcome to my new followers!  I'll try to keep it interesting and come by and visit you, too.

Here are some pix for your viewing pleasure.

Our patio tomatoes,  looking quite healthy.

The Stella D'Oro Lillies are just starting their show,
notice the clematis behind them.

These yellow evening primroses were transplants from a friend's yard.  They give a very cheerful look during June.

I love my hellebore.  These bloomed a couple months ago but still look great.

We transplanted this hosta from a huge plant (this is 1/3 of the other plant)
notice the children's wheel barrow for scale.

Solomon's Seal

This catbird has a nest right next to the fig tree, she
was sitting on the nest and flew just 3 feet away when I came
 round the corner.

Some of the figs, the birds wait until the exact second that they
ripen and then start feasting.

The catbird's nest was too high for me to see
into, but I was able to snap one picture
before she got too upset at my being so
close.  I never knew catbird eggs were such
a pretty blue.  They look like blue Easter eggs.

I hope you day is coming up roses, too!

Lead Us Not into Temptation

It seems that the meteorologist took my more water goal to heart.  We've had showers or storms or sprinkles every day for the past week or so, but spring is still coming.  The water really does help make me less vulnerable to the snack monster, but I can't wait to get over this phase where I need to know where the closest facility is at all times.  As I recall, that improves as the water habit becomes well established--am I right?

I've had a fairly good week on the exercise front, too.  Three walks on my river path and two workouts at the gym.  Our gym has a computer-linked system that keeps track of the workouts.  Mine me me with a plaintive "Where have you been" message when I went back for the first time since my surgery (2 months).     I'm doing almost all the stations in my normal routine, but, as per doctor's instructions, I've stepped back the weights and upped the repetitions.  The rain has put our evening bike rides on hold this week, but tomorrow bids fair to enjoy a nice ride in the late afternoon.

You might remember our youngest son, Jay, who lives with us.  He is wonderful at eating (and liking) whatever I put on his plate.  He does, however, love soft drinks.  He usually takes a diet coke (or diet A&W) in his lunch and we usually keep a good stash of them in the garage.  We've had to talk to him about chugging them down when we're not home, but it wasn't too bad.  Lately, he's gotten into the (bad) habit of sneaking cans of coke up to his room.  I saw him go into the garage with his winter coat on (75 degrees outside) and walked in to find him stuffing cans of coke into his pockets.  Another talking to.

Yesterday, late in the afternoon I heard a loud noise in my kitchen.  Some investigation revealed an exploded can of diet coke in the ice cube box in the freezer.  Jay admitted to the deed.  We talked again.  I tried to explain about how liquid expands when it freezes.  I tried to make it clear that he was limited to only 1 can a day.  An entire roll of paper towels gave its life to the clean-up.   When I was making dinner, I went out to the garage to grab a bag of peas from the freezer in the garage.  TWO more exploded cans of diet coke.  Jay was confronted with the mess.  He was very sorry.   While I was talking to him, I noticed 4 additional cans in the freezer--not yet exploded.  The upshot is that DH and I decided that we won't keep coke in the house so Jay won't be tempted.   DH took the rest of the cans to work.   I confess that I just closed the freezer door and left the mess for another day.  That freezer needs a good cleaning out anyway.

All this made me think about my temptations and how they call to me.  Jay's problem is easy.  We can totally cut off the source.  He doesn't shop by himself, so can't get any unless someone gives him some.
My temptations are not so easily dealt with.  I avoid what I can (candy aisles, bakeries, the Krispy Kreme donut shop) but some temptations throw themselves in my way.  I'm trying to redevelop those say-no muscles.  Right now I'm feeling strong, and that's good.

How about you?  Do you have any great ideas for turning away from temptations?

What's Happening

Hi All,

I'm still in an exercise hiatus, but the end is in sight.  I saw the neurosurgeon today and he said that the two herniated discs in my back have probably been there for some time.  The disc in my neck, however seems recent and needs to be removed ASAP.  He showed me on the pictures from the MRI where the bulge from the disc is bumping into the spinal cord and compressing it.  He says that all of my symptoms (numbness and tingling in arms and legs) as well as feeling awkward when I walk (sort of like one leg is an inch or two shorter than the other) are being caused by that compression on the spinal cord.  Also he said that things would rapidly get worse and might not be reversible if I don't get that pressure off of the spinal cord very soon.  The upshot is that I'm scheduled for surgery (ACDF) this week--first thing Friday morning.  I'm feeling good about this.  I liked him a lot.  He's the kind of doctor that doesn't rush you through things.  He answered all my questions thoroughly and helped me understand his answers.  He'll do the surgery.  Oh and I'm wearing one of those awful looking neck braces to keep things stable until the surgery.  I hate how it feels, so it must be good for me. :-)

I'm really missing the exercise.  Apparently I get to start walking again as soon as I feel up to it after the surgery.  No lifting or jerky kind of exercise, but there are a lot worse ways to get exercise than walking along the river path in the spring when the wild flowers and the trees are waking from winter..  I'll break out the pedometer and to the 10K step/day challenge and work my way up.  Biking, running, folk dancing and lifting weights will have to wait for a while.  I'll ask about yoga.

I'm still going to town on the de-cluttering.  If you every followed "fly lady," you'll recognize my tactic of going into a room and removing 5 things.  (not necessarily furniture--I have way too many little dishes and ornaments around too).  Do this a few times and things start to look uncluttered.

We had company for dinner the other night and I started the dinner with a caprese salad.  Mmm.  Fresh mozzarella di bufola, tomato slices, and basil leaves sprinkled with salt and pepper and drizzled with olive oil.  YUM.    We also had fresh asparagus, grilled lamb chops with mint jelly, and whole wheat couscous with dried apricots, mint, and toasted almonds.  Sliced California strawberries and a dollop of ice cream for dessert.  It was easy to fix almost everything ahead and a very nice spring dinner.

I'll keep you posted!

The Kibosh

Here it is, Wednesday again, but I didn't go to my WW meeting, instead I went to see the doctor.  My weird feelings in my wrists, arms and legs had not gotten better and finally I decided I needed to be seen.  My appointment was this morning and I'm back home now.  Putting my symptoms into Dr. Google had yielded some fairly alarming possibilities.  My normally nice and low blood pressure was rather elevated when they took it.  The doctor sent me to have an XRay (looking for arthritis along the upper spine).  The head radiologist decided I needed an immediate MRI.  After seeing the results they wanted to do "a couple" more tests--so back into the MRI machine.  I'd never had one before.  NOT fun.  I was gripping that emergency buzzer for all I was worth, but didn't use it.  Then it was back to the doctor's waiting room preparing myself  for some bad news. But it was not too bad after all, compared to what it could have been.  It seems I have not one, but three herniated discs--neatly causing symptoms in my arms and legs.  I'm to make an appointment with the neurosurgeon ASAP (well, in military medicine that means--call on Friday).  Meanwhile, no running, no lifting weights at the gym, no bike rides and, I guess, no pogo sticks. 

Funny how much I'd love to go out on this beautiful day and take a run along the river.

He neatly put the kibosh on my exercise plan, but I'm sure I can continue to try to eat well and stay on plan.  That's my plan for right now.

Later,
Tish

Is it really SATURDAY already???

I guess it is Saturday.  Amazing.  This has been a crazy week.  First, the earthquake.  My brother and SIL and their two kids live near Tokyo.  They're fine, thanks be to God, but that whole situation is so scary.  It makes my malaise with weakness and sore joints pale in comparison, but that has been with me all week.  I have tried to cut way back on keyboarding with good success and the wrists are much better.  I still have aches and weird sensations in arms and shoulders.  Also, not a lot of energy.  I got myself out the door and onto my running path on my free morning, midweek, and simply could not run.  I started to, but stopped after about 15 seconds.  I was able to walk three miles, but I was discouraged.  That said, I have felt better the last couple of todays and today am planning to tackle the running trail again.  I may settle for a 4 mile walk, though.  The running will come back when I'm over this strange interlude.

I'm still plugging away at the de-cluttering.  I tackled another room (and another bookcase) yesterday and have a neat little pile of giveaway bags next to the front door awaiting DH to haul them to the nearest thrift store.

I made an old favorite for breakfast.  Oatmeal with frozen dark sweet cherries.  Very yummy, filling and a lovely shade of cherry pink.

I'm off to my running trail.  What are you planning in the way of exercise today?

Tish

Take Me Home Country Roads, Unbelievable 0 point Apple Pie

We're home!  We had a great trip.  We really enjoy road trips.  Here are some of the highlights:

The Peachoid--a 150 foot tall water tower in Gafney SC, on I 85.

We stopped by Jefferson's Monticello, near Charlottesville, VA on our way home.  What an amazing place and so well done.   Curiously, the vacation rental house where we stayed was in Monticello, GA (home of Tricia Yearwood).

Jay and my Aunt Bettie in the back seat (our huge cooler took up the 3rd seat)

Self portrait.

DH did all the driving.

Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz had it right.  There's no place like home.  We might miss the company and the fun activities, but nothing's going to feel as nice as our own bed tonight and we really like our house.  I have a definite date with my jacuzzi tonight!

As I promised my self, I've jumped right back into my good routine.  We had baked talipia for dinner with grean beans and whole wheat roasted vegetable ravioli.  This afternoon when we got home I made a new recipe I learned from my sister.  It's amazing.  If you like apple pie, but want your pie without ANY WW points (in the new, fresh fruit is 0 points system) here it is:  

So simple:  Core and Slice Fuji apples in 1/3" slices (no need to peel apples).  Place in pie pan spritzed with non-stick spray.  Add a generous sprinkling of cinnamon--I used 2 tsp for about 10 small apples. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or until fork tender.  You can add a TBSP of water, or cover with foil for the last part of cooking if they seem dry, but mine came out fine without.

These are unbelievably delicious.  The type of apple makes a difference--Fuji's have just the right degree of sweetness so as not to need any sugar added.  They are wonderful warm (on ice cream--not WW), but equally scrumptious cold in your oatmeal, or just plain.  I love cold apple pie and these have that same appeal to me.  They would also be a nice dessert with a dollop of FF Cool Whip.  Try 'em, you'll be amazed.  AND the house smells delicious with the apples and cinnamon while they're cooking.

I went to the gym to lift weights after dinner and got in the pool afterwards to swim some laps.  Tomorrow morning I'm going to go out to my running trail to try to earn some R-E-S-P-E-C-T from my little Nike+ girlie.  Then I'm going to go to my WI and face the music from being AWOL for the past couple weeks.  Oh, and my gym is offering Zumba classes starting in early January.  DH and I are both going to go.  I went a couple times with my daughter, Laura, when we were out there earlier this year and it's great exercise.

Onward and downward,
Tish

Charlie Brown Christmas

Here's our tree.  Note my camera tripod which served nicely as a frame.  Fortunately, I was able to use the tripod to photograph the lunar eclipse before the tree took shape!  I figured out a techie way to get it from my camera to my blog without a cable. :-)
 

We have had a good Christmas.  The most important things took precedence.  Time to reflect about God's gift of His son.  Time to spend with family, to support my sister while she's working to regain her health and energy and to remember our Dad.  Time to relax and have fun (pool, ping pong, foos ball, and jigsaw puzzles).  Good food (too much and too many sweets.)  Exercise (too little--I'm not sure pool is exactly aerobic!).

Here's another picture of the gang at the lake house.  (you can see the lake outside the window in the Xmas tree picture).

We'll be home day after tomorrow and I'm happy to say that I'm really looking forward to getting back to my routines.  I can't wait to get back on my running trail.  I notice my little Nike+ icon on the sidebar is dissing me.  I have a couple new cookbooks that are calling to me.  I also want to get back to learning the new Weight Watcher's program and LOSING weight.  I know I've added a few unwanted pounds.  I'm not waiting for the new year.  Just get me home and let me at it.  I've had my fling and I'm ready to embrace my real life.

See you in a couple days.
Tish

Rainy Tuesday

My morning run

It was rainy when I got up this morning.  I briefly considered ditching my plan to run this morning, but I'm not the Wicked Witch of the West and I won't melt, so I headed out and was greeted by this beautiful sight at the very beginning of my run.  It was a wonderful run.  Not cold, not crowded, and I felt great. My new "do" does nicely in the rain, too.  I felt so good that I took a new route out to Dike Marsh--famous with birders hereabouts.  I saw lots of birds including lots of stately egrets.  This little group flew as I got near, but had returned to the side of the trail when I doubled back 10 minutes later.

Egrets at Dike Marsh

Today for lunch I made an old WW standby.  Open faced Reuben sandwiches.  I made 2 for a total of 320 calories.    

WW Open faced Reuben Sandwiches (this recipe is from the WW 365 Day Menu Cookbook)

Toast 2 pieces of Rye Bread (130 calories for 2 slices)

Spread dijon mustard on toast

Top each with with 1/2 oz turkey pastrami (I couldn't find turkey, so used regular--60 calories for 1 oz)

Top pastrami with 3 T sauerkraut (I used canned, well rinsed for a total of 10 calories)

Top each with 1 oz of thin slice Swiss cheese (120 cal for 2 oz)

Broil until cheese is melted and just begins to brown.

I don't drink a lot of soda these days, but I splurged and enjoyed my lunch with a diet A&W in an iced mug!   Yum.

Tomorrow I have BSF in the morning and then my WI at noon.  I don't want to run again (I try not to run on consecutive days), so DH is going to set up our Lifecycle (exercise bike) so I can exercise.  This will save me some time and I can get in that "last chance workout" that I've missed the past few weeks.  We've had this exercycle for a few years and I've never been on it, tho' DH uses it a few times a week.  I hope it's going to help me keep up my exercise plan this winter.

Do you let the weather get in your way?

Wake up Call, Wi

Well, I had a week of ignoring my well-established diet and exercise routines.  Nothing over-the-top; I didn't eat any Halloween candy, but I had lots of little "splurges" every single day.  I craved brownies, for instance, and made a 1/16th recipe (two brownies).  Another day I wanted toast with my soup at lunch, so I made one piece (with butter), ate it and then made a second (and ate it, too).  I ignored my own advice and went out for Thai food on the  night before my WI, AND I had popcorn after that.  And so on. . . . I did exercise 6 days out of 7, but aside from one run and one good bike ride, the exercise was not great quality--I sort of phoned it in.  I'm here to tell you that that doesn't work.  I gained 5 pounds at my WI (and I don't even want to think about how many sticks of butter that adds up to).  My lovely little physicsdiet.com graph which was so nice and green now has an entire week that looks like the new Republican congressional map--all red.

Sooo, my WI was my wake up call.  Kind of like when we travel and have a plane to catch in the morning.  We ask for a wake up call.  I wake myself up pretty well and always wake up several times in the hour or two before the wake up call.  Then I drowse back to sleep for a bit more.  But when that telephone finally rings, I hop right out of bed and get to work.

Now is the time.  I'm awake.  I REFUSE to go back to that mindless kind of eating. I am "on track" so far this morning.  I just got back from taking E to school and tucked baby J in for his morning nap.  I'm posting this (part of my "on track" plan is keeping on blogging on most days), having my morning quiet time, and then doing my Sweatin' to the Oldies DVD.

My clothes still fit and, ironically, a couple people mentioned how slim I looked yesterday.  I'm turning the helm 180 degrees and heading this ship back safe waters and on a course to my goal.

Ciao for now

Biker Girls, Hot 100 Update

About to take off after a nice OP breakfast at our B&B with a nice send off from DH,
our one armed support team.

Wait!  I could be drafting behind Sharon if I hurry.

Evidence that we started before the 34 mile marker on the trail.

Carolina Brothers BBQ stop at the 6 mile point, too bad it was only 10:30 am!

Self portrait.  Still smiling.

Sharon and DH enjoying a lunch break at a trail side Whole Foods.

DH,  our super-duper one armed Support Team.

Trail's end, 34.5 miles later.  Tired but HAPPY and feeling very accomplished.

We had a great time.  No flats, no unintended pizza stops, no weirdos on the trail,  and only one snake.  We're definitely going to do this again--and we're hoping the fellas get to come with us next time.  My caloriecount.com site tells me I burned 1768 calories on our ride!   

It's time for the Hot 100 Update!


My goals:

1. Reach my goal weight by Jan 1st by following the WW CORE plan, weigh & record my weight each morning, attend weekly WW meetings.
2. Exercise at least 6 out of 7 days with varied exercise including at least 2 strength workouts and 3 cardio workouts each week averaging 60 minutes per session.
3. Keep my house and my body chocolate free.  This includes dark chocolate, chocolate chips, chocolate candy bars and any baked goods that have chocolate in them.

How I did this week:

1. I did not go to my WW meeting (I was out of town on a bike holiday).  My daily morning weights indicate that I am losing, slowly, but regularly.  I will definitely weigh in next week.  I ate OP all week.
2. Nailed this one.  Praise Moves, Hiking, Running, Biking, Strength Training at the Gym, more Hiking, LOTS more Biking.  Averaged more than 120 minutes per day!!!
3. Sharon says I didn't and she was keeping track!  YAY for me.

I'm feeling good about things, EXCEPT I really want to hunker down and get my weight moving down a little faster.  I'm looking forward to a good WI next week.

All for now.  

Hot100 Update--Week 1

Today is rainy and gray with a tropical storm dropping buckets of rain all up and down the east coast.  I'm going to insert the ultra bright Hot 100 logo to add a little warmth and color to my day.  Yesterday was the end of the first week of the challenge.  There are only 13 more weeks left in the year to reach my goals.

Okay here are my goals:

1. Reach my goal weight by Jan 1st by following the WW CORE plan, weigh & record my weight each morning, attend weekly WW meetings.
2. Exercise at least 6 out of 7 days with varied exercise including at least 2 strength workouts and 3 cardio workouts each week averaging 60 minutes per session.
3. Keep my house and my body chocolate free.  This includes dark chocolate, chocolate chips, chocolate candy bars and any baked goods that have chocolate in them.

Here's how I did this week:   (hint = :D )

1. I started with 17 pounds to lose.  I lost 1 pound at my WW meeting.  I followed my plan and tracked my weight each morning. Now I have 16 pounds to lose in 13 weeks. Doable, no?
2. I exercised every day this week if you include one 45 minute Wii tennis match (and I do).  I did 3 strength training sessions and 3 cardio sessions and my workouts averaged 60+ minutes.
3. Not that I wasn't tempted by the evil bakery ladies who purposely baked chocolate chip cookies while I was grocery shopping and fanned the air so that a very sinful, come-hither aroma wafted all over the store, but I remain chocolate free.

I'm going to post this early today (10 am).  My posts usually take several hours to appear to you all for some reason.  Don't miss yesterday's post, if you haven't seen it!  UPDATE:  Of course this one shows in the blog roll in just 45 minutes.  Go figure!

Take Care!   Good Luck in the week to come for all my fellow-travelers.

Hot 100 Goals

One hundred days seems like a long time, but I know from experience that without mindful attention those days will fly by.  I don't intend to let that happen.  I am going to use those days, all one hundred of them to further my progress towards my goals.  The Hot 100 count down starts day after tomorrow,  and I have been thinking about my goals.  Here they are:

1.  I will reach my official WW goal by Jan 1st.  My WI is tomorrow and I'll post again to give you the exact pound total I am going to lose.  [Right now it's 19, but I'm expecting that number to go down tomorrow.]  I will weigh myself and record my weight each morning.  I will follow the CORE (Simply Filling) WW plan.  I will go to my WW meetings, weigh in and stay for the lecture every week.

2.  I will continue exercise for at least 6 out of 7 days every week.  I will vary the exercise to include running, biking, strength workouts, Praise Moves (yoga), and Kettle Bells.  I will have at least 2 strength workouts and 3 cardio workouts each week. My workouts will average 60 minutes per session.

3.  I will keep my house and my body chocolate free.  I will not buy, eat, or bring into my house ANY chocolate.  This includes my beloved dark chocolate with orange, chocolate chips, chocolate candy bars (Almond Joy--are you listening?), or any baked goods that have chocolate in them.

It's not too late to join this challenge.  What are you going to do with those last 100 days of this year?

Onward and Downward

I'm still in the midst of my re-charging, bachelorette long weekend and, let me say, it's great!  I took DH and B to the plane on Friday morning.  Note--Jay is still home, but he's pretty self contained and very undemanding.  That day our weather turned great (much lower humidity, lower temperatures too).  I did a leisurely shop at Whole Foods, concentrating on their wonderful produce section.  My meals have been wonderful--and delicious.  The best, so far, was pan-seared scallops with a splash of lime, mango-avocado-cilantro salsa and corn on the cob.  I've been able to  avoid former alone-in-the-house pitfalls (such as buying a big bag of lime tortilla chips)--thanks, Patrick (Responsibility 199), for the idea of working for an "A" on my report card--I always was a grade-grubber.  On the exercise front, I biked 14 miles on Friday and I scored an 8 mile run (with a generous sprinkle of walking) on Saturday.  I took yesterday "off."  Who was it that posted over the weekend about the "newbie tendency" to try to work out every single day??  I may be ready to tweak that goal of 7/7 days of workouts in favor of a 6/7 schedule.  I ran an easy 3 this morning and, if the thunderstorms hold off, I may bike this evening, too.  I've gotten about half way through my new book (To Defy a King by Elizabeth Chadwick--really good historic fiction) and plan to hop into bed early-ish again tonight so I can read in bed again.   Tomorrow I get the babies again and I'm ready for them!  We're going to walk to the Farmer's Market and get some tomatoes.  I'm craving great, "real" tomatoes.  Our two plants gave us a good first harvest, but slacked off on production when the weather was so hot last week.

It's hard to believe it's already August.  A new page on the calendar, full of possibility.  This August I'm going to take advantage of all 31 days and move ahead toward my weight loss goal.  Like Karen (Waisting Away), I'm going back to my basic diet plan for a push start.  I use the WW CORE plan (yes, I know, WW doesn't acknowledge the CORE plan anymore, they call it Simply Filling, but I still have the book and the CORE plan is a plan I can use to lose and continue to use for life).  I'm going to re-read the book today and look for any areas  I need to tweak.  I still have 7.2 pounds to lose by September 7th to meet my goal for the Summer Diet Buddies Challenge.  I'm gonna do it.

I am adding one goal to my list this week.  This one is guaranteed to make me look slimmer, younger, and better.  I don't have to change any of my eating habits to accomplish it.  I don't even have to add anything to my exercise routine.  The goal?  I want to work on my posture.  Head up, shoulders back, tummy in.  I always admire people who stand up without slouching.  I practiced in front of the mirror this morning.  I look way better when I stand up straight.  Like a before and after picture.  My goal:  I will leave a note on my bathroom mirror to remind me.  I will use good posture on the walking bits of my runs.  I will walk around my block (1 mile) every other day using good posture.  Maybe I'll throw in a bit of my Wii Yoga, too.


How's your August shaping up?