Watching my Step(s)

I got a new pedometer for Christmas and am trying to join my sister and daughter in accumulating 10,000 steps a day. They are both champion steppers. I'm not, yet, but I'm getting there.

One of the hurdles I need to overcome is remembering to wear my pedometer every day. Another challenge is fnding it. One day this week I realized I hadn't put it on. I was pretty busy, but I ran back upstairs and did a quick search. No pedometer. I took little Jack up with me later and got him looking for it, too. He and I searched under the bed, on the bathroom counter, and on my closet floor. No ped that day. I think I got a goodly amount of steps, but have no record. The next day (still no ped) I was doing the last couple loads of laundry and I heard a thumping from the dryer. I did what I usually do in such a case and ignored it. You may be smarter than I am.  Yes.   My ped was washed (heavy duty cycle) and tumble dried for about 40 minutes. The amazing thing is . . . it works just fine! AND it registered 1472 steps on it's journey through the laundry!

I lost 3 pounds at my WI on Wednesday. I'm hoping to continue the trend this Wednesday. I made WW Classic Chicken Noodle Soup for dinner tonight and made an extra pot for Johnny's family. Soup is always welcome on a chilly day.

I'm going gangbusters on drinking my water. The 24 oz drinking bottle is working for me. I drink at least 9 cups a day and keeping so hydrated helps me keep on plan with my eating.

For your viewing pleasure:

Laura's family, DH, and Jay in Austin.  I was on the other side of the camera.

16 miles to report for last week--NOT counting the 1472 steps registered in the washer and dryer!  No more biking until the weather is a little lot warmer.  YTD=45 miles

Are you watching your step(s)?

Halo polishing

I'm starting this day off with a little halo polishing.  Yes, I biked 15 miles on Saturday, and yes I was pretty darn good about avoiding all the tempting goodies baddies at the potluck last night, but that's not why.  It's not even because I'm feeling really good about being on plan and losing weight.  Here's why I'm sporting that sparkly halo:

Do you remember the great coke disaster at our house from last May?--the time that our son Jay left not one, but several cans of diet A&W in our two freezers which subsequently exploded and left huge ugly messes in both freezers?  Well today, after I dropped off the children at preschool, I cleaned the garage freezer from top to bottom.  I took everything out and scrubbed all the surfaces with vinegar water.  I threw out freezer-burned rejects and got rid of a few things that were woefully past their expiry dates (would you believe 2003!).  The freezer is now restocked, organized, and sparkling clean.  I can attest  to the fact that there are no kamikaze coke cans anywhere in there, too.

Apparently though, cleaning out the freezer doesn't rack up a lot of points on the pedometer.  I may see if I can add even more sparkle to my halo by doing a Walk Away the Pounds dvd  to reach 10K steps while the kids are napping.

For your viewing pleasure.  A couple of pictures from our Christmas vacation to Texas.

Christmas Eve in west Texas (near Marfa)

Some of the lovely sights on a walk around Town Lake in Austin

Oh, and I joined a challenge to go 1000 miles in 2012.  Reporting in with 39 miles for last week (14 walking, 15 biking).


Have you been polishing your halo lately?

Have a great day!

This is the day!

I really like that children's song based on Psalm 118:24.  This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.  That's what I'm going to do doing today.

I got up early (for a Saturday) to let in the guy who's installing the last of our energy efficient windows.  The rest of the job was finished in early December, but they ordered one window the wrong size, so it's going in right now.  We're expecting unseasonably warm weather today, but let me tell you, at 7:30  this morning it was too cold to stay toasty-warm in the house with a large window-sized hole in the wall.  Thank goodness for the snugly wool socks my Laura gave me for Christmas!

Guess what DH and I are going to do today!  Here's a hint:   You got it.  We're going to take advantage of the great weather (near 60 is the predicted high) and go for a bike ride.  And I'm going to ride my "Pearlie."  DH gave me a road bike for Xmas last year, but with the winter weather and then my surgery in March,  I've only ridden it three times.  I mostly rode my hybrid bike this year because the road bike has the rider lean over the handle bars more and I was leery of stressing my neck where I had the surgery.  Now, though, I'm ready to ride Pearlie again.

I'm feeling good on the WW front.  I bought three 24 oz BPA-free water bottles at Costco yesterday.  I'm drinking 60+ oz of water a day and tracking my eating on the WW site.  Morning weight augers a happy face at my Wednesday WI.

Laura made applesauce during our Christmas vacation.  Amazingly easy, fast, delicious, AND fills the house with a wonderful aroma.  Here's the recipe:

Core and slice 10 Fuji Apples (Laura uses a mixture of several varieties) (one of those apple corer thingamajigs works well.  No need to peel the apple.
Fill a large pan with 1 inch of water. Bring water to a boil. Put apples in pan, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
Blend apples until desired consistency.  (I use my new immersion blender!--Cuisinart Smart Stick SB 77)
Add cinnamon (optional).
Serve warm or cold.
Oh, and ZERO WW points!

I'm making pork tenderloin tonight and Laura's applesauce is definitely on the menu.

See you soon, I'm going to get moving and continue rejoicing and being glad in this day!
(Tish is my nickname.  I love knowing that Tish, Tisha, and Ticia (as I spell it) mean "glad." I think my parents did well in naming me.)

Reporting for Duty

Well, here we are. It's early January. We've just returned from a long, leisurely Christmas vacation. I'm back in my routine. It's time, beyond time, to get down to business on the healthy living front.

I got a new pedometer for Christmas. I was doing pretty well at accumulating steps, but a 1500 mile car trip over two days isn't conducive to making the numbers add up. My daily goal is 10,000 steps. My sister and my daughter wear 'peds' every day. I'm joing the team.

DH wants to shed about 10 pounds, too, so we'll be paying better attention to eating good, healthy food. We'll do WW, following the old CORE (simply filling) plan. I've got to get Ella off to preschool in a few minutes, but plan to stop at Whole Foods on the way back and get a few days worth of good, fresh veggies. Oh, when we were in Austin, I went to the WF flagship store a few times. LOVED IT!

Gotta go.

Are you filled with resolve this New Year?

Home for Christmas

Actually we'll still be away until the first week of January, but it feels like home because we're with family.  Here's a picture with my brother Jay, his dog, and two of the three west coast grandkids.  We're heading out to Big Bend/West Texas tomorrow.  Hope you and yours are "home for Christmas" (or Hannukah!) wherever you are.

Tish

So far, so good

Dashing in to report that things are going fine.  Things are busy, busy, busy here as I imagine they are in your house.  We're leaving tonight for Texas.  We're going to drive two long days and then rendezvous with our Laura and her family and with my brother who lives in Austin.  We've rented a house in Austin and will have a terrific time including a 5 day jaunt out to west Texas (Big Bend) over Christmas.  We have Christmas day dinner reservations at the Gage Hotel and have rented a large private home to accommodate our group of 10.

The angel cone choir awaiting their big moment!
The recipe is from Sandra Lee.  But I used melted
lifesavers for the halos.   Yes, edible.

Little Jack, aka The Eyelash King,
surveying his new fleet of vehicles.

Last week we hosted three Christmas gatherings at our house.  On Sunday I had my annual Christmas Tea Party for the little people in my life.  We were 11 total: a one year old,  2 twos, 2 fours, and a 6 plus 3 moms and 2 grandmas.  Iced cookies, angel cones, crustless little sandwiches, cranberry bars, green grapes, dried apricots, baby carrots, and cheese sticks.  Then on Wednesday we hosted a Christmas potluck for our couples' Bible Study.  A true potluck.  I made my Cooking Light Seafood Lasagna.  Then, yesterday, after church, we celebrated an early Christmas with our family here.  We opened presents and then had a light brunch with my scones and Tami's (Nutmeg Notebook) Sausage, Cheese, Egg Muffins (a new family favorite, great for a special occasion or for a grab-and-go breakfast).

Despite all the yummy food that came through our house in the past week, I've managed to lose just over two pounds in the past week and a half.  I missed my WW meeting last Wednesday, but my daily morning scale visit confirms the downward trend.  I'm hoping that the next two weeks, away from my everyday temptations and with a ratcheted-up level of exercise, will continue the trend.  Hiking in Big Bend and rental bikes on the beautiful bike paths in Austin.  Oh yes, gotta pack my biking shorts . . . .

Gotta go.  I promised DH that I'd have the car packed and ready to go by the time he got home from work.  The laundry is done (!) but I have to pack suitcases, load the cooler, remember all the electronic devices and their respective cords and chargers (2 phones, 2 ipads, kindle, garmin, 2 ipods, laptop and camera) and I have two little guys as "helpers" today!  LOL,  I'm counting on a good 3 hour nap for both of them today!

Catching the Wave

WW just introduced their latest tweak to the program.  I'm cautiously optimistic.  Who cares that we're in the middle of iced-cookie season.  I am grabbing hold of my dusty store of good habits and am  paddling as fast as I can so I can Catch the Wave.

No news is BAD news.  Look for more posts from me.