Day 10 (366) - American breakfast and back pain

I just had to say that today I got on the scale and it dropped to 163.4  So going back into the right direction.  For breakfast my daughter wanted me to slice up some strawberries.  And she loves blueberries, so I threw them together, sprinkled about 1/4 tsp sugar and she loved them.  Looked so good I made some for myself.  then my son came in and HE wanted some!

Now doesn't that look like an all American healthy breakfast? 

Apparently it isn't as good for your brain as oatmeal is.  Because after my back feeling pretty good yesterday, I think I'll lift the mower trainer myself and pull it down the driveway and turn it around so it faces the right direction to hook up when hubby comes home.  I'm now on the couch after taking some Ibuprofen.  I hope I don't start my birthday year crouched over and in pain!  That would really suck!

Tonight is the kids VBS dinner and program.  They're serving pizza.  grrrrrr!  I don't want pizza.  My stomach is upset this afternoon.  So I ate some popcorn to fill me up.  I'll just have water at the dinner.  Too bad they weren't also serving salad.  I always think the two go together nicely.  That way if someone wants a healthier option or to tone down the greasy pizza, it's available.

I did walk 2.2 miles yesterday while the kids were gone.  It felt good.  

So this ends my 38th year.  And hopefully the last time I see numbers as high as 163.4 again!!!

Tomorrow starts the count down under a year!  YIKES!

Day 9 (367) - Ahhh breeze on my neck again and 5 ingredient dinner - UPDATED!!!

Well hi!
Today, I did a couple of healthy things.
1) I again played in the park!  Although I didn't hang upside down by the monkey bars, I did climb all the equipment and forts they have.  I might be able to get a walk in this evening when the kids are at VBS.
2) I cut my hair.  I'm still debating on whether or not I like it.  It's short, but it's nothing that I didn't already have before, when I think that I thought it would be.  Then I colored it - goodbye RED - only to see when I took a picture of it outdoors, there is still a whole lot of red!!!!! 
Here is my before picture that I took yesterday.  I had flat iron my hair and you can see how red it was.  Normally I have it curly.

Before (yikes - no make up!)

After - cut, colored, and make up on.

Today Tosca Reno had a challenge on her Facebook Page to combine your five favorite ingredients for dinner and see what great thing you can come up with!  Hmmm, wine, cheese, vodka, ice cream.....just kidding!!!  I used grilled chicken breasts, my homemade salsa, brown rice, spinach and low fat sour cream. 

Man is it good!  I'm still eating it as I type this!  LOL  The kids came running in but came to a screetching halt when they saw the green!  I bribed them to try it.  My 6 year old started eating it, my 7 year old wouldn't. So I bribed her to try just a bite.  Didn't like it.  Hmmmm.  Okay, how about scooping it up with bite sized whole grain tortilla chips?!  She loved it!
***I'll warn you I'm posting a lot today cuz I'm posting right as I'm doing or have done something.  So I can't promise you there won't be yet another update tonight.***  Ha ha ha

 

Day 8 (368) ~Tired, Sore, and Grouchy

We had bad storms last night.  I woke up at 2am because I heard the cat meowing so got up and let her out.  Then by 3am the storms rolled in!  We got 2" of rain just this morning!!!  The news kept showing the lightning strike count and I saw it go up to 9000 and a friend of mine saw it at 10,000!  I'm sooo glad we got the office wall fixed!  No water in my office!

The kids have been up since 5am because the storms were so loud.  7 hours later, I'm about ready to put them down for naps, although they quit napping 2+ years ago.  And the topper was while laying on the floor, belly down, with my daughter, my son jumped right on the left half of my back and shoulder - although he swears he tripped.  All I know is I felt some SERIOUS pain and even a few hours later, I'm stiff and sore and achy.

Being up since 2am, I needed coffee.  And before I really thought about what I was doing, the Sweet N Low was already in the coffee.  All 3 times I filled up.  I am weak!!

 I was craving bad things come lunch time!  Thank goodness I don't have many bad things in the house.  So I took out the chicken breasts I've been marinading for 2 days and threw them on the grill!  Then I diced up some onions and chopped up some lettuce.  I threw it all together with the chicken and a bag of fiesta corn.  Man it was good - and pretty colorful, too! 

I don't know if I'll get any walking in now.  I haven't done much of anything since I was "jumped."  So I'm going to get dressed, finally, and head out to run some errands.  If I think I can walk, I will!

Day 7 (369) First Week

164.0
Ughh.  Stupid movie theatre snacks!  Okay, I've already griped about that, I'm not going to beat a dead horse.  Moving on.  The lowest I was this was 162.9 and that was the day before the movie's so I know that was what killed me.  No mishaps this week?  Well, I went to help hubby mow a huge yard and my father came along to help.  It was hot, it was humid and cold beers taste good afterwards.  So we had a few - mine were light.  But I didn't snack!  Usually you have a few drinks and you start snacking - the two go hand in hand.  I did not.  So I guess that is good.
Watermelon....

This is about how I am with sweet sweet summer watermelon.  I literally have eaten a watermelon in one day now.  And I don't even feel bad!  It's 90% water!  While I'm eating it, I'm hydrating myself.  I don't put sugar or salt on it, and it seems to be a natural cleanser as well.  So unless someone can point out something bad about eating watermelon, it's going to be a staple in my diet for as long as I can continue to get it!
Depending on the weather, I think the kids and I are going walking again tomorrow (technically later today).  I need to get some exercise. 
So week one - down 1.3 pounds~~~> but it could have been better....

Day 6 (371)

I woke up feeling great, but did not do well as far as eating.  I always do worse on the weekends even though I realize this and need to get it under control.
I had coffee with Sweet n Low!  I had a McDonald's cheeseburger - why? why? why? 
We took the kids to Cars2!  So much fun!  I can't remember the last time we got to go as a family!  Cory is always working, so the kids and I go to the movies by ourselves, usually.  But Cory said, Get a large popcorn and drink.  Thinking the 4 of us would be eating it, that didn't seem outrageous ~ until I saw the large popcorn.  It was more like a bucket!  And 2 medium drinks - those were like super Super SUPER-SIZED drinks from any restaraunt!  It was Diet Coke, but still.  And since we were at Wal-mart earlier, we picked up Raisinets, Whoppers, and Junior Mints.  ARGH!  Now obviously I didn't all of that myself, but I did consume most of the Raisinets.  I just feel horrible.  I came home and wanted to drink tons of water, but it seemed every glass I filled and walked away from, hubby took and drank for himself. 
I weigh in on Sunday for the first time - I wasn't thinking about that at all!  That thought might have convinced me to not consume so much crap!  Ugh.
For happiness - I haven't specifically mentioned anything lately.  I painted my daughter's room Friday.  The color is just magnificant and I really want to just sit in her room in her big oval chair and just relax.  She and my son helped paint and we had a great time together.  Also, I've removed another stressor relationship in my life.  Each time I do this, not that I want to make it a habit, I feel better and better.  Perhaps like a hot air balloon, I've been tied down by heavy woven ropes.  As they are removed ,one by one, I'm starting to float higher and higher into the blue sky!

Day 5 (372) - So Excited - with new photo at end....scroll down!!!!!!!

Shew!  Glad I put that counter on this blog, or I'd already be lost on which day it is and how many more day I have to go!  ha ha ha
I have been doing so much and am so excited!  Thursday the kids and I went to Publix to try to find quinoa.  Now this is something I've never tried before and I knew it was going to be something unique when I didn't see it in the Wal-mart baking/spices isle.  LOL  I needed some assistance from the clerk, but he took me straight to Quinoa linguine.  I didn't need linguine!  It took us awhile, but we finally found it. 

And now I am the proud owner of organic quinoa.

I plan to use it in a salad from Oh She Glows.  Stay tuned for my blog on it!

Also from Oh She Glows, Memories In The Baking, and The Old Farmer's Almanac, I decided to make Strawberry Soup.

Now I had no idea what it would taste like.  But I loooooove strawberries - so it has to be good right?  I looked at several recipes and decided that simple would be best.  So I went with Memories In The Baking's recipe sans the wine ~ for 2 reasons: 1 - I didn't have any wine and forgot to buy Rose while we were out.  2- I really didn't see the need for alcohol in this healthy recipe.  If I had had 7-up on hand, I might have added that instead, but needless to say, it turned out delicious!  Also, I used low fat sour cream instead of Greek yogurt or regular sour cream. 

 The kids watched with curious eyes as I prepared this very strange-to-them-sounding soup!  We ate one strawberry for every three that I cut! 

Look how ginormous this strawberry is!  It was fun to look at, but even more fun once I started slicing it...

The slices looked like bright red lips!  I showed the kids how to pucker up with them and we all laughed!

This step was hard for me, as I'm learning.  The recipe called for 1/2 cup granulated sugar.  "Sugar is bad!  Sugar is bad!" ~ I hear Tosca's wisdom in my mind.  But I know you have to add sugar to strawberries to create that wonderful juice!  I can't bring myself to start using Sweet N Low for anything else now that I'm just about weined off of it with  my coffee.  I added the sugar little by little, but didn't use the whole half cup.  Look at that sugar glisten!

The finished product was PURE STRAWBERRY HEAVEN!!!!
My daughter LOVES it and ate a whole bowl and then wanted more (I didn't give in though).  I really loved it, but thought maybe 1/4 cup of sugar would do?  This is definitely a recipe that will be part of our summer for many years to come!!!

Lots to say today - sheesh!
I knew that I was going to make pork chops today.  Normally I'd make mashed potatoes with it and green beans.  But I felt devilish and decided to try mashed cauliflower potatoes instead.  Now, I am a mashed potato fanatic.  No milk in my yukon gold mashed potatoes - not smooth enough?  Add another stick of butter and a few more shakes of salt.  Those are the ONLY ingredients in my potatoes.  But I was willing to try the cauliflower substitute.  Because I was trying to be sneaky, I didn't get any photos, the flash would have brought in inquiring minds.  I chopped the cauliflower and steamed it.  But without a food processor I had trouble getting the desired consistancy I wanted.  Into the blender it went, but then I was busted.  Hubby said, "I don't  want to drink my dinner, Sheri!!!"  He has blender and food processor confused with a juicer.  LOL  It worked a little better but my blender keeps locking up, so I just used the electric mixer which shot cauliflower all over the counter.  Grrrr!  I had enough!  I grabbed a spoon and tried the half mashed, half invasive looking mixture and it was goooooood!!!!   Upon presentation to the table, I got a lot of sour faces, but everyone tried them.  Hubby said "Eh, I can take them or leave them."  My daughter ate all of hers.  But my son LOVED them, ate them all, and then asked for 2nds and ate all of those!!!!  I think they were a huge success.  I did explain to them that I would never try to pull this off as mashed potatoes, but that they were a nice back burner to the old carb, butter and salt filled delite we rarely have anymore.

And now for my big excitement!  Although I am focusing on my 40th birthday (I still can't believe I'm doing that - focusing on it), I have to get through my 39th birthday first.  What I really really really really really want is tickets to the Motley Crue concert coming up on the 3rd here in Nashville!  Unfortunately it is a no go. I won't get into the crazy reasons why, but I almost can't even think about the concert happening and not being there without it hurting a little.  Anyway, I'm realizing with all my new recipes and food experimentations, that sometimes a food processor really is the way to go.  For example making almond butter or mashing steamed cauliflower.  So I was Googling and trying to learn about these wonders of the kitchen and came across this one on Amazon.  I am soooo excited. 

Cuisinart DLC-8S 11-Cup Pro Custom 11 Food Processor. 
I went ahead and ordered it today.  So now I can do lots of things here in my kitchen with just the touch of a button.  It's not the same as having Nikki Sixx spit fake blood on me during Kick Start My Heart, but it is something I'm looking forward to - the food processor, not necessarily Nikki Sixx!  ;p


oooh I found another good photo - throwing fake blood!  LOL

Day 3 (374) Finally some exercise!

I finally got outside for some exercise today!  With the kids home and the rain it's been hard.  But today it's gray and cool and breezy, so I told the kids - lace up we're walking to Grammie's!  My parents live about 2 1/4 miles away.  I told them it was a long walk, potty first, bring water if you want, but no lip once we get going!  They were sure they wanted to go, especially when I said we'd stop at the park and play!  It was a perfect day for this since it was so cool! 

I'd never take them with me on a normal humid hot day!  They did well.  Griped a little going up the first of 3 big hills, but they made it!  And then it was all DOWN HILL!!!  And I mean it's down hill!  We rested and watered up at my parents then off to the park we went!  My kids were showing me all the things they normally do here and they swung on the monkey bars, hung on the uneven bars, went down the slides etc.  So I thought I'd show them Momma can still do a few things.

I climbed up the bars and hung by my legs, but that picture didn't turn out to be exactly something to post.  So you just get the climbing up part.

 But then i got on the monkey bars and hung, and I can post this photo!  LOL

And this was the best!  My mom came to pick us up and she played on the Merry Go Round with the kids!  Three generations playing at the park!  It was great!

I am contemplating a simple 7-day detox plan.  Have any of you done something like this before?  Comments, advice, input appreciated. 

Day 2 (375) - temptations

Having difficulty getting out for exercise.  We've been having thunderstorms all this week.  I had have a ray of hope for a rarely participated in activity - hubby, the kids and I were going to go rock climbing at the local church gym.  Last time we went I was astonished on how quickly pulling your own weight makes your arms like wet spaghetti noodles.  But I did finally make it to the top.  Luckily for me hubby took great photos of my BUTT the whole way up!  Sheesh!  Back to yesterday, though, the rain stopped and so hubby had to get outside and work.  Half way back to work, it started raining again.  It went on like that all day long.
Eatting went well.  I had grilled chicken and veggies again for lunch and then hubby wanted to stop while we were out at Taco Bell ~ he hadn't eatten yet.  Now I love me some Fresco soft shell tacos.  But I was good, I had already eatten, so I just brought my water bottle in with them and drank that.  I felt pretty good about my will power and restraint. 
But then....
It was mom's birthday.  We were just going to go over for a cake and coffee-like evening.  However she called about 3pm and said, Why do you all come over and we'll order pizza!!  Late in the afternoon I watched The Dilemma and made some popcorn.  I figured I'd fill up on that and not eat much pizza.  I thought about taking some grilled chicken, but didn't want to stand out - especially for a birthday even though it was just pizza.  So I had 2 slices of supreme (lots of veggies, right?  And you can't get much cheese!).  I did have a couple of breadsticks, though.  And boy did I notice how full and almost bloated I felt.  Probably all the water I drank along with the carbs!!  Everyone wanted huge chunks of cheesecake.  I cut the slightest piece I could without it falling into crumbles.  And I only had one drink.  The rest of the time I had water.
So all in all I think I did well.  Although the scale didn't agree this morning.  And all the veggies I'm eatting - sheesh!  My body is adjusting.

Day 1 (376)

Yesterday went really well!
I was not able to get my walk in, but I did get some strength training in.  We took apart a 12' trampoline and then put it back together again!  Chest and forearms! 
My eatting was really good.  The only time I got hungry was about 9:30pm-10pm.   So I made some Homestyle popcorn, had a little milk.  And then later on was still a little hungry.  So I had some low fat cottage cheese.  I did have lots of water yesterday, too!  Where I go, my water bottle goes!
Scale was happier this morning - 163.8.  I won't post my weight daily, but wanted to show I left 165.3 in the dust!
Lesson learned - my mother had tried Stouffers (which I know is a red flag, but it looked so healthy) Garlic Chicken Skillet the other day and it was really good.  So I bought it this weekend and made it for dinner last night.

curly pasta (thinking now, not whole wheat), broccolli, carrots, peas, chicken breasts.  It looked good!
It tasted good.  Kids even liked it.  But it made me thirsty.  Second Red Flag!  Then I checked the nutritional panel (good idea to check it AFTER I purchase and cook it).  990g of sodium!!!  Aye Yaye Yaye!!  So it was a one time meal and a learning lesson.
As you can see I've added a countdown widget. But the days on this are different that I had found somewhere else on Google.  So I've adjusted. 

Changes

Good morning!
As you can see I'm making changes to My Path.  Let me know what you think - I'm not all together sure I'm 100% happy with it.
Well, speaking of not happy - I weighed myself on this First Day of the next 378 days and I gained
!  ARGH!  But I'm not going to get upset.  I'm starting on this section of path today and have lots of time go get myself in gear.  Plus it will be a quick loss, too! 
So my starting weight for this journey begins at

 Front

And Side

I can't bare to post the back!

starting uphill

Again I feel great today!  I got up, did my Sun Salutation, gave blood at our church, and ran some errands.
My iron was excellent she said.  My blood pressure was on 106 over 68!  Unfortunately I had to fess up my weight, though!  LOL
Yesterday just hanging out on the patio, out of the blue my father asked, "You have a birthday coming up, right?"  I kind of blinked and realized he was right!  I don't really remember what lead him to the question or what conversation followed, but I was thinking, wow 39.  And those of you who know me, know I don't share my age - at least not until my mother and sister-in-law blew my cover 2 months ago, letting my kids know I was not any longer 21.  Ha ha ha  But I'll be 39~ that's pretty scary.  I'm not an agist, I don't get depressed nor stay in bed all day on birthdays. I celebrate them - even if no one else does!  Birthdays are incredibly important to me ~ and not just my own, but everyone I care about!  So anyway, next month - 39.  Only one year away from 40  (((gasp))). 
What can I do in one year?  What should I do to make this year, the last year being under 40, remarkable, special, memorable?  Then it hit me:

  

by

 

Yep - 40 pounds by the time I turn 40!! 
At first I thought, well what's so hard about that?  Who couldn't lose 40 pounds in one year?  Uhm, I haven't so far!  So I guess ~me!  So it will be my challenge.
My last weigh in was 164 lbs.    Hopefully I haven't increased since Wed.

And I will kick off this personal challenge tomorrow, so that gives me 378 days until my 40th birthday.
This challenge is going to be different and definitely taken more seriously!  I need to format a plan to include a fitness and diet changes, and then monthly and weekly goals.  I feel pretty confident in my path with Tosca Reno and the Eat Clean Diet and plan to continue and increase my use with it.  I'm sure this challenge will also continue to provide lots of learning for me, so I plan to be researching constantly - new recipes, new exercises, new walking challenges, and somewhere along the way start using weights.
I know you all are always behind me, but I'll be asking for long term support during this challenge.
Today, is Father's Day and we're cooking out.  I will enjoy myself within reason without going crazy - my capper was McDonald's at 9pm Wednesday already! 
I look at this challenge as a continuation of the path, I've already begun.  Only now, I'm pretty sure it's about to start going up a steep hill, whereas before, I was simply warming up!

Sun Salutation

This is how my day started yesterday!  With the Sun Salutation.  I got up and went straight to the closet to get my sticky mat, then headed outside on the patio.  It was perfect!  It was still gray and cool, our rock water fountain provide perfect bubbling sounds and the smell of the rain filled the air. I only did a few rounds, but it felt good!  And it was the perfect start for my day. 
I had oatmeal for breakfast, got the kids going on their schedule, and I started my usual morning routine in our own bedroom.  Then I started rearranging.  And I actually tried a design we'd never tried before!  I moved dressers, beds, chest of drawers, armoires.  I had to rehang photos and paintings for the new design.  I love our bedroom!  It's so totally different that I couldn't even wait to go to bed last night!  AND I felt like I was staying at a hotel.  That is how different our bedroom is now!  In the process of rearranging, I looked up and that blob of blue paint from our walls where I accidentally touched the ceiling was staring at me.  Off to the shed to fetch my step ladder and ceiling paint!  I painted that blue blob gone!!!  Then remembered the bathroom where there were TONS of beige blobs from the same situation.  Now, gone!!!!
I ate watermelon, hummus, bowls of veggies and lots of water! 
It was a great day and sooooo much better than Wednesday!
I did call the shoe store and they said I can return the shoes.  I am going today here, shortly.  I cannot handle that squeek squeek squeek!!!
And my gratefulness of the day - my kids.  They were just wonderful yesterday and helped me, and then were on their waterslide!
Here is our waterpark now - - -

I'm so grateful to have this summer stressfree to play with my kids and enjoy this young age of their lives.

A few quotes and prayers that I like and feel speak to me lately:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.

~ Proverbs 3:5-6

"Be a lamp unto yourself, make of yourself a light."
— Buddha

"Let the bridges you burn, light your way."

~saw it on Sixx website, but sure it's not his quote.


The Knots Prayer
Dear God,
Please untie the knots that are in my mind, my heart and my life.
Remove the have nots, the can nots and the do nots that I have in my mind.
Erase the will nots, may nots, might nots that find a home in my heart.
Release me from the could nots, would nots, and should nots that obstruct my life.
And most of all, Dear God,
I ask that you remove from my mind, my heart and my life
All of the 'am nots' that I have allowed to hold me back,
Especially the thought that I am not good enough.
Amen.

Sun Salutation

This is how my day started yesterday!  With the Sun Salutation.  I got up and went straight to the closet to get my sticky mat, then headed outside on the patio.  It was perfect!  It was still gray and cool, our rock water fountain provide perfect bubbling sounds and the smell of the lavendar was perfect!  I only did a few rounds, but it felt good!  And it was the perfect start for my dad. 
I had oatmeal for breakfast, got the kids going on their schedule, and I started my usual morning routine in our own bedroom.  Then I started rearranging.  And I actually tried a design we'd never tried before!  I moved dressers, beds, chest of drawers, armoires.  I had to rehang photos and paintings for the new design.  I love our bedroom!  It's so totally different that I couldn't even wait to go to bed last night!  AND I felt like I was staying at a hotel.  That is how different our bedroom is now!  In the process of rearranging, I looked up and that blob of blue paint from our walls where I accidentally touched the ceiling was staring at me.  Off to the shed to fetch my step ladder and ceiling paint!  I painted that blue blob gone!!!  Then remembered the bathroom where there were TONS of beige blobs from the same situation.  Now, gone!!!!
I ate watermelon, hummus, bowls of veggies and lots of water! 
It was a great day and sooooo much better than Wednesday!
I did call the shoe store and they said I can return the shoes.  I am going today here, shortly.  I cannot handle that squeek squeek squeek!!!
And my gratefulness of the day - my kids.  They were just wonderful yesterday and helped me, and then were on their waterslide!
Here is our waterpark now - - -

I'm so grateful to have this summer stressfree to play with my kids and enjoy this young age of their lives.

Rain and my Alzheimer's Walk

*~*~*grab a drink and a snack - this is a long one*~*~*

Again yesterday, I was in the funk.  It seemed every attempt I made to get happy back fired in my face.  
First of all I slept in.  I've been doing that lately, and to be honest, I don't like it.  I like getting up at 4am with my hubby and staying up better than sleeping in late.  I just felt groggy, had no energy.  There was some excitement when we went to pick up the kids waterslide they'd been saving up for.  But then routine hit again - had to go to the grocery store.  Then the wonderful rain blew in.  Ahhhh.  I love a cool gray rainy day!

This one came with some excitement.  LOTS of thunder and lighting and, of course, tons of heavy rain.   We got over an inch and a half rain yesterday afternoon alone.  Power flickered a few times, kids panicked, I jumped once or twice.  It was great!  That is when I had my 2nd wind and made the Black Bean and Orange Hummus from Kathi.  I've never made hummus before but there was so many flavorful ingredients in this recipe I could hardly contain myself to try it. 

I liked it.  It didn't have the fireworks of flavors I thought it would have, but it was good.  I sooo wish I could have gotten a picture of my daughter's face when she tried it.  I was laughin so hard!!!  Needless to say, it was not a winner in the kids eyes, and hubby said I'll just take the 1000 Island as he walked passed the hummus to the fridge.  Hmmmpf.  I think that rubbed me the wrong way.  I had so much fun making this treat and then no one liked it. 

Hubby kept asking me what was wrong.  I didn't know.  I just felt --blah.  Later, I put on my new shoes and went for a walk.  Oh it felt so good!  Cool crisp air still wet ground and the scent of rain hung in the air.  I was at full attention and ready to walk!  I decided not to walk down to the park by my house cuz frankly, I'm tired of feeling like a hamster on the wheel.  I have to walk to the park, around 6 times, and back home to only get 4.8 miles.  1 lap, 2 laps, is that 3?  4?  2 more to go.  1 more to go.  It's just daunting.  So I decided I would walk to my parents house and back again.  Even as I made this decision, I wasn't sure I'd actually stop in and see my parents.  I forgot to mention I got in an arguement with my father when we got back from running errands and I felt like a 17 year girl getting lectured.  When I stood my ground and fought back, then I was the bad girl.  ugh. 

So as I'm walking I hear the horrific squeek squeek squeek that I only then remembered that I hate about New Balance shoes.  All my NB have done this in the past.  The whole time I walked yesterday, squeek squeek squeek.  You can only imagine how that amphlified my mood.  A good mile into my walk, the sky got darker than normal for 5:30pm and I heard thunder.  CRAP!  And I believe that is exactly what I texted to Kathi!  I thought, I'll walk to the top of this hill and if it continues, I'll just turn around.  A true sign from God - when I got to the top of the hill a string of lightning zippered across the sky.  LEFT TURN and home I headed.   Now if you're still with me this is where it turns pathetically funny - I GOT LOST GOING BACK TO MY OWN HOUSE!  I rarely drive that dircection to my parents house, but hubby does all the time.  Turn here then turn here the go around and up the hill, then turn again.  or whatever the directions are, but I usually get lost and can find my way out eventually and if on the wrong end of the pennisula, I just drive around the lake and I'm home.  No biggie - - - unless you're walking alone and it starting to lightning and your shoes are going squeek squeek squeek!!!!  I went one way and ended up on a busy end of the pennisula that has no shoulder, lots of blind spots and is very unsafe to walk - especially around dusk!  But I had no choice and thought I'd just walk to the first road and then cut through.  Sure enough some lady in a Jeep didn't seem to think she could use the other end of her lane let alone the entire other empty lane to get over and about hit me.  Eventually I got back to being lost, and called my husband to just come get me.  I was about to cry.  How pathetic to get lost in your neighboring neighborhood.  I felt like an alzheimer patient, which only depressed me more.  I came around the corner and realized where I was,  I called hubby and said I was okay and would be home in about 10-15 minutes.  As I came over the hill, though, there was hubby with the kids driving to get me.  I was happy, embarassed, but mostly just exhausted.  When I got home I just layed on the couch.  Hubby came and talked to me.  I realized I was bored or funky or whatever.  Every day is the same thing.  Sleep in, eat, try to clean up, run to the grocery, run to the bank, or inject any other location for errands, come home still try to clean up, dread what's for dinner, clean up,  and go to bed.  Only to start it all over again the next day.  I've been off of work for 2 1/2 months now.  Maybe I'm lacking the need to do any thing each day - not out of laziness, but just because there is always tomorrow.  And nothing that I am doing, is really necessary.    No time table.  No pressure.  Hubby said I have the Mr Mom Syndrome. 

So as I layed on the couch, I watched Mr Mom.  And laughed and laughed.  The kids came and joined me and they laughed, too.  Later on, once the kids were in bed, I put the capper on my healthy and happiness and went to McDonald's at 9pm for a cheeseburger, fries, and a Diet Coke.  I knew tomorrow would be different...it had to be.

Smells like Christmas...

Wow!  Once I realized I needed coffee and actually got some, the evening went much better! 

We went over to a friends house who reminded me about the recipe we discussed the other day, an old favorite of mine ~ Smells Like Christmas Pumpkin Bread.  We laughed at how it calls for 5 whole eggs, 1 whole cup of oil, and 3 - yes- THREE whole cups of SUGAR!!!!  She said it still sounded wonderful and bets her friend could clean it up a bit.  Well tonight, after I got home, I felt like baking.  I wanted to try Kathi's black bean hummus but realized I didn't have corriander - something I thought I've always had.  So I decided to make the SLCPB, but experiment in cleaning it up.

Here is the original recipe:

3.5 cups sifted all purpose flour

2 tsp baking soda

1.5 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp allspice

.5 tsp ground cloves

3 cups sugar

2/3 cup water

1 cup oil

5 eggs - beaten

1 sixteen oz can pumpkin

So I did some substitutions:

whole wheat flour instead of all purpose flour

sea salt instead of regular salt

2 cups sugar rather than 3 (still needs to be altered better)

extra virgin olive oil rather than plain oil

4 cups cinnamon apple sauce, 1 tbsp ground flax seed, 3 tbsp water rather than 5 eggs

I was really concerned about the consistancy and taste and well...just about everything. 

When I've substituted whole wheat flour in past recipes, it didn't turn out well ~ very dry.  And if there is one thing I don't like, it's dry muffins!

I added the rich orange pumpkin in and things started to color up and change up!

Ahhh, much better!!!  And the applesauce/flaxseed/water combination really made a difference.  This was starting to look more like my original recipe now.  So I stuck a clean finger in to sample the batter - YUCK!!!!  I hadn't added the sugar yet!  Blah!  Recipe called for 3 cups of sugar, but man that seemed like an awful lot.  And I could just hear Tosca in the back of mind - IT'S POISON AND SHOULDN'T BE LEGAL!!!  So I cut it down to 2 cups only because I didn't know what else to substitute other than more and more apple sauce!

This recipe makes 2 loaves of SMLCB but I always forget my old loaf pan (about 4 or 5 years ago) was falling apart and I threw it away.  So I thought, hmmmmm, lets make mini-loaves and muffins!!!

The muffins look wonderful don't they?  Look at that glisten on the top!  I just love the red cup paper, too!  Got milk?!

And the mini-loaves turned out beautifully!  I really need to get more of these cuz three is not enough!

The finished product!  I just love all the red and even the green from the cookie jar!  It looks like Christmas and the entire house SMELLS like Christmas!  It is wonderful!!!

I'm going to pack a muffin in hubby's lunch for tomorrow with a side of yogurt butter!  What a great treat!  And I can hardly wait to enjoy a loaf with the kids when we wake up in the morning and to share this with Phyllis.
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Okay I just had to go OCD and find out all the nutritional info on the original recipe and then on my cleaned up recipe. 
Key: O=original N=cleaned up

Calories:  O=265 N=229
Total Fat: O= 10.3g N=9.4g
   Saturated: O=1.6g N=1.4g
Cholesterol: O=39 N= ZERO!!!!
Sodium: O=266 N=224g
Carbs: O=40.9 N= 34.9
  Dietary Fiber: O=1.2g N=1.5g
Sugars: O=25.8g N= 19.3
Protein: O=3.3g N=2.2g
Vit A: O=60% N=59%
Calcium: O=3% N=2%
Vit C: both = 1%
Iron: both=7%

So in conclusion, this is not an every day treat!  Normally, I make this only once at Christmas-time.  But it was interesting, for me, to see if I knew what substitutions to make and how they would taste. 

FUNK---Y

I don't know what is wrong with me today.  I'm tired although I slept until 9:50 am.  Of course, keep in mind Im up at 11:30pm, 1:30am, and then 4am before I got up at 9:50am.  And I just have no zip!  It's a beautiful grey rainy cool day.  I LOVE DAYS LIKE THIS - I'm not a hot weather sunshine kind of gal.  But with that being said, I started my late morning off with a handful of Special K berry cereal, a cup of hot lemon water (been awhile), 1 cup of coffee~*~*~*~*OMG I just figured it out!!!!  I made coffee this morning, but I never drank any!  The lemon water filled me up and then we took off for the library!  I'm lagging from zero caffeine!!!
BRB~
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That is just crazy!  I already feel better holding this cup of coffee in my hand!  I've been slowing down the coffee a whole lot lately.  When I think back that I was drinking a whole pot myself a few months ago, I can't even believe it.  I dump coffee down the drain now.  Okay, with my brain coming to life I can focus more now.  Sheesh!

Like I said it has been a beautiful rainy cool day here!  Cloudy and gray!  I remembered an elementary song I played on the piano many years ago from a Jazz Book called Very Gray Day.  It used to freak me out because it reminded me of Michael Myers and Halloween back then, but as I grew older I appreciated it tone and melody.  So I dug out the sheet music today and played it.  Ahhhh, it was wonderful!

Along with my lemon water (only) this morning, I remembered I wanted to start eatting oatmeal again.  I had bought the Quaker Lower Sugar variety box - apple cinnamon, maple brown sugar, and cinnamon.  I loved it!!!  I don't even care that it's not cold out.  It was so good I had the cinnamon one later on for my lunch.

After seeing my paycheck arrive in the bank today, hubby said I should finally go and get some new shoes.  My feet have been so sore.  Playing in the pool the other day he grabbed my toes, and I yelped out from the pain!  I bought some Nike Comfort Footbed sandles to wear last week and they are soooo much better than the cheap rubber flip flops I had been wearing.  I can actually stand up and not take a minute to move my feet before I step down.  I wear these almost everywhere now.  I love them.

So today I was to go get some walking shoes.  My Rika's just haven't worked for me at all.  The first pair were runners and they had no support and still hurt my feet.  I couldn't even do my Bob workout cuz my feet slid around with the support.  Then I got the Rika walkers and they looked okay but with 5+ miles a day they wore out fast.  Plus Max took a liking to them the first week and I had to buy a replacement pair.  I've had those since March and my feet hurt already.  Let me tell you there are not a lot of pretty walking shoes available out there.  They're either solid white with white trim and clunky looking.  OR the ReTones by Reebok that look good, but apparently made my feet roll out and no one told me I looked like I was recently recovering from knee, leg, or foot surgery when I wore them.  Nice waste of $90.   So I go today and am almost overwelmed with choices as none are marked WALKERS.  I found a pair of New Balance but was hesitant uz they were runners.  So I looked at the nurse-like walkers and found one grey and pink pair that fit well, felt good, and looked half way fashionable.  Of course they were THE ONE PAIR on that wall that weren't on sale.  Grrrrr!!!  So I tried the walker on one foot and the runner on the other.  Such a difference! But I just couldn't bring myself to pay the difference.  So I came home with the New Balance runner.

On a Happiness note, lately, I'm trying to find ways to be grateful.  Yesterday, Kathi's post including 5 Gratefuls that she got from her friend, Heather, encouraged my quest.  So today, when I was having difficulty walking (get it - walking, the walker shoe - ha ha ha ~sorry coffee must be kicking in) away from the walker shoe I knew would be better for me, I decided to be grateful that I could even be out shopping for new shoes.  And grateful that I need shoes because I'm healthy to walk every day.  And that I had a $5 coupon for my shoes!  Bwah haw haw 

Then I went to Target.  Again, the money issue - do I need a new scale?  Do I want a new scale?  Should I wait til next pay day or get one since I just got paid?  On and on in my head.  I think it's stress that I bring upon myself.   I realized yesterday that many scales only go in .2 increments.  So I could never be (and I mean NEVER) 120.3 lbs.  I could be 120.2 lbs or 120.4 lbs.  How crazy is that?!?!  Today at Target I noticed they had other choices that did do all 9 ounces in their read outs.  I had a Weight Watchers scale before by Conair uit.  So I decided to get one again.  But this time, they come in colors.  And what color do you think I chose?

Yep!!  Red....and pink! 

So I, of course, had to move the scale into my grey and pink 1960's bathroom - the only room in the house that hasn't been rennovated.  I love it though.

And that is about how far I've gotten today.  I need to walk.  But I'm still funky.  And it's still rainy - I don't want to get my new shoes dirty the first day.  Maybe after dinner I'll suffer one more day with my old shoes, and give them one more 5 mile walk.

And P.S.  I forgot to return the $4.37 batteries to Lowes!  My new scale takes 3 AAA.