Monday

What a great way to start off the week! 
After I dropped the kids off I went on a 5 mile walk.  It was chilly today but at least the sun was out!  So I got my health in for the day!

Then this afternoon a good friend that moved away came back to visit me and the kids.  We got to chat and relax and the kids played.  It was a good time and made me happy!

Cherie and Me

Look at that ham hock arm of mine!  I need to get some weights so I can start trimming that down!

And for lunch I had my minestrone and for dinner I had my minestrone.  It's such a warm soup and just makes me feel good.  And all of the vegetables: cabbage, spinach, tomatoes (lots of tomatoes) onions, garlic, zucchini, and celery.  So I should definitely getting my servings of vegetables for the day!  And really it's easy to make!  I didn't post the recipe, did I?  If you're interested let me know and I'll be glad to share!  I also fixed the nutritional info on the minestrone post - the black letters wouldn't show up on the black background.

Minestrone Soup

*I had to change the color of the font because the black wasn't showing up on this background!*

I made a huge stock pot of my famous Minestrone soup!  This is the first time I used whole grain pasta shells!  I think it's just as good!

Nutrition Facts User Entered Recipe
10 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories		196.3
Total Fat		5.4 g
	Saturated Fat	1.1 g
	Polyunsaturated Fat	1.5 g
	Monounsaturated Fat	2.4 g
Cholesterol		0.0 mg
Sodium		4,896.2 mg
Potassium		858.4 mg
Total Carbohydrate		27.0 g
	Dietary Fiber	4.8 g
	Sugars	10.1 g
Protein		9.1 g

Vitamin A	60.7 %
Vitamin B-12	1.3 %
Vitamin B-6	18.5 %
Vitamin C	79.2 %
Vitamin D	0.0 %
Vitamin E	9.5 %
Calcium	15.1 %
Copper	13.7 %
Folate	22.7 %
Iron	15.2 %
Magnesium	20.2 %
Manganese	50.7 %
Niacin	13.8 %
Pantothenic Acid	9.0 %
Phosphorus	14.7 %
Riboflavin	16.2 %
Selenium	12.5 %
Thiamin	13.9 %
Zinc	5.9 %

Same ole situation

Nothing too incredible going on around here lately, but wanted to post.
Yesterday a friend of mine had her last day of work, so of course all the ladies went to a Mexican restaurant to celebrate.  I am discovering I am replacing my given up for Lent wine with margaritas.  Not good!!!  Although I did not have the fatty cheesy dinners that everyone was ordering, I did eat too many chips with the salsa.  Today I plan to catch up on my work while I still have some and then work outside with my husband and our neighbor even though it's 37 degrees!  What is up with that?!
I checked my Jiffy starter box today and look what is happening right on my kitchen table?!?!?

These are my peperonchino plants on the left, cilantro in the middle, and jalepeno's on the right.  My little salsa garden.  I am so excited.  I removed the house lid and moved them to my windowsill.  With the crazy weather not sure when I'll be able to plant them outside, but for now I just need to keep our cat, Milo, away from them!  So my happiness for the day is that I can create!  I have brought to live little green plants from seeds and will provide myself with nutrition, health, and happiness! 

Have a happy healthy day!!!

5 Miles and A Food Journal

Today was a big day for me!  Phyllis and I walked 5 miles!  That is the furthest I've walked in quite awhile.
Now it took us longer this time.  We left at 9:16am and returned at 11:00am.  However, we stopped for about 5 minutes at the half way point - which today was my driveway.  So about an hour and 45 minutes.  And there were some HUGE hills that were not only steep, but long.  So that really slowed us down.  And it was 49 degrees and cold today!  I think the next time we do a 5 miler, we are going to do a more flat route and see how much we can kick that time down.  We did get a good leg workout with those hills today, though!
My scale is just not budging.  I asked my friend Kathi what she thought.  She said send me a few pages from your food journal.  I got the deer in the headlight look.  I usually write in my food journal everyday, but the past few days I really slacked and for no particular reason.  So I was good today and wrote down every morsal then typed it to her in an email including my total and it blew my mind!!!  Thank goodness we walked 5 miles today.  And really even thinking now about my intake today, it doesn't seem all that bad.  Until I saw the actual numbers.  Food journals are such an important part of daily weight and fitness management and even more importantly to take the time to look up the calories for foods you don't know and then a finally tally.  Cuz sometimes just looking at the foods you ate doesn't phase you until you see the numbers that go along with them.  So just went I thought my diet was pretty good, especially compared to before, I already know why that scale isn't budging. 
I also jumped and flipped around on the trampoline again tonight.  We're gonna have to get one of those!

Walk

Yesterday I embarked on a walk with my friend, Phyllis.  She is in the army, although now inactive duty, but still needs to do her PT tests etc and needs to keep her distance and time up.  So she said she walks about 4 miles and then invited me to join her when I told her I walk, too!  So yesterday morning she texted me, I threw on my walkers and drove over to her house.  It was a GLORIOUS morning for a walk!  it was about 64 degrees, the sun was out, it was perfect!  We walked and we talked and kept up pace - that is so nice.  Sometimes I'll walk with people, and the more they talk the slower they walk!  I was worried my feet or knee would hurt, and my feet once ached as we turned the 2nd corner, and I thought, OH NO!:  But that was it.  And once coming up a hill I turned and got a tweek in my knee, but that's it!  I took my ibuprofen ahead of time and afterwards, and I think that helped.  All in all we walked 4.4 miles in one hour and twenty minutes.  So that's about 3.5 mph - not too bad!  We are going to walk 5 miles Thursday!
I ate well, other than after Brownie scouts,we went to my parents house where Cory and Owen were working and they ordered pizza.  Now what am I supposed to eat?!  Usually mom has lettuce I thought at least I could eat some salad - nope!  So I had 1 slice of cheese only pizza.  I so wanted to go back for some pepperoni, but I didnt!  I had my veggie sandwich for lunch earlier and Multigrain Cheerios for breakfast, so I did pretty well.  When I got home I drank a Slimfast.  I expected big changes on the scale, but no- of course not.  I'm starting to really hate that scale.
Anyway - hoping for another beautiful day here in the South!

Tosca, Forgiveness, and Sixx!!!

Well not so active a day as this weekend had been.  I worked at my desk then got out and rode the aerator around the yard with the kids, cleaned the van - and I mean cleaned - took plastic floor plates off and am still scouring the spilt whatever gross stuff was down there!  I got an email from the library that my book request was ready.  I went and picked up Tosca Reno's Your Best  Body Now.

 It looks really good and it's not available on Nook yet, so I can't wait to dive into it tonight.  Right now I'm finishing up The Dirt by Motley Crue!  HA HA HA A little opposite ends of the scale!!  Crue is my happiness - at least Nikki Sixx is, if you don't already know that! 

Oooh la la!
Oooof!
Any way, what was I saying?
Oh yes, onto another part of happiness today, although the prevy is so much better, I found this little ditty on 
http://womenonthefence.com/2009/11/17/forgiveness-and-why-you-shouldnt-hold-a-grudge/
I haven't read the entire article yet, but I loved this statement:

And it's just so true.  I don't know if its the Italian in me, but I hold a grudge when I'm ticked off or when someone ticks me off.  And the stress that causes is just ridiculous!  My neck tenses,  my mouth pouts, my jaw locks, it's so insane!  Now I know I can't expect to never get mad or that someone or something won't tick me off, but I can expect not to hold a grudge about it forever!  Please read the article, the first half I've read so far, really is good!

Happy Monday.....now off to Sixxy land - - my happy place! 

Sheri's Sunday Exercise for the Day

Pulling weeds and.....
JUMPING ON A TRAMPOLINE!!!
I had so much fun jumping on the trampoline with the kids yesterday.  And what a work out it is!  I jumped and did front flips for about 30 minutes!  And I can't believe it doesn't bother my knee! 
Today I'm a little sore - just like any work out, but I am feeling so good!