Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Words for the New Year

I cut an ad for Outward Bound out of a magazine and put it on my refrigerator. I just might laminate it or put it in a plastic magnetic sleeve so it can spend the year on my refrigerator. Here are the words:

A Farewell to CAN'T
This goodbye does not make me sad. I will not miss you. I have discovered what it feels like to do the unthinkable. The hard. The long. The challenging. You have no business here anymore. From now on, difficult will seem doable. I will see the impossible as simply not-yet-conquered.
Farewell, Can't. You will haunt me never again.
Hello, Can. Welcome to my world.

Think maybe I'll write this verse out and put it underneath:
Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

Friday, December 24, 2010

Merry Christmas from a Distance!!

Drove up to Washington-Crossing, PA with my Mom and sister to be with my daughter, her husband and three kids for Christmas. It is beautiful here and tomorrow on Christmas Day we'll go and watch the reenactment of Washington crossing the Delaware. It is crazy here so I hope to post photos later. Merry Christmas to everyone!!! Missing the rest of my family that isn't here!

Friday, December 17, 2010

Beach in the Winter

Took my 90 yr. old Mom with me on some errands yesterday and we stopped to watch the ocean from the car and opened the car windows to hear the ocean and to smell the salt air.

On Wednesday a friend had some of us over for lunch at the condo she was staying in - on the 14th floor. It was really beautiful but I think I still prefer my beach at ground level!






Monday, December 6, 2010

The Manger Scene

The Dorman family very kindly lent me their manger scene to put up in front of my townhome and today I got it out of the back seat of my car and tried to set it up. It is 37 degrees outside right now at 7:20 pm so I was really cold setting it up and having a lot of trouble figuring it all out. I like to do jigsaw puzzles so how hard could this be?

I found the top photo after I came inside and searched "manger scene" and then took a photo of what I actually did. I'll change it in the morning - just wanted to give my blogger friends a good laugh!





Saturday, December 4, 2010

Master Gardener???



Quite awhile ago my daughter's boyfriend gave me this Christmas cactus. The plant would grow flower buds and then they would all drop off. This happened over and over again. At the beginning of the summer I put the plant outdoors and told it that it was on its own - live or die - go or stay - whatever!!! I did water it - and - here it is!!! The miracle Christmas cactus because you know I had nothing to do with this!




Thursday, November 18, 2010

Lauren's Birthday


Today's my third daughter's birthday! She's all grown up now with four year old Caedmon, and twins, Aldan and Theron, 18 mons. old. But today I remember her as my new baby girl.

When she was born my husband and I couldn't agree on a name - it was so embarrassing to me! Every name I suggested he said no to and every name he suggested I would say no to - they were coming around with the birth certificate and I called him at work and asked him what he thought about Lauren Merrill Adare and he immediately said, "Yes!" We both knew it was right. Merrill had been my maiden name and Lauren just seemed right.

My #2 daughter had been a C-section so Lauren was going to be a C-section and I was having her in a small hospital in Carlisle, Pa. and back in those days they didn't allow the husband in the delivery room with C-sections. The Dr. was a friend of ours and when he came out of the delivery room he told Alex that he was sorry that it was another girl. Well - Alex grabbed him by the front of his scrubs and got in his face and told him not to ever say that he was sorry it was a girl again! The nurses all told me this story - they were so proud of Alex! Lauren was the smallest baby I had at 8 lbs. 4 ozs. - her sister before her had been 11 lbs. 14 ozs. so we treated Lauren as though she was a preemie - I still laugh to myself about that!

Lauren was my first baby that I was able to have an actual decorated baby's room. It was a small room in an old house - maybe it had been a "sewing room" - but I loved it and it was perfect for her. We painted it "Winnie-the-Pooh" yellow with white trim - Sears had a crib, curtains, bumpers, sheets, lamp, hamper, and blankets all in "Winnie-the-Pooh" theme and we had it all for her. The room had two windows that looked out the front of the house and one on the other wall so it was always light and airy and mostly sunny.

When I took her to the doctor for her check up when she was almost one year old I told the doctor how she wasn't even trying to walk and I was concerned (my first daughter had walked when she was almost 10 mons. old - not that I wanted that again!) The doctor examined her and told me to go home and tell everyone they weren't allowed to pick her up - her two older sisters, Kristen and Heather. I soon realized that the reason she wasn't walking was because her sisters were carrying her everywhere and once we put a stop to that she was walking within a week.

I am blessed to have four wonderful daughters and each one is different and each one has so many special qualities. I admire Lauren because she lived through some really hard times that we had as a family financially and was able to accomplish graduating from Liberty University working very early in the morning at a bakery. Her sisters supported her in many ways, especially one time when Alex and I wouldn't give her permission to live off campus, they wrote or called the school supporting her desire to rent a house with other girls and got permission from the school.
Lauren is now a work in progress becoming a "Proverbs 31" woman - as a woman who loves the Lord and looks for ways to put her faith into action, wife, mother, keeper of the home, and marathon runner. I love you precious Lauren!

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Sunrise at the Beach

Went to the beach the other morning to watch the sunrise. There were only one or two people there and they were far down the beach so it felt like a private showing.



Couldn't aim the camera right at the sunrise so I took this "reflected sunrise" photo.






When I headed back to my car I turned around one more time and saw this view:

Friday, October 22, 2010

Memories

This photo was taken on a camping trip we went on with friends in upstate NY.


Alex loved his four daughters - he was always singing "Thank Heaven for Little Girls" from the movie GiGi in a fake French accent:
I guess this was a serious moment for me!:



We knew each other in high school and we both went to the same church. He was friends with my older brother and would come over to our home all the time and hang out there. He dated all my friends and I took his photo with me away to college. Yes, I had a "crush" on him - I smile as I write the old-fashioned word.

When he came back from Viet Nam I was working for Eastman Kodak in New York City - I was a blond by then and when he came over to our house he finally noticed me - smile. We starting dating in October and he asked me to marry him in January and we were married in May.

We had a lot of really good times and good experiences and a lot of really really hard times but through it all I always knew that Alex loved me and only me and I will always treasure that knowledge.

In memory of Alex Adare who died six years ago today.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

In Case of Accident Please Go to My Home and Turn Off the Oven

Today is my sister's birthday and she likes Pineapple Upside Down Cake. I decided to make her her favortie cake. Sounds simple doesn't it?

I needed to go to the grocery store to get some of the ingredients - I was using a recipe from a Duncan Hines Cookbook that required DH Pineapple Supreme Cake Mix, a 20 ounce can of pineapple rings, a bottle of maraschino cherries and I needed more eggs and some other things. Drove to the store which is really five minutes away and came back home to start the cake.

Melted the butter in the bottom of the 9 x 13 pan, sprinkled the brown sugar over the melted butter and then began to put the drained pineapple rings on the cake in an orderly fashion. I needed 12 rings and there were only 10 in the can - the recipe promised me that there would be 12 rings in a 20 ounce can so I had only purchased one can. The cake batter was all mixed - the pan was already but lacking 2 rings - and the oven was all ready to go at 350 degrees. So back in the car I went tearing over to the grocery store - running in (the checker sees me and smiles and calls out to me asking if I forgot something) - I get the second can of pineapple rings and get in line to pay.

This whole time I am worrying about leaving the oven going and what if I am in a car accident and no one knows about the oven being left on and I'm wondering if in situations like this if I should pin a note to myself saying, "In case of accident please go to my house and turn off the oven" - sorry but this is the way my brain works.

Got back home and successfully got the cake in the oven with all the required pineapple rings and maraschino cherries and it came out just fine!!!

Oh - I like to collect pigs so I threw in a photo of some of my pigs!



Thursday, October 7, 2010

"i Pacifiers????"

"People are reading less. They may buy Kindles or iPads, but I venture that they're just showcasing their ability to buy the latest gadgets rather than reading much on them.

I encourage you to attend a class in which I attempt to teach college students raised on texting, the internet, video games (which their ignorant parents tell them are educational or intelligence boosters), and various other iPacifiers. My students are thoroughly distracted. They tell me that it is physically painful for them to sit and read for more than ten minutes. They are always looking for the next text, the next google search, the next hit. They're like addicts who can't control themselves. Their brains are not like the brains of students I had only five years ago.

They also think that they don't need to know anything, because they can just use google--something they treat as a collective brain. God help them when they're told that being an educated person means going a lot deeper than the dubious entries in wikipedia.

The drop in the literacy levels of my middle-class, largely white, suburban students in the last 2 years alone is staggering. Don't tell me that people are switching to e-reading. They're not. People are reading less and if my students are any indication, many of them are not reading books at all."

This was written by an anonymous college professor in reply to an article in the NY Times about why people aren't buying books. I thought the comment was pretty relevant to what is really happening - especially with students.

Heather's Birth Day - Oct. 6th

Today is your birthday and on each one of my daughter’s birthdays I am always remembering – remembering that very special day in our lives.

I had a lot of fun being pregnant with you – in August I was swimming in the ocean off LI (Robert Moses/Fire Island) and I remember one day the lifeguard asked me to please not go in the water – what? He didn’t want to rescue and eight months pregnant woman??? I promised him I wouldn’t body surf . . .

Dad and I were so excited to be having another baby and were looking forward to your birth towards the end of September. Your older sister started nursery school and still no baby! Day after day was going by and nothing was happening so I finally called the doctor because I was now like two weeks overdue – I mentioned this to him and he acts surprised and schedules me to be induced on Oct. 6th – 16 days past your due date!

We got everything scheduled and Dad took me to North Shore University Hospital where everything got started – the mechanics – but not the delivery! Hour after hour went by with nothing really happening and finally the doctor came to talk with us about 2 p.m. and told us he felt he should deliver you by C-Section and then things really started to happen. They asked if they could give me an epidural and I agreed (I later learned when I had April that it must have still been in the experimental stage). One of things I remembered was they asked me to bring my knees up under my chin and I replied that I hadn’t seen my feet in three months let alone my knees (my friends said I looked as though I had the largest beach ball in the world under my shirt – nice).

After they administered the epidural I went into shock – shaking or I should say violently vibrating all over and getting cold and clammy. The nurse came in to wrap me in warm blankets and elevate my feet and I asked her if I was in shock and she wanted to know why I was asking and I told her I had read enough Reader’s Digest articles to know what the symptoms of shock were. She laughed nervously.

They were rolling me down the corridor to the operation room (still vibrating) and I realized that with everything happening I had never even prayed – and I was really concerned how they were going to start the surgery with me shaking all over. I closed my eyes and said, “Jesus,” and whoosh this amazing feeling of peace, calmness and joy just washed over me and the shaking disappeared. I have never forgotten that moment.

The operating room was freezing cold and everyone was ready to start once the guest of honor arrived – they started my pricking my legs asking me if I felt that and I kept saying yes – yes – yes – and my doctor says that he’ll start – and I say something about the fact that I felt all of those and that I was six feet tall and shouldn’t we wait until that numbing stuff takes affect? They started and I mentioned to them that I could feel the surgical knife!!!! I could see their eyes and the doctor said they would wait a moment (I’m sure they put something in the IV to keep me quiet!).

The best part was that I got to see you right after the delivery and all I could say was how beautiful you were – over and over again. You weighed 11 lbs. 14 oz. and you were 23 inches long!!!!! And the doctor had said he wanted to do the C-Section before you got too big!!! HAH!

Everyone loved you in the hospital. The nursery nurses asked Dad to bring in one of his T-shirts as they didn’t have anything big enough for you and anytime I went down to the nursery to see you one of the nurses would be carrying you around. I was breast feeding you and had absolutely no problems though I would let you fall asleep nestled on my shoulder (no I didn’t do rooming in – that would happen soon enough when I got home).

When it was time to go home the doctor gave me instructions not to lift anything over 10 lbs. and I looked at him and said that that would leave Heather out!!! Really!!! Arriving home we began the tradition of the last sibling holding the newest for the first time and how special that was to let Kristen hold her brand new sister - sitting down with lots of pillows around!!!

And now we celebrate Heather – who is so much to so many people -wife, mother, daughter, sister, granddaughter, daughter-in-law, cousin, aunt – involved in church, school, soccer, tennis, bike riding, scrapbooking (that are truly works of art), decorating, mural painting, warm welcoming parties, camping and the list goes on. Heather has the wonderful character quality of friendship and hospitality – she truly knows how to be a really good friend by encouraging, speaking truth in love and always being there for you and combines that with a home that always welcomes you. I have to mention her sense of humor because she was the daughter who called me after having her first baby and said, “Mom, this is the worst baby sitting job I have ever had! The parent’s still haven’t come back!!! What am I going to do?” – I still laugh over that one! And Heather the artist – her imagination, talent and design ability have been proven and when she finds the right direction to go with it all – watch out!

What a blessing to have Heather in our lives – what a blessing to have a daughter whose faith is a real daily walk and who can call me and ask me if she can pray for me. What a precious gift – a daughter, a friend and a kindred spirit.

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Out of Commission

Last Sunday night I started feeling really sick during the night and ended up calling my sister who lives nearby to come over and help me - I was really sick to my stomach and at first I thought it was food poisoning but now I think it was some kind of "bug." It felt as though a hurricane hit me.

My daughter, who also lives nearby, came over to help and even my 90 yr old Mom came over and sat with me so I wasn't alone. Today is Saturday and I'm still taking it easy - I might go to the beach later and just sit and soak up some vitamin D - the sound and sight of the ocean is always good medicine for me.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Sunday Grace

Hope, then though woes be doubled,
Hope, and be undismayed;
Let not thy heart be troubled,
Nor let it be afraid.
Paul Gerhardt (1606-1676)
The Lord will lighten my darkness.
II Samuel 22:29
Taken through the windshield (I wasn't driving) on our way to a restaurant on a Friday night.

Monday, September 20, 2010

The Crawl of Shame!!!




Last Friday I went to the beach alone - it was a beautiful day - clear blue skies or as my Mom would say "Carolina blue skies" - sun shining - beautiful waves - perfect. Almost every week you go to the ocean the beach has a different shape to it - sometimes just completely flat - other times a steep incline - sometimes instead of being it's usual sandy self if can be filled with tons of broken shells. Friday the beach had developed a mini- cliff at the water's edge. After setting up my chair and my basic "camp site" I settled in to read for awhile.

There were a lot of college students there as a university is nearby. After awhile I couldn't resist the waves any longer and I went in - I belong to the walk right in and dive under and really commit school - none of that standing on the shore advancing step by step for me! It was very rough with a strong undertow and I decided to go back to my chair. Well I couldn't make it up the "mini-cliff" (about 1 1/2 ft. to 2 ft. high) and had to resort to crawling the few steps to get up and over and get to my chair - all sandy... aughhhh. I sat there dying - feeling like I looked like a giant crab coming up out of the ocean!!!! I waited for the sand to dry and began brushing it off every so often - no I was not going back in the ocean!

The saving grace was that I noticed, after watching for awhile, that even the nimble college students had some trouble getting "up and over" and I began to feel better.

Friday, September 10, 2010

Bottle Tree???




I drove up to North Myrtle Beach to pick my sister's cocker spaniel up from the dog groomer the other day. Whenever I go with my sister if I go by myself I always see this - I finally had my camera with me this last time! I've heard some stories about why they do this but nothing definitive - anybody have any ideas? Sorry the photos aren't better - I was in the road when I thought to do this and then cars were coming so I had to move quickly!








Monday, September 6, 2010

No-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o!!!!


It was late. I had been falling asleep on the couch watching TV. I made myself get up - check the locks on the doors - go in the kitchen and make sure everything is taken care of - oh look - I forgot to take care of the coffee pot --- went to empty the grounds in the kitchen garbage and I missed. Yep - all over the floor - lost count of how many paper towels it took to clean up. Went to bed.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Surfing in Myrtle Beach!

The hurricane is passing us by here in Myrtle Beach but is sending us some waves. I had to run a bunch of errands but couldn't resist stopping by the beach to check out the surfing. Great day at the beach - wish I could have stayed for a few hours!
















Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Who Does He Think He Is??????

This morning, while upstairs making my bed, I heard my doorbell ring so I went downstairs to answer it and no one was there. I stood there at the open door and looked but no one appeared and I shut the door and walked towards my kitchen. This was all happening at about 9 a.m. and as I headed into the kitchen my back door started to open and a man was cautiously coming in saying hello - I got to the door and realized it was the AC repairman and I asked him if the door had been unlocked. He told me that it wasn't and that my landlord, Tom, had used his key to unlock the door. He then told me that Tom had knocked and rung the doorbell - but - I was upstairs so I didn't hear the knock.

This is not the first time Tom has done something like this - he has actually gone into other tenants places while they were upstairs sleeping and fixed whatever and then left and the tenant hasn't realized he's been there until after they come down later in the morning. I've had it. I'm going to call him and talk to him about how unappropriate it is for him to do this - my car was in its parking place and he could have called me on his cell to alert me. I am also going to buy two strong chains for my front and back door so this won't happen again.

I know I have a strong sense of privacy and boundaries but he just stepped way over them!!!!

He's having a new stove delivered for me this afternoon so I will wait until it is installed before I confront him! Thanks for listening.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

A Visit to DC

I went to DC last January where two of my daughters live and one day my youngest daughter, April, took me to see the National Botanical Gardens and the National Gallery. I had never been to the Botanical Garden and just fell in love with it. The next time you're in DC make sure you go!



The shot of the Lilies of the Valley isn't that great - but they are my favorite flower and they don't grow here in S.C.


These orchids made me laugh - I can remember when women wore huge corsages of these on mother's day - my Mom never has liked corsages and would have killed us all if we ever gave her one of those back in the day! If I'm wearing a corsage it will always be gardenias.


Have to include one of these - thought the cloud looked really fake!


My dear daughter - I'm trying to resist saying "my baby" - and see I couldn't!


Being in this place in the middle of January in DC was magical.


Thursday, August 12, 2010

The Lighthouse




This is the photo taken by my daughter Lauren of the Horton Lighthouse that is on Long Island. It is never in any calendars of lighthouses or even books for that matter (I think I did find it in an obscure book one time) but our family loves this lighthouse and if and when we are out on the North Fork we always go to visit it.

My grandmother was a Horton and this place is part of our legacy. In the town of Southold nearby there is a very old cemetery where Barnabas Horton was buried in 1680 and had a carved cover on his grave. This is what it says:

Here sleeps my body tombed in its dust til Christ
shall come and raise it with the just.
My soul's ascended to the throne of God
where with sweet Jesus now I make my aboad
then hasten after me my dearest wife
to be pertaker of this blessed life
and you dear children all follow the Lord.
Hear and obey His public sacred Word
and in your houses call upon His name
for oft I have advised you to do the same.
Then God will bless you with your children all
and to His blessed place He will you call.
Hebrews 11:4 He being dead yet speaketh

Here lyeth buried the body of Mr. Barnabas Horton bord at Mousley in Lester-Shire in Old England and dyed at Southold the 13 day of July 1680 Aged 80 years

I consider this a prayer said over all the generations and hold it close in my heart and memory.

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Hello ...again

Thought I'd post some photos of my contented home:

Can't figure out how to turn the sideways one right side up and am now giving up!




So...I was doing really well with my plan and went to visit my daughter and proceeded to get sick while there and that just set me back. This last week I started writing my "intake" down and I exercised three times. We had some relatives visiting here in Myrtle Beach so there was a lot of eating out though one day I made a Lime Chiffon Pie - that was low calorie. Planning on getting and staying on track and not beating myself up over anything.

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Saturday Night

Well here it is Saturday night and I haven't been doing any postings on my sidebar. BUT - I have been writing everything down that I'm eating and I have exercised everyday except Wed. so that means I have to exercise tomorrow (I like to take Sunday off). I'm feeling really great just because I haven't stopped exercising. That is a real accomplishment for me and knowing that I'm going to report here does help. Monday I'm going to weigh myself but I don't care what it says I'm still going to continue on.

I decided I wasn't ready for the Bootcamp DVD so I was able to find the DVD at "Tarjay" of the 1, 2, 3 and 4 mile walks - I'm still doing the 30 min. 2 mi. walk and hope to do the 3 mi. tomorrow in the morning. The 3 mi. is 53 mins. long.

I went out to dinner three times this week because friends were here from NY and I think I did well - made healthy choices.

Tuesday morning I fly up to PA - hopefully the pilot's strike will be over with and I will be with one of my daughters and grandchildren!!!!

Friday, June 4, 2010

Hope Springs Eternal

I bought a new workout video last night at Walmart. Leslie Sansone's Walk Weight Loss Bootcamp - 3 miles of walk & tone intervals that you do in your own home and is 45 mins long - as opposed to the 30 minute one I have been doing. All of this is to work up to the Hip Hop Abs DVD that my daughter lent to me and really intimidates me but I really really want to do.

Later this month I'm flying up to my Pennsylvania daughter's to stay for a couple of weeks and I want to keep going with my exercise program so I thought this new DVD would be a good one to "bump" up to. I know we're planning on trying bike riding and we'll do a lot of walking (she has a German Shepherd) but - I really want to stay on the program and see how it works for me.

Friends came for a brief visit as they were driving down from Long Island on their way to Florida and called and asked if we could see each other. It was great seeing them - they came to my house so we could sit and visit and then went to TGIF's where I had a turkey burger. All of this to say that they gave me a box of candy of jellied fruit slices - that I happen to like - I don't know why I just do - and of course I keep eating them. Why can't I eat just one or two a day? - I have this thing about "finishing" - do I think there are less calories if I eat it quickly and throw away the box???? I am going to get up right now and go and throw the box away - there done - just wish there were more to throw away...

I haven't exercised yet today - usually that is the kiss of death and means I won't get to it - but - I'm going to a friend's home for dinner tonight and thought I would exercise then shower and go to the party later this afternoon. The battle continues.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Being Taught By My Daughter

My oldest daughter suggested that I learn how to do a "sidebar" to keep track of my diet and exercise so everyone wouldn't have to read all the boring reporting and I agreed with her but needed to be taught how to do it (though she told me she taught herself how to do it!!!) My youngest daughter, who was here visiting for the weekend from D.C. took it upon herself to teach me and so I will attempt it!!! Why am I intimidated by some of this stuff???? Especially when I think about what I did at work!

I didn't exercise Sunday or Monday - never had time on Sunday and then wasn't feeling so great on Monday - and then I realized I wasn't feeling well today and I recognized the trend so I forced myself to do the workout video. I also had problems with some food issues - I bought a box of Entenmann's Chocolate Chip Cookies to have to serve to my daughter and her boyfriend and in just trying to be honest - the cookies are all gone and they were all eaten by me - yep - and I bought chips and salsa and we never ate them so after they left to go back I fixed a plate of chips, grated cheese and salsa for myself - yep - ate it - could this be the reason I didn't feel so well???? You think??? So - today I started again. Thanks for listening. Now I'm going to try the sidebar thingy.

Friday, May 28, 2010

Pressing On

30 min. workout video - 5 days in a row

Yesterday:
Vitamins all day

Ate correctly all day - writing everything down

Except for dinner - ate late - fixed Kraft Mac n Cheese spiral with 2 turkey hotdogs after I had had crackers and swiss cheese - didn't have ice cream and got to bed early - the night before I made a Smart Ones Ziti dinner but made extra ziti and added it to it because I was soooooo hungry - what was I thinking of???? I'm not planning my evening meals and I'm not eating enough fruit. I need to write it down here - it seems to keep me more honest. I ate a whole grapefruit yesterday and need to buy more. My youngest daughter and her boyfriend are arriving tonight from DC at about 1 a.m. so I am busy getting ready for them. She is working out and is trying to eat correctly so I am planning healthy meals - and snacks.

Today:

30 min workout video and Quiet Time

Brkft:
2 scrambled eggs w/cheese
2 slices of bacon
Vitamins
I'm on my third bottle of water and it is just lunch time.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

I Hate Exercising!

When my children were at home they were never allowed to say the word "hate." Intensely dislike was the phrase we used - but I'm just saying that I really hate exercising. Yesterday I put it off all day and then had a long phone call from a dear friend and when we got off the phone - after midnight - I knew I still had to do my exercises and I did them - unwillingly. This morning I got up - dragging - but determined to do them and get them over with and I have.

Food Intake for May 25th:
Brkft:
Peanut butter sandwich on diet rounds
whole grapefruit
Coffee
Vitamins

Lunch:
Cheddar Cheese
7 Crackers
Apple
Diet Green Tea
Vitamins

Dinner:
Spaghetti at my sister & mom's - no second helpings-miracle!
1/2 glass wine
lowfat ice cream
THEN: 8 Manzanilla Olives, crackers, cheese - I know the salt is bad too
Vitamins

5 bottles of water!!!

TODAY - MAY 26TH:

Exercise - CHECK!!!

Brkft:
2 scrambled eggs w/ grated cheese
2 bacon strips
coffee
Vitamins
1 bottle of water

Quiet Time - check

Forward and onward!

Monday, May 24, 2010

Day 5

Yesterday:

Did not exercise - got in my clothes to do the video at night - never did.
Party at Liberty for my daughter:
Ate 1/2 giant soft pretzel - they were right in front of me - I stopped at half
Unsweet ice tea
Ordered grilled chicken salad
Ate avocado when I got home and no exercise

Today - New Week!!!

Brkft:
PB on diet bread
coffee
2% milk

Lunch:
Sandwich on diet rounds - sliced turkey - diet mayo - lettuce - 1 T Lingonberry jam
1/2 grapefruit
green tea

Dinner (had Bible study to go to)
2 Scrambled eggs, grated cheese, crumbled slice of bacon
2 diet green teas
Ate this after I came home from class:
1 cup lowfat vanilla ice cream
5 Kalmata olives
10 crackers
4 slices of muenster cheese

Ate 3 cookies at Bible study (forgot I was not suppose to!!!!!)

What I'm most proud of today: Exercised to video tape!!!!!! Hated it but I did it

4 bottles of water today
Vitamins at every meal
Going to bed - 11:50 pm

What I learned today:
Get up early so you can get your exercise over with and your Quiet Time done with before your day starts - plan to succeed

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Day 4

Weight loss: 2 lbs.!!!!! I'm happy

Breakfast: 2 Tbsp peanut butter on multi grain diet rounds
1 Grapefruit
Coffee
1 1/2 bottles of water

Lunch: Sliced egg, bacon, Muenster cheese on multi grain
5 Olives
Diet Green Tea
1 Apple
1 Bottle of water

Haven't exercised yet - didn't have time to do it this morning with getting ready for church. I'll do it tonight before going to bed.

Writing this down seems to make me really want to do the right thing. Yesterday I did NOT want to exercise but I wanted to be able to write it down so I really forced myself to do it. When I exercise tomorrow it will be 5 days in a row (I started to write "If" and changed it to "when") and I don't think I've ever exercised 5 days in a row.

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Day 3 Contd.

Exercise - check

Vitamins - only once

Food - 5 crackers & cheddar cheese - diet green tea
2 scrambled eggs, 2 slices of bacon, one cup of tea.

11:35 pm - going to bed

The exercise was a killer but I did it.

Only 2 bottles of water today but 3 diet green tea.

New day tomorrow.

Day 3

Yesterday I did really well - until - I went to my daughter's for dinner. I did take two turkey hotdogs with me and ate them and I made a large salad over there - but - I ate about a cup of her wonderful cheesy ziti - didn't eat any salad - didn't drink the wine - but did have two squares of the homemade peach cobbler I made and brought over for dessert. The good thing is is that I left the 9 x 13 cobbler at their house. When I came home (midnight) I realized I hadn't had the last of my vitamins so I fixed a cup of decaf tea and ate half of a banana and had my gigantic vitamin pills.

This morning I didn't wake up until 8 am and I had a friend coming at 9 am to help with carpentry work - she was on time - I had one cup of coffee and then we got to work - no exercise - no quiet time - no breakfast - no vitamins - how quickly it can all fall apart!!!

She left about 1 pm and I made a sliced egg with two slices of Monterey Jack cheese on diet bread - diet green tea - and my vitamins. I was so hungry!!! My daughter called and wanted me to meet her at the beach with her friend and the friend's two daughters who are visiting her. Got in my bathing suit went to the beach with iced coffee in a thermo mug (along with my Splenda I added a leeeetle bit of Hershey's chocolate syrup). I actually went in swimminng - the water was beautiful!!!

My daughter's friend challenged me last night to exercise 40 days in a row - and I laughed - but - you know I know she's right - it could be a real turning point for me. So here I am at day 3 - 4:30 pm in the afternoon - sitting here at my laptop in a wet bathing suit on saying that I am going to go throw on a t-shirt and shorts on my salty sandyish body and do my exercise tape and then take a shower and finish the day correctly!!! I asked her at the beach if all the work I did this morning counted as exercise and she said "No" not it you were going to do it anyway - I needed to put this in writing. The last thing I want to do right now is 30 minutes of exercise.

Friday, May 21, 2010

Beginning Day Two

Exercised - check

Ate breakfast: 1 hardboiled egg, 1 leftover slice of bacon, 2 slcs. of multi grain
diet bread, little bit of butter on bread and coffee

Vitamins - check

1 bottle of water finished

2 cups of coffee

Forward and onward! The thrill of just minor successes is great!!!

Thursday, May 20, 2010

End of First Day - almost

Lunch went well - fixed the tuna sandwich - did put chopped red onion on top of it and had 4 Kalamata olives. Dinner I had chicken, green beans, beets - I did put butter on the veggies and ate my apple but haven't had my ice cream yet. Doing that next and hope to be in bed by 10:30 p.m. - another improvement I want to make.
Just remembered that I ate 8 green olives while fixing dinner - need to write that down.

One breakthrough - I did take all my vitamins today - took the fish oil and the glucosamine chondroitin 3X plus a B-12 once. Drank 3 bottles of water and 2 bottles of diet green tea.

Tomorrow's Menu:
Breakfast:
1 hardboiled egg
1/2 banana
2 sl of diet bread rounds

Lunch:
1 Cup cottage cheese
5 Saltine crackers

Dinner:
2 turkey hotdogs
1 cup broccoli
1/2 cup carrots
1/2 banana
1/2 cup lowfat vanilla icecream

Day One

Weighed myself this morning and I have only gained two lbs. since the last time I weighed myself a month ago. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

I am following my favorite 3 Day Diet and the plan for today is:

Breakfast:
1/2 Grapefruit (had the best grapefruit today!!!)
2 slices of diet bread (multi grain rounds)
2 Tbsp of peanut butter
coffee

Lunch:
1/2 cup of tuna (Today I'm using Starkist Albacore Creations - Tomato Pesto - I do mix a little bit of Miracle Whip in with it otherwise I gag)
2 slices of diet bread (see above)
bottle of diet green tea

Dinner:
Chicken
1 cup string beans
1 cup of sliced beets
1 small apple
1 cup of lowfat vanilla ice cream (my favorite part of this diet)

It is 11:45 a.m. and I did Leslie Sansone's 30 min. 2 mile Walk Away the Pounds Express video with the stretchie band for the arms. Right now it is all I can manage.

To be totally honest about this - I believe that this is not just a physical battle but also a spiritual battle for me and so I am spending time in prayer for myself and others that I know are battling this same problem.

I think I will report at the end of the day - before I go to bed how I did today.

Verse for the next few days:

Hebrews 12:11 "For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant; later, it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it."

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

How to Change My Life

I'm going to use the blog to make some changes in my life the following way:

1. Weigh myself once a week in the morning and record the loss.
2. Write down what I eat every day - that should slow me down.
3. Exercise 5 days a week and record every time I do.
4. Keep a record of taking my vitamins every day.

This should get me started. Might as well make the blog work for me. I have 70 lbs. to lose and I am sick and tired of the constant failure to do this. Going to start tomorrow - with the real official weigh-in starting on Monday.

Saturday, May 8, 2010

May 8th - Alex's Birthday

From "A City of Bells" by Elizabeth Goudge

"The human race is divided into the proppers and the propped. The propped have an easier time, of course, but they do not live so deeply or so excitingly and they get very bored."

Felicity drew gratefully closer to him in the dark street. If their two lives ran together, as she wanted them to, and this man beside her became her husband she knew just how the propping would be divided. On the surface it would be all hers, he would rely on her to charm away his depression, to light his imagination, to reassure his self-distrust and to lighten his fears and she would sometimes perhaps, as life went on get rather weary of doing it, yet deep down he had something that she had not got, some sober quality of level headness and caution, together with and unchangeable endurance in love and work upon which in her bad times she would be able to rest her whole weight.

I love the above quote and could see some of the relationship Alex and I had in the quote and how it all worked out. Sometimes I was the propper and he the proppee and vice versa - but then isn't that what makes a sustaining marriage?

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Life Does Go On

Last Tuesday I went and picked up my laptop from the "hospital" - and I am really blessed to have it back! Hopefully I have learned to moderate my time spent on it and some of the staying up late and spending too much time in cyberspace will be better moderated. I'll still probably stay up late - as hard as I try to change into an "early to bed - early to rise" person it never seems to happen!



I had my first unemployment review this week. When I first walked into the large room that had chairs placed in a large semi circle and busy people sitting at desks and phones ringing I looked all around and didn't see any signs or directions of how to proceed. One young woman pointed to a table with a clipboard on it and told me I had to sign in. While I was signing in I noticed a lot of people seemed very nervous and agitated - okay - I know it's the unemployment office but it was still weird. Then I notice a big burly guy facing me and while I glanced at him two men with badges around their necks come walking quickly up to him - grab both of his arms and pull them in back of the man and handcuff him!!! I didn't think this was a good sign --- and immediately became concerned about the veracity of my information on my forms!



They took him outside and when he tried to pull away from them they were quick to inform him that he would be face down on the concrete sidewalk real fast if he continued - then he started yelling someone's name at the top of his lungs and a girlfriend came running, screaming and waving her two arms in the air. The police/marshalls warned her to back off and they took their prisoner away.



When it got to be my turn with the "examiner" I asked her if this went on all the time - she told me that this was only the second time she's seen this happen in all her years with the department. It turned out that there was a warrant out for his arrest and they knew he was due to come into unemployment so they were just waiting for him. I'm still being verrrrry careful with filling everything out!



P.S. The young woman that gave me directions on what to do was from the same newspaper I was laid off from - and we were both wearing brown tops and light khaki pants - silly looking sitting next to each other!

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Soon and Very Soon

Found out this last weekend that I did not lose my hard drive!!! Now moving forward to get a new screen - don't know whether to send it back to Gateway for $200 or just try to get a new one here locally???

Friday, February 26, 2010

What Am I Going To Do????

The other night I fixed some bacon - breakfast for dinner meal - and was sitting down in the living room with my laptop plugged in and sitting on my coffee table when all of a sudden my smoke alarm went off in my kitchen ( I mean, I had finished cooking!) - well I jumped up and went running out to the kitchen to stop it and caught the cord on my foot and pulled the laptop off onto the floor.

I finally got up the courage and opened it up and it looks as though someone had taken a hammer to the screen and broke it up internally. I have to take it to my son-in-law and have him plug it in and see if I've lost my hard drive. Still haven't done it because I'm chicken. the mfg. says they'll fix it for $200. No - I didn't back it up - though I've been talking about doing it - nice!

I've had time for reading and read a wonderful book by Elizabeth Goudge. The Scent of Water. another blogger told me about her. She is an English writer and I have more of her's to read thanks to the public library.

Hope to be up and "running" soon!

Friday, January 22, 2010

A Special Lunch

I have been visiting my daughter, Lauren, and her family in Washington, DC this week and I'll be staying through until Monday (the joy of not having to be at work on Monday morning!). This has been so much fun spending time with my three grandsons, talking and hanging out with Lauren and April (my fourth daughter that lives in DC also) - Monday, April and I went to the Botanical Gardens and the National Gallery of Art!

Anyway - today when I took my three yr. old grandson upstairs to read stories to and to settle him down for a nap (yes, I dozed off too) - when I came back downstairs my daughter, Lauren, had fixed this salad plate for me - it was so beautiful I just had to share it - plus she has just given me a tutorial on how to download the photos off my camera - save them on my laptop - and how to post them to Facebook and my blog!!!

This Christmas I was given an ipod and a webcam - so watch out all you "techies" (?) because I am marching into the next century!!!

Monday, January 4, 2010

The Last Day

Today was my final day!!! I am fighting a really bad cold but went in to work anyway for my last day and my exit interview - any other day I would have called in sick - and I don't do that to often. Ended up staying until 4 p.m. trying to leave everything in good shape for my team. Can't wait for tomorrow morning knowing that it is finally over and I am free from all the stress and worry!