Thoughts on a Thursday 10-17-2019

We Love Earth

 

We got an early start to the day with a doctor appointment for my husband followed by a glorious, large keto breakfast (for me) with the addition of hash browns and toast and jelly for my husband at The Dari in Greenwood. We did errands on the way home, so we’re in for the day now.

I re-lost some poundage and am again ready to get into new territory on the scales – hopefully tomorrow. To date I’ve lost 43 pounds and 45 inches.

I’m on DAY 45 of daily yoga practice

Why Kol

and DAY 30 on the getting-serious-about-keto-macros eating plan.

The fact that my husband and son are saying, “YUMMY!” about our dinners (THANK YOU, Suzanne Ryan of Simply Keto), I’m finding it easier to make the substitutions desired while we all eat together. For example, I have roast beef and salad while they have corn or other more high carb veggie with the meal. Or they have rice while I have either zucchini noodles (Zoodles) or yellow Squash noodles (Yoodles) or Cauli-rice under a sauce of chicken chunks, onions, mushrooms, and cream of chicken/mushroom soup. (I have my substitutions ready to pop into the microwave from individual portion bags in the freezer.)

I love the Cronometer.com website. I have entered my macro (5% carbs, 25% protein, 70% fat) into their program. I can ‘play’ with what I’m going to eat for the day. If I find that I’m planning to eat something that will trash my efforts for the day, I can delete that and plug something else in BEFORE I mess up.

I finished my first experiment with Unicorn Spit Stain/Glaze.  I have to say I had a BLAST playing with it and can’t wait to start another piece.

 

I finally harvested our onions from the garden. I still need to clean them up a bit more, and then I’ll put them in a large, stretchy, mesh bag and hang it in the pantry.

 

I hope that you are having a wonderful Thursday, too. :0)

 

 

Thoughts on a Tuesday 10-15-2019

We Love Earth

It’s not raining yet, but severe storms are forecast for us this afternoon. We scooted out the door this morning to avoid the worst of it while we did our errands. It only sprinkled on us a bit.  I’m hoping we just get a good bit of rain, rather than flying hairballs.

We put up a different mailbox decoration while we were out –

I added some Day-Glo orange paint to this one, so it shows up nicely when headlights hit it in the dark. :0)   Because of Columbus Day yesterday, the mail is being delivered later than usual.  We’ll check again after lunch sometime to see if we received anything.

I’m having a wonderful time playing in my art room, experimenting with the Unicorn Spit stain/glaze. I’m trying to use it on a wooden plaque we cut out years ago. I did the first layer yesterday. I’ll add a second layer today. I have no clue what I’m doing, but it’s exciting and fun.

Elliptical and yoga await later in the day. FIRST, I’ll play in my art room before I need to fix lunch. :0)

Have a glorious Tuesday!

 

Thoughts on a Monday – 10-14-2019

We Love Earth

 

“In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue…” –  Other than the history of our country, this ‘holiday’ means to US that we have no mail and the banks are not open today. I’m sad that has become yet another controversial subject.

I’m feeling spoiled that Mother Nature is smiling on us again today, giving us another beautiful, cool, sunshine-y day. I just took advantage of it a bit, pruning the roses I started to do several days ago and doing some general clean up of a flower bed or two.

I’ll do my elliptical trainer and my yoga practice today. Did I tell you that I’m FINALLY feeling a difference in my energy level and the way I MOVE since I’ve been doing both of these daily? Another week or two, and I’ll consider adding something else to the mix.

I’ll watch more YouTube demos on Unicorn Spit and then I’m PLANNING to get up to my art room this afternoon to start experimenting!

 

I hope Mother Nature is smiling on YOU, too, and that you have a wonderful day.

 

 

Thoughts on a Saturday 10-12-2019

Beautiful World

 

It’s 40 degrees F this morning and sunshine-y.

It’s too cool to have our doors open this morning, but I am REALLY enjoying the relief from our relentless summer here. It’s nice to NOT have a ‘heat index’. Somehow, knowing that makes me even hotter. I’m planning to work outside this afternoon, cleaning up around the tomato planters where I pulled out the plants a couple of days ago. I may have to throw on a sweatshirt!!!! Woo HOOOO!

It makes me a bit sad that in one week our son will be going back to Thailand. He came home at the end of July (27 hour trip with the flights and the layovers) to help us through the aftermath of my husband’s stroke.  There were lots of tests and decisions to be made. It was a super tense situation, but we finally got the information we needed and did what my husband would allow to avoid another stroke. The crisis is over. My husband is almost completely back to normal. It’s time for our son to get back to his life. I’m collecting lots of hugs (thank goodness he is super generous with them. We communicate almost daily when he’s halfway across the world. He set up a secure chat program we use, plus a conference call program we use from time to time so we can see each other. The only thing missing is his world class hugs. We are SO lucky.

 

I am still fighting with technology, but I’m happy to have two shops on Etsy now –

ArtworthyNoteCards –  hand-painted personalizable stationery, note cards, and greeting cards

TotablyYours  – hand-painted, one-of-a-kind tote bags

 

Amazon

 

I’ve admitted that I’m like a little kid when it comes to motivation to do things I would rather not. I’ve been giving myself gold stars on my desk calendar each day when I practice my yoga, do my elliptical trainer, or do a job in the yard that is drudgery, rather than fun. This week – if I stay on track today and tomorrow, will be a 15-star week!  It makes me happy to look at all the stars on the desk calendar, but I’m also FEELING better for the exercise – and that is really the point of it all.

If I can get my technical problems solved today, I’ll try to get up to my art room this afternoon. I have the BEST of all dilemmas – whether to experiment with my new crayon melting tools or experiment with my new Unicorn Spit stain/glaze kit my wonderful SIL sent me.  :0)

 

 

I hope that you are enjoying YOUR Saturday, whether it is with relaxation or fun.

 

Thoughts on A Thursday 10-10-2019

Jeff Jett – LinkedIn

Right now it’s pretty pleasant outside. This evening we’re due for possible severe storms (wind, rain, hail, lightning, and flying hairballs) so I’m enjoying the weather while I can. Last week was summer, with the a/c on. Tomorrow, the lows are supposed to be in the 30’s!!

We just got back from Lunch Bunch – usually this is on Fridays, but one of our group is having a yard sale starting tomorrow, so went went today, instead. Everyone was good and all appendages are crossed (including my eyes) for ONLY cold and not rain, for her yard sale tomorrow and Saturday.

I’m going to go out as soon as I finish this – and my cup of coffee – to take down our tomato plants, clean up the planters, weed whack around them, etc. There are no green tomatoes, so it’s time. We’ve had a good season this year in spite of the weirdness of the weather. For the first time ever, I was able to only to eat all the head lettuce we personally wanted, but could share with our friends. We also shared tomatoes, radishes, and leaf lettuce. It was too hot to start seeds for a fall garden in my greenhouse and I didn’t find any fall veggie plants for sale, so I’m not plotting and planning what I want to do for the spring.

We may have the cold snap tomorrow, but we usually have it warm up again to fall-like weather, so we won’t stop the irrigation system. My husband is hoping he’ll only have to mow once or twice more….

So – this afternoon the plan is to get rid of the tomato plants, do my elliptical trainer, and do a session of yoga. I would also like to get up to my art room. The big dilemma is whether to play with my new crayon melter tools or my new Unicorn Spit Stain/Glass first. :0)

 

Thoughts on a Tuesday – 10-8-2019

Mountain Pigmy Possum-We Love Earth

I’ve already had a busy day.

It’s beautiful here – 65 degrees F and sunshine-y!

I’ve been online and on the phone straightening out a bunch of little, piddly details that add up to big stuff if not handled, so I feel I’ve accomplished something. :0)

I’m on DAY 35 of my daily yoga practice and DAY 20 of my getting-serious-about-keto eating. I just finished doing 30 minutes on the elliptical trainer and will do my yoga this afternoon.

My scales finally smirked at me this morning, FINALLY telling me I have lost the re-gained weight and am back to my lowest since I started trying to lose the lard.  To date I have lost 43 pounds and 45 inches. NOW hopefully I’ll break into new territory. I’m trying to lose another 30 pounds or so. I’m HOPING that by the end of this month, I will get a smirk from my measuring tape, too.  Since I got serious about figuring out my macros (5% carbs, 25% protein, and 70% fat) and tracking them with the use of Cronometer.com, I’ve lost 9 pounds, so I feel good about being in more control. I like the fact I can ‘try out’ different foods to eat during the day and see how everything adds up. Then I can tweak until it’s good. :0)  Also, thanks to Suzanne Ryan’s book, Simply Keto, I have lots and lots of really good recipes to try. My husband keeps requesting I do some again, so it’s hard to find a night when I can try something new!

My new shop on Etsy is up, and I finally did a banner that looks reasonable. Totably Yours

I’m looking forward to playing in my art room – continuing to experiment with my new crayon melting tools. So far, I’m just making a mess, but it’s so much fun!

I hope the weather is good where you are today and that you’re bursting with fun things to do.

 

Thoughts on a Monday – 10-7-2019

Jeff Jett

Our weather is perfect today – sun shining and 73 degrees F.  Just gorgeous!

We went shopping this morning. Ever since then I’ve been working to get my second Etsy shop opened. It isn’t completely finished yet. I’m back to the drawing board on banners. I don’t like the way any of the ones I made looked. But if you’d like to see it without the banner, the shop is called, Totably Yours.

Last week was a 12-Gold-Star week  (7 for yoga practice and 5 for elliptical.)  I’m now doing a new exercise regimen I started yesterday, doing 20 minutes on the elliptical trainer every morning and yoga practice for 35 minutes every afternoon. I’m thinking about adding either Annoying Leslie’s Walking Video or a Dance Video in the middle several days, but we’ll see. The cooler weather is making me want to move more, so I’m looking forward to a good week. :0)

I’m heading upstairs to work on a new banner now.

I hope that the weather is such where you are that YOU feel more energetic these days, too!

 

 

Good Morning! 10-6-2019

Jeff Jett – LinkedIn

This is the sweetest picture of a tiger I’ve ever seen. I don’t know if it’s photo-shopped or what, but I love it. I just HAVE to smile back. :0)

I hope your Sunday is full of warm hugs and laughter.

Thoughts on a Saturday – 10-5-2019

Backyard Garden Lover via Yolanda Vanveen

I marvel at the way some people’s minds work. I LOVE the creativity that resulted in the cute ‘birds’ above! I just hope there is a way to preserve these.

Penn Fitness Warehouse

After almost two full weeks of using my elliptical trainer 3 times a week for 35 minutes each session, my body told me that was too much at one time. Thursday I went to two 15-minute sessions, and that seemed to be better, though 15 minutes seemed a bit short, plus it was difficult to work the 2nd session into the day. Today I started with a 20-minute session. That seemed good, so I’ll do it daily for the next week or so and see how it goes. The cooler days now are bringing up my energy level, so hopefully I can get in my elliptical early.

Y is for Yogini

My daily yoga practice is going well. (I’m on DAY 33 today.)  This poor old stiff, sore lady emerges from my yoga stretches feeling better, moving more freely. I’m FEELING a bit of progress. Our dog, Amber,

Amber

‘helps’ me do my positions by oozing off her ‘place’ (bed) closer and closer until she can nuzzle me. When I start to laugh, she dives right in for a good hug.

Today I’m cooking TWO recipes worth of “Sausage, Egg and Cheese Bake” by Suzanne Ryan of Simply Keto at my husband’s REQUEST.  I have one more pound to lose before I’m ‘into-new-territory’ on my efforts to lose the lard. Cronometer.com is a great site for showing you where you are on your macros (percentages of fat, protein and carbs for the day). I like to add what I’m planning to eat, and then be able to modify it, if needed, before I make a mistake. I have the site bookmarked on my computer, plus added the app on my phone.

The fish haven’t complained, but it’s time today to clean out the aquarium. I’ll scrub things out, vacuum the gravel, put in different decorations, and then fill it back up again. The four goldfish I have are at least triple the size they were when I got them. They still seem to be fine in the 5-gallon tank. I’ll try to show you pics of their new digs later.

I’m working on three designs for a banner to go across the new Etsy shop I’m going to open soon. I’ll also try to post pics later to see what you think.

The weather is SOOOO nice! We have doors open again today. It’s really nice to air out the house and not have to use the a/c.

I hope that your day is full of fun things to do.

 

 

Thoughts on a Thursday – 10-3-2019

Jeff Jett

Seeing this cute photo of a raccoon reminds me how HAPPY I am that we finally seem to have encouraged all the raccoons to go elsewhere. At least for a while.

We love seeing animals around our place. We see deer, possums, racoons, squirrels, road runners, birds of all kinds….   We have lots of feeders on our deck because we love watching all kinds of birds flit around while we sit at our dining area table. This comes to a halt suddenly, several times in the spring, summer, and fall, when we find ALL the feeders empty, hanging at half mast, or down on the deck, ruined. Our raccoons seem to arrive in families. We use a humane trap to catch them, one at a time, and then drive them out further into the country about 5 miles or so, and let them out at a creek to hopefully catch up to the ones we’ve relocated before and go on to live a happy life – away from us.

If they would SHARE or wouldn’t trash our feeders and make a mess, we could live in harmony. SADLY, they want it ALL.

Right now we still have hummingbird feeders up and filled since we are still seeing up to 4 at a time, darting between the two feeders and our wave petunias. We’ll keep them up to feed late stragglers who haven’t gotten the memo yet that it’s probably time to head south. (Mother Nature is still giving us summer here, so it’s no wonder the sweet hummers are confused.)

We also have black oil sunflower seeds and small seeds so everyone can find something to their liking. We had kept the feeders empty, trying to discourage the raccoons, for a LONG time, so it’s good to be back to normal now.

I just finished the first of 2 sessions on my elliptical trainer in the garage. I overdid a couple of days ago, and ended up like a slug in my chair most of the day yesterday. Dividing up my time into two sessions will hopefully allow me to keep moving without my body going on strike. I do another session later today plus a session of yoga.

My creative juices are starting to rummage around in my brain, so I’m hoping to get up to my art room this afternoon and start plotting, planning, and playing. (I hope you get a kick out of alliteration :0) )

*Today is Day 31 of daily yoga. Day 16 of getting-serious-about-keto-macros, and Day 5 of three-times-a-week elliptical trainer time. I’m going to give myself a gold star EACH time I do an elliptical session, hopefully making it so I don’t slough off the second session of the day, so I can earn THREE today. I cooked “Cheesy Bacon-Wrapped Chicken” by Suzanne Ryan, Simply Keto last night. Both my husband and son said, “YUMMY!”

The weather people are saying a cold front is coming through over night. I’m holding them to their word that this will happen, and will finally break the back of the too-hot temps with too-high humidity that have become the norm here. Fall – here we come!

I hope YOU have a star-filled and raccoon-less day, too!

Thoughts on a Wednesday – 10-2-2019

Lauren Eliassen via Pinterest

I’m feeling extremely lazy today. Excuses  – but the fact remains I’m not impressing anyone with my list of accomplishments for the day.

We just got back from doing errands, but that – and yoga – may be it for the day.

My good friend Marsha suggested that I sell the Christmas cards I’ve made with the addition of a flat wooden Christmas ornament – either painted or ‘un.’  I’m also thinking of opening another shop on Etsy devoted to one-of-a-kind painted tote bags. I would appreciate it if you would let me know what you think of these ideas.

If I can get rid of the lazies, I’ll spend some time in my art room this afternoon.

TOMORROW is supposed to usher in fall here. I am SO ready.

Meanwhile, I wish YOU a happy day – whether you’re feeling ‘productive’ or not!

 

Thoughts on a Tuesday 10-1-2019

Slice of Life

Though it’s supposed to get to 90+ degrees today, fall is coming. We’re supposed to get a cold front, some rain, and highs in the 70’s THURSDAY. Can you SEE me dancing around and grinning?

Peace-Love and Smiles

I’m doing better with eating according to my keto macros – (5% carbs, 25% protein, 70% fat.)  I love the cronometer.com tracking site. I’m basically doing intermittent fasting (not eating from dinner the night before until 1:00 or so the next day) then eating lunch and dinner. I lost another pound yesterday. I need to lose ONE MORE and then I’ll be at the lowest I achieved before our world fell apart and we needed to focus on my husband’s health. He is much better and things are much calmer now, so I can concentrate on things like macros – so I am TRULY thankful. I’m on DAY 14 of ‘getting-serious-about-Keto.” I’m looking forward to finally breaking into new territory on my weight loss.

Yesterday I finished undoing the work of the gremlins who ate part of my data on my monthly tax prep and bookkeeping spreadsheets. I printed them and saved them to another spot on the computer, plus my outside backup drive, so I SHOULD be good again. A character-building exercise for sure, but I feel good that it’s up to date now.

This morning was a 3-hummingbirds- with-breakfast day. We LOVE sitting at the dining area table and watching all the birds flitting (or dive-bombing-then-hovering in the case of the hummingbirds).

Funotic.com- Where Fun Never Ends

I’m on DAY 29 of my daily yoga practice. My husband noticed yesterday that I was getting lower – or farther into – some of my poses yesterday!

Today I have the opportunity to earn TWO Gold Stars – one for the elliptical and one for yoga.

I hope that YOUR day is full of things that bring you joy.

Thoughts on a Monday – 9-30-2019

Wild About Nature

September came and went so fast my hair is blowing!

I’m excited about Thursday of this week, when fall is finally coming to Greenwood, Arkansas. We’ll have some rain and the highs for the rest of the week as far as I can see will be in the 70’s. AHHHHH! I’m more than ready.

Our son, who came home to help us through the aftermath of my husband’s stroke, will be leaving Oct. 19th. We are SO lucky to have such a generous, caring son. It’s time for him to get back to his life in Thailand now.

We will do errands, change the decoration on the mailbox, and then settle in to enjoy the day. Yoga and art room are planned. And that’s it from the exciting life of the Lewises! It’s so wonderful NOT to have drama. :0)

Enjoy the last day of September.

 

Thoughts on a Sunday – 9-29-2019

Patti’s Pasticceria

First HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our cousin/treasured friend MURRAY. I hope you have a wonderful day celebrating YOU, Sweet Murray. I love you! Love, also, to all there with you today. :0)

We are having a nice, calm morning so far, and for that I’m truly thankful.

Our son helped me find another carb counting site. We compared it to the one I’ve been using and it seemed to be more accurate and easier to use, so I’ve switched to Cronometer.  So far, it seems easy to figure out what type of thing I need to eat in order to meet my percentages of fat, carbs, and protein for the day.  I can also type something in there I’m planning to eat to see if it is good for my goals. If it isn’t, I find out BEFORE I mess up. A really good thing! :0) I’ve lost 4 pounds this month, but have only gotten serious about the keto percentages (macros) for 12 days now. I’m hoping to be able to report next month a much more satisfying number. I’m planning to lose another 30 lbs or so.

I am earning Gold Star #10 this week (7 for daily yoga practice and 3 for elliptical trainer exercise three times this week.)  Even though I really am adverse to exercise, not relating at ALL to the fit folks in their cute little exercise outfits who LIVE to get to the gym, saying it feels so GOOD, I CAN tell you that I can feel that my body needs what I’m doing.  I stiffen up again after I exercise, but even that is getting a bit better as I move the lard. :0)

I tried my new crayon melter two days ago. I made a huge mess and had a blast doing it. I will watch more YouTube demonstrations and enjoy playing in my art room – if not today, then hopefully tomorrow.

Lots to do today to end this month and start a new one.

I wish you a really good day.

 

 

 

Thoughts on a Saturday 9-28-2019

Amazing Things – Linda Orrell

Progress Report – Lardage

• Weight Loss – 43 pounds to date. 
• Measurement Reduction – 45 inches to date.

I lost a pound yesterday, but it was a RE-loss of a pound that was gone and regained. I’m working with my MACRO daily to try to get the right percentages of carbs, protein, and fat. This morning I ate an avocado and put heavy whipping cream in my coffee, resulting in over 1/3 of the fat I should have for the day. I don’t really like avocados, but I’m impressed with how good they are for you. They are high fat, which kept me away from them before. Now I’m looking at them as a relatively painless way to get a lot of the fat I need (other than my own, homegrown). I like the fact that on CarbManager.com I can ‘test’ what I plan to eat for each meal and see what happens to my numbers BEFORE I make a mistake. I can then modify my plans. Wonderful!  Ultimate goal is to lose another 30 pounds or so.

Flipkart

I have a good start on my efforts to move more. I have been doing yoga stretches daily now for 26 days, and I just started my elliptical trainer 3 times a week. Since Gold stars on my desk calendar are a really good motivator for me (one for each yoga practice and one for the elliptical) I’ll be adding stars # 8 and 9 for the week today. I’m doing 35 minutes on the elliptical at a regular pace, listening to my MP3 player, basically just trying to zone out and do the time right now. Later I’ll think about doing a couple of intensive (for me) times in there. I try to make changes slowly – trying not to make this body rebel and go on strike for a couple of days in protest – hopefully culminating in more and more of my week spent in moving myself around in ways that will help my strength, balance, and flexibility.

The Guardian

It looks like fall will officially begin here in Arkansas on Thursday of next week, with highs in the 70’s, according to the weather people here. I HOPE they are right, because my energy levels rise when the temperature and humidity decrease.  I’m more than ready for fall.

Daily Dose of Flowers

Today is a quiet one for us. I’ll do my elliptical, my yoga, and plan to spend time in my art room again. Yesterday I tried my new crayon melting tool. I had fun, but am only making glorious messes at this point. I’ll enjoy playing with it again today.

Fill your day with things that bring you joy.

Thoughts on a Friday 9-27-2019

Alma Maghakyan – Imgend.com – LinkedIn

We are enjoying a beautiful day.  The sun is shining and the temperature is in the low 80’s. How CIVILIZED after Mother Nature’s snit where she was routinely boiling us in oil!

We just returned from enjoying our long-time good friends for Lunch Bunch – a thing we’ve done every Friday for over 17 years now. We as a group have had more of our share of challenges lately. We’re helping each other get through them. A happy thing – Kay’s daughter from Albuquerque is here and we always enjoy her wit and humor. Another happy thing – Linda’s daughter dropped by with Linda’s great-granddaughters! They were sweet and shy. My husband’s reaction when we got in the car was, “How come come I can’t have some of those?” He would be a WONDERFUL grandfather.

We’ve grocery shopped and just finished putting everything away, so we’re well stocked for the moment. Our son is trying to get into the habit of rising really early, fixing breakfast, then going to meditate, so he didn’t go to Lunch Bunch with us today. He asked me NOT to get the things we’ve been routinely adding to the grocery list since he’s been here. He’s trying to ‘wean himself off of’ some things he considers bad habits… He came home to help us when my husband had his stroke. I’m trying to prepare myself that he will need to go home soon. I wish he would stay with us forever. He’s such a fine man.

I’m happy to tell you that one of the two crayon melting tools came in the mail today!  I’m going to try to get up to my art room this afternoon and start playing! :0)

I’m on DAY 25 on my effort to do a session of yoga daily, and DAY 10 of getting-serious-about-Keto eating. I have six gold stars on my desk calendar so far this week (4 for yoga and 2 for the elliptical trainer.) I’m hoping to have 10 stars by the end of the day Sunday.

I hope your weather is beautiful and your outlook hopeful.

Thoughts on a Thursday 9-26-2019

Animals | HowStuffWorks

We’re having a quiet, soft rain this morning. I can HEAR the flowers, grass, and trees saying, “Ahhhhhh”

Centre of Excellence

I am leaving for a massage as soon as I finish this post!  I’m REALLLLY looking forward to it. Lynn Moody, my massage therapist, is a true miracle worker.

Since it’s raining, I’ll concentrate on inside stuff today, plus my elliptical trainer and yoga.

I’ve been showing you gorgeous melted crayon art lately. I ordered two melting tools recently, and I’ve been watching YouTube demonstrations on different techniques. I’m like a kid at Christmas, waiting to be able to play with them in my art room!

I hope that YOUR day is relaxing and fun.

Thoughts on a Wednesday 9-25-2019

We Love Earth – Blue Footed Boobies Bird

 

 

We are trying to change out two ballast transformers on fluorescent light fixtures in the garage. We had quite a fight with the first one, but FINALLY got it finished. We decided to ‘declare victory’ and rest for a bit before tackling the other. These have last 31 years, so you could say we have gotten our money’s worth. Still, it’s really stressful with my husband on the ladder, hands above his head, trying to get the job done with his inept go-fer trying to help as best she can…

I am on DAY 8 on getting-serious-about-keto. I lost 2 pounds yesterday!  Last night my son and I talked about how I could add more fat into my diet, since my macro showed I should be eating 5% carbs, 25% protein, and 75% fat. I had been eating way too much protein and not enough fat. I can add whipping cream to a cup of coffee. I can eat some macadamia nuts. I can – and did – add a tablespoon of olive oil to my salad last night.  I’m already eating eggs and cheese, but will try to find a ripe avocado. The last time I tried one, I didn’t care for it, but now is now and I’ll try again.  I will ‘test’ each addition on my CarbManger.com tracker, so I can be confident all is good on the macro and the total number of calories. I’m encouraged that the weight scale is finally starting to smirk at me, rather than showing a sad face.

DAY 23 on daily yoga today.  I’m happy that I can FEEL a difference in my body giving into the stretches as I breathe. The biggest problem is real stiffness when I’m in a sitting position and trying to stretch in any direction, but I’m making gradual progress. I’m also happy that I didn’t have any muscles yelling this morning about yesterday’s combo of the elliptical trainer and my yoga. I do that again tomorrow.

Funotic.com-WhereFunNeverEnds

I finished painting the last stained tee in my art room yesterday.

 

Here’s hoping we can get the second ballast transformer installed and still be in one piece and speaking to each other.

I wish YOU a calm, satisfying day.

 

Thoughts on a Tuesday 9-24-2019

Awesome Earth via Mara Spirig – LinkedIn

It’s really overcast today with heavy rain and flash flooding predicted.

When my husband and I went to take our trash bags down to the bottom of the driveway, there was lots of heavy equipment there – big trucks, backhoes, etc. We asked them what was happened and were delighted to hear they are running fiber optic lines!  That means that the news we heard awhile back that we might be getting an offer for a bundle of phone and much faster Internet services within a year and a half might be coming true!!!  I was so happy to hear it, I was clapping my hands and grinning like a loon. The man who told me flashed a big grin at me. :0)

Amazon.com

I decided to add my elliptical trainer to my exercise ‘regimen’ since our weather is finally cooling off some. My elliptical is in the garage, and with heat indices in the 100’s, I just let it gather dust out there. I did 35 minutes on it this morning – old lady speed, but worked off 260 calories and worked the muscles in a way that won’t hurt my joints. I’m planning to do this 3 times a week – Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. So this is Day 1 on the elliptical.

Penn Fitness Warehouse

Day 22 on yoga and Day 7 on Keto.  I MAY be getting into Ketosis. From what I’m reading it can take up to 10 days. I also learned from reading that I may be eating too much protein, and that might be delaying things. I’ll read more today and try to adjust my food. Meanwhile, I’m eating a piece of cheese. :0)

 

The Animal Zone

I’m still working on the long-sleeved tee I’m painting in my art room. I’m really having fun experimenting. (There is a freedom in painting a tee you would have had to throw away or use as a rag due to stains that won’t come out!) :0)  I’m trying to paint a snow scene. Yesterday I used SnowTex – a product that adds a bunch of texture and a 3-D look. I have no clue whether it will work or not, but I’m having a blast trying this.

Oakridge Elem Sch – Arlington Publ Schools

 

I hope that YOUR day has good news, hope for the future, a nice rain if you need it, and FUN.

 

Thoughts on a Monday 9-23-2019

cheezeburger.com

HAPPY FIRST DAY OF FALL!!!!! It’s raining here today (Ahhhh!) and cooler – at least for now, and I am one happy camper. :0)

Shop NZ

We had 5 hummingbirds at the feeders while we at the dining table this morning. A truly beautiful sight to start our day.

 

Laughtard

It’s DAY 21 for my daily yoga practice. Yesterday, after I had spent time weed whacking and then blowing the debris off the concrete areas, I was really tired and sore. As soon as I had finished a bottle of water and cooled off a bit, I did my yoga session, and it HELPED! Since I’m old and out of shape, my back stiffened up before bed, but I’m encouraged that I could FEEL it helping yesterday.

It’s DAY 6 on my getting-serious-about-keto efforts. To be honest, I’m not really sure where I am. The scales aren’t showing anything. I’ve been staying way under the 20 grams of carbs I’m allowed daily, figuring that even if I screw up on portion size or forget to add something, I should be coming out well. I’m really happy with the CarbManager.com carb tracking website.  It’s easy to use and I can quickly add food, water, or exercise from my computer or my phone.

123RF.com

Fingers crossed I will see some tangible results on either my scale, with my measuring tape, or both in the near future.

 

Our doggies seem calm after their fight yesterday morning. I will never know what started the fight. I’m just grateful that both doggies are doing fine today.

I didn’t make it up to my art room yesterday. I will try to get up there and play today.

Sleeping Should Be Easy

 

Our son, who lives and works in Thailand, came home after my husband’s stroke to help us through all the testing and the aftermath of the stroke. He will probably go back to his life soon. I’m am SO grateful that he wanted to be with us during this time. He has been a rock. SUCH a generous, caring man!

I hope you enjoy the first day of fall today – doing good things for yourself, feeling good, and finding great reasons to smile.

 

Thoughts on a Sunday 9-22-2019

Irma Nadal -LinkedIn

We had a disturbing/scary thing happen this morning – our two doggies got into a fight. (Both are okay now, thank goodness.) We have Molly –

Molly

who is 14 years old and weighs about 25 pounds, and Amber –

Amber

who is 2-1/2 years old and weighs 94 pounds.

Obviously, Amber ‘won.’  They have fought twice before, over food. I have been careful ever since to be sure they are apart whenever their food or ours is involved. Today’s fight is a mystery. Both had finished their breakfast. We had all gone to the office, as is usual. Then Molly left, and then Amber. And suddenly, the fight was on. It was all I could do to pull them apart. I put Amber out and tended to Molly, who has a small hole in her throat where a previous growth was. She seems okay otherwise. Amber was not hurt at all. I have had Amber either outside or in her bed behind her gate this morning. I have no clue why they had the fight, so it’s a bit scary going forward. Molly is old an crotchety now, and Amber, in her general bull-in-a-China-shop demeanor, may have set Molly off.  Needless to say, I will be watching both closely and giving each lots of space for the day.

Otherwise, my husband is napping in his chair and we’ll leave soon to shop for groceries.

ihowdo.blogspot.com

Today is DAY 20 of my daily practice (this is a 7-Gold Star week) and DAY 5 of being serious about my keto eating plan. I’ve read that it takes 3 days to 2 weeks to get into ketosis. I’m having a couple of the symptoms of ‘keto-flu’ (leg cramp a couple of nights ago and fatigue) so I’m hoping that I’m getting there. I am concentrating on staying under 20 grams of carbs daily. Hopefully, the scale or the measuring tape will show me some results in the near future, just for a bit of added motivation.

WordPress.com

 

I also will try to get upstairs to my art room today. I’ve started painting my LAST stained tee shirt!  I’m still a slob, though, so I’m confident I’ll have more to start another painting pile with soon. :0)

 

I’m hoping the REST of our day will be a quiet one with everyone calm and content.

I wish YOU a day free of drama and full of fun.

 

 

Thoughts on a Saturday 9-21-2019

 

The rain has stopped and we have a sunshiny day today – but the HIGH will only be 83!!!! Woooo HOOOO! We have front and back doors open and ceiling fans on to enjoy the glorious breeze….

If you’ve been reading my blog, you already know that I’m a bit weird and maybe even a little nuts. If you didn’t, here’s an example – I’m on DAY 4 of getting serious about keto. Last night I woke up with a cramp in the back of my left leg. I’m HAPPY about this – although I admit I wasn’t at the time – because it’s a sign I may be getting into ketosis!  I’ve been very careful about what I’m eating and I’m tracking it all on my new CarbManager.com website which lets me know how many carbs I have left for the day and the percentages of carbs, fat, and protein I’m eating. I’m mostly concerned about staying under 20 carbs a day right now. I’ll pay more attention to the other things later. I really want to lose this last 30 lbs of lard. Truly tired of the plateau and ready to break new ground on the scales, rather than re-losing some pounds for a second time…

I tried ‘zoodles’ (zucchini noodles) with the chicken chunks and soup topping my family loves. I made rice, too, giving my husband and son the choice. No surprise that both of them had rice while I had the zoodles. Our son DID come back for a second helping, trying the zoodles that time. I’ll check with him today on what he thought. We have leftovers, so we’ll have it again this evening. This time I’ll try cauli-rice under mine.

Downshiftology

 

Pamela Salzman

 

I’m on Day 19 on my daily yoga practice.

Women’s Health

Some positions remain really challenging. I’ve spent a long time getting old and stiff, so I’m not surprised that it will take some time for me to loosen up. I AM feeling a difference, though, in several of the positions. I feel better after my practice, so it isn’t as hard to make myself get into the living room and grab my mat. My husband and son are being very supportive of my efforts on eating (my husband is amazed that I gave up my nightly sugar free ice cream, and says it’s good I’m going to ‘yoge’ each day.) Our son is always very supportive. He wants us to do what we can to get and stay as healthy as possible. He is getting back into meditation now after a time away, and is making good progress, so we compare notes daily and hug each other. :0)

My husband is having fewer anger spurts – a side effect of the stroke he had in July. I’m learning to adapt MY behavior so I don’t trigger events, and I’m learning not to react when one happens, unless there are other issues, too. I’m just keeping my mouth shut and walking away. I’m hoping this is gradually fading. This is not like my husband and he has a full plate working on  day by day improvement on the speech and balance issues.

Our son came in, after we listened to a session of the day’s news, and started talking, seemingly earnestly, about the priorities of the coverage. Since we agree that much of what is covered is of little importance in the grand scheme of things, I listened, smiling, as his sarcasm began to sprout. Toward the end of his ‘discussion’ I was begging him to stop, being totally exhausted from laughing. He is a treasure.

I’m going to try to finish painting the tee shirt in my art room upstairs, practice my yoga, eat right, and enjoy my family on a beautiful day.

I wish YOU a quiet, satisfying day.

Thoughts on a Friday 9-20-2019

 

I’m delighted to tell you that Mother Nature finally smiled, and it’s raining!  She smiled on us a bit yesterday afternoon while I was playing in my art room, and we woke up to rain this morning. I was tempted to play in it when we walked from the car to the restaurant for Lunch Bunch, but I resisted the urge. :0)

Lunch Bunch today was a whole table-full. One of our long time good friends lost a son this past week. Family came in for a memorial yesterday and came to Lunch Bunch today. Another good friend joined us. Though the reason for the family gathering was heartbreaking, the love – and even some laughter – flowed. Over the past 17 years we have celebrated the good things and helped each other through the bad things. Our core is strong.

I am on Day 18 of practicing my yoga daily. Though my back is still complaining, I can FEEL my body loosening as I practice. I can’t say I look FORWARD to my sessions, but I feel GOOD that I’m doing something daily that will improve my health, flexibility, and general attitude.

This is Day 3 of my ‘getting serious’ about staying at 20 carbs or under daily on my Keto eating plan. On Wednesday I stopped eating the no-sugar-added Blue Bunny Freedom vanilla ice cream. I’ve been having a scoop for dessert nightly while my husband has been having strawberries and cakes with his. I quit playing ostrich and looked at the label – 16 grams of carbs – EEEEK! – and I get 20 or less for the day. I have now substituted a small handful of pecans. I don’t know if I’ll have the “Keto-Flu” or not. I know I’m NOT walking around with my stomach thinking my throat has been cut, so that’s a HUGE good thing for me. I’m also trying to get serious about drinking lots more water. I’m mostly there, but fudge the numbers sometimes. I’m also taking Magnesium Glycinate, 400 mgs, one tab daily for Bone, Cardiovascular, and Muscle support.  Hopefully, I’ll be able to report that I’m finally off the plateau and on the downward slope again.

I started painting a long-sleeved tee in my art room yesterday. I have a nice design in my head. The jury is still out as to whether the end result will bear any resemblance or not to my plan. I’m going to get back upstairs in a few minutes, turn on my music and PLAY.

May you have rain – if you need it – family, friends, and FUN in your day today.

 

Thoughts on a Thursday 9-10-2019

Jeff Jett – LinkedIn

My husband and son were out checking the irrigation system at about 7 pm last night (all is well) and saw 5 hummingbirds at one time! That’s the most we’ve seen at once this whole summer.  A sight like that makes everything right.

I told you yesterday that I was really trying to get serious about eating Keto and losing more of my lard. Thanks to my friend, Robin, I’ve signed up at a new website called CarbManager.com  I signed up for their Basic service, but they have a premium service, as well that I may consider in the future. My big thing on not switching was that I couldn’t find a carb tracker that would accept recipes from other places and let you log them in for the day without having to list each ingredient separately. This one did fine with Suzanne Ryan’s “Sausage, Egg and Cheese Bake” from her book Simply Keto easily. They have a good section that walks you through their website, explaining how to do things. The website on my computer links up with the app on my phone now, so that’s really handy, as well. Yesterday I ate 18 grams of carbs. They did NOT give me a message saying I wasn’t eating enough, so I was happy about that, too!

I found a wonderful artist who makes baskets that will make you drool. I’ll be sharing them with you in a bit.

Today I’ll make time for my yoga practice this afternoon (Day # 17) and I plan to play in my art room!

I hope that YOUR Thursday is full of cute squirrel photos, hummingbirds, and fun.

 

 

Thoughts on a Wednesday 9-18-2019

Jeff Jett – LinkedIn

 

Pinterest

I’m beginning to see a pattern on what provokes new anger issues after a stroke –

1. the need for quick actions (such as ‘turn here!” or “stop! You’re going to hit the ____.”
2. the need to decide which of two things the person wants.

As we recognize patterns, we can alter our OWN behavior. It’s better to miss the turn and have to turn around and go back, for example. (You DO have to yell ‘STOP!” to avoid hitting things, though.) It’s better to just ask if the person wants to do one thing, rather than ask which of two things is preferred.   Still hoping the anger issues will fade with time, but I’m learning how to deal with things better.

I’m delighting, once again, that we have SUCH GREAT pets to enjoy.

 

Amber

Example – Amber, our 94-pound yellow lab, LOVES to play her version of ‘FETCH.” This entails her bringing her spit-covered whatever toy to you, trying to put it and her head into your lap. When you try to deter this, she tries to climb up into the chair with you, eyes sparkling with joy. She doesn’t want to actually GIVE you the toy. She just wants to make you stop whatever you were doing, TRY to get the toy so that she can run away with it, doing her dog version of ‘nah, nah NAH, nah, nah’ as she goes, only to run right back and repeat. If she DOES drop the toy and allow you to throw it, it’s a one-time event. Today I added to the complexity a bit, playing with TWO toys. I would throw one, she would run like a bunny and grab it, bringing it back and refusing to give it to me. I then picked up the SECOND toy. She immediately dropped the first, eager to run after the second. We may HAVE something here….

Pixabay

We saw a whole bunch (gaggle/skein/team/wedge/plump?) of beautiful geese on the ground on a big wide lawn of a home we pass on the way to town. There were at least 20 and they were a wonderful sight.

 

Our son made me laugh like a loon describing trying to talk to an obnoxious man on the Internet in a chat forum about a product with which our son is involved. As he described the boorish remarks of the man, he became more and more animated, acting out what the man was saying. As I laughed, it spurred my son on to more and more detail and funny movements and expressions. My stomach is still hurting from the laughter.

 

I hope that YOUR Wednesday includes something beautiful in nature, some new ideas on how to handle a problem, and laughter so hard  your stomach hurts.

Thoughts on a Tuesday 9-17-2019

Cindy Basnett Thurman

Yesterday was a productive, good day. We

• got and installed a new battery on our truck
• got and installed a new hose length between the main water  line in the well house and the main line to the front yard irrigation system
• finished cleaning out the veggie garden raised bed boxes
• gathered tomatoes
• did a session of yoga
• bowled and enjoyed ice cream with good friends in the evening

Today I’m feeling really lazy – ready for a break.

I’m going to do my yoga for the day this afternoon and play in my art room. I’m going to enjoy more of my book and maybe fall asleep in my chair.

I hope that you recognize your need for a break to rejuvenate, too.

Thoughts on a Monday 9-16-2019

Amber

I’m late in blog posting today. Amber went out to the veggie garden with me and helped clean up the remaining planter boxes. I encountered fire ants twice, but had gone in ARMED with EIGHT bug killer in a 2-gallon sprayer and hosed them down. I didn’t get stung, thank goodness! I’ll take pics later of the cleaned up garden, but I was simply too hot when I finished to go back with the camera. (The heat index is 106 or more right now). Once I’m SURE we’ve killed all the ants in the boxes, I’ll try Robin’s suggestion of putting Vaseline around each support leg.

I was actually able to gather quite a few small tomatoes yesterday from the converted brick planters on the other side of the house. I didn’t have a basket with me, so simply used the bottom of my shirt as a carrier. :0)  We’re about to the end of the season now. The plants look pretty sad, but we’re still getting small ripe tomatoes, so we’re happy.

The main water line from the well house to the irrigation system had a blowout last night. Our son was able to cobble it back together, but it’s obvious we need a longer hose length of super sturdy stuff to handle the pressure. We got two lengths of hose cut at the hardware store today in two different diameters, thinking one of them will fit. I’m not sure if we’ll get to the replacement today.

My husband started thinking about our truck battery this morning. He keeps a log of our important purchases on his computer so that we can look things up quickly. We discovered that we bought the battery for the truck in 2014!  Since our battieries usually die suddenly with change of season, we bought a replacement battery while we were in town today. We’ll change it out later today and take the old one back to the store tomorrow for credit.

Our long time good friends will go bowling with us tonight! Our son is still home with us (a thing for which we are thankful every day) and so we’ll have a lot of fun this evening bowling terribly and then commiserating with ice cream at Braum’s afterwards.

When I finish cooling off and glugging water, we’ll have lunch and then I’ll do my first session of yoga for the week.

I hope your Monday is off to a good start.

 

Thoughts on a Sunday 9-15-2019

 

My heart goes out to my long time friend Kay who lost her son yesterday to a heart attack. Kay is SUCH a special lady and has had a lot of awful challenges in the past few months. We will do everything we can to help her through this.

Our ‘Lewises-against-the-elements’ challenge continues. Yesterday it was the fire ants swarming when I was trying to clean out the raised bed square foot garden. Today it was the wasps, who have made a home in the attachment to the pole that holds up the mailbox. We drilled several holes in it so that we can attach our mailbox decorations to the mailbox with two bolts and nuts. It never occurred to us that wasps would decide that this was a great place to live. We sprayed the holes down again, taking several sessions to get the other mailbox decoration DOWNand the scarecrow UP. We didn’t get stung, but it certainly adds challenge to the job of changing out decorations!

As we were processing the chicken, frozen fish, and hamburger meat we bought this morning, my husband was taking the packages out to the freezer in the garage for me. He remarked when he came in from the first pass, “Hey! You really DID clean out the freezer!” He added that he didn’t think he would be able to tell much difference, and that he was amazed. He said, “You did a GREAT job!” (I’m marking this day down on my calendar that 1) he noticed, and 2) he gave me a nice compliment!

Today when I go out again to continue trying to clear out the garden. I will hose everything down first with the EIGHT bug killer before I try to do anything else. I would really like to finish this. If I’m successful, my friend Robin wrote, suggesting that I spread Vaseline around the ‘legs’ of the support pieces that hold up the boxes. She says that her experience shows that the ants don’t want to cross the Vaseline or get stuck in it. SOUNDS GREAT TO ME!  Thanks, Robin.

I am happy to report that my yoga practice went well yesterday afternoon.  My back had protested LOUDLY yesterday morning, telling me that maybe I had practiced a bit too exuberantly for my old body. The use of Muscle Gel with Arnica, Tylenol, and CAREFUL stretches yesterday fixed me up. I was sore again this morning, but I think it’s just a leftover. My husband spread the gel on for me, but I didn’t need the Tylenol and will practice this afternoon. 7 STARS for the week! WOO HOOO!

I hope your Sunday is a good one.

 

Thoughts on a Saturday 9-14-2019

Sven Zacek – http://www.zacekfoto.ee via Jeff Jett – LinkedIn

We are having a very pleasant morning – doors open, front and back, ceiling fans on – so we have a nice breeze going through the house. It’s quiet. My husband is already enjoying a nap. We’ll have to close up and switch to a/c later, but it’s wonderful now.

 

COSMOPOLITAN South Africa

 

Apparently my yoga practice yesterday was a bit TOO exuberant. I woke up with a super sore back today. My good husband slathered some muscle gel with Arnica on me first thing, and then I took two Tylenol to top it off. I’m better now, but still very aware that I overdid. I’ll practice SUPER ‘Gentle Yoga” today to see if I can finish the relaxation process.

 

Yesterday on the way back from Lunch Bunch, we had a very nice, nature-filled bunch of sights. On the road there were two deer. We only saw one of them on the road, but I saw another as we passed. Such beautiful animals!

Richard Johnson – Mass Audubon

 

Later our son came and got me so I wouldn’t miss the roadrunner that was perched on top of our deck cover. I wish I could describe the sound one makes. Truly unique.

 

Nat’l Audubon Society

 

My husband got a second hummingbird feeder to put out. Before you give him total kudos on providing for our feathered friends, I have to tell you that his REASON was that we have one hummingbird who sits, guarding the feeder, daring the other two hummers to come and try to get some food. My husband put the new feeder on the other end of the deck so that he would go nuts trying to guard BOTH of them.

 

Mother Nature Network

 

Finally, there was a praying mantis on the screen outside out dining area window!

 

Tree Hugger

My only plans for the day are to start clearing out our square foot garden. Even with daily irrigation, it has just been too hot for the plants to survive. This will take several passes to accomplish, but I’ll try to get started today. I’ll go armed with bug killer spray in case I encounter aggressive ants in the boxes. I’m hoping that our onions are still doing well out there.

Happy Saturday to YOU! Have a wonderful day.

 

 

Thoughts on A Friday 9-13-2019

Jeff Jett – LinkedIn

We are about to go to Lunch Bunch – our every Friday brunch/lunch with long-time good friends to enjoy sharing what has happened since LAST Friday, what is coming up, good news, bad news, lots of hugs and laughter. We have done this for some 17 years now and our friendship is priceless. Our son will go with us today, so it will be even more special.

I’m thankful for what should be a quiet day – a treasured thing now.

_____________________

A couple of hours have passed. Our Internet keeps going down, so I gave up and we went to Lunch Bunch. We had a great time. We’ve now replenished groceries and I’m again trying to get a post off before the net goes down again. Challenging, to say the least.

I hope YOUR Friday is a good one, and that you have much for which to be thankful, too.

 

 

Thoughts on a Thursday 9-12-2019

I’ve had a productive morning.

RK Preserve Carpet Cleaning

I vacuumed the carpeted parts of the first floor this morning, vacuuming up at LEAST one dog’s worth of hair, and maybe a cat, too. It amazes (and disgusts) me how MUCH hair I vacuum up each time, even though I’m vacuuming more these days than I ever have before. It’s a miracle that we actually have two dogs and two cats left AND that none of them is bald! I’m liking our 4 goldfish more and more – THEY don’t shed!

 

Jolly Gardener

I’ve told you that we had 2 of the 14 planters we built around the yard 30 years ago collapse. We rebuilt one of them, and had the second one rebuilt by someone who knows what he’s doing. (It’s beautiful.)  My husband worked to make and attach the PVC irrigation system stuff we needed in order to hook the two planters up to our system in the front yard. (It was when he was attaching the PVC pipe to the newest planter that he fell and skinned his leg badly. I put it on my list to use bags of potting soil to fill up the newest planter.

It was the morning after he fell on July 22nd that we discovered he had suffered a stroke. Obviously, we have had other priorities since then, and I’m happy to report that my husband is essentially back to being his normal ornery self now. This morning I decided I would fill up the planter. I filled the wheelbarrow with four 40-pound bags of potting soil and trucked them over to the planter. Our driveway detector went off, and my husband came out to see who was here. He slit the bags and we dumped them into the planter, then got four MORE 40-pound bags in order to finish the job. Now both rebuilt planters are ready to receive new plants, probably in the spring.

 

We drove down to get the mail (we have a STEEP 650+ foot driveway down to the road where our mailbox is.)

 

After we got the mail, there was a truck coming down the road the other way. He stopped, obviously wanting to say something to us. When we pulled up next to him, he said, “I’m happy to see you two. I just wanted to tell you I LOVE yawl’s mailbox signs. I come by here every day looking to see what you have up there next. Yawl are really creative.” I thanked him, telling him that he had made our day – week – month – year – and maybe life – with his kind words.

This was about an hour ago. Can you see me STILL grinning? We never pictured ourselves creating things together. We have had a blast fighting over what to create, how to make it, how to paint it, etc. We have SUCH fun with this. We change the decoration twice a month, so are getting ready to put the next one up on the 15th, weather permitting. Now, each time we change the decoration, I’ll picture this NICE, NICE man who took the time to tell us we give him a smile when he passes our driveway. :0)

What a WONDERFUL morning!