Not Enough Time....

I'm here.  I know.  I know.  I sure haven't been posting to my blog as regularly as I wish.  Just so much in my life right now that I enjoy doing.  Finding it hard to keep up and squeeze it all in.  Like what?

Well, of course, there is my job.  

Then there's the American Cancer Society and Relay for Life coming up on June 1st.  This will be my first time participating in the Relay for Life, and I am VERY EXCITED about that.  I have only recently become involved with the American Cancer Society, but I really do get so much out of it.  My father died of cancer and I miss him terribly.  I think he would be so happy to know that I have found a way to "give back".

Then there is my weekly Weight Watcher meetings and weigh-in.  I still enjoy going to my meeting every  Saturday even though I'm at goal. I struggle just like everyone else, and those meetings are an important part of my life.

Then there is also our local Neighborhood Watch program.  I am very involved with that, with patrol and fundraising.  That's been keeping us very busy.

And then, of course, there is running.  We are now training for another half-marathon on April 15th.  This will be my first half-marathon on a hilly route.  Very much enjoying the training for that event, and then have the Broad Street run in May!

And now that the spring is here, there is SO MUCH yard work to do!  Started weeding and mulching over the weekend and in the middle of clearing out and preparing our vegetable garden for planting.

Oh, and one other new thing in my life.  I have begun to trace my father's side of the family tree, and I am really enjoying that as well.  I can use Ancestry.com for free at our country library.  So I have also made several trips there in the middle of everything else!

I need more hours in a day to do everything.   Speaking of hours, I better get to work!  

Step 1 - Admit It - I'm Just in a Bad Mood!

That's the first step, right?  Just admit it.  Stop hiding behind it.  Once it's out there, what's the point in hiding.  Okay.  So yes, I'm in a bad mood.  Now it's time to GET OVER IT!

No, it's night a sunny morning.  No, it's not a warm weather morning.  No, my husband is not feeling well...at all.  He's very sick, terrible chest cold, and you know how that goes.

I ran two days in a row, so that's not an option for me today.  Need today and tomorrow to rest up before my long training run (on hills).

Would love to turn to pizza and beer today, but that's not the answer either, especially the day before weigh-in.   What's the answer?  To do what I can to improve my day, eat foods that make me feel good physically.  Do other activities that I enjoy (after I get all my work done, of course).  How about that hula hoop, and working on "crafts", get back in the kitchen and make something "new", or maybe just get out by myself and walk in the mall?

It's still morning.  The day is ahead of me, a blank slate almost (other than getting my work done) --

-- to create what I want, a good day or a bad day.

So I choose .... ANOTHER GOOD DAY!

Up Up and Away....

Well, maybe not away, but up up goes the scale again.  It goes up, it goes down, it goes up, it goes down.   Ughh.   I won't make it to my weigh-in and meeting today.  BIG FUNDRAISER EVENT TODAY and we have a lot of set up, decorating, and prep to do this morning.

So what's going on?  I've been "following" the program, and I feel good.  Then I get on the scale, and whammo, surprise!  Or is it a surprise?

A couple of things always get me.  One, SODIUM!  It kind of creeps up with me and then reminds me in a big way.  Yesterday's BIG WAY was when I put my wedding rings on (which after three years of being at goal weight, we just had sized) and they were so tight, and then I couldn't get them off my finger.  My finger was actually turning blue as I tried to get the rings off.  Not much wiggle room with them.  What's going on?

Ah, sodium maybe?  We had turkey ham this week.  I've had lunch meat.  I've had canned beans, canned chicken, store-bought rotisserie chicken.... oh, yeah.  Sodium!  AND I am definitely definitely not drinking the water lately.  So this week I'll be concentrating on those two things.

Now, what else could be going on?  Well, I remember now that when the PointsPlus program was first introduced, I was very excited.  Fruit is free, you don't have to count fruit!  Ah, but do I?   In thinking about it this week, I eat a lot of fruit.  Somtimes I have fruit with my cereal, sometimes a piece of fruit in the afternoon, sometimes a piece of fruit mid-morning to get me through to lunch, a banana after a run or a piece of fruit in the afternoon to get me to dinner, AND I've been eating BIG bowls of strawberries at night.

So is fruit really free for me?  Maybe not.  Maybe I'm getting too much fruit.  Just a thought.  I'm going to test this theory this week and start counting my fruit points, at least half anyway, and see what happens.

The other thought, of course, is that I'm not eating enough, but I find that hard to believe.  Honestly, I still struggle with tracking on Saturdays.  So I know I'm using up points that day.  I'm eating my daily points.  Yes, I earn a good amount of activity points during the week, but usually end up eating at least half, sometimes most of them.  So if I count all those activity points that I'm "consuming" and then add in the fruit, maybe I am eating too much?

I don't know what the answer is....yet.  So what do I do?  I keep on trying.  The bottom line is that I feel wonderful.  I still love this new life I have since losing 75 pounds and kept it off for almost three years.  I've struggled a bit to keep the last 5 pounds off, but hey, nobody is going to be the exact same weight every day.  I am a new person, physically and mentally.  I have so much more confidence in myself and have gotten involved in so many things now because I'm not hiding behind all those issues of being self-conscious about my weight.

So I continue to march on.  Let's see what the week holds.  I'm looking forward to a week of good eating, lots of water, and LOTS OF ACTIVITY!

Shake It Up!

Wow, time to catch up on some blogging.  So I went to my weigh-in and meeting last Saturday.  Was anxious to get on the scale.  I had two good weeks in a row.  First week, I stayed the same.  Last week, the number on the scale finally went down.... a half a pound.  What?!!!  I know.  I know.  But you know, I feel really good so I'm not so bothered by that number.  I do want to see a certain number (and fit into a certain pair of jeans again), but I know that if I just stick with the healthy eating and activity, eventually, I'll be there.


Let me get to the title of this blog, Shake It Up.  I AM SUPER DUPER CRAVING A SHAMROCK SHAKE FROM MCDONALD'S!!!!!  So far, I've managed to fight the urge, but wondering how I could make something yummy that maybe would maybe satisfy that craving but be healthy for me too.  Any ideas?

I know I could make one of MizFit's smoothies to satisfy the "green" part and "creamy" part of the craving.  (Check it out).  http://mizfitonline.com/2012/03/06/smoothie-making-challenge-sponsored-by-egg-beaters/.  So what about the minty part of the equation?  Any ideas?  Wonder if I can get any fresh mint this time of year.


So in the meantime, what's up with me?  Well, I made something really yummy last week.  I wanted stuffed peppers but was kind of lazy and running out of time.  So I did a quick Google search and came up with a bunch of recipes for "stuffed pepper casserole".  Now, I don't have the exact recipe with me right now, but it was lean ground beef, cooked brown rice, onion, garlic, chopped green peppers, stuff like that, and I think the sauce was a can of tomato soup and a can of diced tomatoes.  Oh, yeah, and some low-fat cheese.  Anyway, it was really good, and came up to be around 8 PP's  per cup.  Here's a pic!

Headed back to "the hills" on Sunday for our long run.  It went much better than two weeks ago.  We had a good time, I had a little easier time getting up the hills, and my recovery was quicker after the hills.  So I'm pretty sure that I'll be registering to the run my first "hilly" half-marathon, which is in April, and then in May, we have the Broad Street Run.  Yeah!

Got back to doing some strength training at the gym this week, and that felt great too!  Hubby just "loves" having control of my phone while I'm working out.  The latest:

I got out for a short run today, and was tired.  So I guess I got a pretty good workout on the machines yesterday.

Now it's time for leftovers ( again ) for dinner (don't feel like cooking and too much stuff in the fridge).

Empty Produce Drawers!

Oh, no!  My produce drawers in my refrigerator are basically empty, except for some onions and peppers and a stray carrot or two.  Time to make a produce trip!  I just don't enjoy planning my meals if I don't have a refrigerator stocked with fresh veggies and fruit.  I mean, canned or frozen veggies just don't do it for me.

Last week I bought something different, beets.  Well, I buy fresh  beets occasionally and have even grown my own in the garden, but these were not red beets.  They were yellow.  I forgot to take a picture of them, but I plan on getting another bag today if the produce place has them.  So next time, picture!  Anyway, I sliced them up last night and roasted them with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Delicious!

We also went through a "boat load" of fresh strawberries this week.  When I bought the big box last week, my husband thought it was a waste.  Nope!  That was my dessert most nights this week, just a great big bowl of fresh strawberries, a drizzle of Agave and two tablespoons (okay, maybe three) of fat-free Cool Whip.

We also went through all of the broccoli, swiss chard, salad, spinach, and sweet potatoes, a big spagetti squash and a butternut squash.   I'm also out of bananas and celery.  The apples and pears are almost gone.  Geez, going to spend half my grocery money this week at the produce place!

I do still have a big head of cabbage that I planned to use for stuffed cabbage.  Maybe this weekend, although it's a little time consuming and I've got a lot going on this weekend.  So maybe I'll just buy a ham and use it for ham and cabbage.

Our Aerogarden is once again up and running, and we've got little salad greens growing, along with a few herbs, globe basil and dill.  Spring is right around the corner.  Time to start planning this year's veggie garden.  Yeah!