Consider the economy stimulated

We went to bed early on Thanksgiving night and I set my alarm for 3:30am so we could be out the door by 3:45 and be at Walmart by 4am. At around midnight I woke up and couldn’t go back to sleep. I tried my side, my stomach and I even tried sleeping on the sofa. I returned to our room and just when I was about to drift off to sleep, the symphony, aka Ken’s snoring, started to play and I knew it was a lost cause.

The following takes place over 14 hours between 3:30am and 5:30pm…

With just under three hours of sleep and knowing we had a LOT of stops to make on Black Friday and I told my sister that there would be absolutely no negative talk. For example, if either of us felt tired we’d say with enthusiasm “I feel GREAT!” If someone was mean to us, we’d be nice to them. No matter how many aches and pains we had we’d not make negative comments, we’d turn them into positives!

For the first 13 hours or so it was relatively easy.

At Walmart, it was crowded but people organized around the items they wanted and waited for the sales people to yell GO at 5am and we grabbed what we wanted and we were out of there by 5:15am. We would have been out of there sooner had my sister and I actually made a plan about where to meet after the big grab but still, we thought we did quite good. From here we left our county and headed south to our old hood.

At Home Depot, we had to wait about 20 minutes for the doors to open and we chatted with two nice guys who told us they always thought their wives were crazy for getting up early and shopping on Black Friday…until they saw the awesome prices in the Home Depot. When the doors opened a very cheerful Home Depot guy wished me “Good Morning” and with sale flyer in hand and my cheerful attitude I asked him if he knew where the items I was seeking could be located. Instead of just pointing the way, he personally escorted us to our items. The doors opened at 6am, we sat back down in the car at…6:02, I am NOT kidding.

Next up, Big K, we arrived at 6:10, out the door at 6:15.

Avenue didn’t open until 7am…or so we thought so we walked over to Panera to get a coffee and when we returned to the car and sipped our coffee I looked in the store and noticed they were already open, it was 6:45am! So in we went, this took a little bit longer because we had to try stuff on. Exit time 7:20.

Tuesday Morning didn’t open until 8am and there was no line but we stood and waited patiently for them to open. I was still going strong and although we could have sat in the car until closer to 8am, I was enjoying the fresh air. Ken called and asked where I was and said he didn’t have a job until Noon and it was near where we were so he would meet up with us. I told him to call when he got to our part of town and we’d coordinate a meeting up. We were out of there by 8:05am.

Kohls was our next stop and while we found our items quite quickly, this was where we hit our first roadblock of the day. The checkout lane was about 6 or 7 registers on each side of the store with about 75 people queuing up on either side. Had we realized, one of us would have jumped in the queue and the other grabbed the items. About 20 minutes into our 30 minute wait to check out, Ken called and he was in the area and asked where we were, I told him we were almost out of Kohls and to go ahead to the mall and go to Sears for us and we’d meet up with him inside of the mall. As we talked I could hear this constant DING DING DING noise and I guess I didn’t realize that I was shouting to be heard over the DING DING DING and I said to him, quite loudly “AND I KNOW YOU DON’T HAVE YOUR SEAT BELT ON BECAUSE I CAN IT DINGING….” All of the sudden I heard laughter all around me and I looked up to see what was so funny and what I had missed only to realize I was the entertainment, everyone was staring at me and laughing at me for yelling at Ken for not wearing his seatbelt…moving on to the mall.

Can I just say the parking gods were on our side today because no matter where we went, someone was just pulling out and we were able to find very good parking a very good parking spot. I thought for sure our luck had run out at the mall when I saw the jammed packed lot but I randomly told my sister to turn down an aisle and just as we did, we saw brake lights of a car just about to reverse out, SCORE!

The mall…what can I say…it was a zoo! We met Ken at the shoe store and I didn’t like the Nike’s and he didn’t like the hiking boots that were on sale so we left empty handed. Onward to the Gap where Ken scored two great light weight perfect for Florida winter sweaters, buy one get one free. Lane Bryant where clothes were buy one get one free, mix and match. My sister bought right fit jeans, I got the free ones haha, I bought one size down from what I wear now, look out smaller size, here I come.

I have to say it was at Macy’s where I really appreciated that Ken was with us, we bought a few bulky items and Ken, ever the English gentleman, proclaimed himself to be our pack mule and refused to let my sister and carry packages. It was Macy’s were we encountered our first and only rude person of the day who screamed at us that we were blocking her way and we needed to MOVE RIGHT NOW. I took a deep breath, smiled and said “well bless your heart, aren’t you just the sweetest thing!” as we walked away and left her dazed, baffled and wondering what just happened.

Bath and Body Works…twisted peppermint body splash smells nice, by the time we reached JC Penny, my feet started to ache. I turned to Ken and my sister and said: I feel GREAT! My feet are pulsating, I think it’s my body’s way of giving me a little massage…it feels GREAT…

Ken, unaware of the pact I made with my sister that didn’t allow any of us complain looked at my sister and said “what have you done to her?” Of course she was a tattletale on me and told him of our pact.

Ahhh Breakfast at last! It was 11am and I felt GREAT. Ken got a call from his boss who told him to just go ahead and enjoy shopping his appointment had cancelled.

Ken, not as burned out from the shopping as we were wanted to make a few stops on his way home. My sister and I went home, unpacked the car, she needed to do a few errands and I lay on the sofa and rested a minute. I looked around at the bags and realized that in the past nine hours, I had spent over seven of them either standing or walking. Twenty minutes later Ken got home we lay on the bed, Sadie and Max missed us terribly. With purpose and with a plan she lay on top of him, Max lay on top of me, and they weren’t taking any chances that we might sneak off again.

After about 20 minutes Ken said “I really want to go up to our mall…don’t you want to come with me?” I looked around in disbelieve when I heard the words OK, I’ll go and realized it was me who said it…we were off again.

After three or four more shops and with me maintaining my sugary sweet attitude to everyone I met even without my sister there the man at Staples asked how are you and I said GREAT and when he had the nerve to say that he was glad SOMEONE was because HE had been there since 5am and they had opened at 6am and it was a crazy day… Ken grinned with a sense of certainty when he saw my lip quiver and my nose crinkle for just a moment . . .I stopped dead in my tracks and whipped my head around so fast pea soup could have spewed from my mouth and said to the complainer with a genuine laugh and a smile: AMATURE! I’ve had three hours of sleep, I was at Walmart at 4am, this is my 17thstore today, then I laughed and said, suck it up and get over it. But I said it with a smile.

Exactly what is he implying?

After Thanksgiving dinner settled, Ken and I headed out for a walk with Sadie and Max. I really wanted to get in a good brisk walk at a fast pace, Sadie and Max had other ideas; they intended to sniff and leave pee-mail on ever tree, bush, stops sign and corner over the course of 2 miles.

I got a bit annoyed expressed this annoyance to Ken and what do you suppose my sweet, adorable beloved husband said?: They like to sniff everything, it’s what dogs do. Honey if you were to go down to the truffle shop (Harry and David) you’d stop and sniff every piece of chocolate in the place…it’s the same thing

I’ll leave YOU to ponder the similarities of that statement, haha. If you’re reading this on Friday morning, I’m probably out fighting someone for a bargain stimulating the economy at the Black Friday sales. My sister wants something at Walmart and they open at 5am, we’re also going to: Home Depot, Avenue, Kohls, Tuesday Morning, Sears, JC Penny’s, Bed Bath and Beyond, Bealls, Rack Room Shoes, Macy’s, Pier One Imports and Sports Authority...are you exhausted yet? I am! It’s going to be ugly out there, I’ll try to take some photos with my phone to share.

Shopping counts as exercise right?

Wish me luck!

Christmas Freebie Alert - Holiday Hits 2008 - Hurry Limited Time

On Oprah's site she is offering a free download of 8 Christmas songs from artists such as Faith Hill, Tony Bennett, Josh Groban and more. Its for a limited time and I believe its until some time on Friday so hurry and get your downloads now! Just click on the Oprah's Favorite Things, Holiday Hits 2008.

Enjoy!

Thanksgiving Eve...

Is there such a holiday or did I just make that one up?


Today is super busy for me. The new dishwasher is being installed at around 9:30 this morning...my poor dish pan hands have suffered long enough and have the ragged cuticles and broken nails to show for it. Oh yes this IS the same dishwasher we bought nearly two weeks ago. You see it had to come all the way from ORLANDO and you know being a whole 115 miles away and taking THAT long we figure they were trying to cut costs and transport our dishwasher on the backs of turtles. The local animal authority has been notified of my suspicions and they are looking into the matter and have promised to get back to me.

Once he leaves I need to clean the house and make a few dishes up for Thanksgiving so I'm not stuck in the kitchen all day. On deck to make: Cranberry Chutney, Cauliflower with Streusel topping and the Turtle Pumpkin Mouuse. Tomorrow I'll sucker sweet talk Ken into helping me peel potatoes and the rest will just come together nicely! I've been in charge of the holiday meals and all cooking for a few years now and its pretty stress free for me now but I still recall the tears I cried the first time I had to prepare a holiday meal on my own...oh the stress and the tears!


Speaking of stress...remember how I was stressing out over the Thanksgiving meal? Out of curiosity I calculated my calories for the day giving my self generous portions of everything...are you ready for this?


1882 calories and believe me I won't feel a bit deprived! I'm starting the day with a Cinnamon Swirl French Toast Bake and turkey sausage in the morning and for our late lunch early dinner there will be the traditional foods, turkey, stuffing (or dressing as they like to call it here in the south), roasted sweet potatoes, roasted brussel sprouts, cauliflower with streusel topping, cranberry chutney and of course turtle pumpkin mousse for dessert. I'm even planning a little snack tray for later on with Triscuits, turkey, chutney, crudités and low fat cheddar and jack cheeses....yes all of that for 1882!! I had budgeted for up to 2200, I'll see what I actually eat on the day and adjust as I go through the weekend. Isn't it amazing how much you can eat when you eat well?

And of course I'm doing a morning 5k walk! Not an official timed 5k but my own little 5k and if Ken wants to take a stroll in the evening after dinner, I won't say no. 

You know I could babble on all day long but smell of fresh brewed vanilla hazelnut blend coffee is filling the air and I can no longer resist and oh yeah, I did say I had a ton of stuff to do....

To everyone who celebrates Thanksgiving I wish you a very happy Thanksgiving!!!

Healthy You Challenge Check In Week 47

Hi everyone and welcome to another wonderful week! It looks like a lot of us want to continue the HYC into 2009 so that's exactly what I'm going to do.


I'm in the process of updating the pounds lost badges with my new URL and to take off the 2008. I've had a few requests for different badges so I'm going to ask that if anyone has any requests for different HYC badges please let me know and I'll work on them too.


I'd like to wish everyone in the States a very Happy and Healthy Thanksgiving on Thursday.

WELCOME!


Trip to Healthy Weight
http://triptohealthyweight.com/

Jane Getting to Goal
http://laurajane.wordpress.com/

Hello Weight Loss
http://helloweightloss.blogspot.com/

Diet Amnesia

I was looking at the website for Ruby on Style Network yesterday and she had posted some videos of herself and she said it was so she could look back and remember how far she’s come. It really made me stop and look back on my life and my past attempts at losing weight.

How often have I laid in bed at night full of hope and promises to myself that tomorrow would be different? That tomorrow I’d start a fresh new day and eat right and exercise? How many times have I overindulged in a big meal and regretted what I did? How many times have I been in a dressing room at the mall and cried because nothing fit or nothing looked the way I wanted it to look?

I have made so many promises to myself that this time would be different, that tomorrow would be better. That I’d make the right choices and eat healthy foods yet as soon as temptation was in my face or I became the slightest bit uncomfortable I’d go running back to my old lifestyle and if overindulgence, self pity and binge eating were a true lifestyle, I’d be the life of that party, belle of the ball, QUEEN OF THE UNIVERSE….ahem!

But so often the light of day made those night time promises and the sorrows of the day before just disappear as if they were never there, it was my very own selective self imposed diet amnesia. Why? Why do I do this to myself? Why have I repeated this pattern over and over again? In this year of self discovery the one thing I haven’t found or isolated is the trigger that sends me from living a healthy life to that place I like to refer to as Crazy Town?

I suppose that this is why I blog this crazy weight loss blog for the world to see and if I repeat myself in my blog, it’s for my own benefit and to prevent Diet Amnesia. This is a process of learning and understanding why I do the things I do. It’s about changing the way my mind reacts to food, it’s about changing my response to situations. It’s about finding the control while maintaining a delicate balance.

Right now I feel so strong and I’ve been doing great for weeks. I’m so proud of myself. I’m facing an upcoming holiday on Thursday and I have a plan to deal with this. Do normal people need to stress and worry about what they will eat on ONE DAY? From past history, I know that I can’t just have one day out of control. I can’t allow myself a one day free-for-all; I have to maintain this control or it will lead to weeks of out of control eating. Will next Holiday Season be different? Can I just eat without all of this planning and thought? I’m not really sure. What I do know is that for now I’m on the right track and I’m so fearful of falling off that track I can’t even express in words what’s going on in my head. Right now I have this strength coming from somewhere inside of me and I’m clinging to it as if my life depends on it and I write these words so that I can look back when I’m not feeling as strong and remember. The truth is I don’t want to have to read this post again. I don’t want diet amnesia to return.

Twas the month before Christmas

A Little Holiday Season Poem
from Me to You!

Twas the month before Christmas when up on the scale
I saw a number that made me turn pale
I looked back to the past, to the beginning of the year
and wondered out loud, “how the hell did I get here?”


I could have just waited until the first of the year
But that would only increase the size of my rear
Instead of sleeping late, curled up in my bed
I’ll put on my sweat pants, healthy mantras in my head


I’ll head out the door at dawns first light
To Sadie and Max these walks are a delight
We’ll walk around the block and even try to jog
It helps when your walking buddy is not one but two dogs


I’ll fight with courage and determination
To rid my body of this abomination
I’ll work my ass off and I’ll eat right
I won’t give up til I win this fight


I’ll head to the store to chose healthy dishes
I’ll grill up veggies, lean meat and fishes
My body will be happy and start to look lean
Join my adventure, you’ll see what I mean

When I go to parties, I’ll make a plan
To the food pushers, I’ll make a stand
I’ll spend the night munching on crudités
So I won’t feel guilty at all the next day


I’ll be mindful of portions and their sizes
I walk, I’ll lift and try new exercises
And when the first of the year does arrive
I’ll smile with delight wearing a smaller size

The end
The Beginning!

Overheard at the pharmacy

I was at the pharmacy picking up a prescription and I had to wait so I started to browse the store. The pharmacy can be a slippery slope any time of the year given that barrage of snacks and candy but at Christmas time it can be downright deadly. Just when you think you’ve successfully avoided the candy there is a package of iced sugar cookies staring you in the face. Of course common sense tells me they are hard cookies, filled with trans fat and high fructose corn syrup and not worthy of going into my body.

As I walked around the store my eyes quickly darted away from all of food porn and my averting eyes made me feel as if I had walked in on something that I might want to see but didn't want to get caught looking. I spotted the magazine aisle and found safety. As I stood there flipping through Vogue, I couldn’t help but overhear the conversation taking place between two older women who looked to be in their late 70’s. Apparently Brad Pitt was on the cover and it sparked the following conversation:

Woman 1: Oooooh I like that Brad Pitt, he’s sooooo cute
Woman 2: Oh I know, if I were 20 years younger, look out Angelina Jolie


They both laughed heartily at the prospect.

Only 20 years younger huh? I smiled at the thought, how cute, the old ladies are checking out the younger men….. and then I overheard something hilarious that made me think that candy porn was mild compared to these two.

Woman2: I like that other one….Vince Vaughn
Woman1: Ooooh hes cute but he’s so...so dirty....
Woman 2: I know. Why do you think I like him? Give me an hour alone with him…
Woman 1: MARY!!!!
Woman 2: Whaaaaat? I think he’s cute…
Woman 1: You can't have all of the men, save some for me!


As they moved on, I was tempted to follow them around the store for more amusing conversation but just then I overheard my name being called for prescription pickup. On the way out, I walked obliviously down the candy aisle on my way out of the store.

Thanksgiving is a week away...are you prepared?

I have to admit, I was stressed over the big Thanksgiving meal next week and the pending carbfest. I have scoured the web and found that I can celebrate with a special meal and I don't have to sacrifice my health or diet in the process.

I knew I could enjoy a healthy meal with no problem…

Turkey...with no skin its delicious and nutritious.
Stuffing..whole wheat bread, adding apples, onion and celery to offset the bread ratio
Potatoes…I’m roasting sweet potatoes
I’m rounding out the meal with roasted brussel sprouts (Lyn posted a great how-to on this yesterday) and cauliflower with streusel topping and making a cranberry chutney.

Yes, all healthy and nutritious but I got stuck on dessert. I really wanted something sweet and seasonal. I thought of getting a no sugar added apple pie but even still the calories and sugar content are quite high.

I saw a recipe for Turtle Pumpkin Pie (see Kraft website) and thought it looked delicious but way too sugary for me so I’ve modified it. I’m skipping the pie crust, making the filling with sugar free pudding and drizzling with sugar free caramel and sugar free chocolate sauce and a few chopped pecans on top! Their version 320 calories, my version about 125 calories!

Turtle Pumpkin Mousse

1 cup of low fat milk
2 (3.4 ounce) boxes of sugar free vanilla instant pudding mix
1 can (15 ounces) of canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
8 ounces of sugar free Cool Whip thawed
Sugar free caramel and chocolate ice cream topping (a teaspoon of each is about 40 calories)

Whisk together in a large bowl, pudding mixes, milk, pumpkin and spices Stir in 1 ½ cups of the thawed sugar free cool whip. Mix together and pour into serving bowl. Chill.

Spoon into serving dishes and drizzle with sugar free caramel and sugar free chocolate sauces, top with additional cool whip and about a teaspoon of chopped pecans.

Makes 10 servings, 125 calories per serving.



So what time can I expect you to help me eat this yummy Turtle Pumpkin Mousse? Around 7? Perfect! I’ll have Ken whip up a pot of decaf coffee to go with it too.

A new level of comfort

Its been unseasonably cold here in FL this week and when Ken saw the weather forcast he requested a week of soup for dinner. Monday I made Turkey Chili and last night I made this...

Loaded Baked Fauxtato Soup 

Why fauxtato? Because instead of potato I used cauliflower, the result? Absolutely delicious and 133 calories per serving! Of course you can read all about it over on the recipe blog.

Last week I made Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Oatmeal and I think I forgot to tell you all about it, I know some of you found the recipe anyhow but I wanted to mention it here because I've made it several times since then and tried it with dark chocolate cocoa...OH MY! Satisfying and delicious!

When the weather turns cold I want all of my "comfort food" favorites but I've found that you can easily make over the recipes and end up with something just as delicious and comforting.


I love food and for years I've let it control my life. I've let obsessive cravings drive me to stuff my face.  I've always held tightly to the past and I know its rooted in family traditions. My Mom held on to her heritage by cooking foods that her Mom cooked. Together with her six sisters, they held on to family and traditions by gathering and sharing large meals. Dinner for 50, not a problem, invite a few friends, not a problem, there was always plenty to eat. They always stressed the importance of family and I learned that gluttonous eating was not only accepted, it was expected. If eating made you good and cleaning your plate made you better, excessive consumption made you a queen!  Don't think this was one big happy family though, dysfunction was running rampant and as soon as I was able, I moved as far away from them as I could. 

The one thing that has become very clear to me is that I've used food as a drug. I've used it to numb me, I've used it to isolate myself and I've used it to build a fortress of fat around me. Letting go should have happened when I moved away over 20 years ago. Letting go should have happened but it didn't. I continued to use the food to bury the problems and to bury the past.

Over the past year I've looked deep into my soul and I've taken the ghosts of the pasts and I've put them in their place. They had power because I gave them power. I let my fears fuel them. Fears I didn't even realize I had. I've changed, I'm stronger and aware of it now and I won't be controlled by the past nor will I be controlled by food.

Yesterday I was at the grocery store and I walked past the woman giving out samples and I walked past the favorite brownies with cream cheese frosting and I felt my body start to tense up and I told myself that those brownies aren't worth it. As I walked towards the produce department I felt a sense of calm come over me. I had looked at those brownies, acknowledged that they looked good and I kept walking. YEAH!

When I got home Sadie and Max were so happy to see me and I made a cup of tea and sat in the recliner with a blanket to warm up and watch TV, first Max jumped up with me and snuggled in and then Sadie jumped up too. Talk about comfort! No, comfort isn't always found in food.

Healthy You Challenge Check In Week 46

Welcome to week 46! Yes, week 46…last week I tried to have week 44 again but thankfully A Working Mom’s Joy was paying attention and I was able to correct it midday. Honestly I can't believe that next week is Thanksgiving here in the States.



So here is my question to all of you today: Are you interested in continuing with this group in 2009? I’m willing to keep doing just what we’re doing or if you have ideas I’d like to hear them. You can leave a comment or email me.

Moved!

Katschis aka Fitcetera has moved to a new location, be sure to update your bookmarks
http://www.katschisfitcetera.blogspot.com/


Welcome!

Naturally Wandering
http://bunnytrailthoughts.blogspot.com/

losing 20 lbs
http://losing-20-pounds.blogspot.com/

Go with God; Grow with God
http://kristinashetter.blogspot.com/

what goes in must come out
http://angieandjpnicholas33.blogspot.com/

A Holiday Gift From Me To Me

I’ve spent quite a bit of time reflecting on the past year. I know I’ve made a lot of progress and I’m looking forward to making more progress next year. There are still seven weeks left in this year and when I was having coffee last week with Thinking Thin Too, I told her that I was going to step it up and make the most of these last six or seven weeks. I thought if I said it outloud to someone I'd be more likely to stick with it but then as I gave it more thought I realized, this isn't a chore, its a gift to my body and my health.


Yesterday I was reading Hanlie’s blog and I found out that I’m not alone. She’s starting a 6 week program now because she is committed to ending this year with as much enthusiasm as she started with this year. I’ve read several articles on end of the year strategies including one on Holiday Tips on MSNBC and I particularly agreed with the part about not letting Thanksgiving to New Years turn into one long binge because “it’s the holidays” or I have to “celebrate” because “I deserve it.” Its full of great tips to help you stay on track, tips that I plan on using too. If that isn't enough to convince you, I was listening to the radio and they were talking about how deadly the holidays can be for your heart health. Apparently the spikes in heart attacks on Christmas Day and New Year's Day has resulted in cardiologists using the terms "the Merry Christmas Coronary" and "Happy New Year Heart Attack" WHOOOOAAA!!! This has definitely reinforced in my mind that a holiday binge isn't going to be on my gift list this year.


I know that personally I have the most success when I use a balance system or zigzag eating meaning I calculate the calories I need for a week and spend them in varying increments throughout the week. I read an interesting blog post on Escape From Obesity and Lyn talked about making a calorie budget for the month. She goes into a great deal of explanation behind her reasoning so if you think this is something for you, read her post It makes a lot of sense, even if you don’t think this is something for you, read her blog, its really good.


There are a little over six weeks left in this year. It would be easy to sit back and say “I’ll start up again on January 1st” It would be easy to just let myself indulge during the holidays, after all, I deserve that second piece of cake don’t I? No! My body and my heart deserve healthy foods! I do deserve to indulge but in non food rewards and let’s face it, it would be easy to just start in January but doing the easy thing too many times got me to where I am today. To get away from this place I have to walk a different path and while it may not always be the easy path, it’s the best path for my health.


So what does it all come down to? Balance. Living a healthy lifestyle is not an all or nothing game, it’s all about balance. Balance in what we eat and balance in controlling triggers that cause us to overeat. It’s about having a plan. It’s knowing your limitations and knowing when to push just a little bit further. It’s taking the stairs when you want to take the elevator. It’s parking a little bit further away from the store, its saying no to the dessert. It’s about spending your calories and your time wisely because you matter. The greatest gift I can give myself this holiday season is good health.

Selecting the right doctor

Him: have you filled out the insurance paperwork?

Me: I still have to pick doctors...I've never heard of any of them... do you want a male or female doctor, old or young? Near here, near your office?

he pauses and gets a silly grin on his face...

Him: I want DOCTOR WHO!

Me: You can't have Doctor Who

Him: Why not?

Me: He isn't in our network of preferred providers

Him: Damn...thats so unfair

Splish Splash

I opened the door from the kitchen into the garage and I stepped down into a puddle of water. The last time this happened, the overflow pan from the AC was blocked and it caused a leak which weakened the ceiling in the living room and lets just say we didn’t know anything was wrong until a 8foot by 4 foot section of sheet rock crashed down over the TV cabinet. Oh how I cried that night. Water everywhere, insulation everywhere and everything on top of the entertainment center was broken and ruined. A complete mess that I didn’t want to repeat…EVER.

Ken had just checked the overflow a few weeks earlier and it was fine and he quickly scurried into the attic to check and again he said that everything was fine up there. We checked the washer and the hot water heater, both fine, the only thing left was the dish washer. It bordered the wall with the garage but there wasn’t any water in the kitchen, you’d think the kitchen floor would be soaked…wouldn’t it? The water ran along the baseboard and down through the garage door and out into the garage, very considerate of it to not flood the kitchen dontchathink?

When the appliances were replaced a few years ago, the dishwasher wasn’t replaced because it wasn’t a necessity. Its now a necessity. Its been patched and bandaged and its time for it to retire.

So today I have the wonderful task of going shopping for a new one. I’m looking for something with a really high energy star rating, quiet and something that will of course get the dishes clean. I’m not sure which is worse…washing dishes by hand or shopping for a new dishwasher. Can’t I just go get a massage today instead?

I hear you already stop shouting at me...

For the second time this week, Sparkpeople has sent a list of "Super Foods"

I read the list, I even saved the list and now they've sent me the list again so I think its a sign that I"m meant to share this list with you.

I'm happy to say that my diet is 95% made of of these foods and I was shocked to see that there are only a few foods on there that I don't eat. I've tried all of them. 

You can read the entire article on Spark People

This is an all-inclusive list, but some foods might not be right for your tastes, preferences or health goals. Remember that no single food can provide everything you need to be healthy. That's why it's important to choose a variety of super foods from each category to meet your daily nutrition needs.

Vegetables Asparagus Avocados Beets Bell peppers Broccoli Brussels sprouts Cabbage Carrots Cauliflower Collard greens Crimini mushrooms Cucumbers Eggplant Garlic Green beans Kale Mustard greens Onions Peas Portobello mushrooms Potatoes Rainbow chard Romaine lettuce Shiitake mushrooms Spinach Summer squash Sweet potatoes Swiss chard Tomatoes Turnip greens Winter squash Yams Calcium-Rich Foods Almond milk Cheese, low fat Cottage cheese, low fat Milk, skim or 1% Orange juice with calcium Rice milk Soy milk Yogurt with active cultures, low fat

Fruits Apples Apricots Bananas Black olives Blackberries Blueberries Cantaloupe Cherries Cranberries Figs Grapefruit Grapes Honeydew melon Kiwifruit Lemons Limes Nectarines Oranges Papaya Peaches Pears Pineapple Plums Prunes Raisins Raspberries Strawberries Watermelon Grains Amaranth Arborio rice Barley Brown rice Buckwheat Bulgur Corn Jasmine Millet Oats Quinoa Rye Spelt Triticale Wheat berries Whole grain breads, cereal, pasta Whole wheat breads, cereal, pasta Wild Rice

Proteins Almonds Beef, lean Black beans Cashews Chicken, skinless Chickpeas Egg whites Eggs Fish, unbreaded Flaxseed Garbanzo beans Hemp seeds Hummus Kidney beans Lima beans Lentils Miso Navy beans Nuts Peanut butter, natural Peanuts Pinto beans Pork, lean Pumpkin seeds Salmon, canned or fresh Seafood, unbreaded Sesame seeds Soybeans Sunflower seeds Tahini Tempeh Tofu Tuna, canned or fresh Turkey, skinless Veggie burgers Walnuts Wild game, skinless Miscellaneous Canola oil Dark chocolate Green tea Olive oil

another piece of the puzzle, another step in the right direction

The lovely Danièle from Life Should Be Stereo tagged me for a Meme on something you’d say to your younger self of 2, 5, 10 and 15 years ago. I sat down and gave it a lot of thought and found that I’d say some humorous things to my 2, 5, and 10 year ago self but honestly I started to feel a lot of sadness when I got to the “me” of 15 years ago, so much so that I found myself in tears. I’m not ready to share that part of my life and I don’t know if I ever will be but it did make me realize that I’m still holding on to a lot of hurt feelings and feelings of betrayal. I also realized that while I have been over weight all of my life it was the events of 15 years ago that led me from obese to morbidly obese. I gained 100 pounds in one year. I used food to numb my feelings.

Yesterday when I was having coffee with Thinking Thin Too we both realized that we had reached a point in our lives when we were starting to stand up for ourselves. We told each other stories of times when we were in public and people made negative comments about us and we stood up for ourselves. We both agreed that we had learned to stand up for ourselves and not let people get away with that behavior and with a resounding HIGH FIVE shared across the table we formed a special bond.


So much of this journey has been about trying to move forward, trying to let go of the past and just when I think I’ve resolved one issue, another issue shows its head. All of this has made me stronger and even more determined to push forward. This is my LIFE. This isn’t a practice run. When I punish myself I’m letting those who have hurt me win. I’m not hurting them, I’m only hurting myself. Its time for me to stop giving people who don’t deserve it power in my life and take it back and put it in my hands. Its time for me to be the strong woman I know I can be. Its time.

I had so much fun

I’m home, I’m totally hyped out on coffee and I’ve just spent the past 3 hours chatting and shopping with the lovely Thinking Thin Too! Aren't you jealous!



She is just such an incredibly beautiful person both inside and out and she has the most amazing blue eyes. We talked about so many things; jobs, realized we knew some of the same people, blogging, men and produce…yes we talked about fruits. Several times we laughed so hard that we cried.

It was so nice to spend time with her and she was so easy to talk to that it was like meeting up with someone who I've known all of my life but just haven't seen in a while. I'm hoping we can do it again some time soon since we only live a few miles apart. 

 

Fun and Exciting

I'm doing something fun and exciting today and I just know you're going to want to hear all about it. I'm meeting a fellow blogger...I'm not going to say who but I'll tell you all about it when I get back home later today!

Right now, I'm sweaty and I'm certain I smell bad because I just walked 3 miles in under an hour...woohoo...so I'm headed to the shower so you don't have to read on her blog about how bad I smell.

Healthy You Challenge Check In Week 45

Here we go again! Another week, another check-in!

I did a little bit of housekeeping this weekend with the blog roll, I've deleted a few dead links and just like last time with this big blog roll, strange things happened and a few blogs got deleted that shouldn't have so if you ever notice your name on on the Healthy You Challenge blog roll, just email me and I'll add it.

WELCOME!


My Road To Weight Loss
http://darcithelbloser.blogspot.com/

Ben's Mom on a Diet
http://down20bychristmas.wordpress.com/

Time to dig in

There are only a few weeks left in the year. Hard to believe isn’t it? This year started out with so much promise to be “the year” I finally get my weight under control. It’s been a year of self discovery and learning but unfortunately there hasn’t been enough losing.

I sunk into a deep dark place for a while this year, brought on by pressures of life and myself. I quit visiting blogs for the most part or I’d visit but not leave a comment. I struggled to keep pushing and keeping the promises I’ve made to everyone out there in blog land. I know there were times when someone asked something of me and I didn’t follow through. Not because it wasn’t a good idea or a good plan but because I simply didn’t have it in myself to take on one more thing.

I’m happy to say the fog is lifting and I have a sense of clarity that I haven’t experience in years. I can’t define it so I won’t try I’ll just hold on to it and try to capture it and keep the fire burning. This past weekend I spent some time reading blogs and I was reminded of just how many wonderful people there are out there.

I was reading Hollyalp’s blog, Weight Watchers Extraordinaire and she had a post titled Do You Know How To Lose Weight and she brought up that she knows how to lose weight but like me she keeps hitting those emotional roadblocks. She said her post was inspired by Pretty Face Heather titled I Feel Thin Today and in this post Heather talks about the 90% of this struggle as being with our emotions and saying NO to that piece of cake. What is it about cake that we feel like we’re just so unloved if we don’t have cake? She’s right, we’re being childish by eating that cake even when we know it isn’t in the best interest of our bodies and our goals. We take so much on board and put so much emphasis on giving ourselves a treat and we beat the crap out of ourselves when we fall. I can’t tell you how many blogs I visited this weekend that said “I only lost a pound” or “I only lost .2” Free 2 Be wrote a great post called We Need to Re-Define *Great* and give ourselves pats on the back for those NSV’s because we all know the scale is a fickle and temperamental hunk of metal and glass.

Want to read a great post from a blogger who talked about not making her Christmas goal but stopped to outline all that she achieved this year instead of crying about it? Lynn of The Hungry Little Caterpillar fame wrote an amazing post called Someone Else’s Pants that speaks of learning to stand up for yourself (and so much more) and stop using the fat as an excuse. I know I use my fat as a safety net, I use it as an excuse to fail. This ends now.

Yes, this whole year has become a process and its all a part of becoming a better me. Speaking of being a better person, Merry from Sheesh (who you also might know as Merry Sunshine from Cranky Fitness and I know you know Cranky Fitness and you don't, its time to crawl out from under your clam shell and get over there now! ) has been blogging about her participation in 29 Days of Giving If you aren't familiar with 29 days of giving, head over and check it out. This would be a great project for the holiday season or any time of the year. Its something to do for 29 days and often in our lives.


So what do I know I need to do to be successful? I must PLAN. Failing to plan is planning to fail…we’ve all heard it before but this is the beginning. If simply wanting to be fit and healthy led to results I would have been fit and healthy years ago. Planning and then following through with action. There is a speck of light at the end of the tunnel and I’m headed that way now. I’ll see you there.

DVR TIVO ALERT....Get Ready for Ruby!

Tonight the Style Network airs the season premiere of Ruby at 8/7c, Sunday November 9th.

Ruby Gettinger is a beautiful woman from Savannah Georgia (USA) is a morbidly obese woman who is in a life and death fight for her life.

I'm really looking forward to watching this program and finding inspiration in Ruby's journey to fuel my journey from morbid obesity to a healthy weight. I've included a links below so you can see a few clips from the show and why I'm so excited to see this!

Read more about it here, Ruby on Style. 

Watch videos clips of RUBY by clicking here!

Saturday morning goodness

After my morning walk I wanted something warm but sweet. I whipped up a Chocolate Kissed Cherry Oatmeal...don't worry, I've posted the very simple recipe on the cooking page. The plan is to create one for every recipe and eventually set them to rotate...yeah, I've got to work on that one.

Quiet Saturday around here. After Ken left for work at 6am, I started cleaning out the pantry and organizing it. I had an ulterior motive. Last Saturday the Boy Scouts left a bag on my door and asked me to share a few items for the food bank. I ended up filling up a box full of extras and a few whatthehellwasIthinking items.

That bag massive of white rice that's been sitting in my pantry since the last time I asked Ken to pick up rice on his way home. No dear, this isn't the kind of rice we eat. A few impulse purchases that ended up being not as healthy as they appeared. And do I really need 17 cans of tuna? I don't even like tuna but I keep a few cans on hand because MizFit says I should look at this can of tuna when I want to eat something yummy and if I'm really hungry I'll eat the tuna instead. Of course when Ken asks why there is a can of tuna on the counter, I blame her, GOD I love that woman, if only I could blame her for the laundry that didn't get done because I was too busy planning meals and exercising, yeah that might be pushing it but I'm totally blaming her for the tuna. My pantry looks fabulous and its free from impulse purchases that were filled with HFCS and transfats and I feel like I've done a little bit of good.

I happened to arrive back at home up as the boys were carrying my box of goodies from the doorstep they sweetly said "thank you for your generous donation" I smiled at them and thanked them for giving up their Saturday morning to collect food for the needy. Really, when it comes down to it, I wasn't helping them as much as I was helping myself. I'm the one who will benefit by having these foods out of my house.

Thanksgiving is just around the corner. Food banks need donations. Now is a great time to clean out your pantry and help others while helping yourself.

Sharing the Sunshine

Yesterday was such a beautiful day. The weather was cool but you didn't need a coat, the humidity was low and there wasn't a single cloud in the sky. I had so many errands to do in the morning that I didn't take Sadie and Max for their walk. I planned to take them later in the day but when Sadie walked up to me, threw her harness on the ground in front of me and barked, I got the message.

Because it was such a nice day I thought we'd head to the dog park so they could run and I could do some strength training when we got home. We headed to the local dog park (the one next to here), the one I've told you about countless times that overlooks the Gulf of Mexico but you have to stand on a bench in the dog park to see it and you can't actually walk your dogs past the dog park to oh say, have a look at the water or even walk to the public restroom. You can see the slide show of "what lies beyond the evil sign" here.

They got to meet a few new friends including another short black dog named Chester. This little guy was shorter than Max and fatter than Sadie, in fact, he made Sadie look quite slim. I was chatting with his Mom and he she told me that her husband is the one who is guilty of overfeeding him, not her. Oh believe me, I do believe you!

I got the three of them to pose by the oak tree, from left to right, Chester, Sadie, Max

We saw some birds

Then their new friend left and the typical debate began...MINE

Max chased after the toy, yes its mid-air, my sister was with us and was throwing while I snapped photos.

Sadie charging to me

Max running with his ears flying, this picture makes me laugh.

Exhausted after a few hours of play, I knew they were ready to go home when Max decided he wanted to sit on my lap...

I know that friends in North Dakota got a lot of snow last night, some of you have beautiful autumn leaves, I'd love to see your pictures, please share!

A Page in History

WOW what a night! I promise not to get too political but I wanted to share a quote from the speech last night that really made me smile. I decided that since last night was going to be historic I would give Ken a little taste of America. We had our little election results watching party and I served this…

Are you drooling on the keyboard? You don't have to lick the screen, this is an easy to make recipe and would be a perfect healthy addition to your Thanksgiving menu or your menu tonight :-)


So it wasn’t as American apple pie but close and a lot better for my calorie budget! Oh yeah, it was as yummy as it looked and only 179 calories. Of course you can read the recipe on my cooking page complete with step by step instructions. Here is your ticket to this warm fall comfort...just click HERE for Apple Crisp.


Typically I talk about the Biggest Loser on Wednesday and what happened and who got voted off but instead I'd like to very briefly touch on the election and the new diet that brought together both parties. I saw women from both camps comment that they were so excited that they couldn’t eat. So there you have it, the newest diet that will be sweeping the nation, The Election Diet. Spend several months walking around knocking on doors and getting yelled at by strangers who don't want you in their face talking about politics but you keep doing it because its the correct thing to do, you spend time going to political rally's and you buff the scratch from your car that some support of the other side gave you because its the correct thing to do, eat what you want for 3 years and 364 days and then on Election Day you don’t eat at all...No? You don't like the starvation part of the diet? Neither did I! I ate apple crisp.


Honestly, watching the electoral votes tick up was like watching the score of a sporting event but without men in tight uniforms. I feel really good about the results of the election for so many reasons but this isn’t a political blog so I’m forcing myself to refrain and skipping the politics for the most part. No matter what side you support, now is the time to come together as Americans.


While the speech that President Elect Obama gave last night will be played over and over on YouTube and throughout history, I wanted to point out a line from the speech that you might have missed. It was a laugh out loud moment here in our house.

Sasha and Malia I love you both more than you can imagine and you have earned the new puppy that is coming with us to the White House ~ President Elect Barak Obama, November 4th, 2008

Healthy You Challenge - Week 44 Check In

Welcome to week 44

Its finally here, election day in America! I love election night, I'm sure I'll stay up half the night watching the election returns. I've heard from friends all over the world that they are getting bombarded with nonstop coverage of our election too, especially in Europe. They say they are so fascinated by it all and so am I!

Did you exercise your right to vote? You can’t complain if you don’t vote, heaven knows I love to complain so you can be sure that I voted.

Voting has other perks....

I found out that participating Starbucks are giving away a free cup of tall coffee to patrons who voted and you know I’m headed down there to take them up on that offer. And if you’re in OH, PA or WV you can head to Eat’n Park for a free cup of coffee today. Coffee buzz here I come!! Krispy Kreme, which just so happens to translate in 27 languages to The Devil Has a Glaze Coating, is also giving out special star shaped donut for customers wearing their “I Voted” sticker. As most of you know, Ken isn’t a citizen and can’t vote however he has volunteered to consume this donut with a smile on his face should I feel the urge to drive past Krispy Kreme for him tomorrow. Yes, he is well acquainted with the glaze coated devil. Ben and Jerry is also celebrating freedom by giving out a free scoop of ice cream between 5pm and 8pm tomorrow, thankfully I don’t think we have a Ben and Jerry’s store near here. So why are all of the give aways food related? Well they aren’t, in fact the article where I found out about the free food items led with a feature on a California establishment giving way sex toys to people who show their “I voted” sticker. Yes, its all true, you can read about it here on MSNBC if you want.

Anyyyyyhow….be sure to get out there and vote! And now on to your regularly schedule HYC fun and games.

Welcome Back

Just Chrissie
http://just-chrissie.blogspot.com/

Welcome

Finding the Goddess In Me
http://www.findingthegoddessinme.blogspot.com/

And finally...here's Mister Linky!!

More Tricks than Treats

Halloween started off with such promise of being a fun filled day for us. Ken finished up at work early and was headed home and said he’d arrive around 3pm.

He called back to say there was an accident ahead of him and he’d be late. I suggested he take it easy because our only vehicle had been having a lot of “issues” including oil pressure issues as well as the radiator leaking…severely.

I guess when I say “lucky” in this next paragraph I need to preface it with the fact that Ken often travels over an hour from home each day so when he called to say he had some bad news, I thought I was prepared for the worst.

Ken: The Jeep just cut out all together

Me: What do you mean?

Ken: Nothing is working at all, nothing. I just heard tick tick tick and everything shut off

Me: expletive, expletive, expletive….where are you?

Ken: up at the top of the road, behind the CVS (about a mile away)

Me: well thats lucky!

CANDY CANDY CANDY CANDY CANDY CANDY CANDY CANDY CANDY

Now at this point, my sister had gone out of town for the weekend so I couldn’t borrow her car, neighbors weren’t home, friends out of town or more than an hour drive away, AAA card expired, the Jeep was full of his equipment so leaving it there overnight was not an option and Ken had to work on Saturday at 7am. Overwhelming helpless, hopeless, panic starts to set it.

Ken called back to say the Jeep started and he drove it the mile to the Jeep dealership about a mile from the house and they were looking at it now.

We had three more phone calls:

Ken: the repair bill is up to $1500

Me: expletive, expletive, expletive

CANDY CANDY CANDY CANDY CANDY CANDY CANDY CANDY CANDY

Ken: its up to about $4500 now

Me: expletive, expletive, expletive

CANDY CANDY CANDY CANDY CANDY CANDY CANDY CANDY CANDY

Ken: Yeah, they are saying with the 135,000 miles on the car and that sort of repair bill, we’d be better off putting the money towards another car

Me: expletive, expletive, expletive

CANDY CANDY CANDY CANDY CANDY CANDY CANDY CANDY CANDY

A new car simply wasn’t in the budget right now. Yes we knew we’d need to replace the Jeep but we were hoping for another 6 months. My stress-o-meter went through the roof on Friday night.

The dealership he was at just had a trade in a few days earlier and the vehicle was perfect for us. They were asking one price, I told him to offer several thousand less and tell them it was our absolute best price. I said blame me, tell them your wife is a hardass and she won’t pay any more than that. While he negotiated I started looking on line at renting a vehicle for a week so we’d have time to look around for something else and checking out other vehicles online.

He called back a little bit later and said they agreed to our price. Woah! Total shock, I went super low figuring they would counter offer since they knew we were in a jam. So yes, Halloween was full of tricks but the new(er) vehicle is a very nice treat.

Today I detox the sugar from my system and start the push again. Today I try to put our financial mess out of my mind. I try to focus on the positive of my husband having a job and not that his work is very slow at the moment. I’m pulling myself up, I’m dusting myself off and gently putting one foot forward. I could kick myself repeatedly for allowing the stress to trigger eating.I have to be positive because negative simply isn’t an option at this point.