New Years Traditions and Superstitions

Just a few more hours and 2008 will be but a memory. The slate will be wiped clean and we can start fresh and new tomorrow. Its been quite a year for many of us, full of ups and downs and everywhere in between. I exchanged several emails with a few friends yesterday and we talked about our New Years traditions and superstitions and some of them were quite interesting.

In my family, pork is always the traditional meal for New Years Day but I didn’t know there was significance to that other than tradition. Apparently cows stand still and chickens/poultry scratch their claws backwards but a pig roots forward so those who dine on pork will be moving forward in the New Year. To eat chicken or turkey would leave you like a scratching in the dirt of poverty for your dinner like a chicken or turkey would scratch in the ground for their meal. Is there anything to this tradition/superstition? I have no idea but rest assured there will be pork on my dinner table tomorrow.

In the southern part of the United States black-eyed peas are traditional on New Years day to attract financial good luck. I’ve never followed this tradition but given that I want my financial situation to continue to improve, I’m willing to choke down a few black-eyed peas.

Have you heard the one about eating 12 grapes just before the clock strikes midnight? One grape for each of the coming months, if the grape is sweet the month will be sweet, if the grape is sour it won’t be your best month. And to think I always thought you were supposed to kiss your sweetheart as the clock struck midnight!

There are other superstitions I’ve heard over the years that have including shopping on New Year’s Eve to insure you have a full pantry. To start the year with bare cupboards would leave you with bare cupboards throughout the year. I’m taking this one a step further and stocking my cupboards with healthy foods because I intend to fill my home with healthy foods in the coming year.

By the same token you shouldn’t throw anything out on New Year’s Day, not even the garbage; nothing should leave your house until something new enters it. So perhaps I should buy something for the house and stash it in the trunk and have Ken bring it in just after midnight because to have a talk dark haired man as the first person across your threshold at the beginning of the New Year is very lucky, especially if that male is bearing gifts.

Another states that you should not start the new year with an empty wallet. So I’ll skip off to the ATM today and withdraw a bit of money to make my wallet lucky and full for the coming year.

There is another superstition that says at midnight you should make a lot of noise and open the windows and doors. I loved this one as a child. Mom would give us big spoons and pots, pans or empty coffee cans and we’d make a lot of noise. As a child I thought this was fun but it turns out its an old superstition that you’re actually scaring away the evil spirits.

So there you have it, a lot to think about on this last day of the year courtesy of my friends and family from around the world. Which superstitions will you abide by? Do you make resolutions? What are your traditions for the New Year? I'd love to hear them.

I like to have a quiet New Years Eve and spend the time with my loved ones giving thanks for a good year and looking to the future with hope and anticipation. Thank you everyone for making this year a fabulous year for me. Your support and encouragement have meant so much to me and have kept me moving forward.

My New Year’s wish for each and every one of you is to have a 2009 filled with health, happiness, love and prosperity.

I’ll see you next year!

Healthy You Check In - Week 52

We did it! We've made it through a whole year of the Healthy You Challenge and to remove any doubts that still linger YES there will be a Healthy You Challenge for 2009.

I've made some new bling and added to the Healthy You page. If you're currently using a Healthy You button that says 2008 on it, please update to one of the new buttons/badges found here, Healthy You Pounds Lost. They follow the same format as the Stones and Kilos lost from earlier in the year.

I know that some of you wanted smaller buttons so I've come up with a few Smaller Buttons/Badges

I've also created HYC Alumni badges and of course all of the bling can always be found by clicking on the Celebrating Victory link on the HYC page

I'm still working on updating info and links, should you find a broken link or incorrect info, please let me know.

I've also cleaned the blog roll and deleted a few dead links as well as blogs that haven't been updated in a few months. Just remember there are TWO columns of blog roll on the Healthy You page, check them both before emailing me to say you aren't on the list. If you've been deleted by mistake let me know and I'll add you back in.

If you've been deleted because you haven't blogged in a while, please know you are welcome to rejoin us at any time, just email me and let me know and I'll add you back on the blog roll.

I may have deleted you if I didn't see a recent check in AND if I didn't notice one of the following: a HYC button/badge in your blog or a link to the HYC page or Scale Junkie page.More on this next week, I've done enough babbling for one week!

Welcome

All About Habits
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Low GI Dieting
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Not Claire
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Lets get this victory dance going! 52 weeks WOOHOOO!!!

Sign into Mister Linky below! 

A chick flick about a missing in action mom and a wedding

Ken went to the video store the other day to rent a few movies and he was quite proud of his selection when he got home.

Him: I got a Jackie Chan and Jet Li movie for me and I got a chick flick for you

Me: You picked out a chick flick (incredulous laugh) what’s it about?

Him: It’s about a mom who was missing in action but then there is a wedding…the box looked like a chick flick and I even asked the guy at the video store if this was a chick flick and he said it was definitely a chick flick

Me: A missing in action mom and a wedding all rolled into one chick flick? I’ve never heard of anything like that, what’s it called?

Him: Mamma M. I. A.

Me: It's Mamma Mia NOT Mamma Missing In Action!!

Oh I just made something yummy!

I just posted a recipe over on my recipe site for Sausage Balls! I've made a healthy version that tastes exactly like the full fat version I remember from parties of my childhood. If you need an appetizer for a party, this is a winner at only 28 calories per sausage ball!

Don't they look yummy!!

Sprinkles

I had a hard time getting into the holiday spirit this year. Yes I shopped for gifts, I baked and cooked a big traditional holiday meal but the day after Christmas has left me feeling somewhat, how do I describe this feeling? What is the right word? Blah?

The sprinkles on the cookies that felt so festive before the big day have lost their magic spell and are now revealed for the hard little lumps of sugar that they are. It’s not that I overindulged terribly, yes I did have a few treats but I’m happy to report the scale prior to Christmas Eve compared to today is down a quarter of a pound but still I just feel flat and uninspired. I’m ready for the excuse for excess to be gone and the New Year to begin.

One of the things I’ve always loved about the New Year is that everyone is either on a diet or focused on their health or at least it seems to be the case with everyone I know. Being surrounded by likeminded people makes it so much easier to focus on my own goals and over the next few days I plan on thinking about a few goals and writing them down. Then I plan to break them down into manageable pieces and tackle them one at a time. No they aren’t all heath related but they are all things that I want to do to improve not only the longevity of my life but the quality of my life as well.

So for those of you out there who may be feeling the same BLAH that I’m feeling, please know that this is a temporary feeling and this too shall pass. Find a way to turn this blah into something to look forward to. Work out a financial plan, a healthy eating plan and/or an exercise plan. Keep your goals realistic and manageable. A financial plan that involves unreasonable expectations is as doomed to failure as saying you want to lose 50 pounds by next Friday. Yes you could win the lottery but to lose 50 pounds by Friday is not reasonable unless you’re willing to part with a limb and quite frankly I like my limbs just where they are so when you focus on the big picture of the coming year, be sure to keep your goals reasonable and remind me to keep mine reasonable if I should stray. Weight loss of 1 to 2 pounds per week, improve your fitness levels, learn a new skill or hobby, pay off a few bills and save a little bit too. Reasonable and manageable goals that won’t leave you feeling like a failure in December of 2009 are just as sweet if not sweeter than large goals because you are more likely to achieve them. How about instead of focusing on what you didn't achieve in 2008, we focus on what we DID achieve and if you think about it, you did achieve a lot. 

In the mean time remember that these blah feelings are just a moment in time and tomorrow has infinite possibilities.

Thank you

I wanted to extend a heartfelt THANK YOU to each and every one of you. Your good wishes for Ken and for Max mean so much to me.

Max is doing much better today. After two days of IV fluids, medication and lots of love, I'm happy to say it looks like he is going to make a full recovery.  He has to have a special diet for a few days and then after that a diet formulated for sensitive stomachs. The doctor ordered a diet of half white rice and half boiled chicken breast fed in 1/4 to 1/2 cup increments 5 or 6 times a day. So I prepared this special mixture and wondered, would he eat? Not only did he eat it, he tried to eat the bowl as well. His hunger is a good sign. He also needs a teaspoon of plain yogurt three times a day and again, he sucked it down so fast I blinked and it was gone. The only hard part is trying to feed one dog a special diet and having another dog who is extremely jealous of the extra attention and "special" food Max is getting. Yes Sadie is completely upset by all of this so I'm trying to make it special for her too by giving her yogurt and a little bit of chicken and rice mixed in with her food.

They actually called me to pick up Max early. Apparently he was quite vocal in his displeasure of being locked up in a crate without anyone paying attention to him. He loves his crate at home but apparently he would cry unless someone talked to him. Two whole days of listening to Max cry. The vet told me they had a moment of panic when Max stopped crying, they all rushed to check on him only to find he was sleeping. I think I should send them a case of aspirin and sign the card "love Max" 


Today is Ken's birthday!!! Unfortunately he is working but hopefully he'll be home in time to go out to a nice dinner. He's been pretty tired from working a lot of hours and I don't want to push it. I'm going to stop at the store today and pick up something to make just in case he's not in the mood to go out. I have NO idea what that will be but something delicious that requires very little preparation.

Yes, you heard me say it, I need to go out today. Shopping on Christmas Eve! I need to pick up something else for my sister and I need to do a few errands. I'm dreading going out. The first shop I need to visit opens at 8am, so I plan on being there when the doors open, getting what I need and getting the heck out of there!

Its been a rough few weeks. Honestly, its been a rough year that's followed 10 rough years. Its all part of life and I know that life will continue to sprinkle the good and the bad over me but I'm strong and I will survive.


So on this December 24th, Happy Birthday Ken! A wonderful Christmas Eve to all of you who celebrate Christmas Eve and a very Merry Christmas.

Healthy You Challenge Check In - Week 51

So here we are, week 51! Just one more week to go until we start the countdown to the new year all over again.

Last Monday Ken got into an accident, it wasn't serious but its had a lot of financial impact. This Monday we had another bit of misfortune, Max had to be hospitalized. I was allowed to bring him home Monday night but he has to be back on Tuesday morning for another day of IV treatment. We don't know the degree of his illness just yet, I'm hoping we know more tomorrow afternoon but I've been told this condition can range from mild to fatal. Needless to say I'm devastated that my baby Max is sick. If you can spare some good thoughts, please send them Max's way.

Welcome!

Just Stop Eating
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been a very very good girl

can I have a bite of your sandwich now? 

Clearly I'm starving and need it more than you do

Finding sanity in this emotional game

It’s a long hard battle all through the year but the holiday season seems to be extra difficult for me. I have this relationship with food that’s so hard for a normal person to understand. I know some of you out there are shaking your head saying oh yeah, I SO understand and some of you are shaking your head saying, what the hell is she talking about?

My sister gave me her debit card and asked me to buy the ingredients to make cookies for her to take to her office and told me to pick up anything else I needed for hosting Christmas dinner. Apparently my Thanksgiving dinner was so good she wants me to do the cooking for Christmas too, haha. So there I am in Super Walmart with her debit card, no spending limit and I spent. So I bought the stuff to make pizzelles and I thought; Ken loves brownies and I make them every year for his birthday so into the cart went the box of Ghirardelli brownie mix, since I’ll have guests in and out of my house over the next few weeks I thought I should buy some candy for that pretty little candy dish on the coffee table, adding Dove Dark and Lindt assorted flavor truffles to the cart. And because we might needs some munchies a bag of pretzels and dip. And we need some appetizers, turkey sausage, cheddar cheese and heart smart bisquick to make sausage balls., check, check and double check.

I know I won’t binge eat on these foods because they are for guests but having them in my cart made me feel so guilty. At one point I turned away from my cart to reach for something and when I looked back I didn’t even recognize it as being my cart because it was filled with things I never buy. I saw the junk foods in there and my eyes sort of darted around to see if anyone was looking at me. Its so hard to explain. I guess its like sending an alcoholic to the liquor store to pick up drinks for the party. I noticed beads of sweat forming on my brow and I could feel my heart start to race. Am I having a panic attack because my cart doesn’t contain fruits and vegetables?

I did put a package of yogurt in the cart for me. The vanilla sugar and carb control was looking pretty lonely in there but then I thought; I’m using turkey sausage and low fat cheddar for the sausage balls, any leftover candy will go to work with Ken. Yes there was 10 pounds of sugar, five pounds of flour and margarine in there but a few bags of candy in my cart doesn’t make me a bad person. No one was staring at me.

Food evokes such powerful memories and emotions. Holidays in my family were filled with abundant amounts of food. My parents grew up during the depression and I think that large spreads of food was a way of showing that your family was doing ok. If you eat well, you’re not poor. Growing my we’d gather with my Mom’s siblings for the holidays and every family would bring a dish of food to share, they would exchange cookies and candies so that every house had a variety. There was always abundance and everyone tried to outdo the next one with their lavish displays. Is this why my candy dish can’t be empty during the holidays? Is this why I get this overwhelming need to bake as soon as the weather turns cooler? No, food is just a little bit more important to me than it is to others in my family. I have a special relationship with food that is not really definable. I’ve soul searched for the answers and yes I’ve come up with several childhood traumas and I suppose all of them together could have created this addiction I have to food but as I’ve said before. Unlike the drug addict or alcoholic, I can’t stop eating.

I heard a report on the radio today that they gave mice or rats the choice between sugar water and cocaine and within 10 days all but 3 of the mice preferred the sugar water over the cocaine. So maybe I just have to accept the fact that I’m not crazy, this sugar addiction is real and I have a choice to make each and every day. I have to choose what I put in my body and live with that choice.

Yes having all of this food in my house sounds dangerous but I know I’m not going to binge on it. What I do fear is lingering too long at that candy dish and triggering the inner demon who goes to the store, buys food in secret, hides that food and eats it when no one else is around. For now, I’m safe. Teetering but safe.

Silver Linings

On Monday Ken called me to say he was going to do a bit of shopping after work. Fifteen minutes later he called to say he had been in an accident. Thankfully it wasn’t a serious crash but despite witness accounts that a woman pulled in front of him and slammed on her brakes on a rain soaked road, Florida law stipulated that Ken had to be given a ticket because he had the line of sight. Stupid stupid law. So now in addition to paying for the ticket we have to pay a $1000 deductible to the insurance company to have our vehicle fixed. Yes it’s a high deductible that we intended to change at the first of the year however I’m sure most of you recall that in the past 18 months Ken has worked two 6 week contracts before finding this current job. 12 weeks of pay in 18 months, you have to cut as many expenses as you can.

There have been a few blessing through all of this but I can’t talk about them on here. Ken’s employers really like him and they’ve been very good to us through this; after his accident he called his boss drove to the accident site and stayed with him until the tow truck came and transferred some of Kens valuables from our car to his car for safe keeping because we knew some of the larger things wouldn’t fit in my sister’s car.

Let’s face it my job, while very enjoyable, doesn’t pay well. We rely on his for our main source of income and after the first of the year we will have medical coverage for the first time in two years. The dark clouds seem to have more silver linings these days, maybe in this time of economic uncertainty our lives can take a turn for the better.

I ended up driving the hour to meet Ken at the collision repair shop to pick him up on Tuesday night. I attempted to meet up with him on the highway and follow the tow truck to the shop however on the busy interstate I was looking for him on the right hand side of the road and it was only after I passed him by did I see he was in the middle median. I took the next exit and after navigating a series of one way streets I made my way back up on to the interstate, took the next exit to do a u-turn and get back on the interstate only to find that the entrance I needed was closed for construction. So what now? Of course it started to pour with rain. Its dark, its raining and my cell phone is ringing and I can't find it. Ken called and said he heard me beep going past, lol, and he gave me the address to the collision repair shop. I pulled to the side of the road in a dodgy part of town and programmed it into the GPS and made my way and actually got there before him. I’m so happy we convinced my sister to buy a GPS. Even though I had to dig through her things to find it, it worked and I would have been lost and panicked without it.

By the time we cleaned out the rest of our stuff from the Jeep, in the pouring rain, I was bursting to find a bathroom. The Golden Arches of McDonalds beckoned me but not for food, at this point I had no appetite. I made my way into the restaurant and rounded the corner past a few seated patrons and my foot slid from under me, I felt myself start to go down and I had visions of sprawling out on the floor Bambi style but my hand caught the table next to me and a woman seated at the table grabbed me and stopped me from falling. As I grabbed the table my pinky finger came into contact with something wet; my finger was red but not from blood, it had landed in a gentleman’s ketchup!!!! I apologized profusely and offered to get him more but they were just concerned about my welfare. I think I was stunned more than anything. I can’t imagine what they thought of me, soaking wet and visibly shaking. I made my way to the bathroom but by the time I left I was limping. I had twisted my ankle and my wrist had started to throb. By the time we got home my wrist hurt up into my elbow, it would seem I’ve aggravated my old tendinitis issue in this arm. I barely slept that night. I knew I had to drive Ken to the office the next morning and I had visions of arriving at the collision center to find that the Jeep had been stripped down to the frame. Of course the Jeep was still there and it was intact.

I read many excellent reviews online about the repair shop and that put me at ease. Once I got inside and started talking to the people at this independent family owned business that has been around for 38 years I felt assured that through this all we had found a good place to have the Jeep fixed. So once they get approval from our insurance company it will be 4 to 7 working days until its fixed. With the Christmas holiday next week, it will probably be just before the New Year when we get it back. I’m just so grateful that Ken wasn’t injured, metal and parts can be replaced but he can’t.

What has been a lot of chaos has had a few silver linings. Most of you know what a tough time of things our lives have been over the past 7 years or so, I’m still feeling hopeful that things are taking a turn for the better. 

To update on my ear, I have to go back down to the nurse today because it’s still throbbing in pain so it looks like I need the stronger antibiotic to kick this thing. I hate taking medicine. Thank you all for your good wishes, they mean so much!

So lets hope these few bumps in the road are just that, a few bumps and that the dark clouds that have been hovering over our heads for years start to show their silver linings.

Healthy You Challenge Check In Week 50

Welcome to week 50 check in...can you believe the year is almost over? I have no idea where the time has gone.

I'm keeping this very brief, I've had a rough Monday, I'll probably be away from my computer most of the day on Tuesday, I'll fill you in on Wednesday.

MOVED

Quest for my Best has moved to http://turninmylifearound.blogspot.com/ please update your bookmarks!

a little bit of this, a little bit of that

When you have come to the edge of all the light you have
And step into the darkness of the unknown
Believe that one of the two will happen to you
Either you'll find something solid to stand on
Or you'll be taught how to fly! ~ Richard Bach ~

Happy Monday everyone! I'm relating a lot to this quote right now. I've been afraid to step into the unknown and into the darkness for quite a while. My weight and progress has stagnated and I find myself in a constant circle of self sabotage that I'm trying to break. I am going to step into the darkness and into the unknown; I'm forcing myself out of my comfort zone.

I've made a lot of good healthy habits over the past year. I've learned so much about myself. Now I move on to teaching myself how to deal with stress. I need to teach myself that sometimes its okay to step into unfamiliar territory and embrace the darkness and know that I'll be safe in this new experience.

Right now I'm recovering from a severely infected ear. I had it looked at on Friday and I'm happy to say that my body no longer feels like the dance floor for a herd of happy disco dancing elephants and my head is no longer pounding to the beat of their swinging disco music. My ear is still quite sore but it’s getting better. I have a history of ear infections and in this particular ear, the ear drum has ruptured at least a dozen times over the past 20 years. I did NOT want to wait until I got to that point again.

For those of you who live in the South East US and have Publix grocery stores, some of them now have The Little Clinic inside, several Walgreens and CVS in this area do as well and I've heard that Walmart does in parts of the country. I ended up at the Little Clinic inside of Publix. I don't have health insurance and to visit a doctor would have been around $80 to $120 and then add prescriptions on top of that. The Little Clinic is staffed with a nurse practitioner who is able to treat most common ailments and write prescriptions for those ailments all for $69. I was equally thrilled to learn that Publix has a list of antibiotics that they give a 14 day supply of for FREE with a valid prescription. All of this with no appointment necessary and if you have insurance, you typically just pay the copay you'd pay at the doctor’s office. So if you're suffering from something and you think you need to go to the doctor but you don't have time or can't get in right away. Check out the local grocery stores and pharmacy for their wellness clinics, many of them are open late so you can get in after work without ever missing a beat and start feeling better right away rather than waiting and getting worse.



Yesterday I was feeling a little bit better and Ken took me out to breakfast and then we caught an early movie, The Day the Earth Stood Still remake. I went in with low expectations because Ken frequently drags me to see every sci-fi movie and some are good and some are bad. What can I say about this one? It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be and you know Keanu Reeves is pretty easy on the eyes.


This week is going to be super busy for me. I need to finish up my Christmas shopping and I need to make cookies to give away to a few friends. I'm also going to finish up the new HYC badges. They are made, I just need to crop them, upload them, write code for them and post them along with everything else I normally do in a week. AND I have a new project that I'm working on, no details yet but I'm hoping it will be a fun creative outlet for me. Yeah...its going to be a busy busy week.

See you tomorrow!

Early Holiday Cheer

I know its a little early but given the current state of the world, I wanted to get this in early because we need a little bit of humor in our lives. 

I shared this last year but I know some of you may not have seen it before and it really is one of my favorites so I'm sharing it with you again this year. Be sure to watch the whole thing. Enjoy!

The Naked Dance

The other morning I got out of the shower, wrapped a towel around my wet head, put on my robe and headed into the bedroom. It was colder than I expected that day so I decided I should wear my black sweater instead of the light weight top I had picked out. I was in a very good mood, I had just walked 3 miles and I was headed out to meet up with a friend. I was home alone except for Sadie and Max and I was JAMMING to some awesome music.

We have a typical Florida style open floor plan where one room flows into the next. From the bedroom I walk into the hall, then between the dining room and the living room and into the kitchen to get to the laundry area in the garage. This is a walk I make quite frequently when I need something to wear because our closet is so small; I use the laundry area as my overflow. As I said the music was jamming and I was happily dancing around and singing along. I dried my hair, styled it, put on makeup and I was ready to get dressed. Sadie and Max were lying on the bed watching me, ever hopeful that I was dressing for another trip around the block or better yet, a trip to the dog park but when I broke out the makeup Max pretty much knew my going out wouldn’t involve him and he trotted out of the room in disgust.

As I searched the closet I realized that my black sweater was still in the laundry room and so was the bra I needed to wear with that sweater, by this point I had taken off my robe and well ok, I was naked except for underwear.

No problem, I’d made the naked dash to the laundry room so many times I’d lost count. As I said I was home alone and Sadie and Max don’t care that I walk around naked, dogs are nonjudgmental that way. So I danced and sang my way out of the bedroom and into the hall and started to do this little spinning maneuver while playing air guitar between the dining room and the living room when I stopped dead in my tracks….Max had jumped up on the sofa and was sitting on the window sill of front window and the curtain was now WIDE OPEN!

Typically this wouldn’t be a problem. During the day, you can’t really see in the house from the street but if you’re on our little pathway from the front door to the drive way, you can look straight into the living room and dining room. But what are the chances of there actually being someone walking up the path at that given moment?

Had I not been playing the stereo so loudly I would have heard Max barking to warn me that the FedEx man was just outside the window.

Had I not been so utterly shocked to see someone out there I wouldn’t have stopped in my tracks frozen like a deer caught in headlights and I would have just been a blur instead of a woman wearing only black underwear.

How much did he see? Enough to make me never dance naked in the house again without first checking to make sure the front curtain is closed!

Healthy You Check In - week 49

Welcome to week 49!

Forty nine weeks into challenge we have a first...no one new has joined. So since I'm barely awake and kicking myself for falling asleep early and not putting up Mister Linky last night I'll get right to it!

I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Sharing An Evening Together

Saturday night was "date night:" but Ken's job had other ideas that involved him leaving the house at 6am and not coming home until 10:30pm...so date night was rescheduled for Sunday night instead.


It was really cold and we decided we were both in the mood for soup so we headed to Panera; budget friendly for both the bank account and the calorie bank when you select wisely. From there we headed out to a new shopping center in our county about 35 minutes away but it was date night so why not?


I had seen on the news that they had a light show on the hour revolving around their Christmas tree set to the music of the Trans Siberian Orchestra. Thanks to the wonder of You Tube I found several versions of the light show, this one features the first portion of the show. It wasn’t taken by us so excuse the shakiness and the bit of palm tree.






So while we shopped I was able to point out several "ideas" for gifts that I wanted but he has yet to suggest something for me to buy for him...we have a very small budget and I'm really struggling to find the right gift for him. Suggestions are welcomed and encouraged!

Seeing red

A strange thing happened this morning. Ken logged into our bank account and it showed we were in the NEGATIVE! My heart started to beat a million miles per hour and I rubbed my sleep filled eyes and pushed him out of the way to get a closer look. Ok he was in my computer chair on wheels on a hard surface floor so pushing him out of the way was quite easy and not a super human feat but our money was GONE!

This is the account we pay bills from and that I use to buy groceries and do small shopping from. Yes we need several bank accounts, his business, my business, our household checking, my mad money account (balance $6.36 LMAO), money market account...you get the idea. Yesterday when he got paid he transferred money into that account so I could pay the bills and go pick up a few essentials. I did just that. Bills are paid and he now has a stock of mincemeat pies and Christmas pudding from the English shop….hey, you have to shop early for those things over here or they sell out and you know I have to spoil Ken because he spoils me.

Anyhow, back to the bank. It was in the negative and not only was it in the negative it was in RED PRINT on the screen. I saw it. Ken saw it. Sadie even put her paws up on the desk to see what we were looking at so intensely so she saw it too! Just ask her! Ken said he’d call when he got home from work. Why don’t I call? Because he knows how much talking to customer service departments raises my blood pressure. In fact, the only one’s he wants me to talk to and encourages me to talk to is T-Mobile, but that’s only for free therapy.

I quickly grabbed a piece of paper and started writing down everything I spent yesterday. Mostly bills, a little bit of shopping, it’s not like I went on some wild Marie Antoinette style shopping spree. …

And so Ken left for work and I logged back into the bank to see if I could trace the problem before I called them and like magic, the red was gone and our balance restored. What the heck just happened there? I’m not sure but you can rest assured that I’m not taking any chances; I’m going shopping and spending the rest of that money before they change their minds again!



Speaking of Marie Antoinette, Last Journey Down has graciously awarded me the Marie Antoinette Award, Real Blogs, Real People and I just wanted to say thank you very much.

This award: The Marie Antoinette Award: Real Blogs, Real People Award

Put a logo in your blog
place a link from the person who gave you the award
Nominated at least 7 or more
Put links of those on your blog
leave a message on their blog to let them know

Honestly when I think of Real Blogs and Real People, that is nearly everyone I’ve encountered in the blogging world. Who would I nominated, oh let’s start with the entire Healthy You Challenge Group, add in everyone on my blog roll, add in the people who leave supportive comments for me who aren’t on my blog roll yet because I haven’t updated it yet? That’s at least 7 right? ;-)

Into the blur

Yesterday when I was leaving Costco I grabbed my sunglasses from my handbag and put them on top of my head for easy access once I walked into the bright sunshine of the crisp December day. And so began my big DUH moment.  

My mind was racing through all of the things I needed to accomplish and I was growing impatient as I waited for my turn to leave the store. You see they make you stop, look through your cart and then check off your receipt. You know I’m sitting there with a cart full of stuff and I know they only pretend to count the items as they paw through my stuff…come on, there is stuff under that stuff and you didn't even move it, who are you kidding? But still I waited and after I received the token slash across my receipt I headed outside, bumped my sunglasses down over my eyes and headed for the car.

As I walked I noticed that everything around me seemed to go very blurry. My head was pounding but I blamed that on lack of sleep. Yes, everything had a blur and despite my dark sunglasses everything seemed so bright and my eyes squinted to avoid the painful light. I tried to focus on a store in the distance but the sign was a complete blur. As I pushed my cart through the parking lot, my inner hypochondriac came out to play and I had visions of just dropping to the ground right there in the middle of the Costco parking lot. Ken was in a class, I couldn’t call him and the puppies were at home waiting for me, Max probably had to potty but I wouldn’t be coming home I’d be in the hospital or worse dead in the Costco parking lot…my frozen foods would melt and be ruined, what would they do with all of the stuff I just spent $168 dollars on? What bra and underwear do I have on? Please let me have on matching socks.

Yes everything looked very blurry and even with the sunglasses it was so bright I had to squint. I saw a few people just look at me and I thought, they can see it too, they can tell I’m about to have a rupture of something in my head, everything just seemed askew, blurry, bright and OH yeah, my head was pounding even more at the prospect of laying on the ground and people watching as the paramedics struggled to get my twitching body into the ambulance.

I made it to the car, put the stuff in the trunk and pushed the cart to the cart return and slowly walked back towards the car. I’d just sit there and wait for this to pass. I had a bottle of water in the car, a few sips, a few aspirin and I’d feel better. I sat there with my eyes closed for less than a minute but it seemed like an eternity. I mindlessly took off my sunglasses to clean them on the corner of my fuzzy coat.

Satisfied that they were clean, I opened my eyes and while my head was pounding and everything still looked quite bright much to my amazement the blurry vision seemed to be gone. I was elated!

Overwhelmed by the brightness, I started to put my sunglasses on and it was then that I had one of those moments. You see when I reached in my bag at Costco instead of pulling out my sunglasses I had pulled out my reading glasses. Not only are they not tinted, they are embellished with rhinestones on the sides. I wear these only to check fine print in the store or to work on crafts and reading while in the privacy of my own home; this explained the odd looks from strangers. The mystery of the blurry vision and brightness was solved!

With that my inner hypochondriac packed her bags and went back to the deep dark recesses of my mind to wait for my next big DUH moment.

A Journey of 1000 Miles

I had such a nice time shopping and having lunch with my friend yesterday. It was a much needed break from my daily routine. We were browsing the stores and when we were in JCPenny, we were looking at charm bracelets for her and I started looking at some other jewelry and I saw a ring with this inscription:

A Journey Of 1000 Miles Begins With A Single Step.

I nearly bought it for myself because I thought it was such a great motivational quote to remind me to keep putting one foot in front of the other on this journey but I didn’t because it fits me now but it won’t fit me as I lose weight. I did find a cuff bracelet on Amazon and it says its LARGE but it doesn’t give measurements and unfortunately my wrist is quite large like the rest of me and I’d hate to buy it and then it wouldn’t fit so I’m going to type it up the saying and print it out and put it all around my house instead. And besides, you know I have a hard time justifying spending $40 on myself right now when Ken just started back to work a few months ago and in this day and age you just don’t know what the future holds.

I think its important to find inspiration wherever you go and this was my inspiration for the day. We had a lovely lunch at Sweet Tomato, the salad buffet restaurant that I know I’ve talked about several times. In fact we had lunch and just sat and chatted for several hours. Honestly, I need to do this more often. I know this might sound kind of strange but I feel like I’ve become a hermit of sorts. I work from home and I have very little contact with other humans. My one sided conversations during the day go something like this…

• Sadie, stop digging your claw into my foot.
• We will go for our walk in just a minute
• NO I’m NOT sharing my eggs and toast with you….oh okay, here have a bite
• Max you can’t sit on my lap while I’m at the computer, there just isn’t room (and then he jumps up anyhow)
• Do you have to go potty?
• Do you want to walk outside with me to get the mail?
• QUIET! No barking!

Yes, I talk to my dogs all day long. Occasionally Ken will call but for the most part, its just me. So my goal is going to be to get out of the house and do something at least once a week. Even if its just walking around Target and getting a Starbucks. I need to stop being a hermit.

Another exciting thing about today: My jeans were baggy and I wore a size 26/28 sweater! AND I got complimented by two strangers. My friend was in the bathroom and I was waiting for her and a woman came up to me and told me she liked my necklaces and we just chatted for a few minutes. Then when we were in one of the trendy shops the sales girl complimented me on my “look” I was very flattered because that doesn’t really happen to me often.

So do you look for inspiration in small places? Do you find motivation in the everyday things in life? I truly believe that this journey starts with one footstep. You just have to make that move and put one foot in front of the other and keep walking. Even if you walk in circles while you find your way, just keep walking.

Do you have a favorite inspirational or motivational quote? I've love to hear it!

Healthy You Check In Week 48

The first week of the last month of the year! Can you believe we've come so far?

Facebook: If you missed my post yesterday and you have Facebook and would like to add me, please check out the end of yesterdays post. Thanks to everyone who has already added me :-)

I'm still working on the new badges, I'm going to force myself to sit down one day this week and get them done. I just have so much that to do! Keeping me busy right now....I was lucky enough to receive an advance copy of a brand new book called The Complete Beck Diet For LIfe: The Five-Stage Program for Permanent Weight Loss and WOW is it good! If you've struggled to stay on your plan long term, I recommend you check it out. I'm going to write a full review once I've finished the book but I'm already very impressed.

WELCOME!!


Smorgsablog
http://smorgsablog.blogspot.com/

The Happy Medium Diet
http://thehappymediumdiet.blogspot.com/

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Clarification: if you see something about an account being suspended, it’s not YOUR account that’s suspended, it’s Mister Linky’s hosting account. Uggh!

If you see the Mister Linky box below, the problem has been resolved, if not, here is the message from Mister Linky....For now we can just leave comments and check back later. Sorry everyone.

Foot Massage, Lunch with a friend and Facebook

otherwise known as...I can't come up with a clever title today! 

I think I've finally recovered from my 14 hour shop-a-thon. My feet were still feeling weird last night so Ken pulled the foot spa from the closet, filled it with warm water and told me "SIT" and so I did and had a great soak and foot massage...ahhhh, so much better! Sometimes he really does know what's best for me.

And in other news I'm so excited that I'm meeting up with a friend for lunch tomorrow!! I haven't seen her in about 18 months so its long overdue. I found out that she is currently unemployed so I thought I'd take advantage of some of her down time and get together. We're headed to the mall and then to have lunch...have I mentioned that I'm so excited?? I know I must be crazy to want to shop after my Friday shopping but really it will be mostly window shopping, maybe picking up a few odds and ends but I really just want to spend time with my friend.

Facebook anyone? I have had a facebook account for a few months now and I've been in touch with friends, some of Ken's family and just last night my nephew found me! I haven't seen him in over 10 years so it was very nice to see his all grown up face! If you have a facebook and want to to add me just email me at scalejunkie at gmail dot com with your the email address attached to your facebook account and I'll find you.

31 days left in the year! Can you believe it? Time for me to get busy...I'll see you all tomorrow!