just 10 more

…..a moment of sudden intuitive understanding; flash of insight( actually, more like: Oh, sh*t!!!!)…..when: Saturday……..where: sitting on the side of my bed………

Getting changed out of sweats, sitting, bend over to tie shoes and realize that the ROLLS of fat are there and bigger than a long time…….then realized that my cords from last winter are fitting my thighs like sausage casings….

Action: went out to buy pedometer, since mine broke I’ve missed it and I do like having those numbers to keep track of…………Promised myself more exercise, better eating…..and so far, so good…….know the drill, done it before, can do it again……..stepped on the scale Sunday am and it was worse than I expected……….I am now 21 lbs from goal—this hurts, cause at one time I was as close as 8 1/2 lbs………really sucks.

Mainly, I need to remember that I am not “deserving” treats…….I’ve been rewarding myself WAY too much……a little here, a little there has become an everyday thing…….bad food is not a REWARD!!!!!!  My goal will be 6 lbs. gone by the end of the year; that puts me 15 lbs. to goal.  If I make that, with the holidays, maybe it will be inspiration to finally get off the rest.

sat: food was good, except for 2 cookies (BEFORE)……..exercise: dog walk with neighbor

Sun: food–all good, water intake—good……….bike 1st–20 min, 2nd–16min., dog walk, 25 wall push offs……………ped: 10,150 by bedtime

So, a new beginning (again), chickadees.

Way too much in the way of gray skies and rain lately; almost all last week was dreary and now this week too………yesterday it poured, flooding places where we normally don’t have it due to leaves blocking drains.  Raining again today too.

I’ve made ladies lite aerobics all three days this week, made the gym twice, rode the exercise bike while watching tv at least twice………so, not too shabby for once!!!!

Breakfast today: steel cut oats w/half a pear and cinnamon, V8………….lunch: peice of steak (sirloin) w/ a red sauce over brown rice, grapes, 2 squares organic dark chocolate.  Dinner may be difficult; eating out a a very fancy Italian place; one of those “in” places—no, I didn’t pick it but have to go.

DH has announced he wants a new work car—-now, in the past this always meant a second hand clunker……..right now he’s been driving my mom’s Olds (86) for years and years which came to us when she died.  Can’t blame him, for sure, but he says he wants a “new” little cheapie “puddle-jumper”—something like a Versa, Rio, or Aveo——-I’d like to see him driving something a bit more substantial, with more actual “car” around him for protection.  On the other hand, with college coming up, possibly cheapest is best moneywise.  I know him: he’ll take forever to make up his mind and end up with another used one, I bet.

A friends’ husband is very close to death—- late 30’s, colon cancer (two kids: a girl, 13 and a boy 17), has been fighting it about 7 yrs–most of which have been pain-filled and miserable……..if anyone reading this is so inclined, please say a little something to your deity  (or to the universe in general) on behalf of Ted and his family.          And get your own colonoscopy done, please; it really is one of the silent cancers.

Thank-you to the chickadees.

I can’t believe it—-our phone was out again the past 2 days.  After they laid a new line last summer, I thought our problems were over.  This time it was something in the box that attaches to the outside of the house burned out.  Anyway, we are fixed now!  Was late for ladies lite today b/c of being on the phone w/ATT.  DRAT!!!!

I tried something new in the way of breakfast……last week-end I finally made up Dr. Oz’s (Oprah’s bud) highly touted steel cut oats.  Certainly different from instant oatmeal.  Made  enough for about 6 days. I cut up 1/2 bosc pear (skin too), zap it in the mic till a bit mushy and add to the heated bit of oats for the day along with 1/2 t. cinnamon and add a little skim.  Not half bad and it does “stick” with you.  Still have my V8 too.

Did something new for lunch today….chicken marsala—easy and good.  Had broccoli and 1/2 baked sweet potato with it.  Will have the leftover chicken marsala on a pile of brown rice tomorrow.  Made extra white potatoes for dh and will do baked potato soup later this week.

Had to scrape FROST from the windshield this am—I hate it, I hate it, I hate it!!!!The thought that we have about 4 more months of doing that is NOT cheering.  Maybe I’ll get one of those remote ignition turn on things for Christmas.  Anybody have one of those?

A. had a field trip today, to see a play with Latin class “The Illiad”………just as well, she says well over 40 teachers are out sick.  They have tomorrow off for Vetrans Day; maybe everyone will be better by Wednesday.  Fingers crossed—PLEASE, please don’t let them close down the school…….and let us NOT get sick.  Usually get our flu shots after Thanksgiving.

Geeze—5:15 and it’s dark already………gotta go eat something, probably fruit and yogurt; maybe 1/2 sandwich too.

See ya, chickadees!

I made it to the gym (did a little over a mile on the tm [pathetic, I know but a start])AND ladies lite aerobics today; first in a long time for both…yay, me.  Haven’t blown food yet, either………breakfast was oatmeal w/cinnamon and a little skim, V8, and  decaf tea.

Our polls opened at 6am yesterday; I was awake early and in line at 20 of 6 and still had an hour and a half to wait to vote!!!!!  There were at least 200 people in front of me—-loved it.

I haven’t written about who I supported here on my blog.  Now I will.  My reasons won’t be yours but that’s OK. I don’t like labels and refuse to declare myself to be R. or D. and have crossed lines over the years with great frequency.  My daughter commented that I don’t fit my “demographic”.

1. President of the Harvard Law Review trumps 5th from the bottom of the class at the Naval Academy.

2.Nicknames of “punk” and “McNasty” in high school are not plusses to me.

3.His treatment of Carol McCain (his first wife, who lives locally) when he was freed after being a POW.  While he was a prisoner she was in a horrific car accident and he came back to a wife who was somewhat crippled and not the tall lovely blonde he married.  His response was to replace her quickly with another younger tall blonde who just happened to be filthy rich.  According to our local paper, he and Cindy applied for their marriage license before his divorce was even final.

4. Choice of “that woman” as a running mate.  Nationally, more than anything else, I believe this was what doomed him.

5. His vote against the lifetime free medical care vetrans were all promised by military recruiters when they enlisted.

Some of these reasons are intensely personal for me and some speak to me of the character of the candidate (and the potential first lady).  In any event they are mine.  Now, despite my happiness, I’m worried about Sen. Obama.  I’ve said to several people that the extreme hatred stirred up by this election  can’t be turned off like a faucet.  I wish all the Obamas a safe trip through the next four years.  The world will be watching.

Off we go, chickadees!

Yeah, the mood has lifted!  Having the first orchestra performance/after party behind me and having it go well is a BIG part of bringing me up. Whew!  Glad that’s over; onward to the Christmas concert (Manheim Steamroller—any ideas for decorations, we’ve settled on blue and white for colors????)!  First part of the week was spent being worried and working on the finer details and hoping (REALLY hoping) everyone would do their part.  Got to the school at 3:30pm Thursday and did the decorations—since the concert was movie music the colors were black, white and silver.  There’s a large beige painted brick wall going into the auditorium; at the top I put the word Cinema in silver and I put big cut-out pics of Marilyn and Elvis on black backing (to make them “pop”) and placed black stars with glitter around the pics.  Each star had a quote from a current or old time person connected with the movie business.   This wall was my donation. (My personal fav. was Irving Thalburg who basically said that fads were great but “talking” pictures would never catch on. )  We sold bags of popcorn (donated by one of the 2 women on my committee) prior to the concert and took donations too.  At the end of the night, when I removed my $50.00 “seed money”, there was quite a bit (even at least one twenty in the donation vase!!!!!) to hand over to the orchestra teacher.  We had plenty of snacks and desserts brought by the parents.  One of the women (only three of us) on my little volunteer committee donated 2 beautiful balloon bouquets for the ends of the tables.  Even the janitorial staff could not have been more helpful; they were great, especially the head custodian who I spoke with frequently.  We are off school through Mon. and Tues. and the orch. teacher told me to let the wall up so the rest of the school could see it.

Friday….did ladies lite aerobics, bought candy to give out…..plan was that I would take A. to her pony walking job at a local church Halloween party, then come home and give out candy…….well, you know what they say about “best-laid plans”.  A. and I walked the huskies belonging to my neighbor (she’s away) after school and at 5pm I got a call from A.’s boss saying that the other kid on the job backed out at the last minute, would I please fill in at the evening gig as a pony walker in a half hour……….so, for Halloween, I was a teenage pony walker!  Gotta say, it was both easy and enjoyable……AND she paid me double time AND I got some exercise.   The downside is………..I STILL have ALL the candy.  Afterward I took A. to a party at one of her friends’ homes, picked her up at 11pm……..so, long day!

Sat. we went 2hrs. north to a horse expo……..another long day: 6am till 11pm.  A has spent all her money but she did buy some nice things, including a beautiful “Horseware” brand jacket—–good quality stuff.  She looked at some colleges with equine programs while there……….likes St. Andrews (in N.C., very small and private) best so far………NO clue where the money for that one would come from, WAY, WAY beyond our means.  The kid has great instincts but poor parents!

Today——-volunteer appreciation dinner to attend this afternoon……..then nothing on my sched. outside the house but exercise Monday and VOTING on Tuesday……..maybe I can get the eating back to good again—-believe me, there was nothing healthy to buy at the horse expo.  On the way home we did eat at Red Lobster—had clam chowder and about 1/3 of a strip steak and a salad; so that wasn’t too bad, I suppose.

VOTE, chickadees, VOTE!!!!!!!