Recap

Bed time -- Day at work was... hopping/rough/stressful/humbling - I said things I regret and regret to admit I still feel them. Day at home was - Great - Hubby that works beside me, that is my partner in all things - A mother that is at all times my truest friend - A house that frustrates and challenges me depending on the day. Obama's Speach - Classic / Congress Faces Unforgettable - Here is praying out congressmen/women get over themselves enough to do what is right and get America headed back to where it needs to be, the land of opportunity... So with that I go to bed - Maybe tomorrow will be great on both fronts and Congress w/ decide to look out for the people vs. themselves.

NY Trip

We have been back a few days, but as always I wantd to put my log up here for those that are interested and so that I can look back later on.

Thursday - 08/25

We got up early and went about our daily routine. For me it was a crazy busy day at work - I was trying to get ready for the few days out of the office and my desk exploded. Howerever, I was able to leave on time and picked Jack up to begin our weekend adventure.

We went to the Augusta airport & went to check in for our flight. We few US Airways for the first time and their first impression was not a good one. We waited for over thirty miintues for a clerk to show up and when they did th efirst guy was rude and lecutruing. One lady had two children an ddidn't have seat assignments - his answer was to leacture her & say good luck. Well, with an attitude like that I really wonder how he has a job.

We went to the 2nd clerk and he mumbled. We found out our bag was overweight so, instead of costing us $25 it cost us $115 - lesson learned. Afterwards the service at the airport improved, but it wasn't a great impression.

Then we took off and landed in Charlotte and later connected to NY. Our taxi ride from th e airport to th ehotel was chepaer than expected and the city was still alive despite ti being 12:30 on a Thursday night. We then arrived at the hotel. It is very nice, the staff friendly and the hotel spacious and comfortable. I slept like a baby.

Friday - 8/26
Today we got up around 9, go dressed and headed out. We ate at a diner near the hotel for breakfastand it was fairly good. The coffee was strong, but the french toast was good.

We then headed down to see lady Liberty & Ellis Island. Everyone says New Yorkers are rude, but we had a very niceg guy help us find our way. He is probably still laughing about us asking where the subway was given we were standing right next to it.

We took the subway down an dheaded over to the Castle to bouy our tickets. We later learned that there would be two lines - one for our tickets and one for the boat. Overall the lines took about two hour, but it wasn't that bad. The ride out was nice and the view great. Lady Liberty is huge and great to see. Ellis Islan was also neat, but I was ready to go.

We left there and headed to City Hall. The building was hgute and neat to see. There was a street vendor there and we got some chicken/rice dish and ate in the aprk. It was nice, even if I was worried about birds shitting on me. We then headed down to 911 -> very sobering, but not much to see. A whole lot of construction.

We then headed down to the Flat Iron district - the Flat Iron building is super neat and the area around it was relaxing. There is still a ton to see, but after the dissappointment that our Broadway show was cancelled (a hurricane is chasing us) & the fact my legs are killing me it was time to come back to the hotel for some down time... So here we are.

More to come later ;) Have a great day blogland.

Slacker

Yep, I've been a blog slacker - still eating fairly well (though no where near as meticulous as I was in Jan) and still going to the gym. Really wish those steroids I took in Jan were not habit forming - I miss the energy they gave me :)

Yard is coming together - Family is good - I'm Me - Life is good - Hope you are well.

Miss you blogland - I hope to be back more regularly soon.

WoW! Long Day!

Today was good and the Lord blessed me with safe travels to Atlanta and back. It was a good day, my meetings went well - I got to see my old Wells Fargo colleagues and friends which was nice. However I am tired - 5:30 came early this morning.

The gym was killer tonight. I tried a new machine for my cardio that was killer... I only made it 7 Minutes on it, I'm so out of shape. Working on it though, did my 40 minutes of cardio overall and my weight routine for the day. Amazing how much harder weights are when you are tired, hee.

Well other than the food log that is below that is all I have to share for the day. My brain and my body is mush, I'll sleep good tonight that is for sure. God Bless you, I hope you had a great day!

Food Log:

2/8 - Tuesday

Breakfast:
- Oatmeal
- Piece of Raisin Bread
- Coffee

Lunch:
- Sandwich on Wheat Bread with BBQ Chicken Sandwich Meat
- Grapes
- Salad
- Apple Juice

Dinner:

- Shrimp Pasta Bake - ***** Oooh it was good, I'll have to type the recipe out, but will share it soon.
- Salad
- Brusel Sprouts
- Wheat Rolls
- Tea

Wednesday - 2/9

Breakfast:
- Oatmeal
- Piece of Raisin Bread
- Coffee

Lunch:
- Business Lunch @ Chili's
- Beef Fajita's with cooked onions/bell peppers
- Water

Dinner:
- Left over shrimp bake from last night
- Water
- Wheat Rolls

Back in the Saddle

Sorry I've been absent, I know you were sitting on the edge of your seat (hee). We went to see my brother and his family in Yulee FL this weekend. It was good to see them - I really enjoyed the visit and the time away. That being said it is also to be back home. Not sure what is going on, but I'm finding myself wanting to be home more. Guess I'm turning into a home body...

My energy is dissipating and it's getting harder to get up in the morning, but I'm still doing it and still thankful for my new life. I'm keeping to the food changes pretty well, though I wasn't great this weekend. However - I was out of town so hey :)

Below is the log of my meals. It's Mama's week to cook this week, but she is trying some new recipes so I'll share those as the week progresses. What she is making right now is smelling good - making me hungry :)

For those leaving who are not interested in the food log I wish you a great day! I hope you are doing well and wish you a terrific evening. May the Lord bless you with a great night sleep and a terrific evening.

2/5
Breakfast:
1/2 Grapefruit
2 Pieces of Oatmeal Raisin Bread

Lunch/Second Breakfast
- 4 Pieces of French Toast (Restaurant)
- Sugar Free Syrup with Powdered Sugar :)
- 1 link of sausage
- 3 cups of Coffee

Snacks
- Sunchips
- Orange

Dinner
- Roast with Veggies and White Rice
- Chicken & Dumplings
- 2 Biscuits
- Tea

Desert
- Banana Pudding

2/6
Breakfast
1/2 Grapefruit
Water

Lunch/2nd Breakfast
- 4 Pieces of French Toast (Huddle House)
- Coffee - 2 Cups
- Sugar Free Syrup

Snacks
- Low Fat Caramel Popcorn
- Banana Pudding

Dinner
- Tomato Basil Chicken (recipe linked last week)
- Field Peas (canned)
- Pumpernickel Bread
- Salad with low fat Dijon Mustard

Monday 2/7

Breakfast
- Oatmeal
- Banana Raisin Bread (homemade), not as good as the Orange/Blueberry bread from last week but good. It is good I just don't like it as much.
- Coffee

Lunch
- Left over Basil Chicken
- Salad
- Bread
- Apple Juice

Dinner
- Chicken & Rice Casserole (and old favorite, but cooked with brown rice), couldn't tell difference
- Tomato and Cucumber Salad
- English Peas with Carrots (canned)
- Tea

Friday!

TGIF! The week has been good, but hey - who isn't glad to see the the weekend come?

We are going to see my brother this weekend in Yulee (an hour east of Jacksonville). I'm looking forward to the visit as well as the escape from here. Not that here is bad, but a change of scenery will be good. So if I'm silent till Monday you know why :)

Things are still going well. Work is work and I'm thankful for the job. I'm getting stuff done and feel good about it. The lady I work with daily is doing a terrific job and while we have some hiccups we are working through them well. Its a great thing and I'm grateful for it.

I didn't get to do my cardio last night due to an eye appt, but I did get the weight lifting in. I think I need to push myself a bit more in the cardio arena, but we are enjoying the adventure.

Last night I didn't really try anything new at dinner other than roasting veggies. It was a recipe out of a book and you could really do any veggie. Heat oven to 475 and put veggies in a roasting pan or glass dish as I did. Roast them for 10 to 15 minutes until soft. I did asparagus, zucchini, broccoli, onions, and carrots. (you cut everything into small pieces, small sticks of carrot etc...) I don't think I'll do the broccoli again and the asparagus was a little gummy but everything else was great. I also put some salt/pepper on them. Super easy and good - I give it 4 stars and will cook it again.

- Steak :) always yummy and only read meat I've cooked this week.
- Left Overs from previous meals of the week - Clean out the fridge Thursday :)

Only thing I ended up throwing out of any quantity was the Zucchini Saute, next time I make it I need to cut it in 1/2 - it makes way too much for 3 people.

For breakfast

-Oatmeal
-Raisin Bread
-Coffee

For Lunch
-Left Over Meatloaf
-Left over Veggies from previous meals
-Tea

Snack
-Grapes

And with that I'll wish you a dynamite Friday! I hope its full of joy and good things. TGIF!

Tonight's Dinner

First and foremost,God answers prayers! I lost my keys on Monday (house/car/house security fob/Jack's car/office/all of them...). I've been praying and have asked my FB family to pray they turn up. Today Sam's called and had found them!!!! Yes God is good all the time.

Today overall was really good - productive. For the first time since I started at B&C I feel as if I may get caught up. What I know, don't jinx it, but I can't take the credit. I have a new lady working with me that is really helping and I really have just handed the job over to God. It's amazing what you can do when you aren't trying to do it alone.

I did pretty good today with the food too though one recipe didn't quite work out. For those interested the food log is below, along with the link from last night's dinner. For those of you checking out due to not needing new recipes thanks for letting me share my day with you. Thanks for being my sounding board in the void of the internet. I love you all and wish you a great night's rest followed by a a day filled with joy and wonder.

Last Night (Sorry I didn't link it in the last post, I ran out of time this AM):
- - This was really good and super quick.
-Mexican Lime & Cilantro Coleslaw
Spicy Skillet Chicken - Not going in my recipe book, but Jack really liked it. I didn't care for it and neither did Mama.

Breakfast
-Raisin Bran Cereal
- 1/2 Piece of Orange-Blueberry Bread
- Coffee

Lunch
- Ham Sandwich on Honey Oat Bread
- Grapes
- Water

Snack: Tangerine & a miniature Mr. Goodbar :)

Dinner:
- Turkey Meatloaf ***** - Mama's Meatloaf Recipe with Turkey Vs Hamburger Meat. I couldn't tell the difference and Turkey is so much better for you!
- Garlic Cauliflower - **** - Super good, I liked the bite with no garlic, then next bite would have some effect. FYI - You could use frozen cauliflower w/ no issue in this recipe and I used Olive Oil instead of butter on the sauce.
- Farmhouse Carrots - I won't be making this again, but I am saving the recipe for the sauce that is created and poured over the carrots. The onions were delicious! The carrots were just carrots, they tasted like carrots, the glaze did not change their flavor at all. Why go through all the work just to eat a carrot. I can do that by opening the fridge and grabbing one. But the sauce was good on the onions, really really good. I'll make that again.
- Sweet Tea
- Bread

And with that I'll leave you since my eyes are trying to close. Good night blogland I love you.

Food Expierements Continue

Yesterday was a good day, productive and well just good. I got to this weeks email in my inbox, which is unheard of for me at work so I'm celebrating the small things :) Still behind, but man that feels good!

We got 2 miles of walking in at the gym and did our weight workout :) Loving it! Loving the fact my family is doing it with me.

Then I came home and tried some new recipes. Ratings are below. This expierement is fun and healthy. How can you beat that?

For those who are leaving now due to not being interested in food logs. I hope you have a great day filled with joy and the Lord's blessings.

Breakfast

1/2 Grape Fruit
1/2 Piece of the Orange Blueberry bread I made Sunday
Cofee

Lunch
I was bad and ordered my norm @ chick fil'a without thinking.

- Chickfil sandwich (fried)
- Fries
- Sweet Tea

Oops - But it was good :)

Dinner
Spicy Skillet Chicken (will enter link later, running late...) **** - I'll make it again.
Mexican Lime & Cilantro Coleslaw, I didnt' like it, neither did Mama. But Jack loved it.
Sweet Tea

The Day

Well, this is the first day since the new me that I can say it wasn't perfect. But with The Lord's help I think I handled myself OK. A lady at work made it a point to let my manager know about something that I forwarded to her late, of course my manager knows how behind I am - I've made sure of that so she handled it for me. But it was this person's only intent to get me in trouble. The item I forwarded her was a documentation email only, nothing critical. I'll admit it upset me and it took some serious will power and God's help not to loose my cool completely. But a preacher I heard recently, or maybe it was a journal I read, not sure said that if someone is pushing your buttons and you start praying for them your frustration will lesson. I did it and you know what, it wasn't instant, but I can think about it now and just feel pity for her. I'm still a little peeved, but with the grace of God I'm not mad. It is what it is :)

The second thing that happened today and I need your prayers... I decided to go to Sam's to return something before I went to the gym. Somewhere between the car and the membership desk I lost my keys. After an extensive search I still have not found them. Please pray someone finds them and calls me (my # is on them) or turns them in at Sam's. It has so many keys on it, some of which are expensive to replace. Please say a prayer... God is good, hopefully he will find it pleasing/fit to return my keys to me.

So... Jack was nice enough to go home and get the spare, bring it to me and then we went to the gym. We only walked 30 minutes to getting there late, but we did a little over 2 miles - so while it wasn't our normal 40 at least we got something in.

We then came home and I tried out a new successful recipe. Food log for the day is below. I highly recommend dinner and breakfast :)

And with that I'll leave you for the evening and watch this movie. Have a dynamite and blessed evening.

Breakfast
- Piece of Orange / Blueberry Bread I talked about yesterday. Loved this for breakfast - Super, Super Yummy!

Lunch
- I took the chicken from yesterday, put some herb & garlic marinade on it and heated it up in a skillet, gave it some flavor :) **** - Ease 8 of 10
- Left over Zucchini Saute
- Left over Veggies from the Chicken Dish
- Sweet Tea

Dinner
- Shrimp, Sweet Corn and New Potato Boil - Everyone loved this dish! 5 Stars! Ease 3 out of 10. I did use real potato's and red potato's. I cooked the potatoes about 15 minutes before I added the corn and then started following the recipe. I was afraid since I changed the tater up that they wouldn't get done in the time the recipe called for...
- Salad, always a winner.
- Left over Zucchini Saute
- Left over Veggies from Chicken Dish
- Bread

This dish also made about just the right amount for 3, we only had about 1 leftover dish.

Yesterday's Food Experiment

Well, yesterday was a super busy day, but blessed. I started yesterday at 6:30 and didn't stop till I went to bed at 9:30! But with God's help I got everything done on my list.

Mama and I went to church at The Sanctuary, Jack was having issues with a Kidney Stone and had to stay home (he is feeling much better now). Both of us really liked the service, you could certainly tell God showed up! The church is extremely large though, over 700 people. I've never gone to a large church and think I would miss the connections. Of course you are connected as you want to be, so ... We are going to try it a few more times and pray about it. God has the right church for us and he will let us know if this is it.

We then about our day. Had our "treat" lunch at Chili's! yummy. I had a ton of running around to do and got all of it accomplished. Question blogland - what grocery store do you use? I've changed from Publix to Walmart and/or Foodlion due to prices. But I don't like Foodlion's veggie's (not very appealing) and their meat dept doesn't have a lot of options and Walmart is lacking in options on everything else so I end up having to go to both, which isn't fun. Anyone have a great, affordable grocery store they use?

After my grocery store run(s) I came home to continue our experiment into healthy cooking.

First I made a breakfast bread for the week. Blueberry Orange Bread I cooked it like the instructions said except I used "olive oil" and I didn't do the glaze at all. It gets 5 stars on both ease and yumminess! Plus now I have it to eat on all week for breakfast. Next time I make it I'm going to substitute wheat flour, but I wanted to try it once w/o messing with it too much :) Note - Walmart doesn't sale the Fiber One cereal it calls for.

Next came dinner.

-Rosemary, Lemon Herb Chicken Dish - It was edible and I will finish it as my lunch left over, but it was a pain to make and it was super bland. I don't recommend it.

-Zucchini Saute - Ease was 4 out of 10, only due to timing. Yumminess 4 out of 5. This one will go into the keeper basket as a healthy good side. I liked the flavor. Note though, use a spaghetti pot, not a skillet. 4 zucchini take up a lot of room.

- Salad - Always a winner
- Pumpernickel Bread
- Sweet Tea

I also cooked breakfast yesterday.

- French toast (using Honey-Oat Bread) - *****
- Apple / Raisin Topping from a cookbook I have (1 cup Applesauce, 1/3 cup raisins, tablespoon Cinnamon, stir it up and put in microwave for a 2 min till warm). Yummy, super easy. I could eat this by itself or on top of French Toast/Pancakes/Etc...
- Scrambled Eggs w/ cheese
- Smoked Sausage
- Coffee

Ease of dishes 2 out of 10. Yumminess 5 out of 5.

And just for tracking - I had the Chips and Salsa + Chicken Fajitas at Chili's with Water.

I'm still enjoying this cooking adventure. Tonight is a shrimp dish :) Wish me luck!

Have a great day blogland!

Sunday Blessings

It's Sunday Morning - The Lord's Day. Of course everyday should be the Lord's day in our lives, but something about Sunday is special. Its the day that we go to church and spend time with him in a group setting. Jack and I haven't been to church in a while, we've tried a couple down here since we moved but haven't found the church home and honestly haven't been trying to hard. That changes today! We are going to try a church and keep trying till we find the one God leads us to. It may not be every week, but I'm determined and believe we need to find a church home. Not only for the obvious reason, God wants us to. But I need it - I need it to help me live the way I need to (not everyone needs the weekly reminder, I do) - I also need to make some friends down here and what better way than church?

I listened to the preacher of this church online last Sunday and liked his speaking style so we'll see :) I hope you have a church home and if not I encourage you to find one today. God loves you and sent his Son to die for our sins, so that we may live with him in Glory. There is no time like the present to accept him into your Life as your Lord and Saviour. Need some more information? Please leave a comment - I don't have all the answers, but I'll be glad to try and help you learn about Jesus and the sacrifice he has made for you.

On another note yesterday was an AWESOME day. You are not going to believe what I did pretty much ALL by myself (with lots of prayers)!

I replaced the mechanism inside of Mama's toilet! Glamourous huh??? Hee - Seriously, I got out the tools and fixed a toilet. Can you believe it? I still can't! Jack couldn't either. I ended up taking more apart than I had to so I did extra work and I had to get him to tighten 2 nuts I couldn't get tight enough but other than that I did it and it works!

We also got some other good work done in Mama's Apartment. Not as much as I had hoped but good stuff: Jack hung the chair rail in her bedroom, mostly fixed her table (it still needs a little work), I began the chair recovering project (1.5 chairs down), fixed her bed frame, fixed vent, fixed hvac filter... and had a good time with family :) Good day! Long day, tiring day, but AWESOME!

After church today we are treating ourselves to lunch out and then have some errands to do around town (shopping / library / etc). It's going to be a great day. I hope yours is wonderful and full of God's blessings. Till next time, God bless.


Food log below for those interested:

1/29/11

Breakfast
- French Toast (White Bread :( ) Mama cooked, I asked her to use Wheat next time, but dang it was good :)
- Bacon
- Coffee (3 cups) - Not following 2 cup rule on weekends. I have to have some treat :)

Lunch
- Left over soup - We still have enough for 2 bowls, I froze it - We'll see how it does.
- Cornbread
- Apple Juice

Dinner
- Taco Salad -> We used the hard corn tortillas, I'm not sure about the healthiness of this meal. I would think it's pretty good for you other than being red meat. Any body have idea?
- Apple Juice

Snack: Raisins

Water - I think I only got down 2. I did drink apple juice a bit during the day. It is a weekend.

Keeping to the Routine

It's Saturday, a day to break the norm and sleep till noon - oh wait that was me last year :) I woke up this morning @ 6:30 without an alarm and got up. I'm loving this new morning me. I enjoy the quiet time and I get so much done!

Working on Alice's photo shoot photo's this morning. I have so much to learn, but I think I can save enough that she will be happy, I pray I can.

Today is Mama Project Day :) We are working in her house to get several small things done that have been collecting. It will be fun, all three of us working together. I pray God be with us though, you know how people can be when they work together :) LOL

On a fun note we watched Red last night. Very fun movie - Well worth the rental. I may even buy it eventually.

Well I'm off to look at next week's menu while Lightroom finishes rendering Alice's photos. That program is such a memory hog, but I love it. It really is an awesome program for photographers who don't want to really do heavy editing but need some editing and organizing. Best organizer - EVER! Plus it links in with Smugmug so getting my pics out to the web is super easy.

Have a great day my friends. May God be with you as you enjoy the weekend. Food log below for those interested.

1/28

Breakfast
- 1 piece oatmeal raisin bread
- 1/2 Grapefruit
- Coffee

Lunch
- Ham Sandwich on Honey Oat Bread
- Salad with Light Dijon Mustard
- Apple Juice

Snack
- Homemade Cake Lady brought to work (small piece), felt icky after (not long, but just why did I eat that, too much sugar rush). Note desert is good, but fruit is too and you don't feel blah after... Not that I'm giving up cake.

Dinner
- 2 Bowls leftover soup
- 1 piece leftover cornbread
- Salad

Snack
- Kettle Popcorn (bagged)

Life Continues with Joy

The new me continues and I'm loving it. This week completes week 2 of our workout/eating and I'm still enjoying it. No way that is under my own power - God is doing a work and I'm excited about it!

I mentioned a work situation in my blog yesterday. As a testimony I just want to say God stepped in, the meeting was ZERO drama, and all is well. Nothing is impossible when you turn it over to the Lord. Just sayin :)

Yesterday overall was a really good day, complete with a leg work out and 2 miles walked. Yes my legs are currently jelly! Jack is having some kidney stone issues so he had to skip, but Mama and I figured out the equipment with some help, before long we will be gym pros :) hee.

Today is Friday and we have a movie night planned, Red. I can't wait to see it. It looks like it is going to be really good. I'll let you know. And with that I'll wish you a blessed day. Time to get ready to face the day. Food log from yesterday below for those following.

Breakfast
- 2 pieces oatmeal raisin toast
- Maple/Brown Sugar Oatmeal
- Coffee

Lunch
- Baja Grilled Chicken Salad with Water - really good, had black beans in it - I'm sure the dressing wasn't healthy, but it tasted good and had some nice spice - Carolina Ale Business Lunch

Snack
- Banana

Dinner
- Mama made a Beef Veggie Stew, very hearty and YUMMY. - I had two bowls. ****, she is supposed to right down what she put in it for me.
- Cornbread made with light butter and olive oil. I actually liked it cooked better this way than I do with veggie oil, it was lighter.
- Sweet Tea

I'm finding it heard to track the water but I think I got 3 down yesterfday....

Work Out Time

Wow, the work outs are kicking my butt some. I need to push myself a bit more, but I'm getting better each day. I ran 2 laps yesterday, today I did 3.5. I had to break it up a bit, but I did it. We also walked 2 miles and I did my weights and my legs are like jelly. The weights today weren't too bad, but my legs are dying, lol. It takes time to undo years of neglect and I'll do it - just going to take some time.

The day was good, productive and full of meetings. The lady that works with me is stressing because she is behind. She needs to learn to let it go a bit, compared to me she is current. She was in my bosses office with the door closed when I left so I'm sure tomorrow there will be a bit of drama. I pray I handle it well and right now I claim peace over the situation in Jesus name!!!!

I'm still loving life and loving this new me. I pray it continues. And with that I wish you a terrific evening. Foodie Journal for the day is below.

Breakfast
Maple / Cinnamin Oatmeal
1 Piece of Oatmeal / Raisen Bread
Coffee

Lunch
Grilled Chicken on Pasta in a Creole sauce - Business Lunch, I'm sure it wasn't super healthy, but it was good.
Water

Dinner
1 Rib
Salad
Potato Salad
1 Piece of Honey Wheat Butter Bread, not as good as 100%.
Cabbage
English Peas
Tea

Water Count: 111

Good Morning

Good Morning Blogland,

I hope this day finds you full of joy and wonder at the things God has made.

Yesterday was great! The day was productive at work and then we went to the Gym for our first "formal" work out. Since we are learning the equipment it took 1.5 hr, but that will get faster. We all did really well, I was so proud of Mama for doing the weights. We are on same regiment (or really close) and I know a few of them kicked my rear, ok so all of them kicked my rear :) Especially the Chest Press and the Overhead Press, man! I'm super out of shape. We couldn't' get two of the running machines beside each other so we did the track instead. I ran almost 2 laps with Jack (12 laps = 1 mile) and I almost died. Got get my cardio healthier, but Rome wasn't built in a day and I'll get there! All things are possible with God and will power :)

We then came home and had dinner (details below), Jack bathed the cats who looked liked drowned rats (so funny) and I spent some time with Mama helping her on the computer. It was a good night and I'm thankful to be able to be surrounded by family who loves me.

What are you thankful today?

And with that I'll leave you for the day. I hope you have a great one.

Yesterday's Meals:

Breakfast
- Bowl of Raisen Bran + Coffee

Lunch
- Business Lunch: Carolina Ale - Grilled Tuna on a Salad with Light Dressing + Water - no idea if it was in olive or veggie oil, but it was good. Hopefully it was healthy.

Dinner
- Ribs (She boiled them, then covered in BBQ sauce) - Yumm
- 1 Piece of Bread - Honeybutter Something, not whole wheat, but better than white.
- Potato Salad, home made - yumm.
- Boiled Cabbage cooked in olive oil with a bit of light butter. Not sure why both were in but it was good. I need to try and cook this and see how to do it. I love cabbage.
- Mixed Veggies, cooked
- Salad with Light Dijon Dressing
- 1 Glass of Tea

Water intake for day 3

Physical Assessment

Good Morning Blogland. I hope this day finds you full of joy!

I ran out of time yesterday and didn't get my daily blog in. I'm trying to be sure I log our progress in the food/health department as I need the reminder of what I am doing. Plus, I'm enjoying it - just hope I'm not boring blogland too much :)

Yesterday was good. Work was good, though a little scattered. We didn't have to be to the gym yesterday until 6 for our assessment so I had time to run an errand at Lowes between that and Work. -> Had to pick up an extra remote... By the way, as a side note we have a new remote for our fan in the bedroom. I know it sounds silly, a remote for the light /fan. Lord, it is such a blessing. If you don't have one - Pick one up today. It is so nice to cut the fan off before getting out of bed. I am loving it ... I had to pick up another one for the chandellier in our living room since there is no wall that goes to the switch. Yes I have a weird house :)

Anyway, just thought I'd share that, they aren't that expensive and I LOVE it!

We then went to the gym to meet our trainer. He measured us, taught us how to use the equipment and helped us develop a plan for us to really get started. Last week all we did was walk, but we will be adding weights this week and maybe a walking machine. I'm not sure how the machines will work because there are only 4 of them that I think work for Mama and we want to work out together so we may be on the track for the walking and then just push ourselves a bit more, I have a feeling getting two machines beside each other will be difficult... We will see.

Anyway, it was a good session, very informative and I'm not scared of the equipment anymore :) We also talked Nutrition some... He recommended moving from Hamburger to Turkey. I may give it a shot in some things... though I'm not 100% willing to give it up. I will go lean though :)

And with that I'll leave you with yesterday's food menu. It's Mama's week to cook so no new recipes from me, but I'll be trying some new ones next week, just got find which ones :) Have a great day blogland! May God bless and keep you as the day continues.

Breakfast

1/2 Grapefruit + 2 Pieces Raisen Bread
Coffee

Lunch

1/2 Left over Steak
Left over Steamed Veggies
1 Piece Wheat Bread
Sweat Tea

Snack: Grapes

Dinner
1 & 1/2 Tuna Fish Salad on Wheat Bread
Apple
Tea

Drinks - Limiting Coffee to 2 a day and drinking water except for meals. I think I managed 3 16 oz Deer Park's yesterday. Need to get to 4 to be recommended water intake. Going to try and keep better track of this for next few days.

Craft Room Done

Today has been great. For the first time ever I have my own "craft" area. I finally finished unpacking the spare bedroom :)

Unpacked boxes
Got 3 boxes ready for Goodwill
Took Stuff out to the Building
Got extra paintings stored away

Once I got all that done i was able to set up a great craft area for both my sewing and my scrapbooks. I have lots of room and everything is neatly labeled. I'm in love it and can't wait to use it.

By doing this I was also able to empty up my desk a good bit (since the scrap-booking stuff moved) so now I have more room in two areas. Just awesome - so super excited!

It took me most of the day, but it is done. Woot! Crafts coming soon.

Going to chill and watch some TV. Have a terrific night guys ! May God give you a great night sleep and a terrific week.

Food Update below for those interested.

Breakfast:

- Scrambled Eggs with a bit of milk - ****
- Bacon (Microwaved) - ***
- Left over sausage from Sat. - ****
- Wheat / Honey Oat Bread - *****
- Cantaloupe - *****


Lunch
- Ham /Cheese Sandwich - ****
- Banana - ****
- Jack had Salad - *****

Dinner
- 1/2 of a Left over Steak - *****
- Mixed Veggie (frozen) - *** - I still need to learn how to melt Velveeta cheese
- Creamed Corn (canned) - ****
- Baked Potatoes - ****
- Wheat Bread - ****

Weekend Bliss

This weekend has been nice so far, no stress - just doing some things on my list, piddling and enjoying the fact that I can.

Yesterday I woke up SUPER early @ 4:30 and just couldn't sleep so figured, get up. I made a rambled blog and then to begin research our new eating style some more, I want to make sure we are doing this right, but at the same time I'm not at the point where I'm going to go insane.

I.E. - Whole Milk, love it, will probably drink it till I die
- Sugar (refined) - Yes its not great for you and I'm going to try and cut it out of food I buy (i.e. - no hamburger helper - I mean geash, what does that need sugar in it for), but I'm not changing to a splinda or anything at this time. We don't cook with it too much and I'll try to reduce it in what I buy processed but... I love my sugar.

But I can swap to 100% whole grain foods (be sure and learn how to read the packages apparently the co that sell it to us can be "friendly with their words") and I can cook with olive oil, change to light butter, light mayo/salad dressings, eat more veggies, have fruit around for snacks vs. Little Debbie's and know what goes into our body.

So that is what we are doing. It's fun to learn how and honestly I'm really enjoying the experience. Next week is Mama's week to cook and I need to replace a couple items in her kitchen, not fair to ask her to replace it since we are the ones that want her to use them. While she takes the reins I'll be figuring out what is on the agenda for the following week.

Tomorrow we have our "health" assessment at the gym. Wish us luck. They are going to help us develop something for us and teach me how to use the machines. We got 6 free sessions with the membership and I'm looking forward to getting really started.

And with that I'll leave you with yesterday's foodie update. God bless you on this Sunday morning. May God reach down and touch you where you are in a mighty way. Love you and see you on the flip side.

Also note - Do you have a healty recipe you love? If so please share :)

Breakfast
- Eggs scrambled with cheese and red bell peppers (I put a little milk in) - **** - Very good, though next time I may add another veggie too for a bit more flavor. Jack really liked it but also thought another veggie may be good.
- Smoked Sausage, pan heated (no oil added) - ***** - Ok so not healthy, but I'm not planning on cutting out red meat, just may buy leaner cuts and it tasted super yummy.
- Honey Oat Bread - ***** - Note Jack doesn't want his toasted in the future.

Ease to Cook 3 out 10, too long for weekdays, but great for the weekend.

Lunch
- Salad - ***** - Based on research I changed our salad up a bit, added more color: Iceberg/Romain/Red Cabbage/Cucumber/Red Bell Pepper/Green BellPepper - I Loved the new textures. Will go this way from now on. I also top mine with cheese. Tried a new "fat free" honey dijon mustard dressing that was really good. - FYI I make a really big bowl so it last us a few days.
- Ham Sandwich with Cheese - ***** - Super easy and always a fav. - I'm making the transition to wheat bread and had 1/2 sandwich on 100% Whole Wheat and 1 on Honey Oat. I can eat the whole wheat and it is good so we will begin to transition over to that for future meals after we eat what we have.

Dinner
- Salad - *****
- Baked Potatos w/ Light Butter and Cheese - *****
- Steak marinated in Dale Sauce - ***** - I may move to the reduced sodium Dale Sauce, have't tried it. We both love this marinade though so it may have to be an unhealthy staple. The sodium in it is out of this world. We did both only eat 1/2 a steak and found that it was more than enough food. Amazing how you don't need ad much as you think sometimes, plus now I have steak for today.
- Pumpernickle Bread - ***** - Toasted

Not new at all but easy easy meal to cook - Always a Win in my household.

4:30 - Awake

It's 4:30 and I'm awake. It's funny I actually started to go to bed at 10:30 when I was sleepy, but delayed because I wanted to check out a recipe or two online... next thing I know I didn't get to bed till almost 12 and now I'm awake. Sleepy a little, but thoughts racing through my head of what I want to do etc... so I figured I would get up and, eat an apple, and write some things down to see if I can't slow the roll and get some more shut eye.

It's really amazing the things that go through your head while you are trying to go to sleep, plans for the house, foodie plans are racing in my mind at the moment, things you plan to do the next day and recently planning the most effective way to do them (why I don't know, just is). Work is also meddling it's way in, things I need to do. I'm trying to push that out with a forklift, this is my weekend - NO WORK ALLOWED!

You know what ---- It feels good to be happy/content. I've been pleased before and I've been happy before to a degree, but nothing like this. Nothing this consistent, this eternal, this pleasant. I thank God for this change in me, this light switch that seems to have been cut on, and pray that it continues. I pray that those around me share in the joy and elation I feel.

And with that blogland I will bid you a night. I'm going to get out my handy list, because oh how I love logical list that I can mark a line through in my cute notebooks that are always around and then go back to try and get a few hours of shuteye before I'm taking pictures of little monsters :)

Thanks for listening to the ramble, God bless - love you.

Happy Friday Blogland

Happy Friday Blogland, I hope this day finds you full of joy and expectation.

I missed my blogging last night of our new life because Jack stole the laptop (laptop thief :) ) hee. But overall yesterday was great. Good work done, healthy eating (I hope), 45 min walk (with 2 laps ran) and a nice dinner at home with family + a couple of chores.

I'm just loving this new me and pray that God helps her to stay around. I love the energy, the focus on new things and well just the excitement that I feel.

Tomorrow I get to do a photo-shoot for a family down the street. I've never done one so it will be an experience. Wish me luck, I'm doing it for free so hopefully they will be happy with what they get :) LOL

Today I'm also starting Friday Celebration @ lunch with some girls. I'm hoping we can all go out and get some Friday fun on to end the week. A treat for all of us and a reward for my trying to eat in at home ($$$) at least 3 days a week. I hope it works out.

Next week is Mama's week to cook - we divide every other week, so I'll be researching the recipes for 2 weeks from now and checking in occasionally. She is cooking healthier too, though I may have to watch her :) LOL Love you guys! Have a terrific day.

Yesterday's foodie items are below - Yumm, Yumm :) Love you guys, have a blessed and happy Friday!

Breakfast -

- 1/2 Grapefruit + Coffee

Lunch
- Left over noodles with tuna salad (Tuna/Mayo/Salt/Pepper/Onion) mixed in - *** - Note, we tried swapping to light mayo, Jack bought Miracle Whip, that is a no go for me. Going to have to try another brand or something, I didn't like the Wang it gave the food...
- Left over Green Beans/Squash from night before.

Dinner
- Hamburger Veggie Soup - ***** - This is the second time I've made this dish and I'm sure there is recipe somewhere, but I threw it together. - Super easy, fairly healthy (I hope) and super yummy.

Recipe:
Chop Bell Pepper
Chop Onion
Cook 1 ib Hamburger Meat with Bell Pepper and Onion in it - I also added garlic salt/salt/pepper

Open Cans of
- Corn
- Stewed Tomato's
- Green Beans

Heat for 30 min and serve.

I tried canned Ocra in it last time I made it and didn't like it. I think next time I may make the meat the night before and cook it in the crock pot so I can add fresh potato's/carrots and maybe some squash. The potato's / carrots take to long to cook to try adding them the night of I would think.

- Unhealthy Biscuits out of Can also served, but hey Rome wasn't built in a day :)
-

New Life Continues

My metamorphosis into who ever continues. I'm enjoying this, enjoying my life, enjoying the energy (though it is going down some) and loving my family.

God is good all the time isn't he?

Today I woke up, before my alarm and got out of bed. Me getting up before 30 minutes after my alarm goes off is unheard of. I've never been a morning person, but everyday this week I've been up in time to at least eat something before going to work and in some instances doing a chore or two. Loving it...

I got dressed and ate breakfast, started a load of cloths, unloaded the dishwasher, copied pics onto my computer and headed to the office. Work was productive and I got to come home for lunch where I did a couple more chores (folded cloths/started fresh load). Went back to work, got stuff done in a systematic manner and then went to walk for 45 minutes at the gym with Mama and Jack. Came home cooked dinner, played Scrabble with Mama and my brother and now I'm here talking to you... Yep good day overall. Productive and Blessed.

And in continuing with our food experiments / tracking I did try two new recipe's tonight (kinda).

Breakfast:
- Instant Oatmeal out of packet - *** - Not as healthy as the homemade one the other day, but quicker, made less and well tasty - 10 out of 10 for ease

Lunch
- Ham/Cheese Sandwich on Honey Oat Bread - *** - Super easy and tasty
- Left Over Salad - *****

Dinner
- Baked Chicken Marinated in Herb and Garlic Marinade - **** - Not really new on the baked chicken, but first time I've used the Marinade - Everyone really loved it, had good flavor.
- Green Beans (canned) with Fresh Squash - **** - Not new but super easy and healthy.
- Apple Glazed Sweet Potato's - ** - Flavor was ok for me and Mama, but Jack doesn't like Sweet Potato's so he was a no go. It wasn't hard to make, though it took longer than it said it would to cook and cutting raw sweet potato's into thin slices is not easy by no mean - Ease to Make due to cutting on this would be 6 out of 10 to me, everything else was pretty easy.
- Bread and Lite Margarine - *****

Overall Ease of Dinner - 4 out of 10 - I'll do almost all of it again, though I don't think the Sweet Potato dish will go in my file to be made again. Live and learn, but fairly healthy meal overall (I hope).

Hee - I'm enjoying this cooking process. It's fun to play, tomorrow is a simple soup that I've made before, but it's healthy and I can make enough of it to last into the weekend :)

Thanks for reading my ramble blog friends. May God bless and keep you this evening and for the days to come. Have a terrific night - Love you.

Recipe Gone Wrong

Well, today was good, very productive. I got up, ate a grapefruit - **** - for breakfast, did a few chores and headed to work.

The day was productive with a good lunch at home in the middle of the day (tuna salad in leftover noodles - ***. Went for a 45 minute walk at the gym, ran to the grocery store and came home to try the latest recipe:

- Thai Scallops & Noodles - * - NO GO for me, though I did substitute shrimp since I don't like Scallops - Jack liked it pretty good (he said), but to me it was way too peanut buttery and well just gross.

- Salad - *****
- Honey Wheat Bread (toasted) - ****
- Raisen Bran Ceral :) - ****

Won't be doing that one again, but hey you never know till you try. Out of the week so far this is the first one I hated so hey I'll take what I can get. Tomorrow is a Chicken Dinner with some new sides - wish me luck.

Still getting stuff done and loving it. Love you guys - God Bless!

Energy / Health Foodie / LIfe is Great

The past few days have been incredible / amazing / productive / etc...

I'm not sure if it is the steroids the Dr. has me on, the food choices or the exercise, but I have had more energy in the past few days than I think I have had in my life and I'm loving it. The odd thing is I've had less sleep than ever as well - so odd.

Thursday night, as you know from my rambling I was up in till 4 AM, but despite that Friday was a terrific day. I got so much done at work (a productive/successful day), then came home and made the first "healthy" meal of our new life. If is not exactly like we ate super unhealthy before, just trying to be more focused at this point about it. I have never been the super "fry" everything cook or anything, but I'm trying to cook in more healthy oils / with more concentration on veggies / fruit snacks and etc...

But I digress - over the next few days I hope you don't mind if this turns into a bit of a food blog. I want to use this to track what recipes work / what doesn't etc.. So you ready ?

1/15

Dinner
-Flounder: Marinated in Cajun Sauce - NO (bland/too fishy)
-Frozen Brocolli with Cheese - *** - Good but I need to learn the cheese better (it got hard)
- Salad - ***** - Can never go wrong here, though I probably need to check the dressings we use to make sure they are good for us. But Rome was not built in a day.

Ease to Make 3 out of 10

1/16

Breakfast
-Strawberry Pancakes - * -Pancakes are good, but you can't cook the strawberries inside of them. it has to be a topper.
-Bacon - Microwaved - ***** -Not too healthy, but I got most of the greese off and well just yummy.

Ease to Make - 6 out of 10

Dinner
-Zesty Chicken Salsa - **** - Good Flavor in the Chicken -Jack liked salsa topping (said he could eat it as a salad in itself), maybe add a bit more lime next time/or let it mix flavors longer.

-Field Peas out of Can - *** - Love these
-Biscuits (canned) - *** - not too healthy, but I love them
-Salad - *****

Ease to Make 3 out of 10

1/17

Breakfast
-Apple Oatmeal (with fresh apples)- * - Makes way too much (would need to cut recipe in 1/3) - Not sweet enough - which it wouldn't be since it's healthy, but the flavor didn't do it for me - Took too long to make for breakfast

Ease to Make 5 out of 5 (not hard just too much time for breakfast)

Lunch
-Left overs from 1/16.

Dinner
-Tomato Basil Chicken - **** - Need to only cook the pasta amt required in the recipe vs. winging it and making way too much - Need to use 3 tomatos vs. 2 as there needed to be more pasta that way you can really drown the pasta a bit/help the flavors mix. But I liked the salsa flavor.

- Salad - *****
- English Peas out of Can - ***
- Pumpernickle Bread - *****

Ease to Cook - 5 of 10

Well that is the cooking segment for today, but that is not everything. Remember I told you this weekend was productive.

Friday Mama and I went shopping for this "healthy food spree". I had to go back and buy new basics as the oils / marinades / spices are all different from what I normally buy and who help you better learn how to shop for groceries than your Mother. Something I never really did with her before it was kinda cool.

Saturday Mama and I spent several hours shopping - finding and marking stuff off the list that I made Thursday night.

- Door Bells for the house
- Fabric for Curtains upstairs (57 for fabric vs. 40 for one panel (I need 8 panels)-WIN
- Puzzle Board / Puzzle Board Cover
- Lowes Run
- Spice Racks
- Helped Jack get Insullation to Dump

Jack also was productive:

- Organized his shop some more
- Carried A bunch of stuff to Building
- Loaded 2nd Load of Insullation

Sunday Mama and I went shopping for a few more things that I didn't get to on Sat.

- New Coffee Pot (Keurig 1450)
- Got some organizational baskets for spices
- Target Run

I also got all of this shopping accomplished plus some more:

- Kitchen Reorganized
- Washed Place Mats (got them ready to iron)
- Washed Odd House Stuff (extra linens / etc..)
- Cleaned up the shopping spree
- Reviewed recipes / rated them / planned rest of week
- Organized Laundry Room a bit

We attempted to watch a move "dinner for Schmucks" - I do not recommend at all. We actually cut it off before it got even 1/2 way through. We then wente to bed at 10:30, but I did not fall asleep until 4ish - again. Yet again today was great.

- I got a ton of work done / very focused / productive.
- We went to work out - Walked 45 Min - 2.5 MM
- Went and exchanged spice rack
- Bought Mama "magic jack"
- Cooked Dinner
- Cloths are layed out for tomorrow
- Work out cloths ready
- Washed a load of cloths
- Boiled Eggs for tomorrow's lunch (tuna / noodle salad - using left over noodles from dinner)

It's 10:30 and I am beginning to get tired. Hopefully I'll sleep tonight - I'm loving this energy level. If it is the steroids, hopefully by time I stop taking them, the workout, food will have kicked in and I can continue this. I'm just loving it...

On a unfortunate note I do need prayers for the following:

- Lady I work with husband had to go the hospital today. Pray that God will bring his healing hand to him and his calming hand to her.
- My pastor's wife (Linda's) mother is having some health issues (Cancer). Please keep her in your prayers.
- Another lady I work with has been diagnosed with Breast Cancer.

Please keep these three in your prayers / thoughts.

God Bless You and Thank you for listening once again to this ramble/list/push into the void. Love you friends - God Bless!

Restless

It's 1:30 AM and I was laying in bed failing to fall asleep my mind was racing. Racing with plans, thoughts, dreams, hopes, failures, prayers and etc... So I figures I would get up and put some of those thoughts down... hoping it would empty my mind so the sleep I need will come.

Do you find it odd that life / moods / dreams come in spurts? There are days I could care less about anything - the thought of completing another day is daunting and then there are times where I can do anything. I guess it's part of being human, part of being a woman and well just me. I've been this way all my life - the roll-a-coaster of feelings / dedication / will power.

Right now I'm in plan mode. I'm in clean mode. I'm in organize mode. I'm in list mode. I'm also for the first time in my life getting serious about my health. I'm getting serious about getting into shape (started our workouts at the Y today). I'm getting serious about the food we put in our bodies. I Will have to relearn how to cook, but we are going to start eating better around here.

In addition to that I'm planning things in the house again. I had dropped into a state of melancholy where I didn't care if burned to the ground, but I'm getting back to wanting to decorate/organize etc... Slowly, but it's coming.

I'm also getting well. I got sick on the 30th of December and was out of work for over 5 days (7 total, but 2 were due Ice and boy was I glad for the ice). Today is the first day I've felt really human again. The Dr said it would take a few weeks before I was 100% but I'm done. I'm done being sick and getting sick so much. I'm hoping/praying this new found wellness kick will help. I'm hoping and praying it isn't' a kick but a new lifestyle. I'm determined to not call it a resolution as well I didn't start it on new years and I want it to be life long so there... It is a lifelong change that started today!

Work is work and I hate it. But am grateful for the job right now with two house payments. I think once Madison Green Sales I'm taking some time off - it still up in the air but I think I'm going to take some time to find me. I know that sounds odd, but I've been working since I was 15 - I worked full time during both degrees and fell into my career. It's a good one that has taken care of me, but I never took that self discovery time that most take in college. The time to figure out who you are and what you want to be. And the Lord willing I'm going to take it in the next few years... I'm going to find myself and I'm going to love her.

My husband is great. I looked at him tonight and realized that I am the most lucky woman alive. He understands me, gets that I am a roll-a-coaster and loves me regardless. He hugs me when I'm sad, stays away from me when I need him to and is always trying to help me find my happy place, where ever that is. He is giving and loving - while being hard as nails when he needs to be. God knew what he was doing when he put these two opposites together - I couldn't survive with anyone else.

And with that sappy step I'm going to stop and start writing my list on paper of the things I want to get done this weekend. Thanks for letting me send this out into the void, if you read it forgive the random nature of it and know I love the fact you took the time to let me share this piece of myself with you. God bless you and your family in this new year.

Love your cyber friend,

Mylerna