Snow, snow, snow!

Because I work from home, I can look cheerfully out at the piles of snow, the icy roads, and the cars creeping timidly along and love every minute of it! I sip my spicy tea while I type, type, type in my flannel jammies and thank God that I am here at home and not forced to drive on those awful roads!

The only thing I'm not thankful for is my proximity to the edible goodies right under my own roof. There is only one way to describe the way I have been eating for the last 3 days -- crazy stupid!! Today I have done much better, though, and my water intake is getting back up to where it should be. I'm making this confession in keeping with the spirit of this blog...all is not perfect in my weight-loss world, and that's why I'm talking about it. It really does help me to think before I eat because I know that I am in some small way accountable to others for breaking the bad habits I have gotten into and transparent enough to let you know I am struggling with it right now!

Back to the snow... Carol-Ann asked me to take some pictures of our snow since in her neck of the woods there is not much snow anymore. I didn't realize that before. When I lived there 30 years ago it seemed as if we had quite a bit, and it stayed on the ground all winter. Here in Colorado it falls heavily at times, but soon the sun comes out and melts it. If it is too cold to melt, the snow somehow gets absorbed by the dry air and finally disappears (sort of like a frost-free freezer, I guess!), so we have the beauty, but we don't get too bogged down with accumulated snow.

Here are a few pictures I took today. (Clicking on them will give you lots more detail.)

Looking from our front porch along the side of the house. See the kitty footprints in the light snow on the sidewalk!

The evergreen bushes in front of our front porch. You can see Denver on the horizon down below.

Looking west from our driveway across the fields with the "castle building" and the mountains in the distance.

Our back yard, where you can see the tracks of Lucky, a neighbor dog, who was checking out every tree and bush! I think I should learn something from Lucky. She was using up a lot of calories chasing around in the snow like that!

My Christmas Blessing

My dutiful subconscious woke me early this morning. Yesterday was all rush and run, and I dreaded the thought of leaving my warm cocoon, but that internal clock knew it was time to put the turkey in the oven, and there was no off button on the alarm!

It was early and dark, but... What?? Is it snowing?! A minute before, I had been dry-eyed and draggy from lack of sleep! Now, peering through the window was not enough, so I tiptoed back into the bedroom for my shoes and squeezed out the back door.
My Christmas blessing came first thing this morning before the busy world woke up, not from my wonderful family or the carefully-wrapped gifts or the delicious food, but from this -- stillness, quietness, purity -- a perfect picture of peace. It melted right down into my heart and has stayed with me all day, an outward picture of the inward heart-peace of Christmas!

Holiday Celebration Tips!

My friend Heather sent me this, and I just had to share it with you! I needed a laugh, and I hope you laugh as hard as I did!

1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. You can't find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's a treat! Enjoy it! Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas!

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.

8. Same for pies. Apple. Pumpkin. Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards.

10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Re-read tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner.

Remember this motto to live by:
'Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, sandwich in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming 'WOO HOO what a ride!'

My Trip -- Part 2

In 1977 (many, many moons ago -- in fact, was I even alive then??), I was engaged to Barry, but we did not plan to get married for another long year, so I enrolled in the one-year secretarial course at Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario. That was an excellent decision because what I learned that year has been the foundation for all the work I have done since then. Typing, grammar, and shorthand skills weren't the only benefits, though. Three of us students -- Pat, Frances, and I -- became friends and spent a lot of time studying together and hanging out between classes.

Over the years, Pat has been just wonderful about keeping in touch with me. She wrote lots of letters before the days of email and sent pictures and Christmas cards. I have not been nearly as good at that as she has, but I have always admired her ability to do it so well. Thirty years later, we still love to keep in touch which is much easier now with emails back and forth and blogs and such! Still, there is nothing like getting together and gabbing the hours away over coffee, which is exactly what we did during my visit with Carol-Ann. Here is Pat, looking back at me from across the coffee-shop table.

This is a weight-loss blog, so I am duty bound to say that I totally resisted the urge to get more than coffee! We were surrounded by goodies at this wonderful coffee shop, but I raised my chin and stiffened my upper lip! (Actually, I better be honest and admit that I had just eaten!) Now, though, we are starting into the Christmas season with all the goodies and big meals that go with it.

This is my plan: Keep drinking more water, take only one helping at meals, give in and eat only one little sweet each day, and run around like crazy to burn off calories!!

On a more serious note, though, I have been thinking about how in some parts of the world there is no need for weight loss because there is not even enough food to sustain healthy life. So let's remember this Christmas to be very thankful for our many, many blessings!

My trip!

I'm home, and it is hard to believe that my long-awaited visit to see my family is already over!! It is hard to get my feet on the ground after such a GREAT visit with Carol-Ann and her family and our mother. They all made me feel so comfortable and at home, and we had just the best time talking, laughing, playing our instruments together, EATING TOGETHER... This was one of those visits when staying another few days would have suited me just fine, and Carol-Ann did have some of that wonderful bread left over...

It was so good to catch up with all the goings-on and interests of the family. I wish I were better with the camera, though. I seem to think of all the pictures I wish I had taken after I get home when it is much too late to do anything about it! I do have one or two and will use them later.

I came home to find that Barry had been working very hard while I was gone. In addition to taking care of Coral, he had put up the tree and added Christmas lights in four of the windows. He had also bought and assembled a storage unit (with doors) that we wanted to get for the office to help get us organized.

Speaking of the office, SOME people were naughty while I was away!

Elmo was trying to take over my computer! And Coral was laughing so hard she could hardly breathe!!! I had to chase him out of my office before he could make my computer crash! It was hard to be mad with him, though, with him so carefully dressed in his smart blue-striped shirt!

I am almost caught up with the doctor's dictation that had piled up while I was gone. He had 7 tapes for me, and 6 are done, so you know I was serious about chasing Elmo away from my computer!

Weigh-in is tomorrow morning, and I'm trying not to over-expect! Best wishes on your little get-on-the-scale ceremony, Carol-Ann!

Let's Try Gearing DOWN This Time!

We have learned some awesome things this past week. One of them being that we are much better encouragement to each other in the area of weight-loss when we are FAR APART!

It was a wonderful week sitting here stuffing our little faces with bread and bread and more bread! We have ZERO will-power when we are together! We want to pamper each other with food, it seems! Well, I guess we've finally found a good reason why it is better to live in different countries far enough away to need to fly rather than drive for a visit!

Mom and Bruce and Kinza and I just loved having you here for a few days! Mom said as soon as the front door closed, Mini dashed to the chair and leaped up to watch us out the window when we left to take you to the airport. She said when the car finally disappeared down the road, only then did Mini give in to the reality that we'd left without her and she flopped sadly to the floor where she remained for the entire hour+ that it took for us to get back home! We've joined her with the droopy puppy ears and big sad eyes!

Thanks for all the effort it took to come and try out my new scale!

Gearing up!

Tomorrow is the next weigh-in! I think we should put Elmo's vest and scarf on him and stuff those bulbous feet into heavy shoes so he will gain some weight! Best wishes for good numbers and better figures for all of us!

To be honest, I would love to see my numbers plummeting rapidly, but I know slow and steady is more in my best interests for healthy weight loss that lasts.

I'll be eagerly checking those stats tomorrow!