Winners by Losing!

A "Comment" Worthy of Being a Post!

2009-06-11T20:55:00.001-07:00

I can definitely feel the struggle to shed off the last few pounds! It is not as easy as it seems!

Studies have shown that people who make goals are more successful than those who don't! So I think it is high time for me to set a new goal since I have met my last one and am now struggling to move forward. My new goal is to keep putting in at least 2 hours of exercise a week and get down to 150 lbs by July 6. My new weight goal is 145, and I hope to be there by August 3.

Honestly, I think that the hardest part is keeping the weight off for good! I think that I will probably struggle with my weight for the rest of my life, but I want to make sure that I am doing my best to make good decisions that will keep me healthy and active for a long long time.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

News from Andrea!

2009-06-02T22:10:00.000-07:00

Gord (my Dad), Paula, me, Stephanie, Nathaniel (my brother)

A lot can happen in a month! As most of you know, I graduated from the University of Southern California on May 15, 2009 and received my Masters of Arts in Teaching. My family came out to support me and celebrate with me!

AT GRIFFITH OBSERVATORY
Anthony, Paula, Stephanie, me

We had a wonderful time together. This is a picture of all of us (excluding the photographer, my father); which is fine because I just realized that the rest of us are on here! Anyhow, we are at the Griffith Observatory. When we arrived we were surprised by how popular the place was and soon discovered that the parking lot was closed; we had to park a ways down the road. As luck would have it, the entire walk to the observatory was uphill! Just as we passed the entrance to the parking lot, it was deemed empty enough to open up; yes, this was our lucky day alright! Ha! However, we were able to console ourselves with the fact that we had gotten some good exercise!

This blog has seen some great positive change in the last month as well!

First, Aunt Carol-Ann gave the blog a bit of a face lift, and now we are current and up to date!

Second, Stephanie has decided to join us, and she is off to a fantastic start! I’m pretty sure everyone who reads this is familiar with all the participants, but I’ll give a little introduction anyway. Stephanie is my older sister, and she decided to join the blog when she came out to visit me in CA for my graduation. We got to work right away exercising and eating healthy (well, most of the time, anyhow).

With all the excitement, I figured it was time to do a proper wrap-up for the month of May...

In the past 31 days we have put in a total of

22 hours and 40 minutes of exercise

and
lost a total of 9.0 pounds

We are well on our way to being winners by losing! Keep up the good work, team!

A Post from the blog Administration!

2009-05-16T15:24:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to all you stick-to-it Winners! I'm truly amazed by the numbers that have been crunched to smaller sizes here! And congratulations, Andrea, on your graduation! Lots of hard work in every direction!

Now it is time to crunch the sidebars of this blog to have it truly reflect the current activity.

In the next little while all inactive members will be transferred to an alumni file and all active members will be given the more lofty positions in the sidebar. If you find yourself in the file and would like to be put back in the open sidebar, just leave me a note in the comment section. Remember, this is a "Winners" blog -- you are always rated "A" in our books! "A" for Alumni or "A" for Active!

Pretty good, eh?

Milestone for Andrea!

2009-05-04T07:11:00.000-07:00

Andrea has broken into the 150s!!
Great job, Andrea!
Way to go!

Your goal is in sight!

Thanks, Andrea!

2009-04-27T06:48:00.000-07:00

Just check out what I got in my email last night! Impossible to ignore, that's what this is!

Aunt Jeanette!

I am here to demand that you weigh in tomorrow! You cannot tip toe around the issue any more. It is time to face the music.

And you will also set a new short term goal and write a little blurb on the blog about it. We are here to keep you accountable, and we will not let you down. Because if we did not demand this, we would be letting you down. (This is all in love)

So I am excited to see you get back in the game, put in at least 30 min of exercise, weigh in, and make a new goal this week. You can do it! We are all rooting for you.

Love you,
Andrea

So I am pulling myself together! Actually, I had already had a consultation with myself about this very thing, but getting this email was the clincher!

Here's my plan:

I will weigh in today
I will exercise at least 30 minutes this week, probably more
I will write down everything I eat (the way that works best for me)

As to the new goal, I want to lose 15+ pounds by June 15. That sounds ambitious! And maybe it is. But at least I've said it, so the real work can now begin!

An update from Andrea!

2009-04-16T20:25:00.000-07:00

It’s that time again…
Spring is approaching and the warm weather outside reminds me that I should be out THERE exercising instead of in HERE watching TV!!! I’ve gotta get out there and start enjoying the fresh air. I know that if I make it a priority I can fit it into my schedule, but when I start putting it off I never get around to it! Time to get in motion!

I also have a quick update on how everything is at school. I can’t believe that it is almost May! The colors on the exercise log for May are gold and maroon; I chose these colors because they are my university’s colors, and I will be walking across that stage on May 15th to get my diploma! Whew! And then I can relax!… oh wait… I still have to write my thesis over the summer… and finish all my assignments from this semester… and pray that I passed my project (the Performance Assessment of California Teachers). But receiving my diploma will be a milestone for me, and I can’t wait!

My student teaching is going pretty well. Today was the first day I have seen my class since Spring Break, but it went really well! In fact, I got my first ‘excellent’ review from the math coach who comes and observes me once a week. That felt really good and I am feeling ready to be in my own classroom. I really think that I will love my job (once it is official) because it inspires me!

Now the job search begins! Argh!!! Putting together a job resume is the first step, and I really need to get on it! So that will be occupying my time for the next week, and then I need to decide where I want to teach and go to job interviews. I will be sure to keep you all posted on my quest for employment!

And remember… it is a beautiful day outside and exercise relieves stress! Make it happen!

Hang in there!

2009-03-23T13:56:00.000-07:00

Well, I hope that we have at least been holding our own this week. I got more exercise than last week, but I also ate very unwisely at times. The day after tomorrow, I am going to get on an airplane and go spend a week in Canada with Carol-Ann and her family and my mother. If it is like previous trips, I will get there, turn around twice, and it will be time to fly back again! And who knows how the exercise and eating will go while I am gone... Hopefully better than when I am at home, but we shall see!

This is not just about how we look; this is about something even more important -- our health. The older I get, the more I can feel it, too.
We can do it!

Weigh-In Day!

2009-03-09T07:04:00.000-07:00

(Click on the cartoon to see it better)

All of our active members have had a GREAT week!
Congratulations, everyone!

February Progress Report!

2009-02-28T21:39:00.000-08:00

By Andrea

This has been a really fun month on here, and each member has contributed to the rising energy on this blog. Therefore, it seems fitting that we take a minute to realize just how successful we have been!

February has been a record-breaking month for our group! (Go ahead, give yourself a pat on the back). In the past twenty-eight days we have:

Put in 27 hours and 10 minutes of exercise

Lost 7.8 pounds

This is a HUGE success! I’m so excited about and proud of our progress and dedication.

Let’s see if we can beat ourselves in March!

I have to admit it...

2009-02-25T23:14:00.001-08:00

This has been a failure day for me. I hope the rest of you have done better. In my defense, I typed nearly 100,000 characters today. That is probably not much compared to what some people can do, but that was a lot for me. The energy had to come from somewhere, and my own fat cells just would not give it up!

Weigh-In Day!

2009-02-23T07:52:00.000-08:00

Here's a cartoon for weigh-in day, just in case we need a little humor to lighten things up! Andrea and I have been searching these out and plan to post one each Monday if we can.

There's a grain of truth in this, even when it makes us laugh...
Any cutting back from what we have been doing is progress, so let's give it our best shot this week!

Happy Birthday, Jeanette!

2009-02-19T18:22:00.000-08:00

You'll have to let us know after spending time lifting those weights: the biceps that now hang beneath the arm in middle age -- do they surface to the top again with exercise or do they just continue to swing low only with more bulk?

Happy 55th!

Jeanette's answer --

Thanks, Carol-Ann! I have had a very happy birthday. Funny thing, I don't feel any older than I did yesterday!

This afternoon I used my new age of 55 to my advantage!

The phone rang, right when I was in the middle of busy kitchen cleaning. Riiinnnggg.... "Hello," I said politely. A man with a slight accent answered, "This is Tom from the Delightful Research Company [or some name like that]. I have some questions to ask about what you watch on TV." Without pausing for breath, he rushed right on. I'm sure experience has taught him what will happen if he stops to gasp for air! "Is there a female in your household between the ages of 18 and 54 [note that he said 54....54!] who could answer my questions?" I just could not hold back the glee in my voice! "No, I'm sorry! The only one here in that age group is disabled and would not be able to answer any questions!!" Now he could breathe! "Thank you for your time. Good-bye!" Click! ... Yippee! That was easy!

Thus I have embarked on life as a senior!!

(Sagging biceps? Flapping upper arms?? Swinging wings??? Of what dost thou speak, dear sister???)

An Encouraging Story!

2009-02-19T09:53:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Andrea, Anthony, and Paula, our little blog has some new life! I think the exercise log may have a lot to do with it. Since our son Trent moved out on his own, we have an empty room in our basement, so Barry repainted it, put in a new light fixture, and moved our exercise equipment in there. We have the treadmill in one corner, and next to it is the HealthRider. Then there is the weight bench with every imaginable size of weight that can be added to the bar. So now I have no excuse, not even bad weather!

Andrea enjoys watching "The Biggest Loser," and she sent me this link. What an amazing story! I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did!

Ali Vincent's Story

If Ali can do it, so can we!

(Thanks for the link, Andrea!)

2009-02-09T19:13:00.001-08:00

Ooooops!
Sorry to any who may have seen, but I posted on the wrong blog!
Ha Ha!

I was working on the telling of my love story for Valentines Day and had clicked accidentally on to the Winners Blog instead of MY blog! Post removed!

Hope you all are successful with your weight loss and exercise! I'm still 10 pounds above my goal and am wondering whether or not it is worth the effort to try to go the last 10!

Here we go!

2009-02-09T07:13:00.001-08:00

Happy weigh-in day!

I got on the scale this morning... covered my eyes... took a deep breath... and squinted down through my fingers... Yes, just as I thought! Over this long food-filled break I have taken, I have definitely lost ground. But things could have been MUCH worse, I know. So I am feeling encouraged. And I hope you are, too.

With this new start, I am trying a different approach. I have set my goal weight at 10 pounds less than my weigh-in today. I am only trying to lose 10 pounds right now. When I get there, then I'll decide what to do about the next 10 pounds.

This last week, as I have been doing my medical transcription work, I have had to chuckle several times over the thoughts the doctor just cannot keep out of his tone of voice... "The patient's weight is up a WHOPPING 33 pounds since his last visit!" I grin, but I can identify with that patient. It is much easier to go up that whopping 33 pounds than down, isn't it! Let's make sure we are moving in the right direction!

Suggestion for this week: Try to make some food substitutions. This is not about starving but about making some healthy changes. Last week when I went to the store, I bought some mangoes, something I don't usually get. Several times since then I have found that one of those cut up and eaten piece by piece at my desk as I work is a really satisfying alternative to snack foods. I am going to try a different fruit next time I am at the store.

A Little Bird Told Me...

2009-02-05T20:19:00.000-08:00

...that there are big happenings over here at the Winners blog! Just to look at it, you won't be able to tell just yet, but there will be some new additions to our sidebars, and I'm feeling pretty excited about it!

We have been struggling along, each of us fighting our own battles. Through this blog we have tried to join forces and work together, but our failure (what a nasty word!) has been really discouraging, not to mention the extra pounds we are still carrying around.

So... as you already know if you have been keeping up with us, Andrea called us back into action. She posted comments here, and every Monday morning a message from her popped up in my email: "Are we in?" I have to admit that I looked around at all of us and didn't see anyone responding, so I half-heartedly and without much confidence took a timid step forward and raised my hand! "Okay, Andrea, let's be a team of two," I said!

Last week, I cut out all the over-abundance of sweets that have taken over since the beginning of December. That was tough! Then this week I started writing down most of what I ate so I could try to get a handle on it. Second tough week. The lady at Wal-Mart must have wondered why anyone needed that much gum! I'm not sure the scales are showing anything yet except for the horrendous backsliding I have been doing, but I do feel a bit better and less achy.

Then imagine my excitement yesterday morning when my phone rang! It was Andrea! "Guess what?" she said after our pleasantries were over. "Anthony wants to come on the blog with us!" Anthony is Andrea's boyfriend, and he has thrown down the gauntlet with his claim that he is going to beat us all at weight loss!! I am so pleased that he is going to join us! But I know I am no match for the two of them on weight loss, so it took the next thing to REALLY lift my spirits!

Another email popped up in my inbox...from Andrea!

GUESS WHAT???!!!???!!!!

I have been recruiting, and my mother has agreed to join us! Attached is a very flattering picture taken of her at my graduation :) She says that she weighs in on Saturdays, and I am guessing that she will either tell you or me to post it for her. I really wanted her to join so that you two would have some support and accountability. You know, during those way-too-delicious-to-say-no Sunday lunches you put on every week or the calorie-laden Monday nights, you two will be able to join forces and help each other. AND even exercising for a mere 30 minutes together would be no problem!

I'm excited for our revamp of the blog!

"YES WE CAN!!!"

Now I am REALLY encouraged! Today Paula, Andrea's mom, called and asked if I wanted to walk this evening, so we put in 30 minutes of brisk walking around the neighborhood, and we made plans for a regular exercise regimen. (I'm afraid my legs will not like me in the morning, though!)

In the next few days, we will have new faces on the sidebar. So if anyone else would like to make a new start along with us, come and join in! And if you can, convince a friend to be your partner and join us, too. That just might make all the difference!

WHAT'S UP??

2009-01-26T08:10:00.000-08:00

Fact #1: Andrea is pushing forward on her weight loss. She is putting the rest of us to shame!

Fact #2: For 2 weeks now, on Monday morning I have received an email from her entitled "Are we on?" (The question is: On what? Certainly not the scale, as I am afraid to do it!) But I know what she means...

Fact #3: I definitely need someone like Andrea prodding me to get moving, so here I am, challenging anyone else who would like to get busy again to join us. I am going to take the challenge from Andrea and start up again.

I know this might just be Andrea and me. Believe me, if you decide this is not for you, that is totally okay. Andrea and I have made a good team on lots of things in the past and had an awfully fun time doing it. (Cooking Sunday dinner comes to mind!) So if it is just the 2 of us, that is okay, too.

For starters today, here is some of Andrea's email to me last week. I think she is right about the short-term goal, so I'm thinking about it...

"I know its kinda dead on the blog right now, but I want to share my success anyway! Although I want to lose weight for myself I also enjoy telling my friends how I am doing. I have a new short term goal that I really think I can accomplish. I want to be down to 160 lbs by the time I graduate (May 15). So I have 17.6 lbs to go. If I keep eating right and saying "NO NO NO" to all the sweets I just might make it :)

Maybe it would help you to have a more short term goal to spur you into action. I know you really want to lose weight so if the blog is no longer a source of inspiration then you need a new one. I just went grocery shopping and I was soooo tempted to buy some goodies, but I walked away instead. I think to myself, "What harm could some cookies really do?" But then when I see progress and success I am so glad that I didn't do it.

All of this to say, if we still want to lose weight we need a new game plan. I would like to exercise more, but realistically I know that I have a hard time motivating myself to get out there. However, it isn't too hard to just not fill my cupboards with sweets. That is my new outlook, so I'm adjusting my focus. Don't give up! I know you can do this!"

How is that for a cheerleader/encourager? So... let's do it!

And here's a little thought for the day!

Proverbs 25: 27-28:
It is not good to eat too much honey, nor is it honorable to seek one's own honor.
Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control.

ANDREA IN THE NEWS!

2008-12-05T12:15:00.000-08:00

Here is a copy of a news item that includes Andrea! Way to go, Andrea! Besides your great success at weight loss right now, you are also making us proud in your chosen field! Great job!! (USC is University of Southern California)

The Importance of Doing the Math10/15/08
With the national shortage of math teachers, a new fellowship program offers graduates incentives to remain in the classroom, including graduate education and a five-year stipend.
By Andrea Bennett

Andrea Hodgson, a Math for America fellow, works with a student.
Photo/Stephanie Erickson

Few can dispute that capable math teachers in the classroom are keys to the next generation’s ability to keep the U.S. economy healthy and globally competitive.

But the pool of highly qualified math teaching talent has been shrinking, and there are incentives for math-savvy instructors to pursue fields other than teaching.

Math for America Los Angeles launched this year to address the shortage of high-quality mathematics teachers by attracting top math majors to greater Los Angeles area classrooms – and keeping them there.

The program, which is primarily funded by the Simons Foundation, recently held an informational luncheon in Los Angeles hosted by philanthropist Eli Broad. The USC Rossier School of Education is a member of the Math for America partnership along with Harvey Mudd College and the Claremont Graduate School.

Math for America originated as a pilot for New York City schools and is the vision of mathematician, businessman and philanthropist James H. Simons.

While Los Angeles is one of the most expensive cities to live in the United States, the starting salary in the Los Angeles Unified School District for a credentialed teacher with a master’s degree is about $46,600.

In contrast, the starting salary in other mathematics-related fields for recent master’s degree recipients was on average between $60,000 and $70,000.

Math for America aims to curtail the trend of fleeing math teachers by offering its fellows an annual stipend of $20,000 for five years, in addition to paid tuition and teacher salaries.

In the first year, students pursue a master’s degree and teaching credential from USC or Claremont Graduate University.

Mariam Youssef, one of Math for America’s 11 inaugural fellows, said tuition to attend the USC Rossier School of Education was more of a selling point than the stipend.

“I think I would’ve still taught and been OK with the (teacher) salary being less, but the issue for me was paying for grad school,” Youssef said. “I wanted to go to a good program, but they’re expensive.”

During the subsequent four years, fellows teach in the greater Los Angeles area and receive the annual stipend in addition to their teacher salary, reducing the urge to drop teaching for a better salary elsewhere.

Stephanie Erickson, another Math for America fellow, said she earned her bachelor’s in math and applied to USC with the goal of teaching in Los Angeles when site director Pam Mason told her about the new program.

“I got a phone call that felt a little like Christmas,” Erickson said. “I was going to put myself $80,000 in debt to do this, and they were going to pay me to do it.”

Each fellow is assigned a master teacher, who mentors him or her during the process and provides the support and encouragement many teachers never receive during their challenging first years.

Professional development opportunities are provided through Harvey Mudd College. By the end of the five-year fellowship, every Math for America fellow is expected to strive for national certification – the highest achievement for an educator and one that generates larger pay raises.

With new sites opening in Los Angeles and San Diego this year and another due to open in Washington, D.C., in the near future, efforts to expand Math for America nationally are under way.

Lee Umphrey, interim executive director of Math for America, said John Ewing recently was appointed the first president for the national office.

Future sites may take longer to come to fruition due to the financial climate.

“Many cities and states are interested in starting MFA sites, and everyone agrees there’s a definite need,” Umphrey said. “Federal funding is tenuous for the next couple of years because of budgets in Washington. And given the recent financial situation, private funding will be scarcer, making it more challenging for new sites to start up.”

Andrea Hodgson, another of the first crop of Math for America fellows in Los Angeles, said her experience in the classroom has been positive thus far, and she sees the program making a real difference in math education for the area.

“I’m learning so much, and I can really just focus on learning how to teach and being a good teacher,” Hodgson said of the fellowship program. “(Math for America) has the potential to change the area with the talent, drive and education from USC. It’s helping the math curriculum (in local schools) get stronger.”

Long Over-due Introduction of Amrita!

2008-11-23T22:32:00.000-08:00

The intro to Amrita is coming in a couple of parts! Quite awhile ago I started reading her blog because it was so different from anything else I was following and I just felt so refreshed by that! But I think it was this post (which I snatched by a copy and paste from her blog) that really caught my eye and I was hooked as a regular reader from then on! More next time ... in the meantime, enjoy her post:

The Highs and Lows

Today was a day of highs and lows.The high point of the day was when I received a gift check for our church building fund and when India defeated Pakistan in the first one day cricket match.

The lows were when I went to the bank stood in a very long Que only to discover that my ATM card had expired and I did not bring my new one along.

My washing machine 's dryer gave out on me after the first cycle and the repairman did not come after I phoned him.

I also had a few "run ins" with mama.The generation gap is getting longer and rockier and slipper-ier (coined a new word here).

Aunt S was quite disturbed, she has her moments.

And my old girl- maid (female Jeeves) tries my patience too.Her hearing and eyesight is weak and her IQ is low.But because she is a very poor widow and is very faithful and honest I just can't let her go.

I felt quite ill and stressed out in the evening.Stress causes vertigo in me,but I went out to get medicines. And I bought a book by Joyce Meyers called The Secret Power of Speaking God 's Word.Its a compilation of Bible verses we can speak out during different situations of life.My verse for stress is-It is God 's desire that I be free from all anxiety and distressing care. I Cor 7;32

The Holy Spirit calmed my soul otherwise I was telling Mama that I am going to call Sonia in Lucknow and tell her to ask her hubby 's uncle who is the Director of a famous Christian Psychiatric Hospital there to book a room for me.My Mom agreed.

What were your day 's highs and lows?

Coral's Birthday Update!

2008-11-20T16:20:00.001-08:00

Coral has been celebrating to her heart's content, and since we have not mentioned one of our members -- Elmo -- for quite awhile, I thought I would give him a little space! In fact, he is the only one of us who is maintaining his ideal weight! (See the bottom right sidebar!)

We celebrated at Uncle Gord's and Aunt Paula's usual Monday night open house with this birthday cake which is perfect for Coral! That is one of her little Elmos standing in the middle, propped up by the plastic card holder from a floral arrangement !

(And yes, I ate too much!)

Happy Birthday!

2008-11-19T04:33:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Coral!

Love and hugs and kisses from Aunt Carol-Ann and Uncle Bruce and Kinza!
(Make Elmo behave today because it's your birthday!!!)

Update!

2008-11-19T04:12:00.000-08:00

It's time for me to acknowledge my gaps here on The Winners' Log! First of all, we have a new Winner who has not yet been formally introduced ... most of us know her already, but I hope to have her post ready on the weekend.

Jeanette asked me by email this morning for an update re my exercise and BP and stuff! Regarding the "exercise" let me say that I don't upgrade it because I don't know what to put! I haven't done specific "Now I set me out to walk" exercise but ...

Last week was the "Take Our Kids to Work Day" in Ontario when Grade Niners get to go with a parent to work. I've waited for this day for oh....shall we say....14 years! At the end of the day Kinza and I had visited my clients, been to the office, she made a call for me to the nurse at the Day Treatment to let her know something about one of the guys we saw, we'd been shopping for a toaster for a cancer patient, we went to several different stores to look for insolation to pack around a window unit airconditioner for a client, we went and packed it around the airconditioner, we dealt with the traffic nuts in North York and we finished off with buying coffee and going to visit one final lady (who loves her coffee and this is usually my ticket in the door) but she refused to open and see us. At the end of it all I still hadn't done my charting or statistics ... (oh yes, and I was fired through email by another client so I had that to deal with) ... when we got home she flopped into the easy chair with a little white face and declared she was beat. Anyway ... all that to say ... does any of that count for my exercise chart????

For my 52nd birthday, Mama gave me a BP machine and according to it, my BP is back down to its usual sub zero! You'd think that would have an effect on my general weight because now I am light-headed! I have finished all my sinus meds --except the puffy stuffy -- so we shall see. It's hard to notice a big diff there right now.

We have had snow predicted in Toronto for later today. I can hardly wait! I just love my snow!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Yet another one!!

2008-11-11T00:01:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday, Andrea!

This is just amazing having this many birthdays in a row!

Have a wonderful day, Andrea! We wish we could be with you and have a great big party, but we hope these long distance best wishes will let you know we are thinking of you!

CELEBRATE!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! ANOTHER ONE!

2008-11-10T00:01:00.000-08:00

Can you believe it? In our little group, we have birthdays two days in a row!

Today is Pat's birthday!

We all hope you have a WONDERFUL and HAPPY day, Pat!

(And please eat a little birthday cake for all of us!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

2008-11-09T00:01:00.000-08:00

This is Carol-Ann's BIG day! She is a whole year OLDER than she was yesterday! When we were kids, we could hardly wait to be older, but these days... well, it is just not quite as exciting as it used to be, is it, Carol-Ann! However, we do like to celebrate, so today we are celebrating you!

Have a WONDERFUL day... and, of course, don't eat too much!

NEW MEMBERS!

2008-11-02T21:31:00.000-08:00

This has been a VERY exciting week for the Winners! If you have not already noticed, check out the new additions to the sidebars. I'm going to introduce my friend Renae to you, and actually, there is a connection between her and Amrita.

Some time back, I began visiting Amrita's blog (which I really enjoy reading, I might add), and one day I left a comment there. Renae saw my comment and clicked on my name to visit my blog! She and Carol-Ann and I all got into lots of interesting conversations there and became good friends just chatting.

Of course, I then stopped by Renae's blog, Morning Coffee, and found out that I love reading her wonderful devotionals. She is an excellent writer; in fact, she has articles published in local and national magazines and is writing mysteries for girls 8 to 12. She also writes a weekly column that is currently carried in 4 newspapers. For all the scoop on Renae, click here. One of the biggest surprises of my year (maybe even this decade!) was when Renae invited me to be a guest writer on her blog, so now I have 2 posts over there on Morning Coffee which, let me tell you, has stretched me right out to my limit! It has been good stretching, only I haven't been able to claim it on the exercise chart!

Welcome Renae! I am SO glad your are joining us!

Wake-up Call!

2008-10-31T13:49:00.000-07:00

Sometimes "wake-up" calls do happen in a series of events like this crazy "clock" portrays!
I had the ball fall on my chest and pull the stopper outta the keg this week when I realized my blood-pressure was high! I won't bore you with all the chain reaction series of events leading up to it. The long and the short is that it has come down on its own without meds to still being high but not in the danger zone. In investigating it, the doctor at the emergency walk-in clinic thoroughly checked my sinuses to see if that might be the reason why I have a headache that won't go away even with tylenol. I have been to my regular doc several times with my hand over my right eye saying that my face feels like it's going to fall off. She always looks thoughtful, writes in her book and suggests I quit drinking coffee! OK, so today I made no mention of my eye and my face because I didn't want another doc to tell me that! Without me saying anything, he started poking different parts of my face and then looked in my right eye with his scope. He kept going round and round the eye till I wondered how long I could take the spot light. But when he shifted to the left eye he just did a quick glance there and turned the light off. "AHA!" I knew without him saying anything that I would do whatever he told me -- even to quit drinkin' coffee! It was kinda like Daniel telling the king what his dream had been as well as giving him its interpretation when the doc found the point of concern without being told the symptom!

Regarding my eye and face, he said I have a sinus infection for which I need two weeks of antibiotics and a prescription nasal spray.

Regarding the BP he has no idea except to say, "Cut down on salt, avoid caffeine (yes sir!), and go for a brisk half hour walk each day. As you do that, we'll just have to keep an eye on it."

So I went today for a 40 minute brisk walk! Can you believe it?

Thanks everyone for taking the time to learn your way around posting exercise time and weights! I plan to post the instructions and put a link to it right below the window containing the exercise log sheet for future reference (if we suffer memory lapse) and new members.

Also, I shall eventually move the archives into the new Google document window and then it will be up to each person to decide how much you want to keep and show and what you want to delete. As it is, I have simply been archiving the last entry for each month.

'Nuff techy stuff! Get exercising BEFORE you get a wake-up call!

Yawn, Stretch, Run, Fetch!

2008-10-18T08:23:00.000-07:00

Ok y'all, it's time to shake things up here!
If ever I felt the drowsies in a project, it's here on our bloggie! Yes, I was the main contributor to the dull-drums! We all have our times, ya know!

For the first "shake", I decided to add our start weight to the front forehead of our profiles. And, as expected, it was startling. What was your reaction to seeing your start weight side-by-side with your present figure?

Michelle, you have done so well! This is very impressive! But, we are not going to be out-done by the new broom! We shall all start to sweep well and see impressive efforts at maintenance! Yes?

Welcome back to Roger and his courageous new start!

Re the Exercise Club, I have joined officially as of today. Help us all! What is this coming to? Carol-Ann actually plans to exercise? I may have to jog out to Mississauga and drag Pat out for a run. Let's see -- where could we go ... we could run over to Artisano's for a lemon-cranberry cloud and a cappuccino all dressed up with whipped cream!

Great stuff, Jeanette -- you've kept us going here lately.
Andrea, you are still below your start weight so let's kick some butt and hope that Grandma doesn't stop by to read this steel-hearted approach!

Exercise Update 3

2008-10-11T12:14:00.000-07:00

The "Get More Active" Club!

Jeanette: Unfortunately for me, my exercise this week has not been of the helpful kind. Yes, some of my muscles are being stressed -- over and over and over until they are aching...

Ka-choo! Ka-choo! Ka-choo! Ka-choo!

I have had the sneeziest cold ever, and my head has been dopey. I've just wanted to go to bed, but that hasn't happened because everything has been taking me longer to get done than usual due to my fuzzy brainpower. This probably is working against me because I've had to work late and then Coral still has to get up in the morning to get to her day program... Well, you get the too-fatigued-to-even-think-about-exercise picture! So I have nothing good to report for exercise this week. I am beginning to get better, though.

Andrea: I don't think Andrea has had any better week than I have. She has been very tired, and so I'm guessing we are both in the same boat.

FINAL REPORT: Andrea and I are both hoping to report a much better week next Saturday! We are still hoping for exercise companions! (Hint, hint!)

Exercise Update 2

2008-10-04T22:57:00.001-07:00

The "Get More Active" Club!

Like it or not, it is already a week since our last update...so here goes. I don't have anything to report for anyone else, so it is just me this time.

Jeanette: On Tuesday, I walked for 30 minutes on the treadmill, and it was quite a workout! As I mentioned several months back, my treadmill is not working right. I cannot control it manually except to slow the speed down, so my only choice is to pick one of the preset workouts and let the thing go! I picked the first workout today, and it just ran away with me! It tilted up to an 8 percent incline and had me jogging! I slowed it down, but that incline took its sweet time to come back down, and there was nothing I could do about it! I had to step off to the side two times for a minute each time in order to make it through, but I felt like I REALLY pushed myself, so that was good.

On Saturday, I tried a different auto setting called "Light Jog." That sounded a lot scarier than the Tuesday one, but was actually much better because the incline never increased, and so when it got too fast, I just slowed it down to a more comfortable pace. Even so, it was fast enough to really get my pulse going. I might save that incline one for another day -- a long time from now! (I have to be honest, the only reason I got on the treadmill on Saturday was because I had to give this report.)

So that is it for this week... I have to admit it feels a little lonely on here these days, so I hope one of you will soon join this little Get More Active club!

Writing it ALL down!

2008-09-29T21:49:00.001-07:00

Today's weight loss suggestions have been submitted by Pat. This article gives some very helpful info and ideas. (Click on the picture below to see a larger image that is easier to read.)

Exercise Update!

2008-09-27T10:29:00.001-07:00

The "Get More Active" Club

So far, it is just Andrea and me who have joined the "Get More Active" club! So here's the update...

Andrea: Andrea walked 3 times this week for a total of 5 to 6 miles. This was intentional exercising over and above the walking she might normally do with all her school and student teaching activities. Since she lives right by the Pacific Ocean, she loves to walk on the beach, so this is a real plus for her! I just wish I could run over there and walk with her!

Jeanette: On Wednesday, Barry and I rode the train from Denver to Glenwood Springs where we stayed overnight. We had to do a lot of walking -- from the train station to the motel (got lost and walked a LOT longer than we really needed to!), to the restaurant, back to the motel, back to the restaurant, back to the train station, and then up and down the main streets while waiting for the train back home on Thursday. Barry estimates we walked at least 5 miles, so I think that was a definite increase in activity this week.

Anyone want to join us for next week?

Some more info: Weights will be posted by Tuesday morning, and this Tuesday's main blog post will be by Pat!

CLUCK-CLUCK UPDATE!

2008-09-20T23:48:00.001-07:00

Well, we two chickens have been bolstering each other up this evening! We (Andrea and Jeanette) have been burning up the computer keyboards with our instant messages. We admit our failure, and we are ready to step on the scales on Monday morning, actually open our eyes so that we can read the weights, and then sheepishly post them here for all to see! Ouch!

At the same time, though, we are also prepared to take ourselves in hand. Our big question to each other is: How can we be exercise buddies at a distance? That is hard, but this is the plan we came up with:

THE PLAN: We have to make exercise a priority. For starters, we are going to add walking to our weekly regimen. We are hoping to walk at least 3 times a week, hopefully at least a mile each time. We will send each other a quick email each time we do this. Then on Friday evening or Saturday, Jeanette will leave a quick update here so that we can also be accountable to our group. We are hoping that our exercise plan will catch on, so please join us if you can. Feel free to walk or be active in whatever way you want and be exercise buddies with us! Let us know in the comments section if you would like to join in, and we will work out the details!

Summoning all Losers!

2008-09-16T13:28:00.000-07:00

We have here gathered at the chicken coop to discuss our issues!

In the previous post, our Senior Blog Administrator (SBA) has called the meeting to order and appointed the Junior Blog Administrator (JBA) to bring us up to speed by reviewing the minutes from our last general meeting:

"10:15, 10:16, 10:17, 10:18, 10:19, ... adjourned at 10:45."

Thank you, Silly Goose! But why are you in with the chickens?!

New items for today's agenda are requested from the floor. Um, since there is nothing worth mentioning on the floor in this chicken coop ... the Executive decision is to keep moving right along!

Stop and think about it: there are few things in life to match the level of exhaustion provoked by trying to run down the up escalator! Yet we are faced with just such a challenge here as we strive to be winners by losing! The greatest difficulty we encounter on this moving staircase is not actually r/t to the impossibility of achieving our goals so much as to succumbing to fatigue in the process on the way down!

It is my personal observation that incredible momentum can be achieved through a great deal of flapping and squawking! We must be ready to make the feathers fly as we cheer each other on to the bottom step!

And this, dear friends, brings us to a brand new item on the agenda:

It has been suggested that each member in the sidebar be promoted from having squatter's rights to squawker's rights! There has been a lot of clucking over the summer about this.

We know that all chickens in the coop at this point are of true, pure Leghorn brand. Any posts submitted by any of the current members would certainly be up to scratch (should Mama happen to Google the site)! But .... what if a new member turns up with uncouth in their beak?

And then, there is the pecking thing to keep in mind! What if Charlie spends a great deal of time putting together his flap and two point three seconds after he posts, Esmeralda lets loose with a wide stream of chortle that moves Charlie's post clear outta sight?

No good! No good! This worm has too many twists to be swallowed whole! So, for now, your Junior and Senior, Charter Member Blog Administrators will continue to publish the posts but we are asking for submissions! We'd like to put up a new post every Tuesday morning (a goal -- not a promise!) so that with one click in a week the rest can see how the others have weighed in and can read the Flap-'n-Squawk!

Continue to submit your Monday morning weights as usual for posting by Tuesday morning and send along, by email, any submissions for front page posting as well! Suggestions for consideration as to how to make this "Squawkers' Rights" thing happen will also be welcome!

C-H-I-C-K-E-N!

2008-09-16T08:02:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the BIG DAY!

The blog was going to be up and running again, with all of us weighing in and getting back in the groove, having had great success with weight loss during our break!

REALITY CHECK: I was too chicken to get on the scale! Andrea got on the scale but was too chicken to post her weight! Well, she would have, but I was too chicken to make her do it, since that would have meant I would also have had to post my weight (which, let me remind you, I was too chicken to find out in the first place!)

We know what we have been doing. We have been busy bloating up! I, for one, have been eating everything in sight because -- guess what! -- No one was watching me!

And now I would definitely prefer to hide my head in the sand and act like all is well in my weight loss world...

H-E-L-P!

Where is everyone?? We really do need each other!

Calling Carol-Ann... What do you have up your sleeve, girl?

Olympic Medals are Handed Out!

2008-08-11T14:24:00.000-07:00

Well everybody, today Barry and Jeanette left for a few days of relaxation and I am inclined to think (since I just turned around and put on a pound right after breaking down into the 150's) that we all might do well with taking a little break!

Actually, Jeanette and I have been discussing some possible changes to the format of our little connection place here, so let's just kick back for a few weeks and then start up again with a will in a month's time. I'm suggesting our next weigh-in day be September 15th. That gives us just over a month to decide what kind of a surprise we want to present on the blog on the 15th!

STOP! DON'T CLICK AWAY YET!
THERE'S ONE MORE THING TO DO:

In order to go out with a bang and come back in with a swoosh, we need predictions! Please submit your hopeful prediction for September 15th in the comment section of this post. No specific numbers! Simply state your prediction of having gained, having lost or having earned the "Elmo Award":

And to close this Olympic round, let's take a look at the scores:

Jeanette: ....Started with ... 187.4 ...... Ended with ... 182.9 ......
Total lost ... 4.5
Carol-Ann: Started with ... 164.7 ...... Ended with ... 160.8 ......
Total lost ... 3.9
Roger: .........Started with ... 233.4 ...... Ended with ... 229.4 ......
Total lost ... 4.0
Pat: ..............Started with ... 160.5 ...... Ended with ... 157.5 ......
Total lost ... 3.0
Andrea: ......Started with ... 186.4 ...... Ended with ... 182.2 ......
Total lost ... 4.2
Michelle: ...Started with ... 213.0 ...... Ended with ... 214.0 ......
Total gain ... 1.0
Elmo: ..........Started with ....... 3.8 ...... Ended with ....... 3.8 .......
Total lost ... 0.0

Three Cheers for the winners of GOLD, SILVER and BRONZE
And because the Gold medalist has been both a Canadian and American citizen at different times of her life, we are all standing at attention while both anthems are played and we are ALL WINNERS!

By a special note of encouragement, Michelle, if you look at our scores you will see that we have all taken turns going up and down! Next time we tally up for our medals you shall have more than one week's worth of points to count!

Congratulations, all! Don't forget to enter your prediction in the comment section! See you in September!

Oh Poo-h!

2008-08-05T18:10:00.000-07:00

Alrighty, everyone together now: "Oh Pooh! Oh Phooey!"

Michelle is up a pound on her first week! And not only that, but she put her back out and has not been giving much attention to food choices!

Well, we all know what this kind of a week feels like -- um, not quite -- I don't think I've ever put my back out! Doesn't sound good!

Hope you feel better soon!

It is so hot here!

2008-07-31T12:53:00.000-07:00

I am taking a break from weeding in the garden... This is our 19th day above 90 degrees, and no rain where we live at all. The runoff from the mountains is really good this year, though, or we would be in trouble. I know some of you would not think it is hot right now because it is so dry!

How are you all doing on your self control this week?? I feel like I have been partly successful and partly not. Probably a little less eating and a little more exercise, which is moving in the right direction. The only thing is, I have been trying to chew more gum as I deal with work stress (I can do that since no one can see me sitting at my computer here at home!), but since it is almost impossible anymore to find gum that does not have Nutrasweet in it, I am going to try to cut that out until I can find something more healthy. I'm going to go visit the health food store and see what they have.

The doctors I transcribe for are having a light week with vacation and stuff, so I have been working in the garden (that's the "more exercise" part!) Last evening I picked and froze some beans, and today I have been weeding the eggplant and peppers. We have the worst bindweed that wraps itself around the plants and up the stem and then on to whatever it can hang onto, so that is time consuming because you have to unwrap these annoying stranglers. If you just pull on them, they will bring the whole vegetable plant with them or rip off its leaves while hanging on for dear life.

I'm really glad for the very healthy environment around our house. The earth is dark and rich in the garden because of all the composting and so forth that Barry has done. Worms are everywhere. Daddy-long-legs, beetles, ants, bees, flies, and who knows what all scurry out of my way. What a blessing to have so many bugs! (Not that I am personally in love with them or anything...)

Do I have to go back out there? It is so nice and cool in here... but duty calls!

Introducing: Michelle!

2008-07-27T18:57:00.001-07:00

One of the most fun things in my summer thus far happened yesterday! Michelle sent me an email and put down her authorization to be signed up as a Winner! So here is her official introduction!

Although she lives in B.C. and is married to John ...

... the happy Mama of Isaiah ...

... and of Baby Hannah ...

... when Michelle and I first met, she was three years old and living in Ontario! She and her Mom came walking into our church during choir practice (as I recall) to ask when the Sunday services were held. I won't go into all the details now, but further on down the road (when Michelle was all grown up and in Grade One), she and her Mom invited me to live with them for a year while I saved up to go to Bible College. During that year, I discovered that little red-head could sing harmony! Can you believe it?! She was just adorable!

Welcome to our blog, Michelle, and the introductory blessing we bestow on you is: may you be the biggest loser!

Oh, by the way ...
I'm not sure if I have spoken yet on this blog
about my daughter: Kinza Michelle.

Anniversary Week!!

2008-07-20T18:25:00.001-07:00

Barry and I have spent the week celebrating, and you know what that means! On Monday night, Paula had a delicious spread for us at her usual Monday night open house with Chinese food and several pies. On Tuesday, which was our actual anniversary, we went out together to have a lovely meal. That would have been way more than enough, but for some reason I kept telling myself that the whole week was for celebrating, so there you are...I'm scared to get on the scale! And what's more, I might just plead "anniversary bloat" and skip the weigh-in tomorrow. I'm giving that some serious thought!

Pat has had some really good suggestions, though, and I have been trying to follow her good example, and that is to be more active. The fact is, I enjoy being at my computer, so even when I am not working, I might be blogging or emailing or researching...all great things, but not necessarily in the best interests of my health. So...

I have added in some hiking with Trent. We have been hiking in the mountains twice and once closer to home. This is good for both of us, and it is really nice just to spend time together.
I have done significant weeding outside (Andrea, my flowers still don't look as good as yours!) which made me stiff and sore, but I was really pleased to realize that my low back did not bother me with this activity as it has before. I'm sure this is due to my weight loss thus far.
Barry usually does all the laundry, but since he has so much work in the garden in the summer, I have taken it back over (at least for awhile) and have been running up and down the stairs. (Surely that counts for something??)

I might just give in and weigh tomorrow just to make the rest of you feel really good! Do we get an award for gaining the most?

Me eating -- 30 years ago!

Writing it all down...

2008-07-09T21:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we all decided to write down what we eat, as the experts agree this is the only way to really keep track of what we are doing. I decided that I would not change my eating habits today but would eat whatever I felt like eating, just keep track of it, just to see what I need to change...

You know where this is headed, right? Breakfast was good...2 scrambled eggs, fresh tomato slices, and a cup of coffee (sweetened and milked...ah, generously). Lunch was okay, and then the rest of the day was a total loss...well, actually, I'm sure it was a gain, if you know what I mean!

Today was definitely an object lesson for me. I am getting out a fresh notebook (don't you just love writing on that first clean sheet??) and starting a serious diary of my eating habits. I have done well with this method before, but after a few days I seem to get lazy or think I have it all in hand or something, and then before I know it, I have lost all track of what goes into my mouth. I've decided that what I need most is a good dose of self-control!

How about the rest of you?

Ideas, anyone?

2008-07-07T10:43:00.000-07:00

Well, everyone, what are we going to do? Carol-Ann has not weighed in yet, but she may be like me -- scared to get on the scale today! So far, we have not had any huge gains, just little ones that keep adding up, so I'm hoping we can come up with some ideas that will help all of us get back on track. Perhaps we could compile some of these and post them all together. I'm going to start us off. Andrea and I have a distance to go, and Carol-Ann and Pat are not all that far from their goals, so maybe the approaches need to be different.

Set mini-goals of 5 pounds. My last goal was to have the scale give me a number under 180 no matter what time of day I got on it. I met that, but now I will have to work on it again.
Come up with strategies that work to divert our attention. For example, I find that chewing gum sometimes helps me forget about chewing on actual food. I once knew a lady who decided that, instead of eating when she shouldn't, she would pray for her children until she forgot about the food. I thought that was very creative and served a very good purpose, as well. That might not work for all of us, but can we think of something helpful like that?
Is there a competition we can have going among us that would spur us on? Most weight loss in a month? At least a pound a week? Could we have a rewards section on the sidebar or at the top somewhere where we can earn (or lose??!) stars or points? Maybe several different kinds of little medals for different things, like consistent exercising?
How about giving ourselves a non-food reward for reaching our final goal, something we can look forward to? Maybe for reaching significant interim goals, too.

What do you think? We have to push each other somehow, but how? Tell me what you are thinking!

The Artisano Experience!

2008-06-26T19:51:00.000-07:00

Now you just have to understand what happened when the Stress Triplets got together at Artisano's!

Of course, I'm not about to tell ALL!
But you do need to know that I was standing at the coffee bar fixing my 2nd refill of "bottomless cup" when a worried waitress walked by. She was carrying a frothy-topped cappuccino and calling out, "Cappuccino? Cappuccino?" As I stirred my tasty but regular, she visited each room and table looking for the customer who had decided to take a load off their feet while their cap was being puccino-ed.

When she passed by me I smiled and said, "I'll take it -- if it's been paid for!" I thought my humor was quite fitting but I detected ever such a tiny upward tilt of her chin and a slight narrowing of her eyes as she continued on her way! I was embarrassed! I had risked bringing a laugh into her doldrums shift and she had coldly walked away without a twitch of a smile! So I turned back to my little job of measuring out a squeeze of honey and a slurp of cream, hurt! Real sad!

But as I lifted my cup and turned back towards our table, she closed in the pattern of her final figure eight around the rooms and approached me with my free cappuccino! "You may as well have it," she said! "By the time they come to get it, it will be cold and I'll have to redo it anyway!"

Pat had just picked up a second cappaccino and I had just fixed my refill, so Jeanette was the recipient of the freebie! Hey! Ya gotta watch out for us when we get together -- a joint sum of more than 150 years of living experience! I'd say it was time we cashed in on a cuppa something!

THE STRESS TRIPLETS!

2008-06-21T17:34:00.001-07:00

Carol-Ann, Jeanette, and Pat at the coffee shop!

I just got back from a wonderful visit to Canada to see my mother and Carol-Ann and her family, as well as Pat who also lives in that area. What a great time we all had! I loved every minute of it.

Before I left home to fly to Toronto, Carol-Ann, Pat, and I were joking by email that we were all having so much stress (mostly work-related) that we should call ourselves the stress triplets!

Last Sunday evening the three of us got together at Artisano's, a wonderful coffee shop and eatery near Carol-Ann's, and spent a great 4 hours gabbing and at times laughing so hard that we could not see for the tears! I fear we drew a great deal of attention from other patrons, but they were very kind to us! When we started taking pictures of each other, one nice lady came over and offered to take a picture of all of us together, so here it is. I'm pretty sure that this past week has gone better for each of us because of the great fun we had on Sunday evening and the friendship and support we gave each other! The stress triplets are old enough to know that stress shared is stress divided, and the support of understanding friends is priceless!

Carol-Ann and I have certainly wimped out on weighing in this week, haven't we! I haven't even been brave enough to get on the scale to see what I weigh, let alone post it here! We really did not do too badly when I was visiting her, but since I came home I have been eating everything in sight as I try to catch up on my work.

Sometimes all my best plans are useless. I had hoped to keep up with my client's dictation while I was gone (an internal medicine doctor), and so I had my laptop with me to do just that. All was ready, and then his recorder malfunctioned! He could not send me his dictation until the night before I came home! For just a minute, I wavered in deciding whether this was yet another irritation to ruin my day, or if it was a blessing from God which allowed me to forget all my work and have fun! I decided to count it a blessing and it really was!

But...there is definitely a downside to coming back to overwhelming non-stop hours sitting at my computer trying to catch up, typing until the bones practically start poking through the ends of my fingers. I am almost caught up now, though. All I have left to do are the records for Friday's patients which he sent me last evening so...(deep breath)...I am feeling pretty good about it.

Now if I can just get my weight loss back on track...

What is Andrea up to??

2008-06-07T21:17:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Paula (Andrea's mom) forwarded me an email with some pretty impressive attachments!

I think Andrea's first event at school was today, and then things are going to be in full swing starting next week, if I have it right. With demanding class schedules, teaching assignments, and tutoring jobs, her own car is a must, and she has taken the plunge! What a beautiful car, Andrea!

An inside view of the dash (and Andrea in the mirror)!

Andrea, pleased as punch with her very own wheels!

CONGRATULATIONS, ANDREA!

Quick! Weigh now!

2008-05-26T10:17:00.000-07:00

Quick! I have to weigh now before I even LOOK at any more food!

Let's see...Last week we had Will's birthday, Barry's birthday, a wedding, Andrea's graduation party, and the terrible mistake I made of buying a bag of pretzels. How bad could pretzels be, you ask? Well these are little pretzel sandwiches squished together with peanut butter and dipped in chocolate! Ooooo, that sweet and salty combination is just what I've been longing for! I have sabotaged myself by having that bag in the house at all.

And now today is Memorial Day and Trent's birthday all rolled into one big happy barbecue event! This morning I rush to the scale, and it says 180.4!!!! What! I cannot tolerate having broken the 180 mark! So I consider taking off my glasses...nope, won't work, as I would not be able to read the scale and could make up any old number. So that tiny little clip in the back of my hair has to go, and guess what! I would have never believed that little thing weighs over a pound! But now my scale says 179.2! I'll take it, I'll take it! Quick! Before the scale changes its mind!

Now I'm off to the kitchen to make the potato salad!

Andrea is here for a short visit!

2008-05-19T08:35:00.000-07:00

Andrea came home late Saturday night, so she is here for 10 days before going back to California to start in on her Math For America program. She is going to be one busy girl for the next few years! We had a great time yesterday, as she and her family came over for lunch, and then we all went to look at the flowers in the local nursery shop. Andrea wants to plant a few things in her front yard while she is here. Later today, she is coming over for a little step onto my scale, so hopefully it will be nice to her!

I am feeling a lot better now, so I think the Candida thing is getting under control. The bad thing is that once I start feeling better, I start cutting corners here and there on what I am supposed to eat. Just a little of this won't hurt, and eating this wouldn't be as bad as eating that, and so I start my downward spiral of rationalization! Besides that, some of the things I am allowed to eat are not low-cal at all. For example, I can have avocados, any kind of beans, and blue corn chips. I bet you know where I am going with this! Open a can of cooked black beans, smash some of them up with a fork, add that to some mashed up avocado, season it a bit, get the bag of blue corn chips, and I'm good to go!

This week will hopefully be less stressful than last week was with a lot of extra things in it -- neurology appointment for Coral, playing the organ for a graduation processional, etc. -- so maybe this week will be better for weight loss! You know what they say about hope springing eternal... It is hard to feel positive until I look at my stats history and realize that I do have a slow but steady progression in the right direction. I still have a long way to go just to reach the others though!

Hey, wait for me!!

Congratulations, Andrea!

2008-05-10T13:23:00.001-07:00

Tonight at 7:30 Andrea will be graduating with a bachelor's degree in mathematics. Her mom and dad (Gord and Paula), her sister Stephanie, and her brother Nathaniel have all traveled to California to be there and help her celebrate.

Last night was the baccalaureate service, and Paula sent me a couple pictures taken on her cell phone. One was of the huge pipe organ and another was of Gord waiting for the service to begin. Later the phone rang, and I could see it was Paula calling. She was letting me listen to the music including the organ that was going on in the service right then. It sounded like it was really great, but of course the phone sound didn't begin to do it justice, I know.

We couldn't be there to see you graduate, Andrea, but we are thinking of you today! You have done such a great job, and we are very proud of you!

A price for weight loss...

2008-05-05T12:31:00.000-07:00

I have this picture on my blog (link to the left under my picture), but I'm posting it here as I promised Amrita. Our apple trees are covered with blossoms, so I went out and snapped a few pictures on Saturday.

Now to the price for weight loss...There is a reason my numbers are good this week. I had a root canal done at the beginning of March, and I had to take an antibiotic. A couple of weeks after that, I began not feeling good, feeling like I have a lot of air in my stomach after eating, and then it progressed to weakness in my arms and legs and some strange sensations, too, and extreme lack of energy. I have been feeling worse and worse and finally figured out that I needed to go to the doctor who confirmed my suspicions that I have systemic Candida (overgrowth of yeast from the antibiotic use). Fortunately for me, I know a chiropractic doctor who helped me to overcome it once years ago, so now I am on the very strict diet that refuses to feed the yeast and also on a supplement that replenishes what the antibiotic destroyed and restores the balance of all the good stuff needed in my tummy to do proper digestion. It usually takes 1 to 3 months to get everything back to normal.

This diet is so restricted that you cannot help but lose, although it is not really low on calories or fat. I sure don't recommend getting sick to lose weight, but if you get sick, hey, look at the bright side! I sure hope that I can keep dropping my numbers for a few more weeks of this!

(PS: If anyone is interested in more specific info on the treatment for this, just let me know.)

Spring!

2008-05-03T16:58:00.000-07:00

Our backyard is just beautiful with apple blossoms covering the trees and the lilac hedge with buds that will soon be in full bloom.

How are we all doing on our weight loss?? Monday is coming...

Now is the time we can start to get out in the fresh air, get rid of weeds, plant flowers, and make a new start on any weight loss plans.

Good luck on Monday!

Andrea's Wonderful News!

2008-04-26T18:11:00.000-07:00

I told Andrea I would copy her comment and make a post, so here it is!!

I just wanted to announce to some of my closest and most encouraging friends that I have officially been accepted as a member of the Math for America Los Angeles Fellowship! I'm very excited about this opportunity! This entails a five year commitment; the first year will be spent in school earning my teaching credential and masters. The next four years will be spent teaching in the L.A. Unified School District. One of the best parts of this program is that I do not have to pay for the schooling and I will be receiving a stipend each year. This means that where I would have been accruing more debt by pursuing these degrees on my own, now I will have the finances to pay back the debt I have from my undergraduate years. Not only that, the University of Southern California has a great reputation, and I know that I will be receiving a great education in the next year. Needless to say, this is a great blessing from God!

Congratulations, Andrea!! You have our permission to celebrate with food if you want to!!

And the Winner is ...

2008-04-24T19:56:00.000-07:00

...drum roll...

The "Elmo Award"
goes to ... Pat, AGAIN!

SAME
SAME
SAME
SAME
SAME

Honorable mention to Andrea too -- for accomplishments other than weight-loss! Hey, there IS a life, girls, apart from our scales!

From Andrea!

2008-04-21T07:38:00.000-07:00

I just got Andrea's email, and I decided to post it here for you to enjoy...

"This week I have some personal bad news... my current weight is: 181.0!!!
Between stress and PMS food cravings this is what I deserve. I hope you all fared better than me!

By the way, my presentation went fabulously and I got an 'A', so I suppose a few extra pounds isn't too bad! haha! Me and Michal had the goal to drop 10lbs by graduation and yesterday, as we were feeding our faces, we decided we had heard each other wrong! We actually want to GAIN 10lbs by graduation!!! Well, if we keep it up that will be exactly what has happened. It's funny until you step on the scale!"

This is a new week, all, so let's try again!

Hanging in there!

2008-04-19T17:15:00.000-07:00

Barry left on Wednesday to visit his mother in New Jersey, so Coral and I and Najee the cat have been on our own, rattling around in the house and keeping each other company. Najee is a pretty little thing, but she is really just a big bundle of nerves wrapped up in way too much fur! However, for the last few days she has been my silent little shadow. I don't really see her come and go, but everywhere I am, there she is nearby. She seems to feel that someone is missing and wants to make sure that I am not going anywhere!

Coral really hates it when Barry is gone. She sits with a worried expression, and when she sees me look at her, she says plaintively, "I miss my daddy!" So I say, "Me, too, Coral!" After a few minutes go by, she says again, "I need him!" So I say, "I know you do, Coral. So do I, but he will be back on Sunday night." In a few more minutes, I hear her again, only this time she is talking to the people she knows on her TV programs: "Cosby, I need my daddy!" So I say, "Cosby knows it, but he says Daddy will be home soon." That makes her happy for a little while, but then she says: "I need him to come back here!" Thinking to branch out a little, I ask, "Why do you need Daddy to come back here, Coral?" and she answers, "I need him to yell at Elmo!" Elmo, all innocent, is sitting in Daddy's computer chair and certainly needs to be yelled at!

All I know is, Daddy better get back here soon!!

Here's hoping for good numbers on the scales. I'm feeling a bit gloomy about it...Not enough proper cooking while Barry is away and too much picking, I'm afraid.

Spring is a wonderful time to be losing weight!

2008-04-12T11:26:00.000-07:00

We had a quick winter storm this week. It was here one day and gone the next. Oh, how I love those cold gray blustery days! (Is it the African rainy season I am longing for??)

Look at the bushes by our front porch! Yesterday, all covered with snow, they looked like they were still sleeping the winter away...

...but look at them today! Look what was really underneath that white blanket!! Beautiful cherry blossoms!

This cherry bush has sprung up underneath the evergreens. A little bird must have eaten the sour cherries from the hedge in the back yard and then dropped a pit or two in the front just to give me special joy with the first delicate flowers of spring.

We are cherry blossoms bursting out from under the snow! Take heart, friends!

A Correction!

2008-04-07T23:35:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, we have to change Andrea's weight for this week. She emailed me to say that she is really one pound up from what I had posted, so I have changed it. Still, this is wonderful weight loss for her this week.

Way to go, Andrea!

Up, Up and Away!

2008-04-07T13:42:00.001-07:00

Well, I guess it should really say, "Down, Down, we're all down!" Now Pat, don't get stuck here again! Give your scale a tap on the side before you step on!

Good work, Andrea! Three pounds! Wow!

And as for you, oh thou 'umble "sickly-ickly", we're sad you've been up-chuckin' and actually hope that you'll have put something reasonable back on by next week!

I was happy to see myself at 159.0 until I came gleefully to post and realized that I have actually gone down only a twip over 5 pounds in FIVE MONTHS! At this rate it'll be almost a year before I reach my goal!

Oh well -- 2009 is coming ... do I want it to arrive and weigh 150 pounds or at best, still be at 164.7!

Midweek Report!

2008-04-02T09:09:00.000-07:00

Here is the update I promised!

I just came back from my tax appointment. Good news! We have a refund that will pay my first quarterly self-employment taxes for 2008 so that I won't have to pay any more until June 15th, the end of the second quarter!! I am so pleased!

Now for the REAL important stuff...

Sleep: I have made it to bed by midnight 2 out of 3 nights. Not total success, but definitely an improvement.

Water: Every day I have been able to drink 64 ounces or more of plain water, so that is success.

Food: Any snacks eaten (which have been few) have been fresh fruit or vegetables. Overall food intake has been less but might still need a bit of improvement on quantity. Quality has been good. I think I am going to call that success!

Exercise: Every morning I have been up by 6:10 to walk on the treadmill for 20 to 30 minutes. It was a struggle this morning because of working later last night, but I have felt quite a lot better during the rest of the day because of making myself do that, I found out. Total success!!

Best wishes to the rest of you, and thanks for keeping an eye on me to help keep me on the straight and narrow!

Am I having fun yet?

2008-03-30T22:05:00.000-07:00

I can't believe a whole week has gone by since Carol-Ann's last post and almost two weeks since mine! I don't know if it is good or bad to be this busy, maybe a bit of each.

For the past couple of weeks, I've been fighting to keep my head above water! A new doctor to learn how to transcribe for, new equipment to conquer for the other doctor's work, getting all my tax ducks in a row... I want to eat!

I better be honest...I HAVE BEEN eating!

I'd love to be very successful at this weight loss, but I feel like I am treading water and can't make any progress. Explainable, yes. Understandable, yes. Good, no! Not enough water, not enough exercise, too much stress, too much food -- there it is in a nutshell. Not a pretty sight!

This evening I have been taking stock of the situation. I'm having a rare moment. All my work is done. All the receipts and documentation for my tax appointment are carefully assembled, organized into beautiful spreadsheets, and in the manila envelope ready for me to grab and go on Wednesday morning. So, back to the situation at hand...

I hate to admit it, but I have gotten off the track and need to figure out a good way to get back on it. I know how the dominoes began to fall. Work became overwhelming because of the learning curve I have been in on two different fronts. This meant that to get the work done, I had to be up until 2:00 a.m. routinely without much time to catch up on the missing sleep. Exercise did not happen, I forgot to drink my water, and I needed snacks just to keep going. I don't see the end of this just yet, but things are definitely getting easier, so...

I'm trying to put my thoughts about this on here as a way of giving myself the needed push in the right direction.
Exercise: Since I am getting to bed at a better time tonight, I am hoping to start on the treadmill again tomorrow with some stretching midday. Barry said he is thinking about getting up and exercising at the same time, and that would REALLY help!
Water: I am going to remember to measure out my water to make sure I drink enough.
Food: I'm just going to have to write down every morsel again!
Sleep: I'm hoping to get to bed by midnight each night this week.

So that's the plan, and I will let you know midweek how I'm holding up!

Jackpot?

2008-03-23T21:01:00.000-07:00

Well, here I am being both late and early. Although I did weigh in on Monday last week, our internet was down so I couldn't record it! So I am recording that reading tonight and it is "late". This morning, for some unknown reason, I stepped on the scale a day early and was pleasantly surprised to see that I am down a bit! But since today is Easter and we were eating a bit of this and that extra today, I've decided to record an "early" weight! Who knows! By tomorrow morning I may have gained 3!

Now the eagerly anticipated reading for this week just has to be Pat's! Has she done it again?! We should start a jackpot like our local 680 News Radio -- they have a weather guarantee which climbs by 100 dollars a day whenever the weatherman's forecast has proven to be correct within a couple of degrees or so. The last I heard (haven't listened to the radio over the long weekend!) the jackpot was sitting at some outlandish sum of about $17 thousand dollars! For some reason I think of Pat whenever I hear 680 News has maintained their guarantee!

GOOD JOB, ANDREA!

2008-03-17T07:55:00.001-07:00

I do think Andrea has posted the best weight loss we have had thus far! Keep it up, Andrea! We are so proud of you!

(Second reason for posting: That mouth has got to go! This post will push it down a little.)

NOW I am quite done!

2008-03-11T15:20:00.000-07:00

Who Let C-A Post to this Bloggie?

2008-03-11T14:49:00.000-07:00

Zoom-Zoom!

2008-03-11T14:42:00.000-07:00

Zooming in.

2008-03-11T14:19:00.000-07:00

We just have to see this one closer up!

More Wailing!

2008-03-10T08:13:00.000-07:00

Andrea and I are wailing together!

What a week!

2008-03-05T19:25:00.000-08:00

I love to dream of my job as a comfy, cozy, jammies-and-coffee kind of thing! How I wish! The truth is that my job is comfy and cozy every now and then, but this past week has been far from it!

My local doctor client has been dictating onto those little minicassettes, and I have been driving back and forth to pick them up and drop off the finished work. Up popped my little dream of lounging at home, so I asked him if he would be interested in changing over to digital recordings that could be sent to me over the internet, with my finished work returned to him the same way. He was! I saw visions of no more driving in the snow and me having lots of extra time! I researched, updated him, researched some more. After much discussion and frugal searching to find the best for the least, we decided on the recorder for him and the accompanying software that lets him load his sound files from his recorder onto his computer, encrypt them so they will be HIPAA compliant, and send them over the internet to me. I got the software and foot pedal that will unencrypt those sound files, play them for me to transcribe, encrypt them back up again, and send them back to him so he can unencrypt them and print them out. See how quick and easy that sounds?

I've been back and forth to his office several times to set up his software properly so that it will do everything automatically for him. The instruction manual should have been twice as long to have all the info I needed! I even had to take Trent with me one day because things weren't working, only to find out we had been using the wrong password! I really don't think I am smart enough to be my doc's tech support! I have to say that he has been carefully keeping up on all he has to know for doctoring and has been pretty much leaving computer skills to others. He and I have been over enough bumps in this road to make our teeth rattle, I'll just tell you!

Yesterday was a mess. He used the wrong program to open the encrypted work I sent back and therefore saw only gobbledy-gook. (Bad because it didn't work; good because it was encrypted like it should have been!) I sent it again, but it was blank. (Totally bad!) I sent it again. (This time I attached the wrong file, and it did him absolutely no good!) The fourth time was a charm: I sent it right, he got it right, it printed right, and we were elated! I was just finishing the second bunch of work when...blip, blip, blip...one after the other, 16 new files came to my computer from his computer!! Oh, that made me feel good!

We had a rough start today when he forgot how to open the work I sent him and deleted it! I sent it again, and the fact that my phone did not ring again is very positive! Since then it has been smooth sailing. All the work is done and sent back now, and I am blogging. (Blogging is the REAL jammies-and-coffee-cup thing!)

And as for the eating...I think I have been more successful so far this week at working out computer problems than I have been with my food control.

Andrea is coming home tomorrow for spring break, and we are going to encourage each other in person! Plus she is bringing an exercise video for us to try. Things are looking up!

Congratulations to the New Broom!

2008-03-03T15:27:00.000-08:00

Whew! What a relief! I love it when old sayings hold their ground and Andrea has not let us down:

Congratulations, New Broom!
Thou hast truly swept well!

Special recognition is also due to Roger who has done so well by gaining only .2 pounds in his time off!

Pat, remarkable! That's all I have to say about that! Three weeks in a row! Wow! Well, they say that's the way to lose weight -- lose some and maintain it there for awhile and then that is truly your new weight.

Well, J -- what can I say! Looks like you and I are stuck in sympathy pains! Actually, that's quite a trick we pulled off together! So I'd say this week we all deserve a round of applause!

The Yo-Yo is Wailing!

2008-03-03T13:12:00.000-08:00

WAIL!

(That's absolutely all I am saying!)

Andrea is now a WINNER!

2008-02-25T06:01:00.000-08:00

Andrea, it's no secret that in our books Gord's kids have always been winners! But it is official today that you are now one of OUR winners! Now if Aunt Jeanette would just break down and shift her goal, this could be known as the 150 club! But I guess Roger would seem kinda scrawny at 150!

Welcome to our sidebar and may you be the puff on our flickering candle flame that we've needed recently!

Happy Birthday to YOU ....da-de-da-da, da-doo ....

2008-02-19T19:53:00.000-08:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY,
JEANETTE!

We'll refrain from the slaps -- that many might do real harm! This is one of those days in the year when you have every right to feast!

Well, you may not see much need for commotion but ... C-A has now broken even with her all-time lowest weight
during this venture and it is time to grin!

I also want to formally announce my decision to raise my goal to ... 150 pounds!

Thankfulness...

2008-02-10T16:08:00.000-08:00

What a difference thankfulness can make! An 88-year-old friend who had Alzheimer's passed away recently. His family, and especially his wife, cared for him lovingly, and he was able to be at home until just before the end. At his funeral yesterday, so many wonderful things were said about him, and one of them was that he had a grateful attitude. He was always thankful and always satisfied with very little. As his disease progressed, he became more gentle. His widow told me she is so thankful that his long ordeal is over and even more thankful because she knows where he is now -- in heaven with Jesus who has been his focus for so many years. What a difference her thankfulness makes! For my part, I am thankful to have that family in my circle of friends and thankful that I was able to help with the music for the funeral.

Now I have to admit that preparing for the funeral has been hard because I am probably the princess of nerves! I won't claim to being queen, because I know there is room to be worse! I was asked to provide the piano prelude, accompany a young violinist for "Amazing Grace," and play the piano for and sing two hymns with Elaine (a near neighbor of mine). The source of my nerves is partly good and partly bad, the good being a desire to do my best and not disappoint anyone, the bad being that I have not been practicing the piano as I should! Thus, this week has been very full of practice, practice, practice, alone and with others. In the midst of this stress, though, what a difference thankfulness has made -- thankfulness that the family wanted me to be part of the funeral, thankfulness that I could actually do what they needed, thankfulness for music and for the irreplaceable beauty of the old hymns. And after it is all over, I am EVER so thankful that everything went well!

As I was hurrying out to practice with Elaine on Friday night, I forgot about some ice on our dark driveway, and...well, I think I might have been fodder for one of those funniest home videos! I said out loud, "Am I all right?" I seemed to be, so I got up and went on up the street to Elaine's. But in the back of my mind, I knew that if you are middle-aged and go wham! on the ice, there might be a price to pay, so I was praying all the time that I wouldn't wake up the next morning so stiff and sore that I could not play the piano properly. Yesterday, except for some slight tenderness when I set my right elbow on the table, I really did not notice anything wrong, and I can assure you my thankfulness was soaring! Today I am noticing that there is some muscle strain in my right arm, but how thankful I am that my prayer was answered!

Now tonight I am practicing being thankful again. Tomorrow morning I have an appointment with the dentist. He told me I have a cavity under the cap on one of my teeth as well as one on the adjacent tooth, so tomorrow he is "going in there" and will decide if he can fix it or if I need to have a root canal. Oh dear! So now I am practicing being thankful... I'm thankful that I live near a dentist, that there are pain meds available to me, and that I can afford to go and have my cavities taken care of. That is not the case for many of the people in this world. How blessed I am!

And as far as the weight loss goes...I will be thankful for any weight I show tomorrow morning...gain or loss!! It has been that kind of a week!

February already!

2008-02-02T14:43:00.000-08:00

When I was little, my mother often said, "Where has the time gone?" or "The time has just flown by!" One day she told me that the older she got, the faster time flew! Well, I thought that was just plain silly then, but guess what! I am turning into my mother!! Now I know exactly what she meant. We just had Christmas, and it is already February!

This week has been one of those that has rushed on by me, and not because I was having fun, either. Absolutely indecipherable dictation, malfunctioning equipment, and other such delights have filled the days.

Confessions for the week: It has been a struggle to add weight loss into the mix this week. The treadmill has seen me three times, and my little Miracle Ball for muscle relaxation and tension release has had four sessions.

Helpful hint: I have kept my Dentyne fire spicy cinnamon gum handy as a great substitute for "frustration eating," and it has rescued me several times this week.

More Sobbing!

2008-01-26T22:21:00.000-08:00

Well, Carol-Ann, I think that, come this Monday, I will be playing the second verse of your sad song. This week has been one weight-gain opportunity after another. Four days on the treadmill can in no way make up for it, I fear!

Some things have been positive, though. I have to give some credit to Trent this week for being my ally! Paula and Gord have "open house" every Monday evening, and Paula, Trent, and I were sitting at the table playing Phase 10. Paula has a lovely candy dish, and through the clear glass side I could see some wrapped chocolates -- not just any chocolate, but dark chocolate, smooth and rich and calling my name! I asked Trent to pass me the dish (terrible giving in to temptation on my part), and he moved it farther away!!! I was shocked! My mouth was already watering, for goodness sake! At first I was really annoyed, and then I felt very thankful that he had made me stop and think and change my mind. I need more of that kind of reminding.

Another success: We went out to eat, and I ordered the lean bison burger without the bun, and substituted steamed broccoli for the fries.

Still, even with these 2 positives, I know the scale is tipping to the weight gain side...

Sob. Sob!

2008-01-22T12:52:00.001-08:00

Dab the eyes. Sob, sob. Play that sorrowful tune. Well, actually, that's not too hard for me to do on the violin! Just about everything I'd play would be a sorrowful tune!

So I put on a couple of pounds this week. Ok, Ok -- so I put on MORE than a couple of pounds! Phooey! Oh well, it's a new week ... "hope springs eternal", as Mama would say!

2 Reasons For My Toothy Grin!

2008-01-22T08:29:00.000-08:00

It has been way too quiet on here for a whole week, and we have to liven it up! I guess this is kind of the way it goes with weight loss, though. You get real encouraged at times, but mostly it is just hanging in there, and there is only so much diet and exercise and weight loss you can talk about!

I have exactly 10 minutes until I have to leave for the dentist to have my teeth cleaned, so these gleaming teeth seem appropriate today.

This little smiley also pretty much pictures my mood when I got on the scale yesterday morning with my usual hesitancy and trepidation... But look! I lost 2 whole pounds! How did that happen? Maybe it is the increased exercise for the last 2 weeks. It might be a little less food, a little more water...I don't know, but I'm aiming for more of the same next weigh-in day!

Okay, I'm out of here so I won't be late for polishing these pearly whites!

Tax Day

2008-01-15T14:55:00.001-08:00

Self-employed people like me have certain dates memorized, and January 15 is one of them! Not a happy day but one we have to think of anyway. So today I got out my income stats for the last quarter, spent some quality time with my little calculator, and then shook my piggy bank to see what would come out! (Well, that's SORT of how it went...)

Update on exercise: This week I have been able to increase the intensity of my treadmill sessions. It is kind of surprising that in one week I would already notice that it is getting easier! I'm not planning to ever get it up to the "light jog" setting (4 to 4.5 mph or 6.4 to 7.2 kph) because I'm sure that would not be positive for my feet and knees, but I can now easily spend several minutes around 3.5 mph (5.6 kph) which for me is a pretty rapid walk. Thus far I haven't had any muscle soreness or joint pain, so I would rate that as success!

I'm so pleased that we had a drop in weight for this last weigh-in! Way to go, us!

Of treadmills and weights!

2008-01-11T23:28:00.000-08:00

This week has been a partial success in the exercise department. I have been able to exercise three days on the treadmill and two days with the weights. That is not quite up to what I had hoped to do but certainly much better than what I was doing before. I found that I should not use the weights to exercise the same muscle groups two days in a row, so I am going to be spacing that out a little more for now just so I don't do something I'll regret.

Yesterday I did not walk on the treadmill, but can I count walking the mall with my niece Andrea?? I think it was just as energetic and way more fun! We spent the evening together shopping at the mall and then going to EAT at Mimi's Cafe. The FOOD was so good and way more than either of us could eat. We each brought half our sandwich home, but that does not mean we did not overeat! Between the exercise (success) and too much food (failure), I'm not sure what to hope for on Monday!

Makes Good Sense to Me!

2008-01-10T17:23:00.000-08:00

Holiday Binging is Officially Over!

2008-01-06T22:34:00.000-08:00

I am hereby notifying myself that my permission to eat extra holiday stuff is over. I am once again on a strict regimen of:
Drink more water.
Eat less. (Note to self -- that means no leftover holiday sweets!)
Move around more.

Tomorrow begins my exercise program of 20 to 30 minutes on the treadmill starting no later than 6:30 a.m. (groan!) and a 15-minute afternoon break for free weights. Yes, there is a price to pay for this. I will have to be more strict about my time. I will have to go to bed earlier, which is very hard for me, the queen of night owls! But I am at the same time unexpectedly excited about starting this new routine. I'm mystified by that at the moment, but I do like to live by plans and lists (that gene is straight from my mother!), so maybe that is part of it.

Weigh-in is tomorrow, everyone! Best wishes!

I Knew the Day Would Come!

2008-01-01T19:12:00.001-08:00

Yup! Soon as we decided to post our weights
and drink water and cut down on food intake,
I just KNEW the day would come when we'd start talkin' about exercise!
Go 'way! Leave me 'lone! I'm a couch p'tato, I am!
You can do the treadmill an extra 15 minutes for me!
I shall benefit vicariously.
At the very least, give me some time!
I think better when I'm slouched into sumpthing soft.
I will let you know my plan when something activates a brainwave!

And in response to the comment about red curls:

New Year's Resolutions!

2008-01-01T14:46:00.000-08:00

EXERCISE!

I have made progress in two of my three goals, eating less and drinking more water. Now for the third one: Exercise. Carol-Ann wants to see what I am going to do about exercise, so I went to my best resource first, my husband. He graduated from college with a degree in physical education and the training to teach it to children in kindergarten through high school. Surely my ability level fits in there somewhere (probably leaning to the kindergarten side!) We also have a treadmill, a Total Gym, and a set of free weights. Today I asked Barry to consider my abilities, my time, and our equipment and help me come up with an exercise program. We discussed starting with something easy that I enjoy. This is my current plan beginning on Monday when hopefully we will all be back on our usual schedules:

1. Time: Exercise for 30 to 45 minutes before getting Coral up for the day. Mid-afternoon is my alternate workable exercise time. It might work best to do one kind of exercise in the morning and take a break mid-afternoon for the other.

2. Exercises: Start with 20 to 30 minutes of walking on the treadmill working up on speed and incline, as well as 10 to 15 minutes of free weights concentrating on upper body strength (3- to 5-pound weights to start, depending on the specific exercise).

I want to increase strength, flexibility, and overall health with no joint damage. I may have a bigger reason for this, too, in that doing this will help me care for Coral at home longer.

Okay, Carol-Ann! What is your plan? I would love to hear any suggestions from others in the comments and also figure out a way to help me stick to this right from the start.

Can You Believe it? It's 2008!

2008-01-01T00:15:00.000-08:00

What a wonderful feeling at the close of 2007 to be filling the house with music with Kinza -- and believe me, when I pick up the drum, it really fills the house -- everyone and everydog leaves to make room for it! Loyal daughter stayed to help pretty it up!

May this year ahead be filled with blessing and challenge and hope!

Snow, snow, snow!

2007-12-28T21:08:00.001-08:00

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

2007-12-25T19:37:00.000-08:00

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!

2007-12-20T17:39:00.000-08:00

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

2007-12-18T15:46:00.000-08:00

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!

2007-12-16T22:14:00.000-08:00

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!

2007-12-13T19:57:00.000-08:00

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!

2007-12-02T16:00:00.000-08:00

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!

How is everyone doing?

2007-11-30T23:44:00.001-08:00

Our blog has been quiet this week! It's time to post again to keep in touch.

Exactly a week from now, I will be in the final throes of packing to go visit Carol-Ann and her family and our mother!! How exciting is that?!!

Here's my confession for this week -- I had wanted to break the 180 mark before this visit to Canada, but I'm not sure that will happen. There is only one more week to go, so we will have to see what happens by then.

I have been somewhat taken aback by the number of obstacles I have run into on this seemingly straightforward plan. Just three "little" things in my plan: Eat less, drink more water, and get more exercise. Suddenly we are swamped with celebrations involving food. And I am finding it is a challenge to remember to get up from my computer to get water and be active.

I work at home as a medical transcriptionist. I take the patient information recorded by the doctor and turn it into a professional printed medical record to be put into the patient's chart. This is a very challenging job. I didn't know the half of it when I was beginning this four years ago! I thought it was going to be about learning the millions of medical words and phrases and short forms, the multitude of medicines on the market with their brand names and generics, all the parts of the amazing human body. Little did I know that...

The doctor is often in a hurry, tired at the end of the day, and not speaking clearly. Sometimes he yawns loudly, talking all the time. Sometimes she is sitting by a ringing phone that no one is answering. Sometimes she drowns out her own voice with the flapping and snapping of x-ray films she is putting up onto the lighted screen. Sometimes he pronounces medications all wrong, even spells them incorrectly. Sometimes he really needs to blow his nose but instead he keeps...Well, you get the idea...!! Being able to type enough lines to make a reasonable income requires mentally fastening yourself to your computer chair and staying there for long hours each day.

This is working against me! The only things active in my office are my fingers! I get myself into the most ergonomically comfortable position I can find, one that requires the least possible movement of my arms and wrists. So this has been a big challenge to me in this current little project we are in!!

Another side to the story ... just when I am ready to give up, the doctor says something like this, "The patient lost her job recently due to her level of pain and is now without insurance. She is not being charged for today's visit," and I forget all about the irritations along the way! (Here's my paraphrase of 1 Peter 4:8 -- Admiration and respect cover a multitude of sins.)

Keeping Track of Mid-Age Spread with a Spreadsheet!

2007-11-26T15:26:00.000-08:00

Well, this is the first time I've thought of using a spreadsheet to keep track of my middle-age spread! Very good, Jeanette! It makes a lot of sense -- especially since your day is spent at the computer! When you come to visit in a couple of weeks you can teach me about spreadsheets! That is something I have never, ever used!

So far I have tried to do this without calorie-counting. My method has been to say goodbye (as much as possible) to bread, cookies, muffins, tea-biscuits, pasta, cake, pie, rice and potatoes. Now the rice and potatoes are not a complete deletion and I do cheat with a tea biscuit once or twice a week. However, I am a bread-a-holic! Bread, buns ... my goodness! I can't be trusted! So the bread and all its relatives are 100% gone during this weight-loss spree. And when I get done, I might just continue with that! Honestly, if you set me beside a toaster with a loaf of bread, a tub of "I Can't Believe it's not Butter" and a bottle of marmite, I'll shnorffle down 4 slices before you can say, "STOP"!

So starches are cut way back and grease and oil also. We tend to have mostly chicken or fish. We've switched from ground beef to ground chicken or ground turkey -- just as delish but less fat! And of those two, the chicken is much less fat than the turkey!

What I DO need to improve on is my water-drinking and exercise. I tend NOT to drink during the day because I'll do almost ANYTHING to avoid the need to use public washrooms and then I sit in my car to drive to my clients and I sit and talk to them before going back out to sit in my car! Lotta calories MUST burn with the driving tensions, though! Good grief!

Black Monday!

2007-11-26T08:20:00.000-08:00

We had Black Friday the day after Thanksgiving, and I hear that today is Black Monday which is for online shopping. But for me, this is Black Monday because my weight loss slipped into reverse. I'm not too thankful for this aspect of Thanksgiving! It could have been much worse, though, so today I am climbing back up on the wagon. Kudos to Carol-Ann who is still on track with her weight loss!

My plan for the week:
1. Start writing down every morsel that I swallow.
2. Measure my water in the morning and make sure it is all gone before bed.
3. Walk every day.

Helpful hint that works for me (when I do it, that is!):
Keeping a careful log of everything I eat and the approximate number of calories. This works for me because I tend to lose my grip on exactly how much I have eaten and usually feel like it has been less than it really is. I made an Excel spreadsheet that totals everything for me, so as the day goes along, I can see how much more food I may have. It helps me to make wiser choices when I see that total mounting and know that I still actually want to be able to have some dinner without going over my limit!! I have been trying to keep the total number of calories right around 1200.

2007-11-25T11:35:00.001-08:00

WHAT? I have to get on the scale in the morning?!

Are you going to prop me up and hold me there?

(Thanks to Cary for the pic!)

Thanksgiving Day

2007-11-22T20:48:00.000-08:00

What a great time we had today for Thanksgiving. There were 16 of us, and everyone had a great time. There was our family of 4, Gord and Paula with Nathaniel as well as Ji Won and Jonathan (Korean high school students who live with them), our elderly friend Warren who always shares Thanksgiving with us, and the DiLorenzo family - Peter (dad) and his four sons (twins who graduated from high school last year and two younger boys under 10) along with a Japanese high school student (young man) who lives with them. (Mom is a nurse and had to work most of the day.) I have missed having teenagers around!

ELMO'S FASHION SHOW! As promised, Elmo has had his photo shoot. He is posing in our dining room.

Here he is, dressed for extra warm weather in his BVDs!

Elmo dreaming of the beaches in Hawaii!

Blue jeans and smart blue-striped shirt, perfect for hanging out with Bert and Ernie and, of course, Coral!

Just in case of snow, Elmo is ready in this trendy vest and scarf set!

We have had so much fun with Coral's birthday present from Aunt Paula and Uncle Gord -- clothes for Elmo!
"A merry heart does good like a medicine." -- Proverbs 17:22

Happy Thanksgiving! Happy Birthday!

2007-11-22T06:27:00.001-08:00

I snatched this Thanksgiving pic from Amrita's blog!
Happy Thanksgiving you guys!
Take the skin off of it and eat as much turkey as ya want!

He told me to let you know he's sorry he's late,
but Elmo wanted to say "Happy Birthday" to you, Coral!

What does this week look like for you?

2007-11-19T13:55:00.000-08:00

Congratulations, Roger! What great weight loss! Maybe you could comment on what has worked so well for you thus far??

I'm doing a mental review of what is happening this week, and I'm going to need a will of steel to have any loss at all next Monday. Today is my daughter Coral's birthday. She is 28. In case you are reading this and aren't familiar with our family, she has cerebral palsy (considered severe) and has a wheelchair as her constant companion. In fact, it is quite clearly an extension of herself. We must talk in code if anything on it needs fixing, as such an event is truly unconscionable, and any talk about it will precipitate a "scene," to put it nicely! All this to say that tonight we are celebrating 28 great years with pizza and ice-cream cake (her personal favorites). Woo-hoo for my waistline!

Then Thursday is Thanksgiving where I live, so guess what is happening in my house? A turkey will be roasting to a delicious golden brown, I will be whipping potatoes with butter and sour cream, there will be stuffing and all the trimmings, and pie with whipped cream for dessert! Oh, dear! The good thing about hosting this at my house, though, is that I will be too busy to do the overeating of which I know I am capable.

Your prayers for my self-control will be truly appreciated, and I'll be praying for yours, too. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." --Galatians 5:22,23

Wait? Weight?

2007-11-18T12:57:00.000-08:00

Ready.....Set.....WAIT!
There's still another day before we have to do the weight thing!
Let's not rush this!

Two small squares of dark chocolate!

2007-11-16T15:49:00.000-08:00

Just two small squares! That's all! But after not having anything sweet for nearly two weeks, I feel like I just indulged in two whole chocolate bars!

Let's see... do I have any confessions to make? Well...

I ate that fast food meal after the funeral on Tuesday, and that makes me feel like the week is a failure. (One meal couldn't ruin the whole week, could it?!) The rest of the time I have not gone back for seconds on food and have not eaten sweet things (except for the dark chocolate!) and have not eaten between meals for the most part. Still, I don't feel like I have lost much at all thus far this week.

One thing I have been failing on, and this might be the key to why I feel like I do, is I have been forgetting to drink water. I have not been drinking nearly my 8 glassess a day, and I'm sure that is making me sluggish and bloated. [Whoever thought up the word "bloated" really knew what they were doing! Just say it slowly and see what I mean!]

For the rest of this week, I am going to concentrate on the water. Has anyone else had a tough time trying to change habits this week? I think I've made progress in the sense that I am now thinking about not eating before I actually do it instead of saying "Oh, no!" after I've already eaten when it is too late to rectify the deed!

The 21-Day Test!

2007-11-11T18:12:00.000-08:00

Best wishes on tomorrow's weigh-in, Carol-Ann! I'm hoping to see your weight down noticeably, and mine, too, for that matter. This is the best teamwork I have ever had with weight loss, so I'm feeling really encouraged!

I was thinking today that a lot of this is about habit-changing. Today, for the first time, I was going to eat something and then changed my mind because of tomorrow's weigh-in. I have to admit that this week has been tougher than I thought it would be, primarily because of my nagging stomach...nag, nag, nag! It is in the habit of being fed often and doesn't want to break that habit at all! I've been told that if you can hang in there for 21 days, old habits will lose their grip and new ones will begin to take over. So let's hang in there for 3 weeks and see what happens!

See your weight in the morning! (Dum, Da-Dum Dum DUM Dum!)